Wicked Deception (7 page)

What in the bloody hell was the man
waiting for? She had an itch to scratch. Dartmouth disgusted her.
She slid the last note out of her drawer and reread it before she
went to toss it in the fire. It wouldn’t do at all for Dartmouth to
find her latest sonnets and prose.

She smiled, closing her eyes as her
lips moved to repeat each phrase he used to describe her once more,
growing heated and agitated to realize she hadn’t had a good
fucking since the last time she shared Nicholas’s bed.

Lord Farwell’s whining during his opium
hazes left her cold before her arrest. Christian leaving her for
Paris when he thought Gabriel dead left her without a lover for the
first time in years. The burly guard at the prison was too
primitive. She was growing bold enough to invite the man who wrote
the notes out here to the country after Dartmouth left, finding no
men in the village left to her liking.

Even his stable hands lacked her
precise personal standards. She thought of Brian O’Neil and she
chuckled wickedly, thinking of his endowments and his reaction if
he knew she lived. His proclamation she was evil the last day she
saw him came to mind.

She hummed as she completed
her toilette
. Evilly
clever
, she corrected and thought herself
brilliant as she rummaged through Lady Dartmouth’s drawers and
found jewelry to complement her ensemble. She never asked Dartmouth
about his wife, sensing rather appropriately he wouldn’t tell
her.

None had seen the woman out in society
in years. She lived on Dartmouth’s estate in Wales. She was Lord
Rudd’s half-sister, Eunice. Eunice refused to have anything to do
with her older brother after her marriage. The estrangement between
the siblings made one wonder, considering her husband and
brother-in-law’s close friendship.

She frowned as she looked through more
drawers and almost exclaimed aloud when she found a delightful
broach. Wherever the lady was, she had very good taste in
jewels.

~ ~ ~

Aidan Oran Van Ryker was a delightful
baby. Unlike his temperamental older brother who still didn’t sleep
through the night, he was an angel from the start. He was three
weeks old now, and Catherine had to admit she’d fallen in love with
her infant son. Nicholas complained she’d thrown him and Devlin
over for a much younger man in mock anguish as he watched her
worship his youngest son.

Catherine couldn’t help herself, being
denied Giles for so long she made it up to her other sons. Aidan
slept like a rock from the first, delighting her that he allowed
her to sleep, while her other son and daughter screamed their heads
off.

She was dressing her newest son when
she found the birthmark upon his buttock. Her hand froze. She
stared at it, proof for once that Brionne was indeed Nicholas’s
daughter. Her husband had the same mark, as well as his daughter.
Now Aidan bore that mark.

Knowing the truth at last gave her a
faint feeling of sadness. There was no going back. The man from her
past would never forgive this, she knew. Gabriel would hate them
both if he discovered the tryst his mistress and best friend had
briefly before she disappeared.

Gabriel would condemn them both with
his piercing dark eyes if he knew who fathered her daughter. He
would refuse to let her see her son Giles. The torment of this lie
hung over her head, reminding her of the past and how different
she’d been then, how desperate.

She loved Gabriel too much to tell him
the truth, fearful to see the condemnation in his eyes. She paid
for it now, her daughter thought to be one of her husband’s
bastards he foisted upon her under her nose.

They agreed to say nothing when Gabriel
allowed her to see her son again. Nicholas warned his friend would
punish them both if he knew they’d been lovers before she was
kidnapped by Lilly. He wouldn’t understand, even then, how she
could’ve been drawn to Nicholas while in love with him.

Catherine never understood it herself.
Her heart had always been conflicted where both men were concerned.
She adored her husband, but in the farthest regions of her soul
burned a need for Gabriel too. It scared her to realize it. She
panicked to know it. She fought against it. Every day she went to
see her son; her eyes burned to see his father.

