Two Shades of Seduction Read Free Page B

day.”
    Frustrated, he realized he didn’t want her to leave. She intrigued him and the pain he’d heard in her voice had been real. He was willing to wager money he didn’t have on that fact. Empathy pushed its way through his distrust until he was almost ready to forget she was Townsend’s daughter. Angry that he’d allowed the woman to get under his skin with her story, his jaw went tight with tension. She was a catalyst for another plot on Townsend’s part to inflict more damage, and he intended to prove it.
    “Before you go, why don’t you tell me what you’d hoped to receive in exchange for this method of revenge you offer me?” His question caused her luscious mouth to curve in a slight smile as she arched an eyebrow at him with obvious amusement.
    “Marriage.”
    “ Marriage ?” he exclaimed. “To me?”
    “Yes.”
    “ Good God, woman . Whatever made you think I’d make a suitable husband?” Quentin stared at her in amazement. Why in the hell would Townsend want him for a son-in-law?
    “I didn’t think you’d be suitable at all.” Her smile was filled with irony as she tipped her head to one side and studied him with a matter-of-fact expression on her face. “In fact, I know you would be far from the ideal husband.”
    “Then why settle for me? I’m sure there are any number of men willing to marry you.”
    “I’m beginning to have my doubts as to your keen sense of observation, my lord,” she said with annoyance. “As I said before offers of marriage are not in my future. I’m Eleanor’s older sister. What man would want to marry me?”
    “Eleanor is at least six years younger than I am.” He frowned slightly as he calculated the math. “My guess would be that you and I are close to the same age. I’m certain there are plenty of suitors who would offer for you.”
    Her pink mouth formed a moue of astonishment before she burst out into laughter. A small part of him acknowledged it was a pleasant sound. She shook her head and eyed him as if he were a small boy who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
    “I am extremely flattered by your assumptions, my lord. But I’m afraid I’m much older than your tender years.”
    “I’d hardly refer to the age of thirty-two as my tender years.” Quentin frowned as he glared at her, annoyed by her amusement.
    “It’s quite tender when I consider my own age of forty-one.”
    The comment made his jaw sag. How was it possible this lovely woman could possibly be so much older than him? She hardly looked old enough to be his age, let alone nine years older. Impossible. Quentin narrowed his gaze at her. He found it difficult to believe Townsend would want him to marry his daughter, but her revelation made it difficult not to think she was following her father’s dictates. The confession strained her credibility.
    “You almost had me convinced,” he snapped.
    “I beg your pardon.” She stared at him in confusion.
    “I was almost ready to believe you were here on your own accord and not at your father’s bidding,” he said coldly. “But expecting me to believe you’re a spinster who needs to marry destroyed the illusion. You would have been better off telling me we were the same age.”
    They glared at each other for a long moment. Her affront was clearly genuine, and Quentin experienced doubt once more. Sympathy crossed her face, and with a slight shake of her head, she retied her cravat and covered her exposed throat. The movement made his muscles tighten in protest.
    “You must have loved her very much to still feel so much pain at her betrayal,” she said quietly. As her fingers completed the knot at her throat, she shook her head with a look of rueful humiliation. “I have not lied to you, my lord. I am indeed forty-one. My mother died when I was seven, and my father remarried several years later. Eleanor and Spencer are the result of that union.”
    Head held high she brushed past him on the way to the door. Quentin