A Dangerous Seduction

by Jillian Eaton

  There was a protective gleam in Owen’s blue eyes as he shook his head from side to side. “No. We’re leaving for London this afternoon. Both of us.”

  “Oh, but I can’t do that,” Scarlett protested. “I would be leaving Felicity in the lurch not to mention I have had all of my belongings moved here. I’ve nothing left in town, not even a single pair of shoes. At the end of the month I can begin packing and come to Bow Street once everything has been sorted.”

  “Someone tried to kill you today. Once they learn they were not successful, they will try again.”

  “You don’t know that,” she said even as a chill raced down her spine. Stepping out of his embrace she brought a finger to her mouth and bit down on her nail, worrying it back and forth between her teeth until a tiny sliver broke off. “It – it could have been an accident.”

  Owen lifted a brow. “Someone accidentally shoved you into the pond and then left you to drown?”

  “Well when you put it that way–”

  “There is no other way to put it. Someone killed your husband, Lettie. Now they’ve come for you. Until I find out who they are and arrest them, I need to know you’re safe and there is no safer place than Bow Street.”

  “Why do you think it’s the same person?”

  “Had you drowned, it would have looked like an accident. Just like Rodger’s death was meant to. If I’d not discovered his horse’s girth had been cut I never would have suspected he’d been murdered.”

  At the word murdered tiny goose pimples broke out all up and down Scarlett’s arms. She had been so focused on Owen that she hadn’t really let herself think about Rodger. Now she had no choice for Owen was right: Rodger’s death and the attempt on her own life were too much alike to be a coincidence.

  But who the devil would want them dead? And why not just kill them when they were both together? Unless that was never their plan…

  “My earring,” she said suddenly.

  “Yes,” Owen said, watching her closely. “What about it?”

  “I don’t know why we did not see it before. Well, why you didn’t see it before. You are, after all, a Runner. Granted, you have been a little bit distracted, but I think as a Captain the expectations should be higher than if–”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I’ve been set up! Don’t you see? Someone must have planted my earring on Rodger’s body on purpose. How else would it have gotten there? It is the only thing that makes sense. The real killer wanted to make you think I was there when Rodger was killed. But I wasn’t,” she said quickly, less Owen suddenly changed his mind about her innocence. “They never wanted to kill me. They wanted–”

  “–for you to be charged with Rodger’s murder,” Owen finished darkly, “and let the law take care of the rest.”

  “Precisely. Even if I’d been found not guilty, I would have been completely ruined and no one, least of all you, would have ever suspected who the real murderer was.” Scarlett went absolutely still as a bleak, horrible realization dawned. “But I know,” she whispered. “I know who they are.”

  “Who?” Owen demanded. “Lettie, who is it?”

  “Someone close enough to know that I had those earrings made specifically for my wedding. Someone who wanted to use you to hurt me. Someone who has an excellent reason to make both Rodger and I suffer. Felicity.” She raised her tear-filled gaze to Owen’s. “It was Felicity.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Absolutely not,” Owen said flatly.

  “Owen, I love you. I want to be with you. If this is the one thing standing in our way, then isn’t it better we get it over with sooner rather than later? You know this is a good plan.” Scarlett blinked up at him, her gray eyes as soft and as wide as he’d ever seen them. “Please.”

  His jaw clenched. “That isn’t going to work this time.”

  “Oh, fine.” She crossed her arms. “But I am doing it anyways.”

  “Not without my help, you’re not.”

  “Which is why you are going to help me.”

  Owen snorted. “The hell I am.”

  “You are being unreasonable.”

  “And you’re being bloody crazy if you think I am going to let you risk your life. Now pack your things. We’re leaving for Bow Street this afternoon.” Less than a day had passed since he’d pulled Scarlett out of the pond, but after everything they’d learned – about each other and the true culprit behind Rodger’s murder – it felt like an entire year had gone by.

  Unwilling to let Scarlett out of his sight, even for a minute, Owen had spent the night with her (although neither one of them had gotten much sleep) and woken the next morning to discover she’d come up with an elaborate – not to mention completely ridiculous – plan to get Felicity to confess.

