Beatrix stared at her brother and narrowed her eyes. “Is that what this is all about? You simply wish me to gain the title?” She shook her head. “I thought you were facing debtor’s prison?”
“None of this is the point,” her brother said. “I am your brother and you must do what I say.”
“No, I don’t. I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”
He grabbed her other arm and shook her hard enough to cause pain in her head. “Listen to me well, sister. You will marry Anthony. I’ll not let you embarrass me again.”
She settled her hands on his arm, trying to get away. “Let me go, Benedict.”
He started toward the door. “I’m glad I was wise enough to see that your things were packed before we came here tonight. I suspected something would go wrong.” They made it outside and he said, “You leave for the country with Anthony tonight. Perhaps, some time together will help you see things clearly.”
She struggled on the way down the stairs. “You’d have me travel alone with a man? You’d ruin my reputation?”
“He’s a duke. You’ll be forgiven anything.” Benedict grinned. “And so will I. Besides, I must remain to tell your guests that you’ve fallen ill once more and to announce your happy news to the crowds.”
“No! Don’t do this, Benedict! Please.”
Her brother didn’t listen.
Anthony’s carriage, as if by cruel coincidence, was already at the edge of the road.
Beatrix continued to fight but ceased when her brother shook her again. The action jarred her head and neck. Pain shot through her, and her weeping started all over again.
Benedict opened the carriage door, and she readied herself to be thrown in, but for some reason, her brother had stiffened.
Beatrix looked up and found three people staring back at her.
Anthony was in his carriage and he was not alone. He sat across from Asher and Valiant.
Asher looked ready to strangle the duke.
Valiant seemed frightened.
Anthony looked angry, and his gaze was set on Benedict. “Did I just see you shake her?” Deadly menace filled his voice.
Immediately, Benedict let her go.
Beatrix reached out and balanced herself on the carriage door. Her head still hurt from her brother’s handling.
Benedict tripped over his words. “No! Never. She… tripped and I was righting her. That’s what you saw, I can assure you. She’s… had a little too much wine, is all.”
Anthony placed a finger under Beatrix’s chin and lifted her gaze to his cool gray eyes. “Does your brother speak the truth?”
Beatrix held his eyes.
He’d asked her never to lie to him.
Yet not even when she thought her brother deserved pain did she sacrifice him to Anthony. “Yes.”
“Hands off her,” Asher said, his hostile gaze still on Anthony. “We had an agreement.”
“What agreement?” Beatrix asked.
Valiant spoke. “Redgrave challenged him to a duel on Hero’s behalf.”
“What?” That woke Beatrix up. “Are you mad?” she asked Asher.
Valiant lifted her hands. “But I’ve made both men see reason.”
“You love Lord Hero,” Anthony said to Beatrix. “You lied to me when I asked if you’d given yourself to another. I can’t abide a liar.”
Beatrix opened her mouth to say that she’d not given anything but her heart, but then closed it. What was the point? Anthony had set her free without a fight.
“Wait,” Benedict said. “I’ve not given my permission for any of this.”
“Silence, Benedict,” Anthony said as he looked Benedict over. “You’ve done enough.”
Benedict cleared his throat. “But I…“
“Return to the guests and give them Beatrix’s apologies,” Anthony said.
Benedict’s footsteps were heard retreating moments later.
Anthony seemed his old self again, mildly bored when he met Redgrave and Valiant’s eyes. “Until we meet again.”
Beatrix backed away from the carriage as Valiant climbed out. She barely let Asher emerge from the carriage before she grabbed his shoulders, lifted onto her toes, and kissed his cheek.
He looked stunned and slightly embarrassed by her action.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Asher helped Valiant into the house.
Anthony held out his hand. “We’d best see you to your groom.”
For reasons she didn’t know, fear tried to grab hold of Beatrix once more, but finally, she took his hand and allowed him to help her in.
She settled across from him. When their conveyance was underway, she asked, “Why does my brother do whatever you ask?”
“Again, my relationship with your brother is none of your concern.”
She glared.
He grinned.
She turned away.
He said, “Though I must ask if you’ve ever wondered if perhaps your brother did something to deserve being stabbed that night.”
She gasped and spun his way. “You could have killed him!”
Anthony leaned forward and instantly the space of the carriage seemed small, far too small to contain such a man as him. She was too stunned to move or do anything more than hold her breath.
“You’re right,” he said. “I could have killed him.” His gaze didn’t waver.
Beatrix thought about all the many duels that Anthony had entered over the years and realized that if he’d wanted her brother dead, she’d have buried Benedict long ago.
“I’ve envied him,” he whispered. “I’ve wanted you for so long, but it was mostly because he had you and I didn’t.”
She watched him lean away and only when he was settled did she ask, “Do you love me?”
“No,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t want you.”
She knew Anthony to be in possession of a dark mind she’d never understand, but at the memory of how he’d tried to protect her from her own brother, her heart softened. “I wish you love.”
