Velvet Embrace

"So I was. It was after I returned that Sir Charles' hirelings attempted to earn their pay."

The doctor stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Sir Charles was very angry when he learned you had recovered the Valdois estate. He meant to prevent you from taking possession. He even went to Paris a few months ago to speak to an attorney about this."

And in Paris he hired Germain, Dominic thought to himself. It wasn't difficult to guess the rest of the story. "Tell me, M'sieur le Doctor," Dominic said. "What do you gain by telling me this?"

Henri Fontaine shrugged. "A clear conscience, perhaps. I wanted you to understand why Sir Charles acted as he did."

Dominic's jaw hardened. "I understand," he replied grimly. "All too well, I understand."

He stood up then and crossed the room before anyone thought to stop him from leaving. At the door, however, he turned back to survey the company, his gaze lingering on Brie even though she refused to meet his eyes.

"Ironic, is it not, doctor," Dominic said slowly, "that the pattern of our lives can be so easily altered by circumstances? And that we can be so foolish as to wish it were not so? Superbly ironic."

Chapter Eighteen

"I am perfectly all right, Julian," Brie repeated for the third time, "And will you please stop looking at me as if I had lost my reason? I am sorry to have put you to so much trouble, but it really wasn't necessary for you to come after me."

Julian dismissed her remarks with an impatient wave of his hand and continued his agitated pacing of the floor. "Damn it, Brie, it was no trouble! What kind of friend do you take me for? Do you think I could merely turn a blind eye while you gadded about the continent with a man who could ruin your reputation with a few choice words, let alone his company?"

When Brie began to protest, Julian held up his hand again. "All right, perhaps you were not gadding about, and Dominic is one of my best friends. But that still doesn't change the fact that you were unchaperoned in his company for the better part of a week. Good God, Brie! Were you lost to all sense of propriety? Surely you must see what this means?"

"Julian, calm down. And please quit scolding me. You are beginning to sound like my aunt."

Julian snorted derisively. "At least Lady Arabella knows what is required in the conduct of a lady." He paused for a moment, then said in a milder tone, "There is no hope for it. Brie. You must marry Dominic—and at once. At least that will help scotch the rumors that are flying about. My guess is that Dominic has already arrived at that conclusion."

Brie looked away. "You can see how overjoyed he is at the prospect. He has been gone the entire afternoon."

"I'm certain he meant no insult to you." When Brie didn't reply, Julian swore silently. Dominic should be the one trying to find a satisfactory solution to this mess, but he had ridden out after hearing the doctor's story and hadn't come back. Julian had been required to handle the French authorities alone. But even that hadn't been as difficult as trying to talk some sense into Brie.

"Come now," he said, adding to his argument. "It won't be so bad being married to Dom. He can be quite a pleasant fellow. He's rich and titled and not unattractive to women. I'd even lay odds that after a time, you'll be able to wind him around your finger the way you do me. I expect he'll let you continue to indulge in your passion for your horses and stables."

Brie had been keeping a tight rein on her temper, but when this comment was uttered, she looked up at him with a militant gleam in her eyes. "Thank you, Julian, for arranging my future so satisfactorily! Need I remind you, though, that I can indulge my passions quite adequately without being married to Dominic or anyone else? I have no need of his money or his titles, or for that matter, his protection. And I think you forget that he is selfish and arrogant and highhanded. . . ."

Brie paused in her denunciation of Dominic's character to dash a tear from her cheek. Seeing her, Julian couldn't be fooled by her angry protests. He eyed her pityingly. "Poor Brie. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"I. . . . It doesn't matter."

"No?" he asked softly. "Then why are you crying?"

"I am not—" Brie took a deep breath and waited for the painful lump in her throat to diminish. "Please, Julian, just take me home. I'm tired and upset, and I can't think objectively."

"But we cannot leave until things are settled."

Brie stared down at her clasped hands. "There is nothing to settle."

"Of course there is. One would have to be a blind fool not to see that." When she said nothing, he went to sit beside her on the sofa and took her hands in his. "Brie, look at me." When she complied, Julian's breath caught in his throat. Her blue- green eyes were sparkling with tears and her mouth was quivering, looking soft and vulnerable. Julian had to restrain himself from offering the kind of comfort he still wanted to give.

"You aren't making sense, Brie," he reasoned. "If you love Dominic, there can be no reason not to marry him. And I can't believe he is completely indifferent to you. I'd say he's getting the better part of the bargain."

Trying to ignore the ache in her heart, Brie closed her eyes. How could she make Julian understand how impossible it would be for her to marry Dominic, especially now that the truth had come out? Dominic wouldn't want an alliance with her, not when their families had so nearly succeeded in destroying each other. And he wouldn't want any reminders that his father has assaulted a woman and indirectly caused her death. He would only want to forget the subsequent tragedies. But more importantly, she wouldn't be able to bear seeing the thinly veiled contempt in his eyes that would surely be present if he were forced to become her husband.

For the woman who stole Dominic's precious freedom, there would be misery indeed, and her own suffering would be magnified a hundredfold. Brie could clearly imagine what such a marriage would hold for her. While Dominic might be attracted to her now, he would resent being trapped into marriage, and it wouldn't be long before he found solace in the arms of a more desirable, more biddable female. As the years went by, he would engage a string of mistresses in assertion of his independence, perhaps even try to lose himself in an endless round of dissipation and debauchery as so many of his peers did. She herself would become more and more embittered by his infidelities, even while craving a sign of his affection.

No, the years of loneliness without him still looked rosy in comparison to the bleak future she envisioned as his wife. And the pain of being separated from Dominic now would be infinitely preferable to the inevitable anguish of loving him when her love wasn't returned.

Steadying herself, Brie opened her eyes to look at Julian. "You are a true romantic, Julian," she murmured. "You believe in fairy tales and knights in shining armor and living happily ever after. I appreciate your concern, my very dear friend, but I do not want to marry Dominic. Besides. . . . you are mistaken. I don't love him."

"Now who is speaking of fairy tales?" Abruptly releasing her hands, Julian rose and resumed his pacing. "You cannot have considered what will happen if you return to England unwed, Brie. You will be an outcast of society, a pariah! Your name will be bandied about in the clubs and by gossiping old cats who delight in spreading scandals, and even when some other sensation pushes your story in the background, you will be shunned by all the respectable, self-righteous hypocrites who set themselves up as judges. No, Brie, I can't let you ruin your life. If you won't marry Dominic, then I suppose I will have to offer for you."