No Duke Will Do - Eva Devon Page 0,6
place?” he mocked at last. “What horrors have you heard?”
She met his gaze fearlessly. “I’ve heard you’re a terrifying man. That you’re a businessman who will not yield. That you’re merciless.”
“All of that is true,” he said. “But no one could accuse me of debauching a girl in my club.”
She stopped at that. “Truly?”
“I have no time for such things, let alone an affinity for it.” He held her gaze before he shook his head at the madness coursing through him. “I’m done with this temporary amusement. It’s time that you went.”
“But—”
“No, Lady Mary.”
“Please,” she begged. “Please do not send me away so quickly. Surely, there is something that I can do, that we can do, some understanding that we could make.”
The desperation in her voice clawed at him.
She was desperate, and if he sent her out now, that desperation would continue. While he usually had no inclination to help people, he suddenly felt an inclination to help her.
He held out his hand then.
“Come here,” he urged. She lifted her chin but did as bid.
“What? Will you not touch my hand?” he teased dryly. “You were about to kiss me. Don’t you think touching my hand is far safer?”
She gave a nod and did as he bid once more.
She slid her gloved fingers into his and gasped at the touch.
“Oh, Lady Mary, I can shock you with a touch of a hand.” He folded his large palm about her small one. “Imagine what a kiss will do.”
“If you must know,” she replied, her breath hitching. “I’ve never been kissed, so I really have no idea what effect it will have upon me.”
Never been kissed.
Hell’s bells, she was an innocent. And she was ready to sacrifice that to him. . . For her bastard of a father.
He hated the fact that young women all over this world were put into such positions by the men who were supposed to protect them.
Perhaps if his own mother had. . . No, he wouldn’t think of it.
He’d never even known his mother.
He’d never seen her face nor felt her embrace.
As far as he knew, he’d been left in a gutter. He understood when that happened, why it had happened. It still hurt. He hated the fact that it still hurt. He allowed his hand to hold hers gently. He wished he could make her feel better, make her feel safe, and suddenly, that compulsion fell over him.
God, help him, he wanted to make Lady Mary safe.
He gazed down at her beautiful face. “We are truly in a difficulty.”
“I am the one in difficulty, sir,” she stated. “Not you. You have all the power here.”
“Do I?” he asked as he drew her close enough that the hem of her gown skimmed his boots.
“Yes,” she affirmed.
“I don’t think that’s true, Lady Mary, and I think that if we were to work together, you might have a bit of power too.”
“How the devil could I possibly have any such power?” she demanded.
“Power is largely a state of mind, Lady Mary.” He lifted his free hand and, oh, so slowly, reached out to caress her jaw. “Would you like me to help you change your state of mind?”
The idea took root in her. A small flame, catching spark.
He could see it.
Her brows lifted. “You could do such a thing?”
“Of course. Easily,” he said.
She shook her head, her dark curls dancing. “I don’t believe you. All my life, I’ve been at the control of my father. My mother has been destroyed by him, and my future will likely be in the hands of some other awful nobleman, if not yours.”
He bowed his head towards hers and whispered, “Then, you must stop being a pawn, Lady Mary. You are not destined to necessarily be that piece on a chessboard.”
“My father is the king on the board,” she pointed out, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “He’s the one doing the maneuvering.”
Heath tucked his thumb and forefinger under her chin, raising her face up. “Then, you must learn to play like the queen.”
Chapter 3
A queen.
One did not imagine themselves as such, did they?
Mary stared at the man who was offering up his help.
It wasn’t the sort of help she’d anticipated, but by God, she was going to take it. It felt utterly mad to accept the help of Richard Heath. He was the devil, wasn’t he?
But as he held her hand in his strong one, she knew he was powerful, indeed, and if he could help her, she would be a