Rule's Bride. Kat Martin

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СКАЧАТЬ glanced to where her husband stood in conversation with a group of men and women. “Apparently Rule is quite popular with the ladies.”

      “Yes, well, that is all in the past,” Elizabeth said. “Your marriage was not yet official, not the way Rule saw it. Now that you are here, you won’t have to worry about that sort of thing again.”

      But Violet didn’t believe it. A leopard didn’t change its spots, and a scoundrel didn’t cleave to just one woman.

      It didn’t matter. In a month, he would be free to live as he chose, and she would be on her way back home.

      “I appreciate your kindness and support,” she said to the women. “Truly I do.”

      Lily smiled. “We’re sisters now. Sisters take care of each other.”

      Violet felt an unexpected thickness in her throat. She had never had siblings, though she had wanted a brother and sister very badly. “Thank you.” She felt a renewed shot of guilt. The Dewars were willing to accept her into their family, while she had no intention of living up to their expectations of her as Rule’s wife.

      A little shiver of awareness went through her as he returned to her side. The man fairly exuded confidence, power and virility. Violet did her best not to notice.

      “They are playing a waltz,” he said. “I have yet to dance with my wife. Would you do me the honor, my lady?”

      She started to remind him he had agreed to call her Violet, but somehow it no longer seemed important. Instead She took his arm, wishing far more that he would stop referring to her as his wife. She would never truly be his and she wasn’t the sort to pretend.

      Still, she let him lead her onto the dance floor and took her place in front of him. Since he stood nearly a foot taller than she, dancing with him should have been awkward, but from the moment he took her in his arms and the music started, from the instant he swept her into the rhythm of the dance, it was like floating on air.

      Round and round the parquet floor he whirled her, keeping perfect rhythm, holding her a little closer than proper, even for a husband. She tried to ignore the warmth of his palm at her waist, the way his long leg wedged between hers with each of his graceful turns. She tried to ignore the way he was looking at her, as if she belonged to him and he couldn’t wait to ravish her.

      Her breathing quickened. A tendril of heat curled softly in the bottom of her stomach. She forced herself to think of Jeffrey, handsome and fair, blond hair gleaming as he held her hand in the gardens at Griffin Heights and told her he had fallen in love with her.

      She tried to imagine she was waltzing with Jeffrey, but when she looked up, it wasn’t Jeffrey’s face she saw but the solid jaw and beautiful blue eyes of the man she had married.

      A man who wanted nothing but the use of her body and her father’s armaments factory.

      She steeled herself and eased a little away.

      “You’re a very good dancer,” Rule said as the waltz came to a close.

      “Am I? I thought it was you.”

      He smiled. “Perhaps it was the two of us dancing together.”

      “Perhaps.”

      “There is a theory that a man and woman who dance well together, make love well together.”

      Her cheeks colored. “I—I wouldn’t know.” But an odd sensation filtered into her stomach.

      “We are married. Perhaps we should test the theory.”

      Violet shook her head, though deep down she couldn’t deny the tiny thread of interest the notion stirred.

      Making love with Rule Dewar. She had been fascinated with the man’s incredible good looks and charm from the moment she had met him. If things were different, if there were no strings attached and she and Jeffrey didn’t already have an understanding, she might be tempted to try it.

      “I hear congratulations are in order.”

      Violet looked up to see a dark-haired, handsome man nearly as tall as Rule striding toward them.

      “They are, indeed. It’s good to see you back in Society.” Rule smiled down at her. “Violet, this is Benjamin Wyndam, Earl of Nightingale. He’s the previous owner of what was formerly Hawksworth Munitions and is now Griffin Manufacturing. The man from whom your father purchased the plant.”

      “Yes, I remember hearing your name. Lovely to meet you, my lord.” Inwardly, Violet smiled, beginning to get the hang of using the ridiculous British titles.

      “You, as well, my lady.” Nightingale smiled at her softly and she noticed a sadness in his eyes that seemed deep and abiding. “I lost my wife two years ago. I hope you and Rule are as happy as Maryann and I once were.”

      And clearly he grieved for her still. “I am sorry, my lord. And thank you for your kind wishes.” What else could she say? The earl had obviously loved his wife. If only Rule could—

      She broke off the thought. Rule wasn’t the sort to fall in love. Their marriage was no more than a business arrangement. If she wanted a husband who loved her, she would have to marry Jeffrey.

      Violet frowned, disliking the way the thought had come out. she didn’t have to marry Jeffrey. She wanted to.

      It was simply that he was so far away.

      Another man walked up just then. He was perhaps forty, beginning to lose his hair and had eyes that seemed to miss nothing. “So this is your lovely bride. Your marriage seems the only interesting bit of gossip I’ve heard all evening. Your wife is quite a lovely surprise, my lord.”

      “Thank you,” Rule said somewhat stiffly. “Violet, this is Burton Stanfield. Over the years we’ve had some business dealings together.”

      “That is correct. And a few weeks back I tendered an offer to buy Griffin Manufacturing. Unfortunately, his lordship turned it down.”

      A buyer for the company! Exactly what she needed. But Rule had refused the offer. The information nettled, considering how much she wanted to sell. At home, trouble was brewing in the Northern and Southern states, the country fiercely divided over the issue of slavery. Violet had friends on both sides, people she cared about. She didn’t want to be in the business of making the weapons that might be used to kill them.

      Still, Rule had done a good job managing Griffin so far. He might have had good reason for turning the man down.

      Violet focused on Stanfield. “Perhaps your offer wasn’t high enough. With the tensions growing between the states in America, there is already increased demand for weapons. I should think that would make Griffin worth a good deal of money.”

      Burton Stanfield smiled. “A woman with a head for business. How unusual.” He turned to Rule. “I believe you have managed to capture yourself a very interesting female.”

      “Her maiden name is Griffin,” Rule explained. “Violet spent a good deal of time with her father at the Boston branch of the business.”

      “I am also half owner of Griffin,” СКАЧАТЬ