“I’m not seeking sympathy.” She lifted her chin against the slight tremble in her voice.
“Perhaps not, but you’re after something.” He stepped toward her.
Her pulse skittered at his nearness and the carnal heat in his eyes.
“You’ve reaped more than you bargained for, Gia,” he said, moving closer. “Because you’ve made your bed, and now you will sleep in it.” She recoiled, turning away, as he leaned close to her ear. “With me.”
Chapter 6
Gia kept to herself as much as possible over the next few days. Alice was barely speaking to her, and Landen was avoiding her completely. The only one who seemed able to tolerate her presence was Clara, whose sole focus was on getting her nephew properly married as soon as possible.
Dressing quickly, she donned the new dress that had been delivered this morning. She and Alice had been fitted for their dresses for the garden party days ago, and they’d arrived in the nick of time. Though the sapphire gown felt a tad loose, the color suited her nicely. She fluffed at the skirts, hoping no one would notice her slight weight loss.
Her appetite was returning slowly, and she was doing her best to stay well nourished. Shards of memory pierced her mind, jagged pieces of her shattered life back home. After Gia had refused the powders and tonics prescribed to alleviate her “hallucinations,” her parents had stooped to concealing medication in her food.
Her favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs and hot chocolate became her daily dose of opiates. By the time she’d realized their treachery, she was spiraling down a tunnel of nothingness. Each day she’d fallen deeper and cared less. But somewhere during her drug-induced descent, she’d salvaged a thread of volition. She’d clung to that thread, all but starving herself as she’d wormed from the foggy depths of her shame and her parents’ betrayal until she was lucid enough to formulate a plan of escape.
To this day she seldom ate more than a biscuit for breakfast, and the thought of consuming scrambled eggs or hot chocolate fairly caused her to gag. She gulped back the bitter pain of her past. She couldn’t afford such distractions. Today was too important. She took a long breath, primping stiffly at her hair.
Clara would announce the engagement this afternoon at the garden party. Gia intended to use the opportunity to learn all she could about each and every guest in attendance. The affair would give her the chance to finally observe Landen in public. Being cooped up in the house with only the family was getting Gia nowhere in her effort to save his life. With any luck, today she’d glean some shred of insight during Landen’s interactions with the people of Misty Lake that might aid her in discerning who might want to hurt him.
The small gathering that they’d originally planned to ease Alice into society had turned into something else, and Gia’s sorrow for her part in pushing Alice to the wayside was palpable. She had to smooth things over with Alice. The girl would be a bramble of nerves at having to attend the party and in need of reassurance.
After finding Alice’s room empty, Gia sought her out in the next likely place. Small tables had been arranged on the garden patio, each covered in crisp white linen and adorned with a sprouting vase of lily of the valley. Clay pots of all sizes displayed lush ferns and other greenery. Alice sat on a bench in the corner, claiming the spot she, no doubt, intended to occupy for the duration of the afternoon.
“May I join you, Alice?”
The girl shrugged in reply.
“The garden looks lovely,” Gia said.
Alice sat in stiff silence, as Gia took a seat next to her.
Gia sat for several moments, contemplating what to say. “I can only imagine what you must think of me.”
Alice turned to face her. “No. You cannot.”
Gia sighed. “No, perhaps not.” Alice was not making this easy, but Gia couldn’t blame her. “I never meant for this to happen. Truly, I didn’t.” Gia shook her head. “I honestly don’t know what else to say.”
“You owe me no explanation,” Alice said. “You owe me nothing.” She lowered her gaze. “I didn’t want a companion, anyway.”
“I know you didn’t. But I am hopeful that, in time, we might be friends instead.”
Alice eyed her warily. She obviously didn’t trust Gia any more than Landen did.
“Be a good wife to him.”
Gia blinked at Alice’s candor.
“He’s my brother, and I love him. Promise me you will not hurt him.” Alice’s voice dipped so low Gia barely heard her. “I could not bear to see him hurt again.”
“Again?”
