Heart of the Diamond (6 page)

After gaining a better hold on her upper arms, he stepped slightly to the right and pulled. His breathing intensified. Nicki feared her arms would pop out of their sockets, or her skirt would be torn from her body, before Lord Diamond would admit defeat.

Abruptly, she popped free. When her right foot encountered the side of the casement, the force of her kick propelled the earl several feet back into the room at an alarming speed. With Nicki clinging tightly to his neck, he stumbled backward, all the while struggling to maintain his balance. She cried out—a long, drawn out sound. His footing gave way and they hit the floor with a bone-jarring crunch that abruptly silenced her.

“Thank you, Nicole. That was exceedingly helpful.”

His voice rumbled in his chest, vibrating through her fingertips. With her hands pinned between their chests, she could feel the steady beat of his heart and the flutter of her own. Her entire being burned with embarrassment.

The earl had gallantly cushioned her fall with his own body.

“I . . . I pride myself on being helpful.” Nicki lifted her face from his pleasantly cologned neck and, after pushing her hair back from her face, gazed into his eyes. “I am quite resourceful, you see.”

His fleeting smile caused her stomach to clench. “I am quickly discovering that fact.”

Nicki crawled off him and scrambled to her feet so she might straighten her skirts. Her skin tingled and burned and she feared she might never catch her breath. The feel of his touch lingered on her upper arms.

She promptly bumped into a side table, sending crystal bottles clattering against each other.

Fingers trembling, she swiftly straightened the items into what she hoped resembled their former order, then risked a peek at the earl to see if he had noticed.

He was on his feet. The only sign of agitation was the rigid thrust of his fingers through his tousled dark hair. A stray lock slipped over his forehead, giving him a rakish look. With a determined tilt of her chin, she schooled her features into what she hoped resembled a brave expression.

He wore a white shirt, the ends untucked from the waistband of his black trousers. The ends of his cravat hung loose and she could see dark chest hair at the opening of his shirt. Heat suffused her cheeks once more and she dropped her gaze to his feet—which were bare.

Suddenly self-conscious, Nicki wriggled her toes beneath her skirts, acutely aware she wore only stockings as her boots lay amongst the rose bushes outside. An entirely too intimate situation by half.

The Earl of Diamond strolled to the bedside table where he turned up the oil lamp. After locking his hands behind his back, he trained his gaze on her. How she hated that unruffled manner of his. Not to mention his stern expression. It most certainly boded a lecture.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of
this
visit?”

She took a fortifying breath. “A matter of the utmost urgency.”

He arched a brow. “Where you are concerned, my dear, is there any other kind?”

Nicki chose to ignore his sarcasm and instead scanned the room. She paused, then studiously ignored, blankets turned down invitingly on the enormous canopied bed. She spied a side chair that stood against the wall near the window. Nicki hurried toward it.

“Please, make yourself comfortable, sir. We have much to discuss.” She perched on the edge of the chair to face the earl.

“Oh? Then I shall take a seat. Pray continue.” He pulled a chair away from the wall near the bedside table and sat in the center of the room facing his unexpected guest.

Nicki met his gaze steadily, which was somewhat difficult as he had the most piercing silver eyes. It seemed an unfair advantage, but for the moment she was pleased to have his audience, and the devil take the pesky details.

“I understand you met with my father this morning on the subject of our forthcoming marriage.”

Lord Diamond tensed, though he tried to appear casual as he linked his hands behind his neck. “That is no secret,” he replied. Nicki's eyes were drawn to the corded muscles of his forearms. “And the content of that meeting is strictly between your father and myself.”

Her temper flared. She jerked her gaze back to his face. “I beg your pardon, my lord, but that is a deucedly obtuse thing to say!”

“Please, Nicole—if you are going to continue dressing me down, at least call me by my given name. Blake will do.”

