not deplorable,” she retorted. “If you think that I would write a line about you again, you are sadly mistaken.” She added, “Besides, I don’t write poetry anymore.”
With a violent shove, Vander pushed aside the chair that stood between them and took a step toward her.
“Stay there!” she cried. “If you—if you try to hurt me in any way, I shall shoot you!”
That caught his attention and he gave a rough bark of laughter. She hated that his face still affected her, even knowing how arrogant he was. It was just that he was very beautiful, with his tousled hair and deep bottom lip.
“Allow me to tell you something important, Duchess. My wife lives with me.”
“No.” She managed to make the word firm but polite.
“No?”
You’d think no one had ever refused him in his life.
“No,” she echoed, feeling like a parrot. “No, Your Grace, I will not live with you, dine with you—or sleep with you, even for four nights.”
Chapter Ten
NOTES ON F REDERIC
~ Flora wakes knowing her heart is in Frederic’s keeping, he of the angelic eyes and . . . something.
~ “I will love none other than him he,” she announces to Mr. Mortimer’s solicitor.
~ His request she give up her bequest appeals to Flora’s sacrificial side. “Filthy dross means aught to me; I would live in a Hovel with my beloved.”
~ Mortimer’s solicitor notes Frederic has palazzo in Italy. (would that make his name Frederico?) Frederic has palazzo somewhere in Bavaria. Or a castle? Ugh.
Frederic draws her into his arms, kisses her passionately. Flora feels her head swim (‘Flora feels’?), and her slender body sways in his, overcome by the Force of Pure Sentiment. Recalled to herself by a whisper from an Angel on High (her dead mother), her slender delicate hand strikes his cheek. “How dare you forget yourself, Count! My Circumstances have been difficult but my Soul is that of a lady!”
V ander was in the grip of shock. No one—not even Thorn—gainsaid him. Not that he issued orders to Thorn.
But where he did command, he was used to unquestioning obedience.
He was a duke .
His wife didn’t seem to appreciate what that meant. Every inch of Mia’s small body was rigid with defiance. A sense of profound surprise rocked Vander to the core. For once, it seemed he truly had made a mistake. That he had both underestimated and misunderstood his opponent.
“Why in the hell did you want a temporary marriage?” he demanded. “If you are so infatuated with me, why didn’t you bid for more time?”
“You truly believe that I would blackmail you into making me your wife because I was still in love with you—after over ten years in which I hadn’t even seen your face?”
Vander’s eyes narrowed and his body stiffened. Put that way, his assumption had indeed been illogical.
Mia’s voice took on a distinctly derisive edge. “And the ‘four nights’ proviso? I suppose that was meant to corral my adulation. Did you come up with that, or was it your solicitor’s addition?”
“Mine,” he bit out.
“My father thought a great deal of himself, but I don’t think even he believed himself quite as irresistible as you apparently do!”
Vander cursed, more or less under his breath. “It seems I misunderstood the motive behind your marriage proposal,” he said.
The mockery in her eyes vanished. “It wasn’t a proposal,” she admitted. “I blackmailed you into marriage, which is an ugly business. I would never have done it if I hadn’t been desperate. No decent woman would have.” One side of her mouth quirked up. “Even so, I must confess myself surprised by the arrogance of your thinking I would commit a felony in order to buy myself four nights in your bed!”
A moment of silence in the room made the air sizzle.
Vander drew a hand through his hair and said, “I must be losing my bleeding mind. None of this makes sense.
With a violent shove, Vander pushed aside the chair that stood between them and took a step toward her.
“Stay there!” she cried. “If you—if you try to hurt me in any way, I shall shoot you!”
That caught his attention and he gave a rough bark of laughter. She hated that his face still affected her, even knowing how arrogant he was. It was just that he was very beautiful, with his tousled hair and deep bottom lip.
“Allow me to tell you something important, Duchess. My wife lives with me.”
“No.” She managed to make the word firm but polite.
“No?”
You’d think no one had ever refused him in his life.
“No,” she echoed, feeling like a parrot. “No, Your Grace, I will not live with you, dine with you—or sleep with you, even for four nights.”
Chapter Ten
NOTES ON F REDERIC
~ Flora wakes knowing her heart is in Frederic’s keeping, he of the angelic eyes and . . . something.
~ “I will love none other than him he,” she announces to Mr. Mortimer’s solicitor.
~ His request she give up her bequest appeals to Flora’s sacrificial side. “Filthy dross means aught to me; I would live in a Hovel with my beloved.”
~ Mortimer’s solicitor notes Frederic has palazzo in Italy. (would that make his name Frederico?) Frederic has palazzo somewhere in Bavaria. Or a castle? Ugh.
Frederic draws her into his arms, kisses her passionately. Flora feels her head swim (‘Flora feels’?), and her slender body sways in his, overcome by the Force of Pure Sentiment. Recalled to herself by a whisper from an Angel on High (her dead mother), her slender delicate hand strikes his cheek. “How dare you forget yourself, Count! My Circumstances have been difficult but my Soul is that of a lady!”
V ander was in the grip of shock. No one—not even Thorn—gainsaid him. Not that he issued orders to Thorn.
But where he did command, he was used to unquestioning obedience.
He was a duke .
His wife didn’t seem to appreciate what that meant. Every inch of Mia’s small body was rigid with defiance. A sense of profound surprise rocked Vander to the core. For once, it seemed he truly had made a mistake. That he had both underestimated and misunderstood his opponent.
“Why in the hell did you want a temporary marriage?” he demanded. “If you are so infatuated with me, why didn’t you bid for more time?”
“You truly believe that I would blackmail you into making me your wife because I was still in love with you—after over ten years in which I hadn’t even seen your face?”
Vander’s eyes narrowed and his body stiffened. Put that way, his assumption had indeed been illogical.
Mia’s voice took on a distinctly derisive edge. “And the ‘four nights’ proviso? I suppose that was meant to corral my adulation. Did you come up with that, or was it your solicitor’s addition?”
“Mine,” he bit out.
“My father thought a great deal of himself, but I don’t think even he believed himself quite as irresistible as you apparently do!”
Vander cursed, more or less under his breath. “It seems I misunderstood the motive behind your marriage proposal,” he said.
The mockery in her eyes vanished. “It wasn’t a proposal,” she admitted. “I blackmailed you into marriage, which is an ugly business. I would never have done it if I hadn’t been desperate. No decent woman would have.” One side of her mouth quirked up. “Even so, I must confess myself surprised by the arrogance of your thinking I would commit a felony in order to buy myself four nights in your bed!”
A moment of silence in the room made the air sizzle.
Vander drew a hand through his hair and said, “I must be losing my bleeding mind. None of this makes sense.
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