by Darcy Burke
“Yes, but I’m sure I can get it out.” Olivia tried to bite back the words, but it was too late. “I mean my maid, of course.”
Her hazel eyes sparked with interest. “Did you used to launder your own clothing?”
Olivia wasn’t certain how to answer, but once again followed Louisa’s advice and offered the truth. “Country life is very different from here.” As was unprivileged London life.
“Extraordinary. You can get that spot off your dress?”
“Probably.” Olivia could and would likely offer her suggestions to Dale. For now, she wanted to get back downstairs to Louisa. “Miss Cheswick, I don’t suppose you have something I could use to cover this—a wrap perhaps?”
“Please, call me Audrey.” She nodded. “I’ve just the thing. A beautiful ivory Norwich shawl. I’ll go and get it.” She left the way they’d entered, closing the door behind her.
Olivia turned to survey the room, which included a smattering of chairs and a settee. There was also a large mirror hung over a table bearing a ewer of water and several small cloths. Presumably this had been arranged for this evening.
She studied her reflection. An amber streak stained her gown from bodice to waist.
The click of the door opening drew her attention. She froze upon seeing not Audrey, but Jasper. He closed the door behind him. “I came to see if you’re all right. I apologize for spilling that sherry, but I had to find a way to end that conversation.”
“I figured as much. Thank you for your help.” She offered a smile, intending to also thank him for helping Mr. Beatty and his children, but the stern look on his face froze her speech.
He moved toward her, his brow furrowed. “I wasn’t helping you. I was helping Louisa. I’m rather perturbed with myself for forgetting you are with her under false pretenses. She thinks you some cousin of her beloved husband, but you’re nothing more than a common actress.”
Olivia understood his protection of Louisa, admired it even. “I won’t cause her any harm.” Not intentionally anyway. She had to admit the conversation downstairs had come dangerously close to exposing her background, not just to Louisa, but to the cream of London.
“I’m afraid your assurances aren’t good enough. I tried trusting you once, and it was a crashing failure.” He stopped an arm’s length from her. “The time has come for you to tell me what you’re doing with Louisa.”
Olivia’s stomach knotted. She was treading a fine line between truth and deceit. She considered telling him she was actually Merry’s daughter, but Louisa had been quite clear about maintaining absolute secrecy. With everyone. “Your aunt found me. She’s showed you my handkerchiefs and how they match Merry’s design. You’ve seen the box from which I copied it.”
His eyes glittered in the candlelight from a sconce next to the mirror. “She also said you came to London seeking your relatives. You mentioned no such search when we became acquainted. I find myself wondering why a young woman with these prospects would try to defraud an earl.” He tipped his head to the side. “You can see how easy it was for me to deduce this is merely another of your poorly concocted schemes.”
His proximity heightened her distress and, confound it, sparked her desire. She took a step back from him. “It’s not, I swear. I was hoping to find my relatives, but I had no means.” The lie burned her tongue. She planned to speak with Louisa as soon as possible about revealing the truth to Jasper. She didn’t know how much longer she could tolerate deceiving him.
“Yet when I offered you my card, your first thought was to swindle me instead of ask for help searching for your family.” He shook his head. “Try again.”
“I’ve apologized. I deeply regret my actions.” She couldn’t keep the pleading tone from her voice and hated that she had to beg this man for anything. “I truly didn’t think to ask for your help. You thought me a whore. Men like you don’t help women like me.”
“‘Men like me’?” His eyes narrowed and he stepped toward her. How easy it was for him to look dark and menacing despite his fair hair and fairer eyes. Heat came off him in waves. “You know very little of me, but what you do know, especially what you observed the night we met, should have demonstrated I’m a man who helps people.”
“I know that…now.” The truth crowded her brain, desperate to be spilled. She couldn’t keep up this ruse with him. She didn’t even really want to. For whatever reason, his inability to trust her even a tiny amount burned. She glanced at the door behind him. “You have to go. Audrey is coming back.”