She averted her gaze from the opening of his shirt front, which had spread wider due to his pose. “Blake?” Oh—that is a nice name. Should she use his first name at this stage of their relationship? "I, on the other hand, do not like to be called Nicole. Only my stepmother calls me that. At any rate, my lor . . . Blake, since I am the one marrying you and not my father, I believe the content of the meeting certainly does involve me. I was somewhat set down when you left the Hall directly after speaking with Papa. I had thought you would be interested in—in relaying information.”

“Ah.” His smile flashed and her heart leapt in response. “I now see I should have been more astute. I assure you I shall not be so remiss in the future. Certainly not if my neglect results in you risking your life in the middle of the night.”

Nicki waved her hand impatiently. “It was my fault entirely for paying too close attention to proprieties. A gown, even a riding habit, is not the logical attire for climbing. Still, you could have left your window slightly cracked, as a gentleman should.”

“Since you will not be risking your neck with such antics in the future, I see no need to belabor the issue.”

“Of course. I will get to the point. Blake, I have come to convince you to change your mind.”

He removed his hands from his neck and crossed his arms over his chest. “Pray tell, Nicole, do you expect me to back out of our engagement because you have a penchant for climbing in my bedroom window?” Amusement trembled in his words. “I find the habit rather endearing, though I will unlock the library doors from now on so you may enter my room in a more conventional manner.”

She nibbled at her lower lip for a moment. “You have missed my point, sir, and I believe you did so on purpose. I wish you to reconsider following through with the contingencies of the marital contract my father worked out with Melton.”

“I will not discuss these matters with you and you will go at once to your father and inform him his tactic did not work.” Blake drew his dark brow together in icy impatience.

Not even her father blew hot and cold so quickly.

“You have proven you are well acquainted with tactics, sir, more so than my father. He would never condone my coming here like this—or ask that I petition another man on his behalf.”

Blake leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. When he tented his fingers the eyes in the ring on his index finger sparked as though the creature depicted had blinked. “I am unconvinced, but pray continue.”

The image of Mina's blue, tear-filled eyes appeared in Nicki's mind and lent her fortitude. Her sister deserved a happy future and Nicki meant to see she was not disappointed. “My father told me none of the details of your conversation, but I was able to learn some of the finer points from another. Having done so, I must beg you to reconsider.” Nicki rushed on, sensing he intended to interrupt. “Several years ago, Papa suffered extreme financial losses. He sold off all he could, including our house in London and several properties in Yorkshire. He was still unable to meet his obligations. There was no chance of a Season for me.”

When his scowl deepened, she continued before he could interrupt. “Oh, I never regretted that fact. I am quite content here with my horses. But Mina is not like me. She will be eighteen next month and she has dreamed of going to London. You see, she is a beauty and I am certain she will be a sensation.”

“Quite touching.” The dryness in his voice assured her he had not been moved in the least.

Nicki pressed her hands together in her lap to keep from twisting them and revealing her anxiety. “Papa cannot go about London if it is known that creditors are hounding him. Mina might be thought a fortune hunter.”

A muscle flinched in his square jaw. “You ask a great deal of a man that you met in the darkness of his bedchamber. If I can have you without stipulations, why should I be willing to sacrifice anything?”

Slowly, Nicki inhaled, then released her breath. She must go forward. “If you do not agree to my requests, I shall simply disappear. It would break my heart, but I would do so rather than marry you.”

The earl shook his head curtly. “Your threat does not frighten me.”

“It should. You left England in disgrace once. Now that you are the Earl of Diamond, you have the opportunity to start afresh. That will be difficult when word spreads of your shabby treatment of the Duke of Billington's daughter. How will London react when they learn the poor girl was already engaged to be married . . . ”

“Enough! You have made your point.” He no longer bothered to mask his anger.

“I did not wish to resort to such measures, sir, but you arrogantly refused to see reason. After all—is it not your fault that I am no longer engaged to Melton?”

A clock on the bedside table chimed the hour. Midnight. So late? Blake turned toward the sound, throwing his harsh features into startling display. The coldness of his voice reached out to surround her.

“You may not realize it now, but I have saved you from a hellish life chained to a lecherous old man. I feel I have already been charitable despite the fact that your father once took something from me that can never be replaced. His suffering is mild in comparison to my own.”

