Lured Into Sin By The Wicked Earl (Steamy Historical Regency Romance)

by Olivia Bennet

  “Upon being threatened with a trip to the gallows for killing Simone, Micklewhite revealed it immediately. And he had proof.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch, which he held out to her. She took it, looking at the seal on it. “That’s Gerard’s crest. I know it almost as well as I know my own.”

  “It could have been payment for another job,” she pointed out. She would have thought that Lord Wrentbour would be smarter than to leave behind any sort of tie.

  Clearly, he was confident that Adam would never trace the deed back to him.

  “It occurred to me that perhaps they’re setting Gerard up to take the fall,” Adam said. “But I want to find it out for myself.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” she offered.

  “Thank you,” he said, taking her hand in his and kissing it. “But I think it best if I go alone—bringing anyone else would alert his suspicions. If it is Gerard who is behind this, then I don’t want you anywhere near him. As a matter of fact, I want you to stay at the house. Until this is resolved, I want to know that you’re safe, at all times.”

  She nodded. “Of course.” He looked devastated. She felt for him—to have been thus treated by someone that he had believed to be his best friend…It was unthinkable.

  “Can I fix you a cup of tea?” she asked.

  “I need some brandy,” he said, his voice ragged. He got up, holding out his hand to her. She slipped her hand into his, and they walked through the silent hallway to the parlor.

  * * *

  Adam arrived at Gerard’s house first thing the next morning. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his stomach was doing nervous flips. His hands felt clammy. He didn’t want to think the worst, but Micklewhite had been sincere when he had pointed his finger toward Gerard.

  The familiar face of Wrentbour Manor was at odds with what Adam now suspected. He wondered when Gerard had stopped being his friend—how long had he plotted to attempt to ruin him? He hadn’t noticed any change in Gerard. Perhaps, that was the problem—Gerard had kept this side of himself hidden. Or maybe, Micklewhite had double-crossed Adam.

  Adam was shown into Gerard’s parlor to wait, as he always was. He sat down, then realized that he was tapping his foot anxiously. He took a deep breath, settling himself down. He arranged his face into a mask, hiding his upset and suspicion.

  The door opened, and Gerard entered. He was dressed casually in just a shirt with no jacket. His waistcoat was unbuttoned.

  “Adam,” his friend said, smiling. “It’s so good to see you. I heard about the fire in your lab—I’m so sorry. I hope that nothing important was lost.”

  “From my parents, I presume.” Adam’s parents had thrown a ball, only a day prior.

  “It’s the talk of the ton,” Gerard said. “How did it happen?”

  “Someone broke into my lab, Gerard. They ignited a box of gunpowder to cover their tracks,” Adam replied, shaking his head. “If we all hadn’t worked to stop it, then I could have lost everything.”

  “Who do you think would do something like this?” Gerard asked, angrily.

  “It could only have been Mr. Sullyard, of course. He’s been so desperately trying to get his hands on my device.”

  “Well, he’s done it before.” Gerard perched himself on the settee opposite the one where Adam sat. He crossed his legs, folding his hands on top of his knee. Adam was studying his friend’s every move closely, trying to discern his deception.

  Look at the ease with which he’s putting the blame on Mr. Sullyard. He’s too ready for me to conclude it.

  “Who else could it have been?” Adam asked. “I have no other enemies.”

  Except, perhaps, you.

  “That’s for certain,” Gerard agreed. “As much as you dislike the ton, they all rather like you.”

  “Have you spoken to Mr. Sullyard recently?” Adam asked him. “Has he said anything that sounds suspicious?”

  “I saw him at Lady Catsmore’s luncheon the other day,” Gerard said. “He seemed…very contented. He said that he had a new invention that he was hard at work on. I wonder if he was talking about yours—” he trailed off meaningfully.

  They sat in silence for a full moment. Adam could see, very clearly, that Gerard was trying to set Mr. Sullyard up to take the fall. It was so easy, too. It was likely that Mr. Sullyard was at work on an invention, but one of his own.

  “Are you able to remake it?” Gerard asked.

  “Both my device and my notes for its improvement were taken, so it will have to be done entirely from memory.” Adam watched as Gerard raised his eyebrows. He had the sudden, overwhelming feeling that Gerard’s face was a mask that he was hiding behind. He could mimic the correct emotions, but his eyes remained unsurprised, impassive.

  “Not to mention,” Adam went on. “I have to rebuild my lab in its entirety before I can even begin to think about remaking my device.”

  “Oh, Adam!” Gerard said. “How horrible! You don’t really think Mr. Sullyard could have done it?”

  “I can’t think of anyone else,” Adam said. “As I’ve said before.”

  “Surely, it must have been,” Gerard continued. “He did ruin your lab back at All Souls, did he not?”

