Wicked Wager (27 page)

Lily stared at her, open-mouthed. “But…the two of you…you seem so compatible. I thought it was a love match.”

“It didn’t start out that way. In the beginning I tried my best to convince Marcus I would be an absolute nightmare as a wife. I was determined to disgust him so much that he would give up any notion of marrying me to gain control over Horngate. Obviously, I failed to convince him, and in the meantime, I decided being his wife might not be so awful. Although I still worry about him interfering with the horse operation, most of the time I think we might be able to work out a tolerable arrangement. I believe there is hope we can function as partners rather than the usual situation of the man making all the decisions and controlling everything.”

“Not to mention, you fell in love with him,” Lily said.

“I suppose that’s true.” Penny returned Lily’s smile with a rueful one of her own. “Although I’m not sure I’d ever admit that to
him
. I don’t want to give him too much power.”

“Of course not.” Lily’s smile widened.

Penny’s mood again turned sober. “Unfortunately, Marcus isn’t the problem. Adrian is. He says he’s lost Horngate a second time. And he assures me the man he lost it to is far more ruthless than Marcus. This man is willing to kill to get rid of any potential rival.” She shook her head. “I don’t know whether I believe Adrian or not. But until I find out for certain who this man is, the only way to protect Marcus is to call things off with him.”

“Which you don’t want to do?”

“No, I don’t.” It was surprising, Penny thought, how little she wanted to get out of marrying Marcus. After going to great efforts to get him to break off the engagement, she now found she was willing—indeed almost eager—to become his wife.

“But you feel it’s the only way to make certain this other man doesn’t try to murder him?” Lily asked.

“Exactly.”

“Maybe Marcus could reason with your cousin and find out who’s behind this.” Lily suggested.

Penny shook her head. “I think a confrontation between the two of them might make things worse. To find Adrian, Marcus would have to search for him, and in the process he might encounter this other man. He could end up walking right into a deadly trap.” She shivered, thinking of Adrian’s remark about Marcus being set upon in a dark alley.

“What if he took James and a couple of footmen with him?”

“Adrian would never talk to him then. No, I fear the only way to get the truth from Adrian is for me to call off things with Marcus, or at least appear to. Then Adrian will reveal who this other man is, and I’ll find out if he’s truly the brutal monster my cousin says he is.” She shuddered.

“But if he is a monster, and your cousin forces you to marry him…” Lily stared at her, looking as horrified as Penny felt.

Penny let out a deep breath. “It is a conundrum. To save Marcus, it seems I must sacrifice any chance of happiness for myself. But I feel like I have no choice. I can’t bear the thought of him being murdered.”

“There must be some way to thwart your cousin’s evil scheme. Marcus appears fairly well-to-do, and I’m certain he knows some influential people. Surely someone can help us. I think you should tell Marcus and James the whole story. Marcus could even go into hiding for a time, until we find out who’s behind these threats.”

Lily’s plan seemed like a reasonable course of action, at least from a woman’s standpoint. But a man might well find it shameful to hide from a potential threat, rather than confronting the danger head-on. Penny could well imagine Marcus refusing to listen to her concerns and immediately going after Adrian. If there was anything to her cousin’s threats, Marcus might end up walking into a deathtrap.

“I don’t feel I can risk telling Marcus,” she told Lily. “For Marcus to confront Adrian might be the worst thing he could do. You weren’t there when Marcus and I first discussed how to deal with Brakestoke. Marcus was all for challenging him to a duel. And in that instance, it wasn’t Marcus’s honor at stake but yours, a woman he’d only just met. Think how he might react to a threat directed at him…by a cowardly wretch like Adrian.”

“What’s the answer, then? If you do as your cousin asks, you could end up wed to a ruthless, violent man. If you do nothing, Marcus might be murdered.”

Penny chewed her lower lip in thought. “If only I could be certain Adrian is telling the truth. He might be bluffing. He may not have lost Horngate to another man at all. And even if there is another man, he may not be the murderous monster Adrian says he is.”

“How can you find out?”

