Regency 03 - Deception (31 page)

“
What do we do now?”

As if in answer to her question, the butler
scratched at the door to inform them of the physician’s arrival. “I
have directed him to his grace’s chamber.”

~~~~~~

The fall from the building, although short, had
caused more damage than anyone had thought possible. The physician
exclaimed over the fact that the duke was still alive.

Derringer hovered between life and death for several
weeks. Aurora insisted that she be allowed to tend him since it was
he who restored Rhiannon to her. Levi was uneasy about this demand
since he knew Derringer was a difficult patient. He tried to tell
his wife this, but she remained adamant.

Rhiannon was not allowed near the sickroom. No one
was sure exactly how much she understood of what had happened, so
they were wary of letting her see the duke when he was still
unconscious.

Levi spent the weeks of Derringer’s convalescence
searching for Forester and the Millers. Unfortunately, they seemed
to have dropped off the very earth. He made no headway at all until
Adam remarked casually that he’d overheard a conversation between
Winters and Lord Huxtable. Apparently, Forester was staying
somewhere in Richmond.

Levi wasted no time seeking the man out. He arrived
in time to learn that Desmond Forester was on a boat to America and
they were not likely to see or hear from him again.

He had left a little present for Aurora before he’d
departed. It came in the form of Percival Winters and his loose
tongue.

One week after Rhiannon’s return, the whole of
Society knew of Aurora’s youthful indiscretion. Thankfully, she was
too busy to notice the sudden loss of her reputation.

~~~~~~

The Countess of Greville was sitting with Derringer
one afternoon when Levi strode in, requesting a few words with her.
She set aside her book, made sure the duke was comfortably settled,
and followed her husband out.

He held the door open to the study, allowing her to
enter, and shut it behind him.

“
If I was not sure that Hart has
been unconscious this whole time, I might be jealous,” he told her
with a half-smile.

Aurora’s lips tipped ever so slightly at the
corners, showing that she appreciated his jest. She remained
silent, however.

Levi frowned. “There is something you should know,”
he told her without preamble.

“
What is that?”

Levi led her to a chair and made her sit. He sat
across from her, leaned forward, and took both of her hands into
his own. “Your secret about Rhiannon is not a secret anymore, I am
sorry to say.”

A look of utter confusion and disbelief crossed her
face and her breath caught in her throat, as if she’d had a fright.
Shaking her head slightly, she said, “I-I cannot have heard you
correctly.”

Levi squeezed her hands. “You did. Someone let the
better part of London know of Rhiannon’s parentage. It will be the
greatest scandal for some time.”

Her face grew weary, tired. Moments later, merely
resigned. But she remained silent.

“
Rory?”

Aurora looked at her husband. She summoned up a
smile and inserted a bracing note in her voice. “It was going to
happen. It is better sooner than later, I suppose. Was there
anything else you wanted to tell me?”

Levi’s eyes widened slightly. “You are oddly easy
about this,” he commented, unable to keep the suspicion from his
tone. “I expected rage, upset, tears at the very least, not this
calm acceptance.”

She shrugged, a sigh issuing forth that communicated
her weariness more than words. “Of what benefit is raging about it?
What is done is done.”

His eyes narrowed. “What is done is done? While I
must praise you for your calm, I cannot help but feel that you are
taking this far too well.”

“
Tears will not make it go away,
Levi,” sighed his tiny wife. “Wishes will not make it fade. Anger
will not take back the lies. I have no one to blame but myself and
I can only pray that Rhiannon is not too hurt by all this once she
is old enough to understand.”

Amazement flashed through Levi’s mind, mirrored, he
was sure, on his face. He stared at her, wondering what she really
thought about the entire situation. It was too unlike her to just
dismiss it without so much as an angry curse.

He leaned back in his chair. “Aurora, I want you to
tell me the truth.”

She jerked ever so slightly. “What do you mean?”

