The Handmaiden's Necklace. Kat Martin

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СКАЧАТЬ later with crystal cups filled to the brim with fruit punch.

      “Here, dearest, drink this.” She winked. “I put a splash of something in there to help you relax.”

      Danielle opened her mouth to say she didn’t need alcoholic spirits to get through the evening, caught another hostile glare and took a big drink of the punch.

      “As co-chairman of the event,” her aunt explained, “I shall be expected to give a brief speech a bit later on. I shall ask for a generous donation from those in attendance, express my gratitude to all for their past support, and then we shall leave.”

      It couldn’t happen soon enough for Dani. Though she had known what to expect—the scorn she read in people’s faces; the acquaintances, once her friends, who would not even look her way—hurt even worse than she had imagined.

      And then there was Rafael.

      Dear God, she had prayed he wouldn’t be here. Aunt Flora had assured her he would simply send a hefty donation as he had done every other year. Instead, here he was, taller, even more handsome than she remembered, exuding every ounce of his powerful presence and aristocratic bearing.

      The man who had ruined her.

      The man she hated more than anyone on earth.

      “Oh, dear.” Aunt Flora waved her painted fan in front of her round, powdered face. “Apparently I was wrong. It appears His Grace, the Duke of Sheffield, is here.”

      For an instant, Dani’s back teeth ground together. “Yes…so it would seem.” And Rafe had seen her walk in, Danielle knew. For an instant their eyes had met and held, hers as green as his were blue. She had seen the flash of anger before his gaze became shuttered, then the bland expression he had been wearing before he saw her fell back into place.

      Her own temper climbed. She had never seen that look on his face before, so calm, so completely unruffled, almost serene. It made her want to hit him. To slap the smug, condescending look off his too-handsome face.

      Instead, she sat in her chair against the wall, ignored by old friends, whispered about by people she didn’t even know, wishing her aunt would finish her speech and they could go home.

      Rafael handed his betrothed, Lady Mary Rose Montague, back into the care of her mother and father, the Earl and Countess of Throckmorton.

      “Perhaps you will save another dance for me later,” Rafe said to the little blonde, bowing over her hand.

      “Of course, Your Grace.”

      He nodded, turned away.

      “They will be playing a waltz a bit later,” said Mary Rose. “Perhaps you would…”

      But Rafe was already walking away, his mind on another woman far different from the one he intended to wed. Danielle Duval. Just the sound of her name, whispering through the back of his mind, was enough to make his temper shoot to dangerous levels. It had taken him years to learn to control his volatile nature, to bring his emotions under control. These days, he rarely shouted, rarely lost his temper. Rarely allowed his passionate nature to get out of hand.

      Not since Danielle.

      Loving Danielle Duval had taught him a valuable lesson—the terrible cost of letting one’s emotions rule one’s head and heart. Love was a disease that could unman a man. It had nearly destroyed Rafael.

      He glanced toward the rear of the ballroom, catching a flash of Danielle’s bright hair. She was here. He could scarcely believe it. How dare she show her face after what she had done!

      Determined to ignore her, Rafe went to join his friends at the edge of the dance floor. The instant he walked up, he knew the group had spotted Danielle.

      He took a glass of champagne off the silver tray of a passing waiter. “So…from the astonished looks on your faces, I gather you have seen her.”

      Cord shook his head. “I can’t believe she had the nerve to come here.”

      “The woman has unmitigated gall,” Ethan added darkly.

      Rafe flicked a glance at Grace, who studied him over the rim of her glass of champagne.

      “She is quite beautiful,” Grace said. “I can see why you fell in love with her.”

      His jaw tightened. “I fell in love with the woman because I was an idiot. Believe me, I paid the price for my folly, and I assure you it won’t happen again.”

      Victoria’s head came up. She was the shorter of the women, with heavy brown hair as opposed to Grace’s rich auburn curls. “Surely you don’t mean you will never again fall in love,” she said.

      “That is precisely what I mean.”

      “But what about Mary Rose? Surely you love her at least a little.”

      “I care for the girl. I wouldn’t marry her if I didn’t. She’s a lovely young woman with a pleasant, biddable nature, and a very fine pedigree.”

      Ethan rolled his pale blue eyes. “Need I remind you, my friend, we’re discussing a woman here, not a horse?”

      Cord stared off toward the redhead at the far end of the ballroom. “You’re doing a splendid job of ignoring her. I don’t know if I could be quite so magnanimous.”

      Rafe scoffed. “It isn’t all that hard. The woman means nothing to me—not anymore.”

      But his gaze strayed again across the dance floor. He caught a glimpse of the deep red curls on top of Danielle’s head and felt a rush of angry heat to the back of his neck. He itched to stride across the floor and wrap his hands around her throat, to squeeze the very life from her. It was a feeling he hadn’t known since the day he’d last seen her—five years ago.

      The memory returned with shocking force…the weeklong house party at the country estate of his friend Oliver Randall. The excitement he felt, knowing Danielle, her mother and aunt would be among the guests. Ollie Randall was the third son of the Marquess of Caverly, and the family estate, Woodhaven, was palatial.

      The weeklong visit was magical, at least for Rafe. Long, lazy afternoons spent with Danielle, evenings of dancing and the chance for them to steal a few moments alone. Then, two nights before week’s end, Rafe had stumbled upon a note, a brief message signed by Danielle. It was addressed to Oliver, had obviously been read and tossed away, and in it Dani invited Ollie to her room that night.

      I must see you, Oliver. Only you can save me from making a terrible mistake. Please, I beg you, come to my room at midnight. I will be waiting.

      Yours, Danielle

      Rafe felt torn between anger and disbelief. He was in love with Danielle and he had believed she loved him.

      It was only a few minutes after midnight that Rafe knocked, then turned the knob on Danielle’s door. When the door swung open, he saw his friend lying in bed with his betrothed.

      Lying naked beside the woman he loved.

      He could still remember the wave of nausea that had rolled through his stomach, the awful, terrible feeling СКАЧАТЬ