Page 64 of The Duchess Debt

She froze at the sound of the deep voice directly behind her.Adam.

“Larkin said you’d gone out into the garden.”

“So you followed me.” Her right hand tightened its grip on the sharp clippers.

“So I could speak privately with you,” he corrected. “Why do you always assume the worst of me?”

Habit.Not letting him see how much his sudden appearance had rattled her, she forced a smile, placed the flower into the trug, and lifted the little basket from the ground as she rose and faced him, to hold it in front of her. A feeble barrier, but even though she doubted Adam would physically attack her, a wary part of her felt a desperate need to keep him at bay. “Therewas no need to go to the trouble of finding me here. You could have waited until I returned to the house.”

“Too many sharp ears and prying eyes inside, don’t you think?” His smile was cold. “Out here we can speak completely at ease.”

“I suppose.” She cast a glance around her and felt her skin prickle with trepidation. They were hidden behind the stone walls where the gardeners couldn’t see them and completely out of view of the house and outbuildings. Not that anyone would have noticed them anyway. At midday, all the outside servants would be busy at their work and wouldn’t pay any attention to what was happening in the corner of the gardens, and they knew not to interrupt the family anyway.

If Adam wanted privacy, he couldn’t have asked for a better time or place.

“After all, it wouldn’t do to have anyone overhear any agreements we might reach,” he drawled.

Wariness pricked at the backs of her knees. “What kind of agreements?”

“The best kind. The generous kind.” Heedless of crushing the flowers beneath his boots, he stepped back to lean his shoulder against the stone archway opening into the walled garden. “For me, that is.”

Her smile faded. “The extortionist kind, you mean.”

He shrugged his free shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest. “Same thing.”

With a heavy huff of breath to show her impatience, she turned to leave. But he stepped in front of her, blocking her escape. The small movement spiraled quick fear down into her limbs, and her hand clutching the trug began to tremble.

She cleared her suddenly tight throat. “Adam, I have nothing to bargain with.”

“So much more than you’ll admit, I’m sure,” he replied in a low voice, made all the more threatening because of its control. “I’m certain Gabe has made you well cared for.” His arms dropped to his sides, and Helena instinctively took a step back. “My brother is nothing if not generous. Well, generous to those people he likes anyway, and he certainly likes you.” He dropped a lascivious gaze over her. “He’s paying you well for your favors.”

“He’s being generous to me as his wife-to-be,” she corrected, not liking his insinuations.

“Hisduchess-to-be,” he corrected with a smirk. “What a social climb you’ll make, too, from the ruined daughter of a mere ‘sir’ to the most powerful non-royal woman in the kingdom.” The gleam in his eyes reminded her of a snake’s, right before it struck. “But what a shame it would be if anything happened to stop all your plans.”

Her blood turned to ice.Thatwasn’t an insinuation; it was a threat.

“Nothing is going to stop my wedding.” Yet even as she said that, she wondered if it were a lie. “Gabe knows I will be a good wife, mother, and duchess, and a true partner in all matters.”

“He once thought the same of Clarissa, too, don’t forget.” Adam reached down into the trug and took one of the peonies. She resisted the urge to slap his hand away. “I could easily stop your wedding. I think Sunday in the church proved that, don’t you?”

Her heart plunged into her stomach. “You wouldn’t do—”

“Try me.” All pretense of good humor and smiles vanished as his face turned stony hard. Even the air around them took on a sudden chill, and goosebumps sprouted on her arms. “India taught me how to survive by going after what I want, and the last thing I’ll do is let a golden opportunity like this slip through my fingers. You, Helena, are gold, just not in the way Gabe thinks.”

“What do you want?” she asked bluntly. She didn’t want to listen to him a moment longer than she had to. “What will it take to make you leave me alone?”

“Three thousand pounds.”

Helena lost her breath at the staggering sum. “I don’t have that kind of money. If you’d been in England during the past five years, you would know that my family’s fortune has declined.” That was a nice way of saying they were nearly destitute. “I don’t even have a dowry.”

“Oh, but youdohave that kind of money. After all, I’m certain my brother settled a large amount on you for the marriage, given you a hefty allowance and all kinds of funds for dresses, fripperies—” He raked a lascivious gaze down her front that made her feel dirty. “And whatnot.”

“But he—”But he gave it to my family, not to me.She bit her lip. She knew better than to share any more information than necessary. She wouldn’t give him any ammunition he could use against her. “Gabe won’t give you that.”

“I’m not asking it of Gabe. I’m asking it of you.” His mouth twisted into a sneer. “Give me the money, Helena, or I’ll make certain you never walk down the aisle with my brother.”

She stared at him, speechless. The world spun around her, and for a moment, she was terrified her knees might buckle beneath her.