Chapter Ten
Simon
Simon leaned against the edge of the desk, his arm crossing over his chest as he waited for Penelope to obey his command. She was literally trembling as she stood before him. In the hollow of her throat, her pulse fluttered as if it were a butterfly trapped just beneath the creamy white skin.
“Penelope.”
Although he was holding onto his temper by a mere thread, he intentionally kept his voice soft. However, if she continued refusing his orders, he would take matters into his own hands and hope he could restrain himself from harming her.
Penelope sighed softly, scuffed her toe across the intricate pattern in the rug beneath her feet, and finally tilted her chin upward just high enough to meet his gaze.
It was startling how green her eyes were.
Deep pools of mossy green, speckled with pinpoints of burnished gold, were framed by thick, dark eyelashes as she stared back.
Full and pouty, her pink lips parted as she waited for him to speak.
A single tear sparkled like a rare diamond on the curve of one high cheekbone.
Simon restrained himself from wiping it away.
“I want answers to the questions I have for you.” Simon waited until she bobbed her head in a slight nod before continuing. “Have you been hiding inside this house for the past month? Even during the renovations that were recently completed?”
A few seconds passed, and she nodded again.
“Where did you sleep?” He all but growled, wondering how often she invaded those spaces he considered private.
How many times had she ventured into the master’s bedchambers?
Had she dared sleep in his own damn bed without his awareness?
Could that account for the sweet scent of her perfume that seemed to linger in every corner of his home?
Penelope replied in a small voice, “A guestroom on the third floor, at first. But I, uh, recently moved to a room in the servants’ quarters.”
Simon already knew the answer to the following question that wasn’t really a question but rather a statement.
Would she tell the truth regarding the servants’ involvement in this elaborate deception?
Or would she lie to him? “And my servants, they all agreed to lend assistance when it came to concealing you.” By the way her jaw tightened, he knew she was considering just how far she could go with her explanations.
Penelope’s jaw tightened, but she surprised him by meeting his gaze. Her chin lifted. “Do you intend on dismissing the staff?”
Simon clenched his teeth at the challenge her words contained. “I most likely shall. I expect those in my employment to be at least somewhat loyal.”
“But they are not in your employ,” Penelope stated, cheeks flushing scarlet red at her own boldness. “Their wages have been paid until the end of this month by your father, and your sister has generously paid for my maid’s services out of her own pocket.”
“Is that so?” Simon replied quietly, a reluctant smile tipping the corners of his mouth upward. “Then I shall dismiss them all at the end of the month.”
Penelope sucked in a breath, her features revealing she expected him to give such an answer.
She was such a curious puzzle of contradictions, Simon mused.
Shy and reticent, with a thread of steel lacing her persona.
He suddenly wanted to melt that steel with a sweep of his fingers.
The slide of his tongue. The stroke of his body over hers.
A strange sense of something that might have been possessiveness had taken root inside him along with his fury.
It was not welcomed, but he found himself unable to push it away.
“We are to marry, is that correct, my lord?” she inquired softly in an abrupt change of the subject at hand.
For a moment, Simon did not reply. Then, unable to conceal the resentment in his tone, he grunted, “We have no choice in the matter.”
Penelope plucked at the skirt of her plain gown. “Where shall I live once that occurs?”
Simon leaned forward, immensely gratified when she retreated a step. Her cheeks flushed pink again, obviously in dismay at her own show of fear. The way she referred to herself as singular in this mess made his skin feel tight.
“You will live where I live.” His smile was almost a sneer.
“If you think I shall let you escape to a quiet life in one of my country houses, you are mistaken. No, you shall remain in London for the rest of the season. Here at Camden House with me. Every ball, every party, every social gathering I attend, you will be at my side.” He advanced upon her, closing the small gap between their bodies.
