Miss Winters Proposes by Frances Fowlkes

Author:Frances Fowlkes [Fowlkes, Frances]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous
Published: 2015-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Benjamin stood with his hands curled into tight fists at his sides, his wife’s slender and half-dressed body the only thing separating him from Winters’s smug face. A face he would like nothing more than to rearrange—preferably into a swollen, bloody, and distorted one.

The cur had bribed a naive housemaid to steal keys so he might force his way into Juliet’s chambers, for God’s sake. What sort of vile scum crafted sordid schemes to prove his suspicions?

Benjamin knew precisely what sort—the sort who seduced young innocents, whispering promises of marriage in their ears, only to leave them swollen with child, desperate, and condemned by Society.

He’d be damned if he allowed Winters to repeat his infraction. Especially with Juliet.

He peered down at his wife. “Grab whatever you require to make the ride to Darlington. We’ll have the staff send over the rest of your wardrobe after we have settled.”

“What of my father?” She glanced at her bitch, who stood alongside her, its lips pulled back into a snarl. “And the hounds?”

“I spoke to the apothecary yesterday. Your father’s health has improved. He will do well enough with the housekeeper checking in on him. As for the hounds, we’ll bring them along. I have no intentions of leaving them here.” Benjamin lifted his eyes to Winters. There was no telling what the man would do with the prized beasts should they be left to his devices.

Winters shook his head, a low chuckle emanating deep in his chest.

“I fail to see what all the excitement is about. Honestly, Colwyn. You couldn’t possible expect me to believe you would marry Juliet based on love alone. Not after your proclamation that you would remain a bachelor indefinitely. Come now. Being seduced by Amelia is one thing. Juliet, well, is Juliet.”

Benjamin had tried to be a gentleman. He had done his best not to resort to violence in front of his wife. But insulting her was not about to go unchecked. At least not from him. Stepping around Juliet, Benjamin slammed his fist into the side of Winters’s jaw.

The blackguard stumbled backward. Blood and spittle dribbled down the side of his face, his hands cradling his chin. “Do you see what sort of man you have connected yourself with, Juliet?” Winters hissed. “One who resorts to violence when the truth is spoken.”

“Benjamin, stop, please. He isn’t worth your attentions.” Her petite hands closed over his other forearm.

He straightened, his arm warm and sensitive where Juliet held her grip. “And I’ll do it again if necessary. Speak against my wife, Winters, and you’ll have more than my fist to contend with.”

The heir to Hollington, the next baron, and Benjamin’s future neighbor, spat on the wooden floorboards. “Your standards have lowered, Colwyn. For once I am thankful for Amelia’s death. She didn’t deserve to be attached to a man with such a disregard for propriety.”

Benjamin chortled. This from a man who seduced women for his personal gain and twisted aspirations? The man was lower than a cur. He was a reptile.

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