Читать книгу Auctioned Virgin to Seduced Bride - Louise Allen - Страница 7

Patrick set her on her feet and stood back, his eyes dark. He raked one hand through his hair and she saw, as though all her senses were magnified, that it shook, just a little. Lust. He had brought the smell of smoke and drink and musky arousal into the room with him and her empty stomach revolted. A man, a beast, just like the rest of them.

Laurel swallowed hard on the nausea and snapped, ‘You bastard. How could you? I trusted you, I liked you.’ I wanted you. It hurt too much: all she had was her anger to sustain her. ‘And all the time you are the kind of man who does this.’

‘Rescues you?’ he demanded, the colour coming back to his face.

‘You expect me to believe that?’ She found a fringed shawl thrown over the end of the bed and dragged it around her shoulders to protect against the shivering, against his eyes on her near-nudity. ‘You had no idea I had come to London, let alone that I had been taken by these…animals. Don’t try and make me believe you are a knight errant. What a little innocent I must be—it never occurred to me that you were the kind of man who would come to these places, let alone want to buy a virgin.’

He made a move as though to reach for her and Laurel jerked back. ‘What are you doing in London?’ Patrick demanded. He dropped his hand, moved back, his mouth grim. He had not defended himself—but how could he?

‘You told me that you had been sent to Martinsdene by Mrs Halgate—Meg Shelley—to find her sisters.’

‘I know that, damn it. We spent three days in that rural backwater talking to all the villagers you thought might know something.’ It had been a waste of time, no one knew anything—unless they were too scared of the Reverend Shelley to speak.

‘And I told you I had lost my position as a companion because Lady Palgrave died and her sons gave me notice,’ she persisted. ‘I didn’t tell you that I had nowhere to go now, no position to take up—and then I thought if I went down to Falmouth Meg could help me find respectable employment—just as she has as Lord Brandon’s housekeeper.’

‘She’s more than that, if I’m any judge,’ Patrick said with a crack of humourless laughter. ‘How could you be so bloody stupid as to end up here? Have you no sense?’ Why was he so angry with her, the hypocritical rake? He stalked over to the bed and dragged back the covers. ‘Get in—you are shaking like a leaf.’

‘Get in?’ She swung round the bedpost away from him, clutching it to stop herself falling as her legs threatened to give way. The shawl slid from her shoulders. ‘You libertine! I’d rather get into bed with a pig. I got here the same way as any innocent country girl does, I’m sure. I had to change stagecoaches to pick up the one to Plymouth and when I did I was gulled and then I was overpowered. I’ve never been in a city before. I had no idea places like this existed—not ones where they would capture and rape women. You make it sound as though it was all my fault. If it wasn’t for men like you—’

Patrick moved toward her, purpose in every stride. ‘Get away from me!’ she panted. ‘Never mind how I got here—what are you doing here? I thought you a gentleman.’ She caught herself on a bitter laugh as she heard her own words. ‘Oh, silly me—they are all gentlemen out there, aren’t they? I thought you were my friend, that we shared something…’

‘You really believe I came here to buy and despoil a virgin? I don’t need to buy women, believe me.’ He was standing toe to toe with her now, the anger coming off him in waves. ‘Yes, I thought there was something between us, too. I don’t know what it was—what it is. I know it was desire—I don’t know if it was more. I would have come back to see you, I think.’ He shook his head as though arguing with himself. ‘I don’t know,’ he repeated. ‘All I know is that now you don’t trust me.’