From the Viscount With Love

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  Lavinia had, of course, worried that a child could result from their actions, but that worry was not strong enough to stop her from returning to his bed the next night, nor the one after that. In fact, the moment Frost suggested they leave whatever entertainment they were attending well before the rest of his family did so that Lavinia might be already safe within his chambers when the rest of the household returned, she eagerly agreed each time, secretly thrilled that he desired her enough to continue to wish to bed her.

  At Lycosura, Lavinia had overheard any number of stories about men who bedded a woman once and then forgot her, their conquest complete. Frost was not like that. He was...different. And once more, Lavinia realized that she was foolishly allowing her heart to lead her down a path she ought not to tread.

  Lavinia did not particularly care for the sneaking around behind Lady Chillton's back. In that way, she did rather feel like the whore she had so often been called. However, there was no other way to go about things. She lived beneath Frost's roof and was treated as a member of the family. No one, save for Frost himself and his mother, knew of her past - and even then, Frost did not know all of it. Lavinia prayed that he never would.

  There were occasions when Lavinia did wonder if Lady Chillton suspected that they were carrying on a liaison, but if the other woman did, she gave no sign of it. In fact, the viscountess did not treat Lavinia any differently than she had before the fateful night of the Marchand ball. If anything, Frost's mother often treated Lavinia better, though Lavinia simply assumed that it was because the woman was getting to know her a bit more and was beginning to view her as a friend rather than a stranger forced to live beneath her roof.

  On the other hand, Sarah seemed more than a little suspicious, though she never uttered a word. However just that morning, Lavinia had been humming a silly little tune to herself and when she realized it, she looked up only to see Sarah watching her intently. The other woman said nothing, but there was something in her gaze that gave Lavinia cause to be wary.

  Then again, Sarah herself was clearly hiding a secret of her own, and Lavinia had to wonder if Frost's sister was simply casting her own fears of discovery onto Lavinia. For Lavinia believed that Sarah and Lord Raynecourt were carrying on some sort of illicit affair, and, given the way Sarah now had an almost permanent blush on her cheeks, it was likely far more than just a forbidden friendship.

  So did anyone in the household suspect that Lavinia and Frost were engaged in an affair? If so, did they care? More importantly, did Lady Chillton suspect? Was Sarah now involved with Lord Raynecourt? And what of Dory and Aurelia who were behaving oddly now as well?

  There were no clear answers to any of Lavinia's unspoken questions, nor time to uncover the answers, especially since for the last two days, a steady stream of callers came and went from the town home at odd hours. That included the aforementioned Rayne, as well as Harry Greer, and a few other men that Lavinia didn't know but recognized from some of the other amusements she had attended. They were either friends of Frost's or members of his social set. Save for one man, a Lord Saintwood whom Lavinia had seen but never actually met, none of the men ever looked at her oddly. Instead, most of the visitors bowed and offered her a word or two of sympathy regarding her deceased family members, indicating that even they did not know of her true past.

  It was almost enough to allow her to breath freely and enjoy the time she had left with Frost. Almost. But not quite. Because ever since the night of the Marchand gala, Lavinia could not shake the impression that someone was watching her. Even now, she swore she felt eyes upon her back as she moved through the streets of London in the company of Frost's family. A part of her argued silently that she was imagining things, but another part, the part that had kept her safe for so long, cautioned her to be wary.

  Now Lavinia and the Tillsbury women were standing along Bond Street again, as Dory had announced that morning she simply had to acquire a new gown for Lady Raynecourt's annual Firefly Ball that would mark the official end of the London Season. Rayne's rather extravagant mother hosted the ball each year, doing her best to not only out-do her previous year's attempts at grandeur, but to be the place to see and be seen on the ton's final evening in town. Thus far, Lady Raynecourt had succeeded remarkably well in her quest, much to her son's everlasting embarrassment.

