Though tempted to argue his case, Leo opted to remain quiet on the matter of this young woman. Adam had caught her younger sister prowling the house when they had been visiting the gardens with their mother and it seemed Alexander had found Miss Evans quite fascinating. Leo wondered if Mrs. Jones was going to report back to their mother about it all.
“I am not acting strange and there is nothing wrong,” he said firmly.
Adam gave him a look. “You always were a terrible liar. What is going on?”
Leo eased out a breath. Rebecca would loathe being discovered, but if he was honest, he did not truly believe he could keep her presence here a secret for long, and whilst he could not claim to share all aspects of his life with his brothers, he did not much enjoy lying to them about her.
“Fine.”
Adam grinned at Alexander. “I told you we could break him easily.”
Alexander shrugged. “I’m slightly disappointed in you, Leo. Now I owe Adam a small fortune.”
“You wagered on me?”
“You are mightily predictable, Brother.” Adam clapped a hand upon his shoulder. “If I was to bet upon your behavior all the time, I would be a rich man.”
“You’re already a rich man,” Alexander pointed out.
“Well, a richer one then.”
“How depressing that my behavior is so easily foreseen,” Leo said dryly. “I shall have to make more effort to do the unexpected.”
“Well, tell us what is happening with you and we shall decide if it is expected or not.” Alexander folded his arms and rocked back slightly on his heels, the signature marquis look back in place.
“I already said I would,” he snapped.
“Well?” Adam pressed.
Leo steeled himself, ready for whatever reaction his brothers had to the news. “Rebecca is here,” he spilled out.
A few moments of silence passed, the only sound the ticking of a clock and the muffled thuds of the footsteps of a maid in the hallway. Adam and Alexander exchanged a look.
“As in...Rebecca Fortescue?” Adam finally asked.
Leo nodded.
“As in Rebecca Fortescue who you were determined to marry but vanished and never returned and left you heartbroken beyond repair?” Alexander added.
Leo scowled. “I would hardly say heartbroken beyond repair.”
Adam cocked his head. “We all know why you bed so many women.”
“Oh, really? So what is your excuse?” Leo tightened his jaw. He did not much like his brothers thinking he was some heartbroken sap.
Adam shook his head. “We’re not discussing me, and I am entirely comfortable with my behavior. I am a bachelor with few obligations. Why should I not take pleasure where I can seek it?”
“And why should I not?” Leo countered.
Alexander held up a hand. “So Rebecca is here? In this house?”
“Yes.” Leo ran a hand over his mouth. “She is in the area for...well. I will have to get her to explain, but suffice to say, I did not have much choice but to offer her shelter.”
“And she feared scandal, so you kept her presence here quiet? Or were you worried word of her would get back to Mother?” Adam suggested.
Leo lifted a shoulder. “I have a suspicion Rebecca has seen enough scandal to last a lifetime thanks to her father. Staying here without escort would hardly be the worst of it.”
Alexander rubbed his chin. “I’d rather like to assign a lady’s maid to her, though.”
“She will not be happy about being known to you.” Leo sighed. “She is fearful of how people will view her after her father’s indiscretions.” Leo curled his fists at the memory of that man bellowing at her and her fainting in the middle of the street. “She is not wrong either. That kerfuffle in town yesterday was to do with her.”
“Ah. I wondered where you had disappeared to.” Adam jerked his head toward Alexander. “He did not notice as Miss Evans was there.”
“That had nothing to do with it,” Alexander muttered.
“So what are we to do with her?” Adam asked, setting hands on his hips. “Pretend she does not exist?”
Alexander shook his head. “I’m not having some woman locked away in my house.”
“She is not some woman.”
Alexander’s lips curved at Leo’s response. “I was always fond of Rebecca. Bring her down for dinner and she can tell us herself why she is here and why she has you all tangled up in knots.”
“I am not tangled in knots,” Leo muttered, knowing full well it was a lie.
∞∞∞
REBECCA FOLDED HER arms and tried to ignore the thudding of her heart threatening to beat its way up her throat. She glared at Leo. “You could have lied.”
“To my brothers? I think not. Especially when you are under Alexander’s roof.”
She pressed her lips together and blew out a frustrated breath through her nostrils. She was making no progress in figuring out where her father had hidden his belongings and, in truth, she should have left Eastwick Hall long ago.
Ideally, before they’d made love.
A tremble fluttered through her, settling in the pit of her stomach and warring with the apprehension that lingered there. A flutter that had far too much to do with desire for her liking. It did not matter that it had been a mistake, that yesterday had proven she should never have set foot in Langmere again—her body felt differently.
Very well, perhaps her mind did too. She was weakening, she suspected, pondering if there was some way to stay, some way to gain back her old life. Even after the awful incident with that man bellowing at her, after Leo had scooped her up and brought her here, she could not help but wish things were different.
Goodness, who was she kidding? She had weakened the moment he put his lips to hers. Yesterday should have been enough to counter that.
“Why do they even wish to see me?”
“In case you have forgotten, they were rather fond of you. Perhaps they want to see how you are doing after ten years.”
