A Scandalous Marriage Read Free Page A

should have run to the cottage for shelter from him. She could have locked the door, but she hadn’t been thinking clearly. Her every impulse had been to escape, to fly.
    Devon called her name. He was closer than she’d imagined.
    Panic surged through her. She ran now. He was her past, her personal demons come for a reckoning.
    Two steps. Three. And then her foot caught a root. Her feet were suddenly yanked out from under her, and she fell to the ground. Her hands, fingers splayed, reached out to save herself—but she was too late.
    She fell on her belly.
    Pain ripped through her. The baby! She doubled over on the cold, damp earth trying to protect it. The ground was hard and rough beneath her cheek. Her stomach roiled with a will of its own.
    What had she done to her baby?
    Devon was by her side in a blink. “Leah!”
    Tears came to her eyes at the concern in his voice. She wanted to shout at him to leave her alone. She didn’t deserve his worry. She’d wronged him. She’d wronged everyone she’d ever loved, and now her baby was paying for her sins.
    Oh, God, help my baby!
    Cramps rolled through her, even as she felt her water break.
    Strong hands lifted her from the ground. “Talk to me. Tell me what is the matter.”
    She reached for Devon, clenching the woolen material of his all-too-fashionable-for-Devon greatcoat in her fist. He’d lost his hat, and his black hair, always overlong for style, hung over his brow.

    “My… baby… you must… help my baby.”
    “I will, Leah. It’ll be all right. I promise, I will make it right.”
    He slid his arm under her legs and rose to his feet, carrying her with him. She cried out as she felt another rush of warmth between her legs. This time, the pain vibrated through her like the dull thud of a drumhead being pounded. It was starting!
    She hadn’t expected it to be like this.
    “Leah, your skirt… it is wet,” he said. “Is it blood—” he started to ask anxiously, but didn’t seem to want an answer. He pressed his lips together, his expression grim as he tightened his hold… and she realized that he didn’t understand. How could he? She had just learned the stages of labor herself. Then, again, maybe she was bleeding. Her body no longer felt like her own.
    “Leah, what have I done? Dear God, what have I done?”
    She wanted to say, “Nothing, Devon. You did nothing.” But the words wouldn’t come. The baby was consuming her, just like in her dreams. And the nightmare lover—the one she now knew was Devon—began carrying her through the woods. She didn’t know where. She didn’t care.
    All she knew is that it hurt. Her baby was coming, and she was going to die. Her every woman’s instinct told her this was so. She’d given up everything she had for this child, and now both of them would die.
    “I’ll find help, Leah. I will.” His voice shook slightly. Funny, she’d never thought Devon would be afraid of anything. Not strong, handsome Devon with the devil-may-care attitude.
    Then another contraction began building inside her. Devon was taking her to the cottage. She realized that now. She buried her face in the folds of his coat. It smelled of him and fresh air and rain and the spices he loved. It smelled of safety. Yes, Devon would help her. Devon would know what to do. Devon would save her baby.
    A litany started in her head. She began praying, not knowing if she talked to God or Devon. Take my life, but don’t let anything happen to my baby. Please save my baby.

Part One
    London, 1814

Chapter 1
    Devon’s friends thought it a grand joke that he had been about to dance with Carrollton’s sister without realizing it. They claimed he had to be the only person in the world to not know the gossip swirling around the chit’s London debut.
    The Carrolltons were bad ton if there ever was any. That they had the audacity to not only present their daughter at Court but also expect her to marry well had Society reeling. Yes, she was uncommonly