by Jaimey Grant
“He said Desmond Forester is still in Town and your wife is alone in Hyde Park. I assume you are supposed to understand.”
“Damn,” muttered Levi. He abruptly turned and ran from the club, barely pausing to retrieve his gloves and riding crop. All thoughts of making Winters pay for his cheating ways fled from his mind. Let someone else give the man his comeuppance.
~~~~~
Aurora followed Rhiannon in a sort of miserable daze. Her marriage was not even a day old and already it was a disaster. Her husband despised her for her deception and she had yet to tell him of her wealth and the fact that she was a kidnapper and her sister was actually her daughter. Oh, she hoped he never discovered that particular lie.
Clasping her hands painfully tight to stem the incipient tears, Aurora forced her eyes to the child cavorting about. What a beautiful child, she thought wistfully. Rhiannon’s golden curls gleamed in the sunlight from beneath her simple bonnet and her pale blue dress brought out the amazing color of her eyes. She giggled and ran up to Aurora.
“‘Ory, ‘Ory, look!”
She held her prize aloft and Aurora was puzzled. A pretty little replica of Rhiannon stared up at her from eyes of blue glass.
“Where did you get this, darling?” She reached for the doll, but the girl backed away and clutched it to her chest.
“No, ‘Ory, mine,” she cried out petulantly.
“Dilys Verena Rhiannon, you let me see that doll, right now,” ordered Aurora softly. The child obeyed but only after a drawn-out moment in which a battle of wills commenced. Clasping it in a hand that shook ever so slightly, Aurora put it through a closer examination. She had hoped it might have the owner’s name stitched somewhere on it. It did not.
“Where did you find it?”
“A man. I can keep it,” she told her with a proud little tilt of her tiny head.
A shiver scurried its way up Aurora’s spine and she cursed the inability of a three-year-old to effectively articulate. “Who was the man, Rhiannon? Did he tell you his name?”
Rhiannon shook her head, a puzzled look on her pixie features. She looked back in the direction she’d come from. “There, ‘Ory!” she exclaimed suddenly, pointing toward a stand of trees.
Aurora had hoped she was wrong. She wasn’t. A strange man leaned negligently against a tree with a look of supreme confidence on his scarred face. He watched her with unabashed curiosity, taking in every move she made. Then he pushed away from the tree and disappeared.
She didn’t know the man’s identity but she was positive he was in the employ of Desmond Forester.
“Come, Rhiannon, we are going home.” And so saying, she grasped the child’s hand and pulled her from the park.
It wasn’t until she’d entered the foyer of her townhouse that Aurora realized she was clutching the doll against her chest. She looked down at it in bewildered disgust and tossed it onto a table, leaving it there for the servants to dispose of.
~~~~~
“Rory!”
The bellow made her jerk her head up so quickly that she felt a wrenching in her neck. “Ow,” she muttered as she rubbed at the sudden soreness. She set her needlework aside and rose to her feet to attend to whatever it was her husband required of her.
“My lord?” she asked, stiffly formal, as she joined him in the foyer.
“Call me that one more time, wife, and I’ll turn you over my knee,” growled Levi with little concern for the listening servants. “Come with me.”
He gave her no chance to be shocked or scandalized, taking her arm and propelling her into the morning room. He pushed her down into a chair and stood looking down at her.
“I have just searched all over London for you, thinking you were in danger. Where the devil were you?”
Her pale brows rose as she firmly suppressed a smile. “I have been here since returning from the park.” She frowned, remembering the events from earlier that day.
Shaking her head, she asked, “Why were you searching for me? You knew where I was.”
His face flushed ever so slightly. Oh heavens! He was embarrassed.
“Hart mentioned Forester and I was concerned. The man seems to vex you greatly.”
Aurora’s face cleared until it was devoid of any expression at all. Her lungs threatened to stop working but she managed to draw in a breath to steady her fear.
