Rule's Bride. Kat Martin

can’t just…”

      “Yes, we can. Come along, sweet wife. Let us collect your cousin. It is past time we went home.”

      Violet swallowed, but she didn’t argue. She had mistakenly thought she would be safe from Rule at a very large, well-attended ball.

      She had just discovered there was no place she was safe from Rule Dewar.

      Violet lay on the mattress staring up at the ice-blue canopy above her head. Guilt rested like a heavy weight on her chest. She shouldn’t have been kissing Rule. She was going to marry Jeffrey. She shouldn’t have responded the way she did.

      Dear God, why had she agreed to Rule’s ridiculous arrangement in the first place?

      But, of course, at the time it had seemed the best solution, the easiest way out of the marriage. No attorneys, no scandal, just a quiet annulment to which Rule had promised to agree.

      She sighed into the quiet of the room, trying not to remember tonight’s kiss, the incredible sensations that had burned through her body. Surely it was merely a physical response. If Jeffrey kissed her that way, she would feel exactly the same.

      A sound reached her from the hallway outside her bedroom. She jerked upright at the squeak of the silver doorknob turning. Surely Rule wouldn’t—

      She relaxed as Caroline slipped into the bedroom and told herself she didn’t feel a flicker of disappointment.

      “We didn’t get to talk after the ball,” Caroline said, plopping down on the edge of the mattress in her nightgown and pink silk wrapper. Low flames curled over the grate in the hearth, banishing the chill and lighting the room with a soft yellow glow. “Wasn’t it simply magnificent?”

      Violet scooted back, propping herself up against the headboard. “I suppose it was.”

      “You suppose? Good heavens, I had a marvelous time. I danced until my slippers were nearly worn out.”

      “You weren’t the one having to pretend to be something you are not.”

      “Like a wife, you mean?”

      “Like Rule’s blissful bride.”

      Caroline wound a lock of long blond hair around the tip of her finger. “I think his family liked you. I don’t suppose that truly matters, but still…”

      “I wanted them to like me. They are very nice people.”

      Caroline eyed her with suspicion. “You aren’t thinking you might stay married?”

      “Of course not.” She examined a fold in the satin counterpane. “Rule had a mistress. Did you hear?”

      Caroline sighed. “I heard the gossip. Everyone was buzzing about it. She was there, you know.”

      “I saw them together. Rule says the affair is over, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t intend to replace her with someone else. Most married men think nothing of keeping a mistress.”

      “You are better off with Jeffrey.”

      “I know.”

      “Did you meet anyone interesting?” Caroline asked.

      “Actually, I did. A potential buyer for the company. A man named Burton Stanfield. Apparently he made an offer but Rule turned it down.”

      “Did you ask him why?”

      “Not yet, but I intend to. Of course, he couldn’t have accepted without my approval even if he had wished.”

      “Maybe he doesn’t want to sell. Maybe he likes running the company.”

      “Once the marriage is annulled, I become sole owner of Griffin and I can do whatever I want. I don’t want to make weapons that could be used in a war to kill my family and friends.”

      “It’s going to come to that, isn’t it? We’re going to have some sort of revolution?”

      “Yes, I feel certain we are. At any rate, Rule has done a good job thus far and I’d like to know his thoughts on Stanfield as a buyer. At the same time, I don’t want to alert him to the fact I intend to sell. I’ll have to tread carefully.”

      Caroline grinned. “You can do it. You are good at getting what you want.”

      It was true, though lately, where Rule was concerned she felt greatly out of her element.

      “I met someone interesting tonight, myself,” Caroline said.

      Violet’s interest sharpened. “Did you? Who was it?”

      “He is a friend of your…of Rule’s. His name is Lucas Barclay.”

      “Good grief, you can’t be serious. People were talking nearly as much about him as they were about Rule. The man is notorious.”

      In the firelight, Violet caught her cousin’s smile. “Luke is a marvelous dancer and unbelievably handsome.” She grinned. “And I’ve never been one to listen to gossip.”

      “Luke? You call him Luke? You had better be careful, cousin. What would your grandmother say if she knew you were spending time with a rogue like Barclay?”

      “It was only a dance, Vi. And speaking of my grandmother…I have put off my visit for as long as I dare. Grandmother will begin to worry. I am going to see her tomorrow. She’ll want to meet you. Will you go with me?”

      “Of course I will.”

      “She’s expecting me to stay for at least the next few weeks.”

      Violet nodded. “I know you have obligations. But I shall miss you terribly.”

      “It won’t be all that bad. Grandmother lives here in London. We’ll be able to see each other often.”

      But Violet would be alone in the house with Rule. She didn’t trust him.

      More importantly, she wasn’t sure she could trust herself.