Deceive Not My Heart (61 page)

Leonie's forehead puckered in a tiny frown, her eyes fixed on his, she asked, "And he has done something that will affect us?"

Morgan smiled mirthlessly. "Oh, yes, I think you could safely say that his actions will most definitely affect us!" he admitted. Steeling himself, his body braced for a blow, Morgan said tautly, "Leonie, when you first appeared in Natchez and I denied ever having seen you before, I wasn't lying. I
hadn't
ever laid eyes on you before—you were a complete and utter stranger to me!"

Leonie's breath caught painfully in her throat, and her eyes widening with dismay and disbelief, she stared up at him. Was this a trick on his part? And why now, after he had paid the dowry? Or, and her heart seemed to freeze, was he telling the truth? Had he never seen her before? Had his cousin, Ashley... Her brain could not complete the thought, and she swallowed before saying in a small voice, "Would you please explain exactly what you mean?"

The watcher entered the scene just then, his ugly laughter shattering their intimacy. Moving his horse a few steps closer, Ashley said, "Well, if this isn't a pretty picture! I arrive this morning from France for the express purpose of finding my bride and what do I discover? My estimable cousin busy defaming my character to her! Not to mention taking reprehensible and unpardonable liberties with her person!"

There was a curious stillness about Morgan, and almost indolently he turned to look at his cousin. His voice cool and unmoved, he said, "Hello, Ash. Somehow I suspected you would show up." A dangerous overtone shading his words, he added, "A jackel usually returns to scavenge what it can."

Ashley's face darkened. Sneeringly, he returned, "Aren't the positions somewhat reversed? I never thought to see you nosing around my leavings."

Morgan regarded him thoughtfully for several long, unnerving minutes, and something in the dark blue eyes caused Ashley to move his horse back a short distance. Morgan smiled derisively at his actions, and with deceptive calm, he murmured, "That was a wise move, Ash. After all, you don't want me to kill you here and now, do you?"

Leonie, who had been staring at Ashley with numbing understanding and growing revulsion, unconsciously shivered at Morgan's words. But his presence didn't really intrude into the terrifying nightmare that she was having. Dazed, her eyes and attention remained riveted on the man who so resembled Morgan. She understood everything now, the truth of what must have happened six years ago erupting agonizingly through her body the moment she heard Ashley's hateful, drawling voice.

How could I have mistaken one for the other?
she thought dully, as she stared from Morgan to Ashley. And all the tiny inconsistencies that had puzzled her, the many differences she had unknowingly noticed were now glaringly apparent. Her heart frozen in her chest, she was oblivious to the deadly currents that swirled through the air between the two men. Slowly, almost blindly she moved away from Morgan, walking towards Ashley.

Standing next to his horse, she looked up at him, seeing clearly the weakness of his chin, the cruel thinness of his mouth, that were such direct opposites of Morgan's strong, powerful features. Huskily, her voice hardly above a whisper she got out difficultly, "I remember you. You were the one I met. You were the one who said he was Morgan Slade."

Ashley smiled wolfishly. "Not quite, my dear. I never
said
I was my cousin—you and your grandfather assumed I was. And I was the one who
did
marry you... you are
my
wife."

Leonie took a deep, painful breath and glanced back beseechingly at Morgan. Unaware of the note of pleading in her voice, she asked, "But if he married me under your name, if we thought he was you... would the marriage be valid?"

Ashley answered her. "I don't know if Morgan has checked out that little technicality, but before I left France, I did, and while it
is
a bit awkward, the marriage is valid. I am your husband, and as such I am in control of your person and fortune."

Leonie shrank back from him in revulsion. The sea-green eyes flashing with contempt, she spat, "Never! You are a foul beast, not even worthy enough to call yourself a man. And Morgan maligns the jackel when he compares it to you!"

Forgetting Morgan for the moment, Ashley glared at her and said furiously, "Why you little bitch! We'll just see how brave you are once I have you in France!"

