“There you are.” Lucien’s voice came from the balcony steps.

Alec turned from where he had been leaning against a tree, fighting for a semblance of control. “What do you want?” The cool bubbling of the fountain had done much to soothe his anger, but not the vast ache that had taken the place of his heart.

Lucien pulled out a cheroot and lit it, his eyes hard in the flare of light. “What in the hell were you doing, to leave Julia like that?”

Alec set his jaw. “I was angry.” Angry, furious, jealous…hell, he’d experienced more emotions this evening than he’d realized he possessed. And all because of the unavoidable fact that his wife loved another. The thought weighted his shoulders like a sack of stone.

Lucien made a sound of disgust. “Oh, yes. And you have such reason to be angry. Your wife has taken in a child, saved a woman destined for ruin, transformed your household into a living, breathing home, and squandered your funds on charity. I’m surprised you aren’t calling for her head on a platter.”

“You don’t know the half of it. She’s incorrigible, impertinent and—”

“You love her.”

The ache swelled into something more and he had to swallow before he could speak. “Julia doesn’t believe Nick had anything to do with this latest debacle.”

Lucien shrugged. “She wouldn’t. In fact, I’m surprised she hasn’t found him a position in your house. He’d make a hell of a butler if you could keep him from the liquor cabinet.”

“This is not a laughing matter!”

“I don’t think it is,” Lucien said shortly. “If you had seen Julia’s face when you left her in the middle of the dance floor, you would agree.”

Remorse ripped at his tenuous control, but Alec subdued it. He hadn’t meant to cause her pain, but he seemed unable to look at her without experiencing the agonizing burn of jealousy. And that, he admitted, was what had made him stalk from the dance floor like the cad he was.

Alec raked a hand through his hair, emptiness holding his heart in an icy grip. All his life he’d been selfish and intemperate, caught up in the pursuit of empty pleasures until he’d met a spirited, no-nonsense American reformer who believed she could change the world. And she had changed the world—his world. Now, he could no longer imagine life without her and the realization frightened him to death.

A pain akin to fire lanced through him. He loved Julia. There was no denying it any longer. But…did she love him? Was it even possible after the way he’d treated her? Or had Nick managed to convince Julia, with her boundless passion, that he could offer her more than her own foolish husband?

Alec fisted his hands and stared into the darkness.

From behind him, Lucien asked, “Alec, you must do something to right this.”

Alec roused himself with an effort. “There’s nothing to do. I lost my temper. I’ve been so fixated on winning the inheritance, keeping it from Nick that I didn’t see—“He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve been a fool, Lucien. A damned fool.”

“We agree on that, at least,” Lucien said in a grim voice. “Your grandfather would have been pleased beyond thought to know you were in love with someone other than yourself. I’m not sure that isn’t what he had in mind to begin with.”

Was that possible? The conditions of the will had seemed improbable, bizarre even. But frankly, it didn’t matter. At the moment, all he could think about was the fact that his wife loved another man.

Lucien sighed. “I know you promised your grandfather you would try to keep the fortune from Nick, but…isn’t Julia more important than the money?”

Julia was more important than everything. “Luce, she…she doesn’t want me.” The words burned his throat, but he choked them out anyway. “She wants Nick.”

Lucien frowned. “Bloody hell.”

“I know. But the signs are all there. He’s forever around and she defends him every chance she gets. Even tonight, she said Nick didn’t even know about the portrait, that it was all Therese’s doing.”

Lucien dropped to a bench by the fountain, his brow lowered. After a moment, he said, “Alec, she could be right. Therese holds sway over Bentham, not Nick. Furthermore—”

One of the bushes sprang to life, the leaves rustling violently. Edmund stumbled into the clearing. “Thank God you are here, Alec!” The younger man’s voice held an unmistakable note of panic. “Julia’s disappeared with Nick. Aunt Maddie said for you to come at once.”

The world spun crazily for one mad moment. Alec was running before he knew it, pounding down the pathway and bursting into the ballroom. Without a word to those he pushed aside, he made his way to Lady Birlington.

“Demme, Hunterston,” she hissed when he reached her. “Didn’t that silly nephew of mine tell you not to make a scene?”

“Where is she?”

Maddie’s chin quivered and, for the first time since Alec had known her, she appeared all of her seventy years. Clenching her gnarled hand about the cane, she gathered herself and scowled through her tears. “We don’t know. Nick escorted her to the balcony ten minutes ago or longer.”

Edmund added, “They were mighty chummy, too. He had his arm about her waist and she was leaning against him like—”

Maddie thumped her cane near enough to Edmund’s foot that he jumped. “Not another word! I won’t have my own family telling tales!”

“But Aunt Maddie, I saw them myself! Julia walked right by me and didn’t even say a word! She looked—”

Alec whirled on Maddie. “Damn it, why didn’t you stop them?”

