Secret Pleasures (9 page)

The carriage rolled to a stop in front of Marcus’s massive London home. “Come in and have a drink
.
It has been too long since we were civil and I miss your friendship.
”

Darien shook his head
.
“Ivy needs me
.
Her child is sick.”

“So you have forgiven her, I see.
”
Marcus studied Darien
.

“No
,
I haven’t.
”
He might not ever be able to forget the pain of the past, but he would not let that stop him from doing what was in Ivy’s best interest, no matter the consequences
.
His pride had already cost him a lifetime where Ivy was concerned.

“There is more to the story than you know.
”
Marcus leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees,
then
clasped his hands.

“I know all I need to.
”
Darien’s hostile tone let Marcus know he was in no mood to be lectured about Ivy
.

“Well, leave the woman alone then.
”
Marcus sat back against the carriage
’
s red leather seat
.
“She’s been through enough
.
If she has a child, she no doubt wants to keep it a private affair
.
Don’t expose her to further ridicule because you cannot control your hothead.”

“I fear it’s too late for that.”

Marcus jumped out of the carriage, not waiting for his footmen to open the door
.
Darien followed
.
Marcus stood to his full, intimidating height and looked down at Darien with all the regality of a man who had been very powerful since he was an adolescent
.

“Then you shall have trouble from me.
”
Marcus’s deep voice reverberated with threat.

Darien turned to leave, then swung back to hit Marcus in the jaw before he could fully glean his ungentlemanly attack
.
Marcus stumbled to one knee
.
The two footmen that grabbed Darien from behind and wrenched his arms behind his back did nothing to dull Darien’s satisfaction
.
He’d been wanting to punch Marcus for a long time.

Marcus got to his feet, looking mad as hell
.
Darien braced himself for his answering blow.

“Let him go,” Marcus ordered
.

They stood facing each other
.
Marcus balled his fist but curbed his obvious need to retaliate
.
The front door opened and a servant appeared in a swath of light.

“I won’t engage in a street brawl in front of my own home, but if you choose to continue this
…
”

“We can call it even.
”
Some of Darien’s rage cooled, and he held out his hand to his old friend
.
He couldn’t deny
Marcus had only stepped in and taken advantage of the disaster Darien’s father had created.

Marcus took his hand and squeezed hard enough for Darien to realize real strength went with the power of his esteemed title.

“If I hear that you have caused Ivy one moment of grief, we will be meeting again.”

Darien nodded, though he feared Marcus would be forced to follow through with his threat
.
Some man fathered Ivy’s child and the bastard in question was noticeably absent
.
Darien would not desert Ivy in her time of need again, whether she appreciated his intrusion into her life or not.

…
will be worth the sacrifices you will invariably be forced to make.

Though the early morning sun had yet to chase away the damp scent of night clinging to the narrow stairwell, Ivy found Diana’s door ajar
.
At least Ivy wouldn’t have to waste time trying to raise the notorious night owl
.
Usually Diana was dead to the world before noon.

Voices drifted past the thin walls, forcing Ivy to step back into the shadowed landing
.
The fact that Diana was awake meant she had not likely retired for the evening and Ivy had no desire to run into one of her paramours
.
Unless it was Gregory Blackmore
,
and then she would love to confront him on more equal footing
.
His closeted skeletons were just as ghastly as hers
,
but he had the power and the means to keep that particular door locked
.

Ivy gathered her courage
.
She did not have time for caution even if her arch enemy laid in wait, which was highly unlikely
.
Ivy intended to be far removed from London before speculation regarding Darien’s announcement spread through the city like the Black Plague
.
And if Diana refused to accompany her to Cornwall, she would have to say goodbye to her daughter
.
Melody’s fever had finally broken and she was sleeping peacefully
.
Ivy would not even consider returning the child to this squalor.

“Excuse me,” Ivy said loudly, averting her gaze while she pushed the door wider, not wanting to catch the couple unaware
.
“I just need to speak with Diana for one moment.”

A hushed silence greeted her request
.
Disturbed by the response, Ivy strode into the room
.
A grubby man and disheveled woman shuffled toward her, obviously struggling to carry the oversized
painting
of Diana in her prime.

“Where do you think you are going with that?” Ivy squared her shoulders to prevent their exit.

“Listen here, Miss”
—
t
he man craned his neck around the massive frame
—
“
s
he hadn’t paid her rent last month nor the one before that
.
And I let that pass considering her health
.
I just want to recoup what I lost, is all
.
I didn’t pinch the rest of the goods
.
Some vultures beat me to it.”