He smiled again but said nothing.
∫ ∫ ∫
4 6
Hero was startled by the light that cut across his closed eyes. He was unaccustomed to sleeping late into the morning.
A familiar scent touched his senses. Soft and captivating. The warmth of the sun reminded Hero of the moment he’d pressed his lips to Beatrix’s pulse.
He didn’t want to wake up and relinquish this moment.
He heard a laugh, short and crisp. Much like Beatrix. His smile grew.
He moaned as he slowly pried his eyes open and glanced around his room.
Beatrix sat by his bed, wide awake with a touch of amusement on her face. “You know, you smile when you sleep. Did you have a good dream?”
He didn’t reply. His mind worked to give reason to her presence. Perhaps, he was still asleep.
She tilted her head. “Were you perhaps slaying a dragon? I’d not be surprised if that was what you were doing.”
“I…” His voice was hoarse. He cleared it. “I was thinking about you.”
Her smile grew, and he felt pressure on his hand. She held it. “I’ve never seen anyone sleep so still.”
“I had help on that matter. Asher drugged me.”
Her eyes widened, and her smile fell away. “Last night? Before the ball?”
The mention of the ball had him sitting up, which caused him to lose contact with her hand.
This was real. She was here.
She shouldn’t be.
“What are you doing in my room?” What was she doing in his home? Women were never allowed to visit a bachelor’s apartments.
She wore a brilliant gown in an emerald shade that shimmered with silver as she moved. He imagined that in the lights of a ballroom, she’d been stunning and likely shined brighter than any candelabra ever could.
“You didn’t come last night. I wanted to see you,” she said.
“Why? It doesn�
�t matter.” He took her hand and realized he was still in his dress shirt. A moment later, he realized he was also still in his trousers. Asher must have put him to bed to lower the suspicion of his staff.
He was still dressed for the ball.
“It doesn’t matter?” Beatrix asked.
He met her eyes, those intriguing green eyes that had stolen his heart from the moment they’d met. “Are you married?” he asked, needing to know more than anything else.
“Not yet,” she said.
There was still time.
He pulled her hand, forcing her to her feet and then into the bed. She settled at his side without protest, once again astonishing him. This was improper.
“Beatrix, don’t marry Cartell.” He closed his eyes and tried to think around the fog in his mind. Whatever his brother had given him still had a lingering effect. “You must marry me.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his head with his free hand. “You must agree, or I’ll not let you leave this room.”
“All right.” Her fingers grazed his head and smoothed back his hair, her touch feather light.
He opened his eyes. “You’ll marry me.”
She nodded and caressed his scalp with toe-curling movements. “Anthony broke the engagement.”
His heart stilled. Was that the reason she was agreeing? He didn’t care.
The fool!
She was his now. “He let you go?” He didn’t even have to duel the man. He supposed he’d not kill Asher now, though he would speak to his brother about spilling powders into his drinks.
“Yes, he let me go after he found out that I’d given my heart to you.” Her gaze moved from his hair to his eyes. “And after your brother challenged him to a duel.”
“Lore?”
“No.” She scrunched up her nose in thought. “I didn’t see Lore for longer than a moment at the door. Strange, given everything that happened last night.”
“Asher challenged Lord Cartell to a duel?”
She nodded. “But Valiant stopped it somehow. I’m not sure.”
Hero shook his head and blamed the drug on her words, unable to believe what she said to be true.
“I love you, Hero. I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
Joy burst forth in his heart, and he had her in his arms in an instant. He buried his face against her warm pulse and inhaled more of her faint perfume.
She was his.
“I wish to make this official as soon as possible.” While his father was still alive.
She gave a bounce on the bed. “As do I. Ayers mentioned the Archbishop of Canterbury would be visiting today.”
It was perfect.
He stood, and she rose with him.
Then he took her hands and said, “While I know myself to be fortunate that circumstances have changed in my favor, I must ask… Why did you agree to marry Cartell at all if you never loved him? Was it your brother?”
“Yes, and my father’s debt. No, not debt. He stole the money from Reddington. I hadn’t known it until a week ago.”
He could tell how much it pained her to know the truth about her father. Hero couldn’t imagine how he’d have reacted to learning something like that about his own father.
She looked down at their hands. “My family owed Reddington a great sum of money. Anthony agreed to pay it.”
“I would have paid it,” he told her.
She shook her head and still refused to meet his eyes. “You think I don’t know that? You’ve always acted chivalrously.”
“It has nothing to do with chivalry. I love you.”
She smiled at him. “And I love you. I feared what would happen if Ayers found out or even the rest of the ton. I didn’t want the shame of our union ruining your family legacy.”
He kissed her hands. “Your beauty, kindness, and intelligence will do nothing but heighten my family’s already exaggerated legend.”
She laughed.
“I’ll pay the debt,” he said.
“There is no need. Reddington has forgiven it. Your father doesn’t hold me responsible either.” She took a deep breath and said, “I am free. I’ve been waiting for hours to tell you as much.”
