A Certain Wolfish Charm (7 page)

   Blackmoor shook his head. "No, no. I'm certain the boy will do fine at Westfield Hall. What I meant to say, Lily, is that I greatly appreciate all you've done for Oliver. Daniel wasn't just my cousin. He was my closest friend. I should have been more involved with his son before now."

   An uneasy feeling washed over Lily, and she leaned forward, not wanting to misconstrue what he was saying.

   "In any event, I feel I owe you for your time and dedication to the boy. You say you haven't got a dowry, and… Well, I'd be happy to supply you with one. You've certainly earned it—"

   Lily leapt off the bed, and he stopped in his tracks. "How dare you?" she fumed, stalking toward him. He was large and intimidating, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. "Emma was my sister, and I've raised that boy. He's like a son to me. You can't take him from me. I won't let you."

   Blackmoor stepped backward, surprise in his grey eyes. "If you'll just listen to reason—"

   "Do you think I'm looking for compensation? Do you think I've been caring for him in hopes that you'd offer me a dowry? Do you honestly think I can be bought, Your Grace? I love that child, and I wouldn't take one farthing from you."

   His face contorted to a dark scowl, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "There are things you don't understand, Miss Rutledge. Things you don't
want
to understand. Now allow me to help you, and—"

   Before she even knew what she was doing, Lily raised her hand, pulled it back, and slapped him across his stubbly cheek. The sound reverberated around the room.

   Oh, the man had a hard head. But he accepted the blow with dignity, as a man of his station would be expected to do. He barely turned his face. But his nostrils moved in and out as he breathed heavily through his nose.

   Then he stepped toward her.

   She took one step back.

   He stepped closer, his eyes dark and brooding.

   Lily found herself out of room to maneuver when her legs hit the side of the bed. But she refused to be cowed. Not by this man or any other. She lifted one pointed finger and poked it into his chest. Then poked it again. He didn't take his eyes from her face.

   "You will not take him from me. You simply can't," she said as a lone tear escaped and ran down her cheek, her voice cracking despite her intention to show bravery.

   "Would that I could leave him with you, Miss Rutledge," he murmured softly, wiping the tear from her face with the pad of his thumb. "I have not set out to hurt you, despite the fact that it's the unfortunate outcome. I wish that I could take it all away."

   "By taking Oliver from me?" she asked. "You're taking away my
life
." She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and tried to shake the nearly unmovable man. All she succeeded in doing was tugging his clothing, like a silly child.

   The duke took her hands in his, lifted them to his mouth, kissed her bare knuckles, and stepped away from her. He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Lily could do no more than drop to the bed, lower her face to her hands, and sob.

Simon sank into a seat in the back of the taproom. Thunder rumbled in the distance, matching his mood. When he'd offered Lily a dowry, he'd truly meant to help her. She'd said she was on the shelf because of her lack of a dowry. Though he couldn't imagine any man not wanting her, even if she was penniless. So, he'd offered to do away with that obstacle, making it easier for her to find a husband to love. Someone decent.

   He'd never expected her to become so angry. Or to cry. It had nearly wrenched his heart out when that tear had fallen onto her fair skin.

   He was taking Oliver for her own good, so she wouldn't be in danger from a pup who hadn't learned to control his basic instincts. No matter how much Oliver might love her, he needed someone to guide him through these changes. And that someone was him.

   He had to push Lily Rutledge far, far away from him. From both of them. If that mean marrying her off, so be it. Though the image of her smiling at someone else, kissing someone else, holding someone else made his stomach tighten.

   "You look like a storm cloud," Will said and then plopped himself down in a seat across from Simon.

   "I'm in no mood to converse with you, Will." He was in no mood to converse with anyone.

   Will leaned back in his chair, studying his older brother. "No, apparently you're simply in the mood to bark at young ladies. Congratulations on that, by the way. Splendid performance. You were perfectly ruthless."

   "I was no such thing," he mumbled.

   "My room is next to Lily's. It's not as if the walls are thicker than parchment in this place."

   Simon closed his eyes, hoping his brother would get tired of pestering him and leave him in peace.

   "You can't honestly want to marry her off," Will said quietly.

   Simon took a deep breath, rose from his seat, and glowered at his interfering brother. "Go pester someone else."

   "You're making a mistake, Simon."

   "It's mine to make then, isn't it?" But he wasn't making a mistake. He was doing the right thing, hard as it was. What did Will want from him? "Now go find someone who actually enjoys your company."

Simon didn't know what was worse, his intense attraction to Lily Rutledge and his inability to act on it, or having her hate him so much. Her feelings about him emanated from her body in great waves as they rode back to Westfield Hall. The blasted rain continued to pour, so he was unable to ride outside the coach. Not that he would if he could, not when Will was so solidly ensconced in the seat beside her.

   As they'd left the inn, Lily had grabbed hold of Will's arm, talking animatedly with him. She smiled at Will. She laughed with Will. Yet she continued to ignore Simon. It was as though he no longer existed.

   Simon's mood darkened more and more as they rode toward Westfield Hall. Not only did Lily talk to Will, she touched him. She reached out to his brother, pressing her fingers to his arm when she wanted to make a point. The tinkling sound of her laughter was painful to his ears.

   To make it even worse, Will ignored him as well. All of his attention was centered on Lily.
Go find someone
who actually enjoys your company
. He could kick himself for saying those words to his brother. Not once did Will look at him and grin. Or tease him unmercifully. Or take his eyes off Lily's delectable form.

