Surrender Amanda Quick

by Surrender (lit)

  not have any hesitation at all in letting

  her take all the risks she wished.

  Lucas reached out a little roughly

  and caught her chin between thumb

  and forefinger. Victoria, if a romantic

  liaison is truly what you want, then

  it will be my privilege to give it to

  you."

  Her sudden smile was much too luminous

  and her eyes glowed with what looked

  suspiciously like feminine triumph. In the

  spirit of intellectual inquiry, my lord?"

  Somewhere inside Lucas a warning bell

  belatedly clanged. He studied Victoria's

  delighted, cheerfully smug expression and

  a nasty notion was born in him that he'd

  just been well and truly outmaneuvered.

  I have always been a great believer in

  the benefits of intellectual inquiry," he said

  grimly.

  Oh, Lucas, how can I ever thank you?"

  She threw her arms around his neck and

  hugged him fiercely. You are always so

  good to me."

  Swearing silently, he succumbed to the

  allure of her obvious delight. He was

  beginning to realize that it would always

  be difficult to refuse Victoria whatever she

  happened to want. He would do well in

  the future to remember his weakness in

  that regard.

  Reluctantly Lucas pulled her arms from

  around his neck, kissing her reassuringly

  on the tip of her nose. Then tis settled.

  Now, my sweet, you had better get back

  into the house. I think I hear a carriage

  coming down the street."

  Oh, dear, that must be Aunt Cleo. I

  must go." She turned swiftly, the cloak

  whirling around her sadly dampened

  slippers. Then she swung back with a

  quick frown of concern. Do be careful

  of your leg when you go back over the

  wall, Lucas. I worry about all this climbing

  about. It cannot be good for you."

  I'm inclined to agree." The damned leg

  was already aching from his first assault

  on the wall this evening. Now he must

  repeat the process. I look forward to the

  night when this wall climbing is no longer

  necessary. Good night, Vicky."

  About our plans for our first, uh,

  liaison ." She glanced anxiously toward

  the conservatory door as she, too, heard

  the carriage in the street.

  Don't fret, Vicky. I will arrange every

  thing."

  You will?"

  He paused, straddling the garden wall,

  and looked down into her upturned face.

  He bit back an oath. Yes, Vicky, I will.

  That's my job, is it not?"

  You will let me know just as soon as

  you have got the details worked out?" she

  called out hopefully.

  Believe me, my dear, you will be the

  first to know." He cleared the wall and

  dropped down into the alley. His thigh

  protested strongly and his limp was more

  pronounced than usual as he made his

  way back toward the street where he had

  left the carriage. One way or another he

  definitely had to put a stop to this wall

  climbing.

  Lucas checked the street and saw no

  one. He crossed it and started around the

  corner. He very nearly walked straight into

  the man holding the knife.

  The footpad appeared equally surprised

  at the suddenness of the encounter. He had

  obviously been lounging in the shadows,

  waiting for his quarry, and had not

  heard Lucas approach. But he reacted

  immediately, lunging forward with the

  blade held low.

  Lucas was already diving to the side,

  cursing as he felt his bad leg give away.

  He landed hard on the knee of his injured

  leg and forced himself to ignore the pain

  while he reached up and grabbed for his

  attacker's knife arm.

  The man yelled in rage and surprise as

  Lucas rolled onto his back and tugged

  hard. The assailant slammed into the

  brick wall of the darkened house on the

  corner and the knife clattered to the paving

  stones.

  Lucas kept rolling, moving up onto his

  knees. Then he staggered to his feet,

  bracing himself with one hand against

  the brick wall. Raw agony tore through

  his left leg.

  The footpad was already thudding away

  into the darkness, footsteps echoing harshly

  in the night. He did not stop to retrieve

  his knife.

  Ere, now," the coachman yelled, pound

  ing up the street as he belatedly realized his

  passenger was in trouble. What's goin" on?

  What'appened, m'lord? Are ye hurt?"

  No." Lucas glanced down at his expensive

  Weston jacket and swore again. He

  had just paid a fortune for the damn

  thing and now he would have to purchase

  a new one.

  Some footpad lookin" to prig a gennel

  man's purse," the coachman declared,

  reaching down to scoop up the knife.

  Wicked-lookin" thing. The cove meant

  business, didn't e?"

  Yes," said Lucas. But I am not certain

  just what sort of business he had in

  mind."

  Streets ain't safe for man nor beast,"

  the coachman remarked. You andled him

  right proper m'lord. Saw the way you sent

  im flying." Learn that sort of thing at

  Gentleman Jackson's academy, did ye?"

