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 At your sober best, Latimer, you re irrelevant and annoying. Why would I have paid attention to
anything you said when you were drunk? And what the devil do you mean,  she s the girl ?
 I purchased her from my old madam. I won her in a private auction of sorts. She was the most charming
thing I d ever seen, no more than fifteen, with those golden curls, and such remarkable eyes. The
madam assured me the girl was absolutely untouched, and yet she had been told all the ways to
pleasure a man. I paid a fortune to have the girl at my service for the period of a year, with an option to
continue the arrangement if I desired.
 How convenient, Leo said, his eyes narrowed.  I suppose you never bothered to ask the girl if she
desired the arrangement?
 Irrelevant. The agreement was all to her benefit. It was her fortune to be born a beauty, and she would
learn how to profit from it. Besides, they re all prostitutes, aren t they? It s only a question of
circumstance and price. Latimer paused, smiling quizzically.  She told you none of this?
Leo ignored the question.  What happened?
 On the day Catherine was delivered to my house, before I d sampled the goods, a man forced his way
in and took her. Literally abducted her. One of my footmen tried to stop him and took a bullet in the leg
for his pains. By the time I realized what was happening, the man had already taken Catherine past the
front threshold. I can only assume that he had lost the private auction and decided to take what he
wanted by force. Catherine disappeared after that. I ve wanted her for eight years. Latimer gave a low
laugh.  And now she s turned up in your possession. I don t know that I m surprised, really. You ve
always been a devious bastard. How did you manage to acquire her?
Leo was momentarily silent. His chest was filled with searing anguish for Catherine s sake. Fifteen.
Betrayed by those who should have protected her. Sold to a man without morals or mercy. The thought
of what Latimer would have done to Catherine made Leo ill. Latimer s depravities wouldn t have
stopped at mere physical violation he would have destroyed her soul. No wonder Catherine found it
impossible to trust anyone. It was the only rational response to impossible circumstances.
Leveling a cold stare at Latimer, Leo reflected that if he were just a bit less civilized, he would have killed
the bastard on the spot. However, he would have to settle for keeping him away from Catherine, and
doing whatever was necessary to keep her safe.
 She is owned by no one, Leo said with care.
 Good. Then I ll 
 She is under my protection, however.
Latimer arched a brow, amused.  What am I to infer from that?
Leo was deadly serious.  That you are to go nowhere near her. That she ll never have to endure the
sound of your voice or the insult of your presence ever again.
 I m afraid I can t oblige you.
 I m afraid you ll have to.
A coarse laugh erupted.  Surely you re not threatening me.
Leo smiled coldly.  Much as I always tried to ignore your inebriated ravings, Latimer, a few things did
stick in my memory. Some of your confessions of misconduct would make more than a few people
unhappy. I know enough of your secrets to land you in Marshalsea prison without so much as a chum
ticket. And if that s not enough, I would be more than willing to resort to bashing your skull in with a
blunt object. In fact, I m becoming quite enthused about the idea. Seeing the astonishment in the other
man s eyes, Leo smiled without humor.  I see you grasp my sincerity. That s good. It might save us both
some inconvenience. He paused to give his next statement greater impact.  And now I m going to
instruct my servants to escort you off my estate. You re not welcome.
The older man s face went livid.  You ll regret having made an enemy of me, Ramsay.
 Not nearly as much as I ve regretted having once made a friend of you.
 What happened to Catherine? Amelia asked Leo when he returned to the drawing room.  Why did she
leave so suddenly?
 Lord Latimer accosted her, he said shortly.
Amelia shook her head in bewildered outrage.  That repulsive goat why would he dare?
 Because that s what he does. He s an affront to polite company and every standard of moral decency. A
better question would be why the devil we invited him.
 We didn t invite him, we invited his parents. Obviously he came in their stead. She threw him an
accusing glance.  And he s an old acquaintance of yours.
 From now on, let s assume that every old acquaintance of mine is either a lecher or a criminal and
should be kept far away from the estate and the family.
 Did Lord Latimer harm Catherine? Amelia asked anxiously.
 Not physically. But I want someone to see to her. I expect she s in her room. Will you go to her, or send
Win?
 Yes, of course.
 Don t ask questions. Just make certain she s all right.
A half hour later, Win came to Leo with the information that Catherine had declined to say anything
other than she wished to retire undisturbed.
It was probably for the best, Leo thought. Although he wanted to go up to her and offer comfort, he
would let her sleep.
On the morrow, they would sort everything out.
Leo awakened at the hour of nine and went to Catherine s door. It was still closed, and there was no
sound from within. It took all his self-control to keep from opening the door and waking her. However,
she needed to rest & especially in light of what he intended to discuss with her later.
It seemed to Leo as he went downstairs that the entire household, including servants, was practically
sleepwalking. The ball hadn t ended until four in the morning, and even then some of the guests had
been reluctant to leave. Sitting in the breakfast room, Leo drank a mug of strong tea and watched as
Amelia, Win, and Merripen came in. Cam, always a late riser, was still absent.
 What happened to Catherine last night? Amelia asked quietly.  And what of Lord Latimer s precipitate
departure? More than a few tongues were wagging.
Leo had considered whether or not to discuss Catherine s secrets with the rest of the family. They would
have to be told something. And although he would not go into detail, he felt it would be easier for
Catherine if someone else gave the explanation.  As it turns out, he said carefully,  when Cat was a girl
of fifteen, her so-called family made an arrangement with Latimer.
 What kind of arrangement? Amelia asked. Her eyes widened as Leo sent her a speaking glance.  Dear
Lord.
 Thankfully Rutledge intervened before she was forced to  Leo broke off, surprised by the note of fury
in his own voice. He struggled to moderate it before continuing.  I needn t elaborate. However, it s
obviously not a part of Cat s past that she s fond of dwelling on. She s been in hiding for the past eight
years. Latimer recognized her last evening, and upset her badly. I m sure she ll awaken this morning with
some notion of leaving Hampshire.
Merripen s features were stern, but his dark eyes were warm with compassion.  There s no need for her
to go anywhere. She s safe with us.
Leo nodded, rubbing the edge of the teacup with the pad of his thumb.  I ll make that clear when I talk
with her.
 Leo, Amelia said carefully,  are you certain that you re the best one to manage this? With your history
of quarreling& 
He gave her a hard look.  I m certain.
 Amelia? A hesitant voice came from the doorway.
It was Beatrix, wearing a ruffled blue dressing gown, her dark hair trailing in wild locks. Worry had
creased her forehead.
 Good morning, dear, Amelia said warmly.  There s no need to rise early, if you don t wish to.
Beatrix replied in a tumble of words.  I wanted to see how the injured owl I m keeping in the barn is
faring. And I was also looking for Dodger, because I haven t seen him since yesterday afternoon. So I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]