Later that evening Jared raised his head from the Elbourne dining table and tightened his grip on his wineglass as soon as the duke entered the room.
"What is he doing here?" Roderick's mouth twisted dangerously.
The duchess knitted her brows, patting her snow-white feline, which to Jared's bewilderment had taken a seat on the corner of the lace tablecloth. "Why, Roderick, I asked him to stay for dinner. Those meals at White's are not the same quality that Cook makes for us. A young man such as Lord Stonebridge needs a healthy meal. I simply cannot understand why he must reside at some wayward club or hotel when we have plenty of bedchambers to fill."
She glanced at Jared and he flashed her a stunning white smile, knowing that it unnerved Roderick to no end. "Indeed, the meals here are truly the best I have ever had, Your Grace. Besides yours, dear Aunt."
Seated at the other end of the table, Agatha raised a discriminating brow.
The duchess laughed. "See there, Roderick, he is ever the gentleman. Come and take your seat."
Roderick emitted a low growl, sinking into his chair at the head of the table.
"And where are your brothers, pray tell?" the duchess asked. "I thought they would be joining us tonight."
"Marcus and Clayton will be coming straightaway. However, I fear they may miss the meal. But as to your youngest son, madam, I have no notion of his whereabouts."
The duchess waved her hand as the footman marched in with two platters of beef and ham. "Yes, yes, I do remember now. Stephen has gone off with your sister to visit with some lady by the name of Mrs. Allison. Business, he said."
Roderick raised his brow toward Jared. "Ah, Stonebridge, you are acquainted with a Mrs. Allison, are you not?"
Jared's hand faltered on his wineglass. Mrs. Allison was his child's nurse and nanny. He was to tell Emily about his daughter tonight. Minutes before he had left for the Elbourne House, he had received a special missive directly from Whitehall declaring that all was safe. There was no longer a reason to keep Gabrielle in seclusion because Monsieur Devereaux was indeed dead. However, Jared's suspicions had also been confirmed that the man had not died when Roderick had shot him. A bleeding Devereaux had made his way to a small village outside Paris and died months later, vowing revenge with his last breath.
Jane looked from one man to another and frowned. "Who is this Mrs. Allison?"
Jared ignored Jane's question and glared at the duke. "Am I to presume that you were the very person to inform your sister about the lady in question?"
Roderick smiled as he begun to cut his beef. "Suffice to say, a good brother does his best by telling his sister all the facts about a particular state of affairs."
Jane picked up her fork, her expression thoughtful. "But it was Stephen who was meeting the lady for business, was he not?"
Jared ignored the looks coming his way and chewed his beef slowly, his reproachful eyes still on the duke. "And you told her all the facts, I take it?"
"My, my, my," Agatha interrupted with a sigh. "I daresay, Anne, this is by far the best beef I have ever tasted. What is that sauce your Cook uses?"
While the duchess went into a long monologue on Cook's famous French sauces, Jared glared at Roderick. Roderick glared at Jared, the tension in the room sparking like the front lines on a battlefield.
After dinner the women departed for the drawing room while Roderick insisted the two men drink their port in the dining room.
When the door snapped closed, Jared turned on the duke. "You have nerve subjecting your sister to the facts without letting me speak to her first."
Roderick let out a coarse laugh. "Ha! You speak to her first? And when would that be? After you have carried her off to Gretna Green and married her?" His dark eyes glinted with rage. "Or after you have had your first child?"
Jared shot him a cold look. "If you were not her brother, I would call you out right here."
Roderick narrowed his eyes. "Well, confound it, do not let my sibling blood stop you."
Jared ground his teeth. "I vow, Elbourne, you are the most infuriating man I have ever come across. I had reasons for my silence."
Ignoring him, Roderick went on. "Tell me, Jared, if you wed Emily, and when your first child comes, will you abandon him or her as well?"
The blow to Roderick's jaw was swift and brutal. "Say another word about my child, Your Grace, and I will kill you."
