Bonds of Matrimony (17 page)

           
“What
can I do for you this fine afternoon?”

           
Her
voice had come out too quietly, but judging by the expression on his face, he had
heard her well enough.
 
“You can
call off our engagement.”

           
His
eyes had darkened, and the muscles of his jaw had clenched.
 
“We discussed this once.
 
I think that I’ve made myself clear on
the topic.
 
Besides, you hardly
have any more appealing options.”

           
“Why
are you so insistent on this marriage?” she had asked desperately.

           
He
had sneered at her with evident disgust.
 
“Because no one else will have you.
 
You should be on your knees thanking me for agreeing to this
arrangement.”
 

           
She
had recognized his intent.
 
She had
overheard him once saying that he would break her like a wild stallion.
 
Clearly this was the beginning of his
assault on her spirit.
 
“That is
undeniably true,” she had admitted, refusing to accept insult from him.
 
“How unfortunate for you, Mr. Stockton,
to be saddled with the likes of me.”

           
She
had been baiting him.
 
She had
recently received some knowledge of his precise motivation for a marriage
contract with her father.
 
He had
taken the bait.

           
“It
will be my pleasure to announce our nuptials tomorrow.”

           
Chase
had removed her gloves and clenched them in her hands, gathering strength to
say what she had come to say.
 
“If
you are determined to publicly announce our engagement at the dance tomorrow,
then I will be forced to make an equally public announcement of my own, Mr.
Stockton.
 
It has come to my
attention that you have done an admirable job of accumulating a great number of
debts to any number of gentlemen.
 
I am perfectly aware of your reasons for approaching my father with your
ridiculous declarations of love for me.
 
And if I need to, I will make all of the ton aware of your reasons, as
well.”

           
“Who
told you these ridiculous lies?” he had spat out angrily.

           
“It
is of no consequence.
 
We both know
that they aren’t lies.
 
And
certainly, many others at the dance tomorrow evening will be able to attest to
the truth.”

           
He
had lunged for her then with a curse, trapping her body between his and the
gigantic shelves of books.
 
His
hands had circled her neck and tightened.
 
Terrified, she had struggled for air without success.
 
Grateful that she had removed her
gloves, Chase used her fingernails to scratch at his face, in hopes that he
would release her.
 
Her vision
began to darken, and she fought to remain conscious.
 
And when he suddenly released her neck, she gasped for
air.
 
His hands moved roughly over
the front of her blouse.
 
As he
squeezed her breasts painfully, she cried out; and he hushed her voice by
putting his mouth over her own.
 
His tongue pushed into her mouth, again cutting off her air supply.
 
He tasted of stale cigars and
whiskey.
 

           
As
suddenly as it started, it had ended.
 
He had abruptly pulled away from her and stepped back, looking at her
with disdain.
 
“Lady Chastity?” he had
sneered.
 
“Perhaps another name would
have been more appropriate,” he had laughed.
 
“I will ruin you if you tell anyone any of what has happened
here today.
 
You know nothing about
me.
 
And if you breathe a word of
what you’ve learned, I will make damned sure that you and your sister die
lonely spinsters.”

           
Despite
the terror, the thought of dying an unwed woman had brought a small smile to her
lips.
 
“I would consider it an
honor to die a lonely spinster, Mr. Stockton,” she had replied.
 
“Certainly it is preferable to the
alternative,” she had finished with a nod in his direction.

           
His
eyes had flashed again.
 
He had grabbed
her arm and pulled her away from the shelves.
 
He had dragged her toward the door, as though he was going
to shove her out of his library.
 
And then he seemed to have second thoughts.
 
He had stopped suddenly and shoved her, forcing her to trip
and fall to the ground.
 
He was on her
in an instant, reaching for the hem of her skirt and rubbing his vile hands up
to her knee.
 
“When I’m through
with you, bitch, no one will dare touch you,” he growled in her ear.

           
He
had sat back on his heels and forced her legs apart, shoving her back down when
she had attempted to fight back.
 
And then he had turned abruptly toward the library door as it
opened.
 
A large man with Jett
Stockton’s coloring had towered in the doorway.

           
“Get
off of her,” he had ordered.

           
She
was left to push herself to her feet, as neither Jett Stockton nor his father had
offered to help her.
 
She had
backed quickly away from the son, while the father had studied both of them
with disgust.
 
Without another
word, he had lowered himself into the chair behind the desk and turned his
attention to the papers on the desk.
 
Jett had roughly gripped her upper arm and pulled her out of the
library.

           
Outside
the closed door, he had whispered, “Not a word of this.
 
Or you will sorely regret it.”

           
Every
encounter with the Texan until today had only intensified her attraction to
him.
 