“I need to have someone spy on Adrian. Follow him and see where he goes and whom he meets. I think I can get Jeremy, the footman, to do it. But to buy time for Jeremy to investigate things, I need to make Adrian think I’ve ended things with Marcus. But the problem is I’m living at Marcus’s townhouse. I can’t return to Horngate. If I do, I fear Adrian will follow me there and I’ll be trapped. I need to find somewhere else to stay in London.”

“You could stay here.”

“But what would we tell James?”

“We could tell him the truth, that you’re merely pretending to break things off with Marcus because of your cousin’s threats.”

Penny shook her head. “James will never agree. He’d feel honor bound to tell Marcus what’s going on.”

“I know a place you could stay,” Lily said. “If you have money.” Penny looked at Lily questioningly. She continued, “It’s where I stayed when my family”—Lily swallowed—“asked me to leave. I thought Brakestoke would pay for it. When he wouldn’t, that’s when I was forced to confront him. You know the rest.”

“I have money,” said Penny. “When I left Horngate with Marcus, I planned on returning. I knew I’d need money to travel home. I was also prepared to pay off servants, and anyone else who would help me get out of the marriage.” She gave Lily a sad smile. “Back then, I was determined not to have anything to do with Marcus. Now look at me—I’m forced to leave him and it’s breaking my heart.”

Lily came and squeezed her arm. “Things don’t always turn out the way we expect. But sometimes they turn out even better. I’m so happy to have little Charles, regardless of how his birth came about. And James and you and Marcus have been so kind to me. For the first time in months, I actually have hope for the future.”

“I believe things will work out for you, Lily, but I’m not so certain about my future. If I leave Marcus now, I doubt he’ll ever trust me again. But I’ve never seen my cousin like this…so anxious and desperate.” She sighed. “Even if I can keep this man from hurting Marcus, how can I avoid marrying him? I can’t hide forever.”

“I wish you would let me tell James about this. I believe he would help you. He’s Marcus’s close friend. I can’t believe he’d do anything to endanger him.”

“I fear James is too much like you. He sees the good in people, and he won’t believe that someone might be willing to murder Marcus for Horngate. No, for now I have to act as if I’m doing what Adrian wants. He’s used to bullying me, so he’ll think he has things under control. That will give me some time to make my own plans to get out of this mess.”

Lily still looked troubled, but she nodded. Her agreement relieved Penny, but it was tempered by the gnawing awareness of how much her plan would hurt and anger Marcus…and break her own heart.

Chapter Eighteen

“You’re certainly quiet tonight,” Marcus commented at dinner.

Penny put down her fork and responded with what she hoped was a placid smile. “I’m merely thinking about Lily’s situation. James seems quite charmed by her. Do you think there’s any chance he might…take things further than simply providing her with a place to stay?”

Marcus raised his dark brows. “Do you mean, do I think he might marry her?”

“Well, yes. Eventually, that is. Once he has time to get used to the idea.”

Marcus’s dark eyes, bright with emotion, pierced her. “At one time I would have scoffed at such a notion. I would have thought it utterly ridiculous to imagine a sensible man like James deciding to wed a woman with a child and no dowry, income or other prospects. But having learned how powerfully tender emotions can affect even a reasonable person’s decisions, I’m no longer willing to dismiss the idea out of hand. James appears smitten, so who can say what he will do?”

Penny could feel herself flushing in response to Marcus’s words. He appeared to be discussing his own feelings for her as much as what James might feel toward Lily. It would be easy to interpret his words as his way of telling her he was in love with her. The realization flooded her with an aching dismay. He would feel terribly betrayed when she left him. As difficult as it had been for him to give in to his emotions, he might never get over it.

“I hope for Lily’s sake that you’re right,” she responded. “She seems very taken with James.”

“Are you certain she truly cares for him?” Marcus asked. “That she’s not merely pretending fondness because James is her best hope for a protector?” Penny started to answer, but Marcus went on, his expression darkening. “I like Lily, but if she’s manipulating and using James…I can’t abide deceitful women. If Lily breaks James’s heart, she’ll find out
I
can be nearly as nasty as Brakestoke.”

