“Don’t think for one minute they wanted to spend the evening here,” Nathan said. “They’re happy to have been sent on to the club to cause mischief more to their liking. I know Fredericks was here out of pity, and I hate pity. Johnson was here merely to see me in my miserable state.”
“I just wish I hadn’t put you in that position,” Rosa said apologetically. “Had I sent a card ahead of my arrival, we could have made proper arrangements to meet.”
“It is never necessary. And need I remind you that Johnson knew better than to approach you. Had my head been clearer I would have removed him long before he had a chance to accost you.” If Teddy wasn’t mistaken, there was some underlying past that Nathan was referring to. “I’m thankful Teddy was able to remove him before something more could have come of your run-in.”
“I doubt he’ll cause me any harm, but thank you,” she said, face still lowered in guilt.
“You are far better company than those two louts,” Nathan added.
“And you didn’t tell me your brother could be so charming.” Rosa’s tone lightened.
Nathan gave a throaty laugh, full of amusement. “I had no idea myself. I’ve barely seen him outside of his work and when he’s all work, he’s no play.”
Teddy narrowed his eyes at his brother. While that might be true, there was something about Rosa that changed him and overcame his usual reluctance to entertain. She’d suggested that she was a muse—he supposed she was, in some senses of the word, considering his reaction and desire to spend time with her. Her mere presence enlivened and inspired him.
“I have agreed to assist her in finding her brother,” he said to move the focus of the conversation away from him.
Rosa’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth and Nathan gave Teddy a quizzical look. So his announcement had been abrupt.
“I see,” was all Nathan seemed able to say before taking a long drink of his wine.
Rosa dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before sitting up straighter in her chair, turning slightly to face Nathan. “When Teddy offered to assist, I could hardly say no. I know you have to go after Anna, and it would tear me apart inside if I were the person stopping you.”
“It’s a fine idea. I can’t thank you both enough.”
Nathan set his wineglass down and leaned against his chair, arms outstretched on the table.
“Just win her back,” Rosa said as she slid her hand across the table in search of Nathan’s.
He reached for hers before long, pulled it close to his mouth, and kissed the back of her knuckles. Teddy glared at his brother. Nathan could see that his familiarity with Rosa was incensing Teddy, it was the only reason he was being so forward. Before Teddy could temper the emotion surely clear in his expression, Nathan gave him a knowing smile.
“Will you need me for anything?” his brother asked.
“I’ve got it handled, Nathan,” Teddy said before Rosa could speak up.
“Perfect. Send word once you’ve located him. Or write if you need me for anything.”
“Do you leave at first light?” Rosa asked, obviously sensing the building tension in the room.
“I do. I’ll ride to Maidstone instead of taking a carriage, which should save me some time.”
The remainder of their meal conversation turned to Nathan’s trip to Maidstone.
Nathan placed his napkin on the table and stood. He placed his palm against the side of Rosa’s face. “You’ll find Daniel and I will do everything in my power to make amends with Anna.”
Rosa took his hand in hers, lifting it away from her face as she squeezed it. “For both our sakes, I hope so.”
Teddy felt his ire rising with every familiar touch. It wasn’t like him to be jealous toward his brother; he knew Nathan was devoted to Anna, knew it with every fiber of his being. Still, he wanted to push his brother away from Rosa. He held still in his chair, watching their exchange, wishing Rosa had reached for him instead of Nathan, since he was the one who would help her.
Nathan leaned in close to Rosa and brushed his lips over her cheek. “Teddy will take care of you far better than I can.”
Nathan watched Teddy as he spoke. Teddy refused to react, not sure what his brother’s intentions were. Nor was he sure why jealousy had slapped him so hard in the face when he’d never been the jealous type before.
Teddy slid out his chair and stood. “Rosa, let me take you into the parlor. We can have some tea before we retire.”
She turned toward the sound of his voice, her face tilted up, and her lips parted in a tempting manner. He did not act on that temptation, not with his brother standing so close, so aware of Teddy’s reaction to Rosa. Pulling out her chair, he took her hand in his, intent on escorting her to the parlor.
“I’ll leave you two to the night,” Nathan said. Teddy didn’t miss the undertone of speculation in his brother’s comment.
“Good night, Nathan,” Rosa said.
Once his brother left, Teddy turned all his attention to Rosa. “Do you prefer tea or wine?”
“Tea is perfect for this weather.”
Teddy called over to the footman and asked to have tea brought to the parlor.
ROSA REACHED FOR THE TEAPOT as the maid set down the service one the table. Teddy had it in hand before she did and her hands fumbled clumsily against his.
“Let me,” he said.
She took her seat again. “I’m perfectly capable of serving tea.”
“You’re my guest, so I must insist on serving you.” He poured out two cups. “Sugar, lemon?”
She shook her head. “Black, please.”
He touched her hand before placing the saucer and teacup into her hold. “Thank you.”
“You are more than welcome. Now, what can you tell me of your brother’s habits?”
