She continued to watch out for the men Jeremy had hired, but saw no one in the few minutes it took to reach her brother’s property. Frowning at the wilting roses and the weeds threatening to choke the pretty peony bed near the stables, Evie made her way to the rear of the house and in to the Blue Salon, where Belle sat on the blue and gold stripped sofa, sipping a cup of tea. Her blonde head turned and her eyes widened when she saw Evie coming in through the door.
“You gave me a start, Cherie.” She set her cup on the table before the sofa.
Evie closed the door and marched forward. “Why did you tell me Jeremy was out on Guardian business when he had been with his sister?”
Blonde brows shot up. “I was certain he just wanted to check to see if Montague had returned. That is Guardian business.” She motioned toward the teapot. “Would you care to join me?”
Evie placed her hand over the vial tucked under her sleeve, tied to her wrist with a handkerchief. Nosy Alice had found it earlier and started asking questions, so Evie gave some reply about medicine for monthly bothers, then thought it best to carry it with her for safe keeping. She took a step toward her aunt, then thought better of placing some in the woman’s tea. Even though she got the feeling there was much Belle was not telling her, Evie decided she would need all of the potion once they found Montague.
Belle poured her a cup and handed it over. “So, tell me why you chose to sneak in through the back?”
Pulling a face, Evie took a sip of her hot tea. “Jeremy has hired men to keep watch over me. He refuses to let me leave the house.” She turned to Belle and grinned. “I was able to escape despite his efforts.”
“Perhaps your husband will not like you being here.”
Evie did not let the spurt of anger speak for her. Instead, she took a calming breath and set her cup down. “Jeremy is not my husband.” She looked over at her aunt, hoping to convey her sincerity. “I do not know why he keeps telling you that. Unless he feels it serves some purpose I cannot see.” She held up her hands. “Everyone is supposed to think this, but not the Guardians.” Evie leaned forward. “I do not know why you don’t believe me. I haven’t lied to you before, and I am not lying now.”
For the first time, uncertainty made Belle frown. She shifted uncomfortably and placed her cup down. “Rogue has convinced Elder you are truly married,” she said softly.
“Then I will just have to convince him otherwise.” Evie came to her feet. “I would like to do that as soon as possible.”
After hesitating a few seconds, Belle rose. She rubbed her forehead with two fingers, then turned to Evie. “If what you say is true—”
“It is.” Evie rounded the table to stand before her aunt. “Jeremy doesn’t want a wife. Especially me. But he doesn’t want Montague to take me, either.” She shifted from foot to foot, trying to make her aunt understand the reason for the charade. “After we escaped Montague’s estate, he suggested to me that if I were married, Montague would have no further use for me, that I wouldn’t be the supreme sacrifice he was looking for.” Evie frowned at the reminder, then continued. “Jeremy was just about to go and retrieve Ghost when Montague and his men came after us. We had no choice but to run.” Evie folded her arms over her chest. “There simply was no time to retrieve Ghost or anyone else.”
The confusion lifted and Belle’s eyes went wide. “Are you telling me you both had decided Ghost would be your pretend husband?”
Evie gave a sharp nod, trying not to feel the sting of those words. “Yes. Then Montague and his men were spotted in the distance and we had to get away. Fast.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Jeremy has pretended to marry me because he said he does not want me to end up like Giselle.”
At Belle’s swift intake of breath, Evie knew she had also known the girl. Then her aunt gave a sharp nod. “We must speak to Elder right away.”
Evie turned toward the door. “Yes, I would like to do that before Jeremy finds me gone.” She frowned over at her aunt. “And then I am going to have a long discussion with him about lying to Elder.”
“There is one other thing.”
Two steps from the door, Evie turned back to face her aunt. “What is that?”
Belle came forward. “We have caught one of Montague’s men, one who had been down in the caves that evening.”
Evie opened and closed her mouth several times before she could finally speak. “Well? Did he tell you where to find Montague?”
“He won’t tell us anything.”