Gabriel was a gentleman and never
pushed the issue. It disturbed her to know she would have liked him
to. She faced the knowledge with a sense of self-loathing, feeling
unworthy of her husband’s love. Nicholas allowed the visits and
trusted her. If he knew each day with Gabriel brought the past more
to the surface, he would have balked to allow it.

Just thinking of Gabriel gave her a
fluttering feeling in her middle, flashes of the past and his
smoldering passion making her wince at her reaction. Though she
couldn’t recall in vivid detail each moment, her dreams were
plagued with their time together.

She would have to face these feelings.
Ignoring them proved to be pointless. Fear these constant reminders
of how she once felt jeopardized her life with Nicholas made her
seek to avoid dealing with the past.

Still, those dark eyes followed her,
offering her answers she refused to pose questions to. They
maintained a cordial friendship but under it all simmered a need
for more. She was uncomfortable with the way her eyes lingered upon
his lips, his hands, and followed his tall, powerful form when she
thought him unaware.

Nicholas wouldn’t understand. She
didn’t even understand. She resented the hold Gabriel held over her
now, without their son. The secrets of the past would always keep
them apart. The pain of it held her tongue. No good would come of
such longings, yet ignoring them made them intensify to the point
she faced the truth. She wanted Gabriel.

It was more than mere desire at work.
He satisfied some part of her Nicholas didn’t. She was sane enough
to know she couldn’t have the best of both. She’d made her choice
long ago to stay with her husband.

Still, the dreams gave her an outlet
where she was free to explore, Gabriel joining her there. Waking in
the morning, a flush would come over her to know she sinned quite
thoroughly with her former protector in her sleep. She told herself
she didn’t betray her husband in this, but a voice in the back of
her mind taunted it was inevitable. She sighed and pushed these
thoughts away.

They left for London in a week and she
was eager to get back home. She would miss her childhood home,
knowing the beauty and peace of this place was what brought her
husband back to her finally. She returned her son to his cradle and
sought out Brian in the stables.

He didn’t hear her approach as he spoke
with the grooms in the main stable. Cyrion’s Pride had exceeded all
their expectations. Jaime wouldn’t have to worry about his
inheritance. The four-year old stallion was sought by every
landowner in Ireland and beyond for stud service. The fees alone
would carry the estate.

It was ironic they had the means to
save themselves all along, considering that worry alone propelled
her to London to seek out their guardian. She had no regrets
because she wouldn’t have Nicholas or her children, but fate was a
troublesome factor in all of what transpired then.

Brian dismissed the men and turned,
grinning as he saw her. “Lady Cat, ye’d be proud to know our boy is
on his way to Scotland now to the royal stables there.”

“
Oh Brian, that’s wonderful
news!” she cried and went to the stall to feast her eyes upon the
huge black stallion, tears in her eyes. “Father would have been so
proud. I never doubted in a minute we’d succeed.”

Brian frowned. “Ye should have listened
to me then, Lady Cat. I told ye we had nothin’ to worry about.
”

Catherine grimaced. “You were right.
Cyrion’s Pride would’ve carried us. I know that now.”

“
Your husband is a fine man,
Lady Cat.”

She smiled and turned to regard her
steward with a look of amusement. “Nicholas would argue with you
there. I’m happier than I ever thought to be. I don’t know what I
would do without him.”

“
He said ye leave for the
islands at year’s end,” the steward replied in a gruff tone. “Ye’ll
be missed, Lady Cat.”

She looked at the steward in surprise.
Nicholas and she hadn’t discussed returning to their island home.
With all that happened, she assumed they would stay on in London
indefinitely. She felt a pang of sorrow to think of leaving Giles.
Gabriel wouldn’t let her take her son. She would have to leave him
behind. Anger coursed through her to know her husband very much
decided matters without consulting her.

“
That’s six months away,”
she returned and avoided his knowing brown eyes. “Much can happen
between now and then.”

“
Will Lord Jaime and Master
Cullen be goin’ with you then?”