  No. I learned that sort of thing the hard

  way." Lucas started toward the coach and

  sucked in his breath as his left leg nearly

  collapsed again. He summoned up a vision

  of the bottle of port waiting in his library.

  Let's be off, if you don't mind. It is not

  my intention to amuse myself standing

  around the streets at this hour."

  Certainly, sir. But I'd just like to say I

  never met a member o" the fancy could

  andle imself as well as you just did

  in a street fight. Most of the nabobs I

  run across would o" ended up with their

  gullets slit."

  Victoria stepped back into her room and

  closed the door quietly behind her. Then

  she shut her eyes and leaned back against

  the wooden panels. Her heart was racing

  and she felt as though her legs were going

  to melt.

  She had done it.

  It had taken more raw courage than she

  had dreamed it would, more than she had

  even believed she possessed, but she had

  done it. She was going to have an affair

  with Lucas Mallory Colebrook, the Earl of

  stone vale.

  Her hands were trembling as she came

  away from the door and walked a little

  unsteadily across the room to stare out of

  the window into the darkness.

  Now that she had accomplished her goal

  after days of agonizing over the matter, she

  discovered she was weak with reaction.

  There were so many dangers, both for

  herself and for Luca
s.

  But the chance to discover passion in

  Lucas's arms was worth any risk.

  Such an admirable man. He was not a

  silly, foppish dandy or a callous rake hell.

  He cared about her reputation yet he

  accepted her desire to avoid marriage.

  He was not after her fortune, it seemed,

  only her.

  Dear God, listen to me. I sound as if I

  am in love with the man." Victoria caught

  her breath as the realization momentarily

  swamped her. I am in love with him."

  She hugged herself with the wonder

  of this latest adventure. To be in love

  and yet to be free. What more could a

  woman ask?

  She stood at the window for a long time,

  trying to see the future in the darkness.

  But everything seemed cloudy and without

  solid form. After a long while, she went

  to bed.

  At dawn she came awake suddenly,

  sitting bolt upright against the pillows.

  Demon bitch. I will send you back to hell.

  The knife.

  Dear God, the knife.

  She did not remember much about the

  nightmare that had jolted her from sleep,

  but she did not need to recall the details.

  She'd had similar dreams often enough

  during the past few months and they

  always ended the same way, leaving her

  restless and disturbed, filling her with a

  sense of dark, brooding menace that could

  not be logically explained away.

  At least she had not cried out this time,

  she thought in relief. Occasionally she

  screamed in the middle of the terrible

  dreams and poor Nan would come running

  to check on her.

  Victoria got out of bed. She knew from

  experience that daylight would banish the

  disquieting sensation. In the meantime

  there was not much point in trying to

  go back to sleep.

  She reached for her wrapper. It was

  a clear day and soon the morning light

  would be streaming into the conservatory.

  A perfect day for painting. When all else

  failed, she could frequently find peace of

  mind by losing herself in her art.

  Dressing quickly, she hurried downstairs.

  The household was just beginning to stir.

  She could hear cook clattering the pans in

  the kitchen.

  Her easel, paintbox, and sketchbooks

  were just where she had left them. Victoria

  stood looking around the lush conservatory

  for a moment and then her eyes fell on the

  glorious blooms of Strelitzia reginae.

  In the morning sunlight the flower was a

  wonderful cross between gold and yellow,

  a fabulous shade of amber touched with

  highlights of royal blue.

  She quickly set about shifting all her

  equipment to a new vantage point where

  she would have a clear view of Strelitzia.

  She remembered how Lucas had admired

  it that first day in the conservatory.

  She was going to paint it for him,

  she decided on a sudden impulse. He

  had appeared genuinely pleased by her

  botanical watercolors and sketches and

  there was no doubt about his new

  enthusiasm for horticulture. Perhaps he

  would like Strelitzia reginae as a memento

  of their first night together as lovers. It

  would be her gift to him on that memorable

  night.

  Almost like a wedding gift, came the

  unbidden thought. She banished it quickly

  and sat down to go to work.

  She saw the snuffbox inside her paintbox

  the moment she raised the lid.

  For a few seconds she simply stared at

  it, astonished, and wondered why anyone

  would deposit a perfectly good snuffbox in

  her paintbox. It was as odd to find such an

  object here as it had been to discover the

  monogrammed scarf on the conservatory

  door a few nights earlier.

  With a small, niggling sense of dread,

  Victoria picked up the tiny snuffbox

  and examined it carefully. It was a

  nicely worked box but not particularly

  distinguished except for the letter W

  engraved on the inside of the lid.