Forester had not attempted to stop her wedding to the earl. She had been uneasy about his reason for such inaction.
“Do you have any other secrets to tell me?”
The earl’s softly spoken query took her by surprise. It was the perfect time to confess all and pray for understanding. But something in his expression stopped her, a wary look of distrust that caused an odd shiver in her chest.
“My trustees are expecting us this afternoon.”
Levi’s entire body stiffened. “Explain.”
Aurora glanced away lest he see the flaring of annoyance in her eyes. She didn’t care at all for his tone and took exception to being ordered about like a servant.
Forcing herself to maintain at least the outward appearance of calm, she replied, “Certain things were neglected that must be taken care of. What monies I possess were left to me under the care of trustees. You know the law does not allow a woman to control her own inheritance.”
Aurora could see the thoughts churning in her husband’s mind but was unsure what his reaction would be.
It was completely unexpected.
“Very well.” Reaching out, he pulled her from her seat and into his arms. After kissing her thoroughly, he exited the room, leaving Aurora’s head spinning.
~~~~~
Thinking Aurora had been left a small amount of money by a kind relative, Levi was astounded to learn that his wife’s banker was Nathaniel Rothschild, a rising name in the banking industry. That gentleman calmly informed him of the extent of his new bride’s wealth.
Levi repeated the amount, sputtering it out like a question. He looked at his rigidly silent wife and repeated himself.
“Yes, Greville,” she replied with a tired sigh. “Mr. Rothschild, I want my husband to have full access to all my monies despite my father’s will.”
A brief flash of something lit Mr. Rothschild’s hitherto empty eyes. “I must advise against this, Lady Greville,” the Jewish banker said. He glanced at the huge young man who sat across the desk from him. “I have heard certain things that lead me to believe that this course of action would be unwise.”
“I know what you have heard, Mr. Rothschild. And I don’t care if he loses the whole lot on one turn of the card. I really do not.”
“Lady Greville, as one of your trustees I reluctantly agreed to allow the marriage. I don’t believe your father would approve of a known gambler having control of the money he left you.”
“My father’s will made it possible for me to turn over the monies to my husband should I approve him. You have already taken the word of Lord Connor Northwicke to approve the marriage. Would Lord Derringer’s word suffice as to my lord’s capability?”
The banker’s brows rose. “You can acquire the Duke of Derringer’s word?”
“If that is what it takes, yes.”
Rothschild stared hard at Aurora, then at the earl. Apparently seeing something reassuring, he consented.
The earl stared from the banker to Aurora. His mind churned at the implications, refusing to believe that she’d managed to withhold such a key piece of her life from him. Hell, she’d managed to fool the entire ton into thinking she was teetering on the brink of penury. Incredulous, he rounded on his wife much to the embarrassment and disgust of Rothschild.
To his credit, Levi did lower his voice from a bellow to a more normal volume, but his tone was hard. “You are rich as Croesus and you neglect to tell me? And now you are handing it all to me and you don’t even care that I am a wastrel and a gambler? What is wrong with you?” He stilled. “The money is a salve for your conscience.” It was not a question.
&
nbsp; “Can we continue this at home, please?” hissed Aurora. She threw an apologetic glance at the banker
Rothschild stood. “I will have the papers drawn up, my lady. Your solicitor has already been informed of your decision?”
Aurora smiled and nodded, thanking the man as he left the room.
The newlyweds sat in stony silence until the banker returned. Papers were duly signed and sealed and made legally official. Lady Greville rose gracefully to her feet and proceeded to shove her large husband determinedly out the door.
Levi handed his wife into a hack and climbed in beside her, turning slightly to give her his full attention. His face was set in grim lines, his arms crossed defensively over his massive chest.
“Explain,” he commanded gruffly.
Aurora’s lips trembled as she looked away. Her husband watched her, part of him wanting to reach out, the other part—the dominant part—so flummoxed by her lack of trust that all he could do was stare at her bonnet.
