Desire and Deception Read Online Free Page A

"I have made the arrangements for your marriage," he said tersely. "The wedding is to take place shortly after your seventeenth birthday."
    Stunned, Lauren stared at him. She had expected some expression of regret over Miss Foster's death. Perhaps even some effort to explain away the entire thing. But she had certainly not been prepared for this. "Marriage?" she stammered. "But what about Miss Foster?"
    "A sad accident," he admitted.
    "It was not!" Lauren replied in a hoarse voice. "I will not be a part of this deception any longer. It has gone too far."
    Burroughs eyed her coldly, his lips tightening with displeasure. "I realize that you are disturbed, Andrea, so I will overlook this insubordination."
    "You told me Regina wanted the Carlin Line, but you never said she would resort to murder. I won't continue—"
    "That will be quite enough!" The sharpness of his tone silenced Lauren for a moment. Burroughs lowered his voice and went on as if she hadn't spoken, relating the details of her planned marriage. Nobility . . . protect . . . younger son . . . Lord Effing . . . .
    A tightness in Lauren's throat nearly choked her. How she wished that she had never become involved in Burroughs's lies and deceptions. She could stand that droning voice no longer. "You promised I would be free when I was twenty-one," she challenged unwisely.
    A muscle in his jaw hardened, but he ignored her comment. "I had no difficulty finding suitors for your hand—not with the Carlin Line for a dowry. Few men scruple about what sort of bride they are getting when a fortune in ships is at stake. They are even willing to overlook insanity, it seems. Yet I wanted to attract the right kind of man. I am pleased with my choice."
    Lauren shook her head. How could she marry a man she didn't know? How could she draw someone else into a deception that had already resulted in murder? And in any case, she never intended to marry. She would never allow any man the power to hurt her the way her mother had been hurt.
    "The Marquess of Effing is a wealthy man, my dear. The settlements he has promised are more than generous. You will never want for anything once you marry his son. The family is a noble one—"
    "Do not pretend you are doing this for me," Lauren interjected.
    Burroughs's expression turned coldly hostile. "I am doing it for the Carlin Line, since someone must take control when I am gone. And I am doing it to protect you from Regina. This marriage may be the only way to prevent her from locking you away in a madhouse—if she doesn't kill you first!"
    Heedless of his warning tone, Lauren met his damp eyes directly. "You wouldn't care! You wouldn't care what Regina did to me, as long as you could prevent her from having the Carlin ships!"
    Vivid flags of anger rose on Burroughs's cheeks as he glowered at Lauren. He pointed an accusing finger at her, grinding out his words. "I have always, always met my obligation as Jonathan's partner. Even when it came to providing for his bastard daughter!"
    Lauren flinched. Burroughs had never called her a bastard before. He made the word sound like an accusation, as if he would like to punish her for her birth.
    Then he sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "In spite of how it may seem to you, you will discover I have only your best interests at heart."
    Lauren laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, truly? Then perhaps you can tell me what I stand to gain? For me, it will merely be exchanging one jailer for another."
    "It will not be like that."
    "No? How many men do you suppose my new husband will deem adequate to guard me? Ten? Twenty? Is he rich enough to afford the army under your command?"
    "I have told you before . . . my men are only there for your protection."
    "Protection? Miss Foster is dead!"
    "That is enough," he snapped, his face darkening ominously. "You will go to your room where you will consider what I have said."
    "No! You needed me for your grand schemes, but it has gone too far. I am through, do you hear? I