The brilliant blue eyes sparkled. “Why didn’t you stop them? She’s your wife!” Maddie sniffed, her lips quivered. “I would have stopped them if I could, but I’m not as young as I once was. By the time I got to the balcony, they were gone.”

“And then Therese—” Edmund stopped and turned a bright red. “But no one believed her.”

“Believed what?”

Edmund eyed Maddie’s cane. “Not sayin’. Would sound bad and m’aunt says—”

Alec curled his fist in Edmund’s lapels and lifted him up on his toes. “No one believed what?”

Edmund gulped and began talking so fast his words tripped over one another. “Th-Therese burst into the ballroom screeching th-that Nick had lied to her, p-promised to marry her. She was hysterical, s-sobbing th-that he’d stolen Julia away to his hunting I-lodge.” Edmund’s hand gripped Alec’s wrists. “That’s a-all she said, Alec. I swear.”

Suddenly aware of the look of panic on Edmund’s face, Alec loosened his grip. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” Edmund straightened his cravat. “All to pieces, worrying about Julia. I perfectly understand.”

Lucien quirked a brow. “Do you think Therese was telling the truth?”

Edmund nodded. “Bound to be. Made a regular cake of herself, crying all over the place.” He leaned forward and said earnestly, “Alec, I think it’s a trap. Nick knows you will come after her. He had to know Therese would tell, too. She’s not very circumspect.”

Alec gave a cool nod though his heart slammed against his ribs in a furious beat. “Then he’s won one battle.” He turned to call for his carriage, but Lucien caught his arm.

“You should know something. I heard Grenville say just this evening that Nick was on the verge of ruin. He is desperate and will do whatever he must to get the fortune.”

Alec shook off the restraining hand. “I don’t have a choice.” All that mattered was Julia. He prayed he would not be too late.

Julia awoke slowly, her mouth dry and bitter, her head aching furiously.

“I was beginning to think you would never awaken.”

She blinked toward Nick’s voice. His large form loomed before her, his golden hair lit by firelight. She struggled to sit upright on a small settee, hampered by her gown which had twisted about her ankles.

“Don’t try to move too swiftly,” he said. “It takes some time for the effects of the laudanum to wear off.”

Laudanum. Memories flooded back and with it came all of the fear she had been too drugged to feel. Heart pounding in her throat, Julia rested her head against the back of the settee. Before I do anything, I must regain my wits.

Accordingly, she took a long, slow breath and examined the room. Low and wide, it was decorated in masculine tones, with heavy, dark furniture flanked by a huge, stone fireplace. “Where are we?”

Nick made an expansive gesture. “Welcome to my private hunting box. The only thing my mother ever left me worth possessing.”

“It’s very nice.” Her voice creaked like the hinge on an old door and she placed a hand to her throat.

A frown flickered across his face. He crossed to the table and filled a cup from a pitcher. “Here, drink this.”

She regarded it with suspicion but made no move to take it. “What is it?”

Nick smiled and took a deep drink from the cup before offering it to her again. “Only water. Nothing more, I assure you.”

Julia took the cup, her hand trembling with even that small effort. “It was very nice of your mother to leave you such a pleasant retreat.”

“It once belonged to an elderly nobleman. I often wonder how many times my mother serviced him in order to gain it. She was a whore, you know.”

He said it in the most commonplace of voices, but Julia saw the flash of emotion in his blue eyes. In a way, Nick was very like the children from the Society. Hurt repeatedly, they became tough and rebellious, ready to handle life’s worst and often seeking out that very thing as if to test themselves. “It is still very nice she left it to you.”

Nick shrugged and looked around the room. “It was all she had to give.” His gaze returned to Julia. “But we are not here to speak of my mother.”

“Oh?” Julia pushed her hair back from her face. It had long since fallen from the pins and streamed over her shoulders in a tangled mess. “Why are we here?”

His hooded gaze followed her every move. “Perhaps I have decided I care nothing about the fortune and want only you.”

Julia raised her brows in polite disbelief.

Nick chuckled. “Always the pragmatist, aren’t you? But you are correct. No woman can outshine seventy thousand pounds a year.”

“Not many men, either.” Though Alec had managed to. He was worth much, much more. Her throat tightened as she recalled his anger at the ball. God, please, don’t let that be our last conversation ever. I have so much to tell him, so many things to explain and—No. I can’t think about this now. It hurts too much. She smoothed her skirts over her knees, her palms damp. “You…you know Alec will find us.” Provided, of course, he chose to come after her.

“Oh, I am counting on it.” Nick leaned an arm on the mantle, picked up the iron poker, and stirred the flames to a higher level. “I would be most disappointed if he did not.”

