Desired by a Lord (Regency Unlaced 5) (16 page)

“You are a self-confessed murderer,” Xander said with satisfaction. “A confession witnessed just now by myself, Squire Bertram, my butler Clarke, and Emily. Pretty soon you will be hanging by your neck until you are dead. Do you feel ready to face your maker?”

Littlejohn looked terrified at the prospect. “Emily…?”

She turned her back on him to walk over and stand in front of the window, remaining there as Xander and Squire Bertram, assisted by Clarke, removed Littlejohn from the study.

From their lives.

Chapter 18

“How did you know?” Emily was still standing in front of the window when Xander returned to the study some minutes later.

He would have been back sooner, but he’d paused for several minutes in the hallway to talk to Clarke. “How did I know that Littlejohn was responsible for Edmund’s death?”

She gave a shudder. “Any of it.”

“I was given an insight into Littlejohn’s true nature by one of my grooms. It is fortunate indeed that he once worked for the Littlejohn family; otherwise, this situation may have dragged on for several days longer.” Xander nodded his satisfaction with the speed of the outcome. “With the knowledge your husband was taken ill on the Sabbath after the two of you had attended church, along with Littlejohn’s threats to you if you did not go to bed with him, it was not so difficult to know where the blame lay for your husband’s sudden death.”

“Not with me.”

“Of course not. I never for one moment suspected it did.” Xander frowned. “Emily…?”

“I thought… Believed after last night…” She broke off, apparently unable to say anything further.

“Last night?” he repeated sharply. “What happened last night?”

“Nothing.”

“I do not— Ah.” Xander’s brow cleared. “I never, not for a single moment, believed you had killed your husband.”

“But last night… You did not…”

“There is a perfectly good reason why I did not make love to you last night.”

“I am sure there is,” she said dully.

He hated seeing Emily like this, so sad, and yet at the same time so very dignified. Anyone looking at her could see that she was a lady. A very fine and beautiful lady who had already suffered enough for her parents’ crimes.

Xander crossed the room to stand in front of her and take both her hands in his. “Do you have any idea how wise and clever you are?”

Surprise flickered in the depths of her eyes. “I am?”

“I spoke to Clarke before returning to you.”

Emily looked pleased. “The two of you have made your peace?”

“We have,” Xander confirmed. “You were right, Emily, I should have come back to Whitney Park years ago. Perhaps then I could have made my peace with my father too,” he added regretfully.

Emily squeezed his hands. “What did Clarke have to say?”

“That he loved my mother as he would have a sister. That he could never have continued working for a man he believed responsible for her death. My mother was ill, Emily. Dying. That is why she took her own life.”

She looked pained. “Why did your father never tell you that?”

“Clarke believes it was because he did not want to tarnish my memory of my mother, of being a brave and fearless woman, any more than it had been. Because my father believed I needed someone to blame. The why of it no longer matters,” he dismissed. “I was wrong to hold such a grudge against my father all these years. A grudge I have now realized I unknowingly passed on to Clarke when I came here four months ago. I have apologized to him.”

“You have?”

“Do not look so surprised,” Xander chided teasingly. “I am capable of saying I am sorry when I have made a mistake.”

Of course, he was. And Emily was behaving very badly, considering Xander had very soundly routed Littlejohn for her this afternoon. “I do not know how to thank you for what you did for me today.”

“Any more than I know how to thank you for helping me to see how wrong I have been these past fifteen years.”

“It is not the same thing at all.”

“Oh, but it is,” Xander assured her.

She pulled her hands from his as she stepped away. “I believe I should now return to Ashingdon. News of Littlejohn’s arrest for having killed Edmund will no doubt reach there soon enough when he does not return.”

He grimaced his distaste. “From what I have gathered of his nature, I doubt there will be many, if any, who will mourn his loss.”

“Even more reason for me to be there. To reassure everyone there is no chance of his ever returning to make their lives miserable.”

“I will come with you.”

“No,” she instantly refused.

“Yes,” Xander insisted. “Emily, was Marsden very cruel to you during your marriage to him?”

“What do you mean?”

Her genuine puzzlement spurred him on. “Littlejohn implied Marsden was an impatient and demanding husband. I… Did he beat you?”

“No,” she gasped. “No, of course he did not. Edmund was capricious, strict, but he would never… Edmund was demanding, liked his life ordered a certain way, but his idea of punishment for any of my misdemeanors was not to talk to me for several days. Which could be wearing on the nerves, but was certainly no more than that.”

“Good.” Xander breathed his relief at her answer. “So, when would you like to return to Ashingdon? Before or after we are married?”

“
What?
” Emily stared at him incredulously. She had suffered several Before-and-Afters in her life already, but this one she could not, would not, believe possible.

Xander took both her hands in his again before moving down onto one knee in front of her. “Emily Anne, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“I— What— No.” She pulled her hands free of his, staring at him as if he had taken complete leave of his senses. “You have no need— I
chose
to make love with you. There is absolutely no reason for you to feel compelled to offer marriage. We did not— We have not— I am not compromised.”

“No, but you are loved,” he spoke quietly.

Emily stilled, even the breath seeming to have become trapped in her lungs.

“By me,” Xander added, so that there should be no mistake as to his meaning.

Xander
loved
her? It could not be true. Could it?

