Deceive Not My Heart (14 page)

Leonie hadn't known what she was going to do with her few minutes of privacy with the monsieur, but it gained her a moment to think. Her thoughts were not pleasant, and deciding that the only way she could escape this marriage was for Monsieur Slade to withdraw his offer, Leonie swung in Ashley's direction and burst out, "Monsieur, I mean you no insult, but I have no wish whatsoever to marry you!" Her eyes very big and pleading, she begged, "Could you please tell my
grand-pere
that you do not think we will suit, after all? Please? It is very important to me."

Rather thoughtfully, Ashley regarded her. It was apparent she was not the docile creature her grandfather had led him to believe. It was also apparent the grandfather held some threat over her. Now, how might he make that work for himself? Wishing to know more about the situation and playing for time in the process, he asked bluntly, "Are you in love with someone else? Someone your grandfather does not approve of?"

Leonie let a small smile flit across her face.
"Non,
monsieur, I just do not wish to marry." Anxiously she added, "You do understand?"

Ashley didn't, but he relaxed slightly. At least there wasn't some annoying puppy in the picture, he thought slowly. And if the chit was telling the truth and it was a case of her simply resisting the idea of marriage, it was possible he could still get his hands on the gold. A coaxing note in his voice he said, "I would make no demands upon you, my dear. Your life would change hardly at all. Why, the only difference would be that you would have my name and I would have your dowry." Seeing that he had her attention and that she appeared to be actually considering what he was saying, he expanded further, "It would truly be a marriage of convenience between us. You could live here in Louisiana, and I would spend my time in Natchez. It would be a strictly business arrangement."

The expression in the cat-shaped eyes thoughtful, Leonie asked, "Why marry at all then?"

Realizing that a certain amount of honesty has its uses, Ashley took a gamble and admitted blandly, "Well, you see, I don't really wish to marry either."

"Then why offer for me?" she asked reasonably. And as Ashley hesitated, cursing her forthright manner, her eyes suddenly widened with sympathy, and with a note of awe in her voice, she inquired, "Are
you,
too, being forced to marry?"

Seizing upon the reason offered by her innocent question and playing upon the sympathy evident in the small face, Ashley contrived to look both embarrassed and appealing as he muttered, "That's exactly the case, my dear! My father has cut me off without any funds until I return to Natchez with a bride."

"But
if
we do not live together, how will marrying me satisfy him?"

Hurrying to cover the mistake, he rushed, "Well, actually I don't have to precisely present you to him, just inform him that I have married... and a copy of the marriage certificate would be sufficient." He smiled conspiratorially, "He never said anything about having to
live
with my bride... just that I
acquire
one."

"And you find
me
suitable?" Leonie asked in a dry voice.

"Why not?" Ashley returned easily. "You have a commendable dowry, and"—he let his eyes glow with appreciation and just a hint of desire—"I find you very beautiful. I must admit it was your availability and your dowry that first interested me, but having met you and seen your loveliness, I find that I—"

Leonie snorted in the face of his compliments. "Bah! Monsieur, I liked you better when you were honest. Do not, I beg you, talk foolishness!"

His face hardening, Ashley crushed the urge to slap her. Little bitch! Who did she think she was, snubbing him that way? Growing angry with the situation, feeling that Claude had entirely misled him about the
docility
of his granddaughter and furious at the thought of the gold slipping through his fingers, he snapped pettily, "Then, what do
you
suggest?"

For a moment Leonie hesitated, the barest glimmer of an idea coming to her. It might work, provided this Monsieur Slade meant everything he had said so far. Deciding she had nothing to lose and a great deal to gain, she said slowly, "Monsieur, neither of us wishes to marry... but for various reasons it would be to our advantage to do so,
oui?"

Ashley's eyes narrowed in speculation and he nodded.

