The Devil Rogue (24 page)

Before leaving the room, his shoes crunching in the broken
debris of the breakfast tray,
he reminded her, “
Remember, o
ne hour, in my study
.
And make sure you don’t walk around in your bare feet until this mess is cleaned up.”
He closed the door quietly
behind him, grinning at the sight of her
on the bed,
still
wrapped in the sheet like a mummy.

The next person to walk through the door was Rosemary, bearing another tray laden with a variety of breakfast foods
.
“Here I am, back with a fresh tray,” she said
loudly
, cautiously scanning the room
.
Assured it was safe to enter, she carefully tip-toed around the scattered food and the remains of broken dishes on the floor, set
ting
the tray on a nearby table
.
A young servant girl came in behind
Rosemary
and began cleaning up the mess.

Rosemary waited in stoic silence
until the
girl
left, closing the door behind her
.
“Well, I’ll be a one-legged sailor in an ass-kicking contest
!
Just what have you been up to, girlie
?
No, don’t tell me, I’m sure I already know.”
Coming over to sit on the edge of the bed,
Rosemary
gave a wide grin
.
“I want
to know everything
.”

“I’m not going to tell you anything, you
scandalous woman,
” Angela said, trying to keep a straight face
.
“Further
more, I need my clothes, and since this is obviously not my room, I’m sure
my gowns aren’t
hanging in the closet.”

“
T
hey are
. A
nd yes, you
are
going to tell me everything.”

They were interrupted briefly while water for the bath was brought in
.
Shrugging out of the tangled sheet, Angela went to the tub, sinking into the steamy water
.
She ignored the sly smirk coming from her maid
.
“You mean my clothes really are in here
?
How
–
why?”

“I don’t know the
why
of it
, but
I do know
the
how
. H
is lordship had them brought here while you were unconscious.
”

Angela narrowed
her eyes
at that piece of information
.
“
It’s
because he thinks we’re getting married
, that scheming dog
.”

“I know, he already told me,” Rosemary said smugly
.
“Isn’t it wonderful
?
And what a man
–
what a
fine ass—
”

“No, it isn’t wonderful
!
You saw his naked behind?” Angela didn’t like that idea one bit.

“Just a quick glimpse, nothing to be jealous over.”

“I’m not jealous – okay, maybe a little. But still . . . he didn’t even wait to ask me to marry him. H
e just went ahead and assumed I would accept his proposal
– if you could even call it that
.
” She was feeling very grumpy over the fact he really didn’t ask her at all. It had been delivered more as a statement
,
as she recalled. “
Well,
I don’t want to marry him
.
I didn’t want to ever get married, not if I’m to gain
back
control of my life
.
” Angela stopped to take a breath. “H
ow did you know
about it
before me?”

“
Blackridge seemed very upset the night you came back
beaten to a bloody pulp by
that monster
. . .
especially after I told him
—
”

“Told him what?”
Suspicion crept up Angela’s spine.

Rosemary
looked at her beseechingly.
“Please don’t be
angry with
me, it’s just that I thought he should know
after what had happened and all
.
I felt I could trust him
.
I think you should trust him, too
—
”

“What did you tell him?”

“
How you got those scars.”

“He knows?”

“He’s the one who carried you upstairs
,” Rosemary said. “
I’m certain he’s also the one who undressed you and cleaned your wounds before the
physician
came
.
Like I said, h
e
was
quite shaken by the whole thing
.
” Then she confessed weakly, “
I-I told him how your father beat you, about the time he whipped you and locked you in the broom c
upboard
when you were just a child.”

“Oh, no, tell me you didn’t.”
He
’d
cleaned her wounds?

“I did – I’m sorry
.
You were
just
laying here, hurt so badly, and he was questioning me about you
—
”

“It’s all right, Rosemary
,” Angela said
.
“
I just now know the reason for his asking me
–
or
,
rather, telling me we should marry
. H
e feels s
ympathy
for me – pity
.
Well, I won’t have it.”