She shook her head. “My parents—”

“Are not you,” he stated firmly as he rose back to his feet. “I have always believed that people as volatile as your parents should never marry each other. But if your parents had not married, then there would not be you, which would seem to nullify that argument completely. Emily, you are beautiful, forthright, practical, enchanting, and delicious,” he added huskily. “And the most generous lover I have ever known. How could I not have fallen in love with you?”

“Because…because you are Lord Alexander Whitney, and I—”

“You
were
Miss Emily Anne Stanwick, latterly Mrs. Edmund Marsden, and now, if you will have me, you will become Lady Emily Whitney.”

“Society—”

“Oh, who gives a damn about Society—”

“You would if you found yourself shunned because of who your wife is!”

“They would not dare.” He stood every one of his six feet and two inches tall as he looked down the length of his imperious nose. “If I am not enough of a deterrent to their gossip, then I have powerful friends who are. My closest friends are the Duke and Duchess of Blackmoor, Viscount Brooketon and the lady who is to become his wife, the Earl and Countess of Winterbourne, and the Marquis and Marchioness of Oxbridge.”

Even Emily, shut away in the country for so many years, had heard of some of those gentlemen, at least. “Your friends would shun me too.”

“Never,” Xander stated with absolute certainty.

Which was when Emily’s resolve began to crumble. “You cannot possibly have fallen in love with me in so short a time.”

“I believe I fell in love with you during our first conversation together,” he mused. “You looked so prim in that unbecoming gray gown. And yet I saw grit and determination when I looked in your eyes.”

“That was desperation,” she corrected ruefully. “I was in dire need of the money you were prepared to pay to have your library cataloged.”

“There was also passion in your eyes. Was that desperation too?” he teased.

“That was the effect you were having on me,” she acknowledged, her cheeks warm. “But you do not need to marry me, Xander. I will be your mistress. For as long as you want me to be.”

“A lifetime,” he stated firmly. “I will not settle for less, Emily.” He gazed at her sternly.

“I— But— This is madness!”

“Do you love me?”

“It is too soon—”

“
Do you love me?
”

Of course she loved him. Possibly from the first moment she had seen him seated across the other side of his desk on the day of her arrival. But marriage? To become Xander’s wife? Lady Emily Whitney? It was beyond anything she could ever have imagined.

Xander quirked an eyebrow. “If you say yes to my marriage proposal, I will tell you why I did not make love to you last night.”

Emily gave a choked laugh. “That is blackmail!”

“But of the most tender and loving kind,” he cajoled.

“It is still blackmail.”

He sobered. “I am so much in love with you, I am not above using any means at my disposal to persuade you to accept my proposal.”

It was too much. Incredible.

And yet…

She loved him.

And Xander said that he loved her.

The very best of reasons why two people should ever marry each other.

She held his gaze as she walked without hesitation into his waiting arms. “Tell me,” she invited huskily.

His arms tightened fiercely about her. “Your innocence is to be your wedding gift to me.”

Ah.

Again the very best of reasons.

As Emily was convinced their marriage would be the very best of marriages. Loving. Caring. Passionate. A lifetime of happiness with Xander, the man she loved with her body, heart, and soul.

“Does that mean we will not… That we will wait until after we are married to… Before we… Again?”

“Absolutely not.” Xander’s laughter rumbled in his chest at the absurdity of such a suggestion. “We are two intelligent people who love each other. I am sure we can find many other inventive ways to make love to each other until our wedding night!”

Emily was sure they could too. “I love you, Xander.” She looked up at him, that love shining in her eyes.

His hands moved up to cradle the sides of her face. “I love you too, Emily. So very much. I intend to spend the rest of my life ensuring your happiness.” He claimed her lips tenderly with his own.

A tenderness that soon turned to desire.

And desire to passion, as they both became lost in expressing—inventively, of course—their deep love for each other.

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About The Author

Carole Mortimer is a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award 2015, a Pioneer for Romance Romantic Times Award in 2014.  She was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for her ‘outstanding service to literature’. Carole has written 215 contemporary and Regency novels.

She is happily married to Peter. They have 6 sons, and live on the beautiful Isle of Man. She also loves to hear from Readers!

Other books by Carole Mortimer

Carole has written 174 romance novels in the Presents/Modern series from Harlequin Mills and Boon.

She has also written 24 Regency romance novels in the Harlequin Mills and Boon’s Historical series.

Regency Unlaced Series:

The Duke’s Mistress (Book 1)

Claimed by the Marquis (Book 2)

Taken by the Earl (Book 3)

Pursued by the Viscount (Book 4)

Desired by a Lord (Book 5)

Captured by a Gentleman (Book 6)

Knight Security Series:

Resisting Alexandre (Knight Security 0.5)

Defying Asher (Knight Security 1)

Challenging Gabriel (Knight Security 2)

Caleb (Knight Security 3) Coming Soon

ALPHA Series:

Christmas Alpha (Alpha 1)

Dark Alpha (Alpha 2)

Shadow Alpha (Alpha 3) Author’s 200
^th
Book

Midnight Alpha (Alpha 4)

Renegade Alpha (Alpha 5)

Warrior Alpha (Alpha 6)

Rogue Alpha (Alpha 7)

Savage Alpha (Alpha 8)