Alice fidgeted with her hands. “He was jilted on the eve of his wedding day.”
Gia stared, speechless. “He…when?”
“It happened several years ago,” Alice said. “Her name was Isobel Harrison, and Denny met her while away at school. On the night before the wedding, Denny received a message from her parents informing him that she’d married another man. Denny never speaks of it and would hate that I’m speaking of it with you, but I felt you should know.”
The depth of Alice’s sorrow and love for her brother ached through the hollow void in Gia’s soul. She missed her own brothers so much. Their smiles and laughter, their lively eyes filled with all their hopes for the future. She stiffened against her rising grief. “Thank you for telling me, Alice.”
“We’ll be sisters soon,” Alice said. “And although I’ve no choice in the matter, I am willing to give you a chance, so long as you’re a good wife to Denny. My brother is not perfect. Even under the best of circumstances, he’s loathe to show it, but he does have a heart. A good heart.” Alice straightened her spine and met Gia’s eyes. “If you do anything to hurt him, Gia, I shall never forgive you.”
The fire in her eyes proved she meant it. Alice had a bit of her aunt Clara in her, and her warning to Gia hit home.
“Alice! Gianna!” Clara’s voice grew louder. “Where are—Oh, there you are,” she said as she poked her head between the open glass doors. “Come inside now, ladies. Our guests are arriving.”
Alice blanched, clasping her hands as though about to unravel.
“You’ll do fine, Alice,” Gia said with a smile of reassurance. “I’ll be right at your side.” Gia stood and held out her hand.
Alice remained firmly planted.
Gia’s heart sank. Even now, in the throes of her crippling shyness, Alice spurned Gia’s aid. “Alice?”
With a huff, Alice finally took Gia’s hand.
But the girl’s desperate act did little to close the awkward distance between them as they walked inside to receive their guests.
* * * *
Landen watched Gia from across the patio. On the outside, she seemed perfect. Gracious and lovely and chaste. He frowned. Unlike the fools she was charming, he knew better.
She sat with Alice on a bench in the corner, engaged in conversation with one of the young men loitering around them. Alice remained as stagnantly silent as the potted plant on the table beside her, but the look of stark terror she’d worn earlier had diminished to an expression of acute discomfort. A definite improvement for Alice.
At least Gia’s presence would be good for one of them.
The male attention Gia was drawing might be a benefit to Alice, and yet Landen found he didn’t like it. For all he knew, Gia was a cheat as well as a liar. The fear of being humiliated again by a cheating woman clenched in his gut.
Recollection of his last meeting with Gia fueled his unease. That she had appeared so distressed about marrying him confused him. Vexed him. Made him want to marry her just to spite her.
“She’s lovely, Denny.”
Landen turned, surprised by Charlotte’s presence. He’d broken the news of his engagement to Charlotte the other night, and she’d taken it as well as expected. He’d ended their affair prior to being caught in his room with Gia, but reiterating this detail to Charlotte had done little to soften the blow.
While he’d taken
a risk by trusting Charlotte with the truth of the matter, he felt he owed her that much. She’d never struck him as a vindictive woman, and despite her obvious disappointment about his upcoming marriage, he knew her well enough to know she’d maintain a dignified silence for her own sake, as well as his.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said.
Charlotte shrugged. “My curiosity got the best of me,” she said. “Besides, my mother will want to know all about her, and I’ll have to tell her something.”
Landen stiffened at the reminder. Charlotte was understandably upset, but her mother would be furious. Maude Devenshire wanted Landen to marry Charlotte and had made no secret of this desire to anyone who would listen. Maude’s aspirations for her widowed daughter were a force to be reckoned with. The only thing Landen had dreaded more than the bane of marriage was the bane of a mother-in-law like Maude Devenshire.
He glanced to Gia, stung by the irony he’d dodged one bullet only to be struck by another.
But Gia had no mother—no family—and Landen couldn’t help pitying her for that. A woman alone in the world was a vulnerable target. He feared to imagine his sister’s plight in the absence of his protection. Yet even in the most desperate of circumstances, he couldn’t image Alice would trap a man into marriage as Gia had.
