Regency 03 - Deception (22 page)

~~~~~

“
Rory!”

The bellow made her jerk her head up so quickly that
she felt a wrenching in her neck. “Ow,” she muttered as she rubbed
at the sudden soreness. She set her needlework aside and rose to
her feet to attend to whatever it was her husband required of
her.

“
My lord?” she asked, stiffly
formal, as she joined him in the foyer.

“
Call me that one more time, wife,
and I’ll turn you over my knee,” growled Levi with little concern
for the listening servants. “Come with me.”

He gave her no chance to be shocked or scandalized,
taking her arm and propelling her into the morning room. He pushed
her down into a chair and stood looking down at her.

“
I have just searched all over
London for you, thinking you were in danger. Where the devil were
you?”

Her pale brows rose as she firmly suppressed a
smile. “I have been here since returning from the park.” She
frowned, remembering the events from earlier that day.

Shaking her head, she asked, “Why were you searching
for me? You knew where I was.”

His face flushed ever so slightly. Oh heavens! He
was embarrassed.

“
Hart mentioned Forester and I was
concerned. The man seems to vex you greatly.”

Aurora’s face cleared until it was devoid of any
expression at all. Her lungs threatened to stop working but she
managed to draw in a breath to steady her fear.

Forester had not attempted to stop her wedding to
the earl. She had been uneasy about his reason for such
inaction.

“
Do you have any other secrets to
tell me?”

The earl’s softly spoken query took her by surprise.
It was the perfect time to confess all and pray for understanding.
But something in his expression stopped her, a wary look of
distrust that caused an odd shiver in her chest.

“
My trustees are expecting us this
afternoon.”

Levi’s entire body stiffened. “Explain.”

Aurora glanced away lest he see the flaring of
annoyance in her eyes. She didn’t care at all for his tone and took
exception to being ordered about like a servant.

Forcing herself to maintain at least the outward
appearance of calm, she replied, “Certain things were neglected
that must be taken care of. What monies I possess were left to me
under the care of trustees. You know the law does not allow a woman
to control her own inheritance.”

Aurora could see the thoughts churning in her
husband’s mind but was unsure what his reaction would be.

It was completely unexpected.

“
Very well.” Reaching out, he
pulled her from her seat and into his arms. After kissing her
thoroughly, he exited the room, leaving Aurora’s head
spinning.

~~~~~

Thinking Aurora had been left a small amount of
money by a kind relative, Levi was astounded to learn that his
wife’s banker was Nathaniel Rothschild, a rising name in the
banking industry. That gentleman calmly informed him of the extent
of his new bride’s wealth.

Levi repeated the amount, sputtering it out like a
question. He looked at his rigidly silent wife and repeated
himself.

“
Yes, Greville,” she replied with
a tired sigh. “Mr. Rothschild, I want my husband to have full
access to all my monies despite my father’s will.”

A brief flash of something lit Mr. Rothschild’s
hitherto empty eyes. “I must advise against this, Lady Greville,”
the Jewish banker said. He glanced at the huge young man who sat
across the desk from him. “I have heard certain things that lead me
to believe that this course of action would be unwise.”

“
I know what you have heard, Mr.
Rothschild. And I don’t care if he loses the whole lot on one turn
of the card. I really do not.”

“
Lady Greville, as one of your
trustees I reluctantly agreed to allow the marriage. I don’t
believe your father would approve of a known gambler having control
of the money he left you.”

“
My father’s will made it possible
for me to turn over the monies to my husband should I approve him.
You have already taken the word of Lord Connor Northwicke to
approve the marriage. Would Lord Derringer’s word suffice as to my
lord’s capability?”

The banker’s brows rose. “You can acquire the Duke
of Derringer’s word?”

“
If that is what it takes,
yes.”

Rothschild stared hard at Aurora, then at the earl.
Apparently seeing something reassuring, he consented.

