“What?”
“I am that horrible, wretched, monster man she will be forced to marry, Lord Tarryton. The old goat. I have asked her father for her hand, and he has most graciously agreed.” He bowed to Amanda. “Truly, mam’selle, you are about to find me the plague of your life!”
IV
“Idon’t believe you!” Amanda gasped, stunned. And of course, it had to be a lie. Still reeling from the impact of Robert’s words and actions, she was afraid that she was going to be sick. She hurt, as she had never hurt before. Her sense of betrayal was already complete, yet now she was discovering that not only Robert but her father had turned from her. It could not be true. Her father had not let her go her way so freely and so far to turn her over to a rebel! She backed away from him, shaking her head. “Sir, you are a liar!”
He arched a brow and though he maintained a pleasant enough countenance, his silver-blue eyes narrowed sharply. He didn’t like being called a liar, no matter how nonchalantly he stood. “No, I am not, milady,” he said softly, and his gaze rested upon Robert. “Lord Tarryton, my warning stands. And as you are a man affianced, perhaps you should be casting your attentions upon your future bride.” He paused, pointing a finger at Robert. “Go. Now.”
“Amanda,” Robert said, appealing to her. “We can discuss this later—”
“Discuss this!” she cried. “No, Lord Tarryton, we will never discuss—this. Or anything else, for that matter. You fool! I loved you!” she whispered.
“Amanda, I do love you, I tried to tell you—”
“Lord Tarryton!” Eric snapped. “This is a touching scene indeed, but under the circumstances…”
There was a deadly note of menace in Eric’s voice. Robert stiffened and walked past Amanda and Eric without another word. Amanda listened to his footsteps falling upon the earth as he disappeared, then she spun around on Cameron.
“I’m sorry that you were hurt. I’m afraid that Lord Tarryton’s engagement has been common knowledge for quite some time now,” he told her. “I suppose you hadn’t heard the news at your aunt’s.”
“I am not hurt, Lord Cameron,” she lied. She wanted to die on the spot from the humiliation and the pain she was experiencing. She hated him. She hated him more than she hated Robert, because he’d witnessed her humiliation.
“Lady Sterling—”
She did not want his help or his compassion. She wanted to be alone, she wanted to rage and cry in private. “Get away from me, sir, for you are far more heinous a man than he. You’ve no right here, you’ve no business here—”
“I do beg your pardon, Lady Sterling.” Now he sounded cool and dangerous. “I did not intend to spy upon you, but I heard your cries of distress and assumed that you wanted assistance.”
“Assumed—”
He sat down on the bench before the Venus statue, idly watching her. “Tell me, did I interrupt you rather than rescue you?”
It took several seconds for the meaning of his words to sink into her mind. And when she grasped their full meaning, she was furious. In a sudden rage, she flew at him, but he stood immediately, catching her arms, securing them behind her back and pulling her very close. She struggled against him wildly, determined to free herself at any cost. Desperate, she tried to kick him. He slipped a foot against her ankle and she started falling. He deftly preceded her to the ground, rolling beneath her so that when she fell, his body took the brunt of the force. Then he rolled swiftly, and she was caught beneath him again, staring up at him exhausted but ever more furious, yet her breath coming so quickly that she could not speak. She gritted her teeth and he laughed, but there was an edge about the sound and she wondered just how amused he was. “I warned you,” he told her quietly. “You struck me once. I will not allow you to strike again.”
“Don’t you dare laugh at me.”
“Why, milady, I wouldn’t dream of doing so.”
“Let me go!”
“Are we understood?”
“Lord Cameron, I am quite certain that I shall never understand you!”
“Perhaps you should make an effort to do so.”
“Get off me.”
“Milady, your every wish is my command.”
He leapt to his feet, but she found no freedom, for his hands were upon her own, drawing her up against him.
She tossed back her head, staring up him, longing to do serious battle again, yet painfully aware that she could not win. Praying for composure, she held still with her chin high, her hair tumbling and rippling down her back and seeming to burn like a slow flame in the moonlight. Her eyes sizzled and she spoke as softly as he, with every bit as much of an edge.
“I’m demanding, Lord Cameron, that you let me go. Or perhaps you imagine that I’m really dying to remain in your arms too? Can I dare hope that some other man is otherwise engaged elsewhere in this maze and will come to my rescue?”
He laughed, and it was an open, honest sound. It brought back strange feelings to her, causing a cascade of warmth to rush through her. Geneva’s words came back to her.The most arresting man in the colonies. And she felt his arms acutely. They were strong arms, well muscled, like the steel of a blade. His body was hard and vital, and his thigh was pressed tightly against her own. Her breath came quickly, and she longed to escape him.
