The Heiress (4 page)

“Unconscious,” Suzette spat the word with disgust. “He must have been, and he had obviously been drinking.” She tsked with exasperation and stomped her foot, muttering, “Why could the beast not have been dead? I should have smothered him in his bed to be sure he was and stayed that way.”

Daniel stared at her with amazement. His first thought was that, really, aside from her fortune hunting and homicidal tendencies, the woman was quite fascinating in her complete and utter lack of artifice. His next thought was that the ton would eat her alive. Artifice and subterfuge were necessary tools to survive society and she was obviously completely lacking in both.

Suzette suddenly heaved out a put upon breath and muttered, “I suppose I had best be sure I find a husband tonight. Otherwise, surely Dicky will find some way to throw a spanner in my plans.”

Daniel’s eyebrows flew up at her words and then she peered at him with interest.

“You’re a handsome enough fellow,” she commented thoughtfully.

Daniel blinked, and then muttered, “Oh . . . er . . . thank you. I think.”

“You don’t seem a dullard either,” she added, tilting her head to inspect him consideringly.

“Erm,” he said weakly.

“And you aren’t old. That’s another plus.” Daniel was puzzling over that when she asked abruptly, “Are you rich?”

At first, he was just startled by the blunt question. Someone with that artifice and subterfuge she lacked would have gone about finding that out in a much more roundabout way. Actually, most members of the ton wouldn’t even have tried to figure it out. They had all assumed for years that Daniel’s family was well heeled, and his mother had worked very hard to ensure everyone thought that. However, the truth was that they had been near paupers, selling off old family antiques one at a time to keep the creditors at bay, while trying desperately to uphold the image of wealth everyone expected.

His mother had started pestering Daniel to find a wealthy wife the moment he’d come of age and he’d almost allowed himself to be pressured into it when one night, under the influence of too much alcohol, he’d confessed all to Richard. Richard hadn’t been surprised. Much to Daniel’s amazement it appeared his mother’s efforts hadn’t been as successful as she’d thought and his best friend had long suspected their financial state. Or, perhaps being that close he had simply noticed that Daniel wore the same clothes most of the time, treating them gingerly to make them last, or that their parlor was threadbare with wear, and that no one was allowed beyond the parlor, mostly because the rest of the house was nearly empty of furniture.

Whatever the case, Richard hadn’t wanted to humiliate him by bringing up the subject, but had waited for Daniel to bring it up, and the moment he did, Richard offered to help. He offered to spot him for an investment he thought a good prospect. He would loan Daniel the money to invest, a loan that would be paid back with interest. It was only the last part that allowed Daniel to swallow his pride and accept the offer and he supposed Richard had known that and it was why he’d added it. So the two men had made the investment, and it had paid off. Even after paying back the loan with interest, Daniel had more than the initial loan, which he then promptly invested in another scheme Richard suggested.

Richard Fairgrave had the Midas touch when it came to investments and was generous in sharing his business acumen with friends. Over the last ten years that feigned wealth his mother had tried so desperately to project throughout his childhood, had become real wealth. That was the secret Richard and he shared, and how Daniel had known it was the true Richard sending the letter.

“Well,” Suzette asked. “Are you rich?”

Daniel scowled at the bellicose female. The answer was he was now one of the wealthiest lords in England thanks to Richard. But while that meant his own mother had eased up on pressuring him to find a
rich
wife, she still wanted him to find a wife and give her grandbabies. However, he also found himself constantly stalked by marriage-minded mamas and their braying daughters, and, frankly, while he’d thought it rather amusing in a twisted way when he’d been poor and knew they were getting no bargain, Daniel now found it vastly annoying. He was more than a stallion for stud with a bag of gold between his legs. And as entertaining as Suzette was, he didn’t appreciate her interest in him being based only on his wealth. So he did what any reasonable man would do in this situation . . . he lied.

“I am as poor as a church mouse,” he announced with feigned regret. “In fact, poorer than a church mouse since just this last year I inherited Woodrow from my uncle and it is a terrible mess in need of a great deal of repair and care that I cannot afford.”

