intimidating. Scores of brave men had lost their courage when challenged by him. But not her. She held her ground, glaring at him with a look that defied the smallness of her stature.
“No. I am expecting my cousin at any moment. I intend to sell the ships in order to keep my home, Mr. Cambridge. And nothing you can say will change my mind.”
“You are wrong, Miss Langdon. I know just the words to change your mind.”
She shook her head. “Keeping Fallen Oaks is too important to me. I will do anything to keep it. Even sell the ships.”
Ethan couldn’t help it. He reached out his arm and closed the door, then braced his palm against the wood at the side of her head and pinned her against the wall.
A riot of burnt copper curls cascaded around her shoulders, brushing against his skin, burning him wherever they touched. Her eyes opened wide when he leaned closer. This was the first sign of fear he’d seen from her.
Without dropping his gaze from hers, he whispered in a voice just loud enough to be heard, soft enough to be menacing, “Fallen Oaks is not for sale.”
Her eyes opened wider, and with a startled gasp she twisted to the side, ducking under his arm. “You don’t know that. My cousin is the only one who can make that decision.”
“Fallen Oaks is not for sale, Miss Langdon. Not at any price.”
She shook her head. “How do you know it is not?”
Ethan reached in his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. “This is the deed to Fallen Oaks. It is mine.”
“Yours! How did you get it?”
Ethan shrugged his shoulders. “Let us just say that your cousin was most eager to complete the sale of a property he had never seen and to which he wasn’t especially partial.”
“You stole my home from me?”
“I didn’t steal it. I offered him what he considered a fair price, after he found out how much it would cost to repair Fallen Oaks and provide for the tenants and the convent.”
Her mouth shaped a disbelieving O while her eyes blazed with anger. “How dare you! You knew how desperate I was to keep Fallen Oaks. You stole my home from me on purpose.”
“No. I intended to bargain with you. Fallen Oaks for the jewels I thought you had.”
She held deathly still, her eyes glaring with enough intensity to strike a lesser man dead. “Would to God I had never laid eyes on you. Or on your brother.”
She spun away from him, her hands clenched at her side, her cheeks a brilliant crimson against the pale complexion of her face. Back and forth across the room she stormed, her fragile body a tinderbox ready to explode. “How else do you intend to plague me? Is it not enough that your brother left me ruined?”
“Stephen did not leave you ruined, Miss Langdon.”
“You think not? Do you think I have not heard the speculation bantered about London as to what kind of creature I must be to make someone of Stephen’s easygoing, amiable nature bolt rather than take me for a wife? Do you think I have not heard the rumors your mother spreads about me wherever she goes, defending Stephen with the most flattering lies and making me seem a truly abhorrent ogre? And now you have taken my home. Will you and your family not be satisfied until I am left with nothing?”
“Silence!” Ethan felt the fire blaze in his cheeks, and from the step she took backward, he knew that same fire flared in his eyes. “I won the deed to your home honestly. It is your cousin’s fault he was not wise enough to quit before he lost everything.”
“I hope that thought allows you to sleep well at night.”
“I had no choice. I knew how desperate you were to keep Fallen Oaks. I thought I could bargain with you for the jewels if I had the deed.”
“You thought I would keep jewels that did not belong to me? What kind of person do you think I am?”
“Desperate enough to sell your ships to keep Fallen Oaks, knowing that without the profits from their cargoes, you will be destitute in a matter of a few
“No. I am expecting my cousin at any moment. I intend to sell the ships in order to keep my home, Mr. Cambridge. And nothing you can say will change my mind.”
“You are wrong, Miss Langdon. I know just the words to change your mind.”
She shook her head. “Keeping Fallen Oaks is too important to me. I will do anything to keep it. Even sell the ships.”
Ethan couldn’t help it. He reached out his arm and closed the door, then braced his palm against the wood at the side of her head and pinned her against the wall.
A riot of burnt copper curls cascaded around her shoulders, brushing against his skin, burning him wherever they touched. Her eyes opened wide when he leaned closer. This was the first sign of fear he’d seen from her.
Without dropping his gaze from hers, he whispered in a voice just loud enough to be heard, soft enough to be menacing, “Fallen Oaks is not for sale.”
Her eyes opened wider, and with a startled gasp she twisted to the side, ducking under his arm. “You don’t know that. My cousin is the only one who can make that decision.”
“Fallen Oaks is not for sale, Miss Langdon. Not at any price.”
She shook her head. “How do you know it is not?”
Ethan reached in his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. “This is the deed to Fallen Oaks. It is mine.”
“Yours! How did you get it?”
Ethan shrugged his shoulders. “Let us just say that your cousin was most eager to complete the sale of a property he had never seen and to which he wasn’t especially partial.”
“You stole my home from me?”
“I didn’t steal it. I offered him what he considered a fair price, after he found out how much it would cost to repair Fallen Oaks and provide for the tenants and the convent.”
Her mouth shaped a disbelieving O while her eyes blazed with anger. “How dare you! You knew how desperate I was to keep Fallen Oaks. You stole my home from me on purpose.”
“No. I intended to bargain with you. Fallen Oaks for the jewels I thought you had.”
She held deathly still, her eyes glaring with enough intensity to strike a lesser man dead. “Would to God I had never laid eyes on you. Or on your brother.”
She spun away from him, her hands clenched at her side, her cheeks a brilliant crimson against the pale complexion of her face. Back and forth across the room she stormed, her fragile body a tinderbox ready to explode. “How else do you intend to plague me? Is it not enough that your brother left me ruined?”
“Stephen did not leave you ruined, Miss Langdon.”
“You think not? Do you think I have not heard the speculation bantered about London as to what kind of creature I must be to make someone of Stephen’s easygoing, amiable nature bolt rather than take me for a wife? Do you think I have not heard the rumors your mother spreads about me wherever she goes, defending Stephen with the most flattering lies and making me seem a truly abhorrent ogre? And now you have taken my home. Will you and your family not be satisfied until I am left with nothing?”
“Silence!” Ethan felt the fire blaze in his cheeks, and from the step she took backward, he knew that same fire flared in his eyes. “I won the deed to your home honestly. It is your cousin’s fault he was not wise enough to quit before he lost everything.”
“I hope that thought allows you to sleep well at night.”
“I had no choice. I knew how desperate you were to keep Fallen Oaks. I thought I could bargain with you for the jewels if I had the deed.”
“You thought I would keep jewels that did not belong to me? What kind of person do you think I am?”
“Desperate enough to sell your ships to keep Fallen Oaks, knowing that without the profits from their cargoes, you will be destitute in a matter of a few
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