Surrender (37 page)

room and halt. His expression was starkly

controlled.
 
You have not changed into

your traveling dress."

It took more courage than she had

expected to face him and tell him her

decision.
 
For the very good reason that I

will not be joining you. I wish you a good

journey, my lord." She swung