Without warning, he found himself drawn closer to her side. It didn’t escape his notice that the jade elephant he’d sent for her birthday from India was sitting next to the lamp.A smile touched his lips when he pictured her gazing at it and thinking of him as she fell into slumber each night.
He glanced at her form and was comforted by her easy breathing. Her brilliant red hair was fixed into a braid and laid innocently over her white nightdress. The counterpane just covered her full breasts, which he thought was a dreadful shame, but it was thepaperthat had slipped from her limp fingers that he reached for.
He picked it up andstilledfor the third time that night.
She had fallen asleep reading one of the letters that he’d sent to her.He glanced at thesidetable and reached out to open the drawer. There he found the rest of them, a neat little pile of correspondence tied together with twine.
As if he’d run a great distance, he began to breathe heavily. He quickly tossed the letter inside and shut the drawer. Afterward, he left her room and walked briskly down the hall until he was safely ensconced inside of his sitting room. Surrounded by a masculine interior,he closed his eyes, butall he could see was Persephone and that damned letter. If that wasn’t enough of a warning to keep his distance, then he didn’t know what was.
The last thing he needed was for her to fall in love with him. He didn’t want to marry and have his son succumb to the sort of lifestyle that Lord Gregory enjoyed, nor did he want a daughter to fall prey to someone of similar desires. He had told Darwood that he might never marry, and he’d meant it.
His mouth set in a grim line; he realized what he must do. In order to save Miss Welton from the hope of him ever returning her affections, he would have to let her go. He’d saved her from a dark fate all those years ago, but it was time tolook tothe future.
She could no longer be his mistress if he intended to safeguard his heart.
***
A knock at her bedchamber doorthe next morninghad Sephy quickly shoving the letter she’d been reading back into the drawer with the others. While she hadn’t remembered returning it to the pile the night before, she thought it must have been so.
She quickly smoothed her hair and clasped her hands in her lap, making sure she looked appealing before shespoke upfor the caller to enter. The door opened and her heart thrilled at the sight of Hunter. Five years of waiting for him to return had proventhat her memory of him had faded over time. He was infinitely more handsome than she remembered with his dark hair and intent brown eyes. And now that his skin had a golden bronze tint to it from the desert sun, he was even more breathtaking. Combined with the fact she’d just been pouring over his gentle descriptions of life in India, she realized that this was a man she could easily fall in love with.
Of course, allowing her heart to become engaged would be foolhardy in the extreme, as such girlish fantasies had never been in the cards for her. But perhaps she could finally convince him to treat her as the mistress she yearned to be before he cast her aside.
“Your Grace.” She offered a bright, encouraging smile. “What a pleasant surprise.”
However, instead of moving forward and taking her in his arms, he hovered by the doorframe, his hands set on his hips.The look on his face didn’t bode well either. “We need to talk about our current association.”
Some of her excitement diminished, but she refused to lose hope. “What did you have in mind?”
He glanced away, as if what he had to say was too difficult to impart directly. “I wish to sever my tie as your protector. Of course, I will send you back to your mother’s house with a generous parting stipend and you may keep all of the clothes and various other items you have acquired during your time here—”
Once the initial shock of his statementhadsubsided, Sephy found her voice.“What about the threat of Lord Gregoryyou were so concerned about?”
“I will ensure that there are guards posted at the brothel to safeguard you and the other girls at all times. If he arrives, he won’t be staying long.”
She swallowed over the bitter taste of betrayal.It appeared he had it all worked out and that hurt more than she wanted to admit.“What about my maidenhead?” she countered. “Do you not intend to takeit?”
Helooked pointedly at her. “I told you where I stood regarding sexual relations.”
She stared at himin disbeliefand then threw back the coversin exasperation. This was an argument that she couldn’t abide by sitting demurely on the bed and playing the coquette. “You can’t mean to send me backto a whorehousewhen I’m stillintact! Surely you wouldn’t be that cruel to make me the laughingstock of my mother’s brothel,and all of Londonfor that matter!The Virgin Harlot.”She held her hands upas ifaddingemphasis to the moniker.“What aheadlinethat would be for the papers.”
He frowned slightly. “I suppose I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I would say not,” she snapped heatedly. “As a duke and the son of a king, however illegitimate, scandal will easily roll off you. I will not be as fortunate.” She paused, her mouth falling open slightly, for something else had also occurred to her. “And what of the puppy you promised me from Lady’s litter?”
He locked eyes with her. “I stand by my word on that.”
“And yet, I told youofmy mother’s viewon pets.” She shook her head and then reached for the letter she’d been reading so adoringly. “I don’t know who you are,Falcourt,” she sneered. “But you certainly aren’t the same Hunter BennettI know.”
With that, she ripped the letter in half right in front of him, and then a second, and a third, until she allowed the scraps to fall on the floor at her feet.
“Rest assured, I’ll be gone by theafternoon. But first—” She shoved her arms through her dressing robeand tied it with a flourish. “—I shall have to find someone willing to deflower me since youseemunable to accomplish the task yourself. I only wish you hadn’t made the stipulation that I remain pure during your absence, for I could have been living theexistence of a true harlot all this time, sinceI shall becondemnedto that torrid lifestyleanyway.”
She started to brush past him, but he moved in her way. “No.”
“No?” She set her hands on her hips. “I don’t believe you have any say in what I do, Your Grace, forI willnotbe known as a woman who didn’t live up to her favors as a mistress.”
He didn’t budge, but kept looking at her with that dark stare that was equal partsfuryand determination.
