Patricia Rice Read Online Free PDF

really believed it when
Duncan said he would sell me to him. Would you like to buy me next, my lord? I’m
certain after tonight he could use a little extra cash. Just don’t expect to
get it all back when I bite your nose.”
    She laughed, a brittle laugh that did not sound as if it
belonged to one so young. Well acquainted with the drunken madness of the
Howard family, Merrick couldn’t separate truth from lie. Every word she said
could be true, but whether it was a game, indeed, or a cruel farce instead, he
couldn’t say. Cassandra had proved herself every bit as much a liar as the rest
of the family.
    “You would have some difficulty reaching my nose to bite it,
my lady,” he responded gravely. “If you are alone here, perhaps I ought to take
you to stay with young Thomas’ parents. You are less likely to be the victim of
practical jokes there.”
    Cassandra clasped her arms over her bosom, and met his gaze
with a deceptive smile. “How very thoughtful of you, sir, but I assure you it
is not necessary. My mother is asleep just up the stairs. I shall lock the door
behind you and go smear jam on my brother’s sheets. It was kind of you to see
me home. I hope I was not too rude.”
    Merrick thought perhaps the polite, formal statements she
summoned from some long-ago training were the true lies, but he had lived too
many years by the rules of society. She had formally dismissed him. He sketched
a brief bow.
    “Very well, my lady. I must offer you my gratitude for
saving my young friend from his foolishness. If I may, I will call on you and
your mother on the morrow to better express my appreciation and to be certain
you suffered no harm from this evening.”
    Cassandra’s smile was growing strained. “Of course, my lord.
Good night.”
    She watched anxiously as he closed the door behind him; then
she bolted it thoroughly. She trembled with disgust and the brink of hysteria,
but she would not give in to them. She would not. Someone in the family had to
stand strong.
    Raising her chin, she gazed up the stairs to where her
mother lay. She could do it. She could defeat Duncan. It was just a matter of
planning.

Chapter 3
    “I won’t have it, Duncan, I won’t, I won’t!” Cassandra
slammed the iron poker into the stand so hard the entire heavy ring of
instruments threatened to tilt and fall. For a brief moment she contemplated
taking one of the brutal pieces to her brother’s thick skull.
    The Marquess of Eddings sat with one thigh propped on the
edge of his desk and his arms crossed over his chest. He was a powerfully built
man with leg muscles that bulged his tight buff pantaloons and shoulders that
strained at the faultless tailoring of his navy broadcloth coat. A permanent
sneer marked the elegant cut of his aristocratic features, and the puffiness
about his eyes gave evidence of more than one night’s dissipation.
    “You have no choice in the matter, dear girl. I can no
longer afford your elegant wardrobe with no return on my investment. Rupert is
willing to overlook your lack of dowry and your nasty choice of family, not to
mention your bad temper. How many of the ton are willing to do the same?”
    Cassandra drew herself up and shot him a scathing glare. “It
is not my lack of dowry that presents the problem. We have name and title
enough for the worst of them. It is your rakish behavior that brings me to
this. It is your pockets that Rupert will plump if you have your way. I am
willing to help gain the funds we need, but you aren’t willing to listen.”
    Duncan laughed. “Don’t fool yourself, little sister. You are
far too clever to believe that. You have the tongue of a shrew and the temper
of a viper. Your behavior at the very few places we are invited has been
inexcusable to an extreme. It won’t take long for word to circulate of your
presence in the city’s most notorious gaming hells, should you try to attach
anyone of respectability. How long do you think it will take for tolerance of
our