He didn’t react to her warning. “I don’t believe you’re Merry’s cousin, and you obviously lied to my aunt about working at the Haymarket and about our prior acquaintance. Wouldn’t Louisa be interested to hear how you tried to swindle me? Furthermore, you took my ten pounds so now I must add theft to your offenses.”
Oh God, the ten pounds. How could she have forgotten to return it? “I’ll send the money back tomorrow. I meant to. Always. I always meant to pay you back.” She was rambling. Her knees were shaking; her stomach was in knots. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to ask Louisa if they could leave.
Louisa.
Of course, Olivia hadn’t told her about working at the theatre or that she’d tried to trick Jasper. She didn’t think Louisa’s kindness would extend to an almost-whore. Olivia swallowed. “Please don’t tell Louisa.”
He didn’t answer immediately, but let the silence stretch interminably. “I won’t. At least not now, but only because it would upset her. I’d prefer to avoid that.” His gaze moved over her with lingering precision. “I’ve been trying to determine your motive. Is it just the money? Or are you after position and respect as well? Look at you now. Only a week ago you were cooking up ways to defraud gentlemen like me for a mere ten pounds.”
How long was he going to torture her with that? “Please stop bringing that up! I’ve admitted my mistake and will return the money tomorrow. Can that please be the end of it?”
“Not when you’ve found a way to insinuate yourself into my aunt’s life. I’m afraid it’s just the beginning.”
“I promise I won’t hurt her,” she said.
“I’ll make certain you don’t. Just focus on maintaining your scheme and keeping Louisa above it. What happened downstairs can’t happen again. If anyone finds out you were an actress and came from God-knows-isn’t-Devon, she’d be a laughingstock.”
Olivia cringed at the thought of Louisa being vilified. Weakly, she said, “I did, in fact, grow up in Devon.”
His lip curled in a thoroughly arrogant fashion. “Perhaps I’ll just verify that.”
Panic rose in her chest, but Olivia refused to let him see it. It wasn’t as if she was lying about being Merry’s cousin. That much—the one thing he was so furiously disputing—was, ironically, his aunt’s invention.
“Go ahead,” she said with all the bravado she could muster.
“What’s the name of the village?” He didn’t move, but she felt cornered all the same.
Despite the mad trembling of her legs, she wouldn’t cower. “Newton Abbott.”
The door opened suddenly, and Jasper’s entire demeanor altered. He moved quickly, putting a chair between them. His face smoothed into a serene expression.
“Pardon me, Miss Cheswick,” he said. “I was just checking after Miss West’s welfare. So clumsy of me to have ruined her gown. I feel quite terrible about it.”
Audrey stood with the shawl clutched in her fingertips. Pink rushed to her cheeks and her mouth hung a bit open. Finally she stammered, “L-l-ord Saxton.”
Jasper gave Olivia a slight bow. “I’ll see you downstairs. Again, my apologies.”
He strode past Audrey and gave her a devastating smile. Audrey’s eyes glazed over and her mouth curved up. Olivia could almost see her bones melting under the brilliance of Jasper’s attention. Is this how women typically reacted to him? Had Olivia’s refusal of him only stoked his anger, already so strong after she’d tricked him?
“No need to m
ention this to anyone.” He took Audrey’s hand and stroked her thumb then quit the room.
Astonishing. Olivia could scarcely believe the same gentleman had just pelted her with accusations and threats.
Audrey turned and watched the doorway long after Jasper had gone. Olivia finally approached her and said, “Thank you for the shawl.”
She pivoted and handed the lace to Olivia. Still, her eyes were wide and her lips spread in a grin. “He’s never spoken to me before. And he…touched my hand. Here.” Audrey helped arrange the shawl around Olivia’s shoulders and adjusted it to cover the stain. “There, that will do for the rest of the evening.” She turned and looked in the glass. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, she turned back to Olivia. “I was hoping to catch Saxton’s eye tonight. If he hadn’t spilled that sherry on your gown, we wouldn’t be up here, and he wouldn’t have come to check on you...” Her face drifted into a dreamlike expression.
“Is that why your grandfather is having this party? So you could get to know Saxton?” Olivia asked, grateful for something besides Jasper’s interrogation to occupy her mind.