“Nine,” she replied automatically.
“In any case, Alexander isn’t overly fond of having women hidden away in his house, especially when we are meant to be—” He paused. “Well, anyway, Alexander requests your presence at dinner.”
She glanced down at her plain muslin gown. “I have nothing to wear.”
“Believe it or not, none of us will care.”
“There will be no other guests there?”
He shook his head.
“It is strange that the three of you have not hosted a party or two yet,” she mused. “After all, you all have reputations.”
“I explained that,” he said tightly, his gaze darkening and connecting firmly with hers.
He did. Right before he made love to her. And she believed him. Leo was many things, but he had never been a liar.
“Very well.” She smoothed hands down her dress when he did not move.
He escorted her downstairs to the grand dining room. His brothers were already in the room and the footmen kept their attention fixed ahead, betraying no surprise at this strange woman’s arrival.
She wanted to press a hand to her stomach but forced her posture to remain formal. Adam strode quickly over to her and drew her into a warm embrace that made her laugh in surprise. He stepped back and Rebecca marveled at the similarities between him and Leo. The years had done wonderful work on them both and they still appeared so similar, though Adam had gained a scar across one eyebrow and his nose appeared as though it might have been broken at some point.
“You look as beautiful as ever,” he said, his hands to her arms.
“Thank you,” she managed to murmur.
“I agree,” said Alexander, smiling warmly. “It’s a pleasure to have you here after so many years.”
“I will admit I did not expect to see any of you here. I heard you all preferred to remain in Town.” The footman drew out a chair for her and she sat next to the head of the table and watched as all three b
rothers were seated.
Adam shared a glance with Alexander that made her frown. “You cannot have been keeping up with all the gossip then.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“We are here under the orders of our mother,” Alexander said.
She glanced sideways at Leo, who took a long gulp of wine, remaining oddly quiet. “Your mother?” she pressed. “Leo?”
“There is some scandal in London revolving around us,” he explained, reluctance in his tone. “Mother rather begged us to come out here and, well, stay away from the opposite sex.”
Adam snorted. “A fine job you have done of that.”
“I have seen you flirt with at least a dozen young ladies,” Leo shot back.
“What sort of scandal?” she asked, too aware of her heart beating hard in her ears.
He wasn’t a rake, not really—that was what she had convinced herself when she let him take her to bed. Or perhaps he was, perhaps the years had done more than she realized, and she was a fool to believe he hadn’t changed from the boy she’d known.
Leo grimaced and blew out a breath, his hand clasped around the delicate stem of the crystal wine glass. “A young lady found herself in an unfortunate situation.”
“I very much doubt she just found herself in such a situation.” Rebecca pursed her lips, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone. Her father had left plenty of women in similar circumstances. “They do not usually manage to get in such conditions alone.”
Adam chuckled. “She’s not wrong.”
“But what does it have to do with the three of you?” She glanced around the table, distinctly aware of Leo tapping his fingers against his glass.
“Whoever did it looks a little like us,” Leo explained. “So it has been assumed that one of us has left her in said situation and is unwilling to admit to it or claim the child as our own.”
She opened her mouth, closed it and twisted to view Leo. “But it was not you?”
“It wasn’t any of us,” Alexander said firmly.
“Why did you not tell me of your reason for being here, Leo?” she demanded.
“It would hardly have persuaded you to stay now would it?”
“If you have done nothing, you have no reason to keep it from me.”
“Says the woman who has been hiding in the east wing,” he muttered.
“At your invitation.” She inhaled deeply, glanced at his brothers and rose from the table, gesturing for them to stay. “Forgive me but this was a mistake. I am so sorry.”
Rebecca fled the room swiftly and moved blindly through the rooms until she found one of the drawing rooms, shutting the door behind her and sinking onto the sofa, her head in her hands.
It did not matter what Leo did, she reminded herself. Or even if he had hidden his reason for being here. She would be gone as soon as she found the diamond.
So why did it hurt?
Because some small part of her hoped their situations would somehow magically change. That the people on Langmere would accept her back and Leo would declare his love for her, and she could pretend the past nine years had never happened, and he had never bedded his way through London society.
Her love for him and Langmere had never faded.
“Rebecca?” She lifted her head to see Leo pop his head around the door and then step in. “I did not get that woman with child.”
She eyed him while he strode toward her.
“You know me better than that.”
“Do I?” She swallowed and glanced around, unable to view his earnest expression without her heart aching. “It has been so long, Leo. Goodness knows, I am different.”
“You are certainly stronger and more independent and that is no bad thing. In fact—”
“Wait!” She lifted a finger. “How long has this been here for?” She plucked a book from the side table next to the sofa and fingered the embossed lettering. “A Guide to Langmere and the Lakes,” she murmured.
Leo shrugged. “I think Mrs. Jones has been reading it. She must have left it there.”
She flicked open the book. “It talks of my father.”
“Do not read it, Rebecca—it will not help you.”
“No, do you not see? I should have read it. It might very well help me.”
“How so?”
“I know it talks of his arrest here. Maybe there is some clue as to his movements, as to where the diamond is.” She gave a dry laugh. “I should not have been such a coward.”
