"You didn't think me dead?"
Victoria laughed. "I didn't think much about you at all!"
It was difficult to believe, now, that there had been a time when that was true. A time when she hadn't yet known James, when he hadn't occupied her thoughts. As angry as he made her, as maddening as she found him, Victoria realized she had gotten used to having him around.
She evenlikedhaving him around in some ways. She liked the way her pulse quickened when they spoke to one another. She liked the eager anticipation she felt each morning before she saw him, wondering what their interactions would bring that day. Perhaps she had been on her own too long, and that was why it felt so exhilarating to have someone else in the house—even though it was someone she wasn't entirely sure she liked.
"And what about you?" James asked, cutting into her thoughts.
"Me? What do you mean?"
"You're not exactly social. Word has it you keep yourself shut up in this house all the time—you're very nearly a ghost yourself. It doesn't help your reputation that you act like this, you know. Maybe you wouldn't need me to come in and salvage things foryou if you put yourself out among people—if you tried to find a match for yourself."
"I don't require your help," Victoria said. "And I haven't looked for a match by my own choice. I made a decision long ago that I would never look for love again. Gentlemen aren't worth the effort. They're not worth the heartache."
He looked at her, cocking his head curiously to one side, and Victoria could tell he was wondering what she meant. What she might have been through in the past to turn her away from the idea of love.
She felt her heart lift. Maybe there was hope. Maybe he could really understand what she had been through—even though she didn't want to give him all the sordid details. Maybe he could empathize with her enough to let her stay here in the house.
But then his jaw tightened.
"Well, it's a good thing no one is asking you to find love," he said. "All I care about is that you marry. It's up to you whether you try to love your husband or not—that's no concern of mine."
"I can't believe you." All the eager anticipation she felt for their interactions evaporated like smoke, and she was reminded forcibly of the fact that she didn't actually like him at all. Whatever tricks were being played on her mind by the fact that he was witty and quick to keep up with her in conversation, she couldn't allow it to supersede the fact that this man was actively trying to ruin her life. "You know I have no interest in marriage.You know that it's the last thing in the world I want. And now your response to me is that it'sno concern of yourswhether I even feel any affection for the man I marry or not?"
"You said yourself that you weren't interested in finding love," James pointed out. "Why would you care what I think about it? You should be grateful that I'm notinsistingyou try for a love match since you've specifically told me that you don't want one!"
Victoria stood staring at him for a moment, trying to come up with a retort—but she couldn't think of a thing to say. After about a minute had passed, she decided she wasn't doing herself any favors by standing here in stunned silence, and she shoved her way past him and left the room.
She fumed all the way back to her bedroom. How could someone who was so engaging to talk to make her so angry? Surely if she enjoyed trading banter with someone, she should be able to get along with that person?
But this had always been the problem, with every man who had entered her life. For every good thing a man brought to the table there were at least two negatives balancing it out, making him not worth knowing.
James might be interesting to talk to, but he was heartless. She could never for a moment allow herself to forget that fact.
CHAPTER 11
"The new draperies belong in the sitting room," Victoria's voice rang out from the foyer.
The next thing James heard was the sound of heavy-footed people—several of them—walking through the house. He got up from his desk and hurried out to see what was going on.
He'd spent the morning looking over his ledgers again and again. Something seemed off to him—the calculations weren't adding up in a way that made sense. But he couldn't seem to figure it out, and now these noises were preventing him from focusing. He was determined to discover what it was all about and to put a stop to it. He found Victoria standing in the foyer and looking in the direction of the sitting room. "What's going on?" he asked, looking the same direction.
His question was answered as soon as he had asked it. He saw three men in the sitting room carrying heavy-looking draperies.As he watched, the men began to mount the draperies on the law in front of the windows.
He turned to face Victoria. She was studiously avoiding meeting his gaze. "What's going on here?" he demanded.
"I've been meaning to get new draperies for this room for several months," Victoria said, still not looking at him. "I hope you like the ones I chose."
She couldn't believe she would be so disingenuous. "You don't care if I like them or not," he said. "In fact, you knew I wouldn't like them. You knew that I wouldn't permit you to make a change like this to my house. What do you think you're doing?"
"It's only draperies," Victoria said dismissively. "It can't bother you that much."
"What bothers me is the sound of people coming and going all day long in my house," James said. "I'm trying to get some work done. I haven't been able to focus on anything all day. Now I can see that this is the reason why. You've been making all this noise. I have to insist that you keep things quiet while trying to work."
Now Victoria turned to face him. Her eyebrows lifted. "So," she said, "you're telling me that you wouldn't mind if I changed the draperies as long as I had it done during a time when you were not trying to work."
"Where did the money for this come from?" James asked.