  As expected, Lady Chillton had clucked and fussed a bit, but in the end, she had given in to her daughter's request and packed all of the ladies into the family carriage for the expedition. Lavinia had not particularly wished to accompany the group, instead preferring to remain behind and read the latest gothic novel that Frost had gifted her with the previous evening after they had made love for a third time. However, Lavinia also had the good sense to realize that she could hardly refuse when Lady Chillton made the request. The time was drawing near when Lavinia would require a letter of reference or something similar if she had a hope of beginning a new life away from Town. And Derbyshire, among other places. It would be in her best interest to do as Frost's mother asked.

  That was how Lavinia came to find herself outside of a milliner's shop looking at bonnets displayed in the window while the Tillsbury sisters argued good-naturedly over what color of gown Dory should order for the ball. Aurelia, as expected, suggested a russet gown that, while it might compliment Dory's complexion perfectly, was not an appropriate color for a young-ish lady still on the Marriage Mart. Sarah had argued for virginal white or cream, even though she did so with a rather guilty blush on her cheeks, as if she carried a secret she could barely contain. And Dory herself wished for an understated light golden gown, even though Lavinia had seen her new friend secretly fingering a bolt of lush, plum-colored silk that would look marvelous against Dory's golden-hued tresses.

  For the moment, the group had departed Madame LaVallier's shop, vowing to return once they decided on a color rather than waste any more of the dressmaker's precious time. Lavinia however, did not think the modiste minded overly much - at least not as long as one of the Tillsbury women ordered something, be it an evening gown or a new day dress or even a pair of gloves.

  So Lavinia, at Lady Chillton's urging, had placed an order for herself, the last one she was ever likely to make at the exclusive shop. She had requested a gown in the lightest of mossy greens, not quite the thing for a young debutante, but allowable for a woman about to be placed firmly on the shelf. Lavinia had not thought she could wear white or cream, as Sarah had once more suggested, especially after the way Frost had debauched her in his bed the previous evening. His lovemaking had been particularly inventive, and she knew she wasn't likely to forget it any time soon.

  In fact, Lavinia had been so caught up in daydreaming about Frost while she gazed at some of the most hideous bonnets she had ever seen, that she didn't realize that the little group had moved off down the street and were now standing in front of the sweets shop, discussing the merits of a light afternoon snack of some sort since they would be attending the theater much later that evening. A performance that Lavinia secretly hoped Frost would find a way to sneak them out of early without rousing too much suspicion.

  Lavinia was about to call out to Sarah to wait a moment, when a hand clamped down hard around her wrist and yanked her backwards into a dark alley. She tried to scream and attempted to swing her reticule fiercely, but a deep laugh made her blood chill. Lavinia froze in place, unable to move again.

  "Ah, there is my little whore," a heavily French-accented voice growled against her cheek. Lavinia had to fight against herself not to shudder with fear and disgust. "Ingratiating yourself with the family of your new protector, eh, mon petit? Have you opened your legs for him yet? The way you refused to do for me, the man who taught you all that you know about fucking? I do not even need to look into your eyes to know that you have. Likely many times already."

  Lavinia had no idea how Michel Balon, her grandfather's former footman - and the decidedly insidious man who had seduced her own mother into running away with him - had
found her. But he had. And now there would be consequences to pay.

  "Leave me be, Michel!" Lavinia pleaded desperately. "Please. You have my mother. Why do you need me, too?"

  "Because your mother is old. And because you refused me. No woman refuses me!" he snapped harshly as he reached up to squeeze her breast so hard that she whimpered in both pain and fear.

  Swallowing down her fear, Lavinia knew she could show no emotion. If she did, this man would seize upon it and use it to hurt her. Or the Tillsbury women. "You mean because you have drugged my mother so thoroughly that she is no longer responsive to anyone, do you not, Michel? Don't think I don't know about the laudanum you were pouring down her throat even before I left."

