Worth Any Price

Brooding over the alarming discovery, Nick heard his brother-in-law's deep voice beside him.

"It happens to the best of us, Sydney."

Nick turned to face Sir Ross. Uncannily, Sir Ross seemed to understand exactly what he was feeling. His gray eyes gleamed with amusement as he continued in a tone that was not unsympathetic. "No matter how strong our resolve, we eventually find ourselves enslaved by the compulsive preference for one particular woman. You've been caught, my friend. You may as well reconcile yourself to it."

Nick did not bother trying to deny it. "I was going to be so much smarter than you," he muttered.

Sir Ross grinned. "I prefer to think that intelligence has nothing to do with it. For if a man's intellect is measured by his ability to remain untouched by love, I would be the greatest idiot alive."

The wordlove made Nick flinch. "What would it take to make you shut your gob, Cannon?"

"A glass of 1805 Cossart-Gordon would probably do it," came the amiable reply. "And if I'm not mistaken, they've just brought out a case in the billiards room."

"Let's go, then," Nick said, and they strode from the ballroom together.

"Lottie Howard!" Two young women rushed over to her, and they clasped hands tightly, sharing grins of barely suppressed glee. Were it not for their strict training at Maidstone's, the three of them would have squealed in a most unladylike manner.

"Samantha," Lottie said warmly, gazing at the tall, attractive brunette who had always been like a kind older sister to her. "And Arabella!" Arabella Markenfield looked exactly the same as she had at school...pretty and a bit plump, with strawberry blond ringlets that were perfectly arranged on her porcelain forehead.

"I'm Lady Lexington now," Samantha informed her with considerable pride. "I caught an earl, no less, with a good, sound fortune." Slipping an arm around Lottie's waist, she turned her slightly. "He's standing right there, close to the conservatory doors. The tall, balding one. Do you see him?"

Lottie nodded as she caught sight of a somber-looking gentleman who appeared to be in his early forties, with large eyes that seemed slightly out of proportion to his long, narrow face. "He looks to be a very pleasant gentleman," Lottie remarked, and Samantha laughed.

"Very tactful, dear. I'll be the first to admit that the earl is not much to look at, and he has no sense of humor. However, men with a sense of humor often tend to grate on one's nerves. And he is an impeccable gentleman."

"I'm so glad," Lottie said sincerely, knowing from past conversations with Samantha that such a marriage was very much what she had desired. "And you, Arabella?"

"I married into the Seaforths last year," Arabella confided with a giggle. "You've heard of them, I'm sure...do you remember, one of the daughters was in the class ahead of us..."

"Yes," Lottie said, recalling that the Seaforths were a great untitled family with a considerable quantity of rich farming land. "Don't say you married her brother Harry?"

"Just so!" The girl's ringlets danced merrily on her forehead as she continued with great animation. "Harry is quite fine-looking, though he's grown as round as a bait-pot since our wedding. And he is ever so charming. Of course I'll never have a title, but there are compensations...my own carriage...a real French lady's maid, not one of those Cockney maids who throw out a see-voo-play or a bon-joor every once in a while!" She giggled at her own wit, and sobered enough to regard Lottie with round, curious eyes. "Dear Lottie, is it true that you are Lady Sydney now?"

"Yes." Lottie glanced in the direction of her husband, who was walking from the ballroom in the company of Sir Ross, their long legs matched at an equal pace. She felt an unexpected rush of pride at the sight of him, so virile and graceful, his bold good looks displayed to their best advantage in the elegant evening clothes.

"Handsome as the devil," Samantha commented, following her gaze. "Is he as wicked as they say, Lottie?"

"Not in the least," Lottie lied. "Lord Sydney is as mild-tempered and obliging a gentleman as could be found anywhere."

It was a case of unfortunate timing that at that moment, Nick happened to glance in her direction. His gaze encompassed her in a smoldering sweep that threatened to singe her clothing to ashes. Knowing what that look meant, and what would happen in the evening hours after the ball, Lottie felt a thrill deep inside, and she struggled to maintain her composure.

Samantha and Arabella, meanwhile, had snapped open their fans and were employing them vigorously. "Good heavens," Samantha exclaimed in a low voice, "the way he looks at you is positively indecent, Lottie."

"I don't know what you mean," Lottie said demurely, though she felt her own cheeks heating.

