A VISCOUNT’S CHOICE

A Secret Lovers Regency Romance

Lily Holland

A Viscount’s Choice Copyright © 2019 by Lily Holland. All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Chapter 1

Miss Maggie Knight

A light wind blows and leaves abandon their trees as the autumn weather claims them. I follow the course of a rose petal swirling in the wind before a noise beside me calls my attention back.

“And what about this one?”

I blink a few times, focusing on the drawing hanging on the wall.

“A landscape,” I announce and the man beside me snorts.

“I think I noticed,” he says with a mischievous smile. “Where is this place?”

The blue strikes of the brush depicting the clear sky, the green lines showing the idealized grass… I can only remember good things about the city I have painted on the canvas.

“It’s from my time in Bath last summer.”

I look at the bright colors used to depict one of my favorite places in the world and I catch Wyatt’s nod in the corner of my eye.

“It’s beautiful, you are incredibly talented. Are all the other paintings yours as well?”

My lips stretch in a smile and I turn to him.

“Most of them are, except this one. I have tried to convince my mother not to get it, but she wouldn’t listen.”

I point at the portrait of an old lady my mother thought to be agreeable to the eye when the painter sold it to us last year.

“Your pieces of art are definitely more impressive, should you try to make it your profession?”

A new smile on my face, a new smirk on his.

“I don’t think so,” I announce, looking back at my attempt to render the peculiar light shining over Bath at sunrise. “I do not believe I would have a brilliant career.”

My tone just changed and I know Wyatt perceived it. I blink when two strong hands connect around my waist and a warm breath warms my right ear.

“You are brilliant in all things…”

My grin widens and Wyatt’s hands tighten around me. He holds me all up against his body and I let my arms cover his.

“You should not be doing this,” I whisper, “my sister could walk on us.”

“I don’t believe she would be willing to disturb us, my love.”

I laugh but my breath soon catches as his lips close on my neck and my entire body trembles at his touch.

“Or my mother could walk on us, and let’s not forget my father. I wonder, what would you say for yourself if any of them happened to find us out?”

A powerful laugh makes his chest shake in my back and he uses his strength to spin me around.

“Do you truly think I would need to find an explanation?”

He leans forward to brush his nose to mine and my eyes close.

“I think you might.”

His lips glide on my cheek and I feel his grin get bigger. Both his hands link on the small of my back and he holds me closer to his figure, his enthralling warmth making me lose my ground.

“I think I am willing to take the risk.”

His words send a shiver up and down my spine and my breath hitches. Wyatt and I have been in love for more than two years. Ever since our first meeting, our love hasn’t faltered. We have been secretly engaged for some months, ever since that ball at the Hinsleys. We haven’t said a word to my parents yet because my father is pretty uptight. He likes when things are thought through and I am convinced that the minute I will admit my feelings for Wyatt, he will question every single one of my certainties to make sure I am not making a mistake marrying him.

I can already say it is not one. Wyatt is a Viscount, he has money and lands, the situation he is willing to offer me is most comfortable and I know for a fact that I will be happy with him. Truth be told, I already am so happy between his arms…

“My sweet Maggie…”

Wyatt’s nose caresses mine again before, finally, his lips connect with my mouth and my heart radiates an unprecedented pleasure. There is so much desire in this embrace, so much love and passion… There is nothing more a bride could be willing to request from her husband-to-be.

When his hands travel up and down my back tightly keeping me pressed to his body, I know I must step back, but I don’t want to. He kisses me again and again and, after a long minute trying to gather my composure, I lean back.

“Wyatt…”

“I want you, my love…”

His burning breath sends shivers all over my body but I must keep my mind straight. Anyone could walk on us right now, my mother is about to come back from her trip to town, my sister is walking in the garden and my father is in his office down the corridor.

“Now is neither the place nor the time,” I oppose but my voice is so weak it is closer to a murmur.

A groan of restless desire echoes in Wyatt’s chest and he buries his nose in my neck, his lips finding my skin and making me ever weaker between his arms.

“I can’t stop thinking about you, Maggie. From sunrise to sunset, you and your warmth are always on my mind…”

His words and his kisses, his lips nibbling at my skin and tasting my flesh, I feel the will to resist deserting my body. I close my hands around his neck and tilt my head to find his mouth again.

We have always been very appropriate in our love affair, at least until recently when we have given way to our feelings one lovely night. It’s a good thing we are engaged, otherwise I wouldn’t have trusted him as I do.

“I can’t wait for us to be married,” I whisper in the midst of long, passionate kisses.

He nods, his hands cupping my face and his lips hovering above mine.

“Me neither. I want you to be my wife fully and legitimately. Thankfully, I don’t think we will have to wait long any more.”

My eyes shoot to his.

“No?”

He shakes his head, a finger gently brushing over my cheek.

“No. I have talked to your father earlier this week. We were not talking about you but he brought your name up and declared you might soon be ready to marry. I don’t know if he meant you are coming of age or that he has been working on your dowry, but he seemed pretty open-minded. I believe we might talk to him about us soon enough.”

“Really?” I exclaim in a squeal. “Oh Wyatt, that would be wonderful!”

“I know,” he argues, his fingers trailing at the base of my hair before combing through my brown ringlets. “I have good reasons to hope for our wedding to take place before another two months, my love. That would meet your father’s love of decorum and, then, you would finally be mine.”

A thrilling sensation makes my belly clench as he speaks those words. I wag my head with a wide smile on my lips.

“Yours,” I repeat. “Yours to cherish and to love freely.”

His grin gets larger and he inches forward.

“Oh yes, there’ll be a lot of love, you can be sure of that.”

I laugh but he closes his lips back on mine and I am silenced by his delicious tongue and sweet perfume filling my nostrils.

Our bodies losing the patience we still need to protect both our reputations, we take a sudden step back when a door slams somewhere in the house.

My breath is short and his even more so when my sister enters the room without as much as a knock on the door.

“Oh Maggie, something bad is happening!”

My brow creases at once and Wyatt’s body tenses beside me.

“What are you referring to?” he asks and my sister’s alarmed eyes make me wary.

“Are you okay Susie? You look pale!”

I take a step toward her as she shakes her head vigorously and a loud voice makes the three of us start.

“You will hear from me, Sir! This behavior is unforgivable! You are a rascal and a thief, I will make sure the law punishes you!”

My father’s angry tone is so unusual that it makes us all look at each other, abashed. I fight a wave of terror that threatens to overcome me and I blink toward the door. None of us dare to move and, when we perceive some movement down the corridor, I inhale a deep breath.

I reach the door and open it at once while Wyatt and my sister remain unmoving in the middle of the room.

“How dare you make such threats against me?! I will make sure Lord Trevorian hears about it! You will lose your seat in Parliament soon enough!”

I have never heard my father that vehement in my life. The man he addresses barely takes notice of his words. I walk down the corridor only to wait against the wall while I can peer into the hall.

“You can shout all you want, Sir, but you are the one at fault here. I am only courteous enough to let you know about what is to come. I am, I dare say, pretty certain you will be the one condemned by the judge.”

I know the man talking, I have seen him many times before. Mr Foredale I think I recall his name is. From what I have been able to understand from my father’s affairs, Foredale is a friend. Or at least he was a friend; as my father starts insulting him one word after another, I suppose he is now considered an enemy.

My feet take me back to the drawing room and I close the door back behind me. Wyatt stands near the window, his hands clasped in his back and his eyes shooting to mine inquisitively.

My sister is fanning herself, sitting on a chair and whispering inaudibly about the terrible meaning of such trouble in the house.

“So?” wonders Wyatt and I don’t know what to say.

I shrug.

“Some unfortunate business matter, I reckon.”

“Oh but Maggie, can’t you see!” exclaims my sister with dismay. “Papa was talking with Mr Foredale! Haven’t you heard the terrible news?”

I detail her face before looking at my fiancé who shrugs in ignorance.

“What terrible news? What are you talking about Susie?”

“Oh, it is terrible, awful indeed!”

She shakes her head so quickly I am scared she might end up with a stiff neck, and she fans herself with renewed vigor.

“If they are screaming, it’s because they are disagreeing!”

I can’t help but frown again and I let my eyes travel to Wyatt’s face. Once more, his shoulders tense and he shakes his head. He has no more idea than I have about what might be going on.

“Oh my God, it’s so bad! Where is Mama? We need her now!”

As quickly as she entered the room, Susie stands up and disappears at once. I let my hand rest on my forehead and Wyatt walks to me.

“Do you know what it is all about?”

I shake my head with a sigh.

“I don’t have the slightest idea,” I confess. “Susie seems to know though; I think I might get more information out of her if I go after her.”

He bows and closes the distance between us. He cups my face in his palms and smiles faintly before drawing a light kiss on my forehead.

“I should leave for now,” he says, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. “I believe you have some family issues to take care of.”

I fail to repress a new sigh but I toss my head.

“I don’t know what is going on but I truly hope she is exaggerating.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine, my love. It’s probably nothing more than a men’s opposition in business matters. It happens all the time, I’m sure your father will come round soon enough.”

His words find a way to the place holding all tension inside me and I inhale an easier breath.

“You are probably right.”

“Without a doubt,” he adds with a confident smile. “Once his bad mood will be vanquished by your mother’s comforting words, I am certain he will be more than inclined to hear about the offer I have to make.”

“Oh?”

A large smile settles on my lips and he grins in response.

“As I told you, I don’t want to waste any more time. I want you to be my wife. I want you, Maggie.”

He kisses my cheek as he speaks and I melt in his embrace. When his lips find mine for a brief but intense kiss, I can’t even remember anything that exists apart from him in this world.

“I should go now,” declares Wyatt taking a step back and releasing me. “Your family needs you and I don’t want to feel like an intruder in your father’s business. I will visit tomorrow.”

I nod in response but my hands are still attached to his jacket. I don’t want to let him go and yet, I know I have to. I love so much having him close to me. Becoming his wife will be a blessing to my heart, I will finally be allowed some rest from always wishing to steal a moment alone, always being careful not to speak too loud when we exchange words of love… It has become quite tiring as the months went by.

“I will write to you if what has happened is so troublesome that my parents prefer not to entertain any company for tea tomorrow.”

“No,” he says making me frown. “I will come no matter what. I can’t spend a day without seeing your face, Maggie.”

I believe he is about to lean forward to press his lips on mine, a powerful shiver making my spine tense, but he grins and grabs my hand. His eyes never leaving mine, he kisses my bare knuckles with tenderness and my heart resumes an uncommon race.

“I can’t wait,” I whisper, barely aware I have spoken out loud.

“Neither can I,” he adds, his eyes going over my entire body and making me shudder once more.

I accompany him to the front door and see him off, reflecting on how much happiness awaits me once I will be his wife.

When my daydreaming clears from my mind, my sister’s impatient questions to the servants capture my attention. I walk to her and, when my father joins us in the drawing room with an expression on his face I have never witnessed before, my stomach sinks.

Chapter 2

Viscount Wyatt Chambers

My carriage gets me home but I don’t see time going by. My mind is still with Maggie, back in this room where I successfully stole a few kisses. I want so much more from her…

When my butler hands me a note as soon as I pass the front door, I know something is up.

“Who is it from?”

“Your sister came in a few hours ago, Sir. I believe she mentioned having supper here tonight. She expected catching you for tea and she was disappointed to see you were not home.”

“I see,” I say unfolding the note. “Thank you Daniel.”

“Sir.”

The man bows and takes his leave, disappearing behind a door as I review the card. As always, my sister’s pretension makes me sigh and I head to my study. Nothing is more annoying than a woman who spends her time boasting about her situation in life, and that is exactly my lovely sister’s main occupation. She adores three things most of all: gossiping about her neighbors, gossiping about the royal family and her husband’s proud legacy as one of the oldest names of the country.

She would have earned more respect from me if she had adored her husband for himself instead of his name, but I will not deny a secular name added to the standing of our family name.

Before my father passed away three years ago, he was very concerned about my sister marrying well. Caroline is the kind of woman who doesn’t like going unnoticed; as a result, she has convinced many great Ladies that she was silly and many great Lords that she was funny. All in all, she did alright and even found a way to secure Lord Steward’s affection. How she achieved such a thing remains a complete mystery to me, but he proposed and she said yes and that’s all I ever needed to know. For all I do know, they are happy together and I am contented when they are not too close from here.

As suppertime gets closer, I tense when the sound of hooves in the driveway announces my guests’ arrival. I welcome them as a warm host must, and we all get to supper soon after.

My sister spends the evening telling me how surprised she was earlier today to find out Lady Myrtle married below her station and I listen to her as well as I can—which isn’t much.

Ever since I got back from Maggie’s house, a strange feeling has been twisting my insides. I wonder… What was her father’s shouts all about? From the drawing room, I didn’t hear much, but everything in his tone told me it was something really important. I find it peculiar for a man such as him to be thus giving ways to his emotions. It is not like him and it makes me extremely anxious. What if it had to do with Maggie? What if the man he was arguing with had told him he wanted to marry her? It is far-fetched, I know, but I am afraid of anything that might tear the two of us apart.

“… and then she told me about the Knights' affairs, such a troublesome business,” declares my sister.

She takes a sip of her wine and I blink to focus on her.

“What did you say?”

I stare at her, doing my best to recall the words she has just uttered while I wasn’t paying attention.

“What? About Lady Myrtle?”

“No, my dove,” intercedes Lord Steward, “I believe your brother is referring to your account on the Knights’ affairs.”

“Yes,” I admit quickly. “What about it?”

“Oh,” says my sister sharing an anxious look with her husband. “You don’t know, do you?”

When my face betrays my lack of knowledge, she shrugs and dabs her mouth on a napkin.

“Well, we have heard earlier today,” she starts, “according to the Duke of Freyard, that Mr Knight has made important investments in some unfortunate businesses and, if this kind of unfruitful endeavor happens relatively often nowadays, it is rumored the man he paid to complete the transaction was a fraud. Many people made investments on his word of advice and now most of them face ruin. If what Miss Truding has heard is correct, he will soon face prosecution for fraud! Can you imagine!”

“No,” I blow at once, “no, indeed I cannot! Mr Knight has always been very loyal and he is well known to be honest. No accusation for fraud could bear any weight against him.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you,” declares Lord Steward. “If this case takes on a similar turn others have taken before, the man might very well be facing a jail sentence.”

Suddenly, my cravat is too tight around my neck. Beads of sweat pearl on my brow and my breath hitches.

“But on what charges?”

“Embezzlement,” says my brother-in-law matter-of-factly, “and it makes no doubt he will be found guilty.”

“Wait a minute,” exclaims my sister, her drink in her hand and her piercing blue eyes on me. “Weren’t you a friend of his daughter? A Marnie or Mary, I can’t remember her name.”

“Maggie,” I correct her, a massive lump blocking my throat. “Her name is Maggie and she is not a friend, she is much more than that.”

I finally retrieve the control of my lungs as Maggie’s face imposes itself to my mind but Caroline’s eyes dive onto my face.

“Oh Wyatt, don’t tell me you are in love with this girl!” she exclaims and I only frown in response.

“That is none of your business, Sister.”

“I’m sorry, but it is! I hope you weren’t enough of a fool to offer to marry her!”

When I don’t reply, my answer appears obvious.

“Goodness gracious! A secret engagement! I see you don’t value your sister’s confidence anymore. I would feel utterly hurt if I couldn’t get some joy reflecting on how lucky a man you are! Can you imagine what it would have looked like if you had married her only to find out afterward that her father was a fraud? It would have breached our reputation, destroyed our good name. It’s a fine omen this scandal should be brought to light now.”