  With a growl, Balon spun Lavinia around and she could see that, while he was still extremely handsome, his looks were beginning to fade, likely from too much drink and too much whoring. His once raven-black hair was now peppered through with gray and lines bracketed the edge of his mouth, giving him a hard, worn look. "Enough out of you, whore! Now, you will listen and you will obey me like the good little girl your mother raised you to be!"

  "I will not obey you. Not now and not ever." Lavinia practically spat the words at him.

  Balon's smile could only be considered evil. "You will if you wish your new family to remain unaware of your past. That includes the man who puts you on your back every night for his pleasure." Then he laughed, a cruel sound that Lavinia did her best to block out of her mind. "Or does he force you to mount him and make you ride him astride, just as I described to you so many times over the years as you took my cock in your mouth, eh?"

  "You leave Frost out of this!" Panic gripped her now, and Lavinia wanted to run. But not yet. She had to discover what Balon's end game was. If nothing else, she had learned that much at least. Best to know one's enemy, than to be surprised. "He knows where I come from! He bought me from the same brothel you were going to sell me to before I ran away."

  "Clever girl. I give you credit for that. Fooling a man such as Lord Chillton is not easy." Balon nodded appreciatively. "It is a shame, cher, that you could not see the benefits of what I offered you so long ago. We would have made an excellent team, eh?"

  Lavinia shook her head in disgust. "No. Not after you hurt my mother, convinced her to run away with you and take me with her. You cost her everything. So no. I would never have given you what you wanted."

  "But you will, cher. Beginning tonight." Balon was almost overly confident now, which worried Lavinia greatly. Then that same smile, the one he had never lost from the moment he had pulled her into the alley, turned cold and calculating. "I know men aplenty who would love to get their hands on young, innocents such as the Tillsbury women. They would pay me excellent money to deliver them virgins of noble blood."

  At that, the last of Lavinia's tenuous hold on her temper snapped. She could not cower before this man. She had to fight back. "You leave them out of this! They have no part in my past!"

  "Then if you wish them safe, you will do as I say!" Balon hissed and Lavinia could see that he was serious. If she did not do as he wished, he would find a way to abduct Sarah, Dory and Aurelia. "Do not test me on this, mon petit."

  Finally wrenching herself free from his grasp, Lavinia managed to stand up to her full height and she was a little surprised to note that she was nearly as tall as Balon. When she had been younger, he seemed like a giant towering over her. Now, he was just a man, though one that still had the power to harm her, she was certain. "I will be missed soon, so get on with it, Michel. Tell me what you want, lest all of Bow Street find you here." For the first time since she had fled Castle Dunlein, Lavinia chose to play the role she had been born to - that of the granddaughter of a duke.

  "Haughty now, eh?" Clearly Balon did not like this show of defiance from her. "Well, I will beat it out of you soon enough. I know that tonight, your lover plans to take you to the theater. At intermission, you will make an excuse and you will leave him. I will be waiting outside with a carriage. We shall leave immediately. And then? Eh, mon cher, I shall leave you now to wonder what will come next. I am certain you now have a rather extensive variety of talents with which to please me, no?" Then Balon was gone, disappearing into the darkness he had come from and leaving Lavinia shaking in her slippers.

  For a moment, it was all Lavinia could do not to cast up her accounts right where she stood. She also wanted to run directly to Frost with news of Balon. But she couldn't. There was nothing between them, at least not on his part. And she knew that he would choose his family over her every time. He had said it himself. Family was everything to him. The most important thing. And if Frost thought for one moment that Lavinia was placing his family in danger, he would cast her out onto the streets.

  Frost cared for her, yes. But not at the expense of his beloved family. Even Lavinia was not so foolishly in love as to believe for a moment that he ever would.

  For a moment, Lavinia also considered running again, but quickly realized she had nowhere to go. She would end up back in a brothel before she knew it, and this time, there would be no Lord Chillton to save her. Sadly, her best chance to escape was to leave with Balon and pray that she could find a way to outwit him once they were on the road. It was not a good plan exactly, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment.

