Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies]
Page 24
She pursed her lips. “Because everything I said to you tonight remains the same, whether you love me or I love you. Nothing has changed.”
Grant opened his mouth to protest, but Emily had already turned to his mother. “Lady Westfield, I cannot marry your son, even though I do love him with every part of myself. I am not who you believe me to be. I’m only the illegitimate daughter of some lowly farmer or music instructor or any of a dozen other men my mother took to her bed to amuse herself. You must know what kind of damage that information could do if it came out. I couldn’t be responsible for that.”
Grant turned to his mother and their eyes locked. For a long moment, only silence hung in the air and then she nodded slowly. “Tell her, Grant.”
He sucked in a breath and smiled at his mother before he returned his attention to the woman he loved. “Emily, all your denials are based on a lie. You think you would hurt my family if the truth came out about your past, or that we would somehow turn on you at some point in the faraway future. But you would not be the first bastard to carry the Westfield name.”
Emily gasped. She couldn’t have understood Grant correctly. Everyone knew the Westfields had one of the oldest, most established family trees in the history of the Empire. Their blood was pure as ivory.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, staring from mother to son.
Grant stepped closer. His body heat wrapped around her like a tempting cloak and she found herself wanting to sway into it, sway into him. This temptation was so unfair. To long for something so much, have it dangled before her, and yet know it was impossible.
He smiled. “Look at my mother, this woman you claim to love and respect so deeply.”
Reaching out, he touched Emily’s shoulders and gently maneuvered her to face Lady M. Grant’s mother was smiling, looking at Emily with anything but shame or shock.
“Would you love her any less or respect her any less if you knew she was illegitimate?” Grant asked.
Emily stared. Lady M stepped forward to take her hands gently.
“That cannot be,” Emily whispered.
“And yet it is,” Lady M said just as softly. “My dearest, why do you think I asked for you to join the Society? You are the most like me…in every way. I knew of the circumstances of your birth from the very beginning. What you do not know is that they are very like my own. My mother engaged in an affair, as well, and I was a product of that indiscretion.”
Emily blinked in disbelief. “You?”
The other woman nodded. “I am the first child of the King, though he is too mad to remember. Even if he could, I would never be acknowledged. That is why I formed our group of spies. My younger siblings squander their fortunes and create situations that endanger the Crown. You and Meredith and Anastasia were my way of protecting the family that does not know of my existence.” She touched Emily’s cheek. “And your actions, your heart, and your spirit mean more to me than any drop of your blood.”
She pressed a kiss to Emily’s cheek, then did the same for Grant. “I will leave you two alone, now that all my confessions have been made. I have already intruded upon your privacy for far too long. I hope you’ll come to me tomorrow with good news that we can celebrate. I am in the mood for a ball. And engagement balls are always the best kind.”
Emily was too stunned to reply or even say good-bye as Lady M slipped from the room and left her alone with Grant. He turned back to her, cupping her cheeks gently.
“I don’t care about your blood, Emily,” he insisted. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She felt herself weakening, but it was so hard to let go of the past. Of her mistrust.
“How can you be sure that you’ll always feel that way? How can you be certain you won’t regret your choice if my past somehow becomes public knowledge? After all, when I married Seth, I thought we could find our own kind of happiness. And yet he grew hateful and resentful of me when the truth came out. It put an ugliness between us that never went away. And it unleashed a cruelty in him that I had to endure for many years.”
Grant released her with a look of incredulous pain. “You know me. You say you love me. Do you truly think I could turn on you? Betray your trust and your love?”
Emily dipped her chin. Trust had always been so difficult for her. But when she looked at Grant, she knew he couldn’t be so harsh.
“I do not think you are capable of hurting me like that,” she admitted softly. “But that still doesn’t guarantee that you won’t one day regret your choice like he did.”
Grant reached for her, his hand caressing her cheek before he tilted her chin up. “Listen to me. You and I have both lived far too long in the past. I know you are not Davina—foolish and headstrong and needing my protection. But you must also realize I am not Seth Redgrave. My love for you and for any children we one day create is not dependent on whose bed your mother lay in. It isn’t dependent on whether you were descended from kings or paupers.”
Emily felt fresh tears falling. Grant smiled as he brushed them aside, but he didn’t stop his relentless drive to convince her of his sincerity, his faithfulness. And she found herself believing him with every new word.
“When I told you I would never allow a child of mine to be a bastard, it wasn’t a judgment of illegitimacy. I only meant that I would never allow my child to go through the kind of pain my mother endured, that you endured. I was careful when we made love because we had both vowed, quite strenuously, that we had no intentions of involving our hearts in this affair. But it happened. And not because of any child we created by accident.”
“But—” she began, her last doubts still lingering.
He laughed. “Emily, my stubborn beauty, no! No more buts. You know now that my ‘perfect’ line is only an illusion. The only thing perfect about my family is our love and loyalty. Those things are all that matter to me.”
He dropped his mouth to hers and she melted against his chest. The kiss was achingly gentle, just the whisper of skin against skin, and did not last nearly long enough. He pulled back.
“When you said you loved me, did you mean it?”
She smiled at him. There was no denying him. Not in this. Not in anything.
“I do love you,” she admitted.
