Regency 03 - Deception (23 page)

Her hair, having escaped its pins, was falling all
about her face in mad disarray while her bonnet was missing
entirely. Fresh dirt and tears marred the once pretty blue fabric
of her gown and pelisse. Of her absent parasol and reticule, he
could only assume they went the way of her bonnet. The wild look in
her eyes told the earl she was preparing to let loose another
shrill scream.

He strode quickly forward and grasped her upper
arms. “What is it?”

“
They took her, Levi. Right before
my eyes. They took her!” Aurora burst into tears and Levi did the
only thing he could, he held her against his chest and gave
Derringer a pleading look.

Black eyes filling with what Levi could only call
surprise, the duke shrugged as he strode forward, removed Aurora
from his best friend’s grasp and slapped her soundly on the
cheek.

Levi’s jaw dropped. Then dropped further still when
his tiny wife retaliated.

With barely a second’s thought, the Countess of
Greville drew back her hand and slapped Lord Heartless with all the
power she could manage.

At least, Levi hoped it was all she could manage.
The force of the blow snapped Derringer’s head back, surprise
making him stumble. He bumped into a small table, knocking
invitations and a small vase of flowers to the floor.

Although he managed to catch himself before he
landed on his backside, the humiliation was enough to curl his lips
into a snarl. Aurora didn’t seem to realize the imminent danger she
was in as she launched herself at the duke, intent on murder.

Levi stepped between them, wanting the death of
neither on his conscience while secretly believing Derringer
deserved at least a sound thrashing for striking another man’s
wife. That was best left for another day.

Derringer suddenly laughed. The sound was eerie,
like a little-used gate creaking in the wind. It was enough to make
Aurora stop struggling for his throat.

“
Is he dying?”

Derringer laughed harder.

“
I don’t think so,” Levi replied,
his brow creasing. “Apparently, the thought of you killing him is
immensely funny.”

Head nodding, the duke agreed. “Lord, Vi, can you
imagine the headline? ‘Lord Heartless Done In By The Tiniest Woman
Alive!’ After thwarting Prinny’s murderous thugs and the denizens
of London’s East End, I might have met my maker at the hands of a
pixie.” He chuckled again, the sound gradually dying off into
stunned silence.

Deciding that ignoring Derringer was best, Levi
turned to his wife. “Let us go into the study and you can tell us
what happened.”

“
I will not tell him anything,”
she returned stubbornly, still glaring at the duke.

“
I already know, Aurora
Glendenning of the Staffordshire Glendennings,” mocked
Derringer.

“
Unless you are the one who took
her, your grace, you know nothing,” she retorted.

“
I know exactly who took her and
why,” he returned evenly. “As do you.”

The two adversaries stared at each other, leaving
Levi with the distinct feeling that they were locked in an epic
battle of wills. He was not willing to wager on who would claim
victory.

The alarming thing about it was the expression of
shock on Aurora’s face that quickly dissolved into fear.

It was time to step in before blood was spilled. “We
cannot discuss this here,” Levi put in firmly. He pushed his wife
in the direction of the bookroom and beckoned Derringer to follow.
He did not look back to see if the duke obeyed; he knew Derringer’s
nosy nature would prevail.

A frown as dark as his soul clouded the duke’s
features. Levi could feel his own brow furrowing, unease crawling
over him like a thousand spiders. Derringer was anxious, which was
never good.

Aurora’s shoulders were set, her entire being stiff
and defensive. It was apparent she expected recriminations, perhaps
even physical chastisement for her actions.

Although, Levi had yet to be told exactly what those
actions were.

Helping his wife to a seat, patting her hand and
attempting some form of reassurance, he was startled when Derringer
shoved a snifter of brandy under his nose. He nearly reached for,
feeling somewhere deep inside him that he would need it.

The duke, however, had other ideas. He shook his
head at Levi, saying, “Not for you, my friend. Your wife is in far
greater need at the moment.” He frowned a bit, adding darkly,
“Although getting you thoroughly soused may not come amiss.”

