Holding her gaze, he set his glass aside, then wrapped one arm around her shoulders and drew her against him. She leaned into his strength as he kissed the top of her head. “You’re wrong. Trust me, Mina. Nothing you can say will make me leave you now.”
A shuddering breath trembled against her breast as she exhaled and relaxed against him. She’d still been concerned he might do so, she realized, until he’d offered assurance.
Bolstered by his words, she began her confession. “When I was eighteen years old, the former Duke of Cloverfield and his wife attended a house party at Viscount Mayweather’s estate, which is located near my childhood home – on the outskirts of Wadefield. As part of the festivities, they had a garden party one afternoon. Mama and I were invited to attend, so we did. It was a great honor, you see, as well as an opportunity for me to associate with a class of people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. As my mother put it, there was little chance of my going to London for a Season, seeing as we had no London residence or relations able to put us up. So we had to make the most of every chance presented to us.
“Mama hoped I would win the heart of some upper-class gentleman. Instead I gained the wrong sort of attention.”
“How do you mean?” His whispered words were spoken with a slow sort of wariness that suggested he dreaded the answer.
Wilhelmina clasped his hand and closed her eyes. “A few days after the party, Mama received a letter, inviting me to visit with the Duchess of Cloverfield for a private tea. The lady claimed to have taken a liking to me and wanted to see if I might make a suitable match for a nephew of hers who was looking to marry.”
“That would have been quite the coup.” His thumb stroked carefully over her knuckles.
“Indeed,” Wilhelmina agreed, determined to force the rest past the knot in her throat. “Mama and I were honored and terribly excited by the thought of my having caught a duchess’s notice. We didn’t think twice about my joining her for the tea she’d suggested.” She swallowed convulsively as the memories flooded back. Her eyes squeezed tight with the instinct to block it all out as shame curled around her heart to produce a terrible ache.
“Did the duchess deceive you?” James asked, his words soft and steady.
She shook her head. “No. She wasn’t the one who summoned me. The duke was.”
Everything stilled. Not even James’s breath could be heard. “What?”
“I was shown into a small parlor at the back of the house where I waited nearly half an hour before the duke came to join me.” She recalled the gleam in his eyes, the satisfaction of knowing he could have anything he wanted. “He apologized for his wife’s absence and then he locked the door.”
“Good God.” Simmering fury encased each word as his hold on her tightened.
“He was very matter of fact about the whole thing.” In spite of every effort to keep her emotions under control, her voice shook as she spoke. “He said he’d be gentle as long as I did as he asked. That if I didn’t – if I screamed or tried to run – he’d ruin not only my reputation but my mother’s too. He threatened to destroy us.”
James’s breaths were slow and steady, but there was a raspy sound, indicative of his growing rage. “The bastard used his title against you in the worst way possible. I swear if he wasn’t dead already, I’d murder him myself.”
“I’ve never told anyone this, not even George.” She fought the tears that threatened. “I was too ashamed to let him know.”
She was suddenly pushed into an upright position and turned. James clasped her upper arms firmly and held her in place. “Look at me, Mina.”
Raising her chin, she met the intensity of his gaze and instantly felt herself break in response to the violent tempest she found there. Tears spilled from between her lashes and dampened her cheeks. A sob worked its way up her throat. “I’m so sorry.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed or sorry for,” he told her fiercely.
She wanted to believe him and yet she’d always blamed herself for being too trusting, too naïve, or simply too stupid. “I should have run, I should have fought him off, but I was scared.”
“For good reason, Mina. You were barely more than a child.” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to him while she cried, whispering words of endearment until her anguish lessened. “Forgive me for asking, but is Cynthia by any chance—”
“Yes.” Wilhelmina nodded against James’s chest. “George was my friend. When he learned of my situation he begged me to tell him who’d caused it so he could seek vengeance, but I refused.”
He hugged her closer. “You didn’t want him to challenge a duke.”
“I couldn’t risk the consequence.” She sat back and wiped at her eyes while James tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears. Without saying anything, he offered her a handkerchief so she could blow her nose. “When George offered to save me from being branded a whore and the child I carried from being labeled a bastard, I accepted. As wrong as it was to trap him, to deny him the chance of falling in love and having the family he deserved, I married him.”
“He came to your rescue,” James murmured while stroking one hand over her hair.
“Which is why I had to come to his when the woman he loved became pregnant.” Feeling drained, she blew out a heavy breath. “How could I force illegitimacy on his child when he’d ensured that mine would not bear that burden?”
James shook his head. Then, without a word, he leaned in and kissed her – a slow caress that brought fresh tears to her eyes. Resting his forehead against hers he said, “You are the most remarkable woman I know, Mina. Who else would have given up their position as you did in order to help a friend? No one could have acted more selflessly than you or with more integrity.”
She blinked away tears while letting his words of support sink in. “You should know that George and I never consummated our wedding. We were like brother and sister, James, so hopping into bed together seemed wrong. And after my only experience in that area, I wasn’t eager to welcome any man’s touch again until I met you.”
He hugged her to him. “I only wish the scoundrel who hurt you were still alive so I could kill him for what he did.”
A humorless laugh echoed through her. “There’s still his son to contend with. Lord help me if he doesn’t need to be put in his place as much as his father.”