“Cheer up, Denny,” Charlotte said. She placed a hand on his arm. “If I can manage a smile today, so can you.” She tilted her head. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
Landen frowned. Introducing his former mistress to his fiancée was not a task that he relished. While he had faith in Charlotte’s diplomacy, their affair had been no secret, and people talked. He wondered how much Gia had heard. Not that he gave a damn. She’d schemed to marry a total stranger and would have to live with the consequences. He took a breath to manage his spiteful emotions. He wasn’t a cruel man by nature, which, at present, seemed more than Gia deserved.
With any luck, she’d atone for what she’d done to him by maintaining propriety. The illusion of it, at minimum. If nothing else, he hoped to be spared the endless melodrama his father had endured. His mother’s erratic behavior, the tirades and rants that had punctuated her public appearances and caused terrific sensations, had nearly destroyed his father. And still the man had loved her more than he’d ever loved his second wife.
Landen thought about his own past. After all these years, the memory of Isobel’s face had become as vague and intangible as his love for her had. All that remained of that infatuation was self-loathing and the brutal reminder that he’d been a fool.
He inhaled a sharp breath, arming himself to the teeth with the truth. Marriage was not the ruination of men. Love was.
* * * *
Hours later Gia was still reeling with what Alice had confided to her about Landen’s past. He’d been jilted. No wonder he hated Gia for trapping him into marriage. Gaining his trust would be a daunting feat, but she’d not dwell in hopelessness now.
She scanned the assembly of people around her. The suspects. Some were summer guests in town, others year-round residents of Misty Lake, but all were the upper echelon of society. Clara had introduced her as a dear friend of the family, preferring to wait until all the guests had arrived before making the engagement announcement.
As Gia sat planted with Alice in the corner, she watched Landen closely and kept her attention well honed. She quickly discovered she wasn’t the only one who was drawn to Landen. There wasn’t a moment since the party began that he didn’t have someone at his ear. Presently, that someone was a pretty woman with an affinity for touching his arm.
“Who’s that woman with your brother?” Gia asked.
Alice followed her gaze. “That’s the Widow Filkins.” Alice turned from the pair, but Gia saw past the girl’s coyness.
Was it Landen’s intention to flaunt his mistress beneath Gia’s nose? Did he actually think she might care? She straightened her spine, bristling at the sight of the couple in the secluded spot near the rose trellis on the outskirts of the assembly. Landen turned from the woman, then headed in Gia’s direction. Despite her best effort to remain unaffected, her heart hammered as he approached. He looked especially appealing today dressed in his fine clothes with his dark hair brushed back from his handsome face.
“It’s time,” he said, extending a stiff arm to her.
Gia glanced to Alice. “I won’t be long.”
Alice gave a nervous nod.
Gia took Landen’s arm. The firm muscle beneath her fingers tensed as though repelling her touch.
“I hate leaving her alone,” Gia uttered.
“It can’t be helped.” Ushering her briskly through the crowd, he led her toward Clara, who was waving furiously for them to hurry along.
“As you can see, my aunt is eager to bask in the triumph of publicly securing my noose.” He turned to Gia. “Your triumph.”
Gia swallowed hard, fearing she might never acclimate to the loathing in his eyes. Or the strong desire he stirred in her blood.
“If I may have your attention, everyone,” Clara said. “I have an announcement to make.”
The crowd quieted beneath Clara’s request. “Thank you all for coming today. My husband Howard and I have always held a deep fondness for Misty Lake.” Clara pressed a gloved hand to her chest. “Some of the happiest days of my life were spent here, with my family, amid the splendor of the lake and the mountains, and returning each summer to those cherished memories fills my heart with such joy. As does my exciting announcement,” she said, eyes aglow. “It brings me enormous pleasure to announce the engagement of my nephew, Landen, to Miss Gianna York.”
