Some Like It Wicked by Teresa Medeiros Read Free Book Online

Hearts are bartered all the time and for far less noble pursuits.”
    “Why don’t you tell me what pursuit could possibly be so noble as to drive a woman like you to storm the walls of a prison to search for a prospective husband?”
    She drew nearer to him, her expression disarmingly earnest. “I want you to escort me to my brother in the Highlands.”
    Simon took a minute to absorb that information. “A simple enough task. Why should it require me to trade one set of shackles for another?”
    “Because I don’t have the means to hire you outright. But I do have a very generous dowry.” She lowered her eyes, her thick lashes casting a shadow on her cheeks. “A dowry that’s just been doubled by my uncle in his desperation to be rid of me.”
    “Was this before or after he found out you were going to Newgate to look for a husband?”
    She gave him a reproachful look. “He doesn’t know I’m here. No one does.”
    Simon held her gaze without blinking, watching color creep higher in her cheeks as she realized what a dangerous admission she had just made. She had risked not only her reputation but her virtue itself by allowing the gaoler to lock her in the cell with him. For all she knew, he was the sort of heartless blackguard who could have her beneath him on the settee with one hand up her skirts and the other clapped over her mouth before she could so much as draw breath to scream. Not that anyone in this godforsaken hole would care if she screamed. The men in the common room were more likely to cheer him on while demanding their turn when he was done with her.
    Dragging her gaze away from his with visible difficulty, she began to pace the length of the cell once again, the graceful sway of her hips beneath the scarlet wool of her redingote drawing his jaded eye.
    “I’m willing to split half the dowry with you,” she informed him, speaking as if he’d already been fool enough to accept her offer. “After you’ve escorted me to my brother, you can return to England. The money should be more than enough to settle your debts and still leave you with a tidy little profit.”
    He cocked one eyebrow. “For gambling and wenching?”
    “If that’s how you choose to squander it,” she replied with acid sweetness.
    “How is it going to look when I abandon my beloved bride in the wilds of the Highlands and return to London to resume my debauched ways?”
    Her snort was less than ladylike. “You weren’t concerned with appearances last summer when you stripped off all your clothes and went swimming in Lady Abercrombie’s goldfish pond during the middle of her afternoon soiree, were you? But have no fear. I’ve prepared for all eventualities. Once you return to London, I will petition for an annulment. I doubt another scandal will tarnish your reputation. I’ll be the only one running the risk of ruin.”
    “You’re already running the risk of ruin,” he gently reminded her. “And I hate to point this out, but the only way to obtain an annulment would be to prove that we are actually brother and sister, which is impossible, or that I was incapable of performing my marital duties to your satisfaction.”
    “Which I’m sure you believe is equally impossible,” she finished dryly.
    He let his shrug speak for him.
    “That’s precisely my point, Mr. Wescott. If I make such a claim to obtain an annulment, I’ll be the laughingstock of London, not you. You, on the other hand, will be free to go back to devoting your days—and nights—to proving me a liar.”
    She had finally drawn near enough for him to snag her hand. He tugged her closer, forcing her to look at him and see that the teasing light had completely gone out of his eyes. “Once you’re my wife in the eyes of the law, why should I settle for half your dowry? What’s to stop me from absconding with every penny of it and leaving you abandoned and destitute?”
    She blinked down at him. “Why, your word, of course.”
    Simon couldn’t