Lady Allerton's Wager by Nicola Cornick Page A

drove his hands into his jacket pockets. ‘Lady Allerton, I have come to ask for the return of the deeds to Fairhaven Island,’ he said, in tones of measured dislike. ‘It seems that you have obtained them under false pretences and so our agreement, such as it was, is null and void. The wager, the gift…’ his dark gaze dwelled on her face for a moment in a look that made Beth feel curiously vulnerable ‘…everything. I do not expect to see you again or have any further debate about the ownership of the island.’
    Beth sat down weakly in the nearest chair. She raised her eyes to his face. ‘I do not understand you, my lord. You made me a free gift of the island only this morning—’
    Marcus spoke through his teeth. ‘It was a mistake. I am rescinding it.’
    The indignant colour sprung into Beth’s face. ‘But you cannot do that! There is no reason—Why, how dishonourable can you be? First to renege on the wager and then to cancel your gift—’
    Marcus came across and bent over her chair. His furious dark eyes were only inches from hers. ‘If we are talking of honour, I would like to know how a woman who lies and cheats could possibly know anything of such a quality!’ He turned away from her, his movements so full of repressed rage that Beth quailed. ‘I have heard about your plans to exploit Fairhaven for financial gain! So much for your touching protestations that you were wishing to regain your lost patrimony! And to think that I believed you—’ He stopped and ran a hand through his disordered dark hair. ‘Well, I was richly taken in, but not any more!’
    Beth got to her feet. Her eyes were wide and puzzled. ‘Truly, my lord, I do not understand—’
    Marcus spun round and caught her wrist. ‘Not understand? Do you deny that your late husband tried to buy Fairhaven because he wanted to mine gold there? Do you deny that you went to my grandfather and told him that you wished to buy the island for the same reason? Do you deny that your cousin is evennow looking for investors for such a project, now that you have tricked me out of Fairhaven—?’
    ‘Yes, I do deny it!’ Beth wrenched her wrist out of his grasp. ‘I knew nothing of Frank’s business concerns, nor do I know anything of Kit’s! I do not wish to! I want Fairhaven for all those reasons I told you, my lord, and as for telling your grandfather otherwise—’ she swallowed a sob ‘—I never said anything of the sort!’
    Her gaze searched Marcus’s face and saw the unyielding disbelief there. She could tell that she was wasting her breath. ‘It seems, however, that you have no wish to trust me,’ she finished quietly.
    Marcus moved over to the writing table. ‘I will take these with me—’
    Beth whisked across the room before he could reach for the deeds to Fairhaven, and inserted herself between Marcus and the desk, blocking his way. She put her hands behind her and leant back against the desk’s smooth surface to steady herself. Marcus looked at her for a moment, then raised an incredulous eyebrow.
    ‘So determined to keep your island, my dear? I have not forgotten exactly what it was you offered me when we made our wager! It seems you will do anything to achieve your ambition!’ His gaze swept over her with contemptuous familiarity, from the black curls piled up on her head to the kid slippers peeping from beneath the hem of her pale blue muslin gown and Beth felt as though he was stripping her naked. He moved forward until she was completely trapped with the writing table behind her and Marcus in front of her. Beth drew back as far as she could, but she felt the sharp edge of the desk digging uncomfortably into the back of her legs. A second later she forgot all about the discomfort as Marcus moved in closer, so close that Beth could feel his thigh pressing against hers through the thin muslin gown. She drew an outraged breath.
    ‘My lord, kindly let me go!’
    Marcus smiled with wicked amusement. All his anger