“Blame Asher.” He would. It angered him that he’d slept through everything she’d told him though he wasn’t sure how things could have ended up better than they were right now.
She lifted up on her toes and kissed him. “Don’t blame your brother. He loves you as well.” Taking his hand again, she pulled him from the room.
He grunted and followed. “I had the entire evening planned out in my head.”
She lifted a brow. “Oh? Did it involve a duel as well?”
He locked his fingers with her. They fit perfectly together. “Only if my first plan didn’t work.”
“And what was your first plan?” she asked as they reached the foyer.
He stopped her, turned her around, and said, “Reach into my pocket.”
She laughed, and he could see in her eyes that she recalled the first time he’d said that to her. He’d been bleeding in her bed.
She didn’t hesitate to dig into his pocket. She pulled out a piece of paper.
He watched her unfold it and smiled when tears filled her eyes.
He’d never shown her any of the drawings he’d done of her. The portrait she’d given him of him had been moving. He’d hoped the one he’d done of her would do the same.
Beatrix stood as she had that morning underneath the gazebo in his sister’s garden, nervous and beautiful with the most captivating eyes.
“That is how I see you,” he said
“I cannot be this perfect lady,” she whispered.
“But you are,” he said. “You’re the perfect lady for me.”
∫ ∫ ∫
epilogue
Valiant stood with the others when Asher came into the drawing room. Hero was holding her hand, but awareness of everything faded away as she waited for the news Asher brought.
She and Hero had wed that morning and spent the rest of the day at Ayers’ mansion. Only Ayers’ family, Lord Beaumont, an annoyed Benedict, and Reddington and his wife had been invited to the ceremony.
They’d had an excellent meal that the cook had prepared in short order. Benedict left some time after that, kissing Beatrix before he left.
After his departure, there had been laughter and well wishes.
And then Ayers’ color had visibly paled as he’d began to struggle to breathe.
The doctor had been sent for.
The duke had been taken to his rooms and only Asher had been allowed in the bedchamber when the doctor arrived.
Asher met everyone’s eyes before he said, “He’s gone.”
There was silence in the room.
Beatrix pushed back her own sorrow and turned to her husband, ready to give him anything he’d need at this moment.
Valiant turned into Beaumont’s arms.
Reddington went over to speak to Asher and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Lore stormed from the room.
“I need to go to my brother,” Hero said.
“Of course.” She let him go and then sat down, trying to get a hold of her growing grief.
She felt coldness settle over her as though Ayers’ death had taken some of the good from the world.
She had no clue how long she stayed there, but eventually, Lord and Lady Reddington left and Beaumont took Valiant to another room. Asher was forced to leave and to begin settling his father’s affairs.
Left alone, Beatrix felt out of place. She was the newest member of the family and the one who’d known Ayers the least.
What should she do now that she was Lady Hero?
She stood and went to the window. She saw no one, but then she saw Lore. Alone.
She left the room and rushed to the garden. Following the path, she found him by the fountain.
His open anguish brought her to complete tears.
He stood as if to move away and hide.
&n
bsp; Without waiting for permission, she gathered him into her arms and he came to her willingly. It was a shock to see him as anything but the merry man she knew and adored.
She wondered after Hero and his whereabouts but thought to see to Lore first since she was already with him. “I’m so sorry, Lore.”
He held her close and then pulled away. His face and eyes were stained red. “Thank you… for marrying my brother. He’ll need you.” He tried for one of his old charming smiles, but it failed.
She touched his cheek and wondered how much of Lore’s words were mirrors of his own heart. Was there someone out there that he loved? “I am here if you ever need me.”
He covered her hand with his own. “Thank you. Now go to Hero. He’s in his old rooms, I suspect.”
In the dark, she found Hero on his bed with his back to her. His shoulders were hunched and shook with the evidence of weeping.
She pressed her lips together to hold back her own tears. So deep was his distress, he’d not even realized she’d opened the door.
She closed it behind her and crossed to him.
His hands covered his face.
She touched his arms.
He was startled and dropped his hands. “Beatrix. I…” He looked down. “I apologize for leaving you as I did.”
She covered his lips with her finger. “Don’t. You’ve no reason to apologize. You’re hurting just as much as everyone else.”
He hung his head. “I feel… helpless. What am I to do right now?” He lifted his head as if truly asking her the question.
“You do exactly what you’re doing. You mourn a great man who will be missed by anyone who knew him.”
Hero let out an animalistic sound of grief, and Beatrix folded her husband into her arms.
He clung to her.
They remained that way for long hours while Beatrix rubbed his back and every now and again whispered her love and encouragement to him.
Somehow, later that night, they found themselves laying on his bed. Hero told her stories of his childhood as they simply held one another.
Then the silence came.
Beatrix had seen her husband through the first wave of sadness but had no doubt that it would come again and again for the next few months and maybe for years.
The Perfect Lady (Valiant Love) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 23