I don’t answer, but I want to. Lord Steward studies me with a thoughtful glance and his creased brow gets me wondering.

“Are you in love with this girl?” he wonders.

“Who cares about that?!” cries my sister with her legendary gentleness. “If you do,” she argues checking me up with a glare, “you will forget about her soon enough! There are many good women waiting to be properly married everywhere, it won’t be hard to find one that suits your taste. What matters now is that, thanked be the Lord, you have not married her yet and that is everything! You can avoid the scandal of dragging our name through the mud by breaking the engagement off.”

“But I gave my word to Maggie,” I object. “We are to be married in two months. I can’t decently—”

“Of course you can, Wyatt! It is our family name we are talking about here, our legacy, the name you will give your children and the name they will pass on to their children when the time comes. It is important and it is yours to protect. You cannot fail our family simply because of a promise you made to some girl.”

“But I am a man of honor, Caroline!” I oppose fiercely. “I cannot withdraw just like that. I have given my word, it matters to her and, actually, it matters to me!”

“I see,” declares my sister in this oh-so-annoying tone that gets on my nerves. “So you are ready to endanger our family’s honor to keep to your word. It might be time for you to remember that your loyalty must lie with your family first and foremost. It would do you well never to forget…”

The bare threat doesn’t unsettle me as much as I know she would have liked, but Lord Steward’s gaze makes me tense at once. Ever since he has met her, he has loved and obeyed Caroline in all things. She is the one who convinced him to work on metallurgy investments with me, I know fairly well she will be the one asking him to withdraw only to get revenge on me. I’m trapped.

“I am convinced this Maggie is a nice person,” declares Lord Steward, “in fact, I think I recall meeting her once at Lord Devinan’s party, but you must keep your head straight. Marrying a woman whose father faces disgrace isn’t the smartest choice you can do right now.”

“Yes,” says my sister firmly, “it would even be a very silly choice if you ask me. Let’s not forget you are also hoping to be elected to Parliament. Politics call for decency.”

Not taking notice of her, I observe my brother-in-law who offers me a sad, compassionate gaze.

“Maybe this union might be further discussed if and when Mr Knight is proved to be innocent, but for now, I fear it might be more reasonable not to further your engagement with this young person.”

As Caroline turns to me with pursed lips, I know she agrees with her husband more than ever. Lord Steward has many contacts in London, the kind of contacts I cannot forsake at the moment unless I want many of my current projects to end up being a complete waste of time and money.

We finish eating our supper in silence and I don’t eat any dessert. I don’t want to lose Maggie, she is a ray of sunshine in my life and I feel complete only when she is between my arms. I can’t call our engagement off, it is not in me to do it. Maggie must feel terrible since she heard the news; if anything, she needs my love, friendship and support.

And yet, I know all too well what happens to people who side with those who justice later decides to punish. A scandal on the basis of embezzlement isn’t a small one, it has the power to stain my reputation forever and to annihilate any chance I might have to sit in Parliament.

Marrying Maggie was my most exciting prospect a few hours ago, now I dread the moment I will have to face her again knowing all too well we have to take a terrible decision that will break both our hearts.

Chapter 3

Miss Maggie Knight

My entire family is upset. After Wyatt’s departure yesterday afternoon, I took upon myself to dare and ask my father what the matter was. The answer wasn’t one I enjoyed and, as she would, my mother fainted when she heard the news.

It was indeed terrible news that awaited her home after her trip in town. When my father explained to us the man he trusted happened to be a rascal, it became obvious to all of us that he would be facing the consequences.

My father is the kind of man that likes to give pieces of advice, he likes to talk, he genuinely enjoys being friendly, but this time, I think it was for the worse.

“But… But… What about our rights?” exclaimed my mother between two fits of tears. “We can hire a lawyer and make this right! This is not your doing, you did not force anyone to invest in something treacherous. Surely everybody knows that!”

“Maybe they do,” had argued my father, “but I am the one who told them to invest their money and trust this man. They acted upon my recommendation, therefore I am to blame.”

“But it’s impossible!” shouted my mother, a new wave of dismay making her body tremble. “We have always obeyed the law, we cannot be perceived as some vulgar criminals! This is terrible, oh Lord, how afflicting!”

At this, she had fainted once more and my father had left the room to seclude himself in his study.

Supper last night was of the most silent I have ever known. Even Susie, who always has something to say or complain about, was as quiet as the grave.

On my father’s recommendation, and since we do not know truly where the case is at, we have all decided to avoid going into town or even visit friends. We do not know yet who will resent my father for his honest yet unfruitful words and he fears the loss of money some of his good friends are facing might bring on some disrespectful behaviors toward my mother, Susie or me.

So we remain secluded, too. The house is as calm as it has ever been and when trying to paint, no inspiration whatsoever drives my brush. The shadow of fear and disbelieve lurking around is making every room look incredibly dull…

When teatime comes, I expect to see Wyatt’s horse appear in the driveway, but he never comes.

“He probably had many things to do today,” says Susie in a soft voice as I cannot take my eyes away from the window.

I anticipate hearing the clicking of hooves on the gravel any moment.

“I don’t know…”

My voice is a faint whisper and my sister doesn’t insist. She must be thinking it too, the fear cinching my heart leading me to believe that if Wyatt isn’t coming today, it is because he has heard.

Wyatt is a Viscount, he has a title, lands, good prospects in life and a vast fortune. He is handsome, elegant, perfect in more senses than one and my love for him is ever growing. However, I am no dupe. His absence today is unusual and it contradicts the very words he has uttered not twenty-four hours ago.

I cannot spend a day without seeing your face…

Well, it seems today was the day his certitude was proved wrong.

I inhale a deep breath as I reroute my gaze from the window and let it fall to my canvas. I have nothing to express today other than utter fear and disappointment.

Surely tomorrow will bring better news; right now I have to forget the lack filling my heart at Wyatt’s absence.

The next morning, I have a hard time waking up. I shift my position again and again in bed and my blanket feels too warm to ever force myself to get up. When my mother calls me to the drawing room, the crazy thought that Wyatt might have finally found the time to visit me flashes through my brain and I dress in a hurry.

I am still fastening a ribbon in my hair when I enter the room, my pale-looking mother sitting upright on a chair.

“Have you forgotten, Maggie?” she asks and her voice makes me frown.

One gaze round the room makes my heart sink, Wyatt is nowhere to be seen.

“What is it, Mama?”

She shakes her head and a tight smile finds its way to her lips.

“We have promised to join Mrs Plainfield today for the fitting of your new frock,” she announces and I wonder if she has just lost her mind.

“My new frock?”

She blinks quickly and, her smile failing only a little, she nods, the hint of determination making her look older.

“Yes. You and Susie will go to see her today,” she declares and, now I am certain she has gone mad.

“But Mama,” I start carefully, “are you sure this is wise? Papa told us to avoid going out if we could prevent it and I don’t feel we shou—”

“We gave our word to Mrs Plainfield, so we will honor it,” declares my mother dryly. “We should not let these fake accusations get to us. We are above them.”

I nod, but I cannot agree with this. Parading in the town’s streets shopping for a new dress while my father’s associates are facing ruin because of him doesn’t sound like an entertaining afternoon to me.

An hour later, my sister and I are ready to go. We leave the house with an uncomfortable apprehension making our bodies tense, but we try not to let it show. Our carriage takes us to town and we don’t bother looking around the shops like we always like to. Even Susie, who is usually somewhat of an inconsiderate person, seems to realize that it wouldn’t be wise to appear too proud or haughty on a day like this one.

We make our way to Mrs Plainfield’s shop and the woman greets us with a smile. I suppose she hasn’t heard the news yet…

“Oh yes my dear,” she exclaims when I remind her of our arrangement about my new dress. “I have done an amazing work, look.”

She disappears behind a door and comes back with a beautiful frock hanging over her arm.

“I have worked with the ribbons you picked the other day. I am flattering myself with the results.”

“It is gorgeous,” I admit with a grateful gaze. “Thank you, Mrs Plainfield.”

“Oh don’t you thank me, dear Miss Knight! I am always happy to embellish the natural beauty of young girls such as you. The blue mousseline and these white ribbons are going to make your amazing blue eyes pop!”

A smile stretches my lips as the woman compliments my appearance and I let her do it without complaint. She likes to flatter and, if one were to listen to her, all the young women living in this world would be considered diamonds awaiting discovery. Buying from her always makes me smile, she has a way of lifting people’s spirits up.

“Is there something I can do for you, dear?”

At the nice woman’s question, my sister blinks before shaking her head in a hurry.

“No, oh no, I do not feel like choosing a fabric.”

Her desperation makes Mrs Plainfield’s brow crease and I frown down at my sister. She is utterly unable to hide her feelings and the smallest discomfort on her part is certain to be displayed in the bright light of the day.

We end our visit by a warm greeting of the older woman and we head toward our carriage.

“Wait,” I say, the trembling in my voice clearly showing my unease. “There is a visit I must conduct before we head back home.”

At my words, my sister purses her lips and grimaces before resuming what she assumes to be a placid face.

“Are you sure it is a good idea?” she wonders, guessing whom I intend to visit. “He might not be home and… Well…”

I brush back her doubts with a flick of my hand.

“It is alright. At this time, I am certain to find him there.”

“Yes, I should guess he is, but do you not fear his reaction? If he has heard…”

“What are you implying?” I wonder abruptly. “That he would refuse to receive me?”

Susie shakes her head but doesn’t add anything.

“You can visit Miss Davry while I am at Wyatt’s. I will not be long, I promise.”

My sister agrees in a nod, her face overwhelmed with an expression of sadness.

“Yes, I believe you will not.”

I frown at her obvious lack of faith. Does she really think Wyatt to be the kind of man who would deny his heart because of my father’s affairs? I hope not! Yet, isn’t it what has kept me awake most of the night after he didn’t show up for tea yesterday?

I shake my head, well decided to visit my fiancé and explain to him the treacherous accusations my poor father has to face. Wyatt is in possession of a great fortune and has many friends, maybe he would be able to help us. I don’t want to ask for his help, but he might be waiting for me to visit to offer his assistance.

My sister and I part ways, she heads to Miss Davry home and I let our carriage take me to Wyatt’s mansion. He lives not too far from town, right above a beautiful park he owns.

I have always loved this place. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been used to coming here for parties and balls, but I would have never imagined growing up that I could, at some point, become the mistress of this domain. It is so grand and impressive; I still don’t know if I would be competent in this role. However, being engaged to Wyatt has made me reconsider my opinions and, after his lengthy account of what makes the estate so incredible and likable, I have accepted trying to picture myself as the lady of the place.

I detail the trees as the carriage drives up the magnificent driveway and a smile stretches my lips when I glimpse at Wyatt’s favorite horse in the field. If his black stallion is here, it’s more than probable Wyatt is here, too.

I climb down the carriage with the same feeling of tininess that this huge mansion always imposes on me. The sky is slowly filling up with dark clouds, the smell of the air has just changed, it announces rain. I spend a few minutes observing the beautiful, brushed colors of the sky before letting out a sigh and walking to the front door.

“Hello Mr Forwood.”

The butler lets me into the hall and bows to me in greetings.

“Is the Viscount expecting you, Miss Knight?”

I frown as his tone is drier than it usually is. I shake my head no.

“I was in town and decided to come and visit. I cannot stay long, though,” I add quickly, noting in spite of myself that my presence within his master’s walls isn’t pleasing to the man. “I have to pick my sister at Miss Davry in an hour.”

Mr Forwood nods but his face remains closed. I don’t know what I have done to him to deserve this type of coolness, but I don’t like it. Even if this man has heard about my father’s unfortunate misadventure, he cannot be concerned.

“Is your master home?” I ask after a long minute of icy silence.

“Yes,” declares the man, his piercing eyes going over me as if expecting me to be a thief of some kind.

“Can I see him?”

I am forced to ask what he decently should have been offering, this visit is turning less agreeable than I had expected it to be.

“I will let him know you are here,” says Mr Forwood coldly. “Please follow me.”

He leads me to the secondary drawing room and withdraws to go and fetch his master. The terrible feeling twisting my guts is back and I clasp my hands together, trying my best to forget the negative thoughts roaming through my mind.

I have to remain positive. I know Wyatt is a good man, if he has heard the news, he will show me support. And support is frankly the only thing I need right now. I feel as though the world is collapsing all around me, hanging only onto a small thread threatening to snap at any second. Wyatt’s presence is always such a balm to my heart, I cannot go wrong in searching for comfort in him.

A pair of feet echoing in the corridor makes me stand up from the chair in a jump. I wait, hoping to see the Viscount joining me, but it is only Mr Forwood.

“His Lordship will see you in his office,” he announces in a detached tone. “He is very busy and does not have time to take tea with you. If you wish to come back tomorrow, surely he will be able to—”

“I will see him now,” I cut him short, tired of his accents of meanness.

I join him by the door and arch one of my eyebrows up, inviting him to show me the way. We walk in silence until we reach a dark, precious door of old wood and he opens it for me. Mr Forwood bows to me and I nod in response, my eyes following him as he quickly deserts the corridor. I don’t know why he is acting this way, he has always been very warm toward me and he is used to seeing me here. I have never detected an ounce of hostility in him.

I shrug, deciding I will bother myself finding an explanation later on and I walk in.

The first thing that surprises me in Wyatt’s office is how dark it is. The daylight coming through the window is weakening at every second that passes, the full, threatening black clouds filling the sky entirely.

“Hello, Your Lordship,” I say with a smile, finding my fiancé’s face in the gray light. “Wouldn’t it be easier to work on your papers with some candles lighted up?”

My smile grows wider as I walk further into the room, but something on his face makes me go still. He nods at my words and uses a match to light a candle, using the candle to light a second on his desk.

“The light has gone so quickly I didn’t even notice,” he admits, but his voice seems so far away.

A shiver goes over my entire body, I don’t want to believe my worse fears might have been accurate.

“Well, I suppose today is a complicated day for everybody,” I say with a new smile. “Even the sky is showing signs of fatigue.”

A faint smile passes on his lips but he doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. He stands behind his massive ebony desk and I have to close my fists in my back to avoid showing my discomfort. This has never happened, I have always been happy when next to Wyatt. Today, it’s the fear of what his words might be that scares me.

“Indeed.”

Wyatt looks through the window, losing himself in the contemplation of the horizon. I clear my throat to call his attention back.

“Is everything alright?” I wonder, breaking a silence starting to weigh on me.

I expect him to reassure me but, instead, he sighs and shakes his head. I try to take a step forward to get closer to his desk, but my feet are frozen in place. I cannot move any more, my heart is paralyzed with fear.

“No,” he admits in a low voice. “No, nothing is alright, my love.”

I am both happy and anxious, his term of endearment making me scared his dark features are about to tell me the most dreadful of words.

A sigh passes my lips and I shake my head in turn.

“I suppose you have heard, then.”

He looks up to me and what I glimpse at in his eyes has a new wave of shiver course over my body. This isn’t good.

“I have,” he declares calmly.

I nod, lowering my eyes and trying hard to find something to add.

“I see. What do you think about it?”

His eyes shoot to mine and he stares at me for a minute without a word.

“Is it true?”

I frown.

“I don’t know much,” I admit. “I only know that my father hasn’t done anything wrong but that he faces heavy charges because some people decided to take on his word of advice. Which he gave only because he was asked!” I add in a hurry.

A heavy sigh echoes in the room and I stare at Wyatt. He passes a hand on his face and, when he walks to me and reaches for my hand, his palm is as cold as ice.

“Wyatt, are you cold, my love?” I wonder in a breath, grabbing his hand between mine to warm it up.