The earl stared from the banker to Aurora. His mind
churned at the implications, refusing to believe that she’d managed
to withhold such a key piece of her life from him. Hell, she’d
managed to fool the entire
ton
into thinking she was
teetering on the brink of penury. Incredulous, he rounded on his
wife much to the embarrassment and disgust of Rothschild.

To his credit, Levi did lower his voice from a
bellow to a more normal volume, but his tone was hard. “You are
rich as Croesus and you neglect to tell me? And now you are handing
it all to me and you don’t even care that I am a wastrel and a
gambler? What is wrong with you?” He stilled. “The money is a salve
for your conscience.” It was not a question.

“
Can we continue this at home,
please?” hissed Aurora. She threw an apologetic glance at the
banker

Rothschild stood. “I will have the papers drawn up,
my lady. Your solicitor has already been informed of your
decision?”

Aurora smiled and nodded, thanking the man as he
left the room.

The newlyweds sat in stony silence until the banker
returned. Papers were duly signed and sealed and made legally
official. Lady Greville rose gracefully to her feet and proceeded
to shove her large husband determinedly out the door.

Levi handed his wife into a hack and climbed in
beside her, turning slightly to give her his full attention. His
face was set in grim lines, his arms crossed defensively over his
massive chest.

“
Explain,” he commanded
gruffly.

Aurora’s lips trembled as she looked away. Her
husband watched her, part of him wanting to reach out, the other
part—the dominant part—so flummoxed by her lack of trust that all
he could do was stare at her bonnet.

Another tear escaped and wound its lonely way down
her flushed cheek. It disappeared before it reached her chin but
not because she brushed it away. Levi’s hand had come under her
chin to gently turn her face toward him and his thumb caught the
tear.

“
Rory, love, why did you not tell
me?” he asked softly.

She wrenched her head out of his grasp and stared
determinedly out her window.

Levi dropped his hand and stared at his lovely wife.
There was something dreadfully wrong and she didn’t even trust him
enough to confide in him. She was one of the wealthiest heiresses
England had seen in a long time and she had told everyone that she
was poor. Why?

Then there was his discovery of last night. She had
not been a virgin. How he could have possibly mistaken her fear of
his discovering the truth for what he had thought was fear of the
unknown was completely beyond him. Now she was as closed as a clam
and refused to even look at him. And she was crying. Why the devil
was she crying?

The hack pulled up before their temporary residence
in Mayfair and Levi jumped down and turned to help his wife.
Instead of taking her hand, he placed both hands at her tiny waist
and lifted her down, setting her feet firmly on the cobbles of the
street. He held onto her for a second looking down at her bent
head.

The hack driver called out that he couldn’t sit
around all day, so Levi released his wife and dug a guinea out of
his pocket. He tossed it up to the jehu and ignored the amazed
exclamation of that man.

