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.“My compliments, sir.You have the memory of an elephant or so it seems,” she pressed out, her words barely void of the unladylike growl she felt.Reinier tried to hide his amusement behind his hand, elbow braced on the table.Either he’d been in the sun on deck of his precious ship for too long and was suffering from the consequences of serious sunstroke, or he had become a little daft through the years.Why wasn’t it getting through to him that she didn’t want him here?“By the way, I have asked Captain Blanc to see you off at the docks whenever you’re ready to depart.”Rolling his lips under, Reinier only busied himself with his own napkin.A strange, unpleasantly cool sensation skittered down her nape.Just as Emiline was about to demand he disclosed his thoughts, the servants entered and set breakfast.There was no need for them to witness a scene, because if she spoke now, she knew she wouldn’t be able to control her temper, and she and Reinier would end up having a nasty argument.She never raised her voice in front of the servants, and she wouldn’t let him make her do so now.He wasn’t worth it.As soon as they’d left, however, Emiline let all the contempt for him fill her glare, but his cold, calculating stare stole her thunder.“I have to say your wish to be rid of me again so quickly has me concerned.” Reinier’s face was void of any expression, his voice callous.The contrast to his amiability before was chilling to the bone.“Emiline, could it be there’s something you’re trying to hide?”Heart hammering in her throat, she swallowed hard.She needed to remain calm.“Hiding?” Emiline cocked her head.“What on earth would I have to hide? And from whom? You—someone who hasn’t stepped foot on Ronde for four years?” She shook her head with a derisive bark of laughter.“Why would I bother?”Leaning his head back a little, his eyes narrowed.Emiline drummed on the wood of the table with her forefinger.“But more to the point: Why have you bothered coming here?”Reinier averted his eyes and licked his lips.He gave a bored shrug and stirred his coffee.Yes, she had him now.Her heart was pumping so hard with the certainty that he was going to admit it was a mistake, perhaps even ask her forgiveness…He met her eyes straight on.“Frankly, I was a little bored.And Connor was otherwise occupied, so I thought why not come here for a bit of fun, she is my wife, after all.”Reinier saw it snap, the last straw that held her calm, dignified carriage together.Throwing her napkin on the table with a little too much force, the smile she gave him was brittle.“Well, then, Monsieur Barhydt, I think I might have just the excitement a savvy businessman like yourself would be interested in.”Very promising.Indeed, something in the way she’d called him “Monsieur” struck him in a very interesting way.There were possibilities in that.Reinier marveled at her spirit, truly admired her strength.What a worthy opponent she was in their joust.But he knew he’d win this tournament of words.He uncrossed and recrossed his legs, leaning back in his chair, feeling comfortable and infinitely smug.“Do tell, madam.”She inhaled deeply through her nose.“Since I’ve been running Bougainvilla on my own these past years, rather successfully I might add, and you’ve shown no interest, I thought it only practical and fair that we make our separate lives official.That way I can legally have full control of what I’m already managing, and you can carry on just as you’ve been doing—with ample compensation to you, of course.”Reinier waited to see if she remembered to breathe.“Spell it out, Emiline.What precisely do you want?”She wrinkled her nose as if she were disgusted talking to him.“Fine.I want to be free of you.I want you to give up all rights to the property and to me.In short, I want a divorce.”“Give up all my rights to my property? To all of my property? Including you?”Emiline nodded once.“That is highly unlikely.”Lips grim, she narrowed her eyes at him.“Perhaps you failed to hear me correctly.I am willing to pay very handsomely to finally be rid of you.”Reinier shrugged again.“No.”“What?”“No, I’m not interested in your proposal.”She blanched.“Why not? You obviously don’t want me—” Reinier clicked his tongue at that.She had no idea how much he wanted her, but she’d see soon enough.“Besides,” Emiline went on, her tone slightly sullen.“You haven’t even heard exactly how much I’m offering.”“It doesn’t matter.I don’t want or need your money.”“What, then?” she snapped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.