Shayla Black Read Free Page B

debtor’s fate for his only child.”
    Oh, God. Aimee would go to prison with her or be transported to a workhouse where children were forced to labor under cruel conditions—sometimes to death. But wedding Brock would hardly ensure Aimee’s welfare either. Certainly a man merciless enough to seduce an innocent young woman for financial gain would think nothing of destroying a little girl’s life.
    Hate pounded fiercely inside her. “Of course not. I love my daughter.”
    A fleeting smile softened his features. “I never doubted you would be a wonderful mother. I will require your answer within a week.”
    #
    The clock hanging in the hall chimed midnight when Brock returned home. Dismissing the butler, he jerked off his gloves before slapping them down on a convenient hall table.
    He stalked into his study to find his father waiting there. Jack had never been one to keep his opinions to himself. Brock supposed it was too much to hope the man would leave him in peace after tonight’s debacle with Maddie.
    “ Well?” his father prompted. “What happened?”
    Sighing, Brock sank into his chair, wondering when this day would end. “I think it’s safe to say that she hates me.”
    Jack’s disapproval of the plan had never been more apparent than in the scowl he now wore. “What did you expect?”
    Good question. Deep down, Brock supposed he’d hoped she would be pleased to see him, perhaps beg his forgiveness for marrying another so soon after pledging her love to him. Something other than staring at him like a pile of refuse she wished to God she’d never shared her innocence with.
    Lowering his aching head into his hand, he gave a bitter grunt. “She resisted the idea of wedded bliss.”
    “ You’ve backed her into a corner.”
    “ She said I abandoned her. What was I to do, stand around like a lovesick swain while she gloated over her marriage to a viscount? Damn it, I left everyone and everything I knew to come to London and make a fortune for her. I nearly broke my back to be worthy of that woman.”
    And her sudden marriage to Viscount Wolcott mere weeks after his departure from Ashdown Manor proved she felt none of the aching love he’d felt in return. Five years ago, she had clearly seen him as a servant to be trifled with, an unworthy admirer who’d foolishly fallen in love. Trusting and naïve, he had believed that a young lady of quality who gave a man her body had also given her heart. Perhaps he should have guessed that her father would tell her about their agreement. But that wasn’t why she’d married another. Maddie had known that he must go to London and earn his fortune. They had discussed that fact. She had to have known that her father’s money had given him a much-needed start. But she hadn’t wished to wait for her stable boy. No, she had married a viscount.
    Brock cursed. What a fool he’d been.
    Today, Maddie was simply business—with a little revenge mixed in for pleasure. That’s exactly how he intended to treat her.
    Jack sighed. “Did you correct her misconception?”
    “ Why should I? It would only make me look more the fool.”
    “ You can’t make Lady Wolcott love you, son.”
    Stiffly, Brock rose. “You mistake the matter. I have no interest in her love. Whatever I once felt for Maddie is long dead. But she owes me.”
    “ Does she?” Jack raised a graying brow.
    “ Stop trying to convince me that she was young and indecisive, or easily swayed by her father. She amused herself with me, likely plotting to marry Colin Sedgewick all the while. Tonight, she even insisted I again repay the thousand pounds her father loaned me!”
    Jack chuckled.
    Brock frowned at his father. “You would find that funny, you wretch.”
    “ The girl always had spirit.”
    She wasn’t a girl anymore.
    Reluctant desire washed over him. Part of him had hoped that Maddie had lost the bloom of her beauty. Instead, she’d improved with age. At two and twenty, she no longer held a hint of