An Heiress for All Seasons by Sophie Jordan

she had fallen for him.
    His wit, his confidence, the kindness in which he dealt with his mother and sister. All of it coupled with the butterflies that erupted in her belly at his very nearness. She supposed that was love. Blast! Of course, it was. For no other reason would she have surrendered so easily to his seduction. For no other reason would she cast aside her dignity and marry a man who wanted her for her fortune. All this she realized, but she held her tongue.
    He moved toward the door, his hard strides biting into the carpet. She blinked back the sudden burn in her eyes.
    At the door to her chamber, he paused and motioned between them. “I won’t say this won’t happen again. It will be a few months until the wedding and I’m not a patient man.” His gaze raked her, and she did not mistake his meaning. He wanted her. He enjoyed her. But for how long?
    How long until the desire he felt for her ebbed? How long after their marriage, her fortune secured in his coffers, until he ceased to want her?
    She nodded, revealing none of her insecurities. Her heart was already bound to him. He did not realize it, but as long as he wanted her, she was his. He need only look at her, touch her, and she would surrender.
    “Of course.” She fixed a smile to her lips. “As you said. Bedding you is no chore.”
    His jaw clenched at the echo of his earlier comment. Without another word, he turned and left the chamber.

C HAPTER E IGHT
----
    “V iolet! Oh, Violet! Wake up!”
    Violet jerked awake at her mother’s ungentle hands.
    “Mama?” She propped up on her elbows on the bed. Early morning sunlight streamed through the window. She frowned, thinking she was usually up at dawn. This was what came of tossing and turning through most of the night.
    Her mother waved a piece of parchment in her face. “This came by special messenger just now.”
    Violet snatched at the missive. “What is it? Is something amiss? Did something happen to Papa?”
    “Oh! Oh!” she huffed. “Something has happened!” She laughed shrilly, pacing beside the bed, her silk skirts swishing. “Something happened indeed!” Casting a look over her shoulder as though she feared someone could be listening, she dropped down on the bed beside Violet. “We’re ruined! We’ve lost everything!” she hissed.
    Violet blinked, the last shred of sleep-induced fog evaporating from her head. “What? How is that possible?”
    “Oh, read! Read for yourself!” Mama motioned to the wrinkled parchment.
    Her gaze lowered to scan the missive. She read the words without comprehending so she read them again. And again.
    She lifted her stare to her mother’s tear-ravaged face. “It’s all gone?” she murmured numbly, her voice whisper-soft.
    “John Weston,” her mother sneered. “You thought him so charming and noble. You and your father both placed such trust in him. Well, he took it all and fled. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, for all the good that will do. He’s probably halfway to the islands by now.”
    Violet’s stomach sank. She pressed a hand there, convinced she would be sick. Mr. Weston embezzled Papa’s fortune? As the implications of this sank in, full understanding dawned. He must have been doing it all along. Perhaps if she had married him, he would have stopped, satisfied that he had married her father’s sole heir, but after she left for England to find a husband, he must have decided to abscond with his ill-gotten gains.
    “Oh dear God! What shall I tell Lady Peregrine?” Mama’s wild gaze darted to Violet, hopeful and beseeching. “Perhaps we can not mention anything and hurry the wedding along—”
    “No,” Violet pronounced, her voice flat and emotionless despite her inner tumult. “We won’t resort to trickery or lies.”
    Her mother’s shoulders slumped. “Very well. I suppose we can’t do that.” Her gaze scanned Violet’s face. “You don’t suppose Merlton would want to marry you anyway? Perhaps he’s