“My compliments, sir.You have the memory of an elephant or so it seems,” she pressed out, her words barely void of the unladylike growl she felt.Reinier tried to hide his amusement behind his hand, elbow braced on the table.Either he’d been in the sun on deck of his precious ship for too long and was suffering from the consequences of serious sunstroke, or he had become a little daft through the years.Why wasn’t it getting through to him that she didn’t want him here?“By the way, I have asked Captain Blanc to see you off at the docks whenever you’re ready to depart.”Rolling his lips under, Reinier only busied himself with his own napkin.A strange, unpleasantly cool sensation skittered down her nape.Just as Emiline was about to demand he disclosed his thoughts, the servants entered and set breakfast.There was no need for them to witness a scene, because if she spoke now, she knew she wouldn’t be able to control her temper, and she and Reinier would end up having a nasty argument.She never raised her voice in front of the servants, and she wouldn’t let him make her do so now.He wasn’t worth it.As soon as they’d left, however, Emiline let all the contempt for him fill her glare, but his cold, calculating stare stole her thunder.“I have to say your wish to be rid of me again so quickly has me concerned.” Reinier’s face was void of any expression, his voice callous.The contrast to his amiability before was chilling to the bone.“Emiline, could it be there’s something you’re trying to hide?”Heart hammering in her throat, she swallowed hard.She needed to remain calm.“Hiding?” Emiline cocked her head.“What on earth would I have to hide? And from whom? You—someone who hasn’t stepped foot on Ronde for four years?” She shook her head with a derisive bark of laughter.“Why would I bother?”Leaning his head back a little, his eyes narrowed.Emiline drummed on the wood of the table with her forefinger.“But more to the point: Why have you bothered coming here?”Reinier averted his eyes and licked his lips.He gave a bored shrug and stirred his coffee.Yes, she had him now.Her heart was pumping so hard with the certainty that he was going to admit it was a mistake, perhaps even ask her forgiveness…He met her eyes straight on.“Frankly, I was a little bored.And Connor was otherwise occupied, so I thought why not come here for a bit of fun, she is my wife, after all.”Reinier saw it snap, the last straw that held her calm, dignified carriage together.Throwing her napkin on the table with a little too much force, the smile she gave him was brittle.“Well, then, Monsieur Barhydt, I think I might have just the excitement a savvy businessman like yourself would be interested in.”Very promising.Indeed, something in the way she’d called him “Monsieur” struck him in a very interesting way.There were possibilities in that.Reinier marveled at her spirit, truly admired her strength.What a worthy opponent she was in their joust.But he knew he’d win this tournament of words.He uncrossed and recrossed his legs, leaning back in his chair, feeling comfortable and infinitely smug.“Do tell, madam.”She inhaled deeply through her nose.“Since I’ve been running Bougainvilla on my own these past years, rather successfully I might add, and you’ve shown no interest, I thought it only practical and fair that we make our separate lives official.That way I can legally have full control of what I’m already managing, and you can carry on just as you’ve been doing—with ample compensation to you, of course.”Reinier waited to see if she remembered to breathe.“Spell it out, Emiline.What precisely do you want?”She wrinkled her nose as if she were disgusted talking to him.“Fine.I want to be free of you.I want you to give up all rights to the property and to me.In short, I want a divorce.”“Give up all my rights to my property? To all of my property? Including you?”Emiline nodded once.“That is highly unlikely.”Lips grim, she narrowed her eyes at him.“Perhaps you failed to hear me correctly.I am willing to pay very handsomely to finally be rid of you.”Reinier shrugged again.“No.”“What?”“No, I’m not interested in your proposal.”She blanched.“Why not? You obviously don’t want me—” Reinier clicked his tongue at that.She had no idea how much he wanted her, but she’d see soon enough.“Besides,” Emiline went on, her tone slightly sullen.“You haven’t even heard exactly how much I’m offering.”“It doesn’t matter.I don’t want or need your money.”“What, then?” she snapped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]