Читать книгу An Earl In Want Of A Wife - Laura Martin - Страница 14

Chapter Six

Daniel felt sick. No, he felt more than sick. He felt as though his whole world had collapsed. Up until that point the whole afternoon had been a success. Amelia seemed receptive to his advances, and even if she withdrew every so often, that was something that could be easily overcome.

He’d found her a pleasant companion, they’d talked easily during their walk around the park and he’d managed to convince himself that the desire he’d felt the evening before and when he’d kissed her in the drawing room had been anomalies. When he looked at her in the light of day he could see she wasn’t a seasoned temptress. She was just a normal young woman who shouldn’t drive him mad with desire. And if his pulse raced a little when he glanced at her lips, then he could put it down to the memory of their kiss and nothing more.

He’d even not minded his little dip in the Serpentine. Of course, he’d had no choice, he couldn’t have let the young boy drown, but he knew Amelia had seen his act as heroic and that could never hurt a man’s chances.

Everything had been going swimmingly well...until he’d seen them.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair and tried to focus on something other than his rage. At this moment he was close to losing control and he hated not being in control. He breathed in deeply through his nose and watched the world pass by as the hackney carriage weaved through the busy streets.

He’d last seen his son four months ago when Annabelle had shown up at his estate, demanding more money. He’d been heartbroken. Already the boy was growing up so fast he barely looked like the young lad he’d seen six months earlier. Daniel knew he’d missed his son’s first steps, his first words, and he would miss a whole world of firsts as time went on. The knowledge that he wasn’t the one there, watching his son grow up, broke his heart.

If only there was another way, but he knew there wasn’t.

Then today, in the park, Daniel knew that Annabelle had engineered that little meeting. She’d done it to let him know she was in town, to remind him of his promise and let him know she wasn’t afraid of the consequences if he didn’t pay up.

Daniel closed his eyes and pictured the little boy she’d been dragging behind her. His son, Edward. He had beautiful dark hair and piercing blue eyes, skin like porcelain and full lips. And he hadn’t even once glanced at Daniel. That was what hurt the most. Throughout the whole encounter Edward had been looking around at the park. He hadn’t taken one little bit of notice of the man whose heart was breaking just watching him.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair and made himself relax back into the seat of the carriage. There was nothing to be done about it. He’d made his bed four years ago when he’d invited Annabelle into his life. He’d been convinced she was the woman of his dreams, convinced that she loved him the way he’d loved her. It hadn’t been long before he’d found out differently, that he’d found out that he was just the latest in a long line of conquests for Annabelle. She’d swept into his life when he was grief-stricken and vulnerable, and then like a seasoned con artist she had become his entire world, slowly cutting him off from his old friends, his old life. When he had found out the truth about Annabelle, the fact that she was already married, he had been devastated. His pride had been irreversibly damaged when he’d realised he’d been tricked into loving her, and his heart broken, but he’d known he would recover eventually. He was a young man with a full life ahead of him, he would get over the betrayal once she was out of his life.

The problem was she hadn’t left his life, not really. A year after he’d thrown her out she’d turned back up with a baby in tow. Daniel had laughed at first, telling her he wouldn’t believe a word she said and that there was no way this baby was his. Although from her very first words Daniel had begun to doubt himself. When they had been together Annabelle had told him she couldn’t get pregnant, couldn’t have children, so he had never insisted that they use protection.

Then he’d looked down at the baby and he’d known the truth. Just one glance and he’d known irrefutably that the child was his. The bond was immediate and unbreakable, and Annabelle had looked on with glee.

His world had crumbled. Of all the things that could have happened to him this was the very worst. He didn’t care that Annabelle had tricked him into loving her. He didn’t care that he was now much more jaded and untrusting. But he did care that he had fathered an illegitimate child.

His whole world had come crashing down. He knew first-hand what tragedy haunted illegitimate children. He’d seen the suffering and the contempt and he knew it was the very last thing he would wish upon anyone, let alone his own son.

He’d tried to take the child, but Annabelle had refused. And then the blackmail had started.

Daniel watched as the carriage pulled up outside his town house. In a daze he stumbled out on to the pavement, paid the driver and made his way up the steps. Once safely ensconced in his study, he reached for the whisky and started to drink. He wanted to drink to forget and he wanted to drink to numb the pain.

* * *

After two glasses of whisky Daniel started to feel a little more in control. He poured one final glass, then set down the decanter and regarded it for a second. Later he could get drunk, later he could lose himself in the oblivion of alcohol, but right now he needed his wits about him.

Annabelle was only here for one reason. Despite all his pleas and his following of her terms she never let him see his son other than when she wanted something. Then it was just a brief encounter like today in the park. Daniel longed to sit the boy on his knee, to read him a story, or perhaps take him for his first riding lesson, but he knew all of that was impossible. He was destined to be in the background for ever, never knowing his son’s personality, his likes and dislikes, never knowing what made him laugh and what made him cry.