Arabella giggled behind her own painted silk fan. "The only time I've ever seen that expression on my Harry's face is when a plate of Yorkshire pudding is set before him."

Samantha's dark eyes were keen with interest. "I was under the impression that Lord Radnor owned you part and parcel, Lottie. How did you escape him? And where have you been these past two years? And most of all, how in heaven's name did you manage to catch a man like Nick Gentry-and is this long-lost-lord business some bit of trickery?"

"No," Lottie said instantly, "he truly is Lord Sydney."

"Did you know that he was a viscount when you married?"

"Well, no." Lottie strove to offer the simplest explanation possible. "To start with, you know that I left school to avoid marrying Lord Radnor-"

"The definitive scandal of Maidstone's," Arabella interrupted. "They still talk of it, I'm told. None of the teachers or staff could conceive that sweet, obedient Charlotte Howard would simply disappear like that."

Lottie paused in momentary embarrassment. She was far from proud of her actions-it was simply that she'd had no other choice. "To avoid being found, I changed my name and went to work as a companion to Lady Westcliff in Hampshire-"

"You worked ?" Arabella repeated in awe. "My word, how you must have suffered."

"Not unduly," Lottie replied with a wry smile. "The Westcliffs were kind, and I liked the dowager countess quite well. It was while I was in her employ that I made the acquaintance of Mr. Gentry-er, Lord Sydney. He proposed quite soon after we met, and..." She paused, an image flashing in her mind of that evening in Lord Westcliff's library, the firelight playing over Nick's face as he bent to her breast...

"And I accepted," she said hastily, feeling her face turn fiery red.

"Hmmm." Samantha smiled at Lottie's discomfiture, seeming to guess the reason behind it. "Apparently it was a memorable proposal."

"Were your parents terribly put out with you?" Arabella asked.

Lottie nodded, reflecting with sad irony that "put out" was singularly inadequate to describe her family's reaction.

Samantha's face was grave with understanding. "They won't be angry forever, dear," she said with a pragmatism that was far more comforting than sympathy would have been. "If your husband is half as wealthy as the rumors indicate, the Howards will eventually prove more than happy to claim him as a son-in-law."

The three of them conversed for a while, eagerly becoming reacquainted and making plans to call on each other soon. Lottie was unaware of time passing until she heard the orchestra begin to play a newly popular waltz called "Blossoms in the Spring," a melody that immediately inspired a host of eager couples to begin whirling through the room. Wondering if Nick would remember to dance the first waltz with her, Lottie decided to look for him at the side of the room. Excusing herself from the company of her friends, she walked along one of the first-floor galleries, which was separated from the dance floor by carved wooden railings and bowers of greenery and pink roses. A few couples were absorbed in private conversations, half-concealed by the massive flower arrangements, and Lottie averted her gaze with a slight smile as she passed them.

She was startled by a sudden touch on her arm, and she stopped with a jolt of anticipation, expecting that Nick had found her. But as she glanced down at the growing pressure on her gloved wrist, she did not see Nick's large, square hand. A set of long, almost skeletal fingers had wrapped around her wrist, and with a shock of cold horror, she heard the voice that had haunted her nightmares for years.

"Did you think you could avoid me forever, Charlotte?"

CHAPTER 12

Bracing herself, Lottie looked up into the face of Arthur, Lord Radnor. Time had wrought an astonishing difference in him, as if ten years had passed rather than two. He was unnaturally pale, his skin the color of sun-bleached bone, his dark brows and eyes standing out in jarring contrast. Harsh grooves of bitterness divided his face into angular sections.

Lottie had known the inevitability of seeing Lord Radnor someday. In the back of her mind, she had assumed that he would regard her with hatred. But what she saw in his eyes was far more alarming. Hunger. A voracity that had nothing to do with sexual desire but something far more consuming. Instinctively she understood that his longing to own her had only intensified during her absence, and that her betrayal of him had given him the deadly resolve of an executioner.

"My lord," she acknowledged, her voice steady even though her lips were trembling. "You are importunate. Release my arm, please."

