Captain Amberton's Inherited Bride (Whitby Weddings 2)

‘Oh, come now, Miss Harper, is that really the best you can do? You called me a libertine earlier. I quite liked that. Besides...’ he lifted the glass to his lips again ‘...the alcohol’s largely medicinal. It dulls the pain.’

‘In your leg?’

‘In my past.’ He smiled sardonically. ‘You might not like me sober.’

‘I don’t like you now.’

‘Then you’ll be pleased to hear that once I’ve fulfilled my side of the bargain, I wholly intend to drink myself into oblivion.’

She frowned, taken aback by the note of conviction in his voice. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Just that, like you, I’ve no particular fondness for my company either. Only alcohol makes it bearable. Once I’ve fulfilled my father’s wishes, I fully intend to spend as little time sober as possible.’

‘But that’s abominable!’

‘Is it? I rather thought you might be heartened by the idea. In all likelihood you’ll be rid of me in a few years.’

‘And that’s supposed to make me want to marry you?’

‘I thought that it might. Then you’d have everything without the inconvenience of a husband you dislike.’

‘Detest, not dislike!’

‘I believe we’ve established that, and believe me, Miss Harper, of all the women in the world, you were the last I ever wanted to marry.’

She flinched. No matter how much she despised him, the insult still hurt as much as it had at the ball. She stood up, trying to hold on to some scrap of dignity.

‘There’s no need to tell me that. You made your opinion perfectly obvious five years ago.’

‘Did I? I remember being quite taken with you at the time.’

‘What?’ Her legs trembled as if he’d just knocked her feet out from under her.

‘I found you quite intriguing, if I recall correctly.’

‘You made fun of me!’

‘In your opinion, although I assure you, I wasn’t.’

She stared into his eyes uncertainly. He looked sincere, for once, as if he truly meant what he was saying, but surely he didn’t. He couldn’t...

‘So when you said I might have suitors, you meant it?’

‘Of course. I never did understand why you were so sensitive.’

‘I thought... That is, my father...’

She let the words trail away. If he was telling the truth, then it cast her own behaviour at the ball into a very different light. If she’d simply overreacted, then everything that had followed had been her fault.

‘But that means...’

‘That my being denounced as a reprobate and banished by my father was based on a misunderstanding?’ Amber eyes flickered with golden sparks in the firelight. ‘Yes. Ironically I was actually behaving myself that night, though I find it hard to see the funny side.’

She opened her mouth and then closed it again. What could she say? If his banishment had been her fault, then how could she ever apologise enough?

‘I never intended for any of that to happen.’

‘And yet it did.’ His gaze narrowed perceptibly. ‘Ungentlemanly as it sounds, as much as I was intrigued by you to begin with, I had a very different opinion by the end of the evening. I believe I came as close to hating you as I ever have anyone. You see, my brother tried to tell me something important that night and I didn’t listen. I didn’t go to his aid when he confronted my father either. I danced with you instead. If I hadn’t, then I might have been able to help him. I might have prevented him from drowning himself.’