  Owen was still furious with himself for not realizing Felicity was the one behind everything. As soon as Scarlett had told him what Rodger had done to her all those years ago it made perfect sense. He even felt bad for her, and had she stopped at killing Rodger he might have turned a blind eye to her crimes. But she’d crossed a line when she had made an attempt on Scarlett’s life and now he had no choice but to arrest her. Which he would have done first thing this morning if Scarlett hadn’t stopped him.

  “Felicity is my oldest friend.” Walking across the library Scarlett gazed out the window at the rolling fields behind the manor. “If is she behind all of this, I do not want to convict her on a hunch or speculation. I need irrefutable proof.”

  How was it, Owen wondered silently, that a man could love a woman to distraction and still want to shake her?

  “It won’t matter what you need if you’re dead. No. It is too dangerous.”

  “Who are you to say what is too dangerous?” Whirling around, she pinned him with a glare. “You were going to toss me in Newgate!”

  “Which I may still do,” he growled, “if you don’t get your arse upstairs and start packing!”

  “Oh! You are impossible. I do not even know why I bother.”

  Owen crossed the room. Reaching out, he wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her back against his chest. “Because you love me,” he whispered huskily in her ear.

  “Something which I am beginning to seriously rethink.”

  “Are you?” His eyes taking on a roguish glint, he lifted her hair and trailed his mouth down the sensitive curve of her neck.

  “Stop trying to distract me,” she warned even as she tilted her head to the side so he could nibble his way down her shoulder.

  “Is that what I’m doing?” He sank his teeth into her ivory skin, nipping just hard enough to elicit a soft gasp before he soothed the bite with a kiss. But when he grasped the edge of her bodice and gave it a tug, she stepped neatly out of his embrace and looked up at him with a frown.

  “Yes. That is precisely what you are trying to do. Owen, this is important to me. I have already made so many mistakes. I do not know if I could live with myself if I made another one.”

  “I know I could not live with myself if I allowed something to happen to you.” The idea of losing her after having just gotten her back… His entire body tensed at the thought. He would not risk her safety. Not for anything or anyone. But he also knew that short of carrying her over his shoulder she wasn’t leaving until she was convinced of Felicity’s guilt. “Let’s compromise.”

  “Compromise?” Scarlett repeated, looking at him as if he’d just suggested they sprout wings and fly up on top of the roof.

  “Yes.” Compromise.” He tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “Something we are both going to have to learn how to do if we’re to have any semblance of peace.”

  “I rather like it when we fight. Although I suppose you’re right,” she conceded when he lifted a brow. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Well…”

  “I’ve changed my mind! I am not going anywhere with you! Go away.” Grabbing the heavy front door, Scarlett tried to slam it in Owen’s face but his boot kept it from c
losing.

  “No.”

  “Remove it this instant or I’ll–”

  “You’ll do what?” he sneered before he easily pushed the door open and walked past her into the foyer. Ignoring Scarlett’s sputters of outrage he nodded curtly at Felicity who was standing at the base of the staircase with a dumbstruck expression on her face. “You are coming with me to London and that is final. Now put on a cloak and let’s go.”

  “You have lost your mind.”

  Owen’s teeth flashed in a humorless smile. “You seem to be under the impression that I am asking you to accompany me. I am not asking. I am telling. You can either climb into the carriage of your own accord or be thrown into it. It makes no difference to me.”

  Her eyes narrowed to thin slits of furious gray. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Try me,” he invited in a dangerously silky voice.

  Scarlett’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly. Owen was very good at this. Better than she’d imagined he would be, considering all of the sweet things he’d whispered in her ear last night. As she racked her brain for something equally horrid to say in return his gaze flicked meaningfully over her shoulder, a silent reminder that Felicity was listening to their every word, just as they’d hoped.

  “I – I hate you!”

  Owen frowned.

  Not really, she mouthed.

  “Get in the carriage,” he growled.

