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chamber door closed. And he could easily renege on any bargain they made if only because it pleased him. That was the way of the world.
    When she said nothing, his lips pursed. “Come to supper at my mother’s home here in London tomorrow, alone,” he said. “You can meet my family and see we are not ogres, despite the reputation you continue to bring up.”
    “My father will never agree to that,” she said with a shake of her head. “He’ll involve himself in it.”
    Rafe smiled a half-smile and Serafina felt a strange desire to lean in closer. She resisted it with great effort.
    “I’ll make certain your father will allow it,” Rafe said. “I may not have all the power that I desire in this situation, thanks to the contracts my cousin signed. But I assure you, I still have a great deal more than your father does. Will you come?”
    She hesitated. The thought of going to meet Rafe’s family made her stomach hurt. How much more would they hate her than even Cyril’s mother had? After all, they had to believe she had trapped their son into marriage, that she was as grasping as her father was.
    But this was yet another thing she could not avoid.
    She nodded slowly. “If you can arrange it, I will be there. Goodbye, Your Grace.”
    Now it was he who leaned in, his face coming dangerously close to hers. She could feel the whisper of his breath against her cheek.
    “Rafe,” he corrected.
    She blinked. She always thought of him by his Christian name, but to say it…
    “Rafe,” she repeated, her voice breaking.
    His smile broadened. To her surprise, he leaned down and claimed her mouth for the second time. Where the first kiss had been feather-light and gentle, this time his lips were harder against hers, filled with a promise that both frightened and intrigued her.
    But he didn’t force his affections for long. He drew back after just a few seconds of contact.
    “It seems I have a wedding to plan for. Until tomorrow.”
    He released her and turned on his heel to stroll down the walkway to his phaeton. She stared after him, tracking his every move.
    She was so focused on him, in fact, that she didn’t hear her father’s approach at her elbow until he spoke.
    “Well done, Serafina,” he said, and she jumped before she turned to face him. He looked mightily pleased. “He seems smitten.”
    She shook her head as they watched Rafe nudge the horses into movement and ride off down the drive. “I assure you, Papa, it isn’t that way.”
    He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what way it is, as long as he weds you.”
    He turned and left her standing in the doorway, staring at the spot where Rafe had last been, despite the fact that he was long gone now.
    Her mind turned endlessly now that she was alone to consider their encounter. She had been desperate not to marry Cyril. The very idea of it had left her on the edge of desperate acts. But though Rafe was at this point far less cruel, in a way she feared marrying him even more.
    But as had been the motif of her life, she had no choice in the matter.
     

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Chapter Five

     
     
    “You can’t be telling me you actually want to marry this woman,” Crispin sputtered as he slammed his glass of whiskey down on the sideboard and sent amber liquid sloshing across the wood.
    Rafe shook his head. “Of course not.”
    “And yet you do not fight!” his brother blustered as he paced across the parlor, running a hand through his thick, dark blond hair.
    “What would be the point in fighting?” Rafe asked. “You heard what the solicitor said.”
    “Damn the solicitor,” Crispin growled. “He’s an idiot.”
    Rafe pursed his lips. “But Annabelle is not and she said the same thing. Nothing can be done in the end, Crispin. I would either end up in a duel or wasting a good portion of a fortune battling only to end up in the same position as I am now.”
    “Damn it, Rafe,” Crispin said, spinning to spear him again with one of those disapproving looks. It was