“
Why are you dismissing this as
though the death of your reputation is of no importance whatsoever?
Why do you pretend that you don’t care? You went to great lengths
to hide your disgrace before. What has changed?”

Aurora clasped her hands together, squeezing until
her knuckles turned white. “Do not make me talk about this now,
please, Levi. I need time to sort it all out, to decide what to do.
Too much has happened in the past two months. Everything went wrong
all at once and I don’t quite know how to cope with it all. Please
just give me time.”

Time for what?
he wondered.

~~~~~~

Nearly two months after Derringer had been injured,
the Season was over and most of Society was already ensconced in
their country homes or someone else’s country home. Lord Connor
Northwicke stayed in Town so he could monitor the duke’s recovery,
dabbling in medical arts being a passion of his, but he sent his
wife and children on to Denbigh Castle with his family. Adam and
Bri departed soon after Rhiannon’s return since his wife’s lying-in
was imminent. She presented her husband with a healthy baby girl
near the end of August.

Derringer, of course, regained consciousness and
some of his strength. He was never an easy patient, but even the
most thickheaded observer could tell he made an effort to be
pleasing.

However, he made clear how
displeased
he was
with Lord Connor acting as doctor. The duke was uniformly
ignored.

Connor had been apprised by the other doctor of
Derringer’s injuries, told how difficult the duke was and informed
that he was welcome to the patient. Lord Connor had merely laughed,
already well aware of Derringer’s propensity for childishness.

~~~~~~

Rhiannon was finally allowed into the duke’s room.
She stood in the doorway beside Aurora and stared at the big man on
the bed. He looked back at her steadily, then smiled.

“
Unka Hart! All better!” she cried
with innocent delight. Unfortunately, she launched herself at him
in an act of unladylike excitement and Derringer’s cracked ribs got
the brunt of it.

“
Oh, Hart! I am sorry,” cried
Aurora as she removed her daughter from the duke’s bed. “Rhiannon,
darling, you hurt your uncle. You must apologize,
dearest.”

Rhiannon’s little mouth puckered and her big
blue-gray eyes instantly filled with repentant tears.

“
Rory, I am fine,” he lied
manfully. He was not immune to the tears of the little girl and he
wanted her to stop before she actually started.

Rhiannon looked uncertainly from Aurora to the duke.
Aurora raised one pale brow and the little girl glanced back at
Derringer. “Sorry, Unka Hart,” she whispered.

The duke frowned at Aurora then suggested she leave
the child with him.

“
Are you sure, Hart? I would hate
for her to cause you more harm.”

“
Rory, she is a small child of
three. If falling off a building cannot kill me, I highly doubt
she
could.”

Aurora gave him another uncertain look, shrugged,
and left her daughter in the duke’s care.

