Dueling With the Duke (Brotherhood of the Sword) (8 page)

“Makes it challenging to run a household, I would imagine,” Gabe said.

“I was never under the delusion that I ran Thornton’s household. I was a decoration. No more than a pretty bird, trapped in a cage. With my wings clipped.”

He wanted to ask her more, but he stopped himself. He was already feeling dangerously close to sympathizing with her. He needed to remember who he was, and more importantly, who she was.

…

They had been enclosed in the carriage for only a few moments before Lilith asked, “So how is it that the irresistible Gabriel Campbell, Duke of Lynford, has remained unmarried? I would have thought you would not have been able to outrun the marriage mommas in London.”

“I do well to keep myself hidden.”

She nearly missed the tweak of his lips, a shadow of a grin. “A jest. Well done, Gabriel.” It was best, truly, that he did not smile more often, for when he did, it transformed his face so that one could not look away. When he made no move to continue the conversation, she asked, “Are you going to ignore my question then?”

“I hadn’t realized it was a serious inquest.” His eyes met hers. The warm brown beckoned her as a hot mug of chocolate did on a cold winter’s day. “Very well. I am unmarried, but I shall likely be married before the end of next Season.”

She ignored the jab that echoed though her. What did it matter to her if he was married or not? She certainly held no claim over him, nor did she want to saddle herself with another man to bully her about. “So you are betrothed?”

“No, but I have selected the girl.” He pulled back the small curtain of the carriage and peered out.

Leave it to Gabriel to make the selection of a wife as unromantic as possible, granted that had been her experience also. When she’d first been introduced into Society she’d had romantic notions, even though her father had all but told her he planned to give her to the highest bidder. She’d felt certain she could find a love match somewhere in London who had a heart as big as his coffers. That had not been the case. And then Thornton had seen to it that she become his countess rather than Rafe’s duchess, shooting the previous duke in a foolish duel so many years ago. She’d been starry-eyed, and she’d seen the younger Campbell son enter the ballroom and she’d been enchanted.

It was quite difficult to reconcile the stoic man before her with the rake he’d been years ago. Even the curls on his head had seemed to become tamer, no longer falling into his face, giving him the look of a seductive poet. Now it was as if every hair knew precisely where to go. “Is she aware of this?”

“Who?” he asked with a frown, looking away from the window.

“The girl you plan to make your duchess.”

“Ah, nothing is official. We have met. Conversed briefly. Danced once. She shall make a good duchess.”

“And what of other suitors? Are you so certain she’ll still be available next year?”

He paused as if considering that notion for the very first time. “She is neither handsome enough nor in possession of a large enough dowry to garner too much competition. I suspect she shall still be waiting for a good match, as they say.”

Lilith barked out a laugh. “Why not simply marry her now? If you have already selected her, what is the reason for waiting?” She could neither see nor hear any urgency in his countenance or voice.

“My work is far too important. I have time to wait a little longer before marrying and securing an heir,” he said.

“If she is neither handsome nor rich, why do you want her?” It was a question she shouldn’t ask. She’d known why men wanted her. She had a body made for sin, as Thornton had so crudely put it on more than one occasion. She’d known as a girl just in the blush of womanhood that she had the sort of appearance that would turn a man’s head. It made it impossible to hope for someone to look past her bosom to the woman she was beneath. And now she was unsure if there was anything there at all.

“She is reasonably intelligent, kind, and soft-spoken. She has been raised for this very thing. She will be able to run the household, all that is essentially expected of a duchess.”

Lilith felt the weight of her own frown. “Who is this poor and mediocre girl?”

“Clara Salisbury.”

Lilith scanned her memory for the girl’s face and found it amidst a sea of other hopeful girls. Clara was, indeed, quiet and relatively nondescript. She was neither unattractive nor pretty, merely pleasant-looking. There was little noteworthy or outstanding about her. So why did Lilith suddenly hate the girl?

Chapter Seven

“We need to go back to the school,” she said. “They should keep financial ledgers that indicate who pays for what. They’ll be able to tell us who was responsible for Isabel’s schooling.”

