The Heart of a Hellion

by Jess Michaels

  He caught his breath, and she was shocked at the emotion that crossed her brother’s face. “Robert,” she said softly.

  He smiled, blinking back tears. “It means a great deal to me. Selina, I want you to know that even if I haven’t said it, I am immensely proud of you. Your independence and self-sufficiency in the face of a difficult past are admirable beyond belief.”

  Now it was her eyes that stung with tears. “I didn’t know you thought of me so much.”

  He nodded. “Of course I do, and I have for some time. I remember the first time I reviewed the whereabouts of all my siblings. Seeing that you took your settlement and obtained a home for yourself, that you refused to back down from what you wanted…I was proud then.”

  She gritted her teeth. How proud would he be if he knew the truth? She could see he didn’t…not yet. So Barber had not revealed his suspicions about her. Perhaps that was a kindness. Perhaps it was something else, a part of his investigation.

  Whatever it was, it gave her time, though not very much of it.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “And beyond that,” he continued, “I do love you, sister. We may be only half blood, but that is with my whole heart.”

  She was shaking from the power of that statement. She, who had never been wanted, never been loved by her family. And now, on the cusp of having her identity revealed, she realized how much she had to lose.

  But perhaps she didn’t have to lose everything at that. If she took the truth into her own hands, if she offered atonement along with confession…perhaps she could show her family, along with the man she loved, that she was worthy of their regard. That she wasn’t a monster they feared, but still the woman they cared for.

  But she couldn’t do it alone. She would need help and there was only one man who she could receive that from. The one man who might hate her all the more for it.

  Derrick.

  “Well, this has been mightily maudlin,” Robert said with a chuckle as he got up and tugged her to her feet. “And I would much rather enjoy my last few days with you as houseguest.”

  She smiled, pushing away the inevitable for a little while longer as she linked arms with her brother. “I agree. You know, I have heard you once played a lot of dirty tricks on your friends when you were a lad.”

  “Oof, Simon was talking, eh?”

  She giggled. “He and Baldwin, both. But I’d like to hear your side of the story. Is it true you tricked them all into swimming naked at some party?”

  “Not exactly,” he said with a moan. “It was rather the other way around…”

  They strolled off, with Robert regaling her with tales of his misspent youth. But even as she laughed at his outrageous stories, she plotted her own next move in the back of her mind. One that could end this happily, or simply rush along her jump off a cliff.

  Chapter 21

  The ball was in full swing, but Derrick hardly noticed the swirling couples on the dancefloor or the brightly liveried servants offering drinks as they floated by. His attention was locked, as it had been for half an hour, on the door to the ballroom. He was waiting for Selina. He’d had a wild thrill ten minutes earlier when her companion, Vale Williams, had entered the room. But Selina had not been at her side, nor had she joined the party since.

  He hadn’t seen her since the previous afternoon with Barber. And now he longed for her. And feared meeting her. Because what would happen next would change everything. It would decide everything.

  In that moment, that desperate moment when he feared and longed for her in equal measure, she appeared. His heart stopped and his breath caught with the sight of her. It was a strange thing, her beauty. He could always convince himself that it wasn’t as powerful as he remembered. That it wasn’t as bewitching. But then she’d walk into a room and he’d realized she was even more stunning than he’d recalled.

  Tonight was no different. Her sleek black hair was done up with elaborate twists, her cheeks pink, her lips warm. She always wore impeccable fashion, but tonight she looked like a queen. Her gown was gold brocade and she shone like the sun as the candles glinted off the fabric. The eyes of the room turned on her, women whispered behind their fans, men tracked her as she entered the room, smiling at her family, waving to friends.

  She was everything, and he burned for her. He burned for what could be destroyed in a few moments.

  Her gaze swept across the room and found him. He saw her jolt a little when she did. He waited for her to run, to avoid him. Only she didn’t. She set her slender shoulders back and then she moved across the ballroom toward him. Her bright blue eyes held to his, a trap. A freedom. A boon he had never deserved.

  She’d been his for a moment. And that might come to an end tonight.

  “Selina,” he breathed as she reached him. The vanilla and cinnamon scent of her wafted to his nostrils, the warmth of her curled around him, and he very nearly lost his nerve.

  But she didn’t seem to have that problem.

  “Derrick,” she said. Then she leaned in. “Have we been…avoiding each other?”

  That directness made him smile even though there was nothing pleasing about what was happening at present. Still, he couldn’t help but be drawn by her directness. It was in such contrast to the duplicity he now knew she was capable of. She had so many remarkable facets, and he knew he hadn’t begun to learn them all. That was a loss in itself.

  “I think we have been,” he said. “It would be foolhardy not to acknowledge that truth.”

  “Obviously things…changed after yesterday afternoon,” she said.

  Her expression softened with those words. Became sad. Was that a game or the truth? Could he even tell with her? Was he so compromised that it all blended together?

  “Yes,” he admitted.

  She swallowed and her fingers stretched out. She touched his hand. She wasn’t wearing gloves, nor was he. Skin on skin, just the hint of it, but it was intoxicating.