Roderick rubbed his jaw, not appearing the least bit remorseful. "I daresay, then, you tell me from your own lips, why you have abandoned your own daughter. I would never have thought it of you, but times do change a man."
Anger flashed dangerously in Jared's eyes. "You know the reason. It was because of Devereaux. I could not take the chance of him discovering Gabrielle."
The duke paused, his eyes narrowing. "But the man's dead."
"Not when you shot him. He died later in a village outside Paris."
"You should have told me."
"I only discovered the truth earlier today."
"And what about Emily? Does she know?"
"No, I was going to inform her tonight."
"It matters not, Jared. I still forbid you to marry my sister. You carry too much baggage. There are things I know about you, things you've done, things that Emily should never have to live with."
"The devil, Elbourne! It was war. You did the same things as I."
"But Emily did not. Her missions were different." Roderick grabbed Jared by the cravat and pushed him back. "Stay away from her. She deserves better."
Jared lunged forward and took another swing. Roderick struck back. After a few minutes of scuffling, both men lay on the floor panting for breath.
Jared breathed heavily. "Whether you like it or not, I will marry your sister."
"No, you will not!"
Both heads whipped around as Emily's voice filled the room. She stepped past the dining room doors, her face an angry shade of red. Turning, she slammed the doors shut, then faced the two disheveled men.
"How dare you two decide my life." She pointed a shaking finger at Roderick. "You! I will no longer have you deciding what I can and cannot do, whom I can see and whom I cannot!"
Jared smiled.
"And as for you," she snapped, turning toward Jared. "You are an insufferable lout."
Jared's brows lifted. This time it was Roderick's turn to smile.
"Now," she said almost too calmly. "Roderick, you will leave this room and let me speak to Lord Stonebridge alone." She glared at her immobile sibling.
Finally, Roderick unfolded his tall body from the floor and walked toward his sister. "I will not leave. You may speak to this man, but by heaven, I won't leave you alone with him."
Emily's eyes narrowed. "So help me, Roderick, if you deny my request, I will give Jane a detailed history of your past female acquaintances the last three years of your life."
Roderick's expression became one of disgusted horror. "Why, you little vixen. How would you know anything about my ... my past?"
"You forget, dear brother, Silver Fox is capable of many covert activities."
Roderick's face was as taut as a violin bow. He looked at Jared, then back to Emily. "We will speak of this later."
Emily managed a stiff smile. "I thought you would see it my way."
"Yes, well, whether you like it or not, I am still your guardian, and you have exactly five minutes."
"More than I should ever need."
A wide smile spread across Jared's face as he watched the Duke of Elbourne leave the room.
However, Jared knew he was walking a fine line, for it was most likely the lady had discovered his secret. He stepped toward her with open arms. "Emily, sweetheart."
The bottle of port flew by him in an angry crash, spraying the red liquid over the front of his white linen shirt.
"Perhaps you should have told me the truth," she said, her fists balled at her sides.
"The truth?" His mouth tightened as he grabbed a napkin off the table to wipe his
face.
"Yes, the truth. Do you even know the word, my lord?"
His head snapped up, his expression cold with fury. "The truth that your father was in love with my mother all those years? The truth that my grandfather denied his offer of marriage? The truth that my mother loved another and not your father? Is that what you wanted to hear? The truth that your father denied my suit because of revenge?" His hand fisted about the napkin. "The truth that he planned for Felicia to fall into my arms that night, thereby compromising me ... and her?"
"No!" Emily took a faltering step back. Her father had planned Jared's marriage to Felicia?
"It's all true, Emily. Every word of it."
No, this could not be true. Her father had loved Jared’s mother and took revenge on the woman's son, keeping Emily from the man she loved? No!
But a tiny voice whispered in her head that her father’s love for another woman made too much sense not to be true. Her mother and father fighting. Her mother's sobs at night. The late duke's abandonment of any type of romantic notion and passing the same sentiments on to his sons.
