Hunter Of My Heart. Janet Kendall

a spare heir.

      What could she do? She glanced at Kenilworth, whose dark look didn’t invite camaraderie. A niggling thought rooted deeper. Even her grandfather couldn’t force a man like Kenilworth to do anything unless the duke had some power over him. Perhaps her instincts were right. Dark, wild and powerful emotions inhabited the earl’s soul, something primal and untamed. She could not imagine being married to the man, who didn’t want her anyway.

      Suddenly a thought came to mind. Perhaps she could turn the disaster to her advantage...and help the ead, too. “Kenilworth? May I speak to you alone?”

      

      As Hunter closed the door to the small office, he stood with his back to Miss Barrington. He grasped the knob.

      He knew now that the duke had long considered a union between him and his granddaughter. Damnation! Had Sadlerfield investigated every eligible peer? Of the lot, he must have the darkest past. Lucky him. Obviously he was the person most likely to succumb to blackmail and still meet Sadlerfield’s requirements.

      Curious, Hunter turned, but cursed himself a thousand times for even considering her innocence and welfare. She appeared to dislike a forced marriage, too, but she was still a liar. His measure of kindness made him angry with himself. When would he learn?

      “I should have had the authorities take you to jail. Neither of us would be in this fix if I had. I vow this, Miss Barrington. You’ll never make a fool of me again.”

      Straightening, she slid her palms down her skirt. “That was never my intent, milord. I only omitted a slight detail, but because I’ve used the Beaumont name for a long time.”

      He snorted. “I wonder. What else you have excluded?”

      “Nothing important to you, milord. The reason I asked to speak to you should help both of us.”

      “You’ve sparked my imagination again. What do you want, Miss Barrington? A grand affair with jewels as a wedding gift? Forget it. You’re not getting a thing from me except my name.”

      She chewed her bottom lip. “I only want one thing from you, sir. Unless you agree, I won’t marry you.”

      He narrowed his eyes. That innocent thing she did with her lips wouldn’t make a fool of him again. This announcement shouldn’t have surprised him but it did. Sadlerfield had made his position clear. Total ruination. Even if he didn’t consider his own survival, he had to think about Gavin’s life, and the lives of his workers in Barbados. Many were counting on his efforts in Parliament to help free friends and family members who toiled on other plantations.

      “We don’t have a choice.”

      “I think you agreed only because he knows something about you. I’m sorry he used such coercion. I won’t question your actions if you don’t ask me mine. My terms, sir. I will refuse to speak the vows...unless you give me a bank draft for six thousand pounds.”

      “That is a separate issue.”

      “The money or no vows.”

      He stepped closer. “You’re a scheming little wench.”

      Sabrina swallowed hard but remained rooted to the floor. “I’m sorry you feel that way. If you consider everything, I’m helping you. You’re in some kind of trouble. Without my vows, you’ll be in a real fix.”

      The determination in her eyes and the tilt of her chin told him she would do as she said. Damnation! He had no choice. “Blackmail. It must run in your family.”

      Her dainty nostrils flared. Looking away, she eyed the bookshelves. “I’m only asking what I’m due. Keep your fancy wedding. The show would only be a farce. Why give the duke such satisfaction?” Her voice quavered.

      With her back turned, he didn’t know if she experienced a spurt of anger or remorse, however, he did appreciate her low regard of the duke. “Of course, why should we?”

      Slowly she moved to the wall and fingered a book. “Will you accept my condition?”

      Hunter pulled his frock coat from his shoulder and retrieved his leather pocketbook. Walking to the desk, he found a pen and ink. After a second’s pause, he drafted a banknote. If he accomplished nothing else in his life, he vowed he would learn everything about his bride-to-be. Rage hit him in the gut. He was about to enter a loveless marriage, one that could easily resemble his parents’. The reality left a bitter taste in his mouth.

      He walked up behind her. “The money, Miss Barrington.” Turning, she pinched the banknote, but he didn’t release it.

      Panic flashed in her eyes. “Aren’t you going to give it to me?”

      “We’ve a deal. You set the boundaries, and that includes more than saying the vows.” He released the banknote.

      “What do you mean?” Folding the draft, she tucked it into her pocket and then looked up.

      “Let me refresh your memory.” Planting his hands on the books, he bracketed her.

      She moved backward, her heels clicking against the oak shelf. “What are you referring to?”

      “Baizer moi, Sabrina...for six thousand pounds.”

      Her eyes grew wide. “What? That discussion has nothing to do with this!”

      Leaning a little closer, he caught her gardenia scent. “Oh, I disagree. You’re a scheming liar. Show me you can keep your word.”

      She frowned and suddenly she tilted back her head and closed her eyes. “Kiss me then and be quick about it.”

      Lowering his mouth, he brushed his lips across hers, but her rigid posture challenged his pride. Surely he could get some reaction from her. After all, she would be his wife...a cold, stony one. This thought urged him on, and he kissed her again, this time pressing his body against hers. Suddenly her closeness and soft lips stirred his base needs. Her gardenia scent aroused all his senses more. Although he cursed himself for reacting, something inexplicable made him want to taste her sweetness again. As he deepened the kiss, she let out a mewing sound and her lips quivered beneath his. Her lips began to melt, mold against his.

      Suddenly a knock shook the door. Deliberately Hunter continued to kiss her and lifted his head long enough to bid the intruder to enter. He captured her lips again.

      “Good God! What are you doing?” the duke roared.

      Hunter raised his head, felt a small fist grind into his midriff. Giving her a cold look, he backed away. He could never let either of them know that the kiss had affected him. “Sealing our promise to wed,” he drawled.

      “Barbaric! Nonetheless, your display does not surprise me. You both come from parentage with lust in their veins.” The duke shook his head. “However, your natures will give me an heir sooner.”

      Her piercing blue eyes flashed from the duke to him as she tried to sweep past them. “I must go speak with my aunt.”

      The duke held up his hand. “You are not leaving. We must discuss your finances. I cannot have you embroiled in a scandal now. Once you wed, I will settle them for you.”

      She slid her hand into her pocket. “No need, your grace. Aren’t husbands responsible for their wives’ debts?”

      Despite her faults, her refusal revealed an admirable trait. Hunter could even admire her spirit, but he had let compassion overrule caution, an act that led to this moment. “She should come to me with no debts and a dowry.”

      Using the duke’s money for himself or her dowry wasn’t what he intended. He had plenty of his own. Instead, he could use the funds to help the Scots, and that would irk a Tory. The compensation seemed a small price for losing his freedom. He knew the man would use Hunter’s past as control, but only in private. In public, the duke would never tarnish the Barrington name.

      “Yes. On the up-and-up. Say, one hundred thousand pounds?”

      “Two