"Then, monsieur, I propose a bargain to you. We will marry as my
grand-pere
wishes, but—" and she held up her hand at Ashley's broad smile—"it will be a true marriage of convenience." The little face suddenly grim and haunted, she said, "You must promise me that you will make
no
demands upon me whatsoever, and that we will live
separately,
as you said earlier."

Ashley shrugged his shoulders. Why not? What did it matter to him? One week from today he had every intention of sailing for England... if he got his hands on the gold. Aloud he agreed, "But of course, my dear. As soon as we are wedded, I will return immediately to Natchez to inform my father." His brain leaping, he added, "We will tell your grandfather that my journey up river to Natchez is to prepare for the arrival of my bride. For his information, we will say I plan to return in the shortest possible time to fetch you. How does that sound to you?"

Leonie sent him an approving smile, tamping down the faint hint of guilt she felt in deceiving her grandfather.
"Bon!
That would do very well, I think." Her gaze suddenly uncertain, she began slowly, "Monsieur, this is a difficult subject for me, but it is one I feel I must discuss with you." At Ashley's encouraging look, she took a deep breath and said with an embarrassed but determined rush, "I will have need of my dowry eventually, and I do not believe it is fair that, for merely lending me your name, you should keep it forever. After all, you are a rich young man, and you have as much need of me as I have of you. Why should you keep my dowry too?"

His feeling of smug satisfaction fading once more, and not liking this turn of events, he demanded, "What exactly do you suggest?"

Leonie frowned, trying to figure out a scrupulously fair bargain. "I suggest, monsieur, that you consider the dowry a
loan.
You may have it for a certain period of time, but at the end of that time, you will repay me,
oui?"
And at the balky look on Ashley's face, she continued, "It is only fair—I will make no demands upon you, and you will have the use of the money for the time being." Leonie felt she had offered him a more than fair exchange. She didn't believe he should have her dowry at all, but then she acknowledged that he was going to provide her with an escape from
grand-pere's
edict and she was willing to pay him for his troubles. Granted, he was also gaining, but knowing he could have the choice of any number of young women, she wished to make the bargain as appealing as possible.

Ashley nodded as she finished speaking, smiling cynically to himself. Stupid bitch! Did she really think he would return the money?

But Leonie was not stupid, and after sending Ashley a long thoughtful look, she said with deceptive sweetness, "And you will, of course, be willing to sign an agreement that states all of these things? Yes?"

Ashley nearly choked in surprise. The little slut did have some brains! But it didn't make him like her any better, and if he hadn't wanted that gold so damned badly, he would have stalked from the room and left her to whistle for a husband—but the gold was too alluring! Infuriated but resigned, he murmured, "Naturally," adding pompously, "It is what any honorable man would do."

"Bien!
It is decided. When my
grand-pere
returns, we can tell him that we are both agreeable to this match." She sent him a searching glance and added, "It will be up to you to see a lawyer and have him draw up the agreements between us. And, monsieur, do not think that if the agreements do not set out precisely everything we have discussed, I will go along with this marriage. I will not, and you should know... I
keep
my word!"

His palm itching to slap her soft cheek, Ashley nodded curtly. "Of course. I shall see a lawyer tomorrow."

Leonie did not like the note in his voice, and risking a glance at the dark face with the hard blue eyes, she was suddenly very glad she was not going to share a normal marriage with Monsieur Slade. She did not like him, but he offered her the one chance to circumvent her grandfather's demand.

When Claude entered the room a moment or two later, he discovered to his surprise that Leonie and Monsieur Slade were quite in charity with each other. Feeling a weight lift off his chest, he suggested another round of toasts and allowed Leonie to have a glass of sherry, so that the three of them could drink to the engagement.

Leaving the house shortly thereafter, Ashley was feeling pleased. What did it matter what he agreed to? It was Morgan's name that would be on all documents, and Ashley smiled nastily. By the time Monsieur Saint-Andre grew suspicious of Leonie's excuses for her husband's extended return to Natchez, or that little bitch decided to call in the loan, he would be in England, and there would be no one to connect him with what he considered his cleverest scheme to date.

