He considered the pique on his lover’s face. “I am not interested in sensual pursuit at the moment because two of the factories I recently purchased in Leeds and Manchester are not operating to the standards that would ensure the workers’ safety. I am occupied with thinking about the length of time the factories would need to remain closed while the necessary renovations are done, and I am furious I had to inform the manager that workers should still be paid their full wages while they are away from work. This tells me my manager needs to be replaced, yet he has been with my father for years and has a family to support. When I bought those factories, I vowed to make the workers’ lives better. When I promise something, I will deliver on it. Those are the matters in my thoughts, Johanna, not tupping.”
She searched his expression before stepping closer, resting her hand on his chest. “I understand.” Johanna delicately cleared her throat. “There is a matter I need to discuss. I questioned Mr. Burnell if that…that woman is off the yacht. He revealed that you ordered him to remit another two hundred and eighty pounds to that cook! He means to send a draft to her upon docking. I disagree with this! I forbade him to send that draft and that he must wait for an update before he acts. My lord, her food made me deplorably ill and to reward such—”
“You are acting the jealous shrew, Johanna,” Daniel growled. “I have already fired the lady at your unproven accusation that your food was tainted. Let that be enough to soothe your ire.”
Her eyes pooled with tears. “I am not soothed nor satisfied. You have not taken me to bed since…since you met that serving wench!”
“I believe the lady is a chef, and a rather brilliant one,” he said drily. “Stop the theatrics, Johanna. They do not suit you. I have already explained I am occupied with business matters and have little time for diversions.”
Her chest heaved with the strength of her passions. “We’ve been lovers for more than a year.”
Daniel pinned her with his regard, baffled by her anger. “I am quite aware of the passage of time. Why is this relevant?”
“I know you will eventually get married. It is an inevitable duty for men of your rank and consequences.”
An odd sensation moved through his chest. “What are you getting at?”
She curled her fingers into a fist against his chest. “We are good together… Let us marry. Surely you can tell I have the greatest affections for you.”
A chill passed through his heart. He stared down at her in bemusement, for he’d believed they had a mutual stance on the idea of marriage. He always ensured his liaisons were with older ladies who were well-versed in discreet affairs with mutual understanding of what they got from each other. Daniel had always avoided those feverishly marriage-minded young ladies, for he had no interest in the marriage mart. There would come a time a man had to honor his duty and traditions, but by God, when that time came, it would be wholly decided by him.
“You are a widow…with freedom and wealth and beauty. Why would you want to marry again?”
She touched his jaw. “It is only for you I would make this sacrifice, my darling.”
“It is a sacrifice not needed,” he said firmly.
“Why are you so afraid of marriage?”
“It is an imposition and a restraint for someone like me who cherishes the freedom to do as he pleases. While I must eventually marry for the earldom, I have no wish to do so before I am ready.”
Her eyes flashed. “And when will that be? Ten years?”
“Perhaps even twenty,” he said with chilling politeness. “Marriage is naught but a duty that I will do in time. There is no reason to mention it between us.”
“You unfeeling beast!”
“I made you no false promises,” he snapped. “You stepped into my path and gladly vied for the position as my lover. I have never treated you unkindly even when your actions were unworthy.”
She pouted. “You are talking about that serving girl again; it was not unkind or unworthy for me to ask that you fire her. Would you want me to suffer the humiliation of every time I see her, knowing how much you wanted her? I saw it on your face… I have never seen such hunger for another…not even me, and I hated it!”
Daniel ruthlessly suppressed the visceral memory of the hunger Miss Heyford had roused within his body. It was already in the past, and he was not the kind of man to dwell on events that had no impact on his future.
“I will not ask for your understanding on that matter again, Johanna,” he said with icy indifference. “I believed her to be one of the ladies you intended to join in our sensual play. That is no fault of her own but mine. Mr. Burnell will pay the lady in full. I will inform him of this shortly. Do not ever think to counter my command again with my staff. Now, let’s put this matter to rest.”
With a sinking feeling, he realized it was time to end their dalliance. Now that she had gotten the idea of marriage in her thoughts, Johanna would not relinquish the desire. The sensation in his gut grew colder. If there was one thing he loathed, it was being pressured into marriage, as if it was some sort of holy grail he needed to reach for. A marriage was simply a damn alliance meant to strengthen connections and produce an heir. More importantly, it was a state he would decide on himself, not be manipulated into by a loverorhis family.
Johanna must have seen the decision in his eyes, for she blanched and jerked back. “No!”
“It is time we part, Johanna,” he said. “Our desires are no longer aligned.”
Anger and bitter disappointment contorted her features, and with all the fury of a woman rejected, she shoved him.
What the bloody hell!Daniel toppled against the railing, and it was the horror in her eyes and the scream whipped away by the wind which alerted him that he was about to fall overboard. He tried to lurch forward and grip the railing, but the momentum worked against him.
His head struck something, and agony shot through the base of his skull. Before he could wonder at anything, he hit the surface of the water. The cold stabbed Daniel’s body like a thousand knives. He tried to swim upward, but his head felt light.
What did I hit?