I look up to find his eyes but his jaw is clenched and I can read sorrow on his face.

“I have heard about it,” he says, discarding my remark but his hand warming under my touch. “Lord Steward believes your father faces trial.”

I swallow at the lump in my throat, pinching my lips tightly to avoid letting way to my fears.

“From what I have heard, it is a possibility.”

He frowns and his gaze turns distant. His hand squeezes mine and he nods slowly.

“What have you heard, exactly?” I ask.

He sighs and shakes his head, taking his palm away from mine and combing his fingers through his short dark hair.

“Only a few things,” he declares in a careful voice. “I have heard the main charge will be embezzlement, not much more than that.”

I nod in agreement.

“It is what the man that was home the other day accused him of. But you know he is innocent, right?”

“Of course!” he exclaims firmly, comforting my heart at the same time. “I have no doubt about that.”

His word choice makes me tense and he notices it. He pinches his lips and closes his eyes.

“You seem particularly affected, Wyatt.”

I detail his face once again and wait for him to meet my eyes. He doesn’t and sighs again.

“Of course I am,” he says finally crossing my gaze. “This is the worse that could have happened. It is terrible, purely terrifying.”

A thread of sharp terror finds its way to my heart and I repress a new shiver to avoid appearing weak in front of the man I love.

“What… What do you mean?”

“Oh Maggie, can’t you see?”

He stares at me, shaking his head in despair and I have a hard time inhaling a new breath. My lungs are so constricted I fear I might faint.

“I… It is only a business matter,” I try calmly, “it will soon be resolved, I am sure.”

He shakes his head and my throat dries out.

“You know it isn’t that easy,” he says and his obvious despair makes me take a step back. “It will take time before a judgment is delivered, and your father will have to work very hard to defend himself and…” He takes a deep breath and closes the distance between us, reaching for both my hands. “Your family is facing a very lengthy scandal, Maggie.”

I study his face, hoping to find the hint of a solution he might have figured out, but I only find suffering. I hate this, I hate it more than what I fear he might be trying to say.

“Please, don’t tell me it is changing anything between us,” I breathe out with difficulty.

My heart is beating so fast in my chest I am certain he can hear from where he stands. When he only sighs in response, I lose my breath.

“It’s… It’s what you are telling me, is that it?” I argue slowly. “You are telling me it alters everything between us… You… You are breaking off our engagement…”

“Maggie…”

“No,” I object, pushing away the hand he intended to rest on my cheek. “No, don’t touch me.”

I turn my back to him in order to hide the tears threatening to overwhelm me. I have to be strong, my entire life is crumbling but I have to remain grounded.

What is it good for?

I don’t know, but I have to do my best, otherwise… I might be collapsing in front of the only human being I have ever loved.

A long, silent minute passes before Wyatt’s sigh echoes in my back. I shiver at his touch when he rests his hand over my shoulder. His fingers are soft, kind even… Does it mean he doesn’t want any of this to be happening?

“Maggie, you have to believe me,” he starts, “I have never intended for things to go this way. We were supposed to be married in two months and we would have been if… If your father…”

He racks his brain to find fitting words but nothing comes up and he steps closer to me, his chest meeting my back.

“You have to believe me, my love. Renouncing to you is the hardest thing my family has ever asked of me.”

My eyebrows meet on my forehead and I turn back to him.

“Your family?”

He nods and I understand it all.

“I see. Your sister is behind this…”

Wyatt’s lips part to speak but I shake my head, forbidding him to answer. Instead, I make a huge effort to take a step back.

“It’s not her fault,” he argues without any conviction. “She only stated the obvious. The scandal of your father’s business will drag your family name through the mud… I am trying to become a Member of Parliament, I cannot afford to—”

“You cannot afford me,” I cut him short.

He shakes his head abruptly and both his hands jump to my cheeks. He holds my face in place as he details every square inch of my skin, my eyes filling with tears when our gazes lock.

“I would be a stain on your reputation,” I add in a small voice on the verge of breaking. “I would become an obstacle to what you really want.”

I take a step back, fleeing his touch and retreating toward the door.

“Don’t say that,” he whispers, his fists squeezing tightly by his side and his jaw clenching. “You know it isn’t that simple.”

I nod but my heart lies in pieces at the bottom of my chest.

“Indeed, you are right. Marrying me would make your life a lot more complicated.”

“Maggie…”

“No, I understand,” I insist, “truly, I do. I am sorry my father’s affairs and my family’s reputation is putting you through so much disagreement. I beg you to accept my sincere apologies. I can only assume it is an unsolicited pressure and therefore I understand your position. You cannot, should definitely not, unite your good name to my despicable one.”

I dare a gaze toward his face and his nostrils are flared. He clenches his fists so hard his knuckles are white. My belly tightens as I recall his hands softly gliding over my body, caressing my skin, but I chase the thought with a shake of the head.

“I understand, Viscount Chambers. Surely, you are doing the right thing, if that is what your heart commands. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have my sister to find and—”

“Maggie, please! You have to know this isn’t what I want! I stand by all the things I have said to you, I—”

“You love me?”

He stares at me, speechless, before taking a careful step in my direction. When my entire body tightens, he stops.

“You know I do.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head vigorously, “no, you did. Now, you might think you do, but you will soon forget about it, about me. Even if we…”

My voice breaks and I take my head in my hands, shame making my heart rate goes up. I am facing more than heartbreak, I am facing ruin.

“You know I would never say a thing!” he exclaims with strength. “No one will ever hear what… What happened between us, not by me in any case, your secret is safe with me.”

“Maybe it is,” I find the courage to say, “but I also thought my heart was safe with you. I believe one mistake does not prevent another.”

“Maggie,” he calls to me but I refuse to look at him, losing my eyes through the window. The rain has started falling down and, as if the sky knew of my sorrow, the pouring begins to look like a deluge. “You can’t say that,” he adds strongly. “You know my feelings for you, you know how much I love you! This is an unfortunate twist of events that none of us could have seen coming.”

I remain silent at his words but I shake my head.

“Maybe we could wait for a while,” he declares, and I sense hope in his tone. “Wait for your father to be declared innocent. After a while, people will start forgetting about this affair and then, maybe…”

“Then maybe the stain will look less abominable?” I reply, my eyes finding his.

Tears are gathered on the corners and I know fairly well he can see them. But, for the first time, I don’t care. My heart is too hurt to focus on anything else but pain at the moment.

“You know it will never be that simple,” I declare, swallowing at the lump in my throat. “We both know that.”

“My love… I am so sorry, I only wish things could be different.”

I nod, failing to contain a tear that falls down on my cheek like a traitor telling on my feelings.

“Yes. So do I.”

Wyatt sighs again and thunder makes me jump. The rain is turning into a storm, I should go home. It’s not like I have anything left to do here.

I focus on the threatening weather outside and Wyatt closes the distance between us. He grabs my hands and makes me look at him, clutching at my fingers gently.

“Please don’t hate me,” he whispers, genuinely concerned. “I cannot bear the thought of having you hating me, Maggie. Anything else, maybe, but not that.”

I shake my head but he calls back my attention with a squeeze of my hands.

“I don’t hate you.”

How could I hate the man I love so much? Impossible… No, I already know what is going to happen and hating him isn’t part of my terrible fate. I will become a spinster, my family will be ostracized and I will never see a ball room or a friendly face ever again.

I inhale a deep breath but Wyatt’s proximity is too overwhelming. I am in need of some fresh air, I have to get out of here.

“I… Susie will be waiting on me,” I declare, the hint of firmness in my tone.

Wyatt studies my face, his jaw clenched and his lips parted as if he was to add a few words, but he remains silent.

With a bob of the head, he drives my hands to his mouth and kisses my skin. I can’t take it, it’s too much. I am not certain my heart can endure that much pain.

I jump back, away from his touch, and press my hands to my chest.

“Don’t,” I order him, his sad eyes telling me all the words he wishes he could express. “I… I have to go… Goodbye, Viscount Chambers.”

I curtsy in a hurry and move toward the door.

“Wait! It is pouring outside, you cannot leave now, you will catch a cold and—”

“With all due respect, Your Lordship, I don’t think my health should be any of your concern,” I say meeting his gaze as mine is already filled with a new wave of tears. “Not anymore.”

I nod in salutations and, when Wyatt tries to add something, I move quickly toward the door before closing it back behind me.

I wait by the door, hearing him step behind it without opening it. We remain separated by this wooden door, so close and yet already so far… When the violence of what has just happened hits me fully, I burst into tears, unable to move anymore. I cry and cry again for a long time. I know Wyatt is behind the door and is probably able to hear me, but he has the delicacy not to open it to face me. I don’t care about it anymore. I have already given him so much, hearing me cry isn’t the most intimate memory he will have of me.

After a few minutes of thoughtless crying, my broken heart weighing thousands of pounds within my chest, I wipe my face on my sleeve before heading for the hall.

Mr Forwood is already waiting by the door, ready to see me out and I don’t make him wait. I leave this mansion I should never have contemplated as my future home, and I stand under the rain. It’s cold and wet and windy, but I don’t care. The only thing I ever cared about is right behind me and, thinking I might never see Wyatt again, a new pain rises in my chest making me physically weak.

I wait under the rain for a few minutes before the carriage is ready to take me back to town and, as soon as I climb in, I close the shutters. I don’t want to see what could have been mine, I want to forget everything: the world, my lover’s sweet face, the pain…

I close my eyes and pray for sleep but the road is bumpy and keeps me fully awake. Fortunately, we soon reach Miss Davry’s home. When Susie joins me in the carriage and sits next to me, I know she can read on my face what has happened. Without a word, she takes me in her arms and, as violently as I have a door away from Wyatt, I cry until I pass out of exhaustion.

Chapter 4

Viscount Wyatt Chambers

I try my best to keep my mind straight as Maggie’s hurting cries reach my ears. It would only take from me to open the door, take her in my arms and kiss her to make her sorrow go away. But I don’t. I remain unmoving behind this door, the love of my life standing on the other side and I don’t say a word.

When her cries subside and she steps away, a void settles in my chest. I might be safeguarding my career and my business contracts, but I am forsaking my happiness, I know it.

I walk to the window and lose myself in the dark swirls of clouds in the sky. It’s windy and cold outside, she might get a cold going out in this weather…

It is none of your concern. Not anymore.

Her words stick with me and make me wince. How can she expect me not to care about her? No matter what I had to do, I am still deeply in love with her. Her tear-filled eyes, her sad features and her abashed gaze… It pains me to know I am the source of such feelings.

I sit behind my desk and keep my eyes on a letter lying there. For the first time in a while, I feel as lonely as a lost soul. I let my fingers graze over the curved wood and a huge sigh passes my lips. I had envisioned a future much different than what lies ahead of me right now.

Giving way to my sadness and the remorse cinching my heart, I remain secluded in my study for the rest of the day. Maggie’s perfume still dances in the air, lovely volutes of sweetness reminding me of the rascal she must believe me to be. I hate myself so much for hurting her.

What other choice did I have though?

I do not value my sister’s opinion so much, but I knew she was right the second she mentioned the disgrace marrying the daughter of a man trialled for embezzlement would be for me and my family.

My name is ancient, the last promise I made to my father was to protect it for as long as I would live. I don’t intend to perjure myself, but the cost is so high…

Will I ever meet Maggie again? The thought that I might never see her face again births a shiver upon my skin. Two days ago, I wanted nothing else but to marry her and make her my legitimate wife. Now, the entire world is upside down…

I pass my hands on my face when a knock on the door has my body tensing up.

“Your Lordship?”

Daniel’s face appears in the room and I raise wet eyes to meet his.

“What is it?”

He reviews me for a second with a creased brow before bowing slightly.

“Excuse me, Sir, but I must ask if you shall have your meal in the dining room or have it served here.”

The man sounds particularly uncomfortable, I must look quite unwelcoming. I shake my head roughly.

“No,” I answer, “I will not be eating tonight. I am not hungry. Please feel free to enjoy your own meal when you desire.”

“Are you sure?”

The butler arches an eyebrow but I insist with a nod.

“Yes. Now I wish to be alone. Please make sure no one is to bother me.”

The man, still trying to conceal the look of surprise freely displayed on his face, bows in agreement. He is about to withdraw when I gather my courage to ask the question burning at the back of my throat.

“Did Miss Knight leave in good form?” I wonder.

Daniel observes me for a minute before nodding and, after a new second of reflection, shrugging.

“She did seem quite… affected by your encounter, but she was safely seen off before climbing in her carriage.”

“I see…”

The butler bows once more, determined to leave the room, when he stops and turns to me.

“May I… May I dare ask something, Your Lordship?”

I study his face for a minute before nodding in agreement.

“I do not know the details,” he starts carefully, “but I have heard Mr Knight might soon have to face embezzlement charges.”

I squeeze my eyes, unable to see where the man is heading with this.

“So I have heard.”

“I was wondering,” he adds, “what will happen to his wife and daughters if he is found guilty?”

His question makes me blink and I shake my head.

“I cannot tell for I do not know. Surely they have enough money to survive during his time in jail.”

“Yes… Surely…”

My brow remains creased as I detail the man whose mind seems lost on personal matters.

“May I know why you are asking?”

“No particular, reason, Your Lordship,” he quickly admits. “I was only reflecting on the impact of such a case over their family. It’s lucky the girls are not married, it would have dragged other families into the gutter.”

I twitch at his words and he senses my good temper deserting me. Before I can add something to humble him up, he wishes me a good night and disappears behind the door.

The worst thing is, I know he is right. What will indeed become of the Miss Knights? One cannot be sure… They are young and pretty but their father’s actions will without a doubt rebuff many a gentleman. In a world where good reputation is a necessity, a criminal of a father puts a dent in any good one.

Anyway, I don’t worry about the other Knights, the only one that matters to me is Maggie. My sweet Maggie… How she must be hating me now more than ever.

Even if she assured me of the contrary, I know she cannot be feeling otherwise. Not after what I have said… Not after what we have done…

My eyes close as I recall this beautiful day spent in London[FC1]. We had walked around Hyde Park, visited many shops in town, went to the opera, and she had joined me at my townhouse… What a night it had been, what a perfect, love-filled evening spent with the most amazing woman that exists in this world.

Goosebumps flourish on my flesh as I recall our bodies uniting as one and my beautiful Maggie loving me. It was only a few months ago and yet, I can relive it behind my closed eyelids. How I wish I could go back in time… Holding her between my arms is everything to me.

As I recall her eyes lost in passion and her fingers gliding through my hair, my throat dries out. What have I done? I press my palms to my face, trying my best to find back my composure. I have made love to her but, even if none of us says a word about it, I know she fears the memory of it might be a threat to her reputation. She would be despised and ruined if I were to say a word, and I know her heart to be soft and kind, she would never survive such a shame.

I shake my head, passing a hand over my nape as I try to avoid picturing my love’s face in my mind. I don’t even know how we came to it in the first place, it just happened. She was close to me, sweet and gentle and delicate, and I couldn’t reel my desire in.

The most wonderful night of my life… How am I supposed to forget about it? Because breaking off our engagement is exactly what it was all about, my sister is aware of it. Maggie and I have to stop seeing each other but we also have to stop loving each other. How can one act upon something beyond his control?

A nasty, annoyed groan escapes my throat and I lean back in my chair. My back meets the soft material and I close my eyes, my palms pressing over my eyelids. No matter how hard I try to find a solution, I know none exists.

Nothing can compare to the hole now living inside my heart.

Days slowly pass me by and each sunrise brings back Maggie’s absence. It is a terrible thing to wake up knowing fairly well you will not see the person you love in the hours to come. The feeling of lack soon turns into deep despair, but I cannot confide in anyone.