Realization dawned. “You want him to miss the meeting with the executors.”

He smiled.

“You had this planned all along!”

“My only worry was how to lure you away from Alec long enough to give you the ratafia. Then you two staged that brilliant row in the middle of the dance floor. Heaven, shall we say, has smiled on this venture.”

Though Julia felt better by the minute, her head still throbbed a relentless beat. “Heaven is not smiling now.”

“Ah, but it is. Imagine how it will look to the executors: Alec will chase after his wife who has, to all intents, run off with another man, while they meet to discuss whether he has stayed free of scandal. The answer should be obvious, even to that bunch of ninnies.” His smile widened. “I have destroyed any influence you may have had with the executors. Now, they will think you an adulteress and worse.”

She sniffed. “I’ve never even met the executors.”

Nick’s gaze flickered, an odd smile on his lips. “I beg to differ.”

“What do you m—”

“But let us move on to the second act, shall we? We have already closed the curtain on the first, exciting as it was.”

“What is the second act?”

“It will be brilliant, I assure you.” Nick replaced the poker and came to stand near her, his handsome face alight with true amusement. “Alec will come breathing the fire of the righteous and I…” Nick’s smile chilled her. He crossed to a small table and picked up an elaborate box. The carved lid lifted to display a set of dueling pistols. “Alec and I have a score to settle. One long overdue.”

Cold fear clutched her stomach. “What would that solve?”

“Everything.” He shut the box carefully, his pale hand lingering on the lid and the gleaming mother of pearl inlay. “When my esteemed cousin arrives, he will have no choice but to fight me.” Nick slid his hand over the box with an almost loving gesture. “I have never lost a duel.”

Julia swallowed at his calm, certain voice. “Never?”

“Not once.”

“You cannot have fought very many, then.”

He quirked a brow. “Dueling is much more accepted on the continent. I fought my first one when I was only thirteen.”

Julia tried to swallow, but couldn’t. “So young.”

“Yes. He insulted my mother, called her a whore.” Nick shrugged. “Sometimes the truth is so unpalatable that it should never be said aloud.”

She wet her dry lips, the elaborate box seeming more menacing with every word Nick spoke. “Alec will not fight you. I-I cannot imagine he would agree to such foolishness.”

“How can he refuse? I left the ball with his willing wife.” Nick’s smile turned cruel. “Thanks to you, Alec will have no choice.”

Julia’s heart sank. She could picture how she must have looked, leaving the ballroom, Nick’s arm about her waist. Her cheeks burned at the thought. Tears threatened, but she held them at bay. There would be plenty of time for that once this drama was played out. She had forever to regret what would never be. Right now, she had to think. “Nick, don’t do this. I know, in your heart, you don’t want to hurt anyone.”

His smile slipped. “You know nothing about my heart.”

“But I do. I-I’ve spoken to you. Listened to you. You might not care about many people, but I think you once cared for your mother. That means something. And I think you must have cared what your grandfather thought too and—”

“Enough!” he said harshly, his expression shuttered. His mouth was white with anger. “I didn’t bring you here to listen to your theories on reforming lost souls, especially mine. There are more amusing ways to while away the time.”

Before she knew what he was about, he was beside her on the settee. His arm rested along the back, his fingers brushing against her shoulder in a suggestive manner. His broad shoulders blocked the warmth of the fire. Julia averted her gaze and glanced around the room. There had to be some safe topic of conversation that would enthrall him until she could figure a way out of this mess.

Her gaze fell on the table, covered with a cold repast. “Perhaps we should eat.”

He took one of her hands in his. “I have ever found innocence appealing. There is something unique in knowing one is first.” He leaned closer, slipping an arm about her shoulders, his fingers lightly caressing her bared skin. “Would I be your first? Or did my quixotic cousin manage to charm his way into your bed?”

Julia stood, heedless of the way it made her head spin. Whatever demons haunted Nick, they were out in full force tonight. “What we need is some food,” she suggested brightly, crossing to the table and slipping into the farthest chair.

Nick watched her through half closed eyes. “You cannot put me off forever, Julia.”

“You can’t wish to ravish me on an empty stomach. It could cause indigestion.” She began piling mounds of cold ham and sliced apples on her plate. Just for good measure, she took three pieces of bread and slathered them with butter, ignoring the quaver of her stomach at the sight.

He watched her for an amused moment before joining her at the table, claiming the chair beside hers. “Very well, but it only prolongs the moment. I will seduce you. If not now, then after Alec has been dispatched.”

Julia tamped down terror at Nick’s calm assumption. “Alec won’t come. You’ve made one mistake; he doesn’t care about me.”

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?” He leaned forward and traced the back of his hand down her cheek. “Those lips were made for sinning.”

