The Wolf of Winterthorne: Scandalous Secrets, Book 4 (31 page)

“They were always so joyful,” Logan noted. “Your parents loved each other.”

“We have found such a love. I believe they would be blissful for us.” Her adoring gaze met his.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Logan fumbled with the clasp as he secured the chain around his wife’s neck.

The locket rested above her bosom as she kissed him once again. “Thank you. For being such a romantic. For being kind and brave. For being such a wonder.”

Logan had never seen himself the way his wife did. He had no idea he possessed such traits.

“You doubt me?” she tipped her head to the side. “Logan Ambrose, you must never underestimate me, for I have learned several things about myself since my first night at Winterthorne. Remember my mental journal?”

“Do tell,” he teased, snuggling closer to her warmth.

“I am strong and, putting aside the fact that I allowed my twin sister to best me, I am intelligent.” She toyed with her locket. “The fact that you kept this proves you are a romantic. The way you treated my father proves that you are kind, as does the fact that you allowed me to be in control just now, when you are well aware that I do not command much in my life because of my sister’s deceit. As for your bravery, well that speaks for itself. From your days as a chimney sweep to today, when you are willing to sacrifice your own life to protect me…”

Logan’s hand stilled in the process of caressing the hollow of her neck.

She studied him, his reaction, before smoothing his brow. “You didn’t think that I understood your intentions?”

“It is how I feel. I never considered that it would matter.” He kissed her shoulder.

“Of course it matters, however I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself for me. We will fight whatever comes our way together. I will fight for us, because I am strong. I am a survivor.”

A survivor.

Logan and his wife had that in common. Each was a survivor. Surely, that was in their favor.

With his intricate plans, danger would follow.

They would require each other’s protection.

“My life couldn’t be in better hands, Mrs. Ambrose,” Logan tipped her chin. “I mean that. Truly.”

Arabella shot him a wry grin. “I know and I feel the same about you. So, when are you going to tell me about your plan to defeat my sister?”

Expelling a deep breath, Logan’s previous euphoria was now replaced with a deep-rooted anxiety. Grabbing hold of his heart, seizing it, wrapping tight tentacles of dread around it until he thought it might burst.

For the first time, Logan wondered if it were better to have kept his heart barricaded. Would he be more ruthless? Would he have sensed Sybil’s London charade before Arabella was caught completely unawares?

“Sybil hasn’t succeeded because you love me,” Bella’s intense stare sent a chill through Logan’s spine.

Like little pinpricks, the feeling intensified until he wondered if some random needles were stabbing his spine.

How did she suspect what he was thinking?

“You are questioning if you can become the mercenary you once were when you now love me.”

Her monotone assessment wasn’t entirely accurate.

“True, I have questioned whether I should have suspected your sister’s true intentions but, no, I don’t doubt whether I can become that mercenary again. He and I are one and the same, love,” Logan caressed her shoulder in small circles. Repeating the shapes, a never-ending cycle. “I question whether you will still love me once you catch a tiny glimpse of what I am capable of.”

“Not only will I still love you, I will love you more,” Arabella’s eyes locked with his. “Our only course of action is to outfox Sybil. We must outmaneuver her and everyone she has crossed. We have no choice for it is our survival or hers. You and I both know it. Our survival is essential, as is that of our friends, our extended family. Colin, Eve, Victoria and their families are in danger. Sybil saw us attending the opera with them – she will suspect that they are privy to her secrets.”

“I know. It is all I can think of. I have placed them in danger.” Logan raked his hands through his hair.

Arabella shook her head. “No. They were aware of the risks. They were brave for us. Now, we must shield them from harm.”

His wife was correct.

It was life and death again.

For Logan, his bride and all they loved.

That is what made Logan a mercenary – his ability to survive when it came down to life and death decisions.

His family was all that mattered now.

Arabella and … it was possible Arabella could be carrying their child. It may not be probable but there was a possibility. Their family was in danger. So was Colin’s family. And Victoria’s family.

All of them, all their lives hung in the balance.

Though Logan excelled in these high risk situations, he was a realist. He acquired his wealth following the death of someone close to him, someone who trusted him, someone who believed in him.

His family, his friends, trusted him as well. What were the odds that all of them would survive this current danger unscathed?

Arabella. Colin, Eve and their daughter. Fiona. Victoria, Tristan and their children.

So many people to protect.

So many people in danger.

Perhaps, love doesn’t make one weak but instead makes you strong? Because one has so much to lose.

He repeated the list again.
Arabella. Colin, Eve and their daughter. Fiona. Victoria, Tristan and their children.
All were family and friends. People who he cared about, people he must be strong for, be brave for.

Logan refused to lose anyone else he cared for.

Not now.

Not again.

He would defeat Sybil because he was a cold-hearted mercenary. He would review his plans because their flawless execution was imperative.

Whenever doubts arose, Logan would douse them by reciting his list of those he loved.

Arabella. Colin, Eve and their daughter. Fiona. Victoria, Tristan and their children.

All would survive.

Because Logan refused to consider the alternative, and because Sybil knew not what he was capable of.