“
Lord Iverleigh is their
guardian. They’re on holiday from Eton now. He would never allow
them to go with me.”

Brian looked angry at this. “Now that
you’re married; the man should mind his own affairs, I’m
thinkin’.”

“
Let it go, Brian,” she
soothed. “I’ve had this argument with him. The boys remain in his
care until they reach their majority.”

“
It ain’t right!” the
steward raged and glared at her. “Yer Da would roll over in his
grave to know his son is being raised by a damned
Englishman!”

“
My father chose Gabriel as
our guardian, Brian,” she pointed out and sighed. “He’s taking his
role very seriously now. The boys both like and respect him. I see
no need to argue the matter.”

Brian joined her at the stall and
reached out to pat the horse’s silky black nose. “I’m thinkin’ it’s
time we tracked down your Uncles, Lady Cat. I been sittin’ on my
hands every since we found out you lived.”

Catherine nodded. “They need to be
contacted. I didn’t write to them before I left here after father
and mother died. We’ll see if they come back to see to their
nephews. I can do nothing. I tow a fine line with Lord Iverleigh as
it is.”

Brian thought of her eldest son being
denied her and felt a fresh wave of outrage. The Earl held the boy
over her head, keeping her dancing to his tune. It disgusted him to
no end to know nothing could be done. Nicholas more or less told
him the situation. Knowing the law was on the man’s side didn’t
make him have fond thoughts of Iverleigh at all.

“
Lord Aidan and Lord Devlin
won’t stand for this, Lady Cat, mark my words.”

She smiled and agreed. Her Uncles would
have a fit when they learned Lord Iverleigh was entrusted with the
boy’s care. Her father was angry at his younger brothers for
leaving Dunleavy six months apart, going to America to gain their
fortunes. Or, knowing how wily her father was; it was done to reel
them back into the fold eventually. Her father couldn’t have known
of how he and his wife would meet their tragic end when he made the
distinction in his will, dated only months before their
deaths.

“
Time will tell, Brian. I’ll
write to them at once,” she said and stepped down from the stall
door. “I last heard the pair of them settled in New York. Who can
say now? That was over four years ago.”

Brian refused to think the situation
was hopeless. “Ye must try, Lady Cat. Lord Jaime and Master Cullen
belong here at Dunleavy Hall not some snooty school in
England.”

She chuckled, knowing the steward was
infuriated by that the most. She left him to find her husband.
Nicholas was wandering around the house and grounds, making himself
at home. Her husband was a bit put off by the courtesy he received
from the staff. They treated him like they would a noble. He wasn’t
used to such deference and joked of it often. No, her husband was a
commoner to the core. He fetched his own brandy and refused to hire
a valet for his stay here.

Catherine entered the house and found
him in her father’s study, walking around and looking at miniature
portraits of her and her family on the walls. He looked over when
she entered and her breath caught at how handsome he
looked.

Cook’s amazing prowess in the kitchens
restored her husband and he filled out since he arrived. She cursed
the weeks they must wait to have relations. He made her blood boil
with a look from those bright blue eyes.

“
That was painted when I was
four,” she noted when she saw him staring at a painting of her on
the wall. “My mother had to hold me still for it.”

Nicholas smiled at her returned memory
of it. “I can’t get over the likeness between you and your mother,
my love. She is blonde, but you’re identical in looks.”

Catherine smiled. “Thank you for that.
She was quite beautiful. My father worshiped her.”

“
As I do you,” he informed
her when she sidled up next to him, slid an arm about her waist. “I
promise you that all will work out. You needn’t worry so
much.”

She frowned and looked up at him. “When
did you plan to tell me we leave at year’s end for St. Bart’s? I
have no understanding from Gabriel yet.”

Nicholas knew an argument was brewing
in the look he received from his wife. “He’ll not give you your
son, Catherine. He uses the boy to keep you here. I know it hurts
you to leave Giles, but we can’t remain here indefinitely. You knew
this.”