Enticing Eve: Scandalous Secrets, Book 2 (23 page)

Illuminated by the cool glow of the moon, her strategy had already begun to take shape. It was a very good strategy, indeed. If she executed it to perfection, Colin would never know the extent to which she loved him nor quite how much she wanted a life with him.
 

Her pride would be protected.
 

And Colin would never know what hit him.

“I realize this may not be the right time,” Eve said, her cadence cloying as she faced Colin once more, “but I believe we must discuss what transpired last evening.”

Eve traced her mouth with her forefinger, drawing his attention to those full, rosy lips he wanted to kiss to distraction. Colin gave himself a mental shake. “Have you considered my offer?”

“I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything else.”

“And?”

“I am considering your proposal,” she announced.

Considering it?
That didn’t sound promising.
 

Eve then added, “It is noble of you to offer to marry me, but it isn’t fair to you – marrying me based upon one kiss. Someday, if we’re compatible, perhaps …”

Her words hovered in the still night air.
 

Someday, if we’re compatible….
 

“Wait!” he held up his hand. “You know what transpired between us last night. Compatibility is not an issue, I can assure you of that.”

“Be that as it may, I still have no idea where you went, or why you didn’t return. We have much to review, do we not?”

No, the last thing Colin needed was time to explain what a monster he’d become. He considered Athena again. Did the goddess feel guilty after battle? How would things have been different if she were in charge of the battles Colin fought?
 

Colin considered Greek history. Athena represented strength and bravery, wisdom, and just warfare. She was honorable. Colin needed to remind Eve that the honorable thing for them to do would be to marry.
 

It was now imperative.

“If we don’t marry, your reputation will be in ruins. Your grandmother will be scandalized, Eve,” he reminded her.
 

“Yes, that is a possibility but then again, nothing may come of it. Regardless, we don’t know each other anymore. Perhaps we can marry next year or the year after? Once we can clearly look into our hearts without the pressure of looming scandal.”

She patted him on the thigh then stood, “We should return to the house.”

Colin shook his head. “No, this conversation isn’t finished.”
 

“What is your sudden rush to marry me?” Eve asked, her tone and expression exuding innocence. “It’s been three years since you first proposed to me and you weren’t in a hurry then, when you supposedly loved me. What is the rush now aside from a sense of propriety you never felt three years ago?”

I still love you.
He wanted to say it. The words were on the tip of his tongue, yet he couldn’t express the depth of his emotions for her. Somehow, Colin suspected that if he admitted to loving her, there was a strong chance Eve wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings, and he didn’t think he could survive such a slight. She didn’t trust him. Why would she entrust her heart to him now, on this night?

Colin said the one thing that came to him, “Delaying the inevitable will only beget more gossip.”

“I don’t care about idle chatter,” Eve stood in defiance and took several steps away from him before turning to meet his gaze. “Nor do I care what the
ton
says about me, or thinks about me—”
 

“Well, it is high time you start,” Colin stood as Eve turned to walk away. He grabbed her arm. “Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t leave here until we’ve settled this.”

“Settle what? I will not marry you simply because my reputation may or may not be ruined.”

“It’s not just your reputation our marriage will protect, Eve, it’s that of your grandmother. Or would you like to put her through such a scandal?”

Eve took a deep breath, her fists clenched at her sides. “I’m not rushing into a marriage to please a group of pompous hypocrites!”

“Yes, you will,” Colin said through clenched teeth. “Even if it means I carry you over my shoulder and take you to Gretna Green this evening.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can see how careful you are to avoid disgrace at all costs.”

Colin crossed his arms over his chest, aware that his temper was hindering him. “Eve—”

“Arguing is fruitless. The more you insist upon our betrothal, the more I will fight against it.” Eve shook her skirts.

True enough. Colin always knew Eve possessed a stubborn streak, though it was more pronounced now than ever before.
 

He wondered if she could resist a challenge.

“We are not leaving this garden until we have come to a mutual decision,” he insisted. “So what do you suggest we do? Flip a coin? Or will you do what is honorable, for the sake of your grandmother, and marry me?”

“Marriage isn’t a game, Colin,” She stood in defiance, her figure bathed in moonlight. “If it were, we could simply play a game of billiards. Winner takes all and be done with it.”

“Brilliant!” he whispered.
 

“I beg your pardon?” Eve bit her cheek to resist the urge to smile. Colin had just walked right into her trap. It had been easier to convince him than she had thought possible.
 

“How about it?”

“Colin, we are discussing marriage. We can’t simply—”

“Yes, we can,” his timbre was smooth as a fine port, “unless my challenge has frightened you?”

Eve arched her brow, choosing to remain silent.

“If I win, our betrothal ceremony will take place by the end of the week,” Colin said behind a smug smile.

“And if I am victorious?” she asked.

“You gain your freedom.”

Eve paused, feigning indecision before adding, “I don’t know.”

Colin’s rich baritone was playful, “Did I hit a nerve? Surely you aren’t afraid that you’ll lose?”

“Mister MacAlistair,” Eve said, placing her hands on her hips, her expression prim, “to infer that a woman is incapable of winning a game of billiards is quite insulting.”

“I did not infer a woman can’t win at billiards,” he arched his brow. “I inferred that
you
might lose. There is a difference.”

Eve surveyed him through narrowed eyes. He was so confident, so certain of his victory, that she would enjoy meeting his challenge and making him sweat.
 

“You could prove me wrong,” he offered her his arm. “There is, after all, no time like the present.”