After my officious break up with Maggie, my sister congratulated me. I could still feel the sharp pain of my heart in pieces when she smiled at me with her haughty manners and declared it was a necessary evil.

I haven’t met a member of the Knight’s family since Maggie visited me. To avoid any embarrassment on Maggie’s part, I have stopped visiting them. To my complete disarray, I do not receive any news about them. I don’t know anything about the issues they might be facing and it is driving me crazy. To imagine my lovely Maggie having to deal with the pain my decision surely imposed on her heart as well as with her father’s unfortunate judiciary case, I am certain she needs moral support right now. Yet, I cannot give it to her.

She must know I had no choice, but it will never stop her from resenting me.

I blink as Mr Forwood knocks on the door of my study and I invite him in. He bows as I squeeze my eyes.

“This just came in for you, Your Lordship.”

“Who is it from?” I ask, unable to prevent my heart racing up at the unrealistic thought that it might be from Maggie.

“Lord Miraday, Your Lordship,” he declares in an even voice.

He hands me the piece of paper and my face tenses. I have done business with Miraday, he is a good man, but very easily impressed. It wouldn’t surprise me if he were to offer me to invest in some obscure new venture of his.

I thank Daniel and unfold the letter as the man leaves. My eyes go over every word and I am extremely pleased to notice it is only an invitation to some party he is organizing next week.

I don’t feel like partaking in this kind of festivity, but I cannot remain secluded here reflecting upon my unfortunate fate over and over again. I draft a short response to him, confirming my presence to his social event but not promising to stay in for the night because I have an important meeting the following day.

In the span of the week separating me from the party I have promised to attend, I lose myself in my work. I haven’t found a better way to forget about Maggie’s absence just yet, so working has to act as a substitute for the time.

I put on my best suit preparing for Miraday’s party and I climb into my carriage. I gaze outside, detailing the low clouds threatening to pour their cold tears down on us and I am surprised when my driver informs me we have already reached our destination.

I climb down and, before I have had enough time to dust off my jacket, Miraday welcomes me in person.

“Ah! My dear Viscount! How are you doing today, my Lord?”

“Good indeed,” I assure him with a warm handshake. “How are you, Lord Miraday?”

“Perfect! Amazingly well! I will tell you more about it but for now, please! Follow me inside!”

His enthusiasm is not uncharacteristic of him, but the glow of happiness on his face is unforeseen. I wonder what might be the reason of this sudden good mood and I make my way inside.

Many guests are already here. I shake hands with Lord and Lady Knightley, greet Sir Hindsley who looks disappointed his wife couldn’t come tonight and I end up meeting Lord and Lady Feaston.

I enjoy the party as any other guest until a specific conversation catches my attention.

“… that’s what I have heard,” says a big man with a large mustache. “The bank argued Knight was to pay for the debt right away or they would have to get the police involved.”

“Poor chap!” exclaims another guest. “He most definitely didn’t need any new trouble with justice. He already faces a jail sentence for this embezzlement affair, I can hardly guess how he will find enough resources to soothe the bankers!”

“Indeed, it seems when one thing sinks, another soon follows.”

My stomach sinks.

The two men nod and lose themselves in inner reflections but I have to be sure.

“Pardon me, gentlemen,” I say, rudely joining in the conversation without having been invited to. “Were you, per chance, referring to Mr Knight of Padmore Street[FC2]?”

The two men shrug before nodding as one.

“Yes.”

“Rumor has it he is facing ruin,” explains the massive man. “The bank is putting his back against the wall.”

“I see…”

My heart rate has just picked up in my chest. If her father is facing ruin, then it means Maggie is in a dreadful position. This can’t be happening! We should have been preparing our wedding day by now…

“What about his family?”

The gentlemen study me carefully and I clear my throat, doing my best to hide the trouble knotting my insides.

“He has a wife and two daughters from what I recall,” I add on a detached note. “What are they to become?”

“They’ll probably have to sell their house,” declares the second man, shrugging once more.

“The next few months won’t be easy for them, that’s for certain.”

I nod and take a sip of port, but I don’t acknowledge the taste, only the slow-burning sensation it leaves in my throat.

“What is the bank asking of Mr Knight?” I insist, the spark of an idea making my fingers tense around my glass.

“Well, from what I have heard, his banker has asked him to refund an old debt. He was refunding it little by little every year so that he remained solvable, but it seems the bank decided on a whim to ask for the entire sum at once.”

“It makes no doubt he won’t be able to pay,” concludes the other man. “He has been paying hundreds of pounds for his lawyer to work on his defense in the embezzlement case.”

“It is a sad tale,” I say, hiding any of my feelings under a flat voice.

“Indeed it is!” exclaims the big man. “I have known Mr Knight for years and he has never been anything but honest and genuine. It is a pity to see his good reputation go to waste because of a business failure such as the one he has met.”

“Indeed!”

“Indeed…”

I take another gulp of my port and speak with the men for another couple of minutes before drifting away. This is bad news. With her family facing ruin, Maggie and her sister are certain never to make advantageous matches.

I withdraw within my own mind as all the guests enjoy themselves around me but I can barely hear the musicians pinching the cords to their instruments.

The wave of fear that threatens to eat me alive is back so fiercely I drown myself in another glass of port. If Mr Knight isn’t able to pay the bank what it is asking for, he will have to sell the house and the family will have to leave. I can’ t let this happen. If she leaves the neighborhood, I might never see Maggie again.

Even if she remains here, I will not see her again. I have hurt her too much.

I shake my head, helping myself to a glass of brandy but alcohol does not seem to help. I drift away from the crowd, ready to go back home when Lord Mirabay catches me.

“Leaving already?” he asks joyously.

“Indeed I am,” I admit. “I fear I have had too many drinks tonight and will have a hard time waking up with a clear mind tomorrow.”

My friend laughs noisily and I stretch my hand out to him. He grabs and shakes it vigorously but I blink.

“What was the great news you wanted to announce earlier on?” I ask.

He smiles happily and points at a young woman busy eating petit four.

“See that gorgeous girl over there?” he asks and I nod in response. “It is Miss Hutchinson[FC3]. I have met her in Bath a few months ago and she has accepted to become my wife! Can you believe that? The most beautiful girl in the world wants to become my wife, what a lucky man I am!”

He laughs heartily and his genuine happiness makes me smile in my turn. He isn’t a bad-looking man, but he is short and bald, his small legs gifting him with an awkward appearance. Any lack one might find in his physical appearance is easily counterbalanced by his enthusiasm and honest kindness, though. I don’t know who Miss Hutchinson is, but she will be lucky to become Lady Miraday.

I review her figure as my friend’s eyes fill with the gleam inherent to lovers and I repress a faint shrug. She is what one could call pretty, but she doesn’t have anything special. I do not remark any peculiar elegance nor any sign of accomplishment on her part, but my mind only makes me see the world through the prism of Maggie’s perfection. Of course, every other woman pales in comparison, it is obvious.

I offer him my greatest congratulations and I leave the party to go home. I am happy for Miraday, but his profound happiness only makes me suffer from the loss of mine.

Safely lying in bed, I cannot forget the words I have heard tonight. If Maggie’s family is facing ruin, I have to help her. I cannot, will not, endure the thought of knowing her living in poverty simply because her father’s reputation has been destroyed. Mr Knight must have offended his banker in a way or another to suffer such a threat. Unfortunately for him, his unfruitful ventures are proving more harmful than he would have thought.

I close my eyes doing my best to focus on what I must do to help Maggie but, as sleep fogs my mind, only the vision of her sad face appears behind my eyes. My heart clenches and I grit my teeth. To think I might never be able to see her again is killing me.

I have to find a way to help her. I cannot live without her, this certainty is clearer to me than ever.

Chapter 5

Miss Maggie Knight

A light wind draws the tree leaves in a passionate dance nothing could ever stop. I watch as they twirl, swirling and rising into the sky before it all collapses down to the floor… The wind disappears, its gusts leaving behind sad, desolated looking leaves tired of the exercise they just went through.

I sigh, rerouting my gaze to focus on something other than forsaken fallen leaves.

Fallen…

Is that what I am condemned to become? A fallen woman? If I were to believe the recent misfortunes that have befallen me and my family, I wouldn’t be taking a lot of chances saying I am to be one. A fallen woman, heartbroken, her beauty slowly vanishing away as the dark days pass one after the other only bringing in more darkness and pain. That is what I am now, what I will be for the rest of my life.

Since this terrible afternoon when Wyatt broke off our engagement, nothing has gone right in my life. My father’s reputation has dived below the level of the sea, my mother spends her days and her nights crying and getting into fits of tears, my sister cries in silence or keep to her room not to meet my father. My father… I would do anything to lift the weight off his shoulders. In the course of a few weeks, he has lost weight, his health has been deteriorating and he is so anxious one can barely talk to him.

He spends a lot of time with his lawyer, but the prospects are not good. Mama told me—amidst a break of her nerves—that we are about to face financial ruin. As if my own questionable status wasn’t enough.

After I parted ways with Wyatt, I have accepted the fact that I will never marry. I simply cannot picture it. When we got back home, Susie helped me to get to my room but I did not have enough strength to eat anything for two consecutive days. My mother was worried, my father angry at Wyatt’s behavior and lack of support, but I was simply desperate. Now, I manage. I have accepted my awful fate. No gentleman will wish to marry me knowing I have already made love to another man, and I cannot believe I would be willing to marry a gentleman without admitting my past mistakes to him first.

Steps echo in the corridor and I don’t react when my mother enters the drawing room. Her face is lifeless, she has no color left on her cheeks, her hair is turning dull and she has the weary eyes of prey. She doesn’t look a bit like what she used to, anxiety and shame are taking the best of her.

“Where is your sister?” she wonders, sitting on a chair and sighing with fatigue.

I shake my head in response.

“Probably in her room,” I offer. That is as much effort as I am ready to make to entertain some conversation.

“Yes… I see…”

She becomes silent and I resume my quiet observation of the sky outside. The day I lost Wyatt, it was raining. Now, every single drop of water falling from the sky reminds me of that dreadful day. I can definitely affirm I am living the darkest hours of my life, I cannot see how it could be worse.

“Papa said we will have to sell the house,” I declare in a low voice, my own mind reminding me that, indeed, things can always get worse.

“Oh! My lovely home! What have we done to deserve this!”

She screams and one of my eyebrows cocks up but Mama buries her face on the arm of the chair and starts weeping noisily.

I sigh—my main way of expression nowadays—and I stand up to kneel close to her. I brush my hand to her hair to comfort her as much as I can.

“Papa will find a way to make things right,” I say without conviction. “He always finds a solution to every problem. We have to trust him.”

Mama’s cries get stronger as she weeps and I let my own sorrow take the best of me. I should have been officially engaged by now if it hadn’t been for my father’s business failures. I would have been happy, probably excited and beaming with joy… Now I barely look like myself anymore.

After long minutes spent crying on the chair, my mother decides to leave the room to weep on her own. I resume my seat next to the window and look gloomily outside. I was about to be so happy and now I only have regrets and remorse left. How peculiar!

Yet, I know there are some things I cannot regret. Even if giving way to my desire for Wyatt was a mistake, it wasn’t only an impulse on both our parts, it was love. Pure, unbreakable love. I have never felt happier in my life than when I fell asleep between his arms. How I would love to go back in time, go back to that night when he was me and I was him, when we were one and we had a lifetime of marital bliss ahead of us…

When a knock on the door surprises me, I jump to my feet. I review our maid holding a letter in her hand.

“It is for you, Miss,” she says bringing me the note.

I review the paper, turning it upside down but there is no specific seal on it.

“Who is it from?”

The woman shrugs and I let her go, dismissing her with the shadow of a smile, the only form of kindness my broken soul can allow these days.

I unfold the letter and, as I start reading, my heart kicks up in my chest. Its beat echoes in my ears, I hear my blood running through my veins and my vision blurs.

It is from Wyatt.

Dear Maggie, [it reads]

Our last meeting did not leave any doubt on whether or not you wished to see me again, but I must admit I beg to differ. I miss you tremendously, I can only hope you are holding to your words and have not succumbed to the easy feeling of hating me. I could very well understand if you so wished to consider me your enemy, but it would break my heart more than it already is.

However, I do not write this letter to talk about our deep friendship. I have heard about your father’s financial distress. I do not wish to burden you with such talk, but I believe it is my duty, in regard to our sincere feelings, to offer you my help.

I trust you know how important your opinion of me matters to me, I do not want to appear in your mind as a coward refusing to give a hand to someone in distress. I happen to know your father’s banker—it is one of my good friends—, I am certain I could convince him to work something out with your father.

I want to help you, dear Maggie, for I know you deserve so much more than what life is giving you these days.

I hope you are well. Please believe me when I write these words, they are important to me. You are important to me. Friendship imposes on us to help each other in a dire time, I hope you will see in this offer my most honest concern.

Your most obedient servant,

Viscount Wyatt Chambers

My throat dries out as I read these lines. Wyatt offers his help because he feels compelled to do so in the name of our “deep friendship”. He probably didn’t intend it to do so, but his letter hurts me more than his mouth speaking those words could have.

He says he misses me…

I shake my head, crushing the paper in my fist before flattening it out again. I have to face the truth, this isn’t a lover’s letter, it is an acquaintance offering support. Someone probably pointed out to him that he used to be close to my family and he felt obligated through decorum to offer his help.

However, his words do not sound insincere. I have a hard time making up my mind but I know I cannot wait before writing a reply.

I run to my room to get some ink and paper and start drafting a letter addressed to His Lordship, the Viscount Wyatt Chambers.

Your Lordship, [it reads]

Thank you for your kind words, they are much felt for. I understand your offer to support and help my family in these dark times is a very generous thing and, for that, I thank you.

However, and as you most certainly expected, I cannot accept. I fear if anyone were to know you tried to help us in any way possible, the terrible scandal that weighs on us would drag you down, too.

You will agree on the fact that you definitely cannot afford that, I believe we have mentioned it before. I recall we have also agreed on another point stating I am not your problem anymore.

I most sincerely thank you for your offer, Sir, but good conscience and property both strongly forbid me to accept.

Also, as I believe you will deem fit, I am taking the liberty to return to you the portrait you had kindly gifted me with. As you will surely notice, it is in perfect state for I have taken good care of it in the name of our deep friendship.

To make sure we are agreeing on more points than one, I will kindly ask of you to return the lock of my hair I had given you in exchange for your portrait. I know for a fact you do not need it anymore and, furthermore, it might be an accusing element if you were to become a politician. As I have already mentioned, I do not wish to bring you any ill repute.

I remain your obliged, etc.

Maggie Knight

I fold the letter and get ready to seal it. I grab the portrait out of the tin box I keep it in and observe it one last time. How handsome Wyatt is… His blue eyes don’t show too much on the painting but they are breathtaking in person. His short hair is a light brown where the image depicts it black but his portrait lacks none of his charm, his smart gaze and elegant look. How perfect he looks… Anyone looking at his face can guess the kindness that lies in his heart.

At this very moment, a strong, hideous thought brings tears to my eyes. What will the woman he will choose be like? Will she be tall and slender or short and curvy? Will she have blond, red, brown or dark hair? Who will she be? I don’t know and what hurts is that I never believed I would end up asking myself those dreadful questions.

My tears fall down my cheeks and I don’t bother chasing them. I draw my lips to the portrait and sniff when I glide it between the folds of the letter. Parting with it is breaking the remnants of my heart, but I have to do it. It is the only way I can keep Wyatt out of this muddy scandal that buries my entire family alive one day after the other. I could never forgive myself if I were to be responsible for any pressure he would have to suffer.