He cared not who was financially responsible for the girl, but knowing as much might connect Thornton to his conspirators. “Good idea,” he said.

Gabe followed Lilith up the stairs to the heavy wooden doors that led to Saint Bartholomew’s School for Girls. Her delicate hand lifted the knocker and slammed it against the door.

The woman from their last visit opened the door and her eyes widened. “Lady Thornton, what are you doing here? I thought you said you’d send for Isabel’s belongings if they were needed.”

“I have some questions regarding Isabel’s affairs, Mrs. Maybrook,” Lilith said. “Is Mr. Hazleton in?”

The woman did not appear too inclined to allow them entrance. Gabe put his hand on the heavy door and pushed it open. Mrs. Maybrook moved aside.

“Yes, of course, come in,” the older woman said. “I’m not certain he’ll have any information to share though, but follow me.” The woman’s wide hips nearly filled the entire width of the corridor and bumped a side table as she led them to the right and into a second foyer area. Beyond was a closed door, upon which she rapped her knuckles. “Mr. Hazleton, there are some people who wish to speak with you.”

“Now?” There was a rustling of objects from the other side of the door. “They were not supposed to arrive until—” The door opened, and the man framed in the doorway frowned. “Lady Thornton, I was not expecting you.”

Lilith smiled warmly. “I doubt you were, since Isabel is no longer a student here.”

“Yes, yes, that is correct. Just what I was thinking. Come in.” The man eyed Gabe but said nothing as he walked back around his desk and sat. He motioned for Lilith to do the same.

Lilith moved forward. “Do not mind Mr. Jans here,” she said, waving her hand dismissively in Gabe’s direction.

Gabe supposed that at the moment he was to play the part of this “Mr. Jans.”

She lowered herself into the chair directly across from Mr. Hazleton. Only a desk separated them, but Lilith did an admirable job of giving the man the perception that she was right with him. “Mr. Jans here is nothing more than my hired protection, and he doesn’t ever say much.” She glanced at Gabe, perhaps to gauge if he’d play along with her charade.

He gave her a slight nod. Her ruse was foolhardy. He was thankful he hadn’t worn his spectacles, as that would have made the ruse even more ridiculous. There was nothing about Gabe that suggested he might be able to physically protect Lilith. Though he was neither a weak nor small man. In fact, he was quite a bit taller than most, including the man they visited; still, next to many of the men in the Brotherhood, Gabe looked more the part of a bookkeeper rather than a bodyguard. Still, the Hazleton man seemed so entranced by Lilith that he didn’t bother giving Gabe a second glance.

“You would be surprised at all the ruffians about in London, for a newly widowed woman such as myself,” she said, leaning forward to give the man an unobstructed view of her luscious décolletage. “It’s truly frightening, and I cannot be too careful.”

“No…no…no…” the man stammered, unable to look away from Lilith’s cleavage to her face. “Of course you can’t.”

Gabe ignored the rush of anger that catapulted through him. She had assured him she knew how to handle this man. They had agreed on a truce. So for the time being he would trust her, but he would not allow this to go much further.

“What can I do for you today, Lady Thornton?” Mr. Hazleton asked, finally looking up at Lilith’s face.

She scooted forward on her seat to be closer to the man across from the desk. Gabe continued to stand to the side, saying nothing.

“I’ve been going through my late husband’s affairs, and it would seem that our payments here to your illustrious school ended a few years ago.” She lifted her reticule. “I’m prepared to pay the remainder of Isabel’s tuition.”

The man frowned, then opened a drawer and retrieved a ledger book. He flipped through several pages, shook his head. “I do not see that you have any outstanding debts with us, Lady Thornton. Perhaps His Lordship’s records are incomplete.”

“Perhaps.” She gave the man a smile, then bit her lip. “I don’t suppose it says anything in your ledger book”—she reached forward, placed one delicate finger on the book in question, and tapped—“about payments being made by someone else?”