She allowed him another smug grin before linking her arm in his. “Let the games begin, Mister MacAlistair.”

As they returned to the main house, Eve was certain her plan was foolproof. Possessing the upper hand, she would maintain control.
 

Eve Weston was determined to get what she wanted, which meant that so too would Colin though he would never suspect that she had played him long before their game of billiards ever began.

Chapter 11

Colin and Eve reached the billiard room in record time. The hearth was ablaze, emanating a warm orange glow while a colorful Persian rug, worn brown leather sofa and matching overstuffed chairs accentuated the cozy space. Tapestries hung on walls lined with rich mahogany paneling. In all, it was as if Colin had stepped into London’s most renowned gentleman’s club.
 

Nothing in the grand room was as impressive as the billiard table in its center. Carved out of marble, it was an exquisite work of art and must have cost a fortune. Colin was so enamored that he whistled.

“Have you never before seen a billiard table?” Eve quizzed as she crossed the room. “I dare say my victory will be swift.”

Colin smiled at her newfound confidence while assessing the engraved marble before him, his fingertips trailing against the cool stone as he added, “I’ve never seen a billiard table like this. You and your grandmother are both so unpretentious that I forget that you are nobility – that you’re the daughter of a Viscount.”
 

“I was the daughter of a Viscount,” Eve stood in front of an intricately carved mahogany table at the far wall where she removed two ivory cues from a marble box. “Now, most in the
ton
consider me to be a commoner,” she announced as she again walked the span of the room before placing them upon the wool-lined billiard table.
 

The cues, Colin noted, were as elaborately engraved as the table itself.
 

Eve, too, stood admiring them. “My grandfather loved billiards and considered the game an art form.
‘Why should the tools be anything less?’
he would espouse.” Her tender tone conveyed how much she loved the man.

“Your grandfather sounds quite philosophical,” Colin didn’t take his eyes off of her. “What would he make of your last statement?”

“What, that I’m not well respected by the
ton
?” Eve shrugged her shoulders and turned, heading back to the table where she found their cues. Colin followed her noting a large ivory box that he assumed housed the balls.

“Here, allow me,” he said as he reached for the heavy box, “and, yes, that is what I’m referring to.”
 

As they returned to the billiard table, Eve elaborated, “The
ton
sees me as the
hon
, descendent of their peerage, and barely that. I may attend balls with my grandmother, but I am well aware that I am less entitled to be there than she is, and she is a former governess.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion as he set the box on the table. Throughout the years since discovering the truth about his parentage, he always felt that Eve was unattainable because of her status in society. He never expected her life to change, especially not to such a drastic extent.

Eve lifted the cover of the box, revealing ivory billiard balls resting against a red velvet background. She removed them one at a time, placing them on the table with care. Colin joined her in setting up their game, all the while remaining silent.
 

Certain he was waiting for an answer, Eve chose her words with caution for she seldom spoke of this particular topic. “My grandmother and I shouldn’t reside here,” she said, noting that his chiseled features bore an expression of confusion, or it might be surprise?

“We were never meant to retain this estate after the death of my father,” Eve elaborated. “As he had no male heir, the Viscount of Haversham’s estates were entailed to the eldest son of my grandfather’s younger brother.”

Colin’s expression was gentle and somehow encouraging.

She paused, gauging how much more she should disclose. Though she didn’t trust that Colin wouldn’t break her heart again, nor did she trust that he wasn’t holding any secrets from her (he’d been gone for three years, which provided him ample time to amass countless secrets), Eve believed she could confide in him without reserve on this particular subject, hoping at least in regards to this topic that he would never betray her trust.

“You can’t imagine how grief-stricken my grandmother was after the death of my father. I can honestly say that there is no word that even comes close to describing the depth of her despair.” She picked up a weighty marble cue ball, rolling the cool stone between her hands. “Although my father had been a rake, he was nonetheless her son. My grandmother’s love for him was unconditional. In addition, the physical resemblance between my father and grandfather was striking. I think Grandmamma felt as if she had lost my grandfather a second time, along with her son.”

Eve released a ragged sigh. “This estate is their final resting place. Most of Grandmamma’s memories of them were also associated with this house, these gardens.”

“So your relative, your … first cousin once removed? He allowed you both to remain here?” Colin asked.
 

“Oh, no,” Eve unceremoniously placed the ball on the table with a
thud
. “To the contrary, he couldn’t wait for us to leave. The day after my father’s death was announced, the new Viscount of Haversham sent a messenger to inform us that he wanted us out by the end of the week.”

Colin squeezed his cool, marble cue, anger rising in his veins. Not just because of his hatred for the new viscount, whoever the horrid man may be, but also because he should have been here to protect Eve and her grandmother.
 

“The Duke of Davenport,” Eve continued, interrupting his silent torture, as she returned her attention to setting up their table, “your brother-in-law, purchased our home for us and paid far too much for it, of that I am certain. The new viscount,” her words dripped with disdain, “is a parasite. He no doubt fleeced Sebastian.”

“Thank God for Sebastian.” The heartfelt words escaped Colin’s lips before he realized he had spoken them aloud.

Eve straightened and smiled, “Yes, I have thanked God many a time for Sebastian’s kindness. I can’t help but feel like I owe him a great debt.”

“Whom do you owe, my dear?” the Dowager Viscountess’s voice echoed throughout the grand room, her flamboyant layers of fabric swooshing about her legs.