When I head downstairs and give the sealed piece of paper, I have a hard time giving it to our maid.

“Please have this posted at once,” I ask and she stares at me.

“Of course, Miss,” she says eyeing the letter suspiciously. “Was it good news, Miss Maggie?”

I can feel the hope echoing in her words and I don’t have the courage to lie.

“No,” I say, “no, I would even dare say it was very bad news.”

“Oh, I see…”

The woman’s eyes on the piece of paper become sadder and I turn back to leave. I go back to my room and sit on my bed trying to think when, really, I can’t even breathe peacefully.

It takes a great effort on my part to convince myself I have made the right decision. Wyatt’s offer would have only brought shame to my father and I cannot impose it on him. Our problems go beyond financial issues, I know it. Getting Wyatt involved in this mess would be good for no one and I am certain it could even have ended up being a threat to his career.

He was right before; he cannot afford such a stain on his reputation.

He cannot afford me.

I lie down on my bed and curl onto the side. Will the pain ever cease or is my heart condemned to hurt so much forever?

I close my eyes and try to conjure up sleep. At the moment, I don’t know how I will survive any of this.

Chapter 6

Viscount Wyatt Chambers

The sound of hooves in the driveway alerts me. I glimpse at the sky through my window and my heart squeezes in my chest.

The letter I sent to Maggie two days ago was the result of hours upon hours of internal struggle and reflection. I had to come to the conclusion that I could never live with myself knowing I have the ability to help her family.

After Lord Miraday’s party, I did my best to find out who Mr Knight’s banker was and, to my most agreeable surprise, I realized it was Mr Jim Wendian. Jim has been my friend for many years and I know him well. If I ask him to do me a favor, he will accept.

The debt the bank is asking for Mr Knight to pay in the month to come is not a huge amount, but I know for a fact that paying a lawyer and having to face justice is very expensive. It makes no doubt that without my help, he won’t have enough resources to live through winter while still residing at Padmore Street.

The lack of support the Knight family is facing does not surprise me at all. They have many friends, but none of them want to be affected by the scandal. It is such a loud one that I read a piece of it in a newspaper only yesterday. The entire region is accusing him of being a fraud, his business deals are being revoked, his employees handing their notice and his wealthy friends deserting him.

Just like I did.

I press my hands on my eyes as I sigh with discontent. Ever since I have broken off our engagement, I miss Maggie more and more every day. Interestingly enough, I miss her perfume more than anything. Not the scent she buys from Mr Laughford [FC4]in town, no, the smell of her skin and hair. I miss her so much I am about to become crazy if I do not receive an answer to my letter.

I cannot talk to Jim without her consent because I do not know what her father’s opinion on the matter is. I know my sister wouldn’t approve of my offer to help Maggie’s family, but I have decided I don’t care anymore. I want to protect the woman I love from ruin and, even if I won’t be able to marry her, at least I can prevent having her being turned out of her own home.

I wait patiently in my study and my back straightens when Daniel knocks on the door. He walks in, handing me the daily mail and he indicates a peculiar letter.

“The postman said this one was quite urgent, Your Lordship,” he announces.

He squeezes his eyes detailing the letter and I answer in a nod.

“Thank you, that will be all.”

The man shrugs before bowing to me and leaving the room.

I push aside all the other letters, knowing fairly well that the urgent one contains Maggie’s words. I take a deep breath before breaking the seal and my eyebrows knit together in a tight line.

The portrait I gave her right before I offered her to marry me falls down onto my desk and my stomach clenches.

With quick eyes and shaking hands, I start reading the letter the love of my life just sent me and my breath leaves me altogether.

No, she is saying no.

It can’t be happening.

My eyes run across the paper, trying as hard as they can to find a postscript that would announce the content of the letter is a poor joke, but there is nothing to find.

As you most certainly expected, I cannot accept…

Why would I have offered if I had expected her to refuse? It makes no sense, she must know it!

I am not your problem anymore…

I have brought this to myself, now I am sure of it.

I most sincerely thank you for your offer, Sir, but good conscience and property both strongly forbid me to accept.

She cannot mean that!

I will kindly ask of you to return to me the lock of my hair I had given you in exchange for your portrait…

My only possession of her, the one thing I keep close to my heart! I cannot give it back, has she lost her mind?

I do not wish to bring you an ill repute.

I throw the letter on the desk and take a few steps in the room to quiet my agitated soul. She is refusing my help, refusing the only way that could prevent her entire family to go to ruin, and what does she do? She turns me away! What an ungrateful woman, a silly, stupid woman if there is one!

And yet… A loud sigh passes my lips but my lungs are constricted. I walk back to my desk and I grab the piece of paper to reread Maggie’s words. Her handwriting is fuzzy, she must have written this quickly. Her smooth hand writes so well, every letter is made of a delicacy I cannot hope to witness anywhere else. She truly is perfection…

I sit down and keep on rereading the missive, trying—but failing—to find an underlying meaning to every single sentence. My gaze falls back to the portrait of me and my chest tightens uncomfortably. She used to tell me she would look at it and hold it against her heart every single day, did she stop when I destroyed our relationship? Did she decided right at that moment that I didn’t deserve her attention anymore? It would explain why she is sending it back and asking for her lock of hair in return, but again, there is another explanation to her behavior. Love.

If she is still in love with me and heartbroken, I understand her need to refuse my help. How terrible she must feel taking this decision, preventing a ray of sunshine to enter her life because she knows her gratefulness would only bring more pain to her heart.

I cannot let her think I will stop trying to help her. I need to prove to her I am worthy of her trust. I have made a huge mistake following my sister and brother-in-law’s recommendation, I cannot live without Maggie and I will not. She is the woman I want and I will not let an undeserved scandal destroy what has been uniting us for so long.

Ever since the first time I have seen her, I have loved her. My heart has been beating only for her since then and I cannot believe what an idiot I have been to break off our engagement. I love her, the rest should have been secondary. Yet, I was too focused on reputation, on what I might lose in the process forgetting what I was really losing. A seat in parliament will never be worth losing Maggie. I could live a lifetime without being strongly involved in politics, but I cannot live any longer without her.

As I exhale loudly, my breath short even though I haven’t been exerting myself in any way, I feel my entire body relaxing.

That was it, then. I knew something was up with me, but realizing I could never live without Maggie was the element I was missing to understand the steps I must take.

I stand up at once, my body rejuvenated and a large smile breaking on my face. I will not let Maggie go, I don’t care about the scandal anymore. I will help her, prove I care about her and admit I have made a huge mistake driven by fear.

I won’t be answering her letter and I definitely won’t be sending back her gift to me. No, I have a better idea and one that will, my heart dare to hope, bring us back together, where we belong.

“Please sit down.”

Jim gestures toward a chair facing his massive desk and I nod in agreement.

“So, you said it was urgent,” declares my friend. “How can I help you? I haven’t noticed you were prone to many investments these days, have you changed your mind?”

“I am not here to talk about my own money, per say,” I admit shaking my head.

Jim frowns before tilting his head.

“Well, then I am even more surprised! This isn’t like you at all. Do you wish to ask for a debt recollection? If someone owes you money, I will see what I can do but I cannot promise you I will—”

“No one owes me money, it isn’t that.”

“Really?”

Leaning back in his comfortable armchair, the banker keeps his gaze fixed upon me. I nod.

“I am here on behalf of Mr Knight,” I declare and Jim’s eyebrows knit together. “I wish to pay the debt he owes you. From what I have heard, you have requested for his entire payment to be made at once, even though he cannot afford it at the moment.”

Suddenly ill at ease, my friend shifts on his chair, looking at his clasped hands an uneasy expression contorting his features.

“Mr Knight’s case is an unfortunate one,” he declares in an even voice. “I have had no other choice but to ask for the debt to be paid without delay. If what is rumored happens to be true, the embezzlement charges against him will condemn him to a jail sentence! And you know just like I do that many men do not live long in rusty cells. Mr Knight isn’t young nor tough anymore, asking for the money now that he is still able to pay was the most logical thing to do business-wise.”

“Of course,” I admit, “even if it forces his entire family to enter a life of dire poverty.”

Sensing the harshness in my voice, the banker clicks his tongue, trying to find words that could explain—if not excuse—his actions.

“Come on, Wyatt, we both know what business is like. Sometimes we must do things we are not happy about but so goes the world… Mr Knight’s situation saddens me, you have to know that, but I had no other choice in this matter but to act as I did.”

I gaze at his eyes and his stubborn expression reminds me of the peculiarity of his job.

“I understand.”

I nod frankly and he seems to relax a bit.

“So, you were telling me…”

“I wish to pay Knight’s debt,” I say firmly.

“You want to… pay?”

His eyebrows cock up and he squeezes his eyes. We may be friends, but we are not close enough for him to know of my relationship with Maggie.

“As I have just said.”

“Well,” declares the banker, “that is unexpected to say the least! Are you looking for the debt to pass to you or do you intend to pay in full right away?”

“I want it erased from his slate as soon as possible. I will pay at this very moment, I have brought some notes I am sure will be sufficient.”

I search my inner pocket and get the pieces of paper out.

“I see, I see…”

Jim takes the notes and details them one after the other.

“Everything seems in order,” he declares with a smile but a suspicious frown bars his forehead. “May I ask, though, why you are going to that extent to help him? For all I know, you two are not that close. I know you are friends but it is peculiar to help him in such a… time of crisis.”

I stand up, nodding and clasping my hands in my back.

“What better time would a friend choose to help another?”

Jim snorts, a smirk appearing on his face.

“Rumor has it he faces embezzlement charges, those are dangerous, even for compassionate friends.”

I nod again, wetting my lips in reflection.

“So you are advising not to help him even though he faces ruin? That isn’t very Christian of you.”

A laughs crawls out of Jim’s throat and he tilts his head on the side.

“Surely, I am not a parson. My job isn’t to be a good Christian but to be a good banker. And, as your friend and your banker, I must advise you not to help Mr Knight. He has made some powerful enemies and it could cast a shadow upon your ambition. You still intend to present yourself at the next election, don’t you? It might not be wise to take that kind of risk now…”

I smile before staring at my friend. His words are not meant to be hurtful, he is genuinely trying to guard me against what he considers will be a problem.

“I suppose no one has to know who paid Knight’s debt,” I declare and Jim squeezes his eyes.

“You want to remain anonymous?”

I nod in agreement.

“Well, it is doable, of course. Knight will only be notified that his debt has been paid by someone else but, if it is your wish, I will make sure not to share your name with him.”

“I don’t care about Knight knowing about it,” I argue meeting my friend’s gaze. “I only want you to promise you will not provide my identity as the paying man to anybody else. I want this to remain private.”

“I see.”

Jim’s features are tensed and I frown.

“It is possible on your part, is it not?”

“Of course! It is no problem at all.” He smiles before clasping his hands together. “I’m sorry,” he adds quickly, “you have to forgive my reaction, but I am surprised at such an offer coming from a man like you, that is all.”

“A man like me?”

He shrugs, a new grin appearing on his face.

“Yes! You know, a future politician, a wealthy man with no connection to the family… I’m surprised you are ready to pay in full without having your generous action known by all.”

I nod, thoughtful.

“The people that matter will know about it,” I declare.

Jim nods in response and we look at each other knowingly.

“Alright then, here…”

He gets a piece of paper out of a drawer and start scribbling a few words.

“This is a cancellation of the debt following its refunding. Once again, I must ask, this is the procedure: are you certain this is what you want? Are you making use of your money willingly and are you acting in good conscience?”

A smile stretches my lips and I nod.

“Yes.”

My short answer convinces him and he nods in agreement. I can see it on his face though, he doesn’t know why I am paying this debt off and it bothers him. I wish I could tell him the real reason but I don’t want any rumor to add to those already spreading in town.

We finish the paperwork, I sign my name where I must and I shake Jim’s hand.

“I will send a note to Mr Knight right away,” he says and I agree in a bow.

“Thank you.”

We greet each other goodbye and I head for the hall. I am focused on the exit door when a man I know comes in.

“Mr Knight?!”

My tone surprises him and I clear my throat to get a hold of myself.

“Viscount Chambers, what a surprise to find you here.”

He is as cold as ice. I don’t know what Maggie might have told him, but he must know her despair is my doing. We spend a few minutes in an embarrassed silence and I invite him to follow me in a side room.

“I am sorry, Your Lordship,” he says quickly, “but I have a very urgent matter to address with Mr Wendian.”

He bows to me but I close my hand on his forearm. His eyes shoot to mine and I take a step back, releasing him.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize with a bow of the head, “but I believe you will find what I have to say much more important than any business you might have with Mr Wendian.”

His brow creases and he doesn’t speak. He radiates suspicion, but when I gesture toward a quiet room near the entrance of the building, he follows me in.

“I must ask you to be quick,” he declares, his back as straight as a tree. “You must know by now the status that is mine nowadays, I have a very tight schedule to try to make things right.”

“Of course,” I admit, “that is why I think what I have to say will interest you.”

One of his eyebrows cocks up, and I know I have his full attention from now on.

“Really?”

I nod and clear my throat.

“I have come to an arrangement with Mr Wendian, the debt you owe has been paid. I believe you do not need to sell your house anymore.”

A flash of surprise runs across the man’s face and his eyes go wide.

“Paid? What do you mean ‘paid’? Who would pay for me?”

“With all due respect, Sir,” I say bowing slightly, “I have.”

Mr Knight remains mute for a long minute and we gaze at each other.

“You?”

“Yes, me.”

He tilts his head and frowns so much I fear his forehead is going to remain creased forever.

“Why would you do such a thing?”

I inhale a deep breath.

“I like to think we have always been friends,” I start, doing my best not to show the hint of emotion that lies behind my words. He isn’t the person I have in mind right now. “I could not decently let you and your family lose your home.”

Mr Knight studies me for a minute before opening his mouth but remaining silent. He clears his throat and shakes his head before passing a hand in his hair.

“But… But this debt… This isn’t the kind of money one finds at once.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I say with the beginning of a smile, “I had notes in my possession and I cannot think of a better use for them but helping you out.”

Mr Knight lets out a deep breath and I can almost see the weight lifting off his shoulders.

“I do not know what to say, Your Lordship.”

He blinks before sponging his forehead with his sleeve. He motions us toward a couple of chairs and he sits down.

“I would never have… I didn’t think to expect anything from anybody,” he admits. “Are you not afraid the prosecution I am facing at present might come in as a stain on your reputation?”

I shiver at the word “stain”, my memory taking me back to that day when Maggie used it to describe herself in my life.

“I have asked for Mr Wendian not to mention this transaction to anybody. I will remain anonymous and you will be able to tell your lawyer you have wealthy friends ready to help you. Unless, of course, if you wish for this private matter to be made public.”

“No,” he declares shaking his head firmly, “no, I cannot see the logic in that.”

I nod and wait for him to speak. He takes deep breaths, closes his eyes and I notice his hands are shaking.

“Tell me though,” he asks after a few moments spent in complete silence, “what has convinced you to help me? You used to visit us most days until this awful affair affected my reputation, I was certain you would never wish to speak to me ever again. Rumor has it you wish to enter Parliament in the years to come, it is definitely not the time for you to be helping someone like me.”

My breath catches in my throat as I blink.

“If I have to be honest with you, Mr Knight, I have to admit it has to do with your daughter.”

“My daughter?” he wonders, surprised.

I nod and take a few steps in the small room.

“Yes, Maggie,” I precise. “I… You must know… I am in love with her, Sir, and, if you were to agree to it, I would be honored to marry her.”

Where I expected to see bliss on the man’s face, only a veil of darkness and anger appears.