Pulling the vial free from the handkerchief, Evie held it up. “I think he will tell us anything we want to know. Very soon.”
Her aunt clasped her hands together, a smile spreading over her rosy lips. “Is that what I think it is?”
Evie nodded and returned the vial to her sleeve. “Shall we leave now?”
Belle nodded and checked the clock above the mantle. “The museum should be closed when we get there. Come, let us hire a hackney.”
On the way to the museum, Evie grew quite amused at her aunt’s precautions. In case someone had followed them, Belle decided to stop at a sweet shop on Bond Street, go through the back door, head north toward Hanover Square and enter the back of a modiste shop on George Street, where they startled a young girl repairing a ripped seam. With a smile, Belle placed several coins in the girl’s hand and walked calmly through the store, where they hailed a different hack and set off for the museum.
After settling into the coach, Belle tapped her arm. “One must always be prepared with coins on hand. Remember to bring some with you wherever you go.”
Evie nodded and leaned back against the cushion. She relaxed and took a peek out of the window. Belle sounded like herself once again and not so reticent. She glanced up at the darkening sky and pressed her lips together, knowing the clouds would burst open at any moment. The musty scent of rain hung heavy on the air, and the wind shook the coach from side to side.
It took just one rotation of the wheels for the rain to begin pelting the top of the carriage, then it came down in torrents. The carriage slowed to a crawl and Evie placed a hand over the vial tied to her wrist. She glanced over to Belle, barely visible in the darkened interior, and hoped the potion would work as well as it had on Ash.
The rain eased up to a cold drizzle, allowing the coach to pick up some speed. When they finally stopped before the museum, Evie scrambled to the ground behind Belle and they dashed up the steps. Pushing the damp strands of hair out of her eyes, Evie knew she would have to bribe Alice with more rum cake after returning home in a wet dress and ruined hair.
Belle nodded to the proprietor as he turned and opened his mouth, probably about to tell them the museum was closed, then stopped when he recognized her aunt. Instead, he inclined his head and resumed locking the front doors.
Evie’s teeth chattered so hard, she could hear the sound echo off the tall ceiling. Belle glanced over her shoulder with a frown, then turned in the opposite direction and opened a door. “You need something warm to cover yourself,” she said and disappeared into the room.
With her whole body shaking, Evie crossed her arms over her middle and stood there, dripping on the floor. She sneezed just as Belle returned with a brown wool coat thrown over an arm. “Here, Cherie, this will help you.”
Nodding, because Evie couldn’t speak through her chattering teeth, she shrugged into the warm material, then sighed as her bones began to thaw. Little by little, the trembling subsided, and she took a deep breath, then straightened her spine. “Much better,” she said and followed her aunt through the dim, empty museum. Their steps shuffled across the hard floor as they made their way to the Egyptian display and engaged the secret door.
Evie snuggled further into the borrowed coat, wondering about the owner. The woman was taller, since the coat nearly dragged the floor, and Evie had to lift the sides of the material to descend the slick, steep steps down to the iron door. Her feet were frozen inside the mauve kid skin slippers and she wiggled her toes
, hoping to provide a small measure of heat. She’d simply had no time to change earlier, she thought with an inward sigh.
Belle knocked four hard raps, then two soft ones, followed by one hard one. The spyhole slid open and she spoke softly to the person on the other side. Evie frowned as the door screeched open, not liking her aunt hiding the new password, then marched in, surprised to see Dragon standing by the door. As Evie entered the cavernous room, the man glanced out behind her, then closed the door and slid the heavy bolt into place and locked them in.
Feeling another sneeze coming on, Evie held her breath and pressed the coat cuff against her nose until the pressure subsided. Then she hurried to Belle, who had stopped several feet ahead, and noticed immediately what held her aunt’s interest. Jeremy stood beside Elder, obviously discussing something important, and straightened his spine when he noticed her moving out from behind Belle. And from the way Jeremy’s face slowly drew into a scowl, he looked none too pleased.