  “Captain Steel I – I think Scarlett has made herself quite clear.” Hurrying across the foyer, Felicity took Scarlett by the hand and pulled her away from the door. “She does not wish to go with you.”

  Owen turned his glare on Felicity. For the first time since he’d forced himself through the door his fury was not feigned. “I don’t believe I asked for your opinion.”

  “Do not talk to her like that!” Stepping between them, Scarlett made certain she was turned away from Felicity when she wiggled her eyebrows up and down, a signal to Owen that their play was ready for its final act.

  “This is not worth the trouble. I’m going to London without you and I am not coming back!”

  “Go on then!” Scarlett shouted as he turned on his heel and stormed out of the foyer. “I never want to see you again for as long as I live!”

  In the stunned silence that followed Owen’s abrupt departure Scarlett turned to Felicity and shook her head. “And to think I once loved him.”

  “What – what happened?” Felicity asked incredulously.

  “Oh, you know…” She waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Just another fight. That’s all we ever seem to do. It’s probably better that he go without me. It never would have worked between us.”

  “But what about…” Felicity glanced left and right before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Rodger’s murder?”

  Scarlett shrugged. “As it turns out he was killed by his mistress. Can you believe it? Owen received a letter from Bow Street just yesterday. That is what he came to tell me. Apparently she turned herself in and confessed to everything.”

  “But that is wonderful news!”

  “Yes, isn’t it?” Scarlett studied Felicity as intently as she dared, but if her friend’s enthusiasm was disingenuous she did a magnificent job at hiding it. She forced herself to smile. “You know, all of this drama has wreaked havoc on my skin. I do believe a trip to Bath is in order. In fact, I think I will leave bright and early tomorrow morning. You and the children can remain here for as long as you like, of course.”

  “Are – are you sure?” Felicity said uncertainly. “We would not want to impose…”

  “Don’t be silly. You can even move your things into my bedchamber if you would like. There is no telling how long I shall be gone. Why, I may not even come back at all!”

  Felicity’s brow furrowed. “Scarlett, are you feeling all right?”

  Actually no, I am not. Why, do you ask? Oh, I’ve just found out my dearest friend in the entire world is trying to kill me!

  “I’ve never felt better,” she said airily. “In fact, I believe I will go for a ride.”

  “But it’s nearly sundown.”

  “I’ll be quick. I just need to change my clothes. Be a dear and ask one of the grooms to saddle Fancy for me, won’t you?”

  “Of… of course.”

  Scarlett felt the weight of Felicity’s frown on her back as she turned and walked away, but she did not look behind her. Instead she kept her gaze straight ahead, forcing herself to take small, measured steps as she went up the stairs. As soon as she knew she was out of sight, however, she broke into a run and dashed down the hallway as fast as her legs would carry her.

  The trick to the plan was timing. If Felicity had believed their little farce in the foyer, then she thought Owen was gone and Scarlett was leaving for Bath in the morning. Which left her with no choice but to make another attempt on Scarlett’s life tonight. Given the way she had killed Rodger, they were betting she would try the same method again, albeit with Scarlett’s saddle this time.

  The sun was just beginning to set when Scarlett burst out of the servant’s door and snuck across the lawn, staying to the shadows as she made her way down to the stables. She’d promised Owen that she would stay in the house – that was the compromise he’d demanded – but how could she? If Felicity was caught red-handed then Scarlett wanted to be there. She needed to be there. If only to see the betrayal with her own eyes for she feared that was the only way she would be able to believe it.

  Except when she tip-toed into the stables no one was there. Not Felicity. Not Owen. Not even a single groom or footman. Aside from the horses quietly munching away at their dinner, the entire barn was eerily vacant.

  Tiny hairs rose on the back of Scarlett’s neck as she slowly walked down the freshly raked aisle, pausing at every stall to peer inside. The familiar scent of horse and hay assailed her nostrils. Usually the smell was a comfort, but not tonight. Not when the air was filled with an uneasy tension and the barn was growing darker by the second.