She blushed prettily. “Somewhat. He’s rumored to be considering a bride at long last. With so many marriageables away from London for the summer, I thought to bolster my chances.” Her eyes brightened. “You’re his cousin. Perhaps you could help me?”
Why not? A Jasper occupied with another woman was a Jasper unoccupied with her. And maybe then she could make it through the rest of the party. “I’m glad to help.”
But tomorrow would still come, and Jasper wasn’t going to accept her lies. She should have known this life was too good to be true.
THE next morning Jasper arrived at Louisa’s townhouse so that Olivia could take his measurements for the waistcoat she intended to make. He wasn’t sure he could maintain his mask of acceptance, not when her lies were completely transparent.
Furthermore, he wasn’t sure how his body might react when she touched him.
Despite her deception, he still wanted her. More than ever, in fact. Last night at Farringdon’s had been a near thing. Miss Cheswick hadn’t caught them in a compromise, but Jasper couldn’t be alone with her again. She had become, unfortunately, another Abigail. A woman he desired but couldn’t acceptably marry. A woman he could ruin.
Bernard announced him, and he strode into the sitting room. Olivia stood from the settee. She was as beautiful as she’d been last night, her eyes as tempestuous as ever.
“Good morning, Jasper dear.” Louisa stood just inside, fairly humming with energy. “Are you ready for your measurements? I’ve already had mine taken this morning. Olivia has a special dress planned for me. Do excuse me for a moment. I must instruct Bernard to have someone go and purchase a fabric we saw at Deacon and Bothe’s.” She whooshed from the room like a small bird.
Jasper turned his attention to Olivia. Gowned in a simple yellow frock, she looked fresh and innocent. Too bad he knew better.
She twisted a measuring tape in her hand. “Good morning, my lord.”
“We needn’t bother with niceties. I’ve decided it’s time for you to tell Louisa the truth.”
Her eyes flashed and her head snapped back. “What truth?”
“About your former life. I understand you have this box that Merry painted—and I don’t doubt he painted it—but we really can’t know where you found it.”
She had the skill to look outraged. “It belonged to my mother. That’s the truth.”
“So you say.”
“It is!” She clenched the tape in her fist. “Oh, believe what you will. Louisa and I know the truth.”
“Louisa knows the truth you’ve given her. You were not in London looking for family, and she deserves to know what kind of schemer you are.”
“Why? I would argue she deserves the relationship we’re building. She wants a daughter, and I want…”
He moved closer. “What do you want?”
Some of the heat left her gaze. “I want to stay here.”
He heard the longing in her voice and almost felt sorry for her. But he couldn’t sacrifice Louisa for her. “I can’t help you lie to my aunt.”
Olivia opened her mouth to say more, but Louisa bustled back into the room. “I figured you would have gotten started by now.”
Jasper looked at Olivia. “How do you want me?”
Her eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t intended an innuendo, but that’s clearly how she’d taken it. And he couldn’t keep his own blood from heating in response.
Olivia glanced away. “You should remove your coat.”
“And your waistcoat, I should think. Maybe even your shirt,” Louisa mused. Olivia shot her a worried glance. “It’s quite all right, dear. We shan’t tell anyone you’ve seen Jasper bare-chested.”
Jasper almost barked with laughter. She’d seen that and more.
Olivia’s hands quivered as she fingered the measuring tape. “That won’t be necessary. He won’t be wearing his waistcoat without a shirt, after all.” She shot him a furtive glance and Jasper wondered if she hadn’t envisioned him that way. His body tightened. This was dangerous ground.
He shrugged out of his coat and laid it over the back of a chair, just as he’d done at her apartment when she’d seduced him. Don’t think of that. Quickly, he stripped off his waistcoat and deposited it atop the coat.
Louisa perched on the settee, while Olivia came toward him. “Raise your arms, please. Straight out, yes.” She stood before him and measured him from shoulder to waist.
At the first touch of her hand, he sucked in a breath. God, this wouldn’t do. He was already hardening. He turned slightly, presenting his back more fully to Louisa.
Olivia looked up at him. “Please stand still.”
