Page 12 of Her Sweetest Rogue (The Worthington Legacy #6)

“M y lord? Is this a bad time?” she asked meekly.

Trey motioned with his hand. “No. Do come in, please.”

“Yesterday, you did say to meet you here after the noon meal, but you and your mother were not at the table, so I worried our meeting had been postponed.”

“No need to fret, my dear. You are right on time.” He grabbed the cushioned-chair his mother had occupied earlier and pushed it closer to his desk. “Have a seat and we shall begin.”

After she settled herself, he took the other chair. Her sweet fragrance wafted around her and on impulse, he leaned closer to get a better whiff. Inwardly, he groaned. He’d always been a fool for women who smelled like flowers. Her scent enticed him to bury his face in her neck and never leave.

“My lord?” She withdrew as confusion creased her face.

He straightened, realizing he’d been caught in his fantasy. “Forgive me, Judith. I was just enjoying your pleasing fragrance.”

Her face flamed a brilliant red. She lifted her chin higher, her hands clasped in her lap. “I thank you. I think.”

“Now, where were we?” He scooted away, knowing the closer they were, the more tempted he’d become.

He picked up a blank piece of paper and set it between them on the desk. He dipped his quill into the ink-bottle then began writing: To whom it may concern. Then stopped and looked at her. “Do you know who we should address this to?”

“I do not.”

“Hmm…” He tapped the other end of the pen against his chin. “Perhaps then, we should just address it to: Lieutenant Alexander Cutler’s Superior .”

“That sounds very professional. I believe it will work.”

Keeping his penmanship precise, he proceeded to write the letter. He introduced himself, along with the dowager, as Miss Faraday’s guardians. When a thought crossed his mind, he stopped again. Earlier, he’d wondered just how close she and Mr. Cutler had been. Now would be a good time to ask her before finishing the missive.

He turned abruptly toward her, bumping against her in the process. He hadn’t realized she leaned quite so far into him. A gasp escaped her throat. Once again, her face reddened and her eyes widened.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I didn’t know—”

“Oh, no. It was my fault entirely.”

Silence hung in the air as he met her emerald gaze. He studied her shocked expression, but mainly her parted lips and the breaths rushing forth, breezing against his face.

“Why did you stop writing?” she asked.

How could he ask such a personal question without flaring her temper? Although he loved watching heat spark in her eyes when anger consumed her, this was not the time. Their discussion must be on a serious level.

He set the quill down, leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest. “Judith, before I continue, I need to know something.”

“What?”

“Tell me more about you and Mr. Cutler.”

She arched an eyebrow. “I thought I had.”

“Not entirely. There are still a few questions left unanswered.”

“Such as?”

He cleared his throat. “You had mentioned earlier your parents did not know about your engagement.”

She lowered her gaze. “Alex and I kept it a secret. We were going to tell them after he had earned enough money to support me.” She shrugged. “However, before that could happen, my parents died in a carriage accident.”

He leaned forward and patted her clasped hands. “Judith, forgive me for bringing up bad memories about your parents.” It was a pain he knew all too well.

Her eyes flew up to meet his and she nodded.

“Tell me more about Alex. How well did you know him?”

She pulled her hands away from his touch. “After we realized we were in love, we met once a week for two months. At first our rendezvous were at my neighbor’s house, since Alex was related to them, but later in our relationship we met in secret.”

Taking a deep breath, he prepared for the next question. “What exactly did you two…um… do during your meetings?”

Her forehead creased as she narrowed her gaze. “Mainly we planned the rest of our lives as husband and wife, discussing our dreams and goals.”

Sighing heavily, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Judith, I don’t need to tell you how scandalous it is to meet a man in private, or how it can ruin a girl’s reputation.”

The corner of her mouth quirked. “Of course not. Did I not blame you for trying to do that when we were at the woodsman’s cottage?”

“If you knew, then why did you continue to meet Mr. Cutler in private?”

She blew out a ragged breath. “Because I loved him, and I knew my parents would not approve. I knew it would take a while before I could convince them I wanted to marry him and it did not matter if we were caught alone because we were—and still are—engaged.”

“But only in secret, correct?”

“Correct. We do not have anything in writing.”

Facing her, he took hold of her hands once again. Moisture from her palms coated his fingertips. Nervous? Of course she was. She had every right to be with the questions he threw at her. Especially if she were guilty.

“You mentioned both of you were in love. So now my question is, how much did you love him?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Did he…did you…” Good grief, why did this have to be such torture? Her hands were stiff and he tried to relax her by rubbing his thumbs along her knuckles. “Judith, I might as well come right out and say it.”

“I wish you would.”

“Judith.” He held her gaze. “Did you…give yourself to him?”

She gasped, yanked her hands away from his, and jumped to her feet. The quick motion scooted the chair back, which put distance between them.

“How dare you!”

He stood. “Now, Judith. I have every right to ask.”

“You certainly do not.”

“My mother is sponsoring you. She is spending money on your coming out ball. If you are already um…deflowered, then she has the right to know. Why should she spend money on instructing you for a ball you do not need?”