"France?" Leonie shot back. "What makes you think I would go to France with you?"

Ashley's eyes suddenly glistened with greed. "I think for a fortune, you would. How does the title
comtesse
sound to you? It will be yours in France, along with all the great estates that belonged to your family.
That
is why you will come with me and why I have come to this godforsaken place in search of you!"

Morgan had begun to walk forward, but Ashley's remarks halted him in his tracks. A countess? Leonie?

As for Leonie, she looked up openmouthed at Ashley, unable to believe that he seriously thought she would go anywhere with him.

Ashley mistook her reaction and smiling arrogantly he said, "Yes, you may well stare! A fortune, my dear! And it is all ours, once we return to France."

Leonie took in a deep, furious breath, and her eyes nearly gold with molten rage, she snarled, "You contemptible blackguard! You trick my grandfather out of a fortune, you lie and deceive me, and you expect me to help you gain a fortune?" She snapped her fingers disdainfully almost under his nose. "Bah! That for your fortune! My home is here and what lies in France holds no appeal for me.

Ashley couldn't believe what he was hearing, and seeing the incredulous expression on his face, Morgan could have laughed out loud. His step forward had been an instinctive, protective movement, but listening to Leonie's spirited replies, he relaxed slightly.

Unable to believe what she had said, Ashley scowled at her. Stupid bitch! Whistle down a fortune, would she? Not if he could help it! And with that thought in mind, he suddenly spurred his horse forward and reached out for Leonie's arm.

His brutal clasp bruising her soft flesh, the dark-blue eyes narrowed and mean beneath his heavy black brows, Ashley growled, "We'll just see about that! You're coming with me! No one is going to stop me from claiming that fortune!"

The instant Ashley's horse had moved, Morgan too was in motion, and with a lightning action, his hand found the small pistol in his vest and in an implacable voice, he said, "Loose her, Ash. Loose her
now,
or you're a dead man!"

Ashley's jaw tightened and for a brief second he hesitated, flashing a malevolent glance from Leonie to Morgan, and back again to Leonie. It was obvious he was weighing his chances.

Morgan took a few steps nearer, saying in a mild voice, "I wouldn't try it, if I were you... or have you forgotten what an excellent marksman I am. And at this distance, I could kill you easily." The blue eyes hard and icy, he added with dangerous calm, "I'd like to kill you, Ash. It would solve so many problems... I might give into temptation."

Ashley released Leonie's arm. His mouth thin with frustration and his eyes full with something ugly and deadly, he muttered, "You win this time, Morgan... but I'll be back. Remember she's
my
wife and the law is on my side."

"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Morgan returned cooly. "I wouldn't go to the law if I were you—there are questions of fraud and impersonation to be settled. I'm afraid you might find the officials here in New Orleans inclined to look askance at anything you might want to do concerning your rights as Leonie's husband."

Ashley's chest swelled with rage, and jerking his horse around, he snarled, "Think you've brought me to a standstill, do you? Well, think again,
cuz!
I'll best you yet!" And with that he spurred his horse and raced pell-mell down the road in the direction from which he had come.

Chapter 30

Most of what Ashley had snarled to Morgan had been sheer bravado, but by the time he made the journey back to New Orleans, he had begun to think he
would
best his cousin. He was, after all, married to the bitch, even if there was a question of fraud or impersonation. She
was
his wife and that should give him some sort of edge against his cousin.

Reaching the seedy waterfront tavern, where he had secured a room, he threw the reins of his rented horse to a surly servant. As he sat in his shabby room, he reviewed his situation. It had never occurred to him that the promise of a fortune would not bring Leonie to his side. He had also not thought that Morgan would be anywhere on the scene.

Morgan's presence had been a definite shock, but one that Ashley promptly recovered from—Morgan was an obstacle, yes, but it was the woman who interested him, not his cousin. And if Morgan proved to be too much of a problem—well, then, he would kill him.

