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words, but this is Washington, you forget—there are few secrets.”
    She sighed in acknowledgement. “It
was established generations ago. It states that she must marry a man her father
approves of and that she must be a virgin to inherit Briar Cliff, the estate
that has passed down in her mother’s family for generations.” She held her hand
up when Jared would have protested. “It’s entirely legal, Jared, I checked this
myself. Her father enforces an exam every three months to ensure that she’s
fulfilling the terms of the trust. It’s all entirely legal and unbreakable. In
five years, the conditions of the Trust will become null and void. If there is
no female child, or the female child has lost her virginity and not married
with the approval of the father, signed and notated before the Trust lawyers,
then Briar Cliff reverts completely to the oldest male heir or to the father.
If neither father nor surviving male heir is in existence, then and only then,
does it revert to the female child unconditionally. Daniel is determined that
she will marry a man who can restrain her passions, not someone who will
encourage them.”
    Rage tightened his chest, clenched
his jaw as he stared back at her. The bitterness in her gaze, the pain in her
voice was beginning to make sense now. He had hoped, hell, prayed that the
information he had been given at The Club had been wrong. Though he had
suspected it wasn’t.
    “Why did you marry this…” he bit
off the words with a snap of his teeth, “…person?”
    A soft smile curved her lips as he
covered the more explicit terms he would have used.
    “Really, Jared, my marriage to
Daniel has nothing to do with his relationship to his daughter. Though I was
unaware of the conflicts between them at the time.” She shook her head as she
wrapped her fingers around her cup, staring into the remains of her coffee
pensively. “It pains him, the distance between him and Kimberly, but he does
what he feels is right. And the terms of the Trust were not his doing. It was
done five generations ago by a strict, straight-laced mother who entirely
disapproved of what she called the ‘unnatural’ desires of the females of her
family. She was determined that her ancestors would comport themselves with all
respectability, and she made it stick.”
    Jared breathed in roughly as he
began to suspect the obstacles that now stood in the way of possessing the
woman his heart seemed attached to.
    “If it pained him, he would do
something to right the situation, such as allowing her to marry someone she
cares for rather than someone he chooses.” He restrained the fury burning in
his gut. “Are you aware he considers me unacceptable as a husband to his
daughter?”
    Why he had bothered to approach the
Senator that morning he still wasn’t certain. He hadn’t formally stated an
intention to marry Kimberly, but he had been curious as to the qualifications
the Senator approved.
    Carolyn’s lips thinned with
carefully controlled anger. The news didn’t sit well with her any more than it
had with him.
    “I understand why he feels that
way,” she surprised him with her statement. “Wait, Jared.” She shook her head
when he opened his mouth to argue. “As you said, this is Washington, there are
few secrets that aren’t told in glistening detail. The rumors of The Club, the
Trojans, and their lifestyle have been prevalent in the past year or so. Your
name was linked to it no sooner had you joined. Daniel considers The Club and
its members, the epitome of what he’s determined to save his daughter from.”
    Jared rubbed his hand over his face
wearily. Some people couldn’t keep their mouths shut if their lives depended on
it. In this case, a bitter divorce and a less than sober ex-wife had broken the
secret of the exclusive men’s club to a society that soaked up the rumors.
    “His daughter’s sexuality isn’t his
business,” he growled.
    “No more than yours is my
business,” she pointed