“Papa! This is Victoria’s home. You cannot speak to her in that manner.”
Gwen turned to her sister-in-law and her gaze drifted to the handful of tulips the young woman was now clutching in a death-grip, noting that their stems were about to snap.
“Victoria, darling, why don’t you return to the house and put those in a vase?” Gwen’s tone was much calmer than she truly felt.
Tori placed her hand on her sister-in-law’s arm, “Are you sure you want me to leave you?”
“I’m certain.” Gwen patted Victoria’s hand and smiled in an attempt to reassure the young woman.
Tori walked, her pace slow, as she headed toward the house. Stopping when she reached a large shrub to crouch down behind its leaves, she peered around the manicured edge.
Gwen noticed her sister-in-law’s presence and steered her father farther into the garden maze of shrubbery.
Once Victoria was out of earshot, Gwen’s tone hardened. “What is this about?”
“Let’s walk,” Lachlan commanded, linking his arm with hers.
Her father’s stride was brusque. He appeared more robust with each solid step. Gwen’s tone became overwrought. “What is the meaning of this, Papa?”
“Don’t you know?” Lachlan’s tone was scornful.
Gwen’s heart hardened as realization sunk in. Tristan had told her on many occasions that their father was faking his illness. Her mind now shrieked that her brother had been correct all along.
“You were never sick, were you?” It was more a conclusion than a question.
“At last you show some smarts!” Lachlan released his daughter’s arm and applauded. “Brava! I was beginning to wonder how a child of mine could be so impossibly stupid.”
His harsh words slashed through her like the sharp blades of a hundred knives. “Why did you lie to me?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Lachlan surveyed his daughter with an expression of disdain, his hands on his hips.
“It was the only way you could convince me to marry Keir.” Even as the words escaped from her lips, she was in a state of disbelief.
“Yes,” he mocked. “There is some intelligence in you after all.”
Gwen’s expression hardened, anger leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. “Why was it so important to you that I marry Keir?”
“You’re doing so well putting the pieces together,” Lachlan grinned at her then glanced towards the path that led to the main house before continuing. “Perhaps I should let you answer this question, as well?”
“Stop toying with me! Haven’t you played enough games?” Gwen struggled to keep her anger in check. “Why did you do it?”
Her father resumed walking, although slower this time. He skulked farther into the garden maze. Gwen had no choice but to follow.
“It was past time he became part of our family. Using you was merely a method to accomplish my goal,” her father said in a monotone voice.
“Using me? I loved you, Papa. I trusted you!”
“Don’t you dare prattle on about love and trust,” He paused for a breath. “You loved me so much that you defied me and let that scoundrel bed you.” His last words dripped with venom.
Gwen’s jaw dropped, her mind reeling. It was all she could do to assimilate her father’s hateful accusation.
“I probably shouldn’t have said that.” He spoke in a scornful manner, adding, “After all, I don’t believe there was a bed involved.”
She backed away from him, heat rushing to her cheeks. “You dare accuse me of bedding a man outside of marriage? I’m not some harlot.”
“Let me correct you, my dear. You are no ordinary harlot. You’re a harlot who now happens to be a duchess.” Her father’s upbeat tone told Gwen he was enjoying tormenting her far too much. “In less than nine months the rest of polite society will see you as I do.”
“You are insane!” Gwen shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. “Is this why Colin left us? Did he know you were mad?”
“Colin learned the truth about his birth and ran like a rabbit. What a coward he is.” Her father surveyed her with an icy stare. “I wonder how you’ll react when you learn the same truth he did.”
“And pray tell, what truth could you, the king of deceit and manipulations, possibly share with me?”
Lachlan laughed. It was a sick, eerie sound.
“Truth number one, my dear – Colin isn’t my son.”
Gwen stumbled. “You can’t be serious.”
Her father crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m dead serious.”
“Then if you aren’t his father, who is?” she demanded.
“You shall learn all the gory details in due time,” Lachlan chided. “First I must share that, in my heart, I have only one child and that’s not Colin, Tristan or you.”
Gwen knew to whom her father referred. It had long been obvious to her that he loved Keir like a son.
“Ah, yes, you refer to Keir.” She didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm. “That comes as no surprise to any of us. You always treated him better than any of your own children.”
“He is my son, you fool!” His voice boomed louder than a thunderclap.
She turned away from her father’s heated glare as bile rose in her throat.
Keir is my half-brother?
As impossible as it seemed, Gwen’s mind insisted it was true. It explained why her father had always been so partial to him.
“Dear God, you were going to make me marry my own brother?” Her ears were ringing.
“Of course,” he said, as if it was obvious. “He is your half-brother, after all.”
“Why would you want me to marry your bastard son?”
“So he would have what should have been his,” he hissed.
Gwen clamped her hand over her mouth in an attempt to squelch the queasiness that was threatening to overcome her. “Does he know?”
“What does it matter? He has lusted after you ever since you became a woman.”
“You are insane.” Gwen wanted nothing more than to flee from this monster in front of her, the same monster whom she once loved and for whom she came very close to sacrificing her own happiness.