She blew over the steam rising from her cup before taking a delicate sip of the hot liquid. “Other than the fact that Daniel has a penchant for gambling?”
“That’s a starting point, yes, but I’ll need to know any information that might aid me in locating him.”
“The one great disadvantage of not being a part of his life is that I can only watch from afar, or so the expression goes. I always know how he fares and what trouble he’s found as that finds my ears long before any good he does. I never involve myself directly in his life.”
“Does he disapprove of the way you’ve lived your life?”
Probably the worst question Teddy could have asked, but he didn’t backpedal. She thought maybe he wanted to know how she felt about her chosen path. There hadn’t been many other options for her after being tossed out of her father’s house. Young, alone, and frightened out of her wits, she’d agreed to take her first patron knowing that if she didn’t, her life could head in a far worse direction.
“I don’t imagine he knows.”
Teddy refrained from asking anything more on the topic.
Setting her half-empty teacup on the table, Rosa stood, feeling as though she’d overstayed her welcome. “I think we should call it an evening.”
Teddy grasped her hand to stall her and keep her from leaving. The feel of his fingers around hers bombarded her with feelings she didn’t know how to address. It was something akin to desire.
“Don’t leave on my account. I’ve been known to stick my foot in my mouth a time or two.”
She ducked her head, hiding the sudden smile at his honesty. “No, I understand that you need to know more about me if you’re going to find my brother. One of the reasons I came to Nathan was that he already knows about my past. That, and he has previous experience in finding Daniel.”
Teddy still hadn’t released her hand, and his warmth radiated through her. “Sit with me awhile longer and only tell me what you’re comfortable revealing. I won’t ask any other questions tonight, especially if they are painful for you. I can promise you that much.”
Torn as to exactly what she should do, she knew there was no choice but to stay. She had to give him any inform
ation that might be useful in finding her brother. Slipping her hand out from between his, she perched herself on the edge of the settee with a long exhalation. She might as well get her tale out of the way.
“My father made it quite clear that my youthful folly had destroyed his reputation. I gave him no choice but to disown me.” She took a deep breath knowing the details she provided would give Teddy a better understanding of how her brother had grown up, and how it would have shaped his character.
“If there is one thing I’ve learned over time, Rosa, it is that the heart can heal with distance and time. Forgiveness can still be granted, no matter how grave you think your actions might have been.”
“That is a circumstance I will never be privy to. You see, I was once in love and tried to elope with the local earl’s son. The weather—” She paused. It always brought her great pain to recall that night, and it broke her heart all over again. “It was raining hard the day we left. By the second day, we knew our fathers would be close to catching up with us and took to the road even after being warned by other travelers that the roads weren’t ideal for a carriage.
“We rushed, you see. We rushed because of all the weather delays in getting to our destination. We wanted to be married before our fathers could stop us. They didn’t agree with our union.” She heard the clink of china being placed on the marble tabletop. After a rustle of movement on her left, Teddy sat next to her, the settee dipping and their bodies pressed together from shoulder to elbow. “Lightning struck close to the cart, spooking the horses. The carriage couldn’t navigate properly through the muddy conditions.”
She couldn’t bear to detail the seconds before she and Michael knew they were headed for certain disaster. She’d held tight to Michael’s hand as the carriage cab flipped off the road, the horses screaming, injured. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The memory made her too numb to cry.
“That was the accident that took my sight. And the life of my fiancé. So you see, forgiveness is not possible. The earl made sure of that before he even buried his son.”
Teddy brushed his fingers over the back of her hand, over and over in a soothing fashion. “I didn’t mean to invoke such memories. Please. Forgive me.”
“My brother has not seen me since the day my father banished me from my house. He was still a boy. Even as he grew older I never reentered his life, fearing what he thought of me. I can only imagine the villain I was painted to be. It was when my brother was sixteen that his problems started. And I knew I could not let him learn from his mistakes like I had. Not once I understood the trouble he got himself in.”
“You’ve been digging him out of trouble that long.” Disbelief was strong in his voice. “Why didn’t your father step in at that point?”
“I broke something in him when I left. He became reclusive. And I know he can’t financially help Daniel, even if he wants to help my brother.” Most of Rosa’s musical engagements had paved the way for a more comfortable life for her family. She hated to think how her father supported the house without her income to help cover their expenses.
“You should never have had to take on the burden of your brother.”
Rosa would not explain her need to atone for all she’d done wrong. “Yet it was within my means to do just that. I wonder sometimes ... Had I not been my brother’s silent benefactor and had instead revealed myself to him, could I have persuaded him from the path he fell into so easily and willingly?”
Teddy wrapped his arm around her waist and he held her in his arms like a lover would. Thankful for the comforting touch, she did not move away from him, even knowing this intimacy was dangerous.
“His troubles are through no fault of yours, Rosa.”
“Aren’t they? I have tried to tell myself that over the years, but it feels like a lie.”
“You know Nathan spent his younger days living through one soiree and house party after another, wasting the family fortune trying to erase the memories of our father and to destroy the dukedom he built.”
Knowing Nathan as long as she had, she knew that it was Anna who had settled the duke’s ways. Through Anna, Nathan had become a connoisseur of artists and had turned his focus away from the waste and complete debauchery he’d sunk into, finding something else to be passionate about. From some of the things he’d said over the years, she guessed that Nathan’s childhood had been filled with more pain than any child should have to bear.
“What I’m trying to get at is that my brother had a choice to make, Rosa. He had to decide if his hatred for our father would eat up his life and allow himself to be destroyed by that, or choose to walk away from the path he’d taken. It was Nathan who eventually decided to be a better man than our father.”
“I understand what you’re alluding to, I do. And I’m sorry you couldn’t experience a childhood with a father who doted upon you both.” It went without saying that her father had once loved her and Daniel more than life itself, and she had single-handedly broken that love.
“Nathan had the brunt of our father’s hard hand, since he was the only child, in my father’s eyes, who would ever be duke. I was lucky to spend more of my time in my mother’s company, even though my father accused her of making me soft. In truth he paid me little mind. His focus was on making Nathan worthy of the title he would inherit.”
Rosa rested her head against Teddy’s shoulder. She felt safe when she was in Teddy’s arms. Was it that they had similar stories to share? She couldn’t believe how freely she’d shared her past with him.
“Listen to us,” she said. “How miserable our histories are.”
With his hand cupping her cheek, he said, “Tell me the best way to find your brother, and I promise to do everything in my power to reunite you.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she felt like she could almost take on the world if Teddy were at her side. And wasn’t that a silly notion considering she barely knew this man.
“I don’t know if he’ll agree to meet with me.” It was hard to admit that, but she felt she should point it out before Teddy got it in his head that this would be a happy ending between brother and sister. She’d been estranged from her family for too long to have such high hopes of reuniting.
“We’ll worry about that once he’s found.”
Unable to help herself, she nuzzled into the palm of his hand. This man comforted her in a way she’d never allowed another to do. If she wasn’t careful, Teddy would soon hold the power to be her undoing.
“He flits between gambling hells and whorehouses. His goal has always been to find the next quick, dirty hand of cards. He tends to have even odds, winning large sums of money and even property of other lords, then he’ll throw all his winnings down on a bad bet. He’s reckless, and that habit has progressively gotten worse over the past year. And I can’t help but suspect some of his winnings are made underhandedly.”
That reason alone was why he’d likely disappeared.
“When Johnson accosted you, he mentioned your brother borrowing a large sum of money.”
“It’s possible. He’s done that in the past. Nathan has helped me settle a few debts that might have resulted in my brother’s death had I not interfered.”
“You don’t think—”
Pulling out of his arms, she rubbed her fingers against his lips. “Don’t even think it. You’ll find him for me. I have to believe that.”
“Where do you want me to start?”
“Nathan always spread word that my brother owed him money. While that has never directly turned my brother up, he’s fished out information on his last whereabouts. My brother lives loudly and lavishly when he’s in London, unless he owes someone money. Somebody will remember where they last saw him, or where he last played cards, and who he lost against.”
“Then that is exactly what I’ll do when I start with my clubs come morning. I know a few gentlemen who fit into the lifestyle you’ve described, Johnson included.”
“Johnson won’t
help you.” And Johnson was someone she wanted to keep Teddy away from. Though Johnson hadn’t always been the way he was now, she wasn’t sure there was a more vile man than the one he’d become.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Johnson can make things go very badly for my brother. I’m begging you not to ask for his assistance.” She did not want to explain her complicated past with Johnson. A man she’d known in her old life, a man who had been her fiancé’s best friend. How foolish was she to think she’d never have reason to run into him again? The duke had had a private function two years ago where they’d run into each other, and Johnson had pursued her with the tenacity of a dog after a bone since then. She’d brushed him off with a regularity that would dissuade most men, except, apparently, Johnson.
“If I come up empty-handed, I’ll have no choice but to go to him.”
“You must exhaust your other options first.”
“You have my word that I’ll seek every other avenue available to me.”
She stood, knowing that it was time to head to bed. “Will you show me the way?”
“Of course.” He took her arm, leading her out of the sitting room and toward the stairs.
“I’ll head out fairly early in the morning, so I may not see you before you leave for your clubs.”
“I’ll let you know what I’m able to dig up when we see each other tomorrow night.” They stopped outside one of the guest rooms. “Here you are,” Teddy said releasing her.
Rosa missed his touch immediately. She would need to sort out these feelings she had for Teddy before they met again.
“Thank you for everything.”
Gently clasping her hand, he raised it to press his lips against her fingers. The air left her lungs, and her heart picked up a notch in speed with the motion.
“Though I hate that we’ve met under these circumstances, I’m glad to help. And I look forward to spending tomorrow night with you.”
Tempted by You Page 4
