Further Than Passion Read Free Page B

notion. I'll take it under advisement."
    "You are too cruel, Marcus. Too damned cruel." Her eyes flooded with tears, but in light of her thespian abilities, it was difficult to discern if the tears were genuine or faked. "Why persist with tormenting me?"
     
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    He shrugged. "It's so amusing."
    "You trifle with me, you welcome me to your bed, but the next morn, you haven't a civil word to say."
    "Don't blame me because you choose to act the harlot. If you're eager to spread your legs, I'll gladly crawl between them."
    She glowered. "Ooh, I loathe you."
    "Believe me, my dearest mama, the feeling is mutual."
    "Don't refer to me as your mother!"
    "Isn't that what you are?"
    "Why not have the carriage brought round, and deliver us to the poorhouse right now? Put me out of my misery!"
    She regularly harped on how soon he had to wed. His father had encumbered the estate, the dispersals tied to Marcus's marriage by age thirty-one, which was four months away, but Marcus could not care less.
    He had stashed some cash, enough to sail off to India or Jamaica. He would start over, would abide as an ordinary man, without the burdens of the abhorred Stamford title dragging along behind. His father's decades of berating and disparagement, of duplicity and deception, had ground out any pride or fondness.
    His distant cousin, Albert, could have it all, with Marcus's blessing, but then Pamela would be broke, too, a factor about which she never ceased to harangue. Marcus's father had bequeathed her no money of her ow n — a sign of their matrimonial bliss, no doubt!— s o she was dependent on Marcus for everything.
    If he didn't secure his assets, her fate was dire, and she suffered from a compulsion to speed his nuptials, which he didn't share. She was pushing every desperate, barely suitable girl in the kingdom at him, frantic
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    for one of them to capture his fancy, but the harder she worked to finagle an engagement, the less inclined he was to consider any of them.
    It occurred to him that he was lucky she'd declined to wed him all those years ago. With her whining and demands, she'd have driven him to an early grave.
    "I'm not ready to abandon you just yet. It's much more fun to have you squirming."
    "You impossible wretch!" She marched toward the stairs. "I'm weary of you. Let's go meet the Lewises. I want the ordeal concluded, so I can avoid you the rest of the evening."
    "Until you need your midnight tumble."
    "I'd rather eat hot coals than sleep with you again."
    She was at the top step before she realized he hadn't followed. "Are you coming or aren't you?"
    " What if I don't?"
    Apparently, he'd goaded her beyond her limits, and she trembled with fury. "I swear to God, Marcus, if you don't accompany me, I shall walk into the ballroom and announce to all and sundry that you've decided to snub the Lewises, despite their being my special guests."
    "Why would I mind if you make a scene?"
    "Exactly. Why would you?" She waved at the throng below. "Do you suppose bridal candidates grow on trees? There are so few parents who've been willing to entertain a proposal from you. Of those who've been tempted, you've managed to insult and offend every one. Regina Lewis isn't aware of how despicable you are. Her daughter, Melanie, is our last hope. Now, what shall it be?"
    Ladies Regina and Melanie could go hang, and he was unconcerned over what the assembled horde thought of his behavior. He'd contemplated not attending the
     
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    gathering at all, but he was anxious to determin e if his mysterious Peeping Tom was on the premises. She had to be an associate of the Lewises .
    "Lead on, my beloved stepmother."
    "Shut up."
    Halfway down, she spun around. "I just remembered: There is a redhead with them. She's a chaperone or a maid or some such. Tell me the truth. Are you worried she's a thief? Should I lock up the silver?"
    "No need. If anything else turns up missing, I'll search her room. Then, I'll search yours."
    "Oooh, you ... you ..."