“Then why did you come?” she asked as she set aside the paper he’d picked and crossed her arms.
“To talk to you about the marriage.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, exactly why I need a dress.”
He grabbed her arm to keep her from turning away. “The marriage, Ginny, not the wedding.”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “I don’t think there’s much more to say on that subject, is there?”
“There are volumes.” He motioned to a chair. She gave him an exasperated look but sat as he’d ordered. “I’ve been considering your terms.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Oh?”
“And I’ve changed my mind.” He took a deep breath. After days of considering whether he should bear his heart to her or not, he was here. And he had to say the things he’d planned.
“You’ve changed your mind?” she asked in tone that made it clear how upset she was. “You can’t change your mind. We had a deal. A gentleman’s agreement.”
“Well, there are two problems with that,” he said as he reached over to take her hand. “One is that I was under duress.”
“How?” she asked as she tried to pull away to no avail. He wasn’t planning on letting her hide this time.
“Your brother knocked me unconscious not an hour before our so-called bargain. I wasn’t in my right mind. And second-” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the inside of her wrist, then the soft pale flesh of her inner elbow. She hissed out a sound of pleasure. “-you aren’t a gentleman.”
“Simon, please,” she whispered.
“Please stop, or please don’t?” he asked. “Are you even sure anymore?”
“I’m not sure of anything when you do that,” she admitted as he trailed his lips up to the hem of her short, puffed sleeve.
“I’m sure of something. I’m sure that I don’t want to have a marriage with you that exists in name only.”
She stopped struggling against his touch and her blue eyes came to meet his deliberately. “You don’t?”
Was that glimmer of hope in her voice just in his imagination?
“No.” He sat down in the chair next to hers and looked in to her eyes. She’d tried to cloak her emotions, but deep within he could see her struggling. “I don’t want to live in a different place. I don’t want to watch you from afar. I don’t want to make arrangements to see my own children.”
He let out his breath as he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “You told me to make a life, and I want to make it with you.”
“Simon,” she interrupted, but he continued.
“I want to spend my days getting to know you. I want to help you raise your son into the kind of man we’ll both be proud of. I want to go to bed with you each night and wake up with you beside me.”
She shook her head, but her eyes misted. Her voice was very quiet when she whispered, “For now, you want that.”
“For always.” He leaned closer. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Virginia Blanchard. I’m in love with you.”
He held his breath as he waited for her response, but she said nothing. Instead, she stared at him as if he’d suggested something outrageous or spoken in some foreign language.
“Ginny?” He swallowed against the dryness of his mouth. “Did you hear me?”
Slowly she nodded. “Yes. Yes, I heard you. Simon, I need to tell you something.”
“Yes?” Somehow he’d hoped she launch herself into his arms and tell him she returned his love and that they could be happy, not this strange reaction.
“It’s something very difficult for me,” she said as she pulled away. Her face turned to the floor to examine the carpet in detail. “So it may take me a moment to get it all out.”
He cocked his head as curiosity tempered his disappointment. “Take your time. Just tell me what it is.”
“It’s about Henry,” she whispered. “The night that he-”
“Ginny, Mother said you were in here with-”
Both Simon and Ginny pivoted to see Noah standing at the door. When he saw the two were alone together, sitting with heads close together in a deep conversation, his eyes narrowed.
“Haven’t you learned a damn thing?” he snarled.
But this time Simon was ready and just as angry as Ginny’s brother. Here she’d been about to tell him something, presumably something that would relate to his own confession of love, and Noah disrupted it.
He came up to his feet with fists balled and his face filled with angry heat. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“You little…”
But before Noah could finish or come a step closer, Ginny threw herself between the two men. “Enough!” She placed a hand on each one’s chest and pushed them back. Simon felt her touch all the way to his soul. “My goodness, Noah, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Simon and I were having an important discussion and I’d like for you to leave so we can finish it.”
Noah finally broke stares with Simon to glance down at his youngest sister. “No.”
Simon groaned. Noah’s voice was completely unwavering.
“Please.”
From her desperate tone, Simon could tell Ginny was just as interested in finishing what they’d started as he was. It gave him a flicker of hope that what she would say would be in his favor.
But Noah gave a determined shake of his head and it was clear there would be no negotiating on this point. Normally Simon would have accepted his protectiveness and understood it, but now it infuriated him.
“No, Ginny,” Noah snarled. “I’m not leaving you alone with this man so you two can do things you shouldn’t be doing.”
Ginny let out a loud sigh. “Oh for the love of God, Noah. You and Marion got caught alone in her bedroom and then she sneaked out a window to be with you. And Audrey and Griffin carried on a passionate affair under your very nose. Can’t you allow that I’m at least as intelligent as all of you? And that I have as much a right to my privacy as you did? Frankly, you’re becoming a bore in your old age.”
Noah’s eyes widened but his frown only deepened. “I’m not a bore. Ask Marion, she’ll tell you.”
“I need to talk to Simon!” Ginny said, her voice just a half a level below a very unladylike yell. “Right now.”
