Regency 03 - Deception (17 page)

“
No. And my eyes are not
green.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because I was not born with green
eyes and you are only asking out of a misplaced sense of honor. I
was as much to blame for what happened as you.”

He grinned. “Well, in that case, you compromised me
and my reputation will be permanently damaged if you don’t do the
honorable thing and make an honest man of me. And I know your eyes
are not green.”

She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Ignoring his
comment about her eyes, she replied, “Nonsense. A gentleman cannot
be compromised, sir.”

He sobered. “No, but he can still be damaged by
gossip that says he steals the virtue of innocents,” he said with a
sad shake of his head. One dark brown curl fell over his brow.
Aurora wanted to brush it back, her fingers tingling at the
thought.

“
They never said such a thing!”
she cried instead.

“
No,” he admitted. “But they did
say I am no better than I should be.”

Aurora leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms
over her chest. “Are you quite through?” she asked with a dangerous
glint in her blue-green eyes.

“
Not quite, actually. I want to
marry you, Rory. I do think we will suit admirably.”

“
Do you?” she asked in the same
dangerous tone.

“
You are being selfish, you
know.”

Now he was attacking her? “Of all the…! How dare
you, sir?”

“
Have you thought of how this will
affect your sister?”

“
My sister?”

He nodded
.
“Have you considered the effect
this will have on her?”

Aurora twisted her hands in her lap. “Yes, and she
is the only reason I will even consider marrying you,” she
admitted.

She didn’t like the expression of hurt that crossed
his features ever so briefly but she was helpless to change it.

“
Are you in some sort of
trouble?”

“
No,” she said quickly. She
inwardly cringed at the panicked sound in her denial. Considering
how many lies she’d told, one would think she’d be far more adept
at it.

Levi leaned forward until they were almost touching.
“Does this have something to do with that Forester fellow? You can
trust me, you know.”

“
No, I cannot,” she blurted
out.

“
Why not?”

“
I did not mean that,” she said,
horrified. “I know I can trust you. It is just that he is a
dangerous man and I would not put your life in danger by confiding
in you.”

“
Danger?” scoffed the earl.
“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”

“
I don’t believe I am,” she said
carefully.

Levi shrugged, his face taking on a look of ease. “I
will just kill him and everything will be all right then.”

She looked at him. Could he be in earnest? Would he
kill Desmond without a qualm?

“
I was jesting, Rory. No need to
look so horrified.”

There was something in his look that indicated he
was not so much jesting as entirely serious. Unsure what to say,
Aurora looked away, watching the candle flame dance.

Silence reigned for several long moments. Levi grew
fidgety while Aurora wondered what she could say to make him
understand without telling him of her shame.

He darted an almost panicked glance at the window.
“Perhaps you were right. I don’t think you can trust me.”

“
What?”

“
I find that I want a repeat of
what happened at the Osmond’s ball. With a change in the outcome,
of course. I think it would be best if you gave me an answer and
let me leave before I take advantage of our current
situation.”

“
Oh,” she said on a mere breath of
sound. “I see. In that case…” she glanced away, confessing, “It
may take some time to gain permission to marry you.”

Lord Greville froze. “Permission? Are you not
one-and- twenty?”

Aurora laughed at his tone. “I am, but my father
left me in the care of guardians of sorts.”

He reached up to rub at the back of his neck, a
slight flush creeping up his cheeks. “I had not considered that.
Can your guardians be made to accept me?”

Aurora shrugged, a small grin tugging at her lips.
“I have not accepted you. Why should they?”

Her companion growled, apparently growing tired of
the game. He leaned close, his dark eyes flashing in the
candlelight. “You have little choice, Aurora Glendenning of the
Staffordshire Glendennings. You have made your bed and now you will
lie in it.” A disarming grin suffused his boyish countenance. “With
me.”

