Dare, Lydia - Tall, Dark and Wolfish

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    Tall, Dark and Wolfish
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"You still want her."

Ben's head shot up. "Of course I do. I'm simply not sure I'm capable of… loving her." His eyes rose to meet Will's. He saw no censure in his gaze, thank heavens. No judgment. "I really fouled things up in Brighton."

"Yes, you did."

Will's eyes narrowed, but Ben continued. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

"No one thinks you did. You mustn't blame yourself for being too much of a Lycan. There's no such thing. You simply chose to go to a whore too close to the full moon." He shrugged, as though he'd just solved the riddle to how the universe was created.

"I hurt her," Ben said quietly.

"It wasn't something she didn't recover from. You scraped up her back with your fingernails and got too rough with her. I'm sure she's had worse happen in her line of work. Simon settled a tidy sum on her, by the way, so she's quite happy with the way things turned out."

"I didn't mean her." Ben let his voice trail off and refused to look up at Will.

"Then who the bloody hell did you hurt?" The dawning of recognition passed over his face. "You hurt

Elspeth

?" Will gasped.

Ben nodded as he picked at a fingernail.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Will bit out, syllable by syllable.

"I got too rough with her," Ben said as he buried his head in his hands. "If I allow myself to love her, it will mean nothing but trouble for her."

"Something tells me she's not going to settle for that. You'll work it out. The two of you, together. Talk to her. She'll understand and will probably welcome you with open arms, no matter how

stupid

you are."

Ben picked up a heavy wolf paperweight and threw it at Will's head. It was a shame the man moved so quickly to avoid it.

"Charming as ever," Will laughed. "May I offer a suggestion?"

As though he could stop him. Ben shrugged, having a go at another fingernail.

"Let nature take its course."

"We can have a good life." Ben nodded his head. "Can't we?" he asked as he looked toward Will. "I can still make her happy. Even though I can't love her."

"Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?" Will asked. He squeezed Ben's shoulder once and walked from the room.

картинка 56

Elspeth wasn't spying. She really wasn't. She just wanted to hear what they were talking about. She would wait one minute longer and then let them know that she stood outside the door to the study.

But then they began to talk about her. Elspeth's heart soared. She had so much love in her heart that she felt like it would burst. He thought she was brilliant. And beautiful.

Her heart suddenly plummeted to the floor. It felt like someone had pulled it from her chest and dropped it at her feet, where it went splat.

He didn't love her. She pressed her hand against her lips to keep from crying aloud. The pain of hearing that was nearly unbearable. Tears formed in her eyes and began to trail down her cheeks.

She heard every word he said and heard Will's responses. Ben planned to settle for her, even though he didn't love her. She couldn't let him waste his life when he could be out looking for his true love.

Elspeth's life had never been easy. She didn't know why she'd ever expected to meet a nice man, fall in love, and marry. She was too much like her mother.

She knew what she had to do. She had to give him his freedom. He'd brought her to London, and she owed him a great deal for his trouble. It would break her heart, but she wouldn't keep him trapped.

Elspeth turned to walk away from the door and heard the hiss of a whisper. "Tsk, tsk. Listening at doorways is so unladylike," Will said.

She brushed her hands across her cheeks and squared her stance. "I wasna eavesdroppin'."

"Sure you were," Will said, pulling her into the front sitting room. "And you probably heard more than you wanted." He handed her a handkerchief and motioned toward a chair. "Sit, please."

She paced across the room.

"Or not," he mumbled. "Look, Ben doesn't know what he's saying. Give him a little time."

She'd never known Ben to say something untruthful. He knew exactly what he had told his brother. He didn't love her. And he never would—not if he didn't now, after all they'd been through together. And she couldn't stand around and watch him, knowing what wasn't in his heart.

"Elspeth," Will began softly.

She turned to face him quickly. "Do ye ken Major Forster?"

Will's eyes narrowed. "Yes, he's an old friend of our father's, and I help him out with the Society."

Perfect. She wouldn't have to see Ben, then. "Can

ye

take me ta him?"

"I think this is something Ben should be discussing with you." Will turned to walk away.

"Please, Will," she begged, following after him.

"I can't," he said, holding up his hands. "It's not my place."

"If ye doona take me, I'll simply go by myself," she threatened, though she didn't know how to go about doing so.

"I hate it when women do that."

"Do what?"

"Manipulate us," Will bit out.

"Doona consider it ta be manipulation," she argued. "Just a bit of assistance gettin' ye ta where ye should be." She smiled at him.

He had the nerve to roll his eyes at her. "I can go in two hours. Can you be ready by then?"

"Of course." She would need to leave a few things for Ben and write a note. She'd leave the aloe and the blueberry tea. And she would instruct his cook to make blueberry pies, tarts, and cobblers. There were a lot of things she had to do. She'd also leave the final potion. The one he'd need if he didn't change with the next moon. According to her mother's notes, she'd used the same and it had worked.

She had to leave Ben well prepared for the moonful. Because when she left, she wouldn't be coming back.

Forty-one

Will pounded on Ben's door. If his idiot brother didn't come to his senses soon, he'd lose his wife. And that was a loss Will doubted Ben would ever recover from. Personal experience had taught him that.

He'd watched Ben and Elspeth the fortnight they traveled together, and it would be obvious to the simplest of simpletons that the two of them loved each other deeply. But apparently Benjamin was completely inept.

When there was no answer to his banging, Will pushed the door open and found Ben lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "You obviously can't take a hint. Go away."

"Stop being obstinate, Benjamin. I need to talk to you about Elspeth."

Ben winced. "I'm not taking advice from you, so you can save your breath."

Will heaved a sigh. Why did he even bother? Ben was as stubborn as all the Westfields before him. He'd always had to learn things the hard way and never did listen to reason. "When you've lost her, don't come running to me."

Ben scoffed. "Nothing can change the fact that she's my wife, William. Melodrama doesn't suit you."

The hard way it was, then. Will rubbed his brow. This would be painful for all involved. Poor Elspeth. How could she even care for the bloody dolt? "Don't say I didn't warn you."

картинка 57

Canis House was in the middle of nowhere. Elspeth and Will had taken horses from the Westfield stables and ridden quite a way from Town into a heavily forested area. Only a small path led to a large Tudor mansion that stood proudly in the distance. A great stone wolf guarded the entrance. It was a bit awe-inspiring.

"That's it?" Elspeth asked, knowing the answer in her heart.

Will nodded. "You're not supposed to go in. It's a gentleman's club. Wait just inside the entrance, and I'll go find the major."

"Are ye sure he's here?"

"He's always here." Will urged his horse toward the stables around the back, and Elspeth followed.

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