“You are asking for my eldest daughter’s hand, Sir?”

I nod but I have lost the little confidence I had gathered during this meeting. His eyes on me are piercing, two icy cold beads looking at my face and freezing me to my bones.

“Indeed, I am.”

I look back at him but Mr Knight’s mouth twitches and he stands up at once.

“What kind of man are you?!” he eructs in a fit of anger. “I am very grateful for your help, but do you think I am ready to sell my daughter like a mare at the market?”

I lose my breath as I see his features contort in anger and rage. I shake my head firmly.

“Of course not, Sir, that is not it at all! I do not ask for Maggie’s hand because I have paid a debt you owed! In fact, my love for her is the very reason I had to do it, I could not endure the thought of thinking her reduced to poverty because of your unfortunate affairs.”

The man glares at me, not certain I am speaking the truth but a slight doubt crawling up his mind.

“I… Maggie and I have been in love for years,” I explain, lowering my gaze to the floor. I’m not sure telling him his daughter and I have been secretly engaged is a good thing right now, his eyes piercing through me, but I don’t have any other choice but to explain. “Until the recent events that unsettled your position in society, we have been secretly engaged for many months. I was about to talk to you and ask you for her hand when…”

I let my voice die slowly away and he grits his teeth.

“I suppose that would explain her behavior these last few weeks,” he declares bitterly.

He looks down on me, his eyes going over my face and testing my honesty.

“And what made you change your mind?” he asks in a rough voice. “You said you have been in love with my daughter for years but you broke off your secret engagement when troubles began for my family. What is at the core of this change of heart, now of all times? Marrying her now will bring as much shame as it would have when all this nonsense started.”

I swallow at the lump in my throat and I compel all the eloquence I can muster.

“I have realized in the most terrible way that I cannot live without her,” I declare humbly. “Your daughter is the woman I love and, if you were to oppose this union, Sir, I would have to take a habit in asking for your blessing again and again every day.”

My declaration makes him smile softly and the anger displayed on his face slowly fades away.

“You do love her, don’t you?”

I nod without as much as a second of hesitation.

“I do, Sir, I always have.”

“I see…”

He becomes silent and I fix my eyes upon his face. He loses himself in thoughts and when, with a loud sigh, he looks back at me, my heart kicks up in my chest.

“Very well, I will talk it through with Maggie. If, and only if, she assures me she shares your feelings, I will give you my blessing. However, if she doesn’t…”

“Thank you, Sir, this is more than I would have dared to dream.”

He nods and I shake his hand with enthusiasm. The idea of marrying Maggie is filling me with bliss. I don’t care anymore about the impression this marriage will make on the people I know nor the effect it will have on my business with Lord Steward.

The only thing I care about is Maggie, seeing her, touching her, loving her… Having her by my side is the only thing that matters to me and I realize now how stupid I have been thinking I could choose my reputation over my heart.

Mr Knight keeps on studying my face when a thought crosses my mind.

“Please, Sir,” I say, losing my hand in my inner pocket, “would you be so kind as to give this to Maggie?”

I hand him a small mirror I always keep on me and the man details it.

“What is it?”

“It is a mirror,” I admit and Mr Knight glares at me. “It is important to me and… Well, it was important to Maggie too. Please, give this to her and she will know what it means.”

I smile and my fiancée’s father grabs the little object, detailing the silver designs on the handle and the large rose decorating its back.

He shrugs before putting it away in his pocket.

“Fine, I will give it to her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Your Lordship, I’d better go and meet Mr Wendian to make sure all the details of our affair are settled.”

“Of course,” I admit stretching my hand out to him once more. “And you will find out that everything has been cared for. I wish you a happy afternoon, Sir, and I hope to hear from Maggie very soon. I have to confess our last correspondence has been filled with despair. Please give her the mirror and tell her I am awaiting a letter from her hand.”

The man nods in agreement and we bow to each other. When I leave the bank and my future father-in-law closes the door to Jim’s office, I smile pointlessly. Knowing I will soon be able to see Maggie is filling me with a deep joy. I cannot wait to hear her voice, see her face, touch her hand and kiss her skin. The next few days waiting for her letter will be as long as an icy winter.

Chapter 7

Miss Maggie Knight

I am busy focusing on my embroidery work when my father enters the drawing room. His attitude is different than what it has been for the last month and my mother stands up at once to enquire.

“What has happened?” she asked in a worried voice we are only too used to hear by now. “What did Mr Wendian say? Did he agree to the delay?”

I eye Susie seated with a book in a corner of the room and her unsettled gaze tells me she didn’t know of my father’s intention toward the banker either.

Quite unexpectedly, my father walks to my mother and takes her hand in his. Mama remains quiet, the anguish visible on her face keeping her in an utter silence. When my father draws his lips to her skin, her entire body relaxes at once.

“We do not have reasons to worry about selling the house anymore.”

His words make the three of us gasp and Susie and I join him in the middle of the room.

“What has happened Papa? Please tell us! Why shouldn’t we worry anymore?”

“What did you do?” wonders my mother in a small voice.

He straightens back up and his gaze travels on all our faces.

“Actually, not much. An anonymous donor decided to pay the debt for us. He did not wish to see us losing the house.”

His eyes settle on me, and I feel he tries to convey a peculiar meaning through his words. My heart races up when I start thinking about the possibilities…

“But who would do such a thing?” wonders Susie at once.

“I believed our friends had deserted us,” declares my mother, the hint of sadness darkening her voice. “Who would be kind enough to act this way?”

My father’s eyes detail me and a shiver goes over my body. There is only one explanation: Wyatt. He must have paid for us, must have decided to help me even though I forbade it.

I close my eyes and find myself compelled to sit down to avoid fainting.

“The banker told me he desired to remain anonymous, but…”

“But?” insists my mother.

My father eyes me with insistence and I cross his gaze. Something most definitely happened at the bank, I am sure of it.

“But I met our benefactor at the bank.”

My mother’s eyes go wide and Susie’s forehead creases.

“So? Who was it?” insists my mother, finding the suspense a little too much for her poor nerves.

“I was most surprised when he told me of it himself, but we owe gratitude to Viscount Chambers.”

My father glances at me and I feel my sister’s eyes joining in the inspection of my reaction.

“The Viscount?” I find the strength to say.

Papa nods in agreement and he turns back to my mother.

“He told me that, in the name of our friendship, he did not wish to see our family lose this house he has been so warmly welcomed throughout the years.”

“But what about his reputation?” I wonder, my breath short.

“His generous donation will be kept anonymous.”

“I see…”

Indeed, it is a logical way of action. He found a way to help me without taking on him the stain my family name might represent. I have to admit I am quite impressed. I would have never thought he would have been willing to take the risk.

My father explains us what this new development means for us, how he can now focus on his defense in his embezzlement case rather than struggle to find money we do not have.

After an hour, he retires to his office and, about ten minutes later, he has our maid call me in.

“You wanted to see me, Papa?”

I make my way in the room filled with opened files on the desk, melted candles showing how many hours of his day and night he spends secluded in this room.

“Yes, please close the door behind you.”

I obey as he commands and fear seizes my chest. What if he guessed about my relationship with Wyatt? What if he doesn’t approve, or worse, condemns my closeness with him? He cannot have guessed what has really happened between us, it is impossible. Fear doesn’t leave me, though, and a lump shapes in my throat as my father’s eyes focus on my face.

“Sit down, Maggie.”

I inhale a deep breath before obeying and settling upon the chair facing his desk. He doesn’t sit down, remains standing behind the oak table, his hands clasped in his back and his eyes piercing through mine.

“I have had an interesting conversation with the Viscount earlier today.”

I lower my gaze to the papers on his desk, well determined to avoid his eyes as long as I can.

“He has confessed some interesting things and I believe I have to share them with you.”

A frown appears on my face and I look up to cross his eyes. His tone isn’t full of reproach like I expected it to be. On the contrary, he sounds warm, kind even.

“What is it about?” I wonder, unable to prevent both my hands from shaking.

A smile appears on my father’s face and he digs in his inner pocket. I frown, lost on what he might be looking for, when he takes out a small mirror I identify at once.

“Oh!”

I gasp as he details my face and I lose my breath.

“This… Where did you get that?”

I stretch my palm out and, with a smile on his lips, my father hands it to me. I detail the precious object made of silver and a wave of warmth fills my belly. This small mirror is an important symbol in my relationship with Wyatt. It goes back to this day, this night, when looking everywhere for a mirror in his house, I stumbled upon his room and…

My cheeks turn red in recollection of the moments that followed and I press the mirror to my chest.

“The Viscount gave it to me,” states my father. “He also confessed his feelings for you, argued the two of you have been in love for a long time and secretly engagement for many months until…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence but he doesn’t need to.

“I… I don’t know what to say…”

“You could start by telling me if it is the truth.”

His voice is harsher than it was a few minutes ago, but I don’t let it unsettle me.

“I…”

I find words are too difficult to say so I nod in response.

“It is true, Papa. We have been in love for many years now.”

“I see. Does this gift of his make you happy?”

I frown before glancing at the silver mirror and nodding frankly.

“Oh yes, I wasn’t expecting anything from him. Not after…”

I let my voice die away as the remembrance of our last conversation makes my heart cold.

“Yes,” argues my father taking a few steps behind his desk. “He told me he had to break off your secret engagement because of my misfortune.”

I nod and the pain starts crawling back inside my heart. I can already guess what my father is about to say, he is about to tell me he thanked Wyatt for his generosity but that since he turned me down before, I have to forget about him altogether.

“However, you have to know, he has asked for your hand officially.”

“I beg your pardon?”

My eyes shoot to his and my lips part as I remain dumbstruck. He nods in reply.

“He offered to marry you, no matter the effect on his reputation. As you will approve, I am sure, I started refusing his offer, being more than clear on the fact that you are not for sale, but his confession of your shared affection convinced me. Now I am asking you, Maggie, and I want an honest answer: do you love this man?”

I blink, overwhelmed by so much information.

“I… Yes,” I confess standing up. “I do, I always have.”

My father squeezes his eyes and he reviews me in silence for a minute.

“He is a very interesting match for you, it makes no doubt, but you have to promise me you are not agreeing to this marriage only because you feel you owe him for his generosity toward us.”

I shake my head firmly and he locks his eyes with mine.

“Entering a marriage without love is a very dire situation, my darling, you have to be aware of that.”

I open my mouth to answer but his face keeps me quiet. He loses himself in reflection and he shakes his head.

“When your mother married me, we did not share any feelings at all,” he begins. “We went along, but there was no love between us, no affection, only a shared appreciation that we were doing the right thing for both our families. I know for a fact that she wasn’t happy during the first years of our marriage, and I don’t want you to face a similar situation. We have found our love quickly enough and it has grown with the years, but to marry without love can be very dangerous for a woman’s heart and soul. I don’t want you to make a mistake that will make your life a misery.”

His earnest concern, his candid voice sharing a confession even my mother never dared to share with me before, I feel tears gathering on the corners of my eyes. Even on the brink of ruin, my kind father doesn’t wish to trade me away. I have always known he had a heart, but I didn’t suspect how big it was.

A large smile stretches my lips and I offer him my hand to take. He smiles back, his cold fingers closing around mine above this massive desk and I inhale a deep breath.

“I love him, Papa. He is the only man my heart could ever love, and not because he has decided to help us financially but because he is… Him.”

Reflecting on my words for a minute, a new smile appears on my father’s face and he squeezes my fingers gently.

“If that is your heart’s desire, then I am pleased.”

“It is.”

He nods and lets my hand go.

“You should tell your mother soon,” he declares as I am getting ready to withdraw from the room. “It will do her good to focus on something else but dark thoughts and she will be happy to know you are to enter a secure position in life.”

I answer in a nod and, after a new smile full of warmth, I make my way back to the drawing room.

I do not tell my mother just yet, first I need to talk to Wyatt. I need to see him. I need to be sure it isn’t all a dream. I don’t know what convinced him to take this decision. To help us anonymously is one thing, but to offer to marry me in such times as these is an all different matter. He will face his family’s opposition, he might lose opportunities to advance his political career because of this… I wonder what might have made him change his mind.

I gather ink and paper and I start drafting a letter I wish to be short and to the point. I invite him to come for tea tomorrow and, the next day, he appears around teatime.

When Wyatt appears near the drawing room door, my breath catches. Our maid leads him in and my mother stands at once to come and greet him.

“My dear Viscount!” she exclaims. “How sweet of you to come and see us. We have been most affected by your act of kindness toward us! You can be assured of our unwavering gratitude.”

He nods in agreement, squeezing the hand my mother offers him and bowing slightly over it.

“It was my honor to do so,” he explains, straightening his back and his eyes wandering around the room.

When I cross his gaze, my entire body shivers in anticipation of the words we will soon exchange and my breath remains stuck in my throat.

“Oh please! You acted as the best of friends to my husband and our family,” argues my mother. “Without your help we would have been forced to sell the house and, God prevent, rent a small house in another neighborhood.”

I roll my eyes at my mother’s way of displaying her deepest fears, but I don’t resent her for it. She has been facing so many sleepless nights and anxious days, I know having the house secured is calming her nerves but she still cries at night lamenting over my father’s incoming trial.

“I assure you I only did what good conscience commanded,” adds Wyatt in a gentle voice. “I only hope I could do more.”

His eyes settle on me and I see through his words. I nod in a faint bow of the chin and clear my throat.

“Surely Your Lordship will wish for some tea?”

He details my face and, when I allow a smile to spread on my lips, his entire body relaxes at once.

“I would like that very much.”

We call on our maid and, after an hour of idle talk, Susie comes in. At first, the surprise of seeing Wyatt here takes her breath away, but she soon focuses her attention on my face. She reflects for a minute before addressing the Viscount with her sincerest gratitude and settling beside me.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she says suddenly after a few minutes. “I need your help on… a very specific matter, Mama. Would you be so kind as to come with me?”

I catch the beginning of a knowing smile on Wyatt’s lips and I shake my head in a slight move. My sister has never mastered the art of subtlety.

“But we have company, Susie, my dear…”

My mother objects but my sister soon finds enough vigor to convince her that her matter is pressing. They desert the room, leaving Wyatt and I by ourselves. When the door closes behind them, I hold my breath. I have no idea what to say, what to do…

I lower my gaze to the floor and focus on my breathing. If I can’t talk, at least I can try not to faint.

We spend a few minutes in utter silence and I raise my eyes to his. He is observing me, detailing my face, and his attention makes a sudden wave of warmth travel all over my skin.

“I did not expect to see you again,” I say, my voice shaky but loud enough to be heard.

Wyatt doesn’t answer and he looks away from me. When he sighs loudly and stands up, a rush of energy goes through me. He walks around the tea table and stretches out his hand for me to take.

My lips part, an objection ready to echo between us but I judge against it. I close my eyes before pressing my palm to his and he tugs on it firmly to make me stand.

“I’m sorry, Maggie. I have acted like an idiot.”

My gaze travels across his face as he stands so close to me but the only thing I can notice is his enthralling smell already fogging my mind.

“No,” I argue, finding the strength to talk in a low voice. “No, you have just helped my family, don’t apologize.”

“Maggie…”

His fingers circling mine tense and I swallow at the lump in my throat.

“I’m sorry,” he declares, his eyes diving into mine and keeping me anchored to his blue beads.

“I… It wasn’t easy, Wyatt…”

My voice breaks over his name and I lower my head down. At once, his hand releases mine and he wraps me in a tight embrace, his arms closing in my back and his face only an inch away from mine.

