Read Online Julia London by Wicked Angel The Devil's Love - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Wicked Angel The Devil's Love
Ads: Link
chest. Without so much as a glance at him, she brushed past him and walked with regal grace to the door. Michael reached it before her and yanked it open, standing in the doorway so that she would have to step around him to quit the room.
She could not resist looking at him. He stared deep into her eyes, and Abbey suddenly knew those piercing gray orbs could see right through her bravado. She raised her chin a notch.
“Think on what I have said, Abigail,” he intoned with a bow.
She bestowed a sufficiently hateful glare on him and snapped, “My name is
Abbey
!” before sweeping out of the room.
Chapter 4
Michael closed the door behind her and stood with his hand on the brass handle for a long moment, commanding himself to get hold of his conflicting emotions while he savored her taste on his lips. He had expected an ugly spinster! A dirty, ragged hellion! Not a woman like
that
.
Angry with himself, Michael marched straight for the sideboard, poured himself a large whiskey, and downed it in two gulps. She was absolutely radiant, and certainly more so than he would have ever dreamed possible.
Very good, Michael. Crush her then lust after her. Very charming
. He turned abruptly and walked to the mantel, deep in thought. He could not forget the look in her eyes when he told her he would not have her under any circumstances. The contagious smile and sparkle in her eye had dimmed rapidly, and he thought he had never seen a more dejected look in his life. But he was determined to feel no pity or esteem for her. He was determined to dissuade her from this ridiculous marriage.
But why, in God’s name, did she have to turn out to be such a beauty?
He unconsciously gripped the back of a wing-backed leather chair and glared into his empty glass.
The circumstances were loathesome at best, and revolting in every way. From the day he had received the papers from Carrington’s solicitor, Mr. Strait, he had been plagued with resentment and fury. Mr. Strait’s letter made it very plain that if Michael refused, he would be breaking a very legal agreement and risk certain lawsuits from half of London. On top of that, Abigail Carrington would lose every penny her father had left her; all but a paltry annuity would go to pay his debts.
Michael could have lived with those two possibilities. He was sure he would be vindicated if he fought the absurd agreement in the courts. If the little beastie lost her money, well, he was sorry for that, and would have settled a sum on her that would at least allow her to live in relative comfort the rest of her days.
What drove him to despair was the reality that in trying to sort through all this mess, he might lose his family’s ancestral home. He could not drag his family’s name through the mud once more.
Moreover, Carrington had partnered with some of the most influential businessmen in England. If they were forced to suffer losses because Michael welched on the agreement, it was
he
who would suffer irreparable harm, even if he won in the courts. No one would do business with him; he would be shunned and his powerful shipping trade could be ruined. He would become a social outcast—again. In short, he would do just as well to leave England altogether and start life anew.
A frown wrinkled the bridge of his nose as he recalled how his own solicitors had confirmed Strait’s interpretation of the legal documents. Resentment still boiled in his veins. Rationally, he understood that he had signed a legally binding document when he was nineteen and had been fully cognizant of what he was doing, even if he had not been fully cognizant of all the consequences. And he further understood that his own father had done his part to make sure Michael would pay all his days. He expected as much from the old man, but not from Carrington. Michael could only assume the captain had nottold him about the debt so that he would be forced to marry the little hellion.
And Carrington had tried to sweeten the
She could not resist looking at him. He stared deep into her eyes, and Abbey suddenly knew those piercing gray orbs could see right through her bravado. She raised her chin a notch.
“Think on what I have said, Abigail,” he intoned with a bow.
She bestowed a sufficiently hateful glare on him and snapped, “My name is
Abbey
!” before sweeping out of the room.
Chapter 4
Michael closed the door behind her and stood with his hand on the brass handle for a long moment, commanding himself to get hold of his conflicting emotions while he savored her taste on his lips. He had expected an ugly spinster! A dirty, ragged hellion! Not a woman like
that
.
Angry with himself, Michael marched straight for the sideboard, poured himself a large whiskey, and downed it in two gulps. She was absolutely radiant, and certainly more so than he would have ever dreamed possible.
Very good, Michael. Crush her then lust after her. Very charming
. He turned abruptly and walked to the mantel, deep in thought. He could not forget the look in her eyes when he told her he would not have her under any circumstances. The contagious smile and sparkle in her eye had dimmed rapidly, and he thought he had never seen a more dejected look in his life. But he was determined to feel no pity or esteem for her. He was determined to dissuade her from this ridiculous marriage.
But why, in God’s name, did she have to turn out to be such a beauty?
He unconsciously gripped the back of a wing-backed leather chair and glared into his empty glass.
The circumstances were loathesome at best, and revolting in every way. From the day he had received the papers from Carrington’s solicitor, Mr. Strait, he had been plagued with resentment and fury. Mr. Strait’s letter made it very plain that if Michael refused, he would be breaking a very legal agreement and risk certain lawsuits from half of London. On top of that, Abigail Carrington would lose every penny her father had left her; all but a paltry annuity would go to pay his debts.
Michael could have lived with those two possibilities. He was sure he would be vindicated if he fought the absurd agreement in the courts. If the little beastie lost her money, well, he was sorry for that, and would have settled a sum on her that would at least allow her to live in relative comfort the rest of her days.
What drove him to despair was the reality that in trying to sort through all this mess, he might lose his family’s ancestral home. He could not drag his family’s name through the mud once more.
Moreover, Carrington had partnered with some of the most influential businessmen in England. If they were forced to suffer losses because Michael welched on the agreement, it was
he
who would suffer irreparable harm, even if he won in the courts. No one would do business with him; he would be shunned and his powerful shipping trade could be ruined. He would become a social outcast—again. In short, he would do just as well to leave England altogether and start life anew.
A frown wrinkled the bridge of his nose as he recalled how his own solicitors had confirmed Strait’s interpretation of the legal documents. Resentment still boiled in his veins. Rationally, he understood that he had signed a legally binding document when he was nineteen and had been fully cognizant of what he was doing, even if he had not been fully cognizant of all the consequences. And he further understood that his own father had done his part to make sure Michael would pay all his days. He expected as much from the old man, but not from Carrington. Michael could only assume the captain had nottold him about the debt so that he would be forced to marry the little hellion.
And Carrington had tried to sweeten the
Similar Books
