Henry stared. “I do anticipate Edward will marry one day.”

“Until then, you are next in line to be the Earl of Danby. And who knows what might happen in the future. If anything were to happen to—”

“Katherine!”

“God forbid.” She sighed. “But the fact remains that you are next in line to be the earl. And if Edward doesn’t marry and have an heir, our son would be the next earl. I should like to be a countess—that should come as no surprise to you. Barring that, I wouldn’t at all mind being the mother of an earl.”

Shock held his tongue. He had no idea what to say.

“In addition, you are rather handsome.” She smiled pleasantly. “That will suffice for now. It is unfortunate about your finances—”

Henry frowned. “Have you been listening to gossip?”

She hesitated. “I have heard the rumors, of course.”

“I assure you, nothing you’ve heard is even remotely accurate.”

“Come now, Henry.” She cast him a pitying look. “I spoke to Edward. He told me everything.”

“Did he?” Henry said slowly. What was his brother up to? “What do you mean by ‘everything’?”

She studied him closely for a moment. Her eyes widened with understanding. “You don’t know everything, do you?” She shook her head. “Poor Henry. I never realized how difficult it must be to be the spare heir.”

He ignored her. “I do not intend to discuss matters of finance with you in the middle of a dance floor or ever. Even as my wife, my finances, and my family’s, are none of your concern.”

“Very well.” Her expression hardened. “But you did say you wished to be perfectly honest with me.”

He nodded.

“In the interest of perfect honesty, then, on my part anyway, let me say this.” A determined gleam shone in her green eyes. “Postponing this wedding is the first step toward canceling it altogether. I will not permit that. I much prefer to be the sister-in-law of an earl whose fortunes will surely reverse at some point than the daughter of a penniless viscount with no prospects whatsoever. If you are having second thoughts now, I would suggest it’s not uncommon for a groom as his wedding day approaches and indeed is to be expected.”

“I think this is a mistake.”

“Then it is one we shall live with,” she said sharply. “You asked my father for my hand, you asked me to marry you. I accepted you in all good faith. And I expect you to abide by your word.”

He stared down at her. “Don’t you want to be happy, Katherine?”

“My dear Henry.” She smiled up at him, a wicked, nasty sort of smile, and his stomach turned. “I fully intend to be.”


CHAPTER THIRTEEN


KATHERINE HAD AT least been perfectly honest.

Henry leaned against one of the gallery columns, a glass of whisky in his hand, and gazed unseeing at the crowd of friends and acquaintances. Everyone seemed to be having an excellent time. He doubted that aside from Ned and Celia, a single person here knew how very much the groom wished to cancel the wedding and how very determined the bride was to go through with it.

Henry now knew exactly where he stood with his bride-to-be. She had not only confirmed his suspicions but strengthened his desire not to marry her. Even if he’d never met Celia, this was a dreadful, horrible, irrevocable error in judgment. Something very much akin to panic simmered inside him.

Perhaps he and Celia should run off together. Go somewhere far away. Why not America? It did seem to offer considerable opportunity. Or anyplace where they could leave the past behind. But he would know he had broken his promise, and worse, she would know and she was right. Doing what they knew was wrong would eventually destroy them.

How could he possibly marry that woman?

How could he not?

Going back on his word went against everything he believed, everything he thought himself to be. Everything his father expected him to be. Ned was right. It was hard to be the good brother.

Had Ned heard the gossip about their finances? His brother really should be aware of that. And what on earth had he said to Katherine? Henry scanned the crowd but Ned was nowhere in sight. He signaled a passing footman.

“Have you seen his lordship, John?”

“Not recently, sir.”

“Then where did you last see him?”

“He was stepping out onto the terrace.” The young man paused. “But he was not alone.”

“Of course not.” Henry sighed and handed the footman his nearly empty glass. While Ned had accepted his responsibilities in recent years and put most of his scandalous ways behind him, he still could not resist an assignation with a lovely woman.

“It has been some time since then, sir,” John added.

Henry nodded and started toward the open doors. A voice in the back of his head noted he had not seen Celia since their dance. He glanced around the ballroom but couldn’t spot her pale blue gown. Perhaps she was simply out of sight. Or perhaps she had decided to retire for the night.

Or perhaps she was on the terrace with his brother?

Something vile and hard washed through him and his step quickened. How could Ned do this to him? Ned knew how Henry felt about Celia. Even if there was nothing Henry could do about it. Even if she was certainly free to be with someone else. Even if...

No, regardless of the circumstances, his brother would never attempt to seduce a woman Henry loved. His ire faded. Henry may well be the good brother but Ned was certainly not bad. A bit wayward perhaps. He’d always savored a good time and had never hesitated to break the rules of proper behavior. For the most part, that was in the past. Besides, if Henry trusted no one else in his life, he trusted his brother.

Of course, if Ned had encountered Celia and she was upset over her exchange with Henry, it was entirely possible Ned had tried to comfort her. Wrapped his arms around her as one might do to a friend in need. And if she then lifted her face to his, Ned might look into her remarkable blue eyes and forget—just for a moment—that Henry was in love with her. And he might lose himself in those eyes and press his lips to hers...

Absolutely not!

Ned was not so weak as that. Nor was he so thoughtless.