“No.” Noah’s eyes came over to Simon. “Simon needs to leave.” He gave the Simon a warning glare. “You two will have plenty of time to talk and do anything else you want to do after the wedding.”
“Look here,” Simon began.
He liked Noah, he really did. He’d always admired the man, and the more he got to know him the more that feeling grew. He was looking forward to being his brother-in-law. But at that moment Simon was ready to put a fist through Noah’s nose and damn the consequences for the future.
“I have a right to a few moments alone with my fiancée.”
Noah’s face softened. “Judging from the look on both your faces, what you’ve been talking about is an upsetting topic. I think what my sister needs is some time to compose herself. Perhaps you do, too.”
“There’s no arguing with him,” Ginny said with a shrug that couldn’t hide her frustration. “You should go for now.”
“Walk me to the door,” Simon said with an icy glare for Noah.
“I assume that would be acceptable to you, my unwanted protector?” she asked with a glare of her own for her brother.
“Fine.”
Ginny grasped Simon’s arm and a shot of pleasure went through him. It momentarily dulled his anger and his anxiety. When they’d reached the door, he whispered, “Come to my townhouse tonight. We need to finish this conversation.”
She searched his face for a long moment and her eyes softened. “Yes, we do.”
He turned to go, but she caught his arm. With a smile, she rose to her tiptoes and kissed him. It was a deep kiss, one that warmed him to his very center. Then she pulled away and closed the door.
Simon stared at the barrier between th
em with unseeing eyes. She loved him. Ginny hadn’t said the words yet but he knew it. She loved him.
***
“Your note was a little hysterical, so I did as you asked and stayed right here,” Harriet said as Ginny burst into her London home. She shrugged off her wrap and tossed it to a footman, then grasped Harriet by the sleeve of her gown to drag her into the closest room. She slammed the door and began to pace.
“What happened?”
“Simon cornered me at Audrey and Griffin’s,” she explained. “We were alone.”
Her friend’s eyes widened. “Thank goodness. I was hoping you’d get past your ridiculous need to push him away.”
“I was confused. I needed time to compose myself,” Ginny snapped. Then the heat left her voice. “Or I did. But now everything is different.”
“How?”
She turned back to her friend and the grin on her face nearly split her cheeks. “He loves me.”
“I know.”
Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. “No, he told me he loves me.” She dropped into a chair. “He said he wants our marriage to be a real one because he’s fallen in love with me.”
She looked up to see her friend’s eyes full of tears. “How very romantic.”
“Yes, it was. The look in his eyes, Harriet. Oh, I never thought I’d see a man look at me like that. I nearly burst into tears right then and there.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She bit her lip. “Because of Henry. He doesn’t know the truth.”
In response, Harriet’s face fell into a deep frown. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to turn him away because of your blasted secret.”
“No!” Ginny shook her head. That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. “I’m going to tell him the truth. I tried to tell him right then, but Noah had to storm in and ruin it with his stupid over-protectiveness. I don’t understand why he’s so hard on Simon. It’s obvious he likes him.”
“Probably because he didn’t protect you from your first husband. He feels like he has to compensate for that failure now,” Harriet reasoned. “But all that doesn’t matter. You’re really going to tell Simon?”
“Yes. He asked me to come to his townhouse tonight where we won’t be interrupted. I’m going to tell him the truth and I’m going to tell him I love him.”
She could only hope he’d understand the position she’d been in that terrible night. But if he didn’t, then at least she could leave knowing she’d given their love every chance it deserved. And she could carry on with her life knowing she’d been loved by a man like Simon Webber.
“Are you still concerned he might tell the authorities?”
Ginny shook her head. “The moment I looked into his eyes and saw his feelings there, I knew he wouldn’t tell anyone, even if he becomes angry and doesn’t want anything to do with me. He wouldn’t do that to me and he wouldn’t do it to Jack.”
Harriet nodded. “He’s a very good man.” She hugged her friend. “And you’ll be happy. Good luck.”
Ginny pushed back with a laugh. “Why are you talking as if you’re saying goodbye? You’ll be here when I return tonight.” She gave a wicked smile. “Or maybe tomorrow morning. And then you’ll help me plan the rest of my wedding.”
Her friend’s face softened. “I’m sure it will all work out.”
Ginny studied her friend. She knew Harriet so well that normally she could tell what was troubling her. Now, it was different. She couldn’t determine what was going on. “You’ve been acting very strangely lately. Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Later.” Harriet smiled. “It will all make sense later. And now I have an appointment I must get ready for. And you probably want to gather yourself together for your meeting with Simon. But come to my room before you leave so I can say goodbye.”
Ginny put her questions about Harriet’s strange behavior aside as she nodded to her friend. One way or another, her own little drama would be resolved in a short time, and then she could focus on figuring out what was going on with Harriet. She and Simon could work on it together, and perhaps even get his friend Adam’s help.
She smiled. Together. If she were lucky, she and Simon would be together for the rest of their lives.