“I know, my love, that’s what I am sorry for. I’m sorry I acted the way I did, sorry I thought I had to renounce to you when really, I cannot live without you.”

My eyes shoot to his and I inhale a deep breath to give me courage.

“You cannot?”

“No,” he replies shaking his head firmly. “You are the only thing that matters to me, Maggie. I don’t want to live to please my family or society by being proper, I want to wake up every single day by your side. It’s the only wish I have.”

He inches closer and his nose brushes over mine. I gasp at the contact of his skin, the sensation making my entire body tense in delight.

“Are you sure?” I wonder and he blinks his eyes open. “I am grateful for what you did for my family, I truly am, but being in a relationship with me, let alone an engagement, is a direct threat to your career as a politician.”

“I don’t care anymore,” he objects, one of his hands leaving my back to cup my cheek.

“But what about your sister and your brother-in-law? What about your business?” I wonder. “My father told me you have asked for my hand, but marrying me would put you in a very uncomfortable position. I don’t want to be a-”

“I don’t care anymore,” he declares and I am silenced by the determination in his words. “I love you, Maggie, and I cannot—will not—live without you anymore. Every single day spent without seeing you or hearing your voice is a sunless day. I need you Maggie, you are my everything.”

A shiver makes me tremble between his arms and my lips part in a gasp.

“But is it wise?”

His eyes close and he presses his forehead to mine, his hot breath warming the skin of my face.

“There is nothing wiser than to listen to one’s heart, don’t you agree?”

He leans back to gaze into my eyes and a blissful smile finds its way to my face.

“I do, you know I do.”

Trying my best to control the wave of emotion threatening to overcome me, I close my arms around his shoulders and press him closer to my body.

“I cannot live without you either, my love. I love you, Wyatt.”

A wide smile stretches his lips and he leans forward, his mouth slowly getting closer to mine. I close my eyes as I feel his warmth enveloping me in delicate volutes of love and his lips close over mine.

He kisses me like he has never kissed me before. His lips move slowly against mine, not rushing, not demanding, only caressing. Wyatt’s hands meet on my waist and his fingers dig firmly at my skin, tingles following his touch and warmth growing under his hands.

I kiss him back softly, taking my time, remembering how good it feels to be between his arms, to feel his presence by my side and to know that, no matter what, his heart is mine.

The thought of the fate awaiting us has a wave of impatience running across my body. I let my fingers venture in his short brown hair and I open my lips to his adventurous tongue.

We kiss passionately for what feels like hours, sweet, fulfilling hours making my heart beat fiercely in my chest and goosebumps flourish over my skin. Our tongues lost in a dance of passion, I have a hard time getting back to my senses.

We pull back, our breaths short and ragged, our bodies trembling with desire and our hearts and souls comforted in bliss.

Wyatt’s nose travels against mine and a whispered breath passes my mouth. I haven’t felt that good in a long time. Thinking I had lost him, the love of my life, only to find him back again has been a struggle for my nerve and my health. Slowly, I can feel the darkness filling my soul ever since we broke off our engagement leaving its place to a much welcomed peace.

I inhale a deep breath, gazing into my lover’s amazing eyes only to find them filled with a hunger and a longing making my flesh react in a shiver of pleasure.

His mouth closes on mine once again, his tongue swirling around my own and our bodies closer than they have been for a long time. I moan in our joined mouth and a groan leaves his throat when I pull back, unable to take any more.

“Oh Maggie,” he whispers in my ear, his voice made rough by desire, “I want you so much, my love. I want you to be mine…”

A new frisson goes over my body and my breath catches in my throat. I nod slowly but, unable to find any word to make a point, I bring my lips to his and seal our love with a new passionate kiss that takes him by surprise.

“I want you too,” I admit in a low voice filled with need, “but we are not alone.”

I blink my eyes open and detail his perfect face until his blue eyes meet mine.

“Not here. My mother is around and so is my sister…”

He groans and buries his face in my neck, his playful tongue soon tasting my skin and his warm breath making me shiver at once.

“I know, but I miss you so much…”

I nod and melt into his embrace. I comb my fingers through his hair and, with a light tug, I force his eyes to mine.

“I have missed you too,” I declare, the passion in his eyes giving me an idea of his desire for me. “Tomorrow, I will be able to leave home unchaperoned,” I confess quickly. “My mother and sister are visiting my uncle in the neighborhood and, since I have refused to go because I was tired, I will have most of my afternoon free of any engagement.”

A smile enlightens his face and he draws a light kiss on my cheek.

“And do you have any engagement for the night?” he whispers and tingles make my body tense.

“No,” I admit with a shake of the head. “I don’t.”

“That is good news, my love, very good news.”

He loses his lips in my neck again and slowly draws to the crease between my breasts. My breath catches up and I squeal, firming my grip over his hair.

“Then I might visit you tomorrow,” I say, his mouth tracing a path back to mine.

“Then you can already consider yourself invited,” he declares.

A smile stretches my lips and I inhale a deep breath.

“I can’t wait.”

His smile matches mine and we kiss again before taking a step back. He passes a hand over his face to try and control his desire while I do my best to resume a quiet breathing pattern.

“Come around teatime,” he says caressing his knuckles to my cheek gently. “We will have plenty of time to work on an excuse for you to stay the night.”

I laugh as he holds me close to him and shake my head, a happy, genuine smile on my face.

“You are a mischievous man, Your Lordship.”

His chest rises in a laugh and he shakes his head in turn.

“Not at all, I only know what I want and whom I love,” he declares. “It makes the mischief acceptable, I believe.”

I tilt my head on the side before nodding slowly.

“Maybe it does indeed.”

We both laugh and share a new, long, delicious kiss before stepping back to greet each other goodbye. I escort him to the entrance hall and my mother goes down the stairs at the same moment.

“Are you leaving already, Your Lordship? We were hoping you would accept to have supper with us!”

Wyatt’s smile reaches his ears and he shakes his head.

“That is very kind of you, Mrs Knight, but unfortunately, I have to decline. I have other engagements for the night but I believe we will see each other very soon.”

His eyes glide to my face and pink rises to my cheeks but my mother doesn’t notice.

“How sad!” she exclaims at once. “I wished to thank your generosity with more than tea.”

As she sounds truly upset, Wyatt apologizes once more and promises to come for dinner and supper next week. I see him off and, when he mounts his horse and disappears with the blowing wind, I let my heart find its peace.

How good it feels when he holds me between his arms, how sweet his eyes are when they are set on me, how fine he looks and how enthralling his smell is… Everything is perfect about him and I cannot believe he still wants for me to become his wife. When reality hits me and I realize I will be lucky enough to spend my entire life beside him, I cannot contain a whimper of delight that makes my mother frown and Susie smile in friendship.

The carriage goes up the mansion’s driveway and I peer outside. The sky is low, filled with heavy clouds, and a thin rain wets the green lawn. I smile as the house comes into view and a shiver goes over me when we stop and the driver opens the door. The wind is icy cold, winter will soon impose its white coat all over the neighborhood.

I climb down and head for the entrance where Mr Forwood opens the door.

“Miss Knight.”

He bows in front of me but his tone does not seem any different than a month ago. I still sense his resentment even if he does his best to remain polite.

“I am here on the invitation of his Lordship,” I announce, wishing to prevent him from thinking me an inconsiderate girl.

“Yes,” he answers simply. “Please follow me.”

He leads me to the main drawing room of the house and a happy smile settles on my face as I see Wyatt standing near the window.

“Maggie,” he exclaims at once, a large smile appearing on his face before he clears his throat and turns to his manservant. “Thank you, Daniel.”

He dismisses the man who bows before glimpsing at me. I don’t know what to make of his cocked eyebrow, but I don’t care anymore. He probably thinks I am the one to blame for my presence here today. As if I had the power to sway Wyatt’s opinion all by myself. He is his butler, he must know better than anyone than the only person able to have Wyatt change his mind is Wyatt himself. Or his sister, but that is an argument for another day.

Mr Forwood leaves the room, closes the door behind him and, at the second the door is closed, Wyatt walks to me and kisses me wildly.

I moan in our fused mouths and his hands run over my body, his fingers digging at the fabric of my dress and his heart beating fiercely against mine.

“I have been waiting to kiss you all day,” he whispers when he leans back, his warm breath making me shiver.

“Am I late?” I enquire, looking round the room to find a clock.

“No,” he laughs. “No, but I have missed you so that it is hard to live a single second without you.”

I close my arms around his neck and tilt my head as I laugh.

“I suppose we will soon have to remedy this situation,” I say and his eyes start gleaming with lust. “By getting married, for example.”

A groan leaves his throat as he buries his face in my neck and holds me close to him. I close my eyes and let the softness of his lips over my skin take me to a world made of gentleness. He draws pecks all over my neck, my collarbones, before going up my throat and finding my mouth. He kisses me softly, tenderly, and a sigh of delight escapes my lips. I want so much more than these delicious kisses…

“Let’s have some tea,” he declares taking a step back and grabbing my hand.

I agree in a nod and he drives me to the settee in front of which two cups of tea have been disposed.

“It looks like you did not lie,” I exclaim with a mischievous grin, “you were indeed waiting for me.”

“Of course I was,” he answers with a smile. “I love you, remember?”

My eyes lock with his and I focus on the shimmering light reflecting in them.

“I promise I will always remember.”

His smile failing a little, he draws a kiss to my knuckles before handing me a cup of tea and blowing over his.

“I have many things to say to you, my love,” he declares after a few minutes spent in utter silence.

My body tenses at his words, an old, lingering fear taking hold of me and making my heart rate speed up in my chest.

“Don’t worry,” he adds quickly noticing my reaction, “it has nothing to do with our incoming marriage, this is well set and I will have no one and nothing delay it.”

A loud exhalation of relief passes my lips and I take a sip of my tea.

“When will it be then?” I dare to ask.

“Soon,” he concludes, “in two weeks or so. I have a meeting with the parson tomorrow morning and we will have the bans called this week. I don’t intend to lose any more time.”

His declaration warms my heart and I cannot repress a huge smile from appearing on my face.

“I am pleased, Wyatt. It makes me very, very happy.”

A sad smile meets my eyes and he nods.

“Me too, but I have to say… I am sorry for all the pain I caused you.”

“Don’t,” I oppose him. “I told you, you don’t have to apologize. I understand why you did what you did. I know it wasn’t your fault.”

“But it was!”

He reacts so strongly that my back straightens at once and I stare at him. He sighs and grabs my hand, shaking his head before planting a kiss on each of my fingers.

“It was my fault,” he resumes on a calmer voice. “I am the one who broke off our engagement, I am the one who said those terrible things breaking your heart and mine! It is all my fault, I should have stood by you, offered you the support you and your family deserved at such times of crisis. That is why I am deeply sorry, my love. I’m sorry for letting you down and I promise, upon my life, never to make the same mistake again.”

Tears gather in my eyes as I listen to him and realize how stranded we have both been during this past month.

“I don’t resent you,” I confess in a low voice. “I understand why you did it and, if I cannot refute your decision broke my heart, I know my father’s misadventure only is to blame.”

I meet his eyes and a sweet smile appears on my lips. I do not hate him, I know I cannot. No one but fate is to blame in our unfortunate past and I only want to focus on our bright and shiny future together from now on.

“Oh, my love, how compassionate you are!” declares Wyatt in drawing a kiss to my cheek. “I love you so much.”

His lips linger close to my ear and his warm breath creates goosebumps all over my skin. He leans back and I lose myself in his beautiful eyes.

“I have missed you so, Maggie. I have never known more pain than knowing I could never be with you. Renouncing to the woman I loved was too much for me to take. I cannot live if you are far, it is as simple as that.”

A new smile appears on my face and a tear rolls down my cheek. He wipes it away with a gentle thumb.

“And I was convinced I was condemned to weep over our lost relationship forever. I didn’t think this could have a happy ending,” I explain, “I didn’t believe we could be blessed with a happy ending.”

He inches forward and his mouth closes on mine. He kisses me for a long, luscious while and, when he draws back, I lose my face in his neck.

My tears are not noisy, I cry in a soft weep all nestled in the crook of his neck and he caresses my back and arms. The cup of tea between my hands is empty and shaking under the shivers of my crying body but I never let it fall.

We spend a long while holding to each other, me crying, him comforting me, and the two of us thanking the sky for not letting society and prejudice divide us.

When the afternoon draws to an end, a bolt of thunder makes me start and Wyatt kisses my forehead. His lips glide on my face to get to my ear. He nips at my skin and a moan of desire passes my lips.

“I fear you will have to sleep in tonight,” he whispers and his breath makes me wince, the warmth unsettling me and making my thighs contract.

I focus on the horizon appearing through the window and a pleased sensation fills my body.

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” he whispers with a brief bob of the chin. “It isn’t safe for you to travel home in this weather.”

A large grin stretches my lips and I brush my nose to his.

“If you say so.”

We laugh and he stands up, calling onto Mr Forwood. The man proceeds into the room, his eyebrows creased when his gaze stops on me.

“Daniel, please make sure a room is ready for Miss Knight. She will be staying with us tonight. I do not feel comfortable letting her journey through the neighborhood in such weather.”

The butler nods and disappears behind a room, giving orders among the servants to have a bedroom cleaned and ready for me.

“I should send word to my father,” I declare getting closer to the window.

The sky is dark; thunder, rain and wind are baffling the roads. Even if I wanted to, journeying in this weather would be most uncomfortable and dangerous even with a carriage.

“A single horseman would be able to deliver a note to my father stating I will be staying here tonight. I don’t want him to worry…”

Wyatt nods at my request and he produces paper and ink for me to inform my father of my plan. The letter is dispatched and, after Mr Forwood announces a room is ready for me, it is soon time for supper.

My lover and I share our first supper alone. We talk, laugh about some things or others and our faces never lose the smiles fixed upon them.

When one of us turns darker, we find the way to appease each other with kind words and love-filled gazes. We head to the drawing room after our meal and I lose myself into a book while Wyatt sets on writing a letter to his sister.

“Do you think she will despise the following sentence: Please rest assured I have taken your word of advice in due consideration, but I cannot find it in me to turn my back to the woman I love. Therefore, you will be happy to know Maggie Knight and I will be married on the 16th of December, etc., etc.?”

I cock up one eyebrow and he frowns down at the letter.

“I think she will take offense of everything you might say to her,” I argue, “but, after some time, she will have to see you are speaking from the heart and she will forget any offense she thought she received.”

Wyatt reflects for a second before nodding hurriedly.

“You are right, she will get around it. After all, I am the one whose name is Chambers, she lost the privilege to comment the day she became Lady Steward.”

He sighs and I know he is annoyed. I close my book, stand up and go to him before pressing my hands to his shoulders and hugging him from behind.

“Don’t be too harsh with her, she doesn’t know what it is to be separated from the person you love. She cannot understand, surely she deserves some sympathy.”

“Of course,” he decides, letting go of his quill pen and standing up to close his arms around me. “I promise I will not be too harsh with her. If my future wife insists, it will probably please her to know you are already in her team.”

I laugh as he speaks and shake my head.

“I am not in her team of supporters,” I say quickly. “You should know,” I add peering at him under my lashes, “I will always be in yours.”

A shiver courses over his body and he leans for his lips to brush against mine. He doesn’t kiss me, though. He caresses his nose to mine, his warm breath wetting my lips and his mouth hovering so close to mine that they touch. It creates a wave of passion in my bosom and I lose all control over myself. My fingers finding his hair and my chest pressing against his, I fuse our mouths and moan at the sweetness of his tongue.

Our tastes mixing on our palate, we devour each other with an impatience that is burning our bodies. I rack my nails on his scalp and his hands glide to my behind, his fingers digging at my flesh with a growing need.

