Page 101 of In the Prince's Bed

Ducking her head, she busied herself with unknotting his cravat. “Here, let’s make you more comfortable.”

“I’m fine,” he bit out. “Really, it’s all right.”

“Your said your head was still spinning.” She dropped to her knees and tugged off one shoe, then the other.

By God, she was already catching him in his lies. He allowed her to finish removing his shoes and made no quarrel when she took off his coat. But when she went to work on his waistcoat buttons, he stayed her hand. “Thanks, that’s much better. But I still want to know why you came here.”

A blush turned her cheeks a pretty pink. “I-I knew you were hiding something, that’s all. It made no sense that you wouldn’t want us to visit.”

“So you rushed here from London?”

She shrugged. “I might have stayed there, if your friend at the Stephens Hotel hadn’t behaved so suspiciously, evading all my questions the same way you did.”

That’s because Jack knew the whole of Alec’s financial situation and his need to marry an heiress.

“You said you don’t care about my…er…lack of money. But I seem to remember you bursting in here demanding to know what was going on.”

“I…um…may have said something to that effect.” She stood. “Now you really should lie down—”

“I want to know what you thought was going on when you rushed in here,” he persisted.

She uttered a long sigh. “It’s just that…well, I heard female giggling and talk of wickedness and a naked woman and…”

When she trailed off, the light dawned. “You thought I was ‘cavorting,’ ” he said irritably. “I was trying to arrange—”

“I know, I know.” She pressed her fingers to his mouth, then glanced over to the sculpture of Lady Godiva. “Though your taste in…er…art is rather—”

“Wicked, yes. Like your taste in books. But you don’t find me bursting into rooms to surpriseyou.”Given the circumstances, her distrust shouldn’t annoy him, yet it did.

“I’m sorry. You must think me horrible. I’ve misjudged you over and over, with no good reason.”

Just that quickly, his annoyance turned to guilt. “It’s all right. Your suspicions were understandable.”

She shook her head. “I let my fears about your character run away with me, and I shouldn’t have. I know better. You’ve shown me time and again that you’re a good man, and yet—”

“That’s enough, sweetheart, no apology necessary,” he said hoarsely. “It’s forgotten.”

“Not by me. But I’ll make it up to you. With my fortune we can turn Edenmore into the most beautiful home you’ve ever seen.”

His guilt nearly choked him. “You said you would be glad to put all the responsibility of estate management behind you. I hate to think of burdening you.”

“It’s no burden when you have money,” she said brightly. She turned to roam his bedchamber. “Only think of what we can do to this. If you repair the crumbling moldings, replace the wallpaper and the carpet and perhaps the drapes…why, it would be stunning.” She faced him, her eyes sparkling as she swept her hand to encompass the room. “Though the furniture needs some refurbishing, it’s really quite fine, and that marvelous fireplace is perfect as it is.”

“So you…like it.”

“The house? Oh, yes, what I’ve seen of it. Even in my brief walk through, I could tell it was solidly constructed.”

“The fifth earl, the one who built it, used top-quality oak timbers and the best red brick. And every room has a mantelpiece of Italian marble exactly like that one. My…er…father never got desperate enough to tear those out and sell them, thank God.”

Her face clouded over. “How did your lovely house come to such a pass?”

“It’s a long story,” he said, unwilling to tell it when he’d have to mix the truth with so many lies.

“I like long stories.” Coming back to sit beside him, she laid her hand tenderly on his thigh.

What else could he do? With a sigh, he explained about his “father’s” bad management, the corrupt steward, the worthless investments…everything he dared to tell her. He’d just begun to describe how the estate looked in his youth when Mrs. Brown hurried in with the tea and a plate of brown lumps obviously meant to be food.

“Sorry it took me so long,” the housekeeper said cheerily. “Your mother had all sorts of questions about the house, miss.”