  For a minute she was short of breath.

  She reminded herself violently that she did

  not believe in ghosts. But the thought that

  someone might be playing a macabre game

  with her was even more chilling than the

  prospect of a phantom.

  And even more impossible, she told

  herself, taking several deep breaths to calm

  her nerves. She had to be sensible. This

  could not be her stepfather's snuffbox any

  more than the scarf could possibly have

  belonged to him.

  This was all some sort of bizarre

  coincidence. One of her aunt's numerous

  acquaintances had been on a visit to the

  conservatory and had left the scarf and

  snuffbox behind. The scarf had been found

  immediately but the snuffbox had been set

  down and forgotten only to be discovered

  much later. By her.

  It was the only possible explanation

  because no one, no one except herself

  knew what had really happened on that

  dreadful night when her stepfather had

  died at the foot of a flight of stairs.

  Four days later Victoria looked around

  the Middleships" glittering ballroom at

  the sea of fashionably dressed guests and

  realized she was as nervous and excited as

  a bride at her own wedding party. This was

  the night.

  As this was as close as she ever intended

  to get to a genuine wedding celebration,

  she had best enjoy it, she decided.

  Three days ago Lucas had calmly told

  her that he had made all the arrangements

  for their first night together. The plans were

  contingent on Lady Nettleship accepting

  a long-standing invitation to a weekend

  house party in the country, he had

  warned. But that had been no problem.

  This morning Cleo had set off cheerfully

  for the nearby country home of one of her

  dearest friends.

  You are quite certain you do not mind

  staying here alone for one evening?" Aunt

  Cleo had demanded for the third time as

  she tied her bonnet and prepared to follow

  several bags into her traveling coach.

  Hardly alone, Aunt Cleo. I have all the

  servants including Nan. I shall do very

  well. You will recall that I am invited

  to the Middleships" ball tonight and their

  soirees never end before dawn. I shan't be

  home until sunrise and you will be back

  in the afternoon."

  Well, you are nearly twenty-five. I

  daresay no one can remark upon you

  staying here in your own home for one

  night without having me, and you will be

  accompanied by Lady Lyndwood and her

  daughter when you attend the ball, so all

  is well. Take care, Vicky." Cleo had given
>
  her a good-bye peck on the cheek before

  settling into the coach for the trip.

  Victoria had waved from the steps and

  then felt her stomach do a series of strange

  little flips as anticipation set in with a

  vengeance.

  This was the night. There was no turning

  back now. This was what she wanted;

  Lucas was the man she wanted. She was

  on the brink of a romantic liaison with the

  man she loved. The dazzling prospect of

  this sort of intellectual inquiry was enough

  to take away her breath.

  The time had come. Victoria began

  to edge through the crowd, making her

  way unobtrusively toward the door. Lucas

  would be waiting.

  Off so soon, Victoria?" Isabel Rycott

  seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

  I fear I have a number of engagements

  this evening," Victoria said politely. I

  promised a friend I would drop in at the

  Bridge waters" for a while and then I have

  to go on to yet another rout after that."

  Isabel tapped Victoria's gloved wrist

  admonishingly with her fan and smiled her

  mysterious smile. I understand completely,

  my dear. You will slip from one party to

  another until you happen across your earl,

  will you not?"

  Victoria flushed. I have no idea what

  you are talking about, Lady Rycott."

  Isabel laughed softly but with a strange

  touch of bitterness. Don't be embarrassed,

  my dear. It is not so very unique to find

  oneself attracted to an interesting man. It

  is part of the female condition. But a wise

  woman takes care to remain in command

  of her emotions and the situation at all

  times. She is careful to choose men who

  are not particularly strong, men who can

  be easily managed."

  Really, Lady Rycott, I must be off."

  Yes, of course. But do keep my words in

  mind. As Samuel's and Caroline's friend, I

  want only the best for you." Isabel's eyes

  glittered with sudden harshness. And you

  needn't act so superior, damn you."

  Victoria was shocked. I assure you, it

  is not my intention to offend you in

  any way."

  Isabel's mouth twisted in a smile that

  was not in the least charming or even

  particularly mysterious. Yes. You are

  noted for your kindness, are you not?

  But I know what you think of my friend

  Edgeworth. I saw it in your eyes the day

  we met in the park. You find him sadly

  lacking when you compare him to your

  precious earl."

  Victoria started. I never said"

  You did not have to say anything. I saw

  it in your eyes. Such arrogance. You think