“I hardly think not reading a book is cowardice.”
No. But there was no denying her every move had been dictated by fear. Perhaps the one moment she had not been, had been when she went to bed with Leo, and Lord help her, she wanted another moment like that.
Chapter Eleven
“I am not certain I want to look.”
Leo sank onto the sofa beside Rebecca after lighting a few more lamps. “Shall I read it?”
She shook her head and turned the pages. “I should do it.”
“If anyone can figure out where your father hid the diamond, it’s you. I do not know anyone cleverer than you, Rebecca.”
She scrunched up her nose. “I’m feeling mightily stupid at present.” Her throat bobbed and she ran her finger along the page before making a sound of disgust. “It is as though my father is some folk hero instead of the awful man he was.”
“He was not all bad.”
Her gaze shot up to his. “He married and deserted several women, not to mention defrauded just about half of England. If he had not been captured, I have no doubt he would have gone on to marry more women for their money and do goodness knows what else.”
“Yes,” Leo agreed, putting a hand to her chin and raising it slightly. “But he made you.” The temptation to kiss her dug deep into his gut. He moved back and nodded to the book. “Read on.”
He waited while she continued to read, her expression flitting from disgust to annoyance and back again. She pressed her lips together and he spied the portrait of her family, faithfully replicated in the book. He could not imagine the pain she must have suffered to know it hadn’t been real—that while she enjoyed a privileged life, her father had been living a lie. It seemed the worst of his behavior happened once he left Rebecca and her mother, but that did not discount the fact he defrauded many a person during her childhood and used funds that were not his to maintain their lifestyle.
And when it all came crashing down, he left them.
Leo curled a fist and rose from the chair, pacing past the fireplace, then back again while she read. If he could go back and punch the man, he would. Hanging almost felt too good for him. He wanted Roger Fortescue to have to face his daughter and see what he had done. Leo had to face the fact Rebecca had been just as hurt by the night she had left if not more. At least he had been able to move on with his life. Even if it had not been in the most productive of manners. Rebecca had been left with the true aftermath of it all and yet she still wished to atone for her father’s mistakes. The woman was damned selfless.
She gasped and he stilled. “Did you find something?”
“Fortescue, by all appearances, led the life of a country gentleman, spending time out of doors with his family.” She ran her finger along the page as she read. “Alas, few knew the truth, including his innocent first wife and daughter who were callously abandoned in Florence in 1801. Those wishing to follow in Fortescue’s footsteps might enjoy a walk along the West Shore, where he often took his daughter Rebecca.”
“You think it’s there?”
She furrowed her brows. “I’m not certain, I just have this feeling...” She shook her head. “We used to spend so much time there and it’s a wild walk.”
“I recall.”
“We rarely encountered anyone, and I used to adore it because I could spot rabbits.” She held up a finger. “And listen to this”—she flicked through a few more pages—“Fortescue was caught not far from the West Shore. Some may be surprised that the man
remained in Langmere but many imagined the man so bold that he could not fathom being unable to talk his way out of his troubles.”
“He was going to the West Shore.”
“Yes! He must have been going to retrieve the diamond.” She snapped the book shut and rose from the chair. “We should leave. Now.”
“We?”
“Well, that is...” She blushed. “That is if you wish to accompany me.” Her chin lifted. “I can quite happily go by myself.”
“I hasten to point out it is rather dark.”
“Blast.” She dropped onto the chair.
“In the meantime, why do we not join my brothers for dinner once more? We did leave rather abruptly.”
She looked to the window and then to him. “I suppose I cannot go anywhere tonight.”
“You certainly cannot.”
“Will they think me rude?”
He chuckled. “Most likely.”
She rolled her eyes. “You could have saved me embarrassment by telling me the truth, you know?”
He nodded. “I know, though there hardly seemed an opportune moment.” He took her arm before she could move past him. “It is the truth, though. I did not touch that woman.”
Rebecca met his gaze. “I know.”
Maybe it should not have felt like an achievement, but it did, and at present, Leo was willing to take any victories he could because he could deny it no longer. When she had fled from him, it had hurt all over again.
He’d fallen for her once more.
∞∞∞
“SO WHERE PRECISELY are we going?”
Rebecca gripped her skirts and stepped over a rock, scarcely glancing at Leo. She focused only on what was ahead. She’d allowed herself too many weak moments of late. If she looked at him, she might soften again and let him kiss her.
Or worse.
She could not give him false hope. It would be a cruel game to play. The man’s reaction in the village had proven her right. There was no place for her here.
“The West Shore.”
“Well, yes, obviously.” He came up beside her and offered a hand to climb over the next set of rocks.
She took the offered hand instinctively and regretted it. Every time he touched her, she could think only of when he had touched her so intimately. But she would be a fool to deny his aid. Her skirts were not made for clambering over the large rocks that were clustered around the edge of the lake, still damp from the spray that had been pushed toward land by the breeze rippling across the lakeside.
The Taming of a Wicked Rogue (The Lords of Scandal Row Book 1) Page 7