Allow her think she has won the battle, allow her to become complacent, then cause her to doubt herself. Arthur would aid on that front, publicly toying with Sybil while remaining anonymous. At the precise moment when Sybil has sunk to rock bottom, Logan would strike.

Sybil would walk straight into his trap.

Because, unlike Logan, she knew nothing about love. Odd, since she grew up in an adoring family. Perhaps that is what separated him from Sybil?

While she discarded the love offered to her, Logan cherished such emotion.

Love … a precious gift.

He knew nothing of it until Arabella.

Now he would never let it go.

Yes, Logan would fight for the lives of everyone he cares for. He would fight for their futures because they mattered more than Sybil did.

Again, he silently ticked off the list of those he loved. All will survive Sybil Sutton. Even if Logan had to kill the monster himself.

Because he had everything to lose.

Logan refused to allow Sybil to steal one more moment away from him, let alone one more person he loved.

W
interthorne was brimming with activity. Servants prepared the estate for its public debut while Logan and Arabella worked with their guests to fortify their intricate ruse to systematically destroy Sybil.

Arabella often wondered how she could be so accepting of such a plan. Sybil was her twin after all. Nevertheless, whenever Arabella recalled her sister’s misdeeds, she felt no guilt about the events to come. Because Sybil had been in complete control of her own destiny.

Oh, how, Arabella wished she had been offered such a choice. Instead, Sybil had chosen to betray her own sister for the fleeting promise of fame and fortune.

She had sentenced Arabella to death.

In return, a public fall from grace was the least Sybil deserved. Yes, she belonged in prison and that was indeed a possibility, as was the fact that Sybil could die. Someone wanted her dead once. Why not again?

Why not, indeed?

As cold-hearted as that may sound to some, Bella recognized that her sister had made a choice.

So had Arabella.

Bella chose her life with Logan. In truth, it was not a difficult choice for Logan was her family far more than Sybil had ever been.

Blood truly doesn’t bind people. Bella learned that lesson the hard way, when Sybil implicated her in a crime she didn’t commit.

Sentenced to death by her own twin.

She and Sybil’s blood ties mattered not. The seas could bleed their crimson blood and still Bella would make the same choice. To choose the family she had with Logan, to choose their friends. To save them all from her sister’s deadly machinations.

It was all about choice.

Each twin had made her own.

Now it was time to execute the confrontation.

“Please repeat that one more time,” Tristan said, staring at a large drawing of Winterthorne’s interior, which was currently laid out on the lengthy dining room table.

“Tunnels run behind these walls,” Logan pointed at the yellowing map, the guts of the ominous estate fading into the discolored paper.

“Do we even know how old this configuration is?” Colin tapped the drawing. “How do we know this is accurate? I think we must map the tunnels ourselves.”

“You don’t trust the drawings?” Eve furrowed her brow.

“Think of how many generations have resided here,” Victoria chimed in. “How many tunnels, exits, entrances have been added or sealed? Colin is right. We have no choice but to do so ourselves. We cannot leave anything to chance.”

Arabella placed her hand on the small of Logan’s back. “I concur. Leave nothing to chance.”

“Agreed. We cannot afford for anything to go wrong.” Logan kissed his wife’s head. “Shall we travel in pairs?”

Tristan nodded. “Victoria remains here – she can sketch a new map for us.”

“It must be a large map. I doubt we have the paper.” Arthur spoke at long last. An imposing figure, he was well versed in silence, at brooding in the corner, and speaking only when addressed or when he felt it was imperative.

Victoria laughed, surveying the far wall.

All heads snapped towards her.

“What is so amusing?” Eve asked her sister-in-law through narrowed eyes, as if assessing whether Victoria had gone stark raving mad.

“Logan is about to acquire a mural and a rather large one at that,” Victoria motioned to the tapestry hanging on the far wall. “Arthur may I ask you to remove the décor on the wall against which you lean?”

Arthur acquiesced in silence, immediately doing as bid.

The pairs would consist of Logan and Arabella, Colin and Eve, and Tristan and Arthur.

“Shall the women change into something more appropriate?” Logan suggested.

“Yes, we mustn’t muss our gowns,” Eve teased as Colin escorted her to their rooms.

Arabella’s gaze turned towards her husband. “Care to escort me?”

He grinned. “Always.”

As they were about to exit, she heard Tristan say to Arthur, “Let us get started.”

Tristan kissed his wife, who wrapped her arms around his neck. “Be careful.”

“Darling, this is highly improper. What will Arthur think of you hanging on me like this?” Tristan arched his brown brow.

Victoria tipped her head to the side. “Arthur, close your eyes please.”

Arthur turned to face the wall, granting them complete privacy.

Laughing, Victoria teased her husband. “If ever I was planning a kidnapping, Arthur is the man I would use as my accomplice. No offense, dear Arthur.”

“None taken, my Lady,” Arthur bowed toward the wall.

Tristan embraced his wife. “I shall remember that if
I
ever have need to kidnap someone.”

“I am retired,” Arthur coughed in his hand.