Wicked Proposition (3 page)

Catherine despised the tears that threatened.
She had come so far, only to realize they were worse off than she
suspected. Her guardian would do nothing for his wife’s family.

Lilly wasn’t even trying to fight to save her
crumbling marriage. Her sister was accepting Lord Iverleigh’s
thoughtless actions.

“Whatever you can do would be appreciated,”
Catherine whispered tightly, feeling bereft to know she hadn’t even
the funds to get home. She had presumed much by Iverleigh’s
guardianship. Too much, it appeared.

“Catherine, I have not always been the best
sister to you,” Lilly whispered with tears in her eyes. “It pleases
me you are here now, in our time of need. I have felt so alone
these last few years.”

“Can you see that I am given the funds to get
home?”

“I can try. Iverleigh might not miss a few
hundred pounds, but no more,” Lilly agreed.

“Please, see to it, if you would,” Catherine
replied, rubbing her tired eyes, exhausted from her journey. She
had hardly slept at all the night before, so wound up over this
interview.

Catherine had expected the worst from Lilly.
Recalling her sister’s abuse of her as a child, she had fully
intended to deal with Iverleigh for that reason.

If the man were in front of her now, she would
cheerfully take a horse whip to him, and think nothing of it. The
image cheered her.

“Catherine, I don’t know what to say to you,”
Lilly said sorrowfully, her eyes filling once more. “This is a
dreadful situation for us all.”

Catherine knew that only too well. She had two
small children waiting at Dunleavy Hall who needed care; care that
would not come. Going home with no aid from their guardian
presented too many unpleasant thoughts. She pushed them away for
now.

“What will you do, Lilly?” Catherine asked
suddenly, eyes fearful for her sister. She flushed guiltily to have
only thought of her own problems. Her sister’s fate was uncertain,
and sure to be unpleasant.

Divorced women were rarely received. Her sister
would no doubt be vilified for the dissolution of her marriage. The
result of Iverleigh’s selfish actions would affect them all. Had it
mattered to her, Catherine would have minded that she would suffer
the taint of the divorce. Society was unforgiving in that. It was
always the woman’s fault. Even the woman’s female relations would
bear the scorn.

Realistically, Catherine should have entertained
the offers of marriage she received prior to her parent’s death.
Her father deterred her many suitors, saying there was enough time
for that later. Time had a way of mocking those words now.

Marriage would have solved all of Catherine’s
current problems, but she had little desire to marry. Her Mother’s
careful and deliberate influences, as well as her unconventional
tutors, had seen to that. Catherine was reared and encouraged to be
independent, even if it was expected she marry one day. She was
content to be a spinster, not desiring to be at the whims of a
husband. Her father had been unaware of his youngest daughter’s
mindset. If he had known, he might have regarded the stampede of
eligible suitors with more consideration.

Catherine thought of the newborn colt just born
in the stables back home. Her father’s stallion, Cyrion, had
produced some of the finest stock in the country. They were blessed
to have bred the stallion before he was sold with the rest of her
father’s beloved stock. Cyrion’s colt held great promise.

Brian O’Neil, her current stable master,
steward, and sometimes cook, assured her the newborn colt would
rival his sire one day. The man had stayed on at Dunleavy, even
after the other servants scattered like rats aboard a sinking ship.
It was Brian’s home. He would defend it, and them, to the end.
Catherine had the foundation for her dream, if not the funds to see
it to fruition. Her dreams of breeding the finest horses in all of
Ireland were cruelly dashed now.

“There is another matter you must consider
before you go,” Lilly said gravely. Her blue eyes filled with dread
as they met hers.

Catherine was pulled out of her musings. Lilly
was looking uncomfortable now.

“He is your guardian now, Catherine,” Lilly
stated with a pained look. “This does not change if he manages to
divorce me. Gabriel will make your life intolerable now, because of
me. For that, I am truly sorry. It would be so like him to seek to
marry you off to the most unsavory man he can find. He will do it,
and delight in it, knowing how it would wound me. What he intends
for the boys; I would not want to speculate.”

Catherine had not considered this. Iverleigh had
kept all the facts from his wife for a reason. The blackguard no
doubt intended the worst for her family. Green eyes flared in
outrage.

