‘I did not know it was you,’ he said in a snarl which oozed contempt. ‘My brother kept your attachment secret, even from me. I only recently learned your name.’
Grace said nothing. Why was he here? Did someone at the barracks send him with word of William? Why had William not told his brother of their engagement? Was it because it was all a lie? Her uncle’s words flooded back. ‘You were rather naive.’
‘You must be at a loss to account for my visit today,’ snapped Rawden Voss. ‘Indeed, I came here on an impulse. I did not want to come, but duty compelled me, and I saw no point in delaying the unhappy task.’
His demeanour was so belligerent that Grace’s mind whirled in confusion. She was about to ask him why he came at all if he did not want to, when he abruptly stopped pacing. ‘I see that I am not the first visitor of the day. I am acquainted with Lord Sharp.’
His words bore an edge of insult, heavy with sarcasm. They cut her like a whip, and his hard brown gaze set her hands to shaking. Grace swallowed hard. Rawden Voss’s gimlet eyes bore into her, waiting for an explanation as if he was owed one. How dare this man speak to her so rudely. She determined not to be bullied.
‘Lord Sharp is a friend of my uncle, Charles Howden,’ she said as calmly as possible.
Rawden Voss narrowed his eyes, and Grace felt his gaze penetrate her defences, laying bare her shame.
‘And is your uncle at home this morning?’ he barked.
‘No. What do you want with him?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Won’t you please sit down,’ she said. Perhaps that would calm him.
Her unhappy visitor took a seat and brushed a speck of lint off his perfectly pressed black breeches. How dark he was, his hair shining like jet in the sunlight streaming through the window, stubble shadowing his jaw. A vein pulsed in his temple. ‘My brother died at Waterloo. You may have heard.’ He fixed her with a stare from brown eyes so bleak, they took her breath away.
Grace fought back tears and said, ‘I did hear, and I am sorry for your loss.’
‘Was it not also your loss, Miss Howden?’ he said with a sneer.
Silence engulfed the room like a poisonous cloud. The thick ticking of the grandfather clock seemed to go for an age before Rawden could get his anger under control. He had expected to find William’s fiancé to be either a quiet, little mouse of a woman or a seductive predator. Not the pretty young woman who had so enchanted him in a summer garden just a few months ago, before his world turned to carnage and grief. Not the apparent innocent who had stoked his lust and whose soft, generous mouth had felt like sweetness and sin all at once. And worst of all, William was barely cold in his grave, and she was already moving on to a new suitor, entangled with Caville Sharp. It spoke volumes about the kind of woman she was.
When Rawden spoke again, it was with barely contained irritation. ‘I am aware that there was some connection between you and my brother. Am I mistaken?’
Grace Howden maintained her composure and defended herself. ‘You are not mistaken. William had asked me to marry him, and I said yes.’
His chest heaved up and down. He was so angry, perched on the edge of the chair, that he sprang up, and before he could gain command of his feelings, he unleashed his anger on her.
‘What are you, Miss Howden - innocent, fortune hunter, ruthless jade for sale to the highest bidder?’
‘How dare you,’ she gasped, rising to her feet.
‘Did you seek my brother out to lure him into an unfortunate marriage? Did you prey on his naivety?’
‘I am sure you would know all about preying on people. Your reputation precedes you, Earl Voss.’
‘Ah. So my brother told you about my many vices, did he?’
‘No, he was far too honourable and loved you far too much to ever speak ill of you. He barely spoke of his family, but when he did, he declared that he admired and loved you dearly. But I heard everything I need to know about you from others.’
He gave a bitter laugh. ‘Like Lady Granston and those simpletons you were with at the rout. Oh, I am sure they had plenty to say about me, vacuous fools.’
Grace Howden had reddened, but she spoke softly, obviously in more command of her temper than he was. ‘They described you as Lucifer himself. By your conduct so far today, it would seem they are correct, yet Will worshipped you. He told me that, deep down, you were the most honourable man he knew.’
‘Deep down?’ What the hell did that mean?
Grace Howden squared her shoulders. ‘I think he must have been sorely mistaken in your character, Sir, judging by your behaviour here today. And there is also the matter of what you did at Lady Blanchard’s rout.’
‘What?’
‘You…you manhandled me. It was not honourable. It was how I came to meet Will. He visited me to apologise for your shameful conduct.’
