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When the final tremor left her body, Harry placed a kiss on the tip of her nose and helped set her to rights. She was still panting when she pulled an embroidered handkerchief from her bodice and took Harry’s hands to clean his fingers one by one. He stopped her before she could do the last and slid it between his lips to lick it clean. Mina’s jaw fell open in an equal mixture of shock and delight as she watched.

“Delicious,” Harry purred when he was done.

Mina had to shake her head to regain her bearings, and she resumed her task of tidying him. She was certain every inch of her skin was flushed pink.

“Are you feeling more relaxed now?” Harry asked with a knowing lilt to his tone.

“Barbarian… Ravishing a woman in a carriage.” She looked down in an attempt to disguise her smile.

“You enjoyed it.”

“Lord Townsend is at home,” said the Marquess’s butler before turning on his heel and guiding Mina and Harry deeper into the massive townhouse. While Ravenshire Manor was a large, stately country home, it was a cottage compared to this building. Her mind could not fathom the opulence surrounding her—the expensive wallpapering, the artwork, the gilt fixtures, the expensive beeswax candles burning everywhere even when it was not a special occasion… It was staggering.

The owner of all the grandeur turned out to be a tall, elegant man perhaps a decade older than she. He wore his blond hair perfectly coiffed in a fashionable style; his profile with its aquiline nose and strong chin was undeniably regal. The deep blue coat and dove-grey breeches were undoubtedly designed to within an inch of their life for his trim frame. The marquess turned away from the crackling fire into which he’d been staring, and Mina nearly gasped.

A vicious, jagged scar bisected Townsend’s elegant cheekbone, traveled up his temple and dove into his hairline. Whatever had caused it, it was a nasty injury, and it made him even more sinister than her imaginings. It wasn’t as if the man spewed fire and had demons dancing ‘round his feet, but there was something dangerous in his composure, the cool tone to his voice when he greeted them with polite aloofness—as if he did not know precisely why they were calling upon him in his home.

“Lord Ravenshire,” Townsend said with a tilt of his head. A large diamond stickpin glinted from between the folds of his elaborately tied cravat.

“Lord Townsend. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.” Mina did not miss how neither man extended a hand to the other.

“Who is ‘us’?” the other man asked, sweeping his icy eyes up and down her figure before looking away as if he’d immediately judged her lacking in some respect.

“Mrs. Mina Brown. She is my new steward of Ravenshire Manor.”

Mina was surprised that she was being identified as such, but she held her face perfectly still. The last thing she wanted was for the marquess to view her confusion as a sign of weakness. She bobbed into the appropriate curtsey and clutched her packet of papers more tightly to her chest.

“Your new steward?” Townsend commented, raising a brow. “I am unsurprised that you did away with the old one, seeing as how he allowed so many debts against the property; however, I am intrigued that you thought to hire a woman in his place. Are you not concerned that she would cause even worse blunders? It can be a rather demanding position.”

Mina bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from hurling insults at the odious man. Harry, however, interjected. “She is more than capable—I would argue, she has one of the best minds for estate management I’ve ever seen. A man would be an utter imbecile to discount someone’s worth for her gender alone. In fact, she is solely responsible for us coming here today.”

“Cutting it close to the end, aren’t we?” A wry smile crossed the marquess’s lips as he gestured for them to take a seat in the chairs facing his desk. Once they had, he sat as well. It made Mina’s skin itch to be in such proximity to Townsend, but she would endure anything if it saved Ravenshire Manor.

“I would like to present to you a viable debt repayment proposal,” she announced. The Marquess did nothing except look at her impassively. Mina took that as permission to proceed, so she cleared her throat and did just that. She detailed how they’d collected a total of five thousand pounds—between the sale of the orchard acres and other unnecessary assets, the collection of rents, and some of the money from Harry’s account—with enough left to ensure the estate could continue to operate and generate future income. This income would then allow them to pay the balance of the debt to Townsend over the next two years, with interest. Mina did everything with the utmost professionalism. She presented the Marquess with ledgers, figures, and accounts. She did everything she could to prove to him that, if he accepted the down payment now, the remaining amount would come from the improvements that had been made to the estate.

Mina sat back in her chair when she was finished; the room fell into heavy silence save for the popping of wood in the marble hearth.

Townsend touched none of the papers she laid before him, never even glanced down at the information she provided. He merely cocked his head and said, “No.”

“You are declining?” Harry’s voice rose with his anger. “This is a fair offer. All the documentation supporting this has been presented.”

His cold, flat eyes narrowed on Harry. “You have clearly underestimated my purpose,” Townsend sneered. “I have no desire to wait years for what I am owed.”

Mina’s breath caught. The arm of Harry’s chair squeaked beneath his grasp. This confirmed what they’d already believed—Townsend only wanted the estate for a bargain and would accept nothing less.

They never had a chance.

CHAPTER 15

Rather than wallow in despondent rejection, Mina dragged Harry up the stairs of the Ravenshire London residence. Built from glittering stone that reflected the golden autumn sunset, the building was the length of an entire block, and it was a wonder Mina hadn’t gotten more lost as she sought out the study. She might have appreciated all the clean lines of the architecture, all the polished wood and tasteful artwork more if she weren’t so determined to bring everything to an end once and for all.

“I will show him,” Mina grumbled. “Underestimating me because I am a woman. Being a selfish, money-hungry boor.”

“You are muttering beneath your breath and, while I cannot hear the words, I believe they are likely quite terrifying,” Harry piped up. “You will tell me if you plan murder, will you not?”

“Murder is the last resort,” she said flatly before dropping to the rug laid out before the hearth, opening her precious packet, and fanning the pages between them.

“Deep down, I know you say that in jest…it is still unnerving.” Harry crouched down beside her. “What are we looking for?” When Mina did not answer, he dropped to his backside and stilled her agitation with a gentle hand atop hers. “Mina… It is over.”