Her smile fell. Unless Robert Dennison followed through on the threats he’d made in Westdale.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Taking one last glance in the mirror, Ginny smiled. Tonight was one of the most important of her life and she wanted to look her best. In fact, it had taken her the better part of an hour to decide on the pale blue dress she now wore. The color accentuated her eyes and made her hair a warm auburn in the lamplight. And the navy ribbon around the bodice enhanced her breasts, which she knew Simon would appreciate.
More importantly, the dress had color. It wasn’t a mourning gown she had chosen to make a point to Simon. The dress said she wasn’t grieving, but living her life. A life she wanted to share with Simon, no matter what the cost.
She drew in a shuttering breath. Never had she been more nervous. What would he say? What would he do? And would he still love her when everything she’d done in the past was revealed?
He had to.
She shook her head as she slipped from her room and down the hall. At Jack’s nursery door, she paused, then crept in. Her little boy lay in his bed with his thumb wedged in his small mouth. He was deep in sleep, all curled up on his side with his dark hair covering his forehead.
Doing her best not to wake him, she tiptoed to his side to push back a few baby-soft locks from his eyes. “My little angel,” she whispered.
Many times she’d thought her marriage to Henry had been worth everything if it had brought her Jack. And now she had to add Simon to that equation, too. If he hadn’t been named trustee of the estate, she doubted she ever would have met him. And if she hadn’t been so driven to fight him, perhaps they wouldn’t have fallen in love. It was odd how life worked out.
Jack rolled over on his back and flopped his little arm over his eyes. She couldn’t help the greedy grin that curved her lips. He was hers. All hers. And she loved him beyond reason. Simon would be a good father to him, and already Jack loved him.
“My lady?” came the harsh whisper of a footman at the door.
She waved the young man back into the hallway before she leaned down and kissed her son’s forehead. He smelled like bathwater and sweet baby skin. Why couldn’t she bottle that scent and keep it forever?
Tiptoeing from the room, she shut the door behind her quietly. “What is it?”
“You received this message.” He held out a folded note.
She took it with a curious glance. “Who is it from?”
The young man shrugged. “I don’t know, my lady. It was given to us very mysteriously at the kitchen door by a man who stayed hidden. But he behaved as if it were imperative to give to you before you departed this evening.”
“Thank you,” she said over her shoulder as she slowly walked down the hall to her dressing room. It had to be from Simon. A tease for her before she came, or perhaps a message to meet him elsewhere.
But as she broke the wax seal on the missive and opened it, she saw immediately that the hand wasn’t Simon’s. And the words were most definitely not his.
My lady, you will find that your secret is not so very private. In fact, I’ve known about it for a long time. If it is made public that your husband died by your hand, you know you will find a very uncomfortable end. Transportation or the hangman’s noose are no place for a lady.
If you don’t want any others implicated, meet me tonight at Infidel Tavern at eleven. Alone. You will have plenty of time to make your other appointment. In fact, I guarantee it.
Ginny dropped the note with a gasp of horror. This had to be a cruel joke. No one knew what she’d done the night Henry had died. Well, Harriet did and a few of her trusted servants, but why would any of them wait until now to blackmail her? They’d had months if they wanted to make her pay.
With trembling hands, she gathered the note back up and read it again. The words were too harsh and pointed to be someone’s idea of a game. This was real. Someone knew what she’d done and was truly threatening her and her future.
Harriet. Ginny had to find her best friend and talk to her. Get her advice about what to do. She flew off the couch and ran down the hall. She didn’t even bother to knock on her friend’s door, but pushed it open with all her might.
“Harriet?” she called out to the empty room. But there was no sign of her friend.
She was about to make a search of the house when she caught sight of yet another note, this one with her name on it. It had been propped it up on Harriet’s dressing table so there would be no reason for someone not to see it when they came in.
Her heart leapt. What if the villain who was trying to blackmail her had taken her friend hostage? Her whole body shook as she snatched up the paper and ripped it open. But instead, the message was very different.
“I know you won’t understand,” she read out loud. “But while you were falling in love with Simon, I found a love of my own. Adam Scott and I are heading to Gretna Green tonight to marry. Apparently the matchmaking we did went to our heads. I’m very happy, Ginny. And now that you’re telling Simon the truth, I’ve no doubt you’ll be happy, too. I feel comfortable enough to leave you to pursue my heart. I’ll see you in a few weeks as Mrs. Adam Scott. All my love, Harriet.”
Ginny let out a quiet moan as she shoved Harriet’s note into her pocket with the other. Though she was thrilled her friend had found love, her departure couldn’t have come at a worse time. She needed Harriet’s counsel, but instead she had no one to tell about the horror she now faced. Alone.
***
Even though it was early summer, Ginny wished she hadn’t been so flustered that she’d forgotten her wrap. She needed it to protect her from the chilly wind that made her shiver as she stepped out of her carriage in front of the Infidel Tavern. Even more, she wished she had it to use as a shield both from the looks she got from the men outside and from whoever waited inside to tell her about her horrible secrets.
The Desires of a Countess Page 21