She was reminded of Derringer’s propensity to
address her so mockingly. She scowled, ignoring the flush that
threatened to climb her cheeks. “I should accept you, you great
dunderhead. It would serve you right to be saddled with a termagant
such as myself.”

He never reacted in the expected manner. He adopted
a hang-dog air, his tone turned wheedling. “Truly? Are you a
termagant?” He shrugged. “But it is only fitting that a wastrel
marry a termagant, I suppose. Who else would care enough to nag me
from my destructive course?”

A chuckle escaped before she could stop it. “Well,
when you put it that way, I suppose I shall accept your proposal.”
And pray God you never discover how I have deceived you.
Her
smile wavered ever so slightly.

“
I understand. I will leave you
now.” The earl stood and went to the window. Aurora watched him,
wide-eyed. He climbed out and was halfway down the trellis before
her words had sunk in. A second later, he stood before her again.
“Did you say yes?”

Aurora laughed. “Yes, sir, I did.”

Levi picked her up and swung her around. Then he
kissed her enthusiastically on the lips. “You will not regret this,
I promise,” he told her. He kissed her again, this time with a good
deal more passion but no less enthusiasm, until she was breathless
and he had stretched his will power to the very limit. After one
last butterfly kiss, he disappeared.

“
I may not regret this,” she
whispered into the night, “but I am very much afraid you will, my
love.”

~~~~~~

The following morning—or later that morning, if one
wanted to be strictly accurate—Adam wondered what was wrong with
his young cousin-by-marriage. The man was far too cheerful at
breakfast. Then he was off on some unspecified errand, whistling
off-key as he went.

“
He was moping around here
yesterday as if he lost his best friend and now he’s as merry as a
grig. What happened, do you think?” asked Bri. “And what on earth
would he need five pounds for?”

Adam’s long-suffering gaze lingered on his wife’s
face. “He asked you for five pounds?”

She nodded, gingerly sipping her tea. “I saw no
problem with giving it to him. Such a paltry sum cannot possibly be
a gambling debt.”

“
I have a feeling that a Special
License will be issued for yet another hole-in-the-wall
ceremony.”

Bri smiled, not at all concerned over the unseemly
rush. “Oh, do you think? How wonderful.” Her smile turned to a
frown. “But when did he propose?”

“
If I may be so bold, sir,” West
said woodenly. Adam nodded. “It may have been after my Lord
Greville left the premises last night.”

“
He left in the middle of the
night?” Adam said.

“
Indeed, Sir Adam, according to
the night footman.”

“
Indeed? Well,” Adam remarked
dryly as he turned back to his wife, “apparently, your cousin was
not satisfied with compromising her just the one time. He must do
it twice. For good measure.”

~~~~~~

Aurora, on the other hand, was not merry as a grig.
Doubt plagued her. Was she doing the right thing? Rhiannon needed
protection from her father. Aurora needed protection from Forester
as well. She was sure he would do something quite dreadful if he
were so inclined. She really couldn’t take the chance that he might
harm Rhiannon.

So she was engaged. To the most handsome man she had
ever seen; the most amusing and the most lovable. She should have
been in alt.

She wasn’t.

How could she do this to him? How could she marry a
man and refuse to tell him her deepest secrets?

But how could she tell him that she wasn’t a virgin,
that Rhiannon was really her daughter, that she had kidnapped her
from her adoptive parents, and still expect him to want her? How
could she tell him that she was actually one of the wealthiest
heiresses that England had ever seen and expect him to trust
her?

Perhaps her wealth would be enough to placate the
inevitable anger he would experience when he discovered the
rest.

“
Aurora, dear, you are daydreaming
again,” Ellie said gently.

Aurora smiled slightly. “I apologize. Please forgive
me.”

“
It is quite all right, my dear. I
think you have a lot on your mind.”

“
Yes, I do, but that is no excuse
for rudeness.” She smiled again and looked down into her
teacup.