Ignoring her request, Radnor pulled her into the concealment of a greenery-laded column, his fingers tightening into a bruising vise. Lottie went with him easily, determined that this ugliness from her past would not result in a scene that would mar an evening so important for her husband. Ridiculous, that she should be so afraid in a room filled with people. Radnor certainly could not, would not, harm her here. If they were alone, however, she believed that he would feel absolutely justified in wrapping those long fingers around her throat and choking the last breath from her.

His gaze sliced over her. "My God, what has he turned you into? I can smell the lust on you. Only the thinnest veneer separated you from the ill-bred provincials you came from, and now it has vanished completely."

"In that case," Lottie replied, her imprisoned hand balling into a numb fist, "you will disassociate yourself from me at once, as I'm certain you will not wish to be contaminated by my presence."

"Stupid girl," Radnor whispered, his black eyes lit with cold fire, "you cannot begin to understand what you've lost. Do you know what you would be without me?Nothing . Imade you. I lifted you from the bowels of society. I was going to turn you into a creature of grace and perfection. And instead you betrayed me and turned your back on your family."

"I did not ask for your patronage."

"All the more reason you should have knelt to me in gratitude. You owe me everything, Charlotte. Your very life."

Lottie saw that it would be pointless to debate his insane certainty. "Be that as it may," she said softly, "I belong to Lord Sydney now. You have no claim on me."

His mouth twisted in a malevolent sneer. "My claim on you goes far beyond some piddling marriage vows."

"Have you deluded yourself into thinking that you could purchase me like some bit of goods in a shop window?" she asked scornfully.

"I own your very soul," Radnor whispered, clenching her wrist until she felt the delicate bones flex, and tears of pain came to her eyes. "I purchased it at the expense of my own. I've invested more than ten years of my life in you, and I will be repaid." "How? I am another man's wife. And I feel nothing for you now-not fear, not hatred-only indifference. What can you possibly think you will recoup from me?"

Just as Lottie thought her arm would break, she heard a quiet snarl from behind her. It was Nick, moving swiftly between them. His arm descended in a blur, and whatever he did, it caused Lord Radnor to let go of her with a grunt of pain. The abrupt release sent Lottie stumbling backward, and Nick caught her hard against his chest. Automatically she turned into the crook of his arm, and she heard the deep rumble of his voice as he spoke to Lord Radnor.

"Don't come near her again, or I'll kill you." It was a quiet statement of fact.

"Insolent swine," Radnor said hoarsely.

Risking a glance at Radnor from the safety of her husband's arms, Lottie saw a grayish-purple tide sweep over his pallid face. It was clear that the sight of Nick's hands on her was more than he could bear. Nick touched the back of her neck and slid his fingers along the top of her spine, taunting the earl deliberately.

"Very well," Radnor whispered. "I leave you to your debasement, Charlotte."

"Leave," Nick said."Now."

Radnor walked away, his frame stiff with the righteous fury of a deposed monarch.

Cradling her throbbing wrist with her free hand, Lottie saw that they had drawn more than a few curious stares from people passing through the gallery. In fact, some guests in the ballroom were becoming keenly aware of the scene. "Nick-" she whispered, but he went into action before she needed to say another word.

Keeping a supportive arm around her, Nick motioned to a servant who was passing with a tray of empty glasses. "You," he said tersely. "Come here."

The dark-haired footman obeyed with haste. "Yes, my lord?"

"Tell me where I can find a private room."

The footman thought rapidly. "If you proceed along that hallway, my lord, you will come to a music room that I believe is unoccupied at present."

"Fine. Bring some brandy there. Quickly."

"Yes, my lord!"

Dazedly Lottie went with Nick as he guided her through the hallway. Chaotic thoughts filled her mind, while the elegant din of the ballroom receded behind them. Her body was charged with peculiar battle-readiness. The long-dreaded confrontation with Lord Radnor had left her ill, elated, furious, and relieved. How was it possible to feel so many things at once?

The music room was quietly lit, the outlines of a piano, harp, and several assorted music stands casting deep shadows on the wall. Nick closed the door and turned to Lottie, his broad shoulders looming over her. She had never seen his face so hard.

"I'm all right," Lottie said, and the unusually high pitch of her own voice actually drew a giggle from her throat. "Really, there's no need to look so-" She paused with another uncontainable laugh, seeing that Nick clearly thought she had taken leave of her senses. She would never be able to explain the wild sense of freedom that flooded her, after having faced her greatest fear.