Henry stepped out onto the terrace and glanced around. There were several figures at the far end to his right. To his left, a flash of silk caught the starlight. Partially in the shadows, a female figure gazed out at the gardens. It might not be Celia but the closer he neared, the more certain he was that it was her.

“Celia?”

“Henry! What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” He paused. “You’re alone, then.”

“Of course I’m alone. Although you would be surprised at how many people wander out on this terrace who are not alone and are obviously looking for more than just a breath of—”

Before he could stop himself, before he even realized what he was doing, he reached out, pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. She braced her hands on his chest and he thought she meant to push him away. Instead, her hands fisted in the fabric of his coat and she pulled him tighter against her.

For a long moment he savored the feel of her mouth, soft and yielding beneath his. He relished in the taste of her, of strawberries and champagne and sunshine. She clung to him and he lost himself in a haze of sensation and need. Surely this was how a man must feel when he was drowning, buffeted by forces beyond his control, helpless yet welcoming the oblivion.

He knew the moment she came to her senses. Her lips against his stilled and she pushed out of his arms.

“Good Lord, Henry, what are you thinking?”

“I don’t know.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I haven’t been thinking since the moment I met you.”

“Apparently not, as you asked my sister to marry you.”

“True, but if I hadn’t I never would have found you again.” And wasn’t that a point in his favor?

“And a lot of good that does us.” Apparently not.

“I am well aware of that.”

“You kissed me, Henry.” She scowled at him as if he had done something truly horrible. When in fact it had been quite the most wonderful kiss of his entire life.

“I am aware of that, as well.” He paused. “Might I point out you kissed me back?”

“No, you may not!”

“And I would wager you enjoyed it every bit as much as I did.”

“That is beside the point.” She blew a frustrated breath. “Apparently, I wasn’t thinking, either.”

“I do apologize.” Although while he felt it necessary to apologize, he wasn’t truly sorry. The memory of that kiss would have to last a lifetime. “I don’t know what came over me.” He shook his head. “I am not usually so impulsive, or impulsive at all, but I thought you were out here with Edward—”

“Edward?” She glared. “Why on earth would I be out here with Edward?”

“You wouldn’t be the first,” he said without thinking and immediately wished the words back.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “You thought I might be here with Edward for, well, the sorts of things everyone else seems to come out here for?”

“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“With your brother?” Her voice rose.

“No.” He scoffed. “Of course not. Well, not really.”

“I should hope not. I can assure you that if I was here with Edward, it would be for no other purpose than to indulge in a few moments of private conversation.”

“I realize that.” He hated the note of desperation in his voice but he couldn’t seem to vanquish it. “It’s just that Edward had said how wonderful you were and had mentioned that he might well be interested—”

“Good Lord!” Disbelief rang in her voice. “Are you both mad?”

“I don’t know. It’s possible, I suppose, but I doubt it.” Although at the moment, madness was not a bad excuse. “He only said what he did to entice me into admitting how I felt about you.”

“So you were jealous?”

He shrugged in a helpless manner.

“I see.” She paused. “Was it like the dance, Henry? If you kissed me just once, it would be enough?”

“No, I—”

“It isn’t, is it?”

“No.”

“If anything, you’ve made it worse.” She shook her head. “We cannot continue to say we aren’t going to see each other and then do so whenever the opportunity presents itself.”

“You’re right, of course.”

She drew a deep breath. “There cannot be a repeat of this.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“I want your word. Promise me this will not happen again.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I can’t.”

“And I cannot guarantee that I am able to keep my own feelings at bay.” Her voice softened. “I never imagined something so very wrong would feel so very right.”

“Celia, I—”

“But I cannot—I will not—allow this to happen again.” Even in the faint starlight he could see determination in the set of her chin. “The only way to truly deal with temptation is to remove it entirely.”

“What do you mean?” Fear clutched at his heart.

“As neither of us apparently has the strength of character necessary to manage our circumstances—” she heaved a resigned sigh “—as soon as possible, even before the wedding if it can be arranged, I intend to leave Danby to take up residence in London with my aunt. And...”

His breath caught. “And?”

“And I never want to see you again, Henry. I can’t.” She stepped toward the terrace door then paused. “It’s for the best.” She nodded and continued on her way, out of his life. Forever.

He stared after her. She was right, one dance, one kiss would never be enough with Celia. He was an idiot to have believed that for so much as an instant.

But then stupidity seemed to have become part of his nature of late. Since he’d met Celia, since he’d met Katherine, he’d done one ill-advised thing after another. But the most insane act of all still lay ahead. And that he could do something about.

Resolve swept through him and he started toward the ballroom. If Ned hadn’t yet come up with an idea to save Henry from this wedding, Henry would have to beg off. He was not going to sacrifice the rest of his life to a stupid mistake. After tonight, after everything Katherine had revealed, going through with the wedding would be absurd. Living with himself after going back on his word wouldn’t be nearly as hard as living with Katherine. Celia might never understand but then he suspected he had already lost her. He would be miserable enough spending the rest of his life without her; he’d prefer not to compound that with a wife he couldn’t abide. Father would have understood—once he met Katherine. Besides, his father never would have encouraged him to keep his commitment to a woman who was only interested in his family connections and his fortune. Father had a name for women like that.