“Then marry me. I don’t want a mistress or an affair or a perfect Society wife. I want a woman who will understand my work, and stand beside me through danger and loss and triumph. I want a sparring partner who can put me on my back and challenge me. I want a woman to go to bed with every night and wake up with in the morning. The only woman who can do all that is you. No one else will do. Now stop all this foolishness, turn off your fears as you did when you hit Leary with your parasol. Be brave enough to say you’ll marry me.”
Tears welled in Emily’s eyes and she didn’t care. She let them fall as a joy more powerful than any she’d ever thought she’d feel rushed up inside her. It overflowed, along with the tears that streamed down her face and the laugher that escaped her lips.
“Yes,” she whispered. Then she said it louder. “Yes!”
And she repeated it again and again.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Charles Isley moved to the door and his hand hovered above the handle. “Are you ready, Lady Westfield?”
Lady M smiled as she smoothed her skirt. “Let them come, Charlie.”
The door opened and three women entered the room. Meredith Archer came first. Her stomach was only just beginning to show the babe that grew inside, but the glow of pure joy that lit her cheeks would have given away her secret even if her belly hadn’t.
Anastasia Tyler followed. Lady M marveled at how far Ana had come. From a bespectacled girl who was afraid of everything and everyone, to an accomplished woman who had just closed a very difficult and dangerous case with the help of her beloved husband a few weeks before.
And finally Emily. She was still glowing from her honeymoon with Grant…. the one that had started six months
before and whose end did not seem in sight.
Lady M’s heart swelled. These were her girls. As much her family as her own children.
Kisses and greetings were exchanged before the ladies took their places in Lady M’s parlor. She exchanged a look with Charlie before she began.
“I’m sure you are all wondering why you were asked here today.”
Ana nodded. “Do you have a case for us all?”
Lady M laughed. “I wish I did, but you ladies all deserted me to work beside your husbands. I fear our Society of lady spies is no longer truly in existence. Though I am exceedingly happy at all of your joy and so proud of the work you continue to do outside of the Society’s confines.”
“Then why did you ask us here, Mama?” Emily asked with a smile that warmed Lady M’s heart. She was so fully the daughter of her heart now.
“A very good question, my dear. Your marriages have left me in a bit of a situation. I think my idea of widows who are spies is still a very good one. And I wish to choose a new group of them to follow in your footsteps.”
Meredith caught her breath. “New Society members? I think it’s a wonderful idea!”
Ana nodded. “But where do we come in?”
Charlie cleared his throat. “I am not as spry as I was all those years ago when I first approached you ladies and brought you into Lady Westfield’s circle. Her ladyship and I agree that the new spies will need to be trained by those who have more experience.”
“By you, if you would agree,” Lady M supplied with a wide grin. “Ana, you shall train them in the art of languages, of codes, of all the intricate things a woman must know if she is to be a good spy.”
Ana’s smile broadened.
“Meredith, I will leave their physical training to you, after the babe is born, of course. Attack and defense, as well as the subtle art of turning Society in whatever direction best suits their needs.”
As Meredith nodded, she turned to Emily. “And Emily…?”
“The art of disguise?” Emily supplied with a laugh that spread to the other girls.
Lady M smiled. “Yes. That will be part of what you do, certainly. But there is more. Charlie will no longer be the conduit between me and the new young women who will begin as spies. I want a new day-to-day leader who they can turn to. I want you.”
Emily’s eyes went wide and her face paled. “Me?”
Lady Westfield nodded. “Yes, my dearest. If you accept my offer, you will work with me to choose the cases our new spies are assigned and stand beside them as they make their way through the field.”
“Oh, Emily,” Meredith breathed, clutching Ana’s hand as their friend wiped a tear from her eye silently.
Emily stared at her mother-in-law, her mouth slightly open. Then she got to her feet and hurried to her. They embraced. “Thank you. It would be an honor to work beside you.”
Lady M swallowed her own tears. “Of course, you will all continue your work with your husbands. I would never ask the Crown to give up its three best agents. But I do hope you will take my offer.”
Emily wrapped an arm around her waist and they looked at Meredith and Ana. “Of course we accept,” Emily said with a smile. “We are your spies, Lady M. And we always will be.”
Acknowledgments
I write a story, but there are so many people who help make it into a book, and my heart-felt thanks go to them all. From the Avon art department to the marketing and publicity teams, from the sales force to everyone in the editorial department, thanks for all you do. Without your support, I’m just a chick with a dream and a computer.
But most especially my thanks go to May Chen. Your insightful comments, supportive words, and every day kindnesses help me in more ways than you could ever imagine. Thank you for continuing to believe in me.
And, of course, no acknowledgment would be complete without thanking my tireless literary agent, Miriam Kriss. The fact that you continue to push, carry, and drag me toward my goals (depending on the day of the week and my chocolate intake) is much appreciated.
About the Author
One of JENNA PETERSEN’s childhood dreams was to be a ballerina and a baseball player. That one didn’t work out, but she’s pleased to be following another childhood dream, writing books for a living. And what better than romance, where dreams come true on every page? Jenna lives in central Illinois with her high school sweetheart husband and two taskmaster cats. She loves to hear from readers. Her website is www.jennapetersen.com, where you can take the “Which Lady Spy Are You?” quiz!
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SEDUCTION IS FOREVER. Copyright © 2007 by Jesse Petersen. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition August 2007 ISBN 9780061751318
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Ch
apter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Avon Romances
Copyright
About the Publisher