This time he didn’t bother to even open the book. Once she’d removed her hand, he glanced at the clock on the mantel. “Even if it did, I would be unable to share that information with you. I’m certain you understand, being a beneficiary of our discretion here at Saint Bartholomew’s.” He came to his feet. “I do thank you for stopping by. Your willingness to pay any potential debts is more than admirable,” the man said, releasing a shaky breath as his gaze once again fell to the curves of her breasts.

The man nearly stumbled forward so entranced was he with Lilith’s luscious cleavage. Granted, Gabe could hardly blame the man. It had been a feat that he himself had managed to keep his eyes off of her tempting figure. She was, quite simply, the most alluring, stunning, distracting woman he’d ever met. Being this close to her was an assault on his senses and an exercise in restraint. He’d be a fool not to recognize that his restraint was waning.

“Mr. Hazleton,” Lilith said, her hand coming to rest on the man’s forearm as he walked past her chair. He stopped instantly at her touch. “Pray, do you have anything else regarding Isabel here at the school, aside from her paltry belongings? Letters or the like?”

The clock behind them chimed, and Mr. Hazleton nearly jumped from his skin. He shifted his gaze from Lilith to the clock, then back then to the door of his office.

He stepped out of his office, giving them no choice but to follow. “I have no notion of what you could be looking for, good lady, but I assure you I am not hiding anything from you.”

The man might as well have held up a flag and waved it about yelling,
I’m hiding something!
He showed all the signs of a person guarding a secret with his nervous glances and blurting out that statement when no one had accused him of hiding anything. There was something to be found in this school that would give them more information on the girl. Perhaps that would lead to whom Thornton had been working with. Or for.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I am terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I have another meeting that I must ready for,” Mr. Hazleton said, then turned and left them standing in the outer office.

Lilith made to make further protests, but Gabe put a hand at the small of her back to still her. “Come,” he whispered.

“There is still much to discover here. He’s obviously hiding something,” she hissed once they were out of earshot.

“Of course there is.” He kept his hand against her back, doing his best to ignore the way her waist curved beneath his fingers. “They’re not going to assist us, so we need to do our best to dig around when they’re not here.”

Her eyes widened. “Come back? After they’re closed?”

He nodded. “Unless we can find somewhere to wait.”

Lilith stopped Mrs. Maybrook as she walked past them. “Would you be so kind as to fetch Isabel’s books? They are the only items she was sad to have left behind.”

“Yes, of course.”

Once the woman left, Lilith tugged on Gabe’s sleeve. “This way. There is a storage closet that sits between Hazleton’s office and the outer office. I’ve only ever seen them open it once before and it was on our first visit here, when they retrieved her initial uniform.” She scrawled a note and left it on Mr. Hazleton’s desk, instructing them to send Isabel’s books by post. Then she led Gabe to the storage room’s door.

“And if they discover us hiding?” he asked.

She stepped inside the room and grabbed his lapels to pull him forward. “Then we shall have to pretend to be having a tryst.” She closed the door behind him.

The tight confines of the storage closet increased Gabe’s awareness of Lilith. His desire was nothing more than a weakness. He’d seen her in action, seen the way she’d flaunted and flirted. She’d tried such tactics on him as well. Evidently, that’s how Lilith did anything in life. She manipulated men to get whatever she desired. Anger rattled through him.

“Don’t you think that your behavior in there bordered on unacceptable?” he asked.

She whirled on him, her eyes ablaze. “I didn’t see you offering a better solution. Besides, other than today, Mr. Hazleton has always been more than accommodating to my requests.”

“I’m certain he has.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Only that the way he was eyeing your assets, he seemed ready to give you nearly anything. If that is how you always behave around him, then I’m certain he’s handed over whatever you’ve requested.”

She shoved her hand into his chest. “You, of all people, have no right to judge me. I heard numerous rumors about you and your legendary seductions.”

He might have been a libertine once upon a time, but that had been a long time ago. “Numerous rumors? I doubt if that is true.” He always figured his appetites ran too strong for most of the women he’d seduced, so he’d restrained himself, never asked for what he’d truly desired, and instead concentrated on the woman’s pleasure. “There was nothing legendary about my seductions.”