  Scarlett had nearly reached the last stall when she heard them. The soft scuffle of footsteps. Finally. She still did not know where Owen was hiding, but she didn’t doubt he was somewhere near. Taking a deep breath she slowly turned, ready to confront Felicity… and nearly stumbled over a bag of feed when she saw Ruth standing in the middle of the aisle holding a long, jagged knife pointed straight at Scarlett’s heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “I don’t understand.” As surprise gave way to shock and shock to fear – where the devil was Owen?! – Scarlett gaped at her maid in disbelief. “All this time… it was you? You were the one who killed Rodger?”

  “Finally some recognition.” An unnaturally wide smile stretched Ruth’s mouth as she sauntered towards Scarlett, tossing her knife from one hand to the other. “I have been waiting so long for you to figure it out. After I almost drowned you in the pond I thought for certain you would know it was me, but instead you blamed Felicity!” Her childish giggle sent a chill racing down Scarlett’s spine. “I really could not have asked for a more perfect ending.”

  “But… why?” Light from an oil lamp left in front of one of the stalls reflected off the edge of the knife as it flew through the air, causing Scarlett’s breath to catch in her throat when she saw how sharp it was. “What did Rodger ever do to you? What did I ever do? I thought we were friends!”

  “Friends.” Ruth stopped short. “I wasn’t your friend, I was your servant. And you never let me forget it, did you?”

  “I–”

  “Brush my hair, Ruth,” she mocked in a high-pitched voice. “Button my dress, Ruth. Fetch my tea, Ruth.”

  “If you thought I mistreated you I’m sorry.” Scarlett’s gaze darted left and right as she searched in vain for a weapon. “But that is no reason to kill me!”

  “You’re right,” Ruth said agreeably. “It’s not.”

  “Then why–”

  “BECAUSE YOU STOLE RODGER AWAY FROM ME!” Ruth’s shriek bounced off the rafters a
nd spooked the horses. They whinnied and pawed, the whites of their eyes flashing as they spun in their stalls. “He loved me. He was going to marry me. And you stole him!”

  She’s mad, Scarlett realized as Ruth continued to giggle. She’s absolutely mad.

  “I promise you that I had no idea of your feelings.” Speaking in as calm and as quiet a voice as she could manage given the circumstances she held up her hands, palms facing outwards. “Why don’t you put the knife down, Ruth? Put the knife down and we can figure all of this out. No one needs to get hurt.”

  Ruth frowned. “But I’m already hurt and Rodger’s dead. Now it’s your turn!”

  She leaped forward with a feral scream, but Scarlett had been anticipating a sudden attack and she twisted to the side, narrowly escaping the tip of the knife as it flew past her face. Losing her balance she slammed hard against the wall and dropped to the ground in a crouch when she saw Ruth’s arm slash through the air out of her peripheral vision. A half second later the knife buried itself into the wood right where Scarlett’s head had been.

  Scarlett did not give herself time to think. Launching her body forward, she caught Ruth around the waist and both women went flying into the dirt. The knife skittered across the aisle and slid underneath a trunk. When Ruth tried to lunge after it Scarlett grabbed her ankle and dragged her backwards.

  Ruth kicked out, the heel of her boot catching Scarlett squarely in the chest. The blow sent her reeling. She fell back with a pained cry, her head striking the ground with a hard thump that left her dazed and her vision blurred. Dimly aware that if Ruth got ahold of the knife it would all be over, she forced herself to her feet.

  Intent on reaching beneath the trunk to get her knife, Ruth did not notice Scarlett creeping up behind her until it was too late.

  In a tangle of limbs and hair the two women went rolling across the aisle, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. The horses continued to spin circles in their stalls, nostrils flared and eyes wide. A knee to her gut caused Scarlett’s breath to explode in a loud whoosh of air. Twisting, she managed to tangle her fingers in Ruth’s bun and gave it a vicious pull that flipped the maid onto her back. For an instant both women were side by side staring up at the wooden rafters, their chests rising and falling in tandem as they sucked air into their lungs.