While dozens of questions swirled in her head, one thing was certain.
She no longer had a father.
At the very least, Gwen decided, she would ascertain the entire truth. “Why bring me to England and concoct this elaborate charade? Why not hold the wedding ceremony in Scotland?”
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“Answer me!” She balled her hands into tight fists at her sides, her nails causing pain where they dug into her flesh.
“Women are such nuisances,” her father drawled. “Keir’s mother wouldn’t allow the marriage. Before she could spill our secret to you, I brought you here. I couldn’t allow her to spoil my plan, could I?”
Gwen’s heartbeat was now pounding against her temples.
Lachlan laughed – a throaty, demented sound – before continuing. “Once married, you would have returned to Scotland as the Earl of Stratton’s wife. Then his mother could no longer interfere. At least it wouldn’t matter, even if she tried. The die would have been cast.”
“So, you removed me from her interference and placed me in the path of my husband?” The irony of the situation failed to escape her notice.
“He proved to be quite a threat. I underestimated him and overestimated you, it seems.” Lachlan sneered. “I think I was overconfident from the many years that I succeeded in keeping everyone in their proper places.”
Proper places?
Anger pulsated within Gwen’s veins. “What were we, pawns in your delusional game of familial chess? You thought you could move us from square to square and force us to play?”
Lachlan’s only response was an incensed grumble.
Gwen turned her back on her father, sickened by the sight of him. They stood next to a honeysuckle bush, the heady perfume burning her nostrils. She knew the sc
ent would forever make her want to retch.
“How do you know he’s your son?” She clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, her father was incorrect.
“Keir’s mother and the late earl tried without success to conceive an heir. I hate to brag but it didn’t take long for me to succeed where he failed. Her husband provided Keir with a name and title, but it is my blood that pumps through his veins.”
“Did Mama know of your affair?” Gwen’s stomach churned at the thought of her poor mother and all the years she spent loving this man, devoting her life to him, only to be betrayed.
“Your mother had her own secrets, which brings me to your wedding gift.”
She faced him once more, her gaze flashing undiluted rage, “As if I’d accept anything from you.”
Lachlan glanced at the leather bound journal in his hands. He traced his thumb along the spine. “You’ll accept this. It’s one of many journals I brought you today. I gave the others to your butler before I came looking for you. They belonged to your mother.”
On the outside it seemed like such a thoughtful gift yet, as Gwen learned today, her father had sharp talons. She stood stock-still, waiting for him to strike. It didn’t take long.
“Remember when I told you that Colin isn’t my son?” he taunted her.
Gwen’s chest constricted as she fought to keep her anger in check.
“Here is the proof.” He held up the journal. “You’re so much like your mother, you see. She, too, was a trollop although I had married her before I learned the truth.”
“Shut up!” Gwen’s rage exploded. She punched her father’s chest with her fists. “Don’t you dare say another word against Mama.”
Lachlan grabbed one of her wrists with his free hand, twisting her body violently against his. “Did you honestly think you’re the only woman who let a man with the Davenport title seduce you?”
“You are demented!” She jerked away from him then began retracing her steps, hurrying out of the maze.
Lachlan clamped his daughter’s arm and swung her to face him, his fingers curling into her flesh causing her to wince in pain.
“You are no better than I am,” Lachlan raged. His eyes bulged while his unkempt hair whipped about in the breeze. “You shamed me when you went whoring with that blackguard. You let him plant his seed in you when you were living in my home, sleeping under your ancestors’ roof.”
“Why do you keep accusing me of such sordid things, you wicked man?” Gwen struggled to break free of his grasp, causing her father to squeeze her wrist tighter. She cried out in pain.
“Stop struggling,” he reprimanded. “I know the sordid details because your husband, the noble Duke, told me.”
She pounded her free fist against his chest as she struggled to break free of his grasp. “Sebastian would never say such a thing,” she shouted, her eyes ablaze. “He’s not a liar like you.”
“Silly, silly girl,” Lachlan shook her. “What do you think he said to make me consent to your marriage? If it weren’t for your lack of self control, you’d be married to the man I chose for you instead of some no good rake.”
His nails dug deeper into her wrist, his words hitting her like a blast of cold air. “At first I was going to pass the child off as Keir’s but then I found out how far along you were and was forced to consent.”
Gwen began to shake, her rage boiling. “Take your hands off of me.”
When her father didn’t release her, Gwen’s voice became frenzied. “Release me this instant or I will scratch, claw, bite, and kick – anything to force you let go of me. I swear to God I will.”
Her father must have noted the change within her for he released Gwen with such force that she fell to the ground. She rose immediately and began to trek back out of the maze and toward the house, aware of her father’s footsteps crunching in the gravel close behind her.
Her mind was jumbled like pieces of a disassembled puzzle. She considered the possibility that Sebastian had fibbed to her father about her delicate condition. After all, it was Sebastian who brought about her father’s change of mind.
For the first time she questioned her father’s change of heart. Why did he consent after his stubborn refusals to give in? Was it possible that Sebastian had indeed created this elaborate falsehood?
Her mind warred with her heart.