The last part wasn’t a complete lie. He actually had inherited the family seat from his father’s older brother a year ago, and it
was
in horrible repair, nearly falling down really. He did have the money to repair it, however, and had been doing so for the last year. Actually, he’d inherited the estate shortly before George’s supposed death which had been meant to be Richard’s death, and had been at the estate taking in the poor state of repair and seeing what needed to be done to return it to its earlier glory when he’d received news of George’s death in the townhouse fire. By the time he got the news, the man’s body, or what everyone had thought was his body, was interred in the Fairgrave family vault and the dust had settled. Daniel had sent a letter of condolence to Richard, or who he’d thought was Richard in London, and offered to come to him if he needed a friend, but had never received a reply.

Still, he’d intended to visit town and seek him out to see how he was handling his twin’s death at some point, but there had seemed to be one problem after another with the reparations at the estate, and then his mother had fallen gravely ill and nearly died. She had recovered, fortunately, but it had been a slow recuperation for her and it was nearly six months before he’d felt he could leave and make his way into town. Daniel arrived after midnight, and had considered heading to Richard’s townhouse at once to see how he faired, but the late hour and his own exhaustion from the journey had made him decide to go to bed instead and visit the next day. But he’d woken that next morning to Richard’s letter coming to him from America of all places.

Once he’d read the contents, Daniel hadn’t bothered visiting the townhouse where George was now installed, a pretender to his brother’s name and title. Instead, he’d booked a cabin on the first ship heading to America to fetch Richard back.

“Really?” Suzette asked. “You’re poor?”

Daniel blinked at her amazed expression, once again recalled to their talk. He then decided to embellish a bit and said, “Yes, really. In fact I am supposed to be here tonight seeking out a wealthy bride to marry. The money is needed to repair Woodrow as well as to pay what little staff is left.” He feigned a sigh. “I do not suppose you know any lovely young ladies with bags of coin and a desire to marry a fellow down on his luck?”

“Me!”

Daniel’s jaw dropped. Not only had she squealed the word as if it were quite the most wonderful thing in the world, but she was looking as excited as a child at Christmas. This was not the response he’d expected. He’d truly thought his words would have her stomping off back into the ball, or at least trying to since he hadn’t finished seeking to worm information from her yet and would have prevented it. He’d just hoped that as a woman in search of a rich husband, his response would get her thoughts off his being a prospect. Instead, she was now looking at him as if he were the answer to her prayers.

“But this is perfect,” she said happily. “I need a poor husband and you need a rich wife. It’s as if it was meant to be.”

“I highly doubt—” Daniel swallowed the rest of what he’d been about to say and nearly swallowed his tongue along with the words when Suzette suddenly grasped one of his hands in both of hers and raised it to squeeze excitedly between both of hers. It wasn’t the fact that she was squeezing his hand in hers that startled him so much as the fact that, in her excitement, she was also pressing it against her chest. He didn’t think she even realized what she was doing. Truly, the woman was beyond excited and it left him completely bewildered until what she’d said sank in. Frowning, he asked, “You’re rich?”

“Oh, goodness yes. My grandfather Sefton divided his wealth between myself and my sisters when he died, leaving it to be dowers for each of us. So you see, I have that fortune you need. Isn’t it wonderful?”

“Sefton you say?” he asked slowly, recognizing the name at once. Everyone knew the name Sefton. The man had surpassed even Richard for having the Midas touch and had earned the name Old Money Bags Sefton decades ago. They said he’d amassed more wealth than the king himself. There had been some rumors when he’d died that he’d left his money to his dead daughter’s husband and his daughters. What was the name? he wondered, but found it hard to think with his hand nestled in the valley between Suzette’s breasts. It was clasped in her hands and he wasn’t actually touching any flesh, but just the sight was rather distracting. Fortunately, she eased her hold on him then and let his hand slip away and he was able to think again. A name came to him then. “Madison?”

“Yes, Suzette Madison.” She nodded, practically dancing on the spot with a glee he didn’t quite understand. “And my sisters are Lisa and Christiana.”

Daniel frowned, thinking back over what she’d said. She needed a poor husband? That just didn’t even make sense. A woman only married a poor man for love, and then most noble women wouldn’t even allow love to sway them into such a marriage. Wealth was everything in the ton. So why would a rich woman need a poor husband? There was no reason he could think of . . . unless she was in dire straits and needed a man who was poor and desperate enough to marry her at once. Which led him right back to the first reason he’d supposed she needed to marry so quickly.

“You are with child?” he asked uncertainly, his eyes dropping to her petite waistline. She didn’t look pregnant, and that wouldn’t explain how the father was involved.