Tears glinted in her eyes, but she blinked the moisture away. “Just because you took liberties and kissed me in the woodsman’s cottage, does not mean I’m the kind of woman who gives them freely.”

He admired her courage to stand up to him, and—he believed her. She could be lying, but deep down inside, he didn’t think so. Relief poured through him, and he nearly sighed aloud.

“I’m relieved to hear that, Judith.” He reached for her, but she took another step backward. “Now that we have that out of the way, would you like to finish writing this letter?”

Several minutes passed as they stared at each other. She stood straight with her arms at her side, her hands fisted. Lines of anger marred her beauty, and he wanted to stroke the skin and make them disappear.

Finally, she nodded and walked to her chair. As he settled in his seat, he picked up the quill. “Now, let us continue.”

As Trey wrote, he asked for suggestions, which she responded to coldly. His heart twisted, knowing he was responsible for humiliating her. But he had to know. Not only for his mother’s sake, but because he needed to know for his own peace of mind.

It surprised him that Lieutenant Cutler was such a gentleman. That man must have been immune, because Trey found it almost impossible to be near Judith without wanting to take her intimately in his arms. Even now as he glanced at her, regret for making her feel this way wrung his heart and he wanted to hold and comfort her.

Once the letter was written and sealed with his family’s crest, he leaned back in his chair and smiled. Still, her expression remained impassive, her attention remaining on the missive.

“Now what happens?” she asked.

“I will have this delivered to my solicitor. Then we wait.”

She bobbed her head, but stayed in her chair. Silence stretched through the room. In the hallway, the grandfather clock struck two. There was no light in her eyes. No lift to her mouth. It was as if the life had been sucked right out of her.

His throat tightened. What had he done? “Judith?”

Slowly, she moved her gaze to meet his. “Yes?”

“I can tell you are still put out about that question. Please forgive me for asking. I just needed to know.”

“I understand.” Her bottom lip quivered before her tongue darted out and swept across it. “But what I don’t understand is why…why…”

He leaned forward, linking his fingers across his knees. “Why I needed to know? I thought I had explained that.”

She shook her head. “No, what I want to know is why Alex didn’t try to take advantage of me when he had the chance.”

Her answer was so very soft, he wondered if he misunderstood. The tears forming in her eyes confirmed her statement. She actually thought this was her fault?

He took hold of her clasped hands again. Instead of being moist, they were cold. He rubbed his thumbs over her skin, hoping to warm her up. “My dear Judith, what are you saying? Did you want him to compromise you?”

She hiccupped a laugh. “I never thought of this until now, but Alex could have compromised me several times. He was not raised with noble parents, yet he was very proper around me.” She blinked as the tears continued to build. “In fact, you have touched me more than he has.”

Trey groaned. Why did she have to say that? More importantly, why did excitement leap in his chest from her confession? Seeing her emotional like this made him want to gather her in his arms, more so than he’d wanted to before. Who was he kidding? He wanted to kiss her like the dolt, Lieutenant Cutler, hadn’t been able to accomplish.

A tear streaked down her cheek and he caught it with his finger. “Judith, you should not think this way.”

“How else am I supposed to think? He didn’t even try. What’s wrong with me, Trey?”

If only she knew how much he wanted to show her nothing was wrong, that she was a very desirable woman, she’d certainly box his ears.

“No, my pet.” He cupped her face, which brought her liquid gaze to him. “Nothing is wrong with you. However, I have serious doubts about your fiancé. What man in his right mind could resist your charm?”

“Stop lying.”

He barked a laugh. “Lie? No, my dear, I’m not lying. Have you forgotten the kiss we shared at the woodsman’s cottage?” His voice lowered. “Or the walk in the flower garden? The gazebo?” He shook his head. “On my word, I’m telling you the truth, Judith. You are a very charming and irresistible woman.”

She blinked several times, which dried her tears. Her hands covered his still holding her face. “So why could Alex resist me?”

Trey couldn’t believe how their conversation had turned. If he didn’t put a stop to this now, he’d take her in his arms like he’d thought about doing. “I’m a rogue, Judith. I’m drawn to beautiful women. Cutler is probably more of a gentleman than I will ever be.”

Her face flamed, heating the skin under his palms. A smile wavered as she pulled away. She swiped the wetness from under her eyes.

“Forgive me for my emotional outburst. It will not happen again.”

“Judith.” He took her hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “There’s nothing to forgive. You can count on me to help you in any way.”

What had he said? Good heavens, had a roaring fire been lit in the room? A window needed to be opened, and quickly to cool his ardor.

Judith pulled away from him then stood. “I thank you, Trey, for the letter you have written. I hope we hear something soon.”

“As do I.”

As she walked out of the study, he seriously prayed his solicitor found something disagreeable about Lieutenant Cutler. There was no way her fiancé deserved a woman such as the very lovely Judith Faraday.

Trey frowned. He didn’t deserve her, either. She wanted a husband, and he definitely wasn’t looking for a wife. Finding her a man to marry and getting her out of the house was top priority. He couldn’t have her under his roof any longer.

His reputation was at stake, as was hers.