Pleasure Me (44 page)

“My alibi?” Garrick frowned. Didn’t the man remember he didn’t have one? “Under the circumstances is that irrelevant?”

“It is now, but as I said we owe you an apology.” Inspector Cooper grimaced. “The officer on duty should have told you that the Lady Ruth claimed you were with her from approximately eight o’clock the night of Tremaine’s murder until the next morning.”

“What?” he exclaimed with stunned disbelief. Beside him, Lily clutched at his arm.

“Dear Lord,” she gasped with horror. “There won’t be a respectable house in London open to her.”

“Her butler confirmed her claim as well,” Cooper said quietly as he looked in Garrick’s direction. “It says a great deal about the lady’s character when she’s willing to sacrifice her reputation to save an innocent man.”

Garrick stared at the inspector in stunned silence. What the hell had possessed Ruth to lie to the police? Why the devil would she do such a thing? Guilt. That had to be the answer. In the back of his head, a small voice whispered a different explanation. He crushed the thought. He knew better than to even think she might be innocent. She’d been in Tremaine’s arms. There was no explanation for that. Inspector Cooper bowed slightly.

“I’ll leave you then.”

With that the policeman left Garrick and Lily standing in the office. He stood there staring after the man, still trying to grasp the reality of everything that had transpired in the last few minutes. When Lily touched his arm, he shrugged her hand off and returned to his desk. He sat down and reached for some bills that he’d not paid yet. It represented a normalcy about his world that was very unsettled at the moment. As he pulled out a ledger from the desk drawer, his gaze fell on the two-week-old copy of
Town Talk
.

“What are you going to do?” Lily asked quietly.

“Do? There’s nothing to do.” He met his sister’s gaze for a brief moment then returned his attention to the ledger.

“Don’t be a fool. You heard the inspector. The Lady Ruth didn’t tell the
Town Talk
about your condition. For heaven’s sake, she even saved you by providing you with an alibi, knowing she’d pay a high price for doing so. Is that the sign of a woman who would betray a man?”

“Let it go, Lily,” he muttered. “It’s over.”

“It’s not and you know it. But I’ll tell you what that behavior does signify. It says she loves you.” Startled, he jerked his head up to stare at his sister in amazement. She glared at him. “That’s right you muttonhead. She loves you. No woman in her right mind would have made a sacrifice like she did unless she was in love. And if you don’t go to her and beg her forgiveness for doubting her, well I . . . well, you’re not the man I think you are.”

With an angry flounce, Lily whirled around and stalked out of the office, leaving him staring after her. Was his sister right? Was it possible Ruth loved him? How could she when she’d betrayed him by running to Tremaine? He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as he recalled those dark moments in St. Agnes’s office.

Ruth had been so pale when he’d entered the office, and she’d looked horrified to see him. And then there had been that look of anguish in her eyes when he’d refused to pay Tremaine his coin. If she loved him, what would have possessed her to help Tremaine? He frowned. There was only one way to find out. He would have to ask her.

Ruth laughed as she splashed bathwater up over one of her youngest charges at Crawley Hall. At two years of age, Thad was already a charmer, and his cheeky grin had captured her heart the moment he’d toddled through St. Agnes’s front door with his hand locked in that of his big sister, Clara. The pair had been living off scraps of food for weeks since their mother had died, and she’d known she would bring them to Crawley Hall with her from the moment she’d first seen them. She rubbed soap on the washcloth she held, and smiled at Thad.

“No more arguing, Thaddeus Nelson,” she said in a voice she’d meant to be no-nonsense, which was anything but. “I’m going to wash behind those ears whether you like it or not.”

Thad shook his head and giggled, making it impossible for her not to laugh with him. Leaning forward, she glared at him fiercely. His eyes widened and she laughed as he folded his ears down so she could clean the dirt off him. Gently she washed his skin, and in another moment, she had the back of his dirty neck covered with soap bubbles.

“How in heaven’s name did you get so dirty, little man? You look like you’ve been rolling around in the stable yard again.”