Evie lifted her chin and continued forward, halting before the two men. She crossed her arms, ignoring Jeremy’s deepening displeasure and the hard glance Elder threw at Belle. “You are supposed to be with your sister,” she said to Jeremy, then turned and spoke to Elder. “I must have a private word, if you please.”
“You were not to leave the house,” Jeremy indicated softly, then reached out for her. “Come, I will take you home immediately.”
Shaking her head, Evie shrugged off his hand. “I am not going anywhere. Not until I speak with Elder.” Then she sneezed into her sleeve and dragged the wool across her nose.
Jeremy pulled out a pure white handkerchief with his initials embroidered in neat blue stitches and softly wiped her face. “You were caught in the rain?” he asked, his voice losing its hard edge. Then he ran four fingers down her cheek, his thumb sweeping across her lips, making her shiver. “I hope you don’t become ill, little bird.” His thumb moved again. “Let me take you home,” he whispered, his eyes going heavy with promise that she would like the result if she were to do as he wanted.
Evie very nearly agreed. She stopped herself from nodding and took a half step back. Oh, Rogue was good. His hand fell away and his displeasure returned.
Before Jeremy could try again, Elder motioned Belle forward. “Will you please explain what is going on here?”
“Evie told me what happened after we fled Montague’s estate, about the plan she and Rogue devised to keep her from being Montague’s next victim.”
Elder inclined his head, the silver strands of his hair reflecting the orange and gold flickering torch light behind him. “Yes, they married. I know this.”
“But the marriage isn’t real.” Belle glanced over to Jeremy. “Tell Elder the truth, Rogue. Tell him Ghost was the intended groom but when Montague had found you there was no time to fetch him.”
Evie nodded and turned to Jeremy, expecting him to finish the explanation. To tell them how Montague wanted a virgin sacrifice and had no use for the wife of a powerful marquess. She did not expect to see the spirt of anger in Jeremy’s eyes before the shutters slammed closed and his face went as readable as the marble Horace statue above them.
“Tell him how you feel responsible for Giselle and do not want it to happen again,” Belle added, but Jeremy’s expression did not change.
Evie shifted to the other foot, wishing Jeremy would say something. Instead, he just stared down at her with an unreadable expression, making her uneasy. She sighed and threw up her hands. “For God’s sake, Jeremy, we aren’t in Lord Havenshire’s ballroom. You don’t have to pretend we are married. Not here. Just tell them the truth.”
He reached out and grazed her cheek with his fingertips, just as he’d done earlier. “But we are married.”
For a quarter of a second, Evie almost believed him. Jeremy had an exceptional skill of making people believe whatever it was he wanted. But in that quarter of a second, her heart pounded with excitement, then plummeted to her toes with dread. For in that short span of time, she believed Jeremy might actually want her for his wife, and then she knew better.
She knew better because she knew he didn’t want a wife. Any wife.
Evie bowed her head, tasting hot, salty tears at the back of her throat. She squeezed her hands together and felt the vial. Taking a deep breath, she pulled it free and turned to Elder. “This is the reason I am here. Belle told me about the man you captured.” She stopped and glanced around. “I assume you are holding him somewhere safe?”
“They would not bring him here,” Belle said, splaying her hands out wide. “We have several other locations more suitable to housing a prisoner.”
With a nod, Evie continued. “With five drops of this potion, a person will truthfully answer your questions. It lasts about half an hour and takes about that long to go into effect.” She paused, knowing there would be no going back once she made her request. “With your permission, I would like to test this here. Now.”
Elder’s brows shot up, then his eyes cut over to Jeremy, before seeking Belle’s thoughts. Her aunt nodded. “I, too, would like to see how this serum works before administering it to our prisoner.”
He shrugged. “With Rogue’s agreement, of course.”
Not at all certain he would agree, Evie was surprised to see Jeremy give a swift nod then take the nearest chair.
“Allow me,” Belle said and reached for the vial. “Five drops, you say?”
