Free Blood Lust by Jamie Salsibury

disbelief. “Dear God.”
    “None of his endeavors produced any return. In business he is an utter failure. If you marry him, you will be risking your fortune in the hands of a man who most likely will see it ruined.”
    She sat back down on the sofa, her face even white than before. “I cannot believe it.” She shook her head and began to laugh, thinking of Benjamin, the marriage that she thought would have saved her.
    William watched as her laughter turned into tears. The duke was marrying her for her money! She started laughing even harder. She was laughing so hard she could no longer see for the tears.
    “Stop it,” William said, but she only laughed harder. “Stop it, I said!” He jerked her off the sofa, and startled her into silence.
    “Ah, Katherine. . .” William pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. “He didn’t deserve you.”
    She cried even harder, sliding her arms around his neck, clinging to him.
    “It’s all right,” he said. “You’ll find someone else to marry, and he’ll be a far better man.”
    She listened to him, but it was his touch and the gentle tone in his voice that seeped through her despair.
    The tightness in her throat began to ease and the tears dried up. Slowly she eased herself away.
    “I’m sorry. It wasn’t just the duke and my failed marriage plans. It was a bit of everything.”
    He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his fingers. “It’s all right. You’ll be home soon and you’ll be able to put this all behind you.”
    Katherine nodded, however, she ached with the knowledge of all she had lost. Everything wouldn’t be all right. Unless she found another man to marry, one with money enough to clear her estate’s debts, it would never be all right. She fought the urge to cry. She wished more than ever that she could go home.

Chapter Six
     
    The last two days passed slowly and without incident. William thought that perhaps he should have told Katherine the truth about Benjamin from the start of this ordeal. But then, she probably would not have believed him, at least in the beginning.
    But she knew the truth now, at least part of it, and she seemed to believe him. She had accepted his promise that he would take her to Sussex Manor and promised she would stay in the cottage until the day they were to leave.
    Their truce in place, he gave her more freedom by letting her go outside to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. She seemed happier, watching deer in the meadow or walking beside the brook that flowed next to the cottage.
    She had resigned herself to making the best of the last few days and seemed determined to make the most of it, enjoying the country before returning to the structured life she faced at home.
    William himself relaxed a little, letting his guard down a little more than he should have. Once as he finished chopping wood, he looked at the low hanging sun and realized that she had been gone for more than an hour. He set off to find her, worried she might have run away after all, his mind racing as he tried to decide which route she might have taken.
    He found her to his great relief in the stable.
    “There you are.” Approaching the stall where he spotted her, he leaned his elbows on the top rail and looked down at her. “I thought you might have decided to leave.”
    She sat cross-legged in the fresh straw, where two puppies snuggled contently in her lap.
    Katherine looked at him, unruffled by the light edge to his voice. “I took you at your word that you would see me home. I gave you mine in return. I do not break my promises.”
    Somehow he knew that she would not break her promise. He relaxed now, enjoying the way she looked sitting there with the puppies. “I see you have some new friends.”
    She smiled. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
    He said nothing, finding it difficult to concentrate, finding her a sight to look at.
    “Do you like dogs, my lord?” Her voice brought him back to reality.
    “Yes, yes I