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again.
    Besides, she
woul d never
bring him down in such an inglorious manner. He’d established a
formidable reputation as a man of business prowess. Let the world
believe he’d made a series of ill-timed investments, that fortune
hadn’t been kind to him, but never let the world think Augustus Wright hadn’t a sharp
and brilliant mind.
    Her fingers shaking, she walked
ove r to the
stack of violin cases. She had piled the instruments in the corner
of the room earlier in the day.
    “ What are you doing?” demanded
Rees.
    She opened a case and pulled out a violin.
“I’m going to play for you.”
    “ I’ve not asked you to play
for me.”
    “ But you will.”
    And t he sooner the better. Already
disturbing memories of her father’s failing health crowded her
mind. His physical pains and violent mood shifts. His memory loss
and eventually delusions. And it had all started soon after he’d
found her with Rees.
    She had pushed him into
madness.
    Rees took the violin from her unsure
hands. “What are you hiding, princess?”
    “ Don’t call me that,” she
snapped. “I’m not your princess.”
    Not anymore.
    “ Who are you, then?” he
asked quietly.
    She had wondered that for most of her
life. As a child, the answer had been simple. She was her father’s
daughter, a lady. But as she matured, the simple things in her life
developed thorny branches. Her behavior grew more unladylike,
especially her behavior toward Rees.
    Oh, why had she taunted fate so foolishly,
selfishly, the night she’d gone to him? She had betrayed the two
most important men in her life that day. And she’d lost them
both.
    “ I don’t know who I am,” she answered
truthfully. That much she wouldn’t hide.
    “ You are my
guest .” He
set down the violin. “I’ve advised the staff to do your bidding in
all matters. If you’d like to go shopping, take a maid with you and
charge all accounts to my name. If you’d like to go riding, take a
groomsman with you and enjoy the air in Green Park. But I want you here every
night.”
    “ To play for
you.”
    “ That is our
arrangement.”
    He had finally figured out what
to do with t he “unexpected expense” of her—make her a songbird in a
gilded cage.
    “ I am to stay here, then? In this
room?”
    “ No.” His eyes darkened. “You will have your
own suite of rooms down the hall, just as soon as they are
furnished according to your taste.”
    Emily didn’t know why their
business arrangement disturbed her so much. What more could she
want under the ci rcumstances? And yet she wanted more, craved more.
    She paced from the window back to the
table. The awful reality of being physically bound to him without
shared tenderness made her increasingly restive, desperate for
escape. But a storm raged outdoors, leaving her with one
option.
    “ I’d like to take a walk through the
house.”
    “ You are free to go where you
please.”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ Do not thank
me , prin—” He
paused, then, “Our arrangement is a business deal, and I will
uphold my end of the bargain by taking care of your
needs.”
    And she would do her part by
looking after his, though there’d be no affection between them.
He’d made that perfectly clear.
    Oh, she was a fool! She wanted too much. She
had always wanted too much. And her selfish needs had never done
her any good in the past.
    “ I’m going to take that
walk now.”
    She couldn’t leave the room fast
enough.

CHAPTER
5
     
    Emily explored the majestic brownstone
mansion. She toured the morning room, smoking room, ballroom, even
the music room, but with the exception of the study and kitchen,
there was not a block of furniture in sight.
    She couldn’t imagine why Rees
would purchase a palatial house and leave it empty. He had plenty of money.
He had paid a small fortune for her. So why cocoon himself in just
one room with his music?
    According to the few servants, who had
little instruction from Rees and were like sheep without