   When Simon finally got Will alone, he would box his ears. He might not even wait to get him alone. He might have to attack him and rip him limb from limb in the coach. He wondered if he would get blood on Lily if he chose to kill his brother in such close quarters. She probably wouldn't enjoy the sight.

   Simon was relieved to find that being around her during the day was getting easier and easier, despite the coming of the full moon. That first day, he'd been ready to take her, even in the broad light of day. But yesterday, when he'd kissed her, he'd been in control of the beast.

   Simon could not have been more relieved when the coach finally stopped. Jenkins opened the door, and Simon stepped out, turning to raise a hand to Miss Rutledge. She ignored it and took the driver's offered hand instead. He fought back a groan of displeasure.

   "Welcome home, Your Grace," Billings said as he stepped through the threshold. Simon didn't even respond as he turned toward his study, anxious to get as far as he could from Lily Rutledge as quickly as possible.

   "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Lily said sweetly, smiling at Will.

   He used one crooked finger to tip her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. His blue eyes, so unlike the duke's, sparkled with mirth. "You know exactly what I mean," he chuckled. "You would do him a better service if you had him strung between two horses and pulled limb from limb. Poor fellow."

   Lily sighed. That suggestion had merit. It would certainly make her feel better, easing some of the ache around her heart.

   "Careful how you play him, Lily," Will warned quietly, his gaze penetrating hers. "It may not be a game you enjoy."

   "What am I going to do, Will?" she asked. "I can't just let him take my life from me without even asking my opinion or giving me a choice in the matter. He wants to
marry me off
, for heaven's sake!" She nearly shrieked the last but quieted her voice when Will glanced toward the duke's study.

   "Lily, there are some things you don't understand," Will sighed.

   "Then explain them to me! Please!
You
don't understand. I…" She stopped when he took her shoulders in his hands.

   "The next card is Simon's to play, dear. You laid down the first card. Now it's time to see if he picks it up." He flicked her nose before passing his hat to the butler.

   "Billings, can you be sure Miss Rutledge is comfortable, while we wait for the Earl of Maberley to arrive?"

   "Yes, my lord." Billings simply nodded.

   "I'll leave you to it, then. There's some whisky in Simon's study that needs to be tested. For quality, you know," he added. Then he winked at her and walked away.

Simon was already absorbed in the ledgers Billings had left for him to check. He needed something to focus on besides the pain in his chest, to keep him from foolishly searching out Lily and begging for forgiveness.

   He dropped his head into his hands, wondering how in the world he was going to handle his present situation.

   "You won't find redemption for your latest sins in that book, Simon." Will broke him from his reverie.

   Without speaking or even looking up, Simon tossed the open ledger at Will's head. His aim was deadly, but the man was agile and fast enough to duck before it could strike him.

   Undaunted, Will poured himself a glass of Simon's best whisky from a sideboard and took the chair across from him. He dangled one leg over the arm of the chair in a supremely relaxed male pose.

   "So, what are you planning?" Will asked congenially. "And how long will you torture yourself before you give in and take Lily to bed? The full moon is nearly upon us, yet you have her secured here at Westfield Hall, right in the path of danger."

   "I
know
!" Simon roared, standing up so fast that his chair toppled over behind him. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, hoping to push back some of the confusion that wracked his brain.

   Will took a deep breath. "You know, Simon," he said calmly. "Our parents had a wonderful relationship." He let that thought trail off.

   Simon raised his head and glared at his brother. Will simply shrugged. "You know it's true. Father was one of us. He faced the same beast we face every day, and Mother loved him."

   "Lily
can't know
!" Simon groaned. "She simply can't."

   "Why not?" Will asked, as though he'd asked what was for dinner. But, to Simon, he might as well have been pondering the makings of the universe.

   "You saw the way her sister was with Daniel. She married him, and then she became a fearful little waif. She was scared of her own shadow."

   "Daniel never had anyone to teach him to be a man," Will said quietly. "You are a very different person than he was."

   "I am the same
type of person
he was, Will. You seem to have forgotten. All it took was one full moon. He shared himself with her on one full moon, and she would never let him come near her again, not in that way. I wouldn't be able to stand it, to see Lily hurt the way Emma was." And he couldn't. It would kill him for Lily to fear him or, worse, to pity him.

   "Tell her, Simon. And let her make the choice," Will said before he extricated himself from his slouch in the chair and started for the door.

   Simon flung his inkwell at Will, and it crashed against the now closed door, splattering black liquid all over. He had to fight the urge to give chase and throttle the man when he heard Will's laughter from the hallway.

Lily sighed, running her fingers along the book spines in the Westfield library. With the weather simply horrid, she hadn't left the manor house, though she desperately wanted to do so. She felt trapped and dismissed all at once.

   How could she possibly get Blackmoor to change his mind about Oliver? She didn't think begging would work. She wished she had something to barter or wager. The duke did a fair amount of gambling, after all. But she had nothing even to tempt him with. Even if she had something of value, she didn't know the first thing about gambling.

   "Ah, there you are," Will's voice came from the doorway. "Looking for a good book?"

   Lily turned around and graced him with a smile. "I'd much rather be out of doors, but in this weather…"

   He strode further into the room. "How are you holding up?" he asked quietly.

   Lily wished Lord William had been made Oliver's guardian. He'd be so much easier to work with. Blast Daniel for leaving the boy to that obstinate ox instead! She shook her head. "What is the easiest card game to cheat at?"

   His blue eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. "Cheat?" he echoed.

   Lily shrugged. "I need to find some way to keep Oliver. I thought a game of chance…"

   "Where you held all the cards, so to speak?" he chuckled. "Simon will definitely have his hands full with you."

   "Have you a better idea?"