Another tear escaped and wound its lonely way down her flushed cheek. It disappeared before it reached her chin but not because she brushed it away. Levi’s hand had come under her chin to gently turn her face toward him and his thumb caught the tear.
“Rory, love, why did you not tell me?” he asked softly.
She wrenched her head out of his grasp and stared determinedly out her window.
Levi dropped his hand and stared at his lovely wife. There was something dreadfully wrong and she didn’t even trust him enough to confide in him. She was one of the wealthiest heiresses England had seen in a long time and she had told everyone that she was poor. Why?
Then there was his discovery of last night. She had not been a virgin. How he could have possibly mistaken her fear of his discovering the truth for what he had thought was fear of the unknown was completely beyond him. Now she was as closed as a clam and refused to even look at him. And she was crying. Why the devil was she crying?
The hack pulled up before their temporary residence in Mayfair and Levi jumped down and turned to help his wife. Instead of taking her hand, he placed both hands at her tiny waist and lifted her down, setting her feet firmly on the cobbles of the street. He held onto her for a second looking down at her bent head.
The hack driver called out that he couldn’t sit around all day, so Levi released his wife and dug a guinea out of his pocket. He tossed it up to the jehu and ignored the amazed exclamation of that man.
Levi turned just in time to see his wife disappear into the house.
~~~~~
Aurora rushed up to her bedchamber and slammed the door. She tossed her bonnet and pelisse across the room, kicked her shoes in the same direction, and threw herself on the bed to indulge in a childish bout of weeping.
After a few moments of drenching her pillow, Aurora sat up. Her head swam at the sudden movement. A thought occurred to her that made her brow furrow.
Why was Levi actually upset? Was he upset that she had come to him impure? Or was he angered that she had lied?
His actions at the bank implied that it was the dishonesty more than the impurity that was unacceptable. If that was the case, she had more to answer for and by the time all was said and done, he’d want nothing more to do with her. She bit down on her lip until she tasted blood.
Several minutes later, her husband entered, closing the door softly behind him. Had he slammed the door as she had, Aurora would have felt better. His care was unnerving.
He didn’t shout at her as she’d expected. In fact, he did the very last thing she expected. He sat beside her and pulled her into his arms. She promptly burst into a fresh torrent of misery, silently castigating herself for turning into such a watering pot.
Levi held her for the better part of an hour while she sobbed dismally into his cravat and waistcoat. He didn’t try to make her speak, for which she was grateful. He just held her close and told her over and over again that everything would be all right.
Aurora’s tears finally dried and she lifted her head with a weary sigh and looked at her husband. “I am sorry for ruining your neckcloth, Levi. And it was a lovely waterfall, too.”
“Ironic, that.”
She released a watery chuckle and tugged nervously at his cravat. Levi reached up and stopped her hands forcing her to look him in the eye.
“Are you ready to talk?” he asked gently. “Or do you need more time?”
“I need more time,” she whispered. Her turquoise eyes filled with tears again and one slipped down her cheek.
“Oh, no, Aurora Greville, no more of that,” her husband declared with a tiny smile hovering on his lips. He brushed the offending tear away. “You have cried for an hour. That is your limit for this week. No more.”
A watery giggle escaped as she forced the tears back. She stared up into his dark brown eyes and her giggles ceased. She placed one small hand against his cheek and whispered, “Make love to me, Levi.”
His eyes widened. “Now?”
She nodded silently. Levi gazed into her eyes and she resisted the urge to look away from his probing stare. She could only imagine what he saw, what emotions were written all over her features.
Whatever he saw, it was enough. He leaned forward and kissed her.
Holding her tight in the aftermath, when Aurora drowsed in that state between waking and dreaming, Levi put his lips against her ear and whispered, “I love you, Aurora.”
*
Chapter Fifteen
“Rhiannon, darling, come back here!”