“Yes,” Evie replied, handing over the valuable potion, growing very uneasy all of a sudden. She bit her lip as her aunt dropped the liquid into Jeremy’s mouth and watched him swallow with a moue of distaste.
“It’s bitter,” he said and folded his arms over his chest.
Elder pulled at his gold fob and checked the time.
For some reason, Evie wasn’t at all certain she wanted to hear Jeremy’s answers. The man was too compliant, too assured of the outcome of this little experiment. Perhaps he thought to fight against speaking the truth and decided he could win that battle. All the same, an uneasy tickle developed low in her abdomen and she half hoped Jeremy would rise from his seat and decree the potion a miserable failure.
Yet, twenty-seven minutes later, the black center of his eyes went wide and he slumped in his seat. Belle nudged Elder and they moved closer to Jeremy. “Is the potion working, Rogue?” her aunt asked.
Jeremy gave a lopsided smile. “Oh, indeed, I would say it is working perfectly.”
Belle straightened, wearing a puzzled frown. “How are we to know that is the truth?” she asked Elder softly.
With a sigh, Evie marched right up in front of Jeremy and placed her hands on her hips. “Do you have any embarrassing moments you’d rather forget? If so, what are they?”
“Oh, no, Evie,” he plopped a hand over his eyes, “you would have to ask me that.” With a sigh, his hand came down. “I have several that are most embarrassing.” He stuck a forefinger up in the air. “Lady Farley’s summer party four years ago, sneaking into the wrong room. Lord Farley was not amused.” He held up another finger. “My breeches splitting right up the back during Huntington’s fox hunt ten years ago.” A third finger came up. “And,” he paused to clear his throat, “getting caught pleasuring myself when I was just a lad.” He raised a brow. “Would you like me to provide more details on any one or all of them?”
Elder came forward, slightly red in the face, and shook his head. “No, no. That will not be necessary. We believe the potion is working as intended. Now.” He blew out a deep breath. “Are you truly married?”
Chapter 20
How Jeremy wished Evie would not learn the truth like this. He had wanted to tell her on his own terms, in his own way. He had wanted to explain everything and convince her of his sincerity. Pressing his lips together, he fought the words wanting to roll up his throat and out of his mouth. He bit down hard and tried to focus on something else.
Elder clasped his hands behind his back and leaned down. “Well, Rogue? Are you lawfully married to La
dy Evie?”
“Her name is Lady Fielding,” Jeremy gasped out. “She is my wife, truly and lawfully.”
At Evie’s gasp, he glanced up and found her staring down with wide eyes full of fear and disbelief. “But…but it was supposed to keep Montague away.” She stumbled back a step. “It wasn’t supposed to be real. Tell them.”
Jeremy nodded. “That was your plan, little bird, not mine.”
Evie made a choking noise, then spun around and ran for the door. Dragon pulled it open and let her escape. Jeremy started to rise and go after her but Belle stopped him.
“Wait. I have another question for you.”
His legs shook with the effort to ignore Belle and go after his wife. Her stricken expression tormented him. It reminded him much too much of the past and everything he had done to her. All the pain and hurt he had brought to her. It tore through his heart, making it beat in thick, heavy thuds.
He gritted his teeth until his legs gave out and he fell back against the chair, panting. “Please be quick about it.”
“Why did you marry my niece?”
With a groan, Jeremy raised his head. “Montague was going to kill her. She had to be protected.”
Belle crossed her arms. “Is that the only reason?”
“No.”
“Tell me everything, then.”
Pressing a hand to his heart, Jeremy nodded. “I never wanted to hurt Evie. But I did, and I cannot tell you how much I regret that.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I never knew how strong and courageous she was. How smart and dedicated.” He smiled. “Fearless and loyal.” Glancing up at Belle, he continued. “Honestly, I do not deserve her, but I had to have her. So, to keep her safe and to atone for hurting her in the past, I married her.” He shook his head. “But those reasons pale in comparison to my true motivation,” he added softly.
Lord Rogue Page 20