  “He did,” Adam agreed. He was silent, as he searched the familiar face of his friend. Suddenly, he felt like he was looking at a stranger. Adam sighed, heavily. He was exhausted. “I suppose I should go to the authorities and tell them my suspicions.”

  “He does have a history of trying to ruin you,” Gerard said. “I’m sure that there are many others who would agree with you.”

  Adam nodded thoughtfully. He was heartbroken to find that the more he sat there, speaking with Gerard, the more he suspected him of the crime. He had never felt more betrayed in his entire life.

  Micklewhite told the truth. What’s more, I have proof.

  “Adam, you must go to the authorities at once with all that you know,” Gerard urged him, eagerly. “Would you like me to go with you? I can cancel all of my engagements for the day.”

  “No, thank you,” Adam replied. “I am quite capable of going on my own.”

  “Well, if you need me, I will be home most of the day tomorrow,” Gerard assured him. “I’ll need to go into Perry Cotton Imports for a few hours in the morning, but I will be free for the rest of it. I will be happy to help you, in any way that I can.”

  Adam smiled at him. Inside, he was devastated. He knew that Gerard was stopping in at his own company to employ Adam’s own invention. “I will let you know.” He cleared his throat. “I should get going. Mr. Howard’s having a man in to start repairing the lab.”

  Gerard walked him to the front door. “And how is Susannah?” he asked.

  “She’s well,” Adam replied, a sudden icy fear accompanying Gerard’s mention of her. He didn’t like that Gerard knew all of his weaknesses. It put Adam in a precarious position, while he was trying to build his case.

  “Good to hear,” Gerard said. “We’ll be having your wedding soon, then?”

  “As soon as we are able.” Adam forced himself to smile.

  Chapter 35

  Susannah was dusting the parlor when Adam returned from Gerard’s. The moment she saw that it was him, she stopped what she was doing and ran to him.

  “Well?” she asked.

  “It’s him.” There were dark circles, pressed up beneath her beloved’s eyes. He looked as though he were about to fall over.

  “How do you know? Did he say?”

  Adam told her everything that had happened during his visit to Wrentbour Manor.

  “I’m so sorry.” She set her feather duster down and took both of his hands in hers. He looked down at their clasped hands.

  “I would have never suspected him,” Adam said. “Not in a thousand years. But all of the evidence points to him. He spent the whole time attempting to point the blame at Mr. Sullyard.”

  “When will you go to the constables?” she asked.

  “Tomorro
w morning,” he explained. “Gerard said that he’ll be going to his company—Perry Cotton—first thing. I have the strongest hunch that he’ll be taking my device out of wherever he’s hidden it to bring it there.”

  “So, you’ll catch him with it.”

  “Precisely.”

  “Very good.”

  “What do you plan to do today?”

  “Mr. Howard’s having a man in to look at the lab,” he said. “I’ll need it back in working order as soon as possible.”

  He smiled at her. “All of this will be over soon,” he murmured, “and then, we can focus on the wedding.”

  She beamed at him, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He placed his hand on her cheek.

  “There is nothing that I want more than to have all of this done with,” he whispered.

  “Me too,” she agreed, her eyes taking him in.

  He shook his head, his eyes moving away from her. “How did I not see it?” he asked, as he sank down into one of the armchairs. Susannah put her duster down, sitting in the chair beside him. “When did he suddenly begin to think of me as an enemy?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied.

  “I can’t help but wonder if he’s always thought that. I hate to think that all our lives, he’s been pretending to be my friend.”

  “I’m sure that he was your friend,” she said, her heart breaking for him. She reached out to take his hand. “For many years.”

  “The house could have burned down with all of us inside,” Adam remarked, his brow furrowed. “All in pursuit of having a device which he knew would have been available to him.”

  She pressed his hand. The answers that he was looking for, she didn’t have. She didn’t know what had possessed Lord Wrentbour to do what he did.

  She could only hope that everything was resolved on the morrow. She hoped that Adam would get the answers that he so desperately wanted.

  * * *

  The very next day, Adam called on the constables. Together, they went to Gerard’s business. It was a dark place, with hardly any windows. The workers were silent, moving about their tasks with grim determination.

  “Can I help you?” a man asked them.

  “Are you the foreman?” Constable Marks asked.

  “I am.” He nodded. He was dirty and tired looking, as though he was used to be overtired and overworked.

  “We’re looking for Lord Wrentbour,” Adam explained.

  “He was in earlier. Dropped off his newest invention,” the foreman explained.

  “We’re going to need to see it,” the constable said.

  “Of course.” He waved for them to follow after him.

  When they peered inside the main office, there was a worker putting together copies of Adam’s device.

  “There it is,” Adam declared. “That’s mine—the very same one that was stolen from my home.”

  The worker stepped back from the device. He held up his hands. “I didn’t take it,” he said, clearly panicking a little at the sight of the constable. “Lord Wrentbour brought it in and told me to make several more.”