Aurora followed after the child, marveling at how their lives had changed in a few short weeks. Since arriving in London, Aurora had met, fallen in love, and married the man of her dreams. He was strong and capable, funny and loving, and already so devoted to Rhiannon, as if she were his own relation.
Aurora wished desperately that she could find the courage to tell him the truth.
Rhiannon kept running away, then stopped, turned, and started running back to Aurora. Aurora smiled as she watched her daughter’s radiant face. If only…
Aurora glanced up at the sky and frowned. None of that. If only’s change nothing and effectively bring on the megrims.
“Ory, it’s him!”
Aurora’s head whipped around just in time to see a man dart from the trees and snatch Rhiannon mid-flight. The newly made Countess of Greville recognized the man who had given Rhiannon the doll a week ago. Her heart stopped beating as her daughter released a frightened shriek. The man ran off into the trees and Aurora dropped her parasol and reticule and, lifting her skirts, gave chase.
Rhiannon screamed and Aurora ran, but it was all for naught. The man was much bigger and much faster, disappearing within moments.
She searched anyway. It was what her mind screamed at her to do and so she did. Logic said the man was gone and it was beyond her limited abilities to find him. What she needed was her husband and maybe that disreputable friend of his.
She made her way home, her mind whirling in so many directions that she couldn’t pin down any one thought. The only thing that made any sort of sense was finding her husband.
“Levi!”
The scream made servants all over the house in Mayfair jump in alarm. Their mistress had never once raised her voice. Not like that. Her scream was enough to wake the dead.
The Earl of Greville was not dead. He nearly leapt from his chair at the piercing shout. He did drop the book he was holding and somehow managed to hit Derringer with it.
“Devil! Are you trying to kill me?”
“I do believe my wife is returned from her walk,” Levi muttered. He paused and glanced at the duke. “Apologies, Hart. I’ll be sure to aim higher next time. I am quite sure that being hit in the foot will not kill a man.”
Rising, the gentlemen left the study to investigate the unexplained contretemps in the foyer. Levi was not surprised to see his wife was the cause since he had, of course, heard her shout mere seconds prior. He was not, however, expecting to
see his bride looking as though she’d been dragged backward through a briar patch.
Her hair, having escaped its pins, was falling all about her face in mad disarray while her bonnet was missing entirely. Fresh dirt and tears marred the once pretty blue fabric of her gown and pelisse. Of her absent parasol and reticule, he could only assume they went the way of her bonnet. The wild look in her eyes told the earl she was preparing to let loose another shrill scream.
He strode quickly forward and grasped her upper arms. “What is it?”
“They took her, Levi. Right before my eyes. They took her!” Aurora burst into tears and Levi did the only thing he could, he held her against his chest and gave Derringer a pleading look.
Black eyes filling with what Levi could only call surprise, the duke shrugged as he strode forward, removed Aurora from his best friend’s grasp and slapped her soundly on the cheek.
Levi’s jaw dropped. Then dropped further still when his tiny wife retaliated.
With barely a second’s thought, the Countess of Greville drew back her hand and slapped Lord Heartless with all the power she could manage.
At least, Levi hoped it was all she could manage. The force of the blow snapped Derringer’s head back, surprise making him stumble. He bumped into a small table, knocking invitations and a small vase of flowers to the floor.
Although he managed to catch himself before he landed on his backside, the humiliation was enough to curl his lips into a snarl. Aurora didn’t seem to realize the imminent danger she was in as she launched herself at the duke, intent on murder.
Levi stepped between them, wanting the death of neither on his conscience while secretly believing Derringer deserved at least a sound thrashing for striking another man’s wife. That was best left for another day.
Derringer suddenly laughed. The sound was eerie, like a little-used gate creaking in the wind. It was enough to make Aurora stop struggling for his throat.
“Is he dying?”
Derringer laughed harder.
“I don’t think so,” Levi replied, his brow creasing. “Apparently, the thought of you killing him is immensely funny.”