Levi grunted and moved to get his own drink. As he
left Aurora’s side, the duke sat and stared at her, his expression
slightly mocking. The countess did not look up; she continued to
stare into her glass.

Keeping a wary eye on his friend, Levi poured two
fingers of brandy, hesitated, then added two more. He didn’t like
Derringer’s look and dreaded the forthcoming interrogation.

“
Why are we just sitting here?”
Aurora demanded, breaking the silence in a shrill tone that had
them all visibly cringing. “Rhiannon has been kidnapped in Hyde
Park, right before my very eyes, and for no reason whatsoever.
Instead of looking for her, you sit here staring at me as though
I’m daft!”

The duke shook his head. Levi didn’t trust the grim
look that twisted the other man’s features. “Try again, my dear
girl.”

Feeling the incipient loss of his temper, Levi felt
the need to interject a cautionary “Hart.”

Derringer inserted calmly, “I don’t bait your wife,
Vi, to be cruel. I am trying to get to the heart of the matter.
‘Why I do trifle thus with her despair is done to cure
it.’
”

The earl relaxed slightly, choosing not to correct
his friend’s inaccurate quote. He felt compelled to warn the duke,
however.

“
Do not dare go too far,
Hart.”

“
The heart of the matter, your
grace,” Aurora bit out angrily, not acknowledging her husband’s
words, “is that a man I have never seen before in my life has
snatched my little girl from right beneath my very nose. She was
there one minute and gone the next.”

“
And now we are one step closer to
the truth,” commented Derringer, all mockery disappearing to be
replaced by a startling gentleness that Levi found
unnerving.

Instinct flared to life, urging Levi to reassess the
speech just passed. What had she said that the perceptive Duke of
Derringer felt was significant? And why the devil had he, himself,
missed it?

Perhaps he was too busy trying not to murder his
friend for annoying his new countess to pay the proper attention to
what was being said.

He started listening. Derringer’s next words made
him wish he hadn’t.

“
Your little girl.”

~~~~~~

She knew she shouldn’t, but everything in her
refused to resist the temptation.

Aurora looked at her husband.

His beloved features were stark, pale and grim in
his immeasurable shock. She could tell he wanted to speak, but she
dreaded what his first words to her would be after such a
revelation.

“
I don’t know why I never noticed
before,” he finally said, breaking the uncomfortable
silence.

“
Later, Vi,” Derringer said
curtly. “Whether or not the girl is her daughter does not change
the fact that she has been taken and must be retrieved.”

“
Simple for you to say, Hart,”
Levi retorted. “You have not just discovered that your wife is a
lying jade!”

“
Enough!” shouted Aurora. She
turned to her husband, blinking back the tears and biting her lower
lip to keep it from trembling. Her eyes closed very briefly, just
enough to hold the tears at bay. She could not erase the misery
from her features, however, nor the anguish from her
voice.

“
Enough! I have lied, deceived,
and manipulated you, yes, and for that I am sorry. I cannot change
any of that. I cannot. I wish…but none of that matters any
longer.

“
I have to get my baby back, my
lord, I must. He will hurt her if he feels it is necessary. I did
not realize his true nature before and I don’t know what he wants
with her…no, I do. He wants money. He will ransom her, I am sure of
it.”

She looked at the duke, pleading with him for his
reassurance on that score, everything in her praying that for once
in her life, her money might actually do some good. “He will, will
he not?” she asked desperately. “Money was all he ever wanted from
me.”

Silently, she damned her money and all it stood for.
If she had not been so bloody wealthy, Rhiannon would be safe.

“
Yes, he will,” replied Derringer
softly. “Your wealth for your daughter, Aurora.”

“
So what do we do? Do we wait for
a ransom note?” she asked the duke.

“
Yes. The child is worthless to
him dead and if ransom is his game, we will hear from him
soon.”

“
Just who the devil are we talking
about?” inquired her husband with deceptive mildness. Aurora could
hear the note of fury in his tone; her body stiffened in a
defensive response.

“
Forester,” the duke and Aurora
replied in unison.

“
Forester is behind this?” Levi’s
tone and expression accurately portrayed his utter confusion. “Why
would…That bastard is her father.” His face was no longer
expressionless. He wore his disgust and anger like a
shield.

Aurora nodded and wished she could undo all that
went before. It was much worse than she had ever imagined. Had she
been honest with Levi from the start, he might have understood. But
she hadn’t and she couldn’t change anything now.

With great dignity, Aurora rose to her feet, set her
still-full glass on the desk, and walked to the door. She turned
slightly, her hand on the latch, and told the gentlemen, “I don’t
expect either of you to involve yourselves in this. If it is a
ransom he wants, I will pay it and get my child back. If not…well,
I cannot imagine he took her because he actually wants her. Good
day gentlemen.”