I caress my tongue to his before pulling back abruptly and biting on his lower lip. The ardor of my desire surprises him and a veil of lust covers his blue eyes.

“Indeed,” he argues, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, “I should know.”

I smile and he inches forward, our lips meeting in a new passionate kiss that destroys the last ounce of self-control I might have had. Wyatt’s lips fall to my neck and I push against him, my body pressing all against his and my hips searching for his.

I moan when he drives his tongue to my cleavage, the exposed skin burning under his touch.

“I want you so much, Maggie,” he says under his breath.

I nod, I am unable to form a coherent sentence at the moment. My breath is nowhere to be found and his mouth on my body is forcing me to clasp my legs together, fighting wave after wave of shivers to prevent making a trembling mess out of me.

He must feel my new found despair because he pulls back and locks his eyes with mine. His breath hitches when I bob my head and draw a faint kiss to his lips. He observes me, details my hair, my eyes, before cupping my face between his two warm palms. He passes a finger on my lips, my eyes diving at his and my skin burning of impatience to feel his hands on me.

He leans forward to plant a quick kiss on my lips but he doesn’t linger and a moan of discontent makes him smile.

“Come,” he declares grabbing my hand.

We walk to the door and make our way upstairs. I stop in front of the door of the room that is to be mine for the night and I glimpse at Wyatt. He shakes his head, fusing our mouths in this deserted corridor and pinning me to the wall.

“Wyatt…”

What I expected to sound like a call to reason ends up sounding like a plea. I kiss him back with as much fervor as he is offering me and we lose sight of time, an icy wind making me shiver against the cold wall.

Noticing my reaction, Wyatt pulls back and leads me to his bedroom. He lets go of my hand by the door and checks on the fire burning in the chimney. I blink quickly noticing the details of this intimate environment I have never seen.

“Your curtains are new?” I ask absentmindedly.

He nods and, after stroking the fire, takes off his jacket.

“I asked my servants to pick something nice. The ones in my townhouse in London are older and used,” he declares, “I don’t care that much about the furniture, but I remember your comment the last time you saw them that night. I wanted to make sure this place would please you the day you would get here.”

I shudder at the mention of that special night months back in time. He walks to me and his arms close on the small of my back.

“What comment? What did I say back then?”

He laughs kindly before passing his fingers through my hair, untying the ribbon holding my locks in place. He tugs on the pins and my long curls cascade down to frame my face.

“You are so beautiful…”

I close my eyes at his words and he uses it as his cue to resume kissing my face, his lips gliding to my forehead, my cheek, my jaw, all the way down to my neck and my collarbone.

When his kisses become wetter and he tastes the skin of my cleavage, I feel myself melting between his arms. I need him closer, closer to my body, to my soul.

I lock my arms on his nape and flush my hips against his. His reaction is instantaneous, he pulls back and his eyes dive into mine. His hands glide all over my body and I moan when he squeezes my flesh between his fingers.

“I love you so much, Maggie…”

He has a hard time breathing, but when he says those words, he is as serious and sincere as I have ever seen him before.

“I love you too, Wyatt. More than anything else in the world.”

He nods hurriedly and his arms sweep under my thighs to lift me up in his arms. With the kind of impatience I have never witnessed in him, he takes me to his bed and lays me down as gently as he would a fragile ornament.

He hovers above me for a long time, his mouth an inch away making it impossible for me to kiss him. I take my hands to his flanks and, losing my fingers lower, I gather the hem of his shirt.

His eyes fill with a new wave of desire as he feels my hands working on him, but he doesn’t protest. I pass the shirt above his head and the vision of him takes my breath away.

He is gorgeous, his powerful chest made of sharp muscles one wouldn’t suspect under his elegant clothes of Viscount. I let a moan out of my throat and a smile finds its way to his mouth. He leans in to fuse our lips and I relinquish to my desire for him. My hands go all over his back, digging at his skin before diving into his hair and it is too much to take. Yet, I want more…

A growl escapes him when I tilt my hips up to meet his and his hand caresses my throat.

“Let me take you out of this dress,” he whispers and I nod sheepishly.

He leans back before helping me to sit up on the bed. His lips pressing on my mouth, I feel his fingers fiddling in my back to unhook my dress. The fabric loosening around my body has a warmth of anticipation filling me and my breath turns ragged when his fingers pull apart the edges of the fabric.

“Turn around,” he orders in a smooth voice and I obey.

I turn my back to him, my knees close to my chest and, as he pulls the dress down my body. I soon sense his chest pressing on my back.

“Your skin is as soft as silk,” he declares, his nose lost in the tide of my hair.

I don’t answer, his hands running over my back keeping me stuck in a silence nothing seems able to break. He pushes the fabric down to my hips but I have to stand to get rid of it.

The second I am up, he presses himself in my back and his arms encircle me. I moan in longing and lose my hand in his hair, his palms over my naked skin as caressing as they have ever been.

“Don’t stop,” I whisper, letting passion take control of me.

“I didn’t intend to,” he declares, his warm hand cupping my breast as the other adores the smooth skin of my belly.

I wince when he pinches my flesh and his fingers drop lower until they wander between my thighs.

“I have been waiting so long for another night with you, my love. I keep on dreaming of you in my bed every single day.”

“So do I!”

My breath kicks up as he locates a sensitive spot between my legs that makes my belly tense and my body tingle. I moan, my back hardly pressing against his naked chest and, after a few minutes, it is too much.

“I… I can’t… I can’t take it!”

My fingers dig at the skin of his arm plunged between my thighs and I let my head roll back to meet his shoulder. He drives his knowing fingers further down across my skin and I tense around his fingers making their way inside my body.

“Wyatt…”

“You are so perfect,” he whispers in adoration. “I love everything about you.”

I nod as the rhythm of his hand starts to drive me crazy and my entire body contracts around him.

“Oh!”

I close my eyes tight as a wave of energy clenches my insides and stars explode behind my eyes. I lean against his chest, his arms supporting me as I can barely stand anymore.

He lets go of my soft breast to grab my chin and fuse our mouths. He kisses me passionately and my breath turns short. When his hand deserts me, the wave of passion about to crash over me once again suddenly backs away.

I groan in our joined lips but he gathers me in his arms and lays me back down onto the bed. I observe him as he takes off the rest of his clothes, discarding his trousers on the floor and his undergarment soon joining the rest of our outfits.

When he settles above me, I shudder in anticipation. His sharp body is pressing all against my skin and I feel his desire ready to make us one. My eyes glide to his lips and I caress them with the tip of my thumb. How perfect he is, how good and generous a man he is… I couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect man to share my entire life with.

He leans forward and kisses me like a famished rogue. His tongue caresses mine with a fire burning in his heart, the swirls making me lose sight of where I am. When he pulls back and finds refuge in the crook of my neck, a low, powerful moan builds in my throat. It gets louder and stronger as he drops to my breasts and caresses my skin with appetite, but it reaches its peak when he takes mine in his mouth.

The caresses of his tongue, the softness of his palms, his skin gliding against mine, I know I am in Heaven, a Heaven made of him.

He laps at my chest before continuing his journey down over my body and settling between my thighs.

My breath catches when his mouth closes on my skin and a cry escapes my throat the second he finds my bud of pleasure. Nothing matters anymore but him, him loving me, him being with me…

He tastes my skin, discovers the depths of my delight and a new wave of love washes over me. I barely know who I am anymore when he climbs back up my body and his hips start pushing against mine.

He looks deep into my eyes and I let out a sigh of profound relief. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed such a moment could have existed between us ever again. I had started to accept that physical love would be denied to me forever, my promise never to love anyone else but him keeping me in a state of faithfulness that would have comforted me in my terrible fate.

But here I am, the love of my life giving me pleasure and getting ready to fuse both our bodies.

“I love you, Wyatt,” I say, reading in his eyes that, in a few seconds only, he will be me and I will be him.

“So do I, my love, so much it sets my soul on fire.”

Goosebumps spread on my flesh as he says those words and he rolls his hips forward. My eyes go wide and I lose my breath, his presence inside me turning the wave of pleasure within my body in a tense string that will not require much pressure to snap.

“Oh my love…” I exclaim, my eyes closing at the sensation of his body joining mine.

A loud groan echoes from his chest and Wyatt rocks his hips against mine, his moves controlled, his gestures gentle and tender, his kisses driving me crazy with love.

Uncontrolled moans pass my mouth as our bodies glide together in a beautiful mix of whispers and sighs, and our perfume in my nose makes me lose my mind.

I pull on his hair, circle his hips with my thighs and hold him strongly flushed against me. When he kisses me fervently, his tongue meeting mine in a swirl of passion, I tense all around him and he groans in response.

“Maggie…”

He kisses my face, his hand digging at my thigh cinching his hips and I arch my back to meet every rocking of his body. Our love soon drives me beyond reality, and my head falls back, my eyes closing tight to focus on the delight slowly building between my legs.

Wyatt rocking his hips is my undoing, and when he pushes inside me with determination, my world explodes and I fall over the edge. Stars appears behind my closed eyes and warmth overcomes my body. I tremble between my lover’s arms and, only a few seconds later, he tenses between mine, his delight consuming him and making me his.

We remain unmoving and panting for a long time afterward. Our bodies are hot and sore of our love and I blink my eyes open to detail Wyatt’s face. He has a hard time breathing, but his beautiful features are relieved, satisfied. He opens his eyes to look at me and, when our eyes meet, we shiver where our bodies are connected.

He brings his lips to mine, softly kissing my mouth before lying beside me and gathering me in his arms.

We have a hard time catching our breath, but we don’t care. Wyatt closes his arms around me and I bury my face in the crook of his neck.

“That was…”

“Amazing,” I state and look up to find his gaze.

He nods in agreement and a large grin stretches his lips.

“More than amazing,” he decides, pressing his forehead to mine. “It was perfect… You are perfect, Maggie.”

His words make me smile and I close my eyes before snuggling in his neck again. The truth is, he is perfect for me and I am perfect for him. Right now, I know there is nothing else that matters but us in the entire world.

He threads his fingers over my arm softly lolling me to sleep. His soft breath and the beating of his heart are relaxing my body and soul of any tension. I draw a kiss on his lips as sleep is claiming us and I linger a second longer than necessary.

“I cannot wait to be your wife,” I declare in a low voice.

“Yes,” he says, “neither can I. Knowing we will be together for the rest of our lives is filling me with such joy…”

I smile and snuggle against his chest, his fingers drawing circles on my skin and my contented soul relieved that I will soon belong to the love of my life.

Epilogue

Viscount Wyatt Chambers

I set my eyes upon her as she signs her name to the register. She is focused, reading each line and making sure she is not making any mistake. When she looks back up at me and frowns with an amused smile, I realize the parson has been speaking to me.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It is your turn to sign, Your Lordship.”

“Of course,” I stammer quickly.

I grab the quill pen and mark my name down, promising with this binding contract to take care of Maggie, to love and cherish her until death do us part and even behind that. Because I want to spend my mortal life with her as well as my immortal one. Whether it is here on Earth or later in Heaven, I know no other soul could match Maggie’s in my heart.

A large smile appears on her lips as the parson says the words we have been waiting to hear for so long and I squeeze her hand.

“Finally,” I whisper kissing her cheek.

“I am so happy today, my love.”

I nod and forget myself, drawing a kiss to her lips and fighting my instincts to make our embrace passionate.

The parson clears his throat while, behind us, people are getting out of church. We head outside to receive the congratulations of many of our friends and I catch a glimpse at my sister’s figure.

She stands upright, her back straight and her mouth pinched in a thin line. She hates being here, the witness to a union she considers unflattering, but she is present nonetheless.

Maggie and I meet her after receiving the lovely greetings of friends, and I feel my wife tensing beside me. I press a comforting hand to her back.

“Congratulations,” says my sister with a forced smile. “It was a small ceremony albeit very proper.”

“Thank you, Sister,” I declare, dragging Maggie closer to me. “We are happy you were able to come. It would please us for you to join the reception we are giving home.”

She nods with a haughty look and, as she turns to leave, Maggie steps forward and grabs her hand.

“It is a pleasure for me to meet you, Lady Steward. Wyatt has told me a lot about you and I am happy to think I will have such a wonderful woman as you a member of my family from now on.”

Her genuine smile, her sweet voice and lovely face, even my sister’s heart of stone cannot resist to Maggie. She loses her composure before doing her best to appear as closed as before.

“Thank you,” she argues before greeting us with a bob of the chin and leaving us.

“I didn’t know I had been that generous in my appreciation of my sister,” I whisper in Maggie’s ear.

She giggles before shaking her head and entwining her fingers with mine.

“A little flattery can go a long way if she is as you described her to me,” she admits offering me a mischievous wink.

A warmth that hasn’t deserted me ever since I have found back Maggie fills my belly and makes me smile without purpose. I firm my grip over her waist and draw her closer to me, losing my lips on her cheek and thinking about all the inches of her skin I will soon kiss as her legitimate husband.

Lady Maggie Chambers

I draw circles with my fingertips on Wyatt’s chest and he smiles amorously.

“Does it tickle you?”

“No,” he admits, his smile growing wider. “It’s relaxing, I love when you have your hands all over me.”

I laugh, propping myself onto an elbow.

“You do?”

He nods and, with a pressure of his hand lying on my nape, he presses his lips to mine. We savor a new lengthy kiss, our tongues tangling and battling before caressing each other softly.

We pull back, catching our breath and letting sighs of relief make our peace.

I nestle my head under his chin, my chest resting on his and his hands clasping on my back.

Being his wife is making me happier than I would have thought possible. I have always thought he was the man of my life, and now I am certain of it. His every move fascinates me, every breath he takes make me wait for the next and his words always make me think. He is turning me into a better person already, I can feel it, my entire body is radiating with love.

I drive my hands through his hair, looking up to find his eyes and he smiles at me, his lips closing on my forehead to kiss my skin in a faint caress.

“I love you,” I say in a low voice he hears perfectly well.

His arms around me tighten before loosening a bit.

“And I love you too,” he argues. “More than I believed a man could ever love a woman.”

“I never want this night to end,” I confess.

“It never will,” he says and his words send shivers up and down my spine. “It will always belong to us. I don’t think many men can forget their wedding night.”

A laugh passes my lips and I shake my head.

“Nor many women, I reckon.”

Wyatt cocks one of his eyebrows up.

“Could it be that I made some favorable impression on you tonight?”

I laugh again and he kisses my nose teasingly.

“Tonight and every night,” I reply. “Now and forever.”

A frank nod answers my words and he brushes his nose to mine.

I will always love him, that much is certain. When I think about it, I believe I would probably have died from my heartache if life hadn’t brought us back together. Back then, in these terrible times when we had to be apart, I remember the simple fact of breathing felt like a challenge. Now, comfortably huddled between his arms and protected by his strong figure, I want nothing more than to live forever.

I let a sigh of contentment pass my lips as a deep mist fogs my mind. This man is my happiness, and I will never stop thanking God for making me his.

The End

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The other books of The Unforeseen Lovers series (readable in any order)

Book 1 -  Irresistible Prejudice

Book 2 – To Have and To Hold

Book 3 – A Duke’s Despair

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About the Author

Lily Holland loves to write about love. She writes sweet, romantic romances.  She enjoys all genres as long as there is some love involved and has a soft spot for Historical and Regency romance. No matter the time, she considers there is always a place for instant love stories and happy endings.

A Viscount’s Choice is the third book in The Unforeseen Lovers series, a Regency Romance series.

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[FC1]had sex in London

[FC2]maggie’s house

[FC3]name

[FC4]perfume seller