“What?” she asked with surprise, but rather than be offended, merely snorted and rolled her eyes. “No, of course I’m not with child. What kind of woman do you take me for?”

A good question, Daniel thought dryly because really, he hadn’t a clue what kind of woman she was. He’d never met anyone quite like her and all he really knew so far was that she was in some sort of trouble and full of surprises. “Then why do you need a poor husband? And didn’t you say you needed to find one tonight? What other reason is there for such a need than to avoid the scandal of an illegitimate pregnancy?”

Suzette sighed, some of her excitement slipping away as she admitted, “To avoid a different kind of scandal.”

When Daniel raised one eyebrow, she hesitated and then said, “I suppose I really should explain if you are going to marry me.”

His other eyebrow flew up at that, but Suzette didn’t notice. She was looking about, and spotting a bench under a tree a little further into the garden, caught his hand and dragged him that way, saying, “Come, I shall explain all.”

Chapter Two

“S
o you see, I need to marry and claim my dower so I can pay off Father’s gambling debts before they become common knowledge and we are all sunk in scandal,” Suzette finished in a rush. Truthfully, she had rushed through the entire explanation of the trouble their father had got them into as quickly as she could. Fast as she had been though, she’d included everything, even that Robert Langley’s letter had drawn their father to town to check on Christiana. Now she bit her lip and waited, watching as Daniel Woodrow considered all she’d revealed.

Suzette was desperately hoping that he wouldn’t be put off by what she’d told him, but had seen no way to avoid explaining it all to him. Besides, he had a right to know, she supposed. Still, she’d rather not have had to tell him. Daniel was the first man tonight who had matched the imagined suitors she’d dreamed of before the ball. Well, she supposed there was Danvers. He’d been about the same age as Daniel, but while he’d been average in looks, Daniel was . . . well, she supposed he wasn’t much more than average in the grand scheme of things, but now that he was no longer dragging her about, there was just something about him that appealed to her for some reason. Perhaps it was his lips, she thought, peering at his full lower lip below the thinner upper one and wondering what it would be like to be kissed by him.

“Why you and not your sister?” he asked. “Lisa was it?”

“Yes, Lisa,” Suzette answered and then shrugged. “I am the older of us by a year. It seems more responsible for me to take on the task this time.”

“Hmm.” He was silent for a moment and then murmured, “So Christiana married Geo—Dicky to claim her dower and pay off your father’s first round of gambling debts?”

“Well, Dicky paid them off himself, but got it back through the dower when he and Christiana married,” she said slowly.

“And that was the first time your father had ever gambled in his life?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

Suzette sighed and nodded. “Yes, he’d never bothered with things like that before then.”

“But now he’s gambled again for only the second time, and for the second time lost so much that one of his daughters—you—need to marry to claim your dower and pay off those debts again?” he asked. When Suzette nodded, he frowned and asked, “And you say Geo-Dicky took your father to the gaming hell where he lost the money this last time?”

Suzette nodded again, her mouth twisting bitterly. She really wished the man was dead. It would only be justice considering that what he’d done was forcing her to marry so hurriedly.

“Did he take your father to the gaming hell the first time?”

Suzette blinked with surprise. “No,” she said at once and then frowned and said, “Actually, maybe.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Which is it?”

Suzette bit her lip. “I’m not sure. I was reading in the attic when Dicky arrived at Madison and I overheard his conversation with Father.” She paused to explain, “The attic stretches across the house and for some reason you can hear what’s said in Father’s office in one spot up there and it just happened to be where I was reading.”

“It just happened to be, did it?” he asked with an amused grin.

Suzette blushed, but continued, “Anyway, I heard when Dicky offered to pay Father’s debts in exchange for Christiana’s hand in marriage and he did say something about feeling responsible for Father’s gambling that night.” She frowned. “I don’t recall him saying why he felt responsible though . . . but it could have been because he took him there that time too, don’t you think?”

“It’s possible,” Daniel agreed quietly, his expression turning thoughtful.

Suzette sat fidgeting for a moment, but finally asked, “So? Will you marry me?”

Daniel seemed startled by the question and suddenly sat up straight. “Oh . . . er . . .”

“It is the perfect solution for both of us,” Suzette pointed out anxiously. Truly, she was almost desperate to convince him. She simply abhorred the idea of having to marry Lord Willthrop or any of the others she’d danced with tonight. This man, however . . . Well, she found him attractive at least. And so far he hadn’t displayed any unbearable habits like picking at spots, though to be fair, he didn’t seem to have any spots to pick at. But he also hadn’t leered at her once, there was no incessant sniffling and she hadn’t noticed him having bad breath.