  When she heard Sarah call her name, Lavinia moved cautiously back to the small opening that Balon had first yanked her through and peered around the corner. The moment Sarah turned in the other direction, Lavinia propelled herself outward and back onto the street. She prayed that she was not overly mussed and she patted her hair gently, praying she did not feel a loose curl. Thankfully, she did not.

  "Sarah!" Lavinia called out as brightly as she could. "Over here! I stopped to look at a bonnet and then you were gone! I had no idea what to do or where to go! London still does confuse me a bit, I'm afraid."

  Frost's sister scurried over and once more, there was a look in Sarah's eyes that indicated she did not quite believe Lavinia's tale. "I was just searching for you here in this very spot and did not see you."

  "You must have missed me," Lavinia insisted, praying that Sarah believed the lies she told now. "For I did not move much, save for a few steps back the way we came."

  Once again, Sarah frowned but then she shook her head, as if dismissing whatever thoughts were running through her mind. "It is not important. We have found you and you are safe. My brother would surely murder us all if we allowed anything to happen to you while you were in our care."

  "I do not believe that to be the case," Lavinia scoffed, "but I thank you for believing it possible."

  This time when Sarah turned the force of her green-eyed gaze upon Lavinia, there was no mistaking the look of incredulity there. "Do you truly not know that my brother is madly in love with you?" She paused for a moment before she spoke a single word that drove directly into Lavinia's heart. "Lea?"

  At that, Lavinia went cold, even though the sun beat down mercilessly on her bonneted head. "How...how did you know? I never...he never..."

  "I heard him call you Lea at last evening's dinner party." Sarah's expression softened and she bit her lip uncertainly. "I do not think he meant anyone to overhear, but I did. I have excellent hearing, which is unfortunate at times." Then she cocked her head in the manner that was peculiar to this family. "And I think you love him as well. The other day, I was fearful of you breaking him, but now I believe that, if anything, you would both break each other if this...whatever it is between you two...were to end."

  "Sarah, please." For the second time in less than ten minutes, Lavinia was pleading again. "Say nothing. I beg of you. Please. Nothing can come of this feeling between your brother and I. It is merely an infatuation. He does not truly care for me. He cannot."

  Lavinia expected Sarah to immediately agree, so she was surprised when the other woman shook her head. "No, Lavinia, he can and he does love you." Then she crossed her arms over her chest almost defiantly. "I am not
so foolish as my sisters. Nor is Rayne. We both know that you have not been completely honest about your past." Well, Rayne certainly knew that she lied, Lavinia thought to herself, since he was present when Frost had purchased her from Desponia.

  Sarah, however, did not betray even a hint of what she knew as she continued. "But it does not matter to me, nor will it to my mother or my sisters. Not so long as my brother is happy." She tapped a single finger against her arm in thought, just as Rayne often did. "And you do make Frost happy, Lavinia. Happier than I have ever known him to be."

  There was a part of Lavinia that wanted to weep with relief. If Sarah believed that Frost loved her, or at least cared for her, then he likely did. But the other part of her was devastated. What was between them could not last, especially not now that Michel Balon had found her. He was likely the person that had been watching her the last few days. If that was the case, he knew where the Tillsbury family lived. He knew how to hurt them. And the man was evil to the core. Lavinia had no doubt that if she did not do as he commanded, he would leave a trail of destruction in his wake that would shatter numerous lives.

  "That may be, Sarah," Lavinia allowed as she saw Lady Chillton, Dory and Aurelia approach from the same direction they had been heading in before Balon's appearance, "but it changes nothing. I am not suitable for your brother. He could do far better than me and you know it."

  "Then you do not know my brother very well at all," Sarah sighed as she linked arms with Lavinia and pasted a cheerful smile on her face. "For if you did, you would know that where a person comes from matters little to my brother. Or this family." She paused. "Or his friends for that matter. So perhaps you are not the right woman for Robert after all. And if that is the case, then perhaps it would be better if you let him go. If that is what you truly wish, of course."