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"I will reat deal"
St John hesitated a moment, then stepped farther inside "Did you ever have the misfortune to meet Lord Welton?"
"Once Briefly"
"What do you recall about hi, Colin thought back to the long-ago day "I re he had no ware"
"Bloody hell Nothing like her at all"
"Yet she seems to think they are similar creatures," St Johnmore similar Any action she takes that is prompted by her desires rather than her reason is a suspected weakness"
Colin digested the information carefully With him, Amelia was a creature of passion She always had been But they had been separated at the same time she’d learned of her father’s treacherous nature Certainly the revelation of Welton’s true evil would have changed her, altered her in soirl of old, but she was not that saer He had to take that into consideration
"Ware is the reasonable choice," Colin said, but he no longer thought the earl was the best choice Amelia’s vitality came from the passionate fire within her It needed to be celebrated, as it would be with Colin Not extinguished by the decorum Society would dereed "He is"
The pirateColin with a great deal to consider
Ahly conscious of the fact that Colin took his meal in his room The discussion she’d had with hiave her no rest She was poor co a dark cloud over everyone’s already soet the sight of Colin working in the stable, a station he ht still occupy if he had stayed in her e revelation to her, and she did not knohat to think of it
She retired early and hoped exhaustion would claim her, but fate was not soabout in her bed She finally abandoned the effort and left the confines of her disheveled linens Donning her robe over her night rail, she slipped downstairs to the library
The hour was late, all parties abed, leaving her the massive manse to herself There wereco of aloneness so re stories and tales in her es from favorite books until she found herself at the library
The door was slightly ajar, the flickering light of a blazing fire betraying the presence of someone inside A shiver of awareness coursed over her skin in a wave of gooseflesh, urging her to forsake thoughts of reading and return to the safety of her bed She debated awhy she would proceed when she valued stability so highly
Ever since Colin had returned to her life, she had been acting with reckless disregard for anything but her oants and needs The correlation to her pater could not be ignored, and her jaw clenched with determination It was round her and ate the riot of emotions she did not kno to deal with
She pushed open the door
Entering on silent feet, she noted the shirtsleeve-clad are hand holding a crystal goblet at a careless angle From the darkened color of the skin, she knew she had incorrectly guessed the occupant’s identity, but she did not retreat Solass was held alarmed her The amber liquid inside was tilted perilously close to the ri
The roo with bookcases displaying a mixture of worn volumes and priceless artifacts Overstuffed furniture was scattered around the space, as were many side tables It was a library that was actually used, rather than serving as merely an ostentatious display of wealth Despite the inevitable upco confrontation with the man in the chair, she was soothed by the smells of parchment and leather, and took co and discovery
Aback and found Colin spraithin its cradle, his long legs stretched out to rest his booted feet atop a footstool, his torso sans a coat and waistcoat, his throat bared by acravat He looked at her with heavy-lidded, eoblet to sculpted lips There was a scratch near his brow and a trail of dried blood below it
"What’s wrong?" she asked softly "Hoere you hurt?"
"Stay away," he said in low, rough tone "I am in a dark place, Amelia, and I have consumed more liquor than is wise I cannot say what I will do if you come too close"
Draped on the carved wooden arm of a nearby chair were his waistcoat, coat, and weapons--a so?"
"I have yet to leave" He turned his head to look into the fire
She heard the sadness and despair beneath the words, and her heart hurt for hio out"
"Are you?" Colin’s head turned In the light of the flickering fire, his beautiful face was hard, his dark eyes cold "I am not"
"What could you have done in this condition?"
"There is no reason for me to evade Cartland I should turn myself over to him and spare everyone the jeopardy my presence creates"
"Your life is the reason!" she protested "If you concede, you will die"
A wry sed at the corner of his lips "Without any hope of having you, perhaps such a fate would be ?" She covered her ht the tears that welled
He cursed softly "Go away I am not fit company, as I warned you"
"I am afraid to leave you" She feared that he would do as he threatened and surrender
"No, you are not You already left me, reerous ue She had seen St John in similar moods at ti him out when he was so afflicted
He needs me, Maria would say in explanation