“He might be our guardian, Lilly, but he has
done nothing for us! I would refuse!”

“Catherine, he has rights,” Lilly warned her,
looking aggrieved. “Iverleigh has not told me of your situation for
a reason. He does nothing without thought. He no doubt feared I
would try to aid you and my brothers in some way.”

Catherine had not considered Iverleigh’s reasons
to withhold such news from his wife. Did he do it so Lilly could
not have warned them? Her eyes narrowed. On second thought, taking
a horse whip to the man was indeed called for.

“I will not be subjected to the man’s spite!”
Catherine said through clenched teeth. “He gave up his rights when
he ignored my letters! I will not worry what he will do when I
leave.”

“What of our brother, Catherine?” Lilly went on,
nervously twisting her hands. “Jaime is now the Earl of Dunleavy,
and Gabriel’s ward. Think of Jaime should you cross my husband. He
is neither kind, nor is he considerate. He has the right to take
the boys. He no doubt plots what he means to do now. That concerns
me.”

Catherine felt the blood drain from her face.
While she could certainly dodge Iverleigh’s efforts to marry her
off to an unpleasant husband, he had absolute rights to the boys.
The law was on his side.

“No! They stay with me! Surely he wouldn’t want
to trouble himself with them, Lilly?” Catherine cried worriedly,
her eyes filled with fear. “I will not let him take them from
me!”

“Catherine, he will do what he wishes in this,”
Lilly warned her quietly. “You are lucky he is not here or he would
enjoy taunting you with his power over us all. He keeps a separate
residence. If he knew you were here, there is no telling what he
would do to make us miserable.”

“Good God, what an utter bastard the man
is!”

“Yes, well, Father did me no service marrying me
to this man,” Lilly agreed, her eyes softening to see her sister’s
distress. “You must be tired after your journey, Sister. We will
speak of this later.”

Catherine could not think about sleep. She and
the boys were at the whims of Lilly’s vindictive husband. “Lilly, I
have no intention of allowing your husband to take our brothers
from me,” she vowed harshly, rising and pacing furiously. “There
has to be something we can do.”

“Edward has tried everything to talk Gabriel out
of this, Catherine,” Lilly told her and shrugged. “Iverleigh has
met a woman, if you must know. She is a widow. She has been his
mistress for many months. Edward said Gabriel intends to marry her
when he is free of me.”

Learning her brother-in-law had already moved on
and found his next Countess infuriated Catherine. “We will just see
about that!” Catherine snapped as she swung to face her sister,
eyes blazing. “I refuse to sit back and allow your husband to
control my life! We must do something to bring the man to his
senses and cease to seek this divorce.”

“Catherine, the widow has her nails dug in too
deep,” Lilly replied with a tearful sniff. “She seeks to take my
place! Unless he ends his attachment to her, I do not see him
giving up his desire to be free of me.”

Catherine was already thinking, flinging off the
warnings in her head. Furious, she refused to listen to the inner
voices. She would be damned if she would be at Lord Iverleigh’s
mercy.

“What if Lord Iverleigh was lured away from this
widow, what then?” Catherine asked tensely, still pacing and gazing
at her sister closely. “Do you see reconciliation with him Lilly?
If not, all we do is for nothing!”

“What are you thinking, Catherine?” Lilly
breathed in a scandalized whisper.

“I am thinking your husband and this widow are
no more,” Catherine replied tightly. “I will help you if I
can.”

“You wish to lure my husband away from his
mistress?” Lilly asked in surprise. “Absolutely not, Catherine, it
is unseemly and I will not have it!”

“What choice do we have?”

“You are too naïve to understand a man such as
Gabriel, Catherine,” Lilly said coolly. “He would chew you up and
leave your remains upon the floor. It would not work.”

“How do you just sit back and let him destroy
you, Lilly?” Catherine fumed, coming up short to see her sister’s
shoulders sag. She was immediately sorry for rubbing her
misfortunes in her face. Certainly Lilly didn’t wish this on
herself.

“I refuse to allow my sister to become my
husband’s whore, even to save us all from disaster!” Lilly said
harshly. “We must deal with our situation, Catherine. You chasing
Iverleigh about to end his attachment to Mrs. Farrand would be
disastrous.”