Ivy blocked their way
,
but glanced past the couple struggling to hold the heavy frame
,
and scanned the dim room
.
It had been stripped bare of all Diana’s belongings. The wardrobe doors stood open, revealing nothing but empty hangers
.
The silk hangings that had disguised the
crumbling plastered
wall had also been taken
.
Only the lounging chair where Diana had sat while she entertained Ivy less than a week ago remained in the center of the room, Diana asleep, or more likely inebriated
,
upon it.

“Did Diana agree to this?” Ivy rushed past the couple to check on Diana
.
The moment she reached the chair, she realized Diana was not merely foxed from too much drink
.

“Did someone summon a physician?” Ivy glanced behind her only to find the man and woman dragging the once prized portrait from the room.

Ivy gently lifted Diana’s cold hand
.
All her jewelry had been taken
.
Her bare feet and ankles shone ghostly white beneath the thin gown
.
The monsters had taken her shoes and stockings, not leaving even a single blanket to respectfully cover the dead
.
At least someone had closed Diana’s eyes
.

“Diana, I am so sorry.
”
Ivy bowed her head
.
Her throat closed against the onslaught of tears
.
She swallowed her anguish, unwilling to give in to the weakness at a time she felt so vulnerable, so exposed, thanks to Darien
.
Not only did she have her own ravished reputation to protect, but Melody’s
.
When they were safely protected by Cornwall’s quiet countryside
…

A splatter of brown stains circled a clean spot on the wood floor where a small round table had stood beside Diana’s lounging chair. A patch of white caught Ivy’s gaze and she bent down to find a square of paper sticking
out
from beneath the
makeshift
bed
.
She unfolded the rose scented parchment to find a scribbled note.

My dearest friend,

Please take care of my treasured gift
.
She is yours now
.
Never let her forget she is of noble blood.Please see that she is raised in the manner thatbefits her station
.
It is my wish that she never knowof her humble beginnings
.
Promise me!

Yours, Diana

Ivy reread the note twice, not sure if the passionate scrawl amounted to Diana’s deathbed ramblings or a cryptic clue as to what to do with Melody
.
The idea that the note
might
not
have
been intended for Ivy cooled her blood
.
She peeked under Diana’s chair, fearing she might discover further instructions
,
but found nothing but balls of dust
.
Ivy straightened, more determined
than
ever to secure a healthy, happy future for Melody
.
She could do nothing for Diana but she would do everything for her daughter.

However, Ivy had a visit to pay first
.
She would not be blindsided by
the Earl of Westhaven
a second time
.

***

Ivy marched up the marble steps of Gregory Blackmore’s London mansion, shaking with fury
.
After having to fend off another group who tried to take the furniture from beneath Diana, and another still who wanted the fine white gown that hugged her body, Ivy’s anguish had turned into righteous rage
.

The black lacquered door opened before she could bang the menacing brass gargoyle knocker
.

“Miss Templeton, we have been expecting you
.
This way.
”
Ivy followed the stiff butler through the octagon foyer, recognizing him from her first visit to Westhaven’s London mausoleum
.
The servant had aged considerably over the last decade and his permanent frown seemed only a tad less intimidating
.

Eerily, everything was
ex
actly as she remembered it
.
Same oak-paneled walls, same stiff pictures of men
on horse
back
draped in dead fox and geese
.
She had become more astute at navigating the male domain of power and intimidation over the years, and she had Darien’s father, her first and most brutal teacher, to thank for it.

The butler opened the wide paneled door and showed her into a smoky study
.
With the blinds closed, the place reminded her of a dark cave that housed a fire-breathing dragon who devoured maidens for breakfast
.
Luckily for Ivy, she was no maiden.

“Hello, Ivy
.
How good of you to answer my summons so promptly
.
You have saved me the trouble of following you all the way to Cornwall.”

Ivy stiffened at the earl’s almost friendly greeting, not that Ivy could ever tell the old bear’s mood
.
He always sounded gruff, even when he laughed
.
At least, that’s what Diana had claimed
.
Ivy was thankful she
’d
left her house before whatever summons he spoke of had arrived
.
If she had received such a pompous request, she would have likely left for Cornwall without first visiting Diana. Ivy remembered the cryptic nature of Diana’s note and prayed the earl did not have a similar version tucked away in his desk.

“I see you are already shadowing my whereabouts
.
Are you ready to make another offer
?
My price has gone up considerably.
”
Ivy relished her cool tone, a dramatic improvement from the hoarse whisper of her youth
.
Nine years ago she could hardly breathe in Darien’s father’s presence, much less speak.