The Lady Forfeits by Carole Mortimer

Author:Carole Mortimer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-11-03T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

‘Jennifer Prescott, the wife of my Uncle Charles, is the same woman I was accused of seducing and then later abandoning when she announced she was expecting my child.’

Diana felt as if she had received a heavy blow to her chest as she took an unsteady step backwards, her breath arresting in her throat, all the colour draining from her cheeks as she stared up at Gabriel in dazed incomprehension. Then she stumbled until the backs of her knees hit the bed and she sat down abruptly upon its softness.

It could not be true—could it?

The young and beautiful woman married to Gabriel’s uncle was the same woman who had accused Gabriel of seducing her eight years ago? Worse, Charles Prescott was the man his father had paid handsomely to marry her in Gabriel’s stead because he believed that woman was expecting his son’s child?

It was too incredible.

Unbelievable.

And yet, was it really so unbelievable a solution? By marrying Charles Prescott, that young woman had still married into Gabriel’s family, thereby resulting in her child being born into the family, too. Except the child had not survived…

Besides which, this knowledge now made perfect sense of the open hostility between an icily scathing Gabriel and the outraged Jennifer Prescott.

She raised startled lids to find Gabriel looking across at her with a watchful and narrow-eyed intensity, his jaw arrogantly challenging, his shoulders stiff and his hands tense at his sides.

That wary tension told her more clearly than anything else could have done that the words she spoke next were crucial, not just to the here and now, but to any continuing relationship between them.

But imagining Gabriel and the beautiful Jennifer Prescott engaged together in intimacy was—

No!

Having seen the other woman for herself, and acknowledged her beauty, did not mean Diana should now not believe Gabriel’s claim of innocence. Admittedly, it was difficult to imagine any man being immune to that dark and exotic beauty, but if he said he was, then once again she had no reason to doubt his word. Just as she had assured Caroline two days ago, if there could not be love between herself and Gabriel, then surely they must at least have honesty?

Diana either trusted and believed in the word of the man to whom she was now betrothed, or she did not. It was that simple. She stood up to cross the room and stand in front of the window that looked out over the stables and extensive grounds, her thoughts racing as she attempted to come to terms with what she’d been told.

Gabriel’s insistence that he was innocent of that past scandal had not changed. It would, she was sure, never change; he was a man who stated the truth, and be damned with whether anyone chose to believe him or not.

She chose to believe him. She must!

Her gaze was very clear and direct when she finally looked across at him still tensely waiting for her response. ‘I believe I owe you an apology, Gabriel.’

‘What?’

Diana gave a slight nod at his shocked explosion.

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