“
Come here, Angel, and tell your
Uncle Hart what you’ve been about.”

~~~~~~

Aurora entered her husband’s study and smiled
distractedly at him. “Did not Adam inquire into Hart’s interest in
rescuing Rhiannon?”

Levi frowned. “Yes, why?”

“
What was it he said?”

The earl rose from his place behind the large desk
and moved to the other side to stare down at his wife. “He said it
was a lark, if I recall correctly.”

“
Interesting,” mused his bride.
“You do realize, of course, that he lied?”

“
I supposed he had but I really
did not care at the time so long as he made good on his
word.”

Aurora nodded her head in agreement.

Silence fell between them and she was unsure how to
break it. She had thought that with Rhiannon’s return, they could
move past her transgressions, make something of their marriage
instead of simply tolerating each other as most within Society
marriages had the custom. But a wall had been erected between
them—a wall that had kept her husband from her bed.

Despite her past indiscretions, Aurora was a
well-bred young lady, and while she was hurt beyond belief by her
husband’s apparent disinterest in her, she could not bring herself
to demand his presence in her bed or even ask why he persisted in
staying away.

Afraid that she might burst into tears at any
moment, Aurora latched onto the first thought that entered her
mind. “Have you heard naught of Desmond, Levi?”

Levi started slightly at the question. “Did I not
tell you? I apologize. I was told he has sailed for America. I
doubt we will be seeing him again.”

It was Aurora’s turn to look startled. “Are you
sure?” she asked breathlessly.

“
Yes.” He frowned. “I had thought
this news would bring you some relief. It appears I was mistaken in
where your true affections lie.”

Her mouth dropped at his comment. Could he actually
believe something so nonsensical? “What do you mean by that?”

He shook his head and moved for the door. “I will
not have this discussion , Aurora.”

She reached out to stop his leaving. “Levi.” Her
tone was mildly reproving. “I never loved him, I swear.” She
grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and forced him to look down
at her. “I love you, Levi Greville. You have to believe that.”

“
I’m not sure what to
believe.”

There was really nothing she could say to that so
she simply explained, “I don’t trust Desmond. He always said he
hated America and thought the Americans a lot of uncouth barbarians
who should all be exterminated. If he had not been so afraid of
being killed, he would have joined in the war just so he could kill
them. Are you sure he has actually set sail? Did you see him set
foot on the ship?”

A trifle blown away by the speed with which she
spoke and the force of her words, Levi took a step back and only
managed a barely coherent, “No.”

“
Oh, he is not gone then, Levi!
Where is Rhiannon?” In her panic, she completely forgot that she
had left her daughter with the duke, probably the safest place the
little girl could be even though the man was injured.

“
I believe you left her with Hart,
Sprite.”

Aurora looked at her husband. He hadn’t called her
that in so long. In the beginning, the name had truly annoyed her
but time had allowed her to take it for what it was: a sign of
Levi’s affection for her. She had begun to fear never hearing it
again.

With barely a pause between this realization and her
subsequent reaction, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him
full on the lips.

Levi, of course, met her halfway. His own desire
overcame him and before either of them were aware, he had brushed
everything from the top of his desk and bore her down on top of
it.

Later, both adjusting their clothing and thanking
their lucky stars that no one had walked in on them, Aurora
complained about how uncomfortable it was to make love on a
desktop. She knew her expression, however, told her husband that
she wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

Levi just grinned and pulled her close. “I can think
of things far more…uncomfortable than making love on a desk, my
sprite.” He leaned down and whispered something in her ear that
made her cheeks heat to an uncomfortable degree.

Levi released her after a quick kiss on her
astonished lips and moved toward the door. “I suspect we should
rescue Hart before he loses his mind.”

As they left the room, Aurora, wide-eyed, asked, “Is
that really possible?”

Her husband, who knew she wasn’t referring to the
duke’s mental state, simply laughed.

~~~~~~

“
We are too late,” whispered Levi
as they peeked into Derringer’s room.

Aurora looked in and turned a delightfully smiling
countenance up to her husband. The great and powerful Duke of
Derringer, the oh so dangerous and deadly Lord Heartless, a man
hated by some and feared by all was sitting up in bed helping a
small girl brush the tangles out of her dolly’s hair. He smiled
enchantingly at Rhiannon and pretended to make the doll talk.
Rhiannon giggled and asked if she could brush his hair.

Aurora would have interrupted but Levi held her
back. “Wait,” he commanded gently.

To their shock, Derringer assented and Rhiannon
stood up and walked around behind him, her wobbly steps on the soft
mattress causing her to bump into him more often than not. She was
surprisingly gentle with the brush but they saw the man wince a few
times when the child must have scraped one of the tender spots on
his head.

“
Vi, we cannot just leave him at
her mercy. She really is too young to understand that he is
hurt.”

Levi nodded but pulled her a little way down the
hall. She gave him a perplexed look.

Then, in a voice louder than normal, he said, “I
think we should leave Town for Warwickshire soon. I find London
dull after the Season is over.”

Aurora smiled brightly. “I agree,” she told him.
“Will Rhiannon like your home, do you think?”