The Disadvantaged Gentleman by Lesley-Anne McLeod

Author:Lesley-Anne McLeod [McLeod, Lesley-Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: England, Historical Romance, Love Stories, Regency Romance
ISBN: 9781601741752
Publisher: Uncial Press
Published: 2014-01-17T08:00:00+00:00

She made a sound--it might have been a growl--deep in her throat, a primitive, vicious sound that she had not known she could produce.

She flung the letter onto the table, but then snatched it up to read it again. Every word, every line was an offense. It showed how little he had understood her, how little he had ever known what she was truly like. What she really wanted.

It was true that once, a lifetime ago, she had wanted to spend her future with him, but in her innocence she had wanted to be his wife. Even now widowed, he had obviously no inclination to marry her, no doubt she was not pristine enough for the position of Duchess of Wellbourne. He did not seem to realize that she had ceased to desire his constant attendance a very long time before she had said her farewells.

She had convinced herself once that she was not a mistress but a free woman choosing to live against society's rules. When she had finally been honest with herself, she had not liked the path she had chosen. The changes she had fashioned in her way of life had been deliberate, and difficult. She was not now going to return to an untenable position. Even had she still been infatuated with the dratted man, she would not go to him. She recalled Bennet's kiss, and wondered if she suffered no more than another infatuation.

She put Kelmarsh aside once more. The letter must be dealt with first.

The duke was prepared to overlook "her child." That, more than anything, showed his amoral nature. And it displayed all too clearly what he believed to be her character. He cared nothing that she might be promiscuous, that she might deceive him, betray him, be unfaithful. He cared only for the pleasure she might afford him.

It was horrifying but not unexpected that he could know her so little after eight years as to believe that she would happily bear a child out of wedlock, or that she would distribute her favours without discrimination or caution. It made her want to scream, to pummel him into understanding.

His true character lay before her. He cared nothing for his dead wife, he cared nothing for a child that he thought might be his. He was so little concerned for her reputation that he planned resumption of an affaire that he had pressed for and she in her youthful rebellion and ignorance had agreed to.

She was reminded of the words of the vicar at Leominster. "You can make wise and beneficent decisions with a lively mind and good intentions." He had indicated he thought her intelligent. Although he had erred when he had said she had family to guide her--her brother would be dismayed at the thought--she still had a birthright to uphold. The vicar had also hoped she would find what she sought. At least she was coming to recognize that elusive need, and the Duke of Wellsbourne could supply no part of it.

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