She arched her eyebrow at him, and Thad just giggled before his small hands hit the water to send it flying all over the front of Ruth’s blouse. Laughing, she rinsed him off then lifted him from the tub and rubbed him dry with a large towel. The back of her neck tingled, and she absently reached up to rub her nape.

The moment she did so, she saw Thad’s gaze shift to a spot past her shoulder. She turned her head, and the sight of Garrick sent her reeling. At a loss for words, she just stared at him. With one shoulder pressing into the door frame, his nonchalance was that of a man accustomed to getting his way. He was devastating, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest as his vivid blue eyes met hers.

He looked just as handsome as the first time she’d seen him. Only today he looked leaner. Older. She swallowed the derisive laughter bubbling up in her throat. She was the older one. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. What was he doing here? Beside her, Thad stuck one hand out of his towel and tugged at her arm.

“Mama. Play.” The child’s demand interrupted Ruth’s preoccupation with Garrick’s presence, and she immediately turned back to Thad.

“No my darling. It’s time for supper.” She shook her head. “Let’s go get dressed, shall we?”

Her hand gripped the edge of the bathtub for leverage in standing when fire seared her middle as Garrick lifted her to her feet. His familiar scent wafted over her, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, remembering other times his hands had been wrapped around her waist. Moments when she’d been unbelievably happy. Reality set in, and she shuddered. This wasn’t the past.

“Thank you, my lord.”

She didn’t even send him a glance over her shoulder, but his fingers tightened at her waist for a brief instant before he released her. He had never liked it when she was so formal with him. With Thad’s hand in hers, she led the small boy from the bathroom, all too aware that Garrick was following.

What did he want? She knew Marston and Garrick’s uncle had been charged with Tremaine’s murder. She’d been relieved to read that in the paper, but beyond that, she’d refused to read the gossip columns or anything else that might have mention of Garrick. The thought of it had been too painful.

As they moved along the corridor toward the room Thad shared with several of the other younger children, she saw Dolores hurrying toward her. The older woman glared over her shoulder at Garrick.

“Simmons told me his lordship was here,” her friend said fiercely. “I thought you might need help with Thaddeus.”

So it hadn’t been Dolores who’d let Garrick have the run of the house. Never in a hundred years would she have guessed Simmons would let Garrick into the house. She frowned and nodded toward her old friend.

“Thad, go with Dolores.” She bent over to kiss the boy’s cheek. “I’ll tuck you in at bedtime.”

The boy smiled at her and nodded his head before he turned toward Dolores. As the child toddled away pulling her maid with him, her heart expanded with love. He was such a sweet boy. A familiar sensation tickled the back of her neck, and she darted a glance over her shoulder at Garrick.

“I’m not sure why you’ve come, my lord, but whatever you have to say would be best said in the library.”

She didn’t wait for him to answer her, but hurried forward and down the stairs into the front hall. As she reached the foyer, she heard the sound of voices coming from the main salon. The sound grew muted as Simmons closed the doors to the room. She paused a few feet into the vestibule to send the man a hard look. Her longtime butler had the grace to look uncomfortable as she glared at him.

“Do we have visitors, Simmons?” She prayed he would answer yes. It would give her time to gather her wits.

“Yes, my lady. They’re friends of Lord Stratfield’s.”

The man’s response made her look over her shoulder at Garrick, who was standing at the foot of the stairs watching her with interest. Why would the man bring friends with him? Perhaps donors for St. Agnes’s. No, he and his sister had Caring Hearts to support. Damn him. Frustration and fear coursed their way through her veins as she gave Simmons a brief nod and turned away to walk down the hall to the library.

She’d had Crawley Hall’s large library converted into a schoolroom. The large number of volumes that had come with the house served as a resource for the older children in their lessons and a source of solace for her in the middle of sleepless nights. The room was empty, and she hastily crossed the floor to stand behind the large desk the local tutor used when he came two days a week to provide lessons to the children. As she faced Garrick, her heart skipped a beat at the dark look on his handsome features.

“You have a son.” There was a demand for an explanation in his statement that annoyed her.

“All the children here are mine to care for and love.”