Frowning at that last thought, she leaned a little closer to him on the bench seat, put her nose by his mouth and sniffed delicately, but didn’t notice any unpleasant smells.

“What are you doing?” he asked with amazement.

“Nothing,” she said, straightening quickly. Suzette then continued with her argument, pointing out, “You need a rich wife to gain the money to repair your estate and lands, and I have that money. And I need a husband willing to allow me access to some of my dower to pay off my father’s debts and . . .” She hesitated and bit her lip, worried this next part might be an issue, but really she would have to bring it up eventually if she stuck to her plan so plunged on, “And I should like an agreement stating that I may live my own life.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows at that. “What exactly does that mean?”

“Well,” Suzette said slowly, drawing out the word as she tried to find the words to explain exactly what she did want. The truth was she wasn’t sure what she meant by it, except that she didn’t want to be stuck having to put up with a nasty, critical husband who would pick at her and make her miserable for the next forty years or so. Sighing, she said, “I suppose it means that I will be free to travel with my maid, or to live in the country while you are in town, or I may live in town while you are in the country if I wish. I mean if I find your company . . . er . . . unpleasant.”

“I see,” Daniel said dryly. “And if we are always apart, how exactly are we to gain heirs?”

“Oh.” Suzette flushed. “Well, I suppose we could arrange for occasional visits for . . . er . . . procreative purposes.”

“Occasional visits for procreative purposes?” he echoed with disbelief, and then muttered dryly, “My, how scintillating that sounds.”

Suzette frowned, for really it did sound rather cold, nothing like the passionate delirium she had read about in one of Lisa’s novels. But then, truthfully, she simply couldn’t fathom the ecstasies described in that book. She’d never even been kissed and what if she didn’t enjoy his kisses? Just because he didn’t have bad breath didn’t mean she would enjoy these visits she spoke of so boldly. Coming to a decision, she straightened abruptly, and said, “We must kiss.”

That caught his attention and he asked with amazement, “What?”

“Well, we should see if we would deal well together in . . . er . . . that regard,” she muttered, blushing hotly. Swallowing, she forced herself to add firmly, “You should kiss me. Then we will know.”

“My dear young lady,” Daniel began seeming half amused and half horrified, “I really do not think—”

“Oh, for pity’s sake,” Suzette interrupted impatiently, and then leaned forward again, this time pressing her lips to his. In her rush to get it over with, she lost her balance a bit and had to catch a hold of his jacket to steady herself as she smooshed her mouth against his. She then waited for the warm and wonderful commotion she’d read about to assault her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any commotion. Really this was no more exciting than pressing her mouth to a cup, Suzette thought with dismay, and released him to sit back again with a most disappointed sigh. “Oh dear, I fear you’re no good at this.”

“Excuse me?
I
am no good at this?” Daniel asked with amazed disbelief. “My dear girl, if you think that was a kiss—”

“Do stop calling me a girl,” Suzette snapped a bit impatiently and got to her feet, too agitated now to sit. “You sound like you’re old enough to be my father and you aren’t quite
that
old.”

“Not quite
that
old? For pity’s sake! What a charmer you are,” he said with irritation, and then stood up as well and informed her with some dignity, “That was
not
a proper kiss.”

“Well if you are such an expert, why do you not show me how to do it right?” she suggested, glowering with frustration at this turn of events. She had started to like the man once she’d realized that he wasn’t Dicky’s friend and had intervened simply to prevent the encounter from becoming fodder for gossips. And then her hopes had risen as she’d realized he was in need of a rich bride. However, that kiss had been so disappointing, she—

Her thoughts died on a gasp of surprise as Daniel suddenly answered her challenge, pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. He certainly did do it differently to how she had. His lips did cover hers, but not quite so firmly. Instead, they moved over hers in a caress as light as a butterfly’s wings, just brushing the surface in a sideways motion that stirred her interest. That interest only grew when he then nipped at her lower lip, drawing it between his own and suckling lightly in a way that sent little tingles through the soft flesh. His tongue came into play next, sliding out to run along her lips, and then before she quite knew what was happening, it had slipped past them, pushing its way gently yet firmly into her mouth so that her taste buds were suddenly assaulted by a wholly unfamiliar, yet not unpleasant flavor as he lashed her tongue with his own.

