“My stepfather intends to take me to his hunting lodge so he…he can…have his way with me.”
“Have his way with you?”
“He intends to rape me,” she hissed. “There, are you satisfied?”
“Christ, Brianna,” he rasped, shocked to the very depths of his being. “What the hell makes you think such a thing?”
“Because he attempted to force his way into my bed three months ago.” Her voice was wooden, but Edmond was not fooled by the lack of emotion. She was so on edge, he knew she was a breath away from shattering.
“I warned him that I would contact Stefan and reveal the treachery if he so much as touched me. I thought the threat would be enough, but two weeks ago he informed me that he had purchased a new hunting lodge in Norfolk and that he intended to take me there. He also made it clear that any servants he hired would be completely loyal to him. So loyal that they would turn a blind eye if Thomas chose to keep me locked in my chambers.”
With a hiss, Edmond surged off the bed, a fury trembling through his body. The rotten, sick bastard.
“Why haven’t you contacted Stefan before now?” he snapped.
Keeping her wary gaze on him, Brianna slipped off the bed and wrapped her arms around her waist; the bodice of her gown disarranged to reveal a far too tempting glimpse of her creamy breasts.
“I sent a letter the moment that I learned of Thomas’s plan to leave London, but Stefan did not respond. After I learned that he had arrived in the city, I had hoped that he had come to assist me.” Her tone was accusing. She clearly held him to blame for Stefan’s absence. “Of course he never came to call, so I sent near a dozen messages to the town house. I even had my maid deliver a letter—only to be turned away by a huge brute of a man who would not so much as allow her across the threshold.”
“I did not hire Boris for his talents in proper London etiquette,” he said dryly.
Her eyes flashed, her beautiful hair tumbled about her shoulders. “Well, because of Boris, I was forced to attend this hideous ball in the hopes of speaking with Stefan. And now you have ruined even that.”
Edmond was not a gentleman who was chastised by others. Not even Alexander Pavlovich would dare offer more than a mild reproof. And yet, this tiny scrap of a woman stood there and boldly dressed him down, as if he were no more than a disobedient child.
Astonishingly, however, it was not resentment, but fascination that flowed through him.
Brianna Quinn had the sort of spirit that was all too rare among well-bred females. For God’s sake, any other woman would have been mindless with fear, or at the very least hysterical, after being threatened with rape by her stepfather. Brianna instead had boldly set upon a course to save herself, even daring to attend the most notorious ball in all of London.
“I will contact Stefan to ensure he knows of your troubles,” he promised, not bothering to inform her that he intended to deal with Thomas Wade in his own straightforward, if covert, fashion. “Until then you will stay with a friend. You must know someone in London.”
Her lips thinned at his sharp command. “I know several people in London, but none are in a position to prevent Thomas from taking me away. Only Stefan…”
Edmond frowned as her words came to an abrupt halt, her eyes narrowing as if she had been struck with a brilliant notion.
“Only Stefan, what?” he demanded, impatient to return to the ball and Howard Summerville now that he had solved the mystery of Brianna Quinn.
“Only Stefan can protect me.” Her chin tilted as a thin, determined smile curved those tempting lips. “And that is precisely what he is going to do.”
“I am certain he will, once he discovers your…”
“No, I cannot wait for Stefan to rush to the rescue. You are already here, after all, pretending to be Stefan. There is no reason I cannot move into the town house. Tonight.”
CHAPTER FOUR
EDMOND’S FEATURES TIGHTENED, his admiration for Brianna’s courage being replaced by a dark, seething anger.
Did the woman think he was sweet, tender-hearted Stefan who could be manipulated by every pathetic waif who crossed his path?
Or did she believe his unmistakable lust for her delectable body gave her power over him?
“I can only presume that is some sort of jest.” His voice was low and cutting as he stepped to loom over her in a threatening manner.
Her breath rasped loudly in the still air, but she refused to back away.
“Not in the least. All of London believes that the Duke of Huntley is currently residing in his town house. Why would he not invite his ward to come and stay with him?”
“Not even a ward can stay alone in the home of a bachelor. You would be ruined.”
“Not if you hire a companion,” she retorted stubbornly.
He gave a sharp bark of laughter. “So now I am not only to have my privacy invaded by a pesky, unwanted ward, but also a middle-aged dragon?” he taunted. “You truly have lost your wits if you think I would consider such a ridiculous notion for even a moment.”
She hissed in frustration. “You would rather allow me to be hauled off by my stepfather and raped?”
Edmond ignored the tide of black contempt. Thomas Wade would soon be no more than a forgotten corpse. For now, Edmond was much more concerned with this aggravating minx standing before him.
“I assure you that the matter will be dealt with.”
“Forgive me if I do not entirely trust such an ambiguous promise,” she retorted, her expression bitter.
“It will have to do.”
She remained silent for a brief moment, as if waging some inward struggle. Then, drawing in a deep breath, she met his glittering gaze squarely.
“No, it will not have to do.” Her voice wavered before she gathered her nerve and continued. “You seem to forget that I have a means of compelling you to take me into the town house.”
Edmond stilled, his predatory nature coiled and prepared to strike as he sensed danger. Reaching out, he grasped her shoulders, hauling her close enough that he was wrapped in warm lavender.
“Take care, Brianna, I do not respond well to blackmail.”
She swallowed heavily, but she was wise enough not to struggle against his biting grip.
“You have left me no choice,” she gritted. “Either you agree to take me in as your ward, or I will return to the ballroom and inform one and all that you are not Stefan.”
Edmond had been a powerful force in politics for the past eight years. He had intimidated, seduced, and at times deceived others into obeying his will.
Now this little wisp of a girl thought to bully him?
His fingers tightened. “You are a fool to threaten me, ma souris.”
“Not a fool, only desperate. I will not remain another night under the roof of my stepfather.”
With a jerk, he had her pressed against the door, his body leaning heavily into her slender form with an unmistakable warning.
“You believe you are any safer under my roof?” His voice deepened as that growingly familiar heat flowed through his blood. Brianna Quinn might be a stubborn, unruly wench, but she stirred his passions to a fever pitch. To have her sleeping just a few doors away would bring a certain end to her innocence. “I am not the oh-so-honorable Stefan. I do not rescue damsels in distress without expecting some sort of reward.”
She trembled, but not with fear. She might be a virgin, but she was vibrantly aware of the