“And as my wife, you will be available to me in any manner I so choose. Because you see, my sweet little mouse, I am a firm believer in faithfulness. Since I will no longer be able to pursue my pleasure in the manner I’ve become accustomed to over the years, it will become your duty to serve me while I suffer the restrictions of fidelity forced upon me with our union. ”
Penelope’s lovely eyes widened, the green irises turning darker with fear. “I don’t understand your meaning, Lord Camden.”
“Don’t you?” Simon chuckled darkly. He now stood so close that he could see the faint smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
The dusting of dark-gold marks was most fascinating.
Why had he never noticed them before today?
Because she is a virginal debutante, you reprobate.
And you’ve made it your life’s mission to avoid women like her.
Shaking away his internal thoughts, Simon continued in a silky voice.
“You will warm my bed, of course. And I shall avail myself of your body whenever and however I choose. That is the price you pay for becoming my wife.” Reaching out, he lifted a lock of her hair, rubbing the silky strands between his fingers.
“Then there is the punishment I will exact for the deception that unfortunately led to our upcoming nuptials. I will decide upon the method later, but rest assured, you will pay dearly for it, Miss True.”
Penelope’s breathing increased, but outwardly her demeanor was calm and collected.
“Emily told me that I have recently gained an inheritance that is relatively significant.” She deliberately brushed aside Simon’s warning, steering the conversation toward a topic he wasn’t fully prepared to confront. “What is to be done with it?”
During the marriage negotiations, it became painfully clear that Lord and Lady True cared only for their own financial advantage.
They fought bitterly to keep Penelope’s new fortune for themselves, but Simon believed it was too generous a reward for their cruelty toward their own daughter.
Though he had no wish to marry Penelope, he could not condone her mistreatment by those meant to protect her.
“I’ve decided it shall be placed in an account solely set up for your personal use.
With my oversight, of course.” He smiled again, pushing forward one step at a time as she slowly backed away in a subtle retreat.
Eventually, there was nowhere else she could go as he cornered her against the wall near the study’s door.
His hands braced themselves against the wall, bracketing her head and trapping her where she stood.
“I’d be within my rights to recoup the funds your parents demanded to cover both the expense of finding you and the broken engagement with Lord Grant, but I will not do that.
I prefer to seek repayment using more enjoyable methods.
” His nose brushed hers as he breathed her in.
She smelled divine. Lavender perfume with subtle vanilla notes.
The scent reminded him that she’d been inside his home this entire time.
All those instances when he wondered if he was losing his mind.
That first night he’d slept in his new home, the night he believed someone hovered over him as he drifted into unconsciousness.
There was the morning he invaded the kitchens, chasing that scent of lavender.
And he could not forget those predawn hours when he stood in a silent library, wondering if he was pursuing a ghost.
Simon’s jaw tightened with resolve. He would address every single one of those transgressions at a later date.
Penelope again ignored his overt warning, even as she trembled in the cage he’d created.
“The money will be mine? Then you should know that I shall immediately rehire any staff you dismiss using those funds. As the lady of the house, it is my right to hire the servants I want. Including my personal maid.”
“If you wish.” Simon’s eyes narrowed at Penelope’s cleverness in circumventing his plans. “But I expect something in exchange for my cooperation in the matter.”
“My lord?” Penelope’s breathing was shallow as she stared up at him in confusion. “Other than those funds, I’ve nothing of value to give you.”
She was so small compared to the lean bulk of his toned form.
Simon towered over her, but somehow, their bodies fit together as if crafted for one another.
That little detail pleased him as much as it infuriated him.
This girl was the sole reason for the end of his beloved bachelorhood.
Because of her, that carefree lifestyle was now over.
“A kiss, little mouse. I demand a kiss.” One of Simon’s hands slid down the wall and into her hair, meshing in the silky mass as his fingers curled around the nape of her neck.
“A-a kiss?” she squeaked out in the most adorable manner.
“Yes. A kiss. Now, stand still like a good girl so that I may take what I want. And don’t make a sound unless you want your parents to come crashing through that door in a foolish attempt to rescue you.”