Nicki recalled terrifying stories Teddy had told her as a child of men turning into wolves at the stroke of midnight. If she had ever met a man that met the description of a predator, it was the Earl of Diamond. Her gaze studied Blake carefully, but he remained outwardly unchanged. She rubbed her arms to ward off the chill.

“I know nothing of what ill you harbor toward my father, and I will not judge who has suffered the greater harm. Are you willing to accept my terms?”

A long silence met her words. Then the earl chuckled, causing Nicki to start in surprise. “What a manipulative little negotiator you are. I should have met with you this morning. Yes, Nicole, I agree to your terms. I will send my man around first thing in the morning with a letter to your father outlining our discussion tonight, and I will come myself in the afternoon for tea.”

“You will not reveal my part in your decision to change your mind?”

“I will keep your secret, but only because it suits me to do so.”

Nicki leapt from the chair, pressing her hands together over her heart. “I promise you, sir, you will not regret your generosity!”

The earl rose and stepped toward Nicki. Scarcely controlled power surged beneath the polish of his movements. Her breath quickened. All cognitive thought fled when he stood close. His scent surrounded her, hypnotized her. She had not realized the weakness she had for sandalwood and spice.

“Generosity is it? Perhaps I should demand payment.”

“Payment?” She stared up into his face, mesmerized by the tenor of his voice and the intensity of his gaze. “I have nothing to give.”

One side of his mouth turned up slightly at her words and Blake reached out to cup her chin. Nicki shivered as the heel of his thumb traced her cheekbone.

“You are mistaken, my dear. Your simple gifts are worth a king's ransom.”

She fought the rising heat that coiled inside her at his words. What was happening to her? “I have given you nothing, my lord.”

His low, bitter laughter shattered the moment and Nicki jerked away from his touch. “Not yet, but I will keep a tally of your debts, Nicole. When the time comes, I shall demand payment in full.”

“You toy with me, sir. I do not like it.”

He grasped her upper arm in one hand. “You had best be going before I come to my senses and exact recompense here and now.”

Nicki forced away the last moments of their encounter and chose instead to bask in the glow of her good fortune. She allowed Blake to drag her toward the door leading to the outer passage and waited as he released her arm only long enough to retrieve a pair of Wellingtons from just inside the entrance.

The light from the wall lanterns along the hall reflected off the highly polished boots as Blake donned first one then the other. He grabbed her arm again to pull her toward the staircase.

Nicki could have danced for joy. Her father's debts would be paid; Mina would have her Season; and she had been the one to bring it about.

She stumbled on the first stair. Reality intruded and she took her eyes off the broad back in front of her to concentrate on maintaining her footing. When they reached the first floor, Blake veered off to the left and pulled Nicki into the library. She tripped in the darkness, but his strong grip saved her from falling.

He paused only long enough to ensure she had recovered her balance, then he drew the heavy drapes away from the French doors. Moonlight touched the veranda and shimmered across the stone path winding through the garden.

Soon heavy blooms would weight the thorny stalks of rose bushes that gave Rosewood its name. Their heady fragrance would permeate the air like a room full of debutantes. But now, they sadly needed pruning. As a child, Nicki had believed the beautiful garden enchanted. It was as though a curse had been placed over Rosewood and only magic could return the allure and grace it had once known.

Blake stopped without warning and Nicki bounced off his formidable back. “Oh! Excuse me, I had no warning you were through dragging me about.”

He glanced around at her and Nicki saw the white flash of his teeth in the darkness. “I am far from through with you, my little adventuress. I believe your boots fell in these bushes.”

She looked doubtfully at the menacing shrubbery where nasty thorns certainly lurked in the dark leaves, and offered Blake her brightest smile. “Shall I hold the stems back while you search?”

A muscle in his jaw flinched slightly, and Nicki could have sworn his silver eyes sparkled. “I have a better plan. While you are retrieving your footwear, I shall go to the stables and saddle a horse.”