Penny took a bite and struggled to chew. Her mouth seemed to have gone dry. Marcus was making it clear that if she rejected him, he would never forgive her.

When she was finally able to get the food down, she said, “I’m sure Lily truly cares for James. If she felt getting involved with him would hurt him, she would leave before that could happen.”

“I don’t understand. If she returns his affections, how would getting involved with her end up hurting James?”

Penny shrugged, trying to make her response sound off-hand, yet give Marcus an insight into what she was about to do. “What if Lily thought Brakestoke might decide to do something to James to get back at him for helping her? In that instance, getting away from James might be the best way for Lily to show him how much she cares for him.”

Marcus had stopped eating and was staring at her. “Are you saying Lily has had contact with Brakestoke since the incident at the theater? Has he threatened her in some way?”

“No! Nothing like that! Indeed, Lily told me she’s quite certain Brakestoke wants nothing more to do with her. At this point, he’s probably thankful to James for getting her out of his life. The situation I mentioned was purely theoretical. I was trying to explain that sometimes people have to hurt the people they care about in order to protect them.”

****

Marcus searched Penny’s face trying to figure out why she was saying these things. Was she suggesting that if James proposed, Lily would refuse him? Was Penny trying to come up with some excuse for Lily to do such a thing?

Penny gave him a quick, nervous smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t think Lily will do anything like that. I’m merely saying that if you truly care about someone, sometimes you have to put their interests ahead of your own. The truth is, Lily worries she’s not good enough for James. She’s concerned his family won’t accept her and they’ll think he’s marrying beneath himself.”

“I wouldn’t worry about James’s family. They don’t care what James does. He’s got two older brothers who are expected to make good matches, so no one has much interest in what James does. It’s exactly like my situation. Younger sons aren’t worth bothering about.” He knew he sounded bitter, but he couldn’t help it. It had always rankled that his family treated him with such disinterest.

“I’m sure Lily will be relieved. She truly cares for James, enough that’s she concerned for his future happiness.”

Marcus finished his roast beef, keeping his gaze on Penny. She was behaving oddly tonight. He wondered if it had anything to do with her meeting with her cousin. He needed to confront her about that…but later. He didn’t want to ruin things between them now, when they would soon be going to bed. He could hardly wait. Even as his mind puzzled on Penny’s motivations, his body was focused—as always—on how delectable she looked: her lovely eyes, delicious mouth, long neck and creamy skin. He wanted to devour her, and it was all he could do to wait until it was time to retire and he would finally get his chance to enjoy her charms.

They talked a bit more about James and Lily and the baby, and how well their household was adjusting to the changes. Then Marcus brought up the idea of going to Covent Gardens to enjoy the fireworks and other entertainments. “I’d like to take you tomorrow night, if you’d like to go, that is.”

“I’m certain that would be enjoyable,” she answered.

“So, we’ll plan on it then?”

She didn’t respond, but nodded vaguely. Her expression seemed stiff and awkward, which made him uneasy. If she were his opponent in a card game, he’d be convinced she had a poor hand and was bluffing him. But of course, this wasn’t a card game, and she was a woman, which meant it was inevitable he would find her moods puzzling and indecipherable.

****

Oh, this is miserable, to constantly be lying to him.
How she wanted this meal to be over.

But what was coming next would be even worse. They’d go to bed and he’d make love to her and she’d experience all that magical passion and pleasure, all the while knowing it might be for the last time. Indeed, it probably
would
be for the last time.

She repressed a sigh. Somehow she had to behave normally, despite her breaking heart. She didn’t want Marcus getting suspicious. It would be disastrous if he suspected she was up to something. She had to wear him out with lovemaking so he’d sleep late, as he did this morning, so she could get away. The sooner they went to bed, the sooner they could begin.

Her body yearned for his touch, heedless of what the future held. She might as well have one more night of heaven and try to forget about the hell to come.

****

“Are you finished?” Marcus motioned to Penny’s half-eaten meal. She didn’t appear to have much appetite tonight. Another sign that something was bothering her.

“Yes,” she answered. Marcus nodded to Will, who pulled back Penny’s chair so she could rise.