told herself that it was just as well. He was very handsome, too handsome. And when he ordered her to do something in that voice of his she couldn’t seem to do anything but obey him. It was uncanny, the effect he had on her. She didn’t like it, not one little bit. It was time she started to show that she had a mind of her own again.
“Seen enough?” she asked pertly as his eyes returned to her face at last. She was surprised to find that, standing, she still had to tilt her head back to look into those celestial eyes. She had not realized that he was so tall.
The sight of those beautiful eyes frowning down into her own unexpectedly flustered her, and she took a step backwards, ending up with the backs of her knees pressed closely against the seat of her chair.
His eyebrows rose faintly at her action, and his eyes narrowed on her face. Feeling herself blush, Jewel prayed that he would not be able to guess the unsettling feelings he stirred in her body.
“You’ll never be a diamond of the first water, but I suppose you can be rigged out to be presentable enough. You’ll have to learn to speak, to dress, to conduct yourself like a lady. I’ll have to hire you a governess, I suppose. Some elderly female, perhaps.” His eyes gleamed brightly blue with calculation as they ran over her again. His impersonal regard when she was so intensely aware of him was maddening.
“ ’old your ’orses a minute, ’ere. Suppose I don’ wan’ ter be turned into a bleedin’ lady? I don’ ’ave to do wot ya tell me, ya know. I can jes’ take wot’s comin’ ter me and leave.”
He smiled then, a slow sweet smile that made Jewel tingle from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. There was something about that smile that made her feel the way she had felt once when she had been to an exhibition at Astley’s Amphitheater and seen a snake curl around its handler’s neck.
“Let’s get something clear between us, my girl. You will do just exactly as I tell you. If you do not, if you do not obey me precisely in everything, then I will turn you back out into the streets without a second thought. Your marriage lines, as my mother so thoughtfully pointed out, are not worth the paper they are written on unless I choose to acknowledge them. If I do not choose to accept them and you, what will you do? Hire a barrister and press a suit against the estate? You’d be laughed out of court with your whore’s cant—even supposing you could find a barrister willing to take your case. With my sponsorship, however, you will be well fed, which from the looks of you is something you’ve never been, well clothed, housed, and educated far above your station. You will have my cousin’s name, and in four years time, on what would have been his twenty-fifth birthday, his not inconsiderable competence to call your own. But make no mistake, my girl. In return for all this you will do as I say without question. If you wish to go, you have only to say so now. But once you agree, there will be no turning back. In return for the future I hold out to you, you will obey me in all things. It is your choice. Think well before you make it. Once made, there will be no going back.”
Jewel looked at the earl, her eyes narrowed to a dull golden gleam in the lamplight. Then she looked around at the leather chairs, the books that lined the walls, the luxurious carpet beneath her feet, the paintings on the wall. A fire blazed cheerfully in the hearth, making the room toasty warm. The entire house was undoubtedly warm—here, in this mansion, warmth was not a luxury but something that was taken for granted, like air to breathe. She would have plenty of food to eat, and a warm, dry bed to sleep in free of bugs or the possibility of other, less welcome intruders, clean, whole clothes—and she would be safe. She would be a fool not to agree with any conditions he set on that. Then she thought of something, and frowned darkly.
“There be jes’ one
“Seen enough?” she asked pertly as his eyes returned to her face at last. She was surprised to find that, standing, she still had to tilt her head back to look into those celestial eyes. She had not realized that he was so tall.
The sight of those beautiful eyes frowning down into her own unexpectedly flustered her, and she took a step backwards, ending up with the backs of her knees pressed closely against the seat of her chair.
His eyebrows rose faintly at her action, and his eyes narrowed on her face. Feeling herself blush, Jewel prayed that he would not be able to guess the unsettling feelings he stirred in her body.
“You’ll never be a diamond of the first water, but I suppose you can be rigged out to be presentable enough. You’ll have to learn to speak, to dress, to conduct yourself like a lady. I’ll have to hire you a governess, I suppose. Some elderly female, perhaps.” His eyes gleamed brightly blue with calculation as they ran over her again. His impersonal regard when she was so intensely aware of him was maddening.
“ ’old your ’orses a minute, ’ere. Suppose I don’ wan’ ter be turned into a bleedin’ lady? I don’ ’ave to do wot ya tell me, ya know. I can jes’ take wot’s comin’ ter me and leave.”
He smiled then, a slow sweet smile that made Jewel tingle from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. There was something about that smile that made her feel the way she had felt once when she had been to an exhibition at Astley’s Amphitheater and seen a snake curl around its handler’s neck.
“Let’s get something clear between us, my girl. You will do just exactly as I tell you. If you do not, if you do not obey me precisely in everything, then I will turn you back out into the streets without a second thought. Your marriage lines, as my mother so thoughtfully pointed out, are not worth the paper they are written on unless I choose to acknowledge them. If I do not choose to accept them and you, what will you do? Hire a barrister and press a suit against the estate? You’d be laughed out of court with your whore’s cant—even supposing you could find a barrister willing to take your case. With my sponsorship, however, you will be well fed, which from the looks of you is something you’ve never been, well clothed, housed, and educated far above your station. You will have my cousin’s name, and in four years time, on what would have been his twenty-fifth birthday, his not inconsiderable competence to call your own. But make no mistake, my girl. In return for all this you will do as I say without question. If you wish to go, you have only to say so now. But once you agree, there will be no turning back. In return for the future I hold out to you, you will obey me in all things. It is your choice. Think well before you make it. Once made, there will be no going back.”
Jewel looked at the earl, her eyes narrowed to a dull golden gleam in the lamplight. Then she looked around at the leather chairs, the books that lined the walls, the luxurious carpet beneath her feet, the paintings on the wall. A fire blazed cheerfully in the hearth, making the room toasty warm. The entire house was undoubtedly warm—here, in this mansion, warmth was not a luxury but something that was taken for granted, like air to breathe. She would have plenty of food to eat, and a warm, dry bed to sleep in free of bugs or the possibility of other, less welcome intruders, clean, whole clothes—and she would be safe. She would be a fool not to agree with any conditions he set on that. Then she thought of something, and frowned darkly.
“There be jes’ one
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