Cold-Hearted Rake (The Ravenels 1)

“Say something,” he commanded gruffly.

The shy glow of her smile gilded the air. “I’m glad to see you in better health, Mr. Winterborne.”

Helen’s voice.

She was more beautiful than starlight, and just as unattainable. As he stared at her, Rhys was bitterly reminded of the upper-class ladies who had looked at him with contempt when he was a shop boy, holding their skirts back if he passed near them on the street, the way they would seek to avoid a filthy stray dog.

“Is there something I can do for you?” she asked.

Rhys shook his head, still unable to take his gaze from her. “I only wanted a face to go with the voice.”

“Perhaps later in the week,” Devon suggested to Helen, “you might play the piano for Winterborne, when he’s able to sit in the parlor.”

She smiled. “Yes, if Mr. Winterborne wouldn’t mind mediocre entertainment.”

Devon glanced at Rhys. “Don’t be deceived by the show of false modesty,” he said. “Lady Helen is a fearsomely talented pianist.”

“It’s not false,” Helen protested with a laugh. “In truth, I have little talent. It’s only that I’ve spent so many hours practicing.”

Rhys glanced at her pale hands, remembering the way she had smoothed salve over his lips with a light fingertip. It had been one of the most erotic moments of his life. For a man who had indulged his carnal appetites without restraint, that was saying something.

“Hard work often produces better results than talent,” he said in response to her comment.

Helen blushed a little and lowered her gaze. “Good evening, then. I will leave you to your conversation.”

Rhys didn’t reply, only lifted his wineglass and drank deeply. But his gaze followed her every second until she left the room.

Devon leaned back and interlaced his fingers, resting them on his midriff. “Lady Helen is an accomplished young woman. She’s been educated in history, literature, and art, and she’s fluent in French. She also knows how to manage servants and run an upper-class household. After the mourning period is over, I intend to take her to London, along with the twins, for her first season.”

“No doubt she’ll have many splendid offers,” Rhys said bitterly.

Devon shook his head. “At best, she’ll have a few adequate ones. None will be splendid, nor even appropriate for a girl of her quality.” In response to Rhys’s perplexed glance, he explained, “The late earl didn’t provide for a dowry.”

“A pity.” If Devon were going to try to borrow money from him to improve Lady Helen’s chances of marrying a peer, Rhys would tell him to sod off. “What has any of that to do with me?”

“Nothing, if she doesn’t please you.” Seeing Rhys’s baffled expression, Devon shook his head with an exasperated laugh. “Confound it, Winterborne, don’t be obtuse. I’m trying to point out an opportunity, if you have any interest in Lady Helen.”

Rhys was silent. Stunned.

Devon chose his words with obvious care. “On the surface, it’s not the most obvious match.”

Match? Marriage match? The bastard clearly didn’t understand what he was suggesting. Even so… Rhys felt his soul clutch at the idea.

“However,” Devon continued, “there are advantages to both sides. Helen would gain a life of security and comfort. She would have her own household. For your part, you would have a well-bred wife whose pedigree would gain you entrance to many of the doors that are closed to you now.” After a brief pause, he added casually, “As the daughter of an earl, she would keep her title, even after she became your wife. Lady Helen Winterborne.”

Devon was wily enough to understand how the sound of that would affect him. Lady Helen Winterborne… yes, Rhys bloody-fucking-well loved that. He had never dreamed of marrying a respectable woman, much less a daughter of the peerage.

But he wasn’t fit for her. He was a Welshman with a rough accent and a foul mouth, and vulgar origins. A merchant. No matter how he dressed or improved his manners, his nature would always be coarse and competitive. People would whisper, seeing the two of them together… They would agree that marrying him had debased her. Helen would be the object of pity and perhaps contempt.

She would secretly hate him for it.

Rhys didn’t give a damn.

He had no illusions of course, that Devon was offering him Lady Helen’s hand without conditions. There would be a hefty price: The Ravenels’ need for money was dire. But Helen was worth whatever he would have to pay. His fortune was even vaster than people suspected; he could have purchased a small country if he so desired.

“Have you discussed it with Lady Helen yet?” Rhys asked. “Is that why she played Florence Nightingale while I had fever? To soften me in preparation for bargaining?”

“Hardly,” Devon said with a snort. “Helen is above that sort of manipulation. She helped you because she’s naturally compassionate. No, she has no inkling that I’ve considered arranging a match for her.”

Rhys decided to be blunt. “What makes you think she would be willing to marry the likes of me?”

Devon answered frankly. “She has few options at present. There is no occupation fit for a gentlewoman that would afford her a decent living, and she would never lower herself to harlotry. Furthermore, Helen’s conscience won’t allow her to be a burden on someone else, which means that she’ll have to take a husband. Without a dowry, either she’ll be forced to wed some feeble old dotard who can’t work up a cock-stand or someone’s inbred fourth son. Or… she’ll have to marry out of her class.” Devon shrugged and smiled pleasantly. It was the smile of a man who held a good hand of cards. “You’re under no obligation, of course: I could always introduce her to Severin.”

Rhys was too experienced a negotiator to show any reaction, even though a burst of outrage filled him at the suggestion. Staying outwardly relaxed, he murmured, “Perhaps you should. Severin would take her at once. Whereas I would probably be better off marrying the kind of woman I deserve.” He paused, contemplating his wineglass, turning it so one last tiny red drop rolled across the inside. “However,” he said, “I always want better than I deserve.”

All his ambition and determination had converged into a single desire… to marry Lady Helen Ravenel. She would bear his children, handsome blue-blooded children. He would see that they were educated and raised in luxury, and he would lay the world at their feet.