  “We need to…to talk,” she said. Her voice cracked. Tension poured through her. Fear and anxiety and need and pain. “Privately. Because we both know there is a great deal to say and I can’t do it in the ballroom where fifty pairs of eyes will be watching.”

  He nodded slowly. “Yes. I think you’re right. In this instance, we need privacy.”

  Her shoulders rolled forward just a fraction. A surrender. An acceptance and his heart lurched. She looked determined, but also defeated, and now he wondered what she would say the moment they were alone.

  “The library,” she said. “It only seems right to go back to where we began. Will you meet me there in—”

  She didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence because in that moment there was a scream from across the room. Both she and Derrick pivoted toward the sound. The Duchess of Roseford stood in the middle of the ballroom floor, one hand clasped to her lips while she held the other shaking one in front of her.

  “My bracelet!” she cried out. “Someone has stolen my bracelet!”

  The Duke of Roseford raced across the room as the crowd parted even farther from the duchess, as if the theft were somehow contagious. As he reached her, he called out, “Shut those doors! No one comes in or out.”

  He wrapped his arms around his wife, clutching her close to his chest. She leaned into him, still trembling as he spoke words of comfort close to her ear.

  “Katherine,” Selina breathed.

  Her voice shook Derrick from his haze and he rushed forward. He could see Barber approaching from the other side of the room, his face lined with similar concern. They reached the couple at the same time and exchanged a look. Questions flowed between them, but Derrick had no answers.

  “Are you harmed, Your Grace?” Barber asked.

  “N-No,” Katherine stammered. “But I was wearing a bracelet and someone has slipped it from my wrist. It was an anniversary gift. Priceless to me. Robert!”

  Derrick watched as Roseford tucked her even closer. He looked furious, but also deeply pro
tective. As if he could wrap himself around his wife like a cloak and somehow erase the harm that had been done to her. The fear she now felt.

  “You are certain you were wearing the piece when you entered the ballroom?” Derrick asked gently. “It couldn’t have fallen off before or even while you were dancing?”

  “It couldn’t have,” Katherine said firmly. “I always double check the clasp before I go anywhere wearing it.”

  “What does it look like?” Derrick asked.

  “Rubies and diamonds, Mr. Huntington,” Roseford said, his voice vibrating with tension.

  Derrick flinched. While Selina’s cameo earrings were not the usual type of jewelry the Faceless Fox stole, the bracelet sounded more her speed. And he glanced toward Selina from the corner of his eye to see her reaction.

  She was at his elbow, looking just as worried for Katherine’s well-being as everyone else. And he thought a little confused by this turn of events.

  Roseford, though, looked nothing resembling confused. He looked increasingly enraged.

  “This is enough,” Roseford growled toward Derrick and Barber.

  “Your Grace,” Barber said, a warning to his tone.

  But Roseford seemed beyond listening. He lifted his voice. “For the past ten days, I have remained silent, but I will do so no longer. There is a criminal within these walls and I will not stand for it. He has already taken from my sister, and now he has slipped the bracelet from my wife’s wrist here in this very ballroom.”

  There was a collective gasp from the crowd, which murmured toward each other in concern and excitement. For most of them, this was just a game. Something they would gossip about later. Something they would crow about being a part of.

  For Derrick, for Roseford, for Selina…it was something more.

  “Your Grace, perhaps this isn’t the time—” Barber began.

  “Bollocks!” Roseford interrupted, eliciting another excited ripple through the rapt crowd. “It is the perfect time. Katherine, how long has the bracelet been missing?”

  “It couldn’t have been longer than a moment or two,” Katherine said. “Helena was just complimenting me on it.”

  The Duchess of Sheffield moved forward in the crowd and caught her friend’s hand. She was pale as paper. “I did. Oh, Katherine, I hope my compliments aren’t what drew the attention of some thief.”

  “No,” Robert growled. “You needn’t accept any of the blame for this, Helena, I assure you. This isn’t some common thief, and I’m certain this was part of their plan all along. Ladies and gentlemen, among us is the Faceless Fox.”

  That declaration caused even more than a mere ripple, and the crowd erupted in gasps and whispers as they looked at each other.

  “The Fox?” came a voice from the crowd. “Here?”

  “How thrilling!” This time it was a female voice. “I’ve always heard tales of him.”

  “But this time they’ve gone too far,” Roseford continued. “I don’t think they’ve had enough time to escape the ballroom. I want everyone to turn out their pockets and reticules. I’ll search you each myself if you refuse. I will have this villain on shanks before this night is through.”

  The milling crowd seemed mesmerized by Roseford’s declaration, but Derrick waited for the pushback. Surely none of these Society mavens and straight-laced lords would be willing to turn out their pockets, not even for the duke. But to his utter surprise, they did.

  It started with Roseford’s friends. The Dukes of Sheffield and Crestwood both turned their pockets out, showing they were empty, and that set off the floodgates. As the two dukes shifted silently through the crowd, people couldn’t seem to move fast enough to be the next to prove they weren’t the Faceless Fox and then leer at the next partygoer to see if they were the one.