Annabelle was here for money. Again. Every few months she turned up and demanded even more. Sometimes she came alone, sometimes she brought Edward with her, allowing Daniel just a fleeting glimpse of his son, but always the demand was the same. Pay up or the whole world gets to know Edward is illegitimate. Including Edward himself. Daniel knew he couldn’t have that on his conscience. He needed the boy to grow up happy, to grow up thinking he had lost his father in the war. Better to have a hero for a father than to be illegitimate. Daniel couldn’t bear his son’s heart breaking as other children tormented him for that. He knew what the consequences could be and he wasn’t about to risk that with his own son.

The problem was he didn’t have any money. Annabelle had bled him dry over the past few years, demanding more and more. He knew it would never stop, but he couldn’t see any other way out. Hence his need for a wealthy wife. A good-sized dowry would keep Annabelle at bay for years to come and when that ran out, well, maybe then his son would be old enough and strong enough to learn the truth, to be able to withstand the jibes from society and still hold his head up high.

Taking a gulp of the whisky, Daniel relished the burning sensation in his throat and wondered how long it would take Amelia to agree to marry him. Maybe a couple of weeks if he worked fast, but then it would still be even longer until the wedding. He could apply for a special licence, but doing so would raise suspicion. He sighed. One thing Annabelle wasn’t was patient. Now she had turned up in London he expected to hear her demands within the next day or two, then he would have a matter of weeks to raise the money. If he didn’t, then she would threaten to reveal the truth to Edward and to the world.

Daniel really needed Amelia’s dowry. He grimaced and wondered when he had become quite so cynical. When he had been a young lad setting off for Cambridge he’d felt as though the whole world was at his feet. He was heir to an earldom, about to commence on a great life adventure and was surrounded by friends. He’d been convinced one day he’d fall in love with a beautiful woman and have a lovely family. Never did he think he’d have to marry for money. How different life had turned out to be.

He hated the fact that he was going to have to marry Amelia under false pretences. Whatever his faults he had always prided himself on never deceiving women. Over the years he had enjoyed many short liaisons, but he had always made it clear from the start these encounters were not going to be lasting relationships. Already he was deceiving Amelia, courting her with the express intention of getting her to marry him. He hated the idea that he was going to have to marry and give up his old lifestyle, but he hated the idea of not being entirely truthful about his motivations to Amelia more. He was turning into one of the fortune hunters he’d always despised.

Refusing to let himself become too melancholy, Daniel tossed back the rest of the glass of whisky and firmly set the decanter down on the table beside him. He needed a plan. In fact, he needed two plans. He needed a plan to make Amelia agree to marry him in record time and he needed a plan to raise a little bit of money to keep Annabelle at bay in the meantime.

He grimaced. He knew exactly where he could raise a little bit of money, but it meant renewing an acquaintance with a man he’d hoped never to see again. He wondered whether the man would agree to see him—they’d not parted well all those years ago. Daniel distinctly remembered telling Ernest Hathaway never to speak to him again.

He doubted Hathaway would agree to meet him, so he’d have to be far more underhand. Maybe if he recruited his old friend Fletcher to his cause he could help. Fletcher wouldn’t have to know all the details, all the sordid ins and outs, but he would be able to persuade Hathaway to be at a particular place at a particular time and to hear what Daniel had to say. If nothing else Fletcher was a persuasive man.

Daniel allowed himself to relax a little. Maybe things would work out all right in the end. He would continue his pursuit of Amelia tomorrow and he would sort out some money to keep Annabelle at bay in the meantime.

His thoughts went back to Amelia and he wondered if he’d ruined his chances with her by acting so strangely. He’d have to come up with some sort of story to satisfy her curiosity. Amelia might be a quiet wallflower, but she wasn’t stupid. Her eyes shone with intelligence when they conversed and she had noticed something was wrong from the very start.

Maybe he could make her forget with a few illicit kisses. He knew she responded to his touch and his kiss, and if he was honest with himself he enjoyed kissing Amelia more than he’d enjoyed anything in years.

At the thought of kissing her Daniel felt the first stirrings of desire and frowned with agitation. He didn’t want to desire his future wife. He’d desired one woman, let his heart rule over his head, and look where that had got him. Amelia was perfect for him because she wasn’t head-spinningly beautiful. She was just nice and average.

He thought of the little freckles across her nose and the curve of her lip when she smiled and repeated to himself that he would not be attracted to her. He refused to desire his future wife. They would have a comfortable companionship and nothing more.

Standing, Daniel repeated to himself that he didn’t desire Amelia. He was far too in control for any nonsense like that.