A Scandalous Bargain (The Pretenders #2) - Darcy Burke Page 0,46

first rays of dawn were spilling over the city. Still, Beatrix had struggled to find rest as her mind had bounced back and forth from Tom to her half brother and father and back again. Thinking of her half brother and father filled her with anticipation and hope, while thoughts of Tom aroused a lingering sadness that enclosed her chest when she acknowledged their flirtation had come to an end.

And flirtation was the best way to describe it, for their connection went beyond friendship but of course not as far as lovers. Could it have reached that point, however?

You’ll never know.

She groaned in frustration as she stood from the settee in the garden room, a lovely chamber at the back of their new Cavendish Square residence that opened onto the back garden. The Marchioness of Ripley, who owned the house, had beautifully refurbished the room after moving in, adding the wide doors that made the outside an extension of the interior space.

“Goodness, Beatrix, are you all right?” Selina swept into the room with a look of concern.

“At last!” Beatrix smiled to distract Selina from pursuing Beatrix’s problems. “You slept quite late.” It was past two in the afternoon.

Selina blushed. “I’m afraid so. That was the very best night of sleep I’ve had in…well, maybe forever.”

Beatrix felt true gladness. “I’m so pleased. You deserve nothing but those from now on.” Selina had spent far too many sleepless nights planning how to save them from financial ruin and to keep them from harm.

“Thank you. I admit I do hope it lasts.” Selina glanced down at Beatrix’s walking costume. “Are you going somewhere?”

Beatrix had begun to hope she would be able to steal from the house without Selina seeing her. “Er, yes.”

Selina cocked her head, her eyes narrowing. “Were you keeping it a secret?”

“No. I just wasn’t sure if you would come down before I left. I have an appointment in Grosvenor Square.”

Knowing that Beatrix’s father lived there, Selina stared at her. “Do you? What’s happened? Did you speak to the duke last night?”

“Not him, no. I told Worth who I was.” At Selina’s gasp, she added, “He wouldn’t leave me alone. He was going to talk to Rafe about courting me.” She gave Selina a horror-filled look.

Selina grimaced. “I can see why that would prod you to action. And now you have an appointment with the duke. At least, I assume it’s with the duke since he lives in Grosvenor Square. What did Worth say?”

Beatrix went to the table and perched on another of the two chairs set around the circle. “He was actually quite supportive. He is arranging the meeting and asked me to meet him at our father’s house at three.”

“So soon!” Selina shot to her feet. “I’ll change.”

Beatrix waved her back down. “That isn’t necessary. I can go by myself.”

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I’ll accompany you. Stupid Society rules and all that.”

Beatrix arched a brow at her. “Do you really think my father or my half brother is going to stand on stupid ceremony now that their bastard daughter and half sister has reappeared?”

“Perhaps not, but you should still present yourself to your best ability.”

Dammit, Selina wasn’t wrong. But Beatrix wanted to do this for herself. She needed to. Frankly, if it went poorly, she wasn’t sure she could handle Selina being there. Wait, was she actually considering it wouldn’t go well?

Anxiety pulsed through her. She forced herself to relax, rolling her shoulders and taking a deep breath. “I appreciate you wanting to support me, but I think I need to go alone. If you accompanied me, my father may not let down his guard.”

“And that’s what you want?”

“I want my father back,” she said softly. The man who’d read her stories and watched her play with warmth and delight, who’d taught her to ride a pony when she was eight, and who’d listened to her strum a harp quite badly when she was nine.

The man who’d sent her to a boarding school and never communicated with her again.

All the old justifications came back: he was too grief-stricken to see Beatrix, he hadn’t just turned her out, so he obviously cared about her, he was educating her so that she’d make him proud.

So why did it take you so long to seek him out?

Because she meant to make him proud.

Beatrix looked back to Selina. “I’ve changed my mind. You should come with me. You’re right that it’s the expected thing to do. However, I may