"N-no," she said on a more somber note, "I wanted to know about your daughter."
"Yes, I have a daughter," he voiced in irritation as he slapped the napkin back over the seat of the chair. "Her name is Gabrielle. And your brother has quite a mouth."
His annoyance at her was unbelievable. He was the one who lied, not her. "At least he has a heart!"
Dark amber eyes flashed a firm warning. "And what do you mean by that, madam?"
"You left your child in the country as if she had never been born. How could you do such a wretched thing?"
"My child is not your business," he ripped out angrily. "You, madam, are not the child's mother."
Emily flinched as if he had slapped her. No, she was not the girl's mother, and he would never let her forget that fact. Her anguish peaked, destroying the last shreds of hope for their future. "A fact I am certain you will not forget."
Jared's face changed and he took a step forward, his voice softening. "You don't understand, Emily. I had to keep Gabrielle safe."
Emily fought hard against the tears clogging her throat. "Did you have any idea that Mrs. Allison spent your money on a lavish lifestyle, almost ignoring your daughter completely?"
His expression grew hard again. "Impossible. I obtained glowing reports of Mrs. Allison from Whitehall."
Before Emily could respond, the door opened and a child's gentle laughter floated into the room.
Jared turned. "What the devil?"
Emily's skirts brushed past him as she stalked toward the door. "Not the devil, my lord. Your daughter."
Shocked, Jared flung his gaze to the squirming blond bundle held in Agatha's arms. "Gabrielle?"
"This. This." The little girl's high-pitched voice was like a tinkling bell on Christmas morning. How long had he been gone from her? He watched in awe as her small, delicate hand groped for Agatha's parasol. His heart ached to hold her.
"How could you not have told me?" Agatha's sharp whisper pierced the air like a thousand well-aimed arrows.
"I had my reasons," he said coolly, pulling back his port-stained shoulders, knowing he had never visited Gabrielle for reasons of safety, but now he felt the fool ten times over.
Gray eyes burned into his face as Agatha lowered the girl to her feet. "I could have taken care of her, Jared. You should never have left her in that woman's hands."
Jared cringed. How could he have been so wrong? Mrs. Allison's recommendations must have been forged. But he should have known. The lieutenant who sent him the report about the lady had been caught embezzling government funds only last week. Yet the man's previous record had been impeccable. Jared had never thought there would be a problem with Mrs. Allison.
He stared at Gabrielle as she toddled toward him. Adorable yellow curls framed a pair of pale cheeks. He felt as if someone had taken hold of his heart and squeezed. He would personally see to it that Mrs. Allison never cared for anyone else's children. Ever. Yet he knew he had failed again.
He peered up at Agatha. "I could not disclose her whereabouts. At least, not until today."
He knelt on the floor when his daughter tried to grab his pocket watch, yanking it from his coat. "This. This," she said, her amber eyes sparkling with glee.
He managed a smile and gave her the watch. At least her spirit was not broken. "Gabrielle," he said, wrapping his arms around her delicate frame. "Baby ... I missed you."
"I pray you will search your heart, my lord," Emily said in a hoarse whisper, "and do your duty with your little girl. I dearly hope that as you do, your wife can finally rest in peace."
Jared was stunned by Emily's comment. "I don't think you understand. I had to leave my daughter in the country."
Emily bit her lip. "What kind of father are you?"
Agatha lifted her chin and thumped her parasol against a chair. "Really, Jared. How could you?" With those scorning words, she marched from the room, closing the door behind her.
Jared felt his collar grow warm as Emily glared at him. Perhaps he should have done things differently, but it was too late now. "Maybe I should have told you about my daughter and asked for help. But it was because of my work, Emily. You have heard of Monsieur Devereaux?"
A muscle twitched in Emily's cheek. "Of course."
"He swore to kill me."
"But he died in Paris."
"No, he died in a village outside Paris months after he was shot. His death was not truly confirmed until earlier today. I could not take the chance of letting the man go after my family. You must see that. I had to keep Gabrielle safe until I was certain of his death."