Drinking what the tavern keeper had claimed was "good" whiskey, Ashley contemplated his next move. Obviously it wasn't going to be quite as simple as he had first thought to convince Leonie to come to France with him.

But Ashley was not easily deterred, and despite his defeat, after a few more glasses of whiskey, he had convinced himself that while Morgan may have won the first skirmish,
he
would win the war!

The key to the entire situation was Leonie. He had handled her badly, he realized. He shouldn't have been so forward. No, that wasn't the way with his dear little wife. An apology should have come first, he decided. He should have apologized for taking advantage of her and for his impersonation. Softened her up a bit, acted ashamed for his behavior, aroused her sympathy with a heartrending tale. Then he could have brought into play his easy charm and wooed her into compliance.

Ashley had mixed emotions about Morgan's presence on the scene. One part of him would have been happier if his cousin wasn't around—it would have made things so much simpler. But on the other hand, the opportunity to avenge himself on Morgan for destroying the profitable agreement he'd had with the French had presented itself. Ashley's lips curved in a cruel smile.

With an effort he wrenched his thoughts away from revenge and concentrated on Leonie. And as the hour grew late, Ashley became positive that the sheer size of the fortune waiting in France would give him a much needed advantage.
No one,
he thought incredulously, would let an inheritance of that magnitude go begging.

By the time he went to bed, he had come to the conclusion that it was imperative that he see Leonie again... alone. Once she understood just how much money was at stake, he was certain that, with the aid of his flattery, she would see reason. And if she didn't... His handsome face was suddenly ugly. If she didn't come willingly, she'd come as his captive.

His decision about Leonie made, Ashley's thoughts once again turned towards his cousin... and revenge. And remembering this afternoon's scene between Morgan and Leonie a malicious smile lit his face. By God, but it had been amusing to see his usually unshakable cousin struggling to tell the chit the truth! Damnation! He'd had given a pretty penny to have been around when Leonie first presented herself to Morgan's notice. His smile faded just a little. It would have better for his plans, naturally, if they hadn't met, and at first he dismissed Morgan's interest in Leonie as negligible. But then his eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered the expression on Morgan's face above the deadly pistol, and the air of tenderness that had surrounded the pair of them as they had stood near the little graveyard. Could it be, he wondered with astonishment, that his proper cousin had fallen in love? And with
his
wife? Ashley laughed out loud. What a jest, what a royal jest! And what a perfect revenge to snatch her out of Morgan's arms! Obviously, Morgan had been on the point of explaining the truth to her, and just as obviously from the impression of intimacy between them he had taken advantage of his position as her husband and bedded the wench. The bitch will claw his eyes out, Ashley thought with satisfaction. I'd wager my life on it!

* * *

Ashley would have lost his wager, although the urge to do exactly that had been Leonie's first inclination. She had stood like a small, frozen statue for a second, watching Ashley's diminishing figure, but the dust from his horse's hooves hadn't even settled before she had rounded furiously on Morgan, her sea-green eyes spitting golden fire. "Have you enjoyed yourself?" she demanded, the pain of betrayal knifing through her. The fact that the despicable creature who had just ridden away was her real husband was agonizing enough to accept, but to know that Morgan had kept that knowledge from her, hurt even more. But she was also badly frightened. To know that she was legally married to Ashley Slade was devastating, as much because of his depraved character as the yawning, black chasm that opened without warning between her and Morgan. And because she was frightened and hurt, she lashed out at the nearest person, the one person she had been learning to trust but who had betrayed her. Wanting to wound him as deeply, as painfully as she had been, she shouted at him, "Answer me, damn you! Or are you a craven coward like your cousin?" Taking a few steps nearer to him, she exclaimed with self-derision, "How you must have laughed at me when I appeared demanding my dowry from you! Did you and your family snicker behind my back? And when the jest wore thin, when you had taken your fill of me, did you arrange for my"—the words froze in her throat, but with an effort she spat out—"my
husband
to arrive to take me away?"