Julia stuffed her mouth full of buttered bread. No man could kiss a woman with a mouth full of buttered bread. She hoped she looked every bit as repulsive as she felt.

After an astonished moment, Nick threw back his head and laughed.

It wasn’t exactly the response she’d hoped for, but it was better than unbridled lust. The only problem she had now was what to do with all the bread in her mouth. Her stomach still roiled from the laudanum and her throat was tight with fear.

Chuckling, he said, “You always manage to surprise me. That is a rare quality indeed.”

Julia attempted to swallow. The lump stuck in her throat and refused to move. She choked, her eyes watering as the lump seemed to grow and grow.

A flicker of irritation crossed his face. “Pray do not try that old trick.”

She wanted to tell him she was not playacting, but she could make no noise, could barely move for trying to breathe.

As her distress increased, Nick’s amusement faded. “Good God, Julia!”

Though the roar in her ears, she heard his voice as if from a great distance. He thumped her firmly on the back, then again and again. After what seemed an eternity, the lump finally went down and sweet air rushed to fill her lungs. Coughing and sputtering, she wiped her eyes. Cursing, Nick poured her a glass of ale and handed it to her.

After several sips, her breathing settled into a more normal rhythm. She looked at Nick with a thankful sigh. “You saved my life.”

His eyes widened just an instant, uncertainty flickering across his face, but he quickly banished it. “Do not make me out to be a hero.”

“But you are.”

“Really?” He captured her hand and pressed it to his mouth, his eyes languorous. “Then show me your appreciation.”

Julia tried to regain her hand, but he held tight. “Oh, just stop it!” she said, suddenly tired with the whole debacle. All she had wanted was to sponsor a charity and look what had happened. She’d married a man who could not love her and been kidnapped by another who was determined to disgrace her, and now she’d almost died. Worse, it would have been the most ignominious kind of death—choking on buttered bread.

Her life was not going at all the way it should, and she was tired and sore and angry. She pulled on her hand. “Leave me be. My head hurts.”

He refused to relinquish his hold. “Julia, my love. You are a pragmatic woman. As such, you should be thinking ahead. Once Alec has lost the fortune, he will be unable to fund these projects of yours. I, on the other hand, will have more money than I know what to do with.” Nick turned her hand over and placed a warm kiss on her wrist. “I’m not interested in marriage, of course, even once you are a widow. But perhaps we can reach an agreement, one more suitable to both of our interests.”

“I don’t bargain with men who plan on killing my husband. He may be difficult, but he is my husband, after all.” And I love him dearly. She managed to keep her voice light, though her heart was anything but.

Nick chuckled, his fingers tightening on her wrist. “I see I shall have to be more plain in my intentions.” He yanked her from her chair and into his lap, her back scraping painfully across the edge of the table.

“Release me!”

His arms clamped around her, his hands tangling at her waist in the bronze silk of her gown. There was a determination in his gaze she could not deny. He was going to have her one way or another. Fine, Julia decided, her patience at an end, her anger roused as never before. Without another word, she wrapped her arm about Nick’s neck and kissed him. She didn’t just gently press her mouth to his, but avidly sought his kiss, arching against him.

Anything to keep his attention off her other hand, which had just closed around the metal cover for the ham dish. The cover hit his head with a distinct gong sound, and for an instant, she thought his eyes crossed. Then he sagged forward and tumbled both of them to the floor. Julia’s cheek hit the edge of the chair, and black spots wavered in front of her eyes.

She blinked them away and as soon as Nick’s grip loosened, she scrambled upright and made a mad dash for the door. Before she gained her freedom, hands closed around her waist, yanking her back. Julia kicked with all her might, but her slippered feet did nothing to the booted shins they met.

Nick’s hands bit cruelly into her arms as he turned her to face him. Blood dripped from his forehead and ran down his neck to darken his cravat with a red stain. “Stop it,” he hissed, his eyes sparking blue flames. “I don’t wish to hurt you.” He shook her with each word, his fury palpable.

Julia grit her teeth. “Leave me be!”

He yanked her to him, his eyes blazing into hers, his hands like iron bands on her bare arms as he hissed through his teeth, “The next time you attempt something that foolish, I will forget you are a woman. Do you understand?”

She nodded and curled her hands into fists.

“Sit down.” He almost threw her from him.

As soon as he released her, she swung at him with all her might, her fist connecting with his eye.

His head jerked back from the blow and he stumbled, tripped over a stool and fell. The punch did little more than anger him, for he rolled immediately to his feet and started after her, bellowing his rage.

But that second of freedom was all Julia needed, for she was out the door and into the hallway, running as fast as she could. From behind her came the thud of his booted feet, each step bringing him closer. Julia saw the huge oak door ahead and grabbed the handle, flinging it open…and dashed right into Alec’s outstretched arms.