Dangerous Joy by Jo Beverley

face her, turning pallid with fear.
    But, damn her paltry spirit, she'd not been able to squeeze the trigger and deprive a man of his life.
    She'd cursed her weakness then, and cursed it now, but it seemed she did not have the nerve for cold-blooded murder.
    Which left only marriage.
    Taking a deep, steadying breath, she sat at her mirror again and rearranged her hair. Then she wiped her face with a cool cloth and went downstairs to attend the closing hour of a truly disastrous evening's entertainment.
    Chapter Seven
    By the next morning, an observer might have assumed that Miles Cavanagh and Felicity Monahan had overindulged in inebriating liquids. In Miles's case, the truth was that he'd hardly slept. Perhaps the shadows under Felicity's eyes were from the same cause.
    Normally she had a hearty appetite, and he hated to see her push ham and eggs around her plate, then make do with a piece of toast. He wanted to reassure her that she need not fear him, but Annie was at the table working her way through a plate-load of food.
    Annie suddenly looked up. "You're very quiet, you two. Usually, it's chatter, chatter. It's all that dancing. Worn you out."
    "You could be right, Aunt," said Felicity, wilting slightly. "I think I should rest." She drifted wearily from the room, but Miles quickly followed.
    "Felicity." She froze, one foot raised to climb the stairs. "We need to talk."
    "We do not."
    It was a choice between grovel and command, and Miles chose command. "Indeed we do. In the library. Now."
    She swung around. "How dare you give me orders!"
    "I'm your guardian, remember?"
    "After last night, you have the effrontery—"
    "In the library. You can berate me there."
    After a moment ringing with rebellion, she marched into the dusty room. Miles let Gardeen slip in before he closed the door. The cat's intervention might be needed again.
    Felicity faced him mutinously. "I doubt I'm safe with you."
    "You'll be safe as long as you don't try my patience too far."
    "And why shouldn't I try your patience? You have mine stretched as thin as silk!"
    He prayed for control. "Felicity, I was wrong to attack you. I apologize. It will not happen again."
    "Indeed it won't, for I'll shoot you in the ballocks if it does."
    "Felicity..."
    "Oh, stop this!" she snapped. "You thought to charm me into doing as you wish and you failed, so, man-like, you turned to bullying instead. Now, listen to me. I have intended to marry Rupert Dunsmore ever since his wife's death. I am not suffering any illusions about him. I know that is what I want to do. It is what I will do as soon as I am of age. You are just making difficulties for nothing."
    He leaned back against the desk to steady himself. "Why the hurry. Are you pregnant?"
    She flushed, then said, "Yes."
    "You're lying."
    "No, I'm not. I'm pregnant, and I want to marry Rupert before it becomes a scandal in the area."
    "If you marry Dunsmore, it'll be a scandal in the area, babe or not. Very well. We'll have the doctor in. If he confirms that you're with child, I'll authorize the wedding."
    She hissed with annoyance and tossed her head. "Oh, all right. I lied. But it's an excellent notion. It shouldn't take too much effort to make the lie true."
    He gripped the edge of the desk until his fingers hurt. "It will take magical powers. You're confined to the house unless accompanied by me."
    She paced the room like a caged animal. "You have no right to do this, no right! You know nothing of me, nothing of my life or what I want." Then she stopped suddenly and seemed to collect herself. She looked at him with what appeared to be honest intensity. "With my eyes open and my wits about me, Miles, I want to marry Rupert Dunsmore."
    Her control helped him to calm. "Because of Kieran. I do understand. But I won't let you do that to yourself."
    Tears welled in her eyes, and it was the first time he'd seen her cry. "Please," she whispered.
    He would have given her almost anything to ease that misery, but this one thing