  “This is ridiculous,” Barber whispered. “Whoever did this might not have put the bracelet in a pocket at all.”

  “I agree,” Derrick said. “But it’s still an interesting exercise. Watch the faces. Watch the reactions before they make their move. It’s telling.”

  He said it, but his gaze kept flitting to Selina. She was standing beside her brother and had not yet emptied her own pockets. Of course, her beautiful gown probably didn’t have them. If she had taken the bracelet, it could be in her cleavage or passed to someone else. Who knew what she might have done?

  At any rate, her expression was impassive, free of guilt. She seemed to have no fear about this intense search of the partygoers. And as the number of guests who had revealed themselves dwindled, she stepped forward.

  “I have nothing to hide,” she said softly, and reached into the unexpected pockets that were hidden within the beautiful golden skirts of her gown. One was empty, but as she overturned the other, a glittering line of red clattered to the floor.

  The room as a whole froze, staring at once at the ruby-and-diamond bracelet that now lay on the floor. Katherine’s bracelet.

  And then all hell broke loose.

  Robert’s fingers dug into Selina’s arm as he all but dragged her into the closest parlor. She staggered away from him, checking the room for exits as it filled with staring, judging faces. Katherine’s face, streaked with tears and betrayal. She was followed into the room by Mr. Barber and last was Derrick. He shut the door and stared at her, pain lining every part of his expression.

  But not surprise.

  “How could you?” Robert gasped out, his breath shot as he paced in circles around the room. “How could you, Selina?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but Katherine moved toward Robert, catching his arm and stilling him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, my love. But please, let us consider there may be an alternate answer than that your sister did this.” She turned toward Barber and Derrick. “Gentlemen, you have been investigating this Faceless Fox thief for months. Would he try to divert attention in this way?”

  Barber straightened and cast a quick look toward Selina. She could have withered beneath his judgment. She knew he wouldn’t protect her.

  “I am sorry, Your Graces. Deeply sorry. But I have come to suspect that the Faceless Fox is, indeed, Miss Oliver,” he said softly. “There is a great deal of evidence supporting that fact, not the least of which is your stolen bracelet tonight.”

  Katherine wobbled in her place and Robert’s hand shot out to steady her. Or perhaps to be steadied. The way they clung to each other, it was clear they both sought comfort in the eyes of this betrayal. Selina bent her head. At least they would have each other.

  Even though she would lose them.

  She felt Derrick’s stare on her. Even and steady from the door. Everyone else was talking at once, their upset and hurt and confusion crackling through the room like lashes across her skin. But Derrick only watched her.

  Until he stepped forward and said, “Selina.”

  That one word silenced the room. Or perhaps it was that commanding tone of his voice that had always dragged her to him like a puppet on his string. Even now she leaned toward it and toward him, seeking comfort he could no longer give.

  She cleared her throat. “I did not take Katherine’s bracelet.”

  It was true, of course. Just as she hadn’t left her glove behind in Lady Winford’s chamber, she hadn’t done this thing. She would never betray Katherine that way. Not just because she was family, but because it would violate her code of ethics as a thief. Katherine had never harmed another creature. She helped those around her regularly. She didn’t deserve punishment.

  “You had it on your person,” Barber said. “It is hard not to think you are lying when every other fact matches.”

  She shut her eyes. She had lied so many times, of course she couldn’t be believed. And that was her punishment, doled out at last by some faceless person who had discovered her secret. Doled out by a cruel universe that would offer her a family and a love and then snatch both away at the last moment.

  Robert released Katherine and crossed the room toward her. His dark gaze held hers—and s
tung her. Gone was the man who had declared himself proud of her just a few hours before. The man who had said he loved her like the sister she’d never been allowed to be until now. The man who joked with her and welcomed her into his life. Now he was a stern duke, judging her for what she’d done to the love of his life.

  She was nothing else.

  “Selina,” he said sharply.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Please, believe me. I’ve done many things, but I would never do this.”

  His nostrils flared as he stared at her. “You’ve done many things. What does that mean?”

  Her lips parted and she struggled with what to say. She’d meant to make this confession, first to Derrick and then to her family. But not like this. Not when it felt like an excuse, not an olive branch. Not when it was too late.

  “What does it mean?” he repeated, loud enough that it felt like the room shook with his question.

  She was shaking as she dropped her gaze to the floor. Shaking as she swallowed hard, and then the words fell from her lips. “Mr. Barber and Mr. Huntington’s suspicions are correct. I-I am the Faceless Fox.”

  Chapter 22

  “Selina…”

  It was Katherine’s voice that said her name this time, soft and shocked and hurt. Selina couldn’t bear to look at her. To see the expression that went with that tiny tone. She’d lost so much already in such a short span of moments.

  “I am the Fox,” she continued. “But I would never hurt my family.”

  Robert turned from her, walked away and tossed over his shoulder, “But you did, Selina. You did.”

  She nearly crumpled at that. That dismissal she had earned through her own actions. That tearing away of affection that had come to mean more to her than anything else in this world. And when she looked up at Derrick, her heart broke even more.