She supposed her fiancé would pay a morning call. He
would know that he would be welcome now. Aurora hadn’t realized
that Miss Ellison had been receiving visitors in her stead, kindly
explaining that Aurora was feeling a bit under the weather.

Verena Northwicke patted Aurora’s hand and smiled.
“How is Rhiannon, dear?”

“
She is fine.” Aurora managed to
smile back. “She met Lord Derringer, you know.”

“
Did she? Where?”

“
He was with Lord Greville in Hyde
Park. She asked him for a ride on his horse. Now he is all she
talks about. I do believe she is in love with him,” giggled
Aurora.

“
How utterly charming,” Verena
agreed. She sipped her tea and smiled thoughtfully.

“
Yes, well.” Aurora turned to Bri
who sat on her other side. “How is Callie? I have missed seeing the
darling girl.”

Callie was actually Adam’s daughter from his first
marriage.

“
She is missing Rhiannon,” Bri
chided gently, obviously a little annoyed with Aurora for
suspending the playtime the children used to share. “Besides that,
she is just fine. She cannot wait for her new brother or sister so
she has someone to play with all the time.”

“
Of course,” Aurora murmured as
she took a sip of her own tea.

“
Levi was in a very agreeable mood
this morning,” Bri commented idly while watching Aurora like a
hawk. “He had some errand he said.” A sly look entered her eyes. “I
suspect he went to see the archbishop—oh, my!”

“
I am sorry,” Aurora apologized.
At Bri’s words, she had dropped her teacup, spilling tea on herself
and her guest. “Oh, how very clumsy of me.”

“
Here, dear,” Miss Ellison said
with a long-suffering sigh. “I do hope you are not succumbing to
your clumsiness again,” she murmured.

“
I don’t think so, Ellie,” Aurora
assured her with a grin. “I was startled, was all.”

“
By what, I wonder?” commented
Bri.

“
Are you sure he went to the
archbishop?” Aurora asked casually. “I wonder what would take him
there?” Her tone attempted disinterest but the look she slanted at
her friends told how much she desired an answer.

“
Oh, come now, Rory. We are not
simpletons! We know you are engaged to marry.”

Bri’s admonishing tone made Aurora color up. “I had
not thought it would be known yet.”

Bri snorted indelicately. “How could you think
otherwise? It is common knowledge that servants know all. West told
us that Vi left long after dark and returned pleased as Punch. Even
a simpleton can make the connection and, believe me, servants as a
whole are not simpletons.”

Aurora’s face flamed before it went chalk-white. It
occurred to her in that moment just how dangerous Desmond Forester
could be if he learned of her betrothal. He wanted her money. If he
thought another man was about to receive it, he would do what he
thought was necessary to prevent it.

“
Do you know if he is coming here
today?” she asked.

Bri stared at her. “He did not mention his plans but
I am sure nothing could keep him away.”

Aurora relaxed slightly. She would be able to talk
to him about it at least. “Good,” she told Bri. “I must speak to
him.”

“
I see,” Bri replied in that tone
that implied she saw nothing at all and was only humoring her. It
made Aurora grin.

“
How are Rhys and Julie?” she
asked Verena to change the subject. “And Damien?”

“
Wonderful. Into everything and
dreadfully spoiled by their father. Damien is crawling now and Con
swears that he says papa clear as day. If he does, he chooses not
to tell me,” she laughed.

“
Have you chosen names for your
baby yet?” Aurora asked Bri.

“
Believe it or not, Adam has had
names picked out since I told him I was
enceinte
. Jessamyn
for a girl and Lucien for a boy. I like both names so I agreed. He
let me choose the middle names and how many.”

“
How many did you choose?” Verena
asked with a tiny quirk of her dark brows.

“
Well, Adam has two, so I decided
that our sons should, as well. But I like the idea of our daughters
to have more than one middle name as well. I chose Verena Kai and
Bartholomew Miles.”

“
That is lovely,” Aurora smiled.
“The tradition in my family is for the daughters to have four
names.”