the steps.
“Poppy!”
She whirled around, and he faltered. Her eyes were red and pained. She had been crying.
James hurried to her side, careful to keep a respectable distance as they were in public.
“James,” she said with a small smile.
“I am coming from Mr. Winters’s home. He told me of his visit to you. I am sorry for it. He should not have presumed to speak to you.” James raked a hand through his hair, absently realizing he had left his hat in the carriage. “Poppy, I should have told you.”
“You made me no false promises,” she said softly. “Whatever wound there is to my heart is because of my own foolish hopes. I cannot blame you for it. You have been a great friend and supporter. I wish you all the best.”
Then she whirled around. Uncaring they might have an audience, he grabbed her elbow. When she paused, he moved to stand in front of her.
“I am not marrying her…Poppy, I cannot, not when I love you.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“I love you.”
Tears spilled down her cheek, and she hurriedly wiped it away. “I love you too, but you…you promised to marry her. Surely you cannot break that. She will be devastated. Her chances and reputation will be ruined. I…no, James!”
“It is not like you are thinking. She is fourteen, and I suspect she might not even know about this arrangement. My brother made the promise to marry her when she is of age,” he said gruffly. “I was simply trying to fulfill it because he died before he could.”
“And Mr. Winters agrees to this?”
“No. He wants me to repay a sum of one hundred thousand pounds in a month, or he will sue.”
She flinched and lifted wounded eyes to his. “Even I know such a scandal would be catastrophic for you, Daphne, and your mother. Your entire family will be affected.”
James looked away, the truth of her word resounding deeply inside. “Poppy—”
“No,” she said softly. “I love you, James. Too much to want that for you. I love Daphne. She is young and has ample time to remarry and have a wonderful life. That will be very hard to achieve with a ruined reputation and her brother’s honor sunken beyond reproach.”
It was James’s turn to flinch.
“We shall remain great friends, and I shall never forget you.” Then to his shock, she leaned forward, pressed a kiss to his cheek, turned around and continued walking.
That night, James sat in Worsley’s gambling den, nursing his third glass of whisky. He stood apart from the general excitement which pulsed in the air. The Club’s decor was one of luxury, red and green carpets covered the floor, and swaths of red and golden garlands twined themselves around massive white Corinthian columns. Worsley’s club was popular, and it was a busy and energetic night. Every table on the floor—faro, hazard, whist, and even the roulette wheels was filled with ladies and gentlemen hoping to take home winnings from one of the tables.
James felt as if he had lost everything. The honor he thought he was protecting for so many years and the lady he had fallen irrevocably in love with.
“The simplest solution would be to marry, Miss Winters,” Worsley said. “Winters is known to me. He is ruthless when crossed. Your brother did not enter this deal with an easy man.”
Everything inside of James recoiled at the notion. The remembered pain and hope in Poppy’s eyes haunted him. She loved him enough to fight for his honor while he loved her enough to dismiss it. What a blasted mess. “No, I’ll not marry Miss Winters.”
Smoke wafted through the air from the many lit cigars, glasses clinked loudly, and the clattering of dice echoed as they rolled on the tables as if mocking the calm assurance James wanted to present to the world. Inside he was a mess of pain and desperation. He could not lose Poppy.
“You have already lost, Miss Ashford,” Worsley said. “It seems she genuinely loves you. She wants to protect you from the consequences of this damnable agreement Henry made. Whyever did you not tell me about it?”
“What is done is done,” James said, leaning back in the chair and knocking back his drink. “Daphne told me earlier Poppy is leaving town. She has no money. She has no connections. And it is unbearable for her to live with her mother and sisters anymore. She is brave enough to try and find a living on her own.”
“You are worried for her.”
“I am petrified