~~~~~~

“
She will not be able to pay any
ransom,” muttered Levi, staring at the closed door. “She put all
her money in my power.”

Derringer studied his friend silently. Levi stared
straight ahead as if his whole world had crumbled around him. He
gripped the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles were white.
The duke felt sorry for him but he wasn’t about to let him know.
That wouldn’t snap the earl out of his shocked stupor.

Shock was such a useless yet common ailment in a
calamity.

“
She will leave you now,” he said
conversationally. “You are better off without her. She has not one
redeeming quality. Hardly worthy to be your wife.” He considered
calling her a whore but was unsure he would survive the aftermath.
He lifted his refilled glass to his lips and watched the
transformation come over the earl as his deliberately cruel words
sank in.

Levi sat up and looked at the duke. His expression
revealed the accuracy of Derringer’s chosen darts, with the happy
result of awakening the earl from his useless stupefaction. The
duke breathed an internal sigh of relief.

“
Have you ever considered entering
the law profession, Hart?”

~~~~~~

It was a very withdrawn party that settled into the
little drawing room in Mayfair.

They had yet to receive a ransom note. It broke her
heart to think that a man would hurt his own child in any way, but
she had to face that possibility.

At Aurora’s stubborn insistence, the Northwickes and
Prestwiches had been asked to attend her, much against Derringer’s
very vocal disagreement. After informing his grace just where he
could place his opinion, the duke fell oddly silent on the whole
matter. Aurora could only be thankful for small blessings.

Standing, she walked to the window that overlooked
the street and sighed. One tear slipped down her cheek. She dashed
it away and took a deep breath.

The former Miss Glendenning had reached a monumental
decision. It was time to confess all. It would be utterly
humiliating to admit to her complete stupidity and naïveté, but
perhaps if they all knew what had happened, they might be able to
determine the best action to take.

Turning slowly around, Aurora passed a brief glance
over the people assembled in the small room. These were her closest
friends, those she felt she could count on, trust with her life and
the life of her child. The evident concern in all the faces turned
toward her touched her heart, made her realize just how much she
loved these people.

The only one missing was her dearest Ellie, a loss
she felt deeply. But Miss Ellison had been given a handsome yearly
income, something Aurora had been surprised to learn from Levi, and
was quite comfortable in her own little cottage.

Levi and Derringer were keeping their looks blank
now and she couldn’t really blame them. Levi had every reason to
hate her and the duke was very probably disappointed in her. He had
told her from the first that she should tell the truth and she had
ignored him, thinking that she could actually live with a man who
knew nothing about her.

She had been, and was, so very wrong.

She finally broke the lengthening silence.

“
I was wrong,” Aurora whispered.
Her voice trembled and she inhaled deeply, clenching her hands
together to try to steady their shaking. Whimpering like a ninny
would not help Rhiannon. Her lips lifted at the corners in a smile
of self-mockery. “I have lied to all of you and I was wrong. I will
not try to justify my actions. I will try to explain so that you
will understand why I did what I did and why I thought I was doing
the right thing. At the time, it seemed right. Now—”