Angrily r
ising out of the water,
Angela
grabbed a towel and
began to
dr
y
herself
.
But then
she
immediately
f
e
lt
remorse
over her outburst
. She
knew
Rosemary
would never do anything to hurt her
.
Angela
asked her
friend
to assist
with her
dress
.
“It’s not your fault
, Rosemary.
I know you wer
e just trying to help.”

“It’s true, Miss Angela
.
M
y loyalties will always
lie with you.
”

Turning around,
she
gave
Rosemary
an affectionate embrace
.
“I know
that.”

Angela
pulled away with a deep sigh, and then straightened
, sucking in a sharp breath
.
She s
uddenly remember
ed
striking
The Baron
in the head with
th
at
heavy book
.
“My father
–
is he?”
She was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“He’s still alive and kickin
g
, the bastard.”

“I thought for sure I’d killed him, not that I’d mourn his death
.
I’m just glad I’m no murderess.”
Wishing to put those dark thoughts away, Angela said brightly, “
Now, what’s to eat
?
I’m starving and I don’t have much time left, since I have to meet
him
downstairs
shortly.”

Rosemary smiled
.
“Yes
,
and you still have a story to tell.”
She took a seat across from the small table where Angela was already devouring her meal.

Angela
paused
, set her fork down and looked up at Rosemary
.
With a smile reminiscent of Mona Lisa’s, she said
softly
, “It was wonderful
,
”
t
hen returned to her meal.

“That’s it
?
Just,
it was wonderful
?
What else happened?”

“There’s nothing else to tell
.
”
Oh, there was a lot more to tell
,
like how
his mere presence made her heart beat faster, h
ow his kisses made her believe in fairy tales
, and how his loving
had
convinced her there was such a thing as magic
.
To be sure, when did her head elevate to the level of the clouds
?
She had
better
get her feet firmly planted back on the ground and return to reality, for heaven sake!

Rosemary
snorted in disbelief
.
She was clearly
disappoint
ed with the lack of details
.
“Nothing else to tell
,
hmmm
? T
hat in itself says quite a lot, my dear
.
I daresay you are already in
it
up to your eyebrows.”

“Nonsense
.
The bargain will stand as originally agreed
. T
here will be no marriage
.
I refuse to accept a proposal
, no matter how well intended it is, merely to ease a guilty conscience.”
Angela had always hoped she would be in love with the man she married, and he in love with her
.
She would only be deceiving herself if she believed
Ian
was marrying her out of anything but pity.

“You’d be set for life
. H
e’s offering you the position
as his wife
, and he’s disgustingly wealthy
. D
on’t forget that.”

“But I don’t know him,” Angela said, and when Rosemary raised her eyebrows, she amended, “I mean I don’t
really
know him
–
what he
’
s capable of
.
What if he
’
s like my father?”
It was fear that
prevented
her from accepting
Ian’s
proposal, she knew
.
B
ut could she take the risk – make a decision that would bind her to another man for life?

“
Blackridge is
nothing like your father
, and you know it, love
” Rosemary
said
heatedly
.
“
If he w
as
the scoundrel the gossips say he is
,
he would never have asked you to marry him
.
He feels something for you; he just doesn’t understand it yet.”

“Yes, he feels something, all right – guilt
–
and lust
.
Am I to base a marriage on that?”

“Many have based their marriages on less.”

“No, I cannot do it – will not do it
. U
nless
—
”

“Unless
what?
”

“Unless he can convince me it
’
s more than just
about
guilt, or lust
,
like
some stronger emotion relating to
. . .
love
,
perhaps
.”
Her fear wasn’t just that
Ian
might turn out to be like her father
.
S
he was
already
falling in love with him
. What if
he didn’t
feel the same way about
her in return
? What if he
never
did
? She
’
d spent most
of her life trying in vain to win her father’s love
. S
he
c
ould
n’t
spend the rest of her life in love with a man who did
n’t
love her
.
She would rather waste away in the country
than suffer that kind of misery.