“So you admit to having many conquests?”

“I admit to nothing. We all have pasts, Lilith; misguided youth you could call it. My life is different now.

“Ah yes, now you are celibate, now you are ‘the Priest.’”

“Precisely.”

“Well, women do not possess power in the same way that men do. We use what we were given, and for me, that is my body. Men find me attractive, and I can usually use that to my advantage,” she said.

“My point was it’s ridiculous for you to flaunt yourself in such a way. And it did us no good.” But the truth was it had benefited them. They now knew that Mr. Hazleton was hiding something. They had yet to actually discover anything useful to identifying Isabel, but once they were alone, they’d be able to search the offices. But seeing her shamelessly flaunt her body to entice another man had quite honestly enraged Gabe. He wanted to wrap his hands around Hazleton’s thin throat.

“Contrary to how you might feel about me,” she said, closing the distance between them, “most men find me charming.”

She ran a hand down his chest. Before she reached his abdomen, he grabbed her wrist and leaned into her, pressing her against the back wall. He kept his grip tight.

“
Charming
is not a word I would use to describe you.” He crushed his mouth down on hers. There was no seduction here, only passion. A punishing passion that threatened to consume them both. His other hand came up to claim her other arm, which he pinned above their heads. She released a half whimper, half moan, and he took the opportunity to sweep his tongue in her mouth. Her tongue slid against his, and he groaned into her mouth. Desire surged through him as her hand clutched his shoulder. He could kiss her forever. Only her. He pressed his body into hers as she met his passion beat for beat.

Her desire was heady. Her legs flexed at his sides, and while she did not wrap them around him, he had the distinct feeling she’d thought about it, that her body had wanted to envelop him, but still a modicum of her restraint remained. Nevertheless, her legs were tight at his hips.

He pushed himself closer to her core, wanting to press his hardness against the ache he knew hid between her legs. But if he went too far, too fast, he would lose control, and he was already tempting much by this embrace. So as much as the blood pounded in his ears and his guttural instincts screamed for him to take her, he forced himself to slow down. Yet he couldn’t seem to make himself stop altogether.

With one hand he clutched at her hip, pulling her gently toward him. All the while he kept his mouth on hers, seducing and loving her lips and tongue. Then both hands were on her hips, inching closer to the roundness of her bottom, which he could feel quite perfectly through her dress.

God, he wanted her. And she wanted him. He let his mouth trail off hers to kiss down the thin column of her throat. Her skin was pure like honey, so soft and supple. He longed to trace his tongue over every milky inch of her. If he let it go on much longer, kissing wouldn’t be the only thing he’d do. A rustling came from outside of the storage closet.

“Where is the girl?” a man asked, his voice deep and gravelly.

The interruption gave Gabe enough impetus to end their kiss.

“I do not know.” It was Mr. Hazleton who had replied. This was obviously the other meeting he’d mentioned. It seemed logical that Isabel was the girl in question.

“What do you mean you do not know? What happened to her?” the deep voice asked, a voice that Gabe recognized, though he could not put a name or face to it. He knew he’d heard it before, likely on more than one occasion.

“Her aunt came and retrieved her. I believe for her uncle’s funeral.”

Lilith gasped. Gabe put his hand to her mouth to quiet her.

“We’ve already checked Thornton’s townhome in London. The girl was nowhere to be found. We have paid you quite handsomely to keep the girl here so we could know her precise location. Why did you not prevent the Lady Thornton from removing her niece?”

“I was not here when she came to retrieve her,” Hazleton said.

“That is unacceptable,” the man said.

“Oh, please, sir, don’t. I have a family.”

“You should have thought about that before.” Then a gunshot.

Lilith’s eyes widened. Gabe’s hand still rested against her mouth and muffled the shriek she released.

Hazleton coughed and sputtered. “Why?” he asked.

“Not only are you an exceptionally annoying man, but I cannot afford to have you alive and able to tell people of my plans.”

Another cough and then silence.

Several moments passed before she looked up at him, grabbed his hand to remove it, and whispered, “You must help me keep Isabel safe.”