Daniel’s hands had been still to this point, but now they suddenly began to move as well, molding her body to his as he invaded her, adding other sensations to the riot of strange feelings he was coaxing from her with his tongue.

Suzette released a little sigh of mingled relief and pleasure into his mouth, her hands creeping up around his neck of their own accord now as the most amazing feelings washed through her. She had the strangest urge to pull him closer and yet she was sure their bodies were already as close as they could possibly get. Suzette also had the strange yet irresistible urge to stretch her body, as if just awaking from a long slumber. Giving in to the temptation, she did so, moaning softly as she found that perhaps they hadn’t been as close as she’d thought. The arching and stretching bore her upper body back, forcing him to curve over her to continue the kiss, but it also pressed her hips firmly against him, bringing on a new assault of sensation to join the others.

Now Suzette thought she understood about that warm and wonderful commotion she’d read about. Certainly, she was experiencing a warmth that seemed to be pooling between her legs like liquid heat and spreading outward, and it did feel wonderful as his mouth continued to slant over hers, his tongue lashing her and exploring with a delightful thoroughness.

It was the sound of voices that forced them to end the kiss. Though, truthfully, Suzette was deaf to the voices and even had she heard them would have happily ignored the sound and risked her reputation to continue kissing. However, Daniel appeared to retain more sense than her and broke the kiss to set her firmly away.

“We should return to the ball,” he said gruffly, taking her arm to urge her back along the path.

Suzette went docilely at first, still too overset by their kiss to think clearly. She walked silently along, unable to resist running her tongue over her still tingling lips and thinking that those visits for procreation purposes shouldn’t be a problem at all. The next thought to strike her, however, was that he hadn’t actually agreed to marrying her . . . or anything else.

Frowning, she slowed, and asked, “Are you going to marry me?”

The question brought an immediate frown to his own lips and he muttered, “This is highly irregular, my lady.”

“Yes it is,” she agreed solemnly. “And if it is too irregular for you, please say so now so that I can move on to finding someone else tonight.”

That made him halt abruptly. “Finding someone else?
Tonight?
”

“I did tell you I only had the two nights to find an acceptable and amenable husband,” she pointed out quietly. “However, now that Dicky isn’t dead, that might change things. He could very well prevent our attending the Hammonds’ ball tomorrow night so I really need to sort it all out tonight if I can. So if you are not willing to accept my proposal, I need to approach someone else.” Suzette glanced toward the lighted windows ahead and murmured, “I wonder if Danvers would forgive my eschewing our dance and—”

“I shall convince Rich—Dicky to allow you to attend the ball at the Hammonds’ tomorrow night,” Daniel interrupted grimly.

She glanced to him with surprise. “Do you think you could? I mean, he doesn’t appear to listen to anyone, and—”

“He will listen to me,” Daniel assured her firmly. “That gives you another night.”

“Yes. Thank you.” Suzette smiled, her shoulders relaxing a little, and then she said, “Well, that gives me a little more time I suppose. Still, if you are not interested, then I really should go in and start looking for other prospective—”

“No.”

Suzette blinked at him in surprise when he blurted the word. “No?”

“I—” Daniel frowned and glanced away and then shook his head. “Just don’t— Give me a night to— This is all so sudden. I— Just wait one night before you make the offer to someone else.”

Suzette hesitated, but then shook her head. “My lord, this is—”

Her words died abruptly, smothered by his mouth as he kissed her again. This time it was neither slow nor gentle. There was no butterfly caress, no sweet nipping at her lip. His mouth was firm on hers, and his tongue thrust past her lips, forcing them open with a swiftness that quite left her breathless. That breathlessness merely deepened as he pulled her into his arms.

Daniel’s hands played over her body through her gown, one clasping her behind and pressing her firmly against him while the other slid up and around to clasp one breast and squeeze gently. If the first kiss had stirred a commotion of warm and wonderful feelings in her, this one brought an explosion of hot need. Suzette moaned into his mouth, her arms moving up around his neck in a stranglehold and her hips shifting restlessly against him. She had the strangest urge to climb the man like she had the trees at Madison as a child. Only there was nothing childlike in the sensations she was experiencing. Still, she wanted to wrap her legs around him as she was doing with her arms and only her gown stopped her from doing so.