  “We’ll have to take this with us,” the constable said. “As evidence. Do you know where Lord Wrentbour is?”

  The foreman shook his head. He didn’t seem very surprised that the device was stolen property. “He comes and goes as he pleases.”

  Constable Warren looked at Gerard. “Let’s box all this up, then we’ll stop by Wrentbour Manor.”

  Adam nodded. When he turned, the worker was already boxing it up for them. Adam stepped forward to take his notes. He looked down at them with a mixture of relief and sadness.

  I just want to know why.

  He was planning to share the plans! As soon as they were properly tested, and he had told Gerard as much. It was a betrayal of such extreme magnitude that he could still hardly believe it.

  * * *

  Susannah was focusing on her chores. She was nervous for Adam. She didn’t know what Lord Wrentbour was capable of, should he be caught in a tight spot. He had been willing to steal from Adam, as well as to send someone to do severe damage to his home—

  She was carrying a vase filled with white, waxy hothouse lilies. The vase was a large and made of heavy ceramic. It was white with a design in blue. She brought it into the parlor, setting it down on the table by the window.

  She stood there, for a moment, looking at how the sunlight was shining through the window, touching the flowers.

  Behind her, someone cleared his throat. She turned, her hand at her chest. “Lord Wrentbour,” she said, her blood freezing as she realized that he had come there while Adam was out in London, searching for him. “I had no idea you were here.” She curtsied, only then recalling that she’d spoken before being spoken to. “I apologize.”

  She was surprised to find him there. After all, Mr. Howard knew that he had stolen Adam’s invention.

  Why did he leave him alone? Unless he’s sending for the constable?

  She relaxed a little, as she decided that must be the case.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Already acting like the lady of the house?” he asked. He was dressed in a fine frock coat, a starched white shirt, and a pair of cream-colored breeches. He didn’t look like someone who had betrayed his best friend.

  She frowned, shaking her head. Lord Wrentbour crossed the room in several strides. He stepped closer to her—too close. She moved back, only to find that she was trapped against the wall. The silk wallpaper felt cool against her back.

  Does he suspect that Adam’s figured him out?

  “Not to worry, I’m sure Adam doesn’t mind that you’re pretending to be the Queen,” he said. “I know what you mean to him.” Something Adam had said—about chess games, and about the Queen, echoed in her mind. Gerard was coming after her—to cut at Adam.

  “Yes, I imagine so,” she said, swallowing nervously. “He considers you his dearest friend.” She tried stepping out of the way, but he had her cornered. Her heart raced, as she tried to figure a way to escape.

  “I don’t see what he sees in you,” he said, reaching out to brush a strand of her hair back. His unwelcome touch made her skin crawl. She froze when she realized that she couldn’t stop him from doing anything. “You’re so plain.” He sneered cruelly. “When you attempt to fit in with all of the ton’s ladies, you will stand out.”

  She blinked at him. It hurt—she knew that he was trying to be mean. She couldn’t help it that it was working. Somehow, he knew exactly what to say to wound her.

  “You’re just an ordinary woman,” Lord Wrentbour went on. “A simple girl from the country. You have no idea what it means to be a fine lady, much less a Countess. You think that someday, you’ll be able to fill the shoes of the Marchioness?” He laughed. She could only stand there, staring up at him.

  “The ton will chew you up, then spit you out.” He laughed. His face was near hers, almost like a lover’s. It felt like a gross violation. “You’ll be running back to the tiny, backwards village that you came from in no time at all. Your reputation will be ruined, of course. You’ll have to rely on the auspices of your relatives—” He tilted his head to the side. “Do you think they’ll accept you back after you have failed in your marriage that they didn’t support?”

  All of Susannah’s latent fears about her future were coming straight from Lord Wrentbour’s lips. All of the worries that Adam had assuaged stabbed at her. Lord Wrentbour smiled cruelly, it was as though he could read her thoughts, and knew everything that plagued her, late in the night, when she couldn’t fall asleep.

  “I imagine that Adam’s told you that he’s going to have nothing to do with the ton,” he went on. “But there’s no escaping them. He’s one of them, and you’re not. You never will be.”

  She looked away from him. He reached out, grabbing her chin. His fingers gripped and wrenched at her face so that she was forced to look at him. He was sneering at her, baring his teeth. A hot tear slipped down her cheek. She didn’t know what he w
as capable of, nor what he planned to do.

  “Please,” she begged, shaking with fear. “Let me go.”

  “No,” he snarled. “You have to hear this. It’s all a matter of stripes and spots. He’s got stripes and you’re just a spot. You can be wiped out, easily.”

  He was pushing her hard up against the wall, his shoulder pinning her to it. Susannah was frozen. His words were poison. She didn’t know what to do. She was trapped. He leaned in, almost like a lover, but far more dangerous.