“I can do this, Lilly!”

Lilly raised a delicate golden eyebrow. “You
would do such a thing? You realize you will be ruined?”

Catherine gazed at her sister without any
qualms. “I will do what needs to be done to get him to end this
ridiculous plan to set you aside! If it means I must do more than
flirt with the man, so be it!”

Catherine was too irate to see the smile Lilly
hid.

“What has it come to, dear sister?” Lilly said
in anguish as she looked down to her hands in her lap.

“I will steal Lord Iverleigh away from the
widow,” Catherine promised, “but I want something in exchange.”

“If it was within my power, certainly,” Lilly
replied, looking up with hope in her eyes.

“I want our brother’s inheritance restored and
an adequate allowance for both, until they are grown,” Catherine
said without batting an eyelash. “I also wish myself to be named
their guardian when I am of age. This must be done, Lilly.”

“That is all you want? You give up your chastity
rather cheaply, little Sister,” Lilly observed quietly, admiration
in her gaze. “Consider it done. My barrister Mister Treadwell will
draw up the papers immediately.”

“I do not take money for this like whore,
Lilly,” Catherine said coolly, but her heart clenched at her words.
“I just want all our futures secure and nothing more.”

“While I applaud your selflessness, you may
rethink the matter when you are ruined,” her sister said with a sad
look in her eyes. “Can you do this for us all, Catherine?”

“After what I offer you, marriage is no longer
an option,” Catherine replied without regret. “I will be content to
know Jaime’s inheritance is restored and your position is
secure.”

“You may wish to reconsider when you languish in
spinsterhood, my dear. Surely you will wish to have children one
day?” Lilly persisted. “What of a dowry? Do not be too hasty. You
are young yet. Consider it all, my dear.”

Catherine thought of the options she had. The
children’s needs must come first. She could not think about
herself.

“There is no reason to concern ourselves with my
future,” Catherine said tightly.

“We must figure out how to present you to His
Lordship,” Lilly said as she frowned and drummed her fingers on her
knee. “He has had many mistresses over the years until Mrs. Farrand
got her hooks into him. I must think on this.”

Catherine felt the enormity of what she was
doing. It was unconscionable what she was planning to do. When one
ran out of choices, it was remarkable what they would stoop to.

“We must hide you. You cannot stay here,” Lilly
said carefully. “The Earl rarely comes here. It is the servants I
worry about. They will no doubt inform him of your arrival.”

They discussed where she would live in the
interim. The Earl owned several buildings nearby. One had been
converted into a series of rooms to rent. It was decided she would
stay there for the time being. Lilly said she would make all the
arrangements tomorrow.

Catherine noted how casually Lilly discussed her
seducing her brother-in-law. She visibly flinched when Lilly
despaired of her inexperience. Lilly even suggested dispensing with
her virginity to a random man beforehand.

“I will do no such thing!” Catherine interrupted
her harshly. Lilly chuckled at her horrified expression.

“You may rethink that. Gabriel is a man, my
dear. Do not say I did not warn you,” Lilly replied knowingly. She
stirred her tea, her dark blue eyes simmering with amusement. “You
cannot imagine what a vigorous lover Gabriel can be. He will not be
quick, and he will not be gentle. Surely you would wish to know
what to expect? The man I speak of would be only too happy to tutor
you. You might even enjoy it, little sister,” and she laughed gaily
as Catherine choked on a mouthful of tea. “The first time is
painful. If you do not please him, we risk everything we seek to
gain.”

Catherine recovered herself and stared at her
sister in shock. She was stunned at how casually she spoke. She
shuddered at her words, wondering at how she could be so, so…

“You think me callous?” Lilly asked quietly as
she set her cup down. “I have been hanging here by a mere thread.
Forgive me if I seem uncaring. I consider you becoming my lord’s
mistress a very small price to pay. Consider what you will receive?
Restoring our little brother’s inheritance is no small sum. The
future care of both our brothers is a fortune in itself. Ask
yourself if it is worth it to you, Catherine. Think on it well. We
will talk more when you have rested.”