After his kiss last night, she
had been living in a world of perpetual arousal.
 
But when he tried to order her around and control her with
threats, ice ran through her body.
 
She shivered and pushed at the damp curls that clung to the sides of her
face.

           
The
quality she had most admired about Colton Webb was his sincerity and
masculinity.
 
He wasn’t at all
prissy, like the men she had met in London.
 
And until today, he hadn’t been the power-hungry rogue that
Mr. Stockton and Lord Booth were.
 
But he had proven her wrong.
 
He was no better than the rest.

           
And
with that realization, she felt more alone than she ever had before.

           
She
sighed heavily and turned away from the dining car.
 
She was in no mood to confront her family.
 
She wanted to be alone.
 
She found an empty seat in the car
between Colton Webb and her family.
 
She moved close to the window and put her face against the glass.
 
She closed her eyes for a moment, but
opened them again when she was bombarded with visual memories of Jett Stockton
attacking her.
 
Instead of
revisiting that nightmare, she gazed out across the land of her new country.

***

           
She
didn’t know how long she had been sitting alone in that car, but the sky was
darkening, and her family had wandered past without noticing her a few minutes
before.
 
She was startled when a
man’s voice interrupted her daydreams.

           
“Is
this seat taken?” he asked politely.

           
She
turned from the window to study the man.
 
He was tall and slender with a tidy suit and a full blond mustache.
 
His eyes were a watery blue, made to
appear even more so in contrast with his bulbous ruddy nose.

           
“It
isn’t,” she answered firmly, “but I’d prefer to be alone for a bit.”
 
She offered a smile to soften her
bluntness.
 

           
He
nodded and began to walk away.
 
“Perhaps you might be interested in company shortly,” he suggested,
stopping and turning back to her.

           
“If
I am, I will surely go rejoin my family.
 
Thank you.”

           
Before
he could answer, Webb was standing in front of him looking ferocious.
 
“Find another seat,” he ordered
gruffly.
 
“This one is taken.”

           
The
man nodded and moved to the back of the car.
 
Webb fell into the seat beside her.
 
She drew closer to the window in an
effort to create more distance between them.
 
He noticed her movement and frowned at her.

           
“Cochrane,
just two hours ago, I had to practically beg you to get away from me.
 
Now you’re acting like I am carrying
the plague.
 
I apologize for what I
said.
 
I know that was rude and
disrespectful.
 
You are a lady and
deserve to be treated as such.
 
I
was just…”
 
he trailed off.
 
“There’s no excuse for my behavior.”

           
“No,
there isn’t,” she snapped in agreement.

           
“After
that kiss last night—” he began.

           
Chase
interrupted him, not wanting to relive the pleasure he had made her feel.
 
Not now, now that she knew that he was
as controlling as every other man she’d known.
 
“I don’t care to discuss that.
 
As a matter of fact, we really don’t have anything at all to
discuss.”

           
He
looked into her eyes and appeared to be genuine.
 
“I am sorry.
 
Lord, you’re beautiful as hell.
 
I just wanted you to go to the dining car because I look at
you and want what I cannot have.
 
I
want you.
 
And I tried to tell you
to go, but you were being stubborn, and—”

           
Through
gritted teeth, she asked, “You’re blaming
me
for your behavior?”

           
“No.
 
Of course not.
 
I’m just trying to make you
understand.
 
I would never actually
threaten you.”

           
“Well
of course not,” she replied with as much sarcasm as she could frost onto her
tone.
 
“Nevermind that you did
exactly that.
 
I thought you were
different from the men in my life who threaten and try to control my every
movement and thought.
 
Apparently
not.”

           
He
looked offended at first, but then his shoulders fell, and he looked to the
front of the car instead of at her.
 
“I’m not like that.
 
I was
just frustrated.
 
I will leave you
alone to be with your family, and I will stay away from you.”

           
She
pursed her lips angrily and nodded.
 
After realizing that he still wasn’t looking at her, Chase gave him a
curt verbal response.
 
“Fine.”

           
“And
for the record, Lady Chastity, when your family came back from the dining car
without you and expected to find you with me, well, you gave us all a bit of a
scare,” he informed her gently.
 
“I
think we would all feel better if you came back to join us.”

           
She
turned her eyes toward the darkened window and saw only their reflections.
 
“I don’t give a damn about making you
feel better, Webb,” she answered equally gently.

           
Startled,
his reflection turned to hers.
 
“I
suppose not,” he answered with a hint of his old grin.
 
“But it might do your grandmother’s
heart good to have you sitting with her again.”

           
“Get
the hell out of my way, and I
will
go
back.
 
But I don’t want to hear
your voice for the rest of the evening.”