Read Online Pirate's Golden Promise by Lynette Vinet - Free Book Online

me.” Lucy was laughing so hard that tears coursed down her cheeks. “I’ve finally bested her, and father can no longer help her. I’ve won! I’ve finally won!”

    A silence hung over the drawing room, thicker than the fogs that swept down from the hills on cold nights. Wynter stood by the window and gazed at the tranquil early morning scene of sheep as they munched the grass below the mountain range. Within her, turmoil reigned.
    She dropped the heavy damask drape she held back and faced Adam and Debra. Adam had the good grace to flush, while Debra sipped a sherry, a first for her since she hated liquor of any kind. But then today was a special day. Lucy had married Adam.
    â€œYou’re to be congratulated. Both of you. I feel very foolish, very stupid,” Wynter told them and managed to hold back her tears. Rage overwhelmed her, saving her from making a complete fool of herself.
    â€œWynter.” Adam came towards her, but Debra’s voice stopped him in mid-stride.
    â€œPlease don’t make the situation more unbearable for Wynter by comforting her. After all, Lucy is your wife now.”
    â€œWynter deserves an explanation,” he said harshly, and Debra’s eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch.
    She placed her sherry glass on the desk and stood up. “Yes, I think she does. I’ll leave you to explain it all to her.”
    When Debra closed the door behind her, Adam leapt forward and ensnared Wynter in his arms. “You must believe I love you, that I can never love Lucy!”
    Wynter pushed at him, but he refused to budge. “You married her!”
    â€œI did. I had to, because of your father’s will.”
    â€œThe will? What about it?”
    Adam sighed. “I wished I didn’t have to tell you, but I suppose it’s better to hear it from me than from Debra. I married Lucy because of her inheritance.”
    â€œAdam, I have an inheritance, too.”
    He groaned her name, then looked levelly at her. “No, my darling, you don’t. You’re illegitimate. I’m sure your father intended to provide for you, but he never had the time to make out a proper will. He must not have realized how serious his health problems were and thought he’d be alive a long time. In fact, I think he probably would have settled something upon you when we married. He loved you very much.” Adam sadly shook his head. “Whatever you get will be because of Debra’s charity. Lucy is your father’s heir. Not you. The inheritance is the reason I married her.”
    The blood seemed to drain from Wynter, and though she detested Adam’s hands upon her then, she needed him to hold her up. She felt suddenly very weak. “I can’t believe any of this.”
    â€œNeither can I,” he said. “Lucy is such a plain, dull creature.”
    Thoughts whirled in her head. Her father had left her nothing, not a tuppence, and Adam, the man she loved, had betrayed her with her own sister. Oh, how triumphant Debra and Lucy must be! She had nothing to call her own, not even the roof over her head. If she hadn’t felt so devastated, she’d have laughed at the irony of it. She had been her father’s pet, his pride and joy, the light of his life, but he had not made arrangements for her future. Lucy had gotten it all!
    The anger built within her until she unleashed it, freeing her from her shocked state. “So, Adam, you married Lucy for her money.”
    â€œI had to. The creditors are hounding me like the devil. Try to understand.”
    â€œBut I do understand!” She managed to pull roughly away from him, his touch disgusted her. “You had your choice of either of us, but you chose Lucy because she now holds the purse strings. You’re a despicable human being! How could I have thought I loved you?”
    Adam imprisoned her in his arms again, pleading with her. “You don’t mean that, my darling. Things