Miss Claiborne's Illicit Attraction by Bronwyn Scott

Author:Bronwyn Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-09-07T13:36:12+00:00

* * *

He saw much more than that. This was not the only danger. It was a miracle she’d not faltered before this. She was beset by peril on all sides. Carrick ran a thumb over the knuckles of her hand. India had become a strong woman. ‘Does Cousin Victor aspire to only Belle Weather?’

Something flashed in India’s eyes and he had his answer. Something protective and primal unwound in him as she said, ‘Cousin Victor does not care much for me. I am too independent for his tastes, although he pretends otherwise.’

Cousin Victor and his six inches, Carrick thought uncharitably, would not like a woman who dared to stand in his way. It didn’t take much imagination to understand what Cousin Victor wanted. He saw an estate unguarded, a young man who could not claim his inheritance and who was in need of a regent until he could. All that stood in his way was one young, unmarried woman who’d proven harder to thwart than intended. ‘If he can’t go around you, he’d try to go through you.’ He watched her for a reaction. Ah, so Victor had tried that, too; proposing marriage in order to control the estate through her.

‘He’s been thwarted thus far, so now his game is to just wait. Instead of being my enemy, he is waiting for me to be my own worst enemy. He’s waiting for me to fail. With the estate, with Hal, with society. I will fall and he will be justified to rush in.’ There was resignation in her voice as if she thought failure was inevitable, as if all she could do was prolong the inevitable and hope it would be enough.

‘You think being here with me is failing.’

‘It certainly is a risk. Do you understand now?’

‘You used to take risks all the time.’

‘Because I had nothing to lose, not really. I had Landon and my father. But now there is no one, Carrick. There is no one to catch me.’

There’s me. I will catch you. He didn’t dare say it out loud. They were only words. He wasn’t even sure what they meant. How would he catch her? He owned a carriage works, he lived outside of society. His mother and older brother had despaired of him. What could he offer her? He hadn’t a fortune to give her. Just a horse farm and a business.

He might have been born a gentleman’s son, but he was in trade now. He made a living from work—work that brought him great pleasure, gave his life shape and gave him a solid income so he need not answer to his brother. But it was work, a gentleman’s anathema, and none of it suitable for the likes of India Claiborne. He knew all this and yet his conscience whipped at him. He brought her hand to his mouth, kissed it. ‘I should not have left you alone, my brave girl. I have not been a good friend to you.’

‘You gave me what I asked for.

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