“The boy called you mama,” he bit out. Something akin to jealousy swept over his features. It alarmed her. Why had he come here?

“Thad is an orphan, like his sister, Clara,” she snapped. “But they’re as much mine as if I’d given birth to them. Not that it’s any of
your
concern.”

“I see.” The short statement was filled with an emotion she refused to define.

“Perhaps you should tell me why you’re here, my lord,” she said coldly.

“I told you the last time we were together here at Crawley Hall that I wanted you to call me Garrick,” he growled as he crossed the room to brace himself on the desk as he leaned across the furniture that separated them. “That hasn’t changed.”

“As you wish,
Garrick
,” she said in a detached voice that gave her a small measure of satisfaction. “Why are you here?”

“I imagine you’ve heard that Marston and my uncle are being charged with Tremaine’s murder.”

“Yes.” She didn’t dare say anything else. The less said the better, particularly when she was so relieved that he’d been vindicated. She also didn’t want him asking her about the alibi she’d given him.

“Before I came here, I visited my uncle. I asked him if he’d told Tremaine about my condition.” He eyed her carefully as if waiting for a reaction from her. When she didn’t respond, he grimaced. “Beresford said he’d told Tremaine about my birth defect almost four months ago over one too many glasses of brandy.”

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. She was. When she’d read that terrible accusation in the
Town Talk
, she’d been horrified and humiliated for him.

“I’m not.” His quiet statement startled her, and she stared at him in surprise. He cleared his throat. “I’m glad it was Beresford and not you that betrayed me to Tremaine.”

A knot developed in her throat as she watched him straighten upright. His vivid blue eyes locked with hers as he studied her for a long, quiet moment. The intentness of his gaze set her on edge.

“I want to know why Tremaine was with you that day in the orphanage.” The demand caught her by surprise.

She stiffened, and her heart skipped a beat before it slammed into her chest. The air vanished from her lungs as she fought to gather her wits. As she struggled to breathe, she noted the arrogance in his demeanor. His posture said he intended to have an answer. With as much aplomb as she could muster, she shrugged.

“He offered to be my patron, and I accepted.”

“Don’t lie to me, Ruth.” His voice was quiet.

“I am
not
lying.” She glared at him. It
was
the truth. Tremaine had made an offer and she’d accepted. She’d simply omitted the fact that the bastard had been blackmailing her into accepting his proposal. Garrick studied her carefully, and the look in his eyes made her tremble. He was up to something.

“There’s more to it than you’re admitting,” he said as he narrowed his gaze on her. “In fact, I have a strong suspicion Tremaine was blackmailing you, just like he was me.”

“Even if that were true, the man is dead. He can no longer blackmail anyone.” She fought to maintain her composure so her features revealed nothing.

“Then you admit he was blackmailing you.” The look of triumph on Garrick’s face made her nervous.

“I didn’t say that,” she protested with a shake of her head. “What could the man possibly blackmail me with?”

Garrick quickly circled the desk and caught her by surprise as he towered over her. Although he didn’t touch her, he might as well have done so, the way her body was responding to his. Every part of her was on fire, humming in a way that only happened when he was near. It was a sensation no other man could arouse in her. She swallowed hard and took a step back. He followed. One hand going to her throat, she stared up at him, her eyes fixating on his sensual mouth. The memory of his lips caressing her in the most intimate of places made the knot in her throat swell even larger threatening to cut off her breathing completely.

“Tell me what he was blackmailing you with, Ruth.”

“I didn’t say he was blackmailing me,” she said in an effort to come up with something that would divert him from the truth. She couldn’t bear for him to discover that she’d been protecting her own secret.

“I think I know what he was holding over you, Ruth, but I want you to tell me.” He leaned into her, his mouth so tantalizingly close.

Dear Lord, surely he didn’t know how she felt about him. She forced herself to forget everything but the need to hide the truth from him. He’d already broken her heart when he’d hidden his true age from her. She couldn’t bear it if he learned that she’d been hiding her own secret. Her heart would break all over again if he learned she was in love with him.