Trade Winds (Choc Lit) by Courtenay Christina

Author:Courtenay, Christina [Courtenay, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Choc Lit
Published: 2010-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Killian woke up with a pounding headache and cursed the Swedish snaps. He may not have been very drunk, but the wretched stuff had terrible after-effects. To make matters worse, the room he was in was so cold the water in the hand-basin was frozen. He had to bash it with the ewer in order to be able to wash and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Shivering, he dressed in a hurry and went in search of warmth downstairs.

He found Jessamijn alone in the dining room, looking nervous and jittery.

‘God morgon,’ he said cheerfully. ‘How is my betrothed this morning?’

‘You remember then?’ she said, frowning and looking around as if she was worried someone would hear their conversation.

‘Yes, of course. Why, have you changed your mind?’

‘Er, well, no, but the thing is, I think we should keep this to ourselves for now.’

Killian poured himself some ale and took a healthy swig, hoping it would cure his sore head. ‘Why?’ he asked.

‘If Robert should find out, he’d be furious and he’d do everything in his power to stop us. Surely you know that?’ Jess scowled into her bowl of porridge. ‘We can’t risk it.’

‘True, but he’s not here and it might be a bit difficult to get married without telling anyone,’ he commented. ‘Besides, don’t we need your stepfather’s permission?’

‘In theory, yes, but as far as I know the marriage would be legal even without his approval. He might decide to withhold my dowry though. I’ve heard of other cases where that has happened and there was nothing the bride and groom could do about it.’ Jess sent him an anxious look. ‘Then you would have married me for nothing.’

Killian thought for a moment. ‘Let’s just present him with a fait accompli. If he kicks up a fuss, we’ll threaten to tell the world he’s so greedy he wants to keep all your father’s assets for himself. We can hint we know he scared off your former suitors by offering them only a fraction of the dowry he was supposed to give them according to your father’s will. I doubt he’d want his peers to know he’s been trying to do you out of what’s rightfully yours.’

‘But that would be blackmail!’

Killian shrugged. ‘So? It’s no worse than what he’s done to you.’

‘I suppose.’ Jess stood up and began to pace the room, chewing her bottom lip in concentration. Killian found it an endearing sight and a longing to kiss away her worries swept through him, taking him by surprise. He realised the prospect of marrying her actually excited him, although at the same time it seemed like a huge and frightening step to take.

Jess stopped next to his chair and frowned down at him. ‘What if he still refuses? You’d be stuck with me and have nothing to show for it.’

Killian grabbed one of her hands and pulled her round to face him so that he could look in her eyes. ‘I’m not a complete pauper, you know. It just

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.