Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,129
as he told himself that her presence made no difference, that she would not marry him. That tonight might be the last time she was in his life.
She stood at the top of the stairs in the red gown that flattered her, when she needed no flattery. Elegantly, with his siblings and their spouses forming a phalanx behind her—he’d never loved them more—she began descending. He wanted to take her to his bedchamber and peel that gown off her. He wanted to kiss every inch of her, make love to her until dawn. Maybe then he could forget her. Give me one more night, Thea. We’ll make it last.
Except he didn’t want only one more night. He didn’t want to forget her.
He turned to his parents. “I love you both, but this is not my world.”
She was his world.
His father simply gave him a stoic, brisk nod—and in that action Beast saw himself as a boy holding firm and strong when he’d been teased or ridiculed for things not his fault: his bastardy, his height, his bulk, his imperfections.
His mother took his gloved hand, squeezed it, pressed it to her lips, and looked at him through luminous eyes filled with so much love, a powerful love, a love strong enough to place her child, a product of her heart, into another’s keeping, and she would do it again, bearing the burden of it without remorse or grief because protecting him, keeping him safe, was more important to her than anything she might suffer as a result.
And he realized he might have inherited none of his features from her, but he had inherited her heart.
While they’d told him he was their son, and he’d taken them at their word, believed them, it wasn’t until that moment that he truly felt he was their son.
What had she told him on that dreary rainy afternoon when missing Althea had brought him such sadness and loneliness? Never apologize to your mother for being who you are.
Who was he? He finally knew. He was a man who would find a way to honor their love and his birthright, but he would do it following the dictates of his heart, not Society.
He became aware of dancers stopping, people murmuring. He spotted Chadbourne making his way to the stairs. He recognized a man intent on revenge when he spotted him, a man who hadn’t liked being bested at cards. Beast hadn’t looked at the guest list, hadn’t known who’d been invited until they arrived. He’d have struck this bloke’s name right off the list. “Please, excuse me,” he said to his parents.
His long strides soon carried him to Chadbourne’s side. “Turn your back on her, and I’ll snap your weak little spine in two.” He didn’t bother to moderate his voice, to keep his temper from flaring.
“You cannot allow her to fully descend these stairs. You cannot welcome her.”
“I can and I will. What I cannot do is allow you to remain so much as one minute longer. So either carry yourself out of here or I shall take great pleasure in dragging you out.”
The earl sneered at him. “You didn’t grow up in Society. You don’t understand its rules.”
“Thank God.”
“When other lords and ladies, dukes, duchesses, earls, viscounts, turn their backs on her—”
He didn’t give him time to finish what was likely to ramble into an obnoxious question. “I will not tolerate anyone being unkind to her.”
People had come closer and he wondered if they’d done so with the same purpose as Chadbourne. If so, a lot of dragging out of the room was going to happen, but he had three brothers and two brothers-by-marriage descending those stairs who would help him accomplish it. Aware of murmurings, he had the distinct impression his words were being repeated, repeated, repeated so they reached the farthest corners of the room.
“Go. Now,” he said to Chadbourne. “And if you say one word to her to make her doubt her welcome here, you’ll feel the weight of my fist against your jaw so fast you’ll swear I have the ability to fly.”
The man’s glare wouldn’t frighten a child. He turned. “Jocelyn, we’re leaving.”
“But it’s a ball. I want to dance. Won’t you send the carriage back for me?”
He seemed at a loss, but finally began stalking up the stairs. Beast watched him until he passed Thea on her way down. As far as he could tell the earl said not one word to her. Smart man.