Levi turned just in time to see his wife disappear
into the house.

~~~~~

Aurora rushed up to her bedchamber and slammed the
door. She tossed her bonnet and pelisse across the room, kicked her
shoes in the same direction, and threw herself on the bed to
indulge in a childish bout of weeping.

After a few moments of drenching her pillow, Aurora
sat up. Her head swam at the sudden movement. A thought occurred to
her that made her brow furrow.

Why was Levi actually upset? Was he upset that she
had come to him impure? Or was he angered that she had lied?

His actions at the bank implied that it was the
dishonesty more than the impurity that was unacceptable. If that
was the case, she had more to answer for and by the time all was
said and done, he’d want nothing more to do with her. She bit down
on her lip until she tasted blood.

Several minutes later, her husband entered, closing
the door softly behind him. Had he slammed the door as she had,
Aurora would have felt better. His care was unnerving.

He didn’t shout at her as she’d expected. In fact,
he did the very last thing she expected. He sat beside her and
pulled her into his arms. She promptly burst into a fresh torrent
of misery, silently castigating herself for turning into such a
watering pot.

Levi held her for the better part of an hour while
she sobbed dismally into his cravat and waistcoat. He didn’t try to
make her speak, for which she was grateful. He just held her close
and told her over and over again that everything would be all
right.

Aurora’s tears finally dried and she lifted her head
with a weary sigh and looked at her husband. “I am sorry for
ruining your neckcloth, Levi. And it was a lovely waterfall,
too.”

“
Ironic, that.”

She released a watery chuckle and tugged nervously
at his cravat. Levi reached up and stopped her hands forcing her to
look him in the eye.

“
Are you ready to talk?” he asked
gently. “Or do you need more time?”

“
I need more time,” she whispered.
Her turquoise eyes filled with tears again and one slipped down her
cheek.

“
Oh, no, Aurora Greville, no more
of that,” her husband declared with a tiny smile hovering on his
lips. He brushed the offending tear away. “You have cried for an
hour. That is your limit for this week. No more.”

A watery giggle escaped as she forced the tears
back. She stared up into his dark brown eyes and her giggles
ceased. She placed one small hand against his cheek and whispered,
“Make love to me, Levi.”

His eyes widened. “Now?”

She nodded silently. Levi gazed into her eyes and
she resisted the urge to look away from his probing stare. She
could only imagine what he saw, what emotions were written all over
her features.

Whatever he saw, it was enough. He leaned forward
and kissed her.

Holding her tight in the aftermath, when
Aurora drowsed in that state between waking and dreaming, Levi put
his lips against her ear and whispered, “I love you, Aurora.”

*

“
Rhiannon, darling, come back
here!”

Aurora followed after the child, marveling at how
their lives had changed in a few short weeks. Since arriving in
London, Aurora had met, fallen in love, and married the man of her
dreams. He was strong and capable, funny and loving, and already so
devoted to Rhiannon, as if she were his own relation.

Aurora wished desperately that she could find the
courage to tell him the truth.

Rhiannon kept running away, then stopped, turned,
and started running back to Aurora. Aurora smiled as she watched
her daughter’s radiant face. If only…

Aurora glanced up at the sky and frowned.
None of
that. If only’s change nothing and effectively bring on the
megrims.

“
Ory, it’s him!”

Aurora’s head whipped around just in time to see a
man dart from the trees and snatch Rhiannon mid-flight. The newly
made Countess of Greville recognized the man who had given Rhiannon
the doll a week ago. Her heart stopped beating as her daughter
released a frightened shriek. The man ran off into the trees and
Aurora dropped her parasol and reticule and, lifting her skirts,
gave chase.

Rhiannon screamed and Aurora ran, but it was all for
naught. The man was much bigger and much faster, disappearing
within moments.

She searched anyway. It was what her mind screamed
at her to do and so she did. Logic said the man was gone and it was
beyond her limited abilities to find him. What she needed was her
husband and maybe that disreputable friend of his.

She made her way home, her mind whirling in so many
directions that she couldn’t pin down any one thought. The only
thing that made any sort of sense was finding her husband.



“
Levi!”

The scream made servants all over the house in
Mayfair jump in alarm. Their mistress had never once raised her
voice. Not like that. Her scream was enough to wake the dead.

The Earl of Greville was not dead. He nearly leapt
from his chair at the piercing shout. He did drop the book he was
holding and somehow managed to hit Derringer with it.

“
Devil! Are you trying to kill
me?”

“
I do believe my wife is returned
from her walk,” Levi muttered. He paused and glanced at the duke.
“Apologies, Hart. I’ll be sure to aim higher next time. I am quite
sure that being hit in the foot will not kill a man.”

Rising, the gentlemen left the study to investigate
the unexplained contretemps in the foyer. Levi was not surprised to
see his wife was the cause since he had, of course, heard her shout
mere seconds prior. He was not, however, expecting to see his bride
looking as though she’d been dragged backward through a briar
patch.