No! Her heart rebelled against her doubts as she remembered how loving, attentive, and compassionate Sebastian had been. He was everything she dreamed of and more. Could a fraud hold her in his arms with such tenderness or make love to her with such passion?
Her father jarred her from her thoughts. “You forgot my gift.”
She whirled around to face him then shoved away the journal he held out to her. “I don’t want your gift!”
“I am sure you’re mother would have wanted you to have it – from one whore to another.”
Gwen quickened her pace, desperate to escape the monster fast at her heels. Once she reached the beginning of the maze, her father began to read aloud.
At last I received a response from the Duke of Davenport. He wants nothing to do with me or our child, as his wife gave him an heir last year. What am I going to do? This precious life we created will be an outcast unless I find some way to mend this.
“Liar!” Gwen screamed as she lunged for the diary, grabbing it with a violent wrench. She recognized her mother’s script right away and her mind reeled. It was true, she realized, as she swayed. Surely the ground beneath her feet had just shifted?
Was this the reason Colin left?
“When did you tell Colin?” she demanded of her father in a ragged whisper.
“Before he disappeared. The poor sap couldn’t stand the truth.”
Gwen slammed the book shut. “You took a great deal of pleasure from that, didn’t you?”
“Of course,” he spoke with indifference. “He was my wife’s bastard son. Why shouldn’t I have enjoyed every minute of it?”
“Why did you marry Mama in the first place?” She stared at him through narrowed eyes and perceived his jaw clench.
When he answered her at last, each word dripped with contempt. “Your mother kept the truth from me until after we were married. She admitted the truth after discovering that Keir was my illegitimate son. It was her effort to hurt me in turn.”
Gwen squeezed her eyes shut. This could not be happening. Colin was Sebastian’s half-brother? A horrid thought hit her like a bolt of lightning splitting a sturdy oak in half.
“Are Tristan and I yours?”
He exhaled, as if it cost him a great deal to answer. “Yes, you are. Besides the fact that twins run in my family, I made certain your mother remained faithful to me during our marriage. She readily complied, of course. The last thing she wanted was for her children to be disgraced by her scandalous past.”
Gwen stood still, her eyes clouded with her father’s betrayal.
Sebastian lied too.
The knot in her father’s intricately woven plan was Sebastian’s untruth but her father didn’t yet know the trick played on him. He still believed his daughter to be with child.
Her heart beat at an erratic pace as she turned toward him. He was proud of himself, wearing his smirk like a medal of honor. Gwen wanted to make him suffer. It was her solemn vow as she began to laugh at him, observing as she did so a frown drift across his smug features.
She had struck a nerve.
“What is so damned amusing?” he demanded.
Gwen stifled a giggle, her unwavering gaze fixed upon her father. “You are the fool.”
“You’re delirious.” He scoffed.
He began to walk away but this time she yanked his arm, forcing him to face her. Gwen wanted to see his expression when she confessed the truth.
“You agreed to my marriage to Sebastian because you believed that I was with child. Tainted in your eyes, is that correct?”
“Yes, it is!” Lachlan snapped his arm free.
“Sebastian lied
to you. My wedding night was the first time I was intimate with him. You fell right into my husband’s trap.”
His expression hardened, his features ablaze with fury. Such unadulterated rage should have been enough to stop her from further antagonizing him. She refused to heed the obvious warning signs. “After all of your lies and manipulations, you were taken in by a man half your age, the legitimate son of your wife’s lover! That is what makes you pathetic.”
Her father slapped her hard across the face, the force of the blow sending Gwen stumbling backward. She regained her balance, studying him with contempt. A vein pulsated in his temple as she continued to taunt him.
“Make no mistake, Colin is the fortunate child. Once he knew he had no ties to you, he couldn’t get away from you fast enough. Tristan and I would give anything to know we weren’t sired by you.”
“You ungrateful bitch,” Lachlan grabbed his daughter by the shoulders.
Her eyes betrayed no fear and it seemed to anger him more. She retaliated further. “Your plan would have worked except my husband got the better of you.”
“Shut your mouth!” He shook her hard.
“It upset you so much to think that Sebastian seduced me. How does it feel to know that you gave him permission to do so, on my wedding night?”
“I said stop it!” He wrapped his fingers around her neck.
“How does it feel to know that you were never enough? Not as a husband and not as a father?”
“I will make you shut up!” Lachlan began to squeeze her windpipe, a wild look distorting his features.
“You are dead to me,” she rasped, her fingers clawing at his hands, her nails biting into his flesh. “I hope you burn in hell.”
His grip tightened and Gwen gasped for air, digging her nails deeper into her father’s flesh, certain she would always remember the savage fury flashing from his eyes, emanating from every pore. She clawed at him, fighting against his tight grip but to no avail.
He was choking the very life from her.
“I will kill you!” Although his words sounded distant, Gwen could still distinguish what he said and she believed him.
Lightheadedness washed over her as Gwen gasped for air. She could feel her body going numb, see her vision fading to black, and it occurred to her.
Dance with Deception: Scandalous Secrets, Book 1 - Exclusive Edition (Scandalous Secrets - Exclusive Edition) Page 19