“I thought you could use the light from the windows.” He stared straight ahead and tried to think about the apples ripening on the tree outside.
She stretched the tape across his upper chest, from shoulder to shoulder. With just the lawn of his shirt separating her ministrations from his flesh, he felt each touch with devastating accuracy. His body heated to a nearly unbearable degree. He focused on the damn apples and keeping his arms out. God, she smelled like lavender and honey, so sweet and delicious. Think of the apples—also sweet and delicious. God damn it.
His aunt’s voice interrupted the battle in his head. “We’re quite looking forward to the Faversham Ball, Jasper. You’ll dance with Olivia, of course.”
“Of course.” His voice had deepened with desire. Olivia stopped measuring and froze, her gaze fixed below his waistband.
She looked up at him again and the charged look they shared was nearly his undoing. He tore his gaze from hers and damned every single apple on that tree to hell.
She moved behind him and measured from his neck to the base of his spine. The torture was no better there. Then she wrapped the tape around the circumference of his chest and he closed his eyes in sweet agony. Her fingers brushed his nipples and his cock strained against his breeches. If she didn’t finish soon he’d make a complete fool of himself.
She lowered the tape to his waist and it slipped. She had to reach around to slide it back into place, and her hands came dangerously close to his erection. He couldn’t keep his hips from twitching in response.
“Done!” She snapped the tape in her haste to move away from him.
Jasper didn’t dare turn around. He reached back and pulled his waistcoat from the chair, using several long moments to button it. He did the same with his coat.
“Do you have designs for the waistcoat to share, Olivia?” Louisa asked.
“Not yet.” She sounded a bit breathless, and the fact that she was as affected as he was did not help cool his ardor.
“Jasper, Olivia is making a very smart day dress for me. Would you like to see her drawing?”
When he’d finally conquered his lust, he turned. Louisa had the design plate on her lap so Jasper had no choice but to go and see it. The sketch was stunning
. It would flatter Louisa’s diminutive stature perfectly.
He looked at Olivia whose cheeks were still flushed after their encounter. “You’re quite gifted.” He wanted to know why Olivia would continue to toil as a seamstress now that she’d found a life of ease. “But, Aunt, why don’t you hire someone to make the gown? Surely Olivia has better things to do with her time.”
Olivia tucked her measuring tapes and Jasper’s measurements into a basket full of sewing implements. “I’m pleased to do it. Consider it a hobby, my lord.” She kept her gaze averted from his.
“Indeed,” Louisa said. “We’ve promoted a maid to full-time seamstress. Olivia has all the help she needs to foster her creativity.” Louisa beamed at her, and Jasper noted her use of the word “we” as if they were a partnership. A family. And he knew right then that he couldn’t break his aunt’s heart with the truth of Olivia’s background. If she wanted Olivia to be Merry’s cousin, well, then he would let her. He’d just make damn sure no one else learned the truth, and that Olivia wasn’t using Louisa for some nefarious purpose.
“I’m off to my next appointment.” He kissed his aunt’s hand on his way out, but refrained from offering the same to Olivia. Not because he didn’t want to, but because it would be too easy to press his lips to her hand for a moment longer than propriety allowed—and he couldn’t do that.
She was no longer a common actress he might pursue in the dark hours of the night far from Mayfair. Now she was the respectable—at least in Society’s eyes—cousin of a viscount, newfound ward of the esteemed Viscountess Merriweather. She was untouchable, and unfortunately also unmarriageable since he knew the truth about her.
He had to stay away from her while ensuring she didn’t embarrass Louisa in any way. As if those objectives wouldn’t keep him busy enough, he also had to prevent the duke from learning about Olivia’s background. If he couldn’t do that, none of the rest would matter.
Chapter Nine
JASPER KEPT away from Louisa and Olivia over the next few days. He’d dispatched a man to Newton Abbott, just to see what could be discovered. He needed to know if anyone, such as Holborn, would be able to successfully investigate Olivia’s origins. More importantly, Jasper wanted to know for himself. He’d accepted her role in Louisa’s life, but he still didn’t trust her.
