Blood Lust by Jamie Salsibury Page B

appreciate the kiss we have just shared.”
    She was amazed by her own words as she fought to catch her breath. “His grace and I have already agreed to part ways. I only wait for a suitable time to satisfy the gossips.”
    “I had hoped you would be smart enough to end it,” he replied, some of the tension drained from his well muscled shoulders.
    She had no choice but to end it. She needed money as badly as the duke did. “Why did you come tonight, William?”
    “To see you of course.” There was more to it than that. She could read it in his eyes. “It was worth it, my lady.”
    She shouldn’t of kissed him. She should regret it, however she did not. “I’ll never be a duchess now.”
    “Do you care?”
    She shook her head. “Not in the least. As a matter of fact I owe you a debt of gratitude. Marriage to the duke would have been hellish. I don’t know how I missed seeing him for who he really is.”
    “Benjamin is a man of many faces. It is not surprising you were taken in.”
    “You sound as though you know him quite well.”
    “I thought I knew him, but I was wrong. It was a costly mistake I shall not make again.”
    “How did you not think that by coming here tonight I would sound the alarm and tell him you were my abductor?”
    He smiled that devilish smile at her. “The thought had occurred to me, but I felt that knowing the truth about him would keep you silent.”
    She had thought of him, endlessly. It had not made the least bit of difference. She had to marry for money, she had to find a man who could save her family from ruin.
    She loathed to admit it, but William and she traveled the very same road, in truth they were not so very different.
    “I have to go in,” she said, wishing she didn’t have to. “Will I see you again?”
    He shook his head. “I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be the sensible thing to do. I should not have come.”
    She reached up and touched his cheek. “I am glad you came tonight.” She thought for a moment he would kiss her again, but he did not.
    “Good-bye, my lady.”
    “Good-bye William. Take care of yourself.” He turned away from her and she watched him disappear over the terrace and into the darkness of the garden. In seconds he was gone and Katherine felt suddenly empty. She fought to keep back the tears. It was wrong to feel this way, such a powerful attraction to a man she hardly knew. His kisses and the memory of him haunted her until a chill overtook her and forced her back inside the house. Even then she could not forget him.
    The costume ball was endless. Katherine laughed and smiled and spoke affectionately of Benjamin to his guests, while feeling out of sorts, wondering the real reason William had come.
    No answers came to her. The man called William was a figment of her imagination. She could hire someone perhaps to find out who he really was, but her funds were dangerously low and it didn’t really matter. He had no place in her life. He couldn’t save her, she had to find a man who would.
    The hour grew late and she searched for her brother, but found he had already gone up to bed. Tired, but still on edge, she wandered through the marble corridors of Sussex Manor, leaving the guests behind, pausing to view one of the elegant rooms, enjoying the beauty of her surroundings.
    “Beg pardon, my lady.” The gray-haired butler stood in the doorway. “I’m sorry to disturb you. I saw you walking this way and thought perhaps you might have gotten lost.”
    She smiled at his concern. “Thank you. I am a bit disoriented. I had to intention in walking in this direction. However, I have been enjoying myself.”
    He smiled at her, turned and pointed to one of the portraits. “This is the second duke, my lady, his grace’s grandfather.”
    “And this imposing man?” She pointed toward the silver-haired man in one of the portraits. “That was the duke’s father?”
    “Yes, my lady.”
    “The present duke is the old duke’s second son. His