The Persuasion of Molly O'Flaherty by Sierra Simone Read Free Book Online

much as I hated this man, as much as I resented the other men who had invested in my father’s company, perhaps something had happened to change his mind. Perhaps they had found a new heiress to torture or perhaps they’d realized I would still find a way to run the company the way I wished, even with a husband.
    Not for the first time, I cursed myself for not having the money to purchase as many shares as possible. But a few years ago, I had sunk most of my money into long-term land investments in America and Australia, all of which were doing quite well, but by the time I withdrew my earnings and tried to buy out the shares, it would be too late and the deadline for my marriage would have passed. And even if I could, I knew the board members would not sell their shares to me, out of avarice or spite or some combination of both.
    I should have been buying shares all along , I thought regretfully, and not for the first time. If I owned the majority of the shares, I wouldn’t stand to lose so much when other people sold theirs.
    “I’m afraid I still want you to get married,” Mr. Cunningham said, interrupting my internal cycle of hope and regret. “Just to forestall whatever you might be thinking.” Light glinted off his wedding band, and again, my sadistic memory dredged up the way it had looked in the candlelight of his room that night. The way it had looked covered in my blood and his semen when he’d shoved his fingers inside of me to confirm that yes, my hymen was well and truly gone.
    My face burned with anger and my hands balled in my skirts, but I managed to keep my voice cold. Sneering, even. “I didn’t dare to hope for anything of the sort, Mr. Cunningham. Please proceed; I have many other things I need to accomplish today.”
    “Very well then.” He leaned back and uncrossed his legs. “I know how much you despise this parade of suitors marching through your door and crowding you at parties. I know you hate the idea of getting married and would like to have this matter settled as soon as possible. Which is why I have selected a suitor for you. He is willing, he is powerful, and he has the board’s full approval. You will marry him and assume your proper role as a wife, and we will keep our shares, and everybody will live happily ever after.”
    “What,” I asked, my voice icy, “makes you think I’d even be willing to consider someone of your choosing?”
    “Frankly, Miss O’Flaherty, the board is being very magnanimous here: this gentleman is already a good friend of yours—and if I’m reading things correctly, he’s sometimes been more than a good friend. He approached the board and has told us in good faith that he will assist us in our cares.”
    A good friend. My mind flashed to Silas and something in my chest squeezed. He’d said he’d playact with me in order to convince the board that I was doing his bidding; was this part of that? Had he already begun his pursuit of me? And why did that make me feel so light-headed and breathless?
    “Who is it?” I demanded.
    Mr. Cunningham dusted a speck of lint from his trousers. “Viscount Beaumont, Hugh Calvert.”
    “Hugh.” Disappointment deflated me, helplessness streamed through my blood.
    Hugh.
    Hugh had approached the board, not Silas.
    What did you expect? You know you can’t count on Silas for anything. You can’t trust him.
    I forced myself to think clear-headedly. To be pragmatic. “Viscount Beaumont has already offered his hand to me.”
    “Splendid!” Mr. Cunningham said. “Well, perhaps I am late with this news then. When shall you be delivering your acceptance to him?”
    Pragmatic Molly cautioned me to keep the hot, angry words from spilling out, words that would tell Frederick Cunningham exactly how long it would take me to deliver my acceptance to any man, which would be when hell froze over, thawed and then froze again.
    No, Pragmatic Molly recognized that she’d already given Hugh’s offer serious consideration.