"Papa!" Squealing with glee, Gabrielle rolled on the floor, playing with Jared's pocket watch.
Emily glanced at the little girl, then shifted her teary gaze back to Jared. "You knew you could trust me, Jared. You, of all people, knew who I was. Yet you kept this from me, deliberately, just as you kept the truth from me about my father. He may have been wrong about what he had done, but you were wrong keeping the truth from me. We cannot have a relationship based on half-truths."
Jared knelt down and brushed Gabrielle's soft curls. "I did what I thought was right."
"And so will I," Emily said, retreating.
Jared lifted his head. "Where are you going?"
Emily reached for the door and glanced over her shoulder, her violet eyes brimming with tears. "You should have told me."
Jared opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say another word, she slipped from the room.
"Papa," Gabrielle whispered as she stroked his cheek.
Jared turned to his daughter and buried his face in her hair. "Gabrielle," he said, his throat closing with emotion.
How had Emily known his child had been in trouble when he, the Black Wolf, had no idea? Emily had brought his little girl back to him, and for that, he would be forever grateful.
He would take Gabrielle back to his townhouse tonight. The refurbishing of his home had been finished two days ago. Agatha and Jane could return with him as well.
Tomorrow, after apologizing to Emily, Jared would formally ask for her hand in marriage. She would forgive him. She loved him, did she not? He assured himself that all she needed was a day to cool her temper, and although futile, he would request Roderick's permission to wed his sister. As for Emily, she would demand her brother's cooperation.
Jared smiled, kissing his daughter's cheek. He and Emily would be married by special license as soon as possible.
"I have no more patience, Agatha. I have only one heart and he has broken it time and time again. I am a human being. I want stability. I want trust. I want love, unconditionally, and if he cannot give both to his daughter and me, I cannot marry him. I would rather marry Lord Bringston. At least I know where I stand with him." Emily's voice broke miserably as she fled up the steps to her room.
Agatha stood planted at the foot of the stairs, two fat tears trickling down her pl
ump cheeks. "Oh, Jared, what have you done?"
Chapter Fourteen
A cluster of gray clouds hung in the sky, giving way to a brisk, chilling wind wailing outside the Elbourne townhouse. Emily sat in the family carriage as her trunks were being packed. She was returning to the country where she would sort out her emotions, finalize her engagement with Lord Bringston, and move on with her life.
With a tired sigh, she rested her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She felt empty, drained, numb to everything around her. One of her footmen called out, but his words were muffled in the wind. She had no reason to look up when Stephen climbed in beside her, the leather creaking against his weight as the carriage door clicked closed behind him.
"Dreaming, sweetheart?"
Emily's eyes jerked open at the sound of Jared's amused voice. Deep amber eyes stared back at her. "Where's my brother?"
"Which one?"
Emily felt the full force of his smile, and her stomach knotted. "What do you want?"
"I want to thank you for returning my daughter to me."
"Then, I am happy for you. Is that all?"
"Is that all?" He looked stunned. "I mean to go forward and ask Roderick for your hand. I was hoping you would be there. But it seems you are leaving."
Her eyes widened and she looked away, the pain of his lies clawing at her heart. "No need to avail yourself to such a displeasing confrontation with my brother. I see no future for us. You deliberately lied to me about your daughter . . . and my father."
"Your father?"
"Yes." She swung back to him. "You should have told me everything sooner, including the fact that you had a child."
There was a distinct coolness in his eyes when he spoke. "I beg to differ. I already told you that I revealed my information when I deemed it necessary."
"When you deemed?" Her temper flared. "First, you thank me for reuniting you with your daughter, and now, you contradict yourself, sir."
The bronzed skin against his cheekbones pulled taut. "And you, madam, are a spoiled daughter of a duke."
Her face burned with humiliation. "I may be the daughter of a duke," she sputtered, "but you . . . you are a liar."
The Rejected Suitor (The Clearbrooks) Page 18