The party lapsed into silence. Stunned faces gaped at the couple as Clara gave her surprised guests a moment to absorb the news before continuing. “Please join me in congratulating them on this joyous occasion.”
Everyone applauded, and to Gia’s surprise, Landen bent to kiss her on the cheek. The brief press of his lips on her flesh lingered long after he turned away from her and into the crowd of well-wishers that surrounded them.
When the din of the excitement faded, Landen left her with the women while he joined the men for a drink. From the corner of her eye, Gia spotted Charlotte Filkins strolling toward her. The dreary-brown mourning color of her gown did nothing to detract from her loveliness. Sunlight glimmered on her auburn hair. Charlotte’s smile faltered as the two women chatting with Gia excused themselves quickly and hurried away. Their abrupt departure left Gia standing awkwardly alone and unsure of what to say.
“My name is Charlotte Filkins, Miss York. I hope you don’t mind my introducing myself, but I feared growing old before Denny got an opportunity to do so.”
Gia’s cheeks flushed at the confirmation Charlotte knew Landen intimately enough to call him by the name his family did. “Of course not,” she said. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”
“I wish you and Denny all the happiness in the world.” Charlotte’s brief smile was weighted with sorrow. She tossed a forlorn glance toward Landen, and Gia all but felt the woman’s heart splintering to pieces.
From across the patio, Landen was watching their exchange, looking as miserable as Charlotte. Gia’s status as interloper had never felt as painfully strong as in that moment. Her insides twisted into knots at the fear she was altering the fate of these lovers—interfering with something that was supposed to be.
Charlotte recovered quickly, reclaiming her charm. “He’s a fine man.”
Gia couldn’t help herself. “You care for him.”
Charlotte tilted her head, her defensive expression softening. “Very much.” She lifted her chin. “But I shall get over it.”
With those simple words, Charlotte started away, but the strain in her voice left Gia doubting this would be quite so easy.
Chapter 7
Alice worked like an artist, face set in concentration, as she applied the finishing touches to Gia’s hair. She stepped back fr
om the dressing table, admiring her handiwork. “Finished,” she declared in a rare tone of pride.
Gia gazed at her reflection in the mirror in front of them. Shimmering pins secured each perfectly arranged tress in place. She turned her head from side to side. A long lace veil hung from the garland of orange blossoms encircling the intricate twists of hair piled at her crown. She looked like a princess. She looked like…a bride.
The memory of the dream she’d had before leaving Boston waltzed into her head. A haunting sadness followed. During the darkest hours of her excruciating recovery, from the tatters of her unraveling life, a beautiful dream had been woven.
Perhaps it wasn’t merely a dream but a vision. She’d been so addled from the opiates she couldn’t be sure. But as vivid as it was vague, the dream had ensconced her in warmth, and she’d wrapped herself in the hope it had provided when she’d needed it most.
A maelstrom of emotions welled inside her, spewing forth in a rush of uncontrollable tears she couldn’t contain.
“You don’t like it?” Alice asked, clearly alarmed.
Gia blinked, wiping furiously at her eyes. “I do,” she said, trying hard to compose herself. “Forgive me, Alice. I’m just being foolish.” She forced a smile through her tears. “This is not how I pictured my wedding day.”
Alice tilted her head, regarding Gia in the mirror. “I suppose not.” The pity in her eyes made Gia feel worse.
“May I tell you something silly?”
Alice stepped to Gia’s side to face her directly.
“Before I left Boston, I had a dream. One of those dreams that make you so happy you’re disappointed when you wake up.”
Alice nodded. “What was your dream?”
“I stood on a hill, watching the sunset. With a man.”
Alice set down the brush, her lips pursed tight. “You’ve forced my brother into this marriage, so please forgive me for not sympathizing with you for your last-minute regrets.”
Gia lowered her eyes, abashed. “You are right, Alice,” she said. “I’ve made my bed. I know that.” Feeling a fool for seeking comfort from the girl, she willed back her tears and shook off the stinging rebuff. Several awkward moments passed before Alice spoke again.
The Lady Who Saw Too Much Page 5