There were pitfalls ahead, even Ashley in his smugness admitted that. He had to make certain Morgan's unexpected appearance in New Orleans didn't upset the boat too soon, and for a moment, in the privacy of his room on Rampart Street, he considered that aspect of the situation.

Morgan was obviously in the vicinity of New Orleans. But his cousin had just as obviously changed his place of residence without informing Monsieur Saint-Andre. It had been a mere chance meeting between Morgan and Saint-Andre in the first place and Morgan might not even still be in the city. Ever a gambler, Ashley decided he would take the risk of Morgan suddenly finding himself in Monsieur Saint-Andre's company. Besides, it might prove amusing to watch Morgan try to extricate himself from this entanglement.

The next obstacle was the marriage itself. He could wait no longer than Thursday for the ceremony and he had to convince Saint-Andre to approve of such indecent haste.

The agreements didn't worry him. He would have agreed to anything Leonie demanded, simply because he had no intention of keeping his word. It was Morgan's name that would appear on everything and thinking of that, Ashley decided that on the morrow he would purchase quill and ink and spend a few hours perfecting the excellent imitation of Morgan's hand, which he had used before for his own gain.

The wedding night was the one problem he hadn't resolved. Surely Leonie must know that her grandfather would insist the newlyweds spend
one
night together. It was unthinkable, even Ashley conceded, that he depart out of his bride's life immediately following the ceremony.

This had also occurred to Leonie. So when Monsieur Slade dined at their house on Sunday night, she snatched a moment alone with him and suggested that he tell her
grand-pere
that they wished to spend their first night together in one of the finer hotels in New Orleans. Separate rooms, naturally! Blandly, Ashley agreed.

Luck seemed to be smiling on Ashley, because even his greatest worry, the need for the wedding to take place almost immediately, was taken care of by Monsieur Saint-Andre himself.

Claude, full of brandy and elation, had gone to bed late that night of the engagement. The next morning, he had experienced an agonized clawing of heart—his breathing was suddenly, frighteningly labored, his chest was filled with unbearable pain, and the objects in the room were moving in a black haze. This mortal terror made him frantic to have the marriage take place. Explaining to Monsieur Slade what he had experienced, he begged that the other man understand his need for haste. He wanted to see Leonie married while he was still alive.

Nothing could have pleased Ashley more and he instantly suggested Thursday for the wedding. Claude was painfully grateful, thinking his grandson-in-law-to-be was a prince among fellows.

Ashley had the agreements between himself and Leonie drawn up and the evening before their wedding he managed to slip the signed and witnessed documents to her. He needed nothing from her, and as he was the one who'd had to agree to everything, it had been a simple task to accomplish.

With the agreements in her hands, Leonie felt a huge wave of relief sweep through her, for until now, she actually hadn't been certain that Monsieur Morgan would keep his word. It appeared he had and she was ashamed of any doubts she may have harbored against him. Events seemed to be moving at a frightening pace and despite a fierce little vow not to worry, Leonie had been doing just that. The feel of the two documents in her hands reassured her—until she read the one concerning repayment of her dowry... and
then
she was furious!

Ashley had faithfully had the document drawn up as they had agreed, but when Leonie had said the money would be his to use for a reasonable amount of time, she had been thinking of a year or so—not the
five
years stated in the document!

He had been very clever, she decided as she lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling. The wedding was the next day, so he must have known that she wasn't going to disrupt everything simply because the date the money due her was later than she had expected. But it showed he was not to be trusted, that he was quite capable of trickery, and with that in mind she slipped from her bed and walked through the sleeping house to her grandfather's study.

The study was seldom used these days, most of the furniture having been sold, but his huge old desk was still there and in the second drawer was the case that held his prized dueling pistols. Leonie had no real idea how to fire a pistol, but Monsieur Slade did not know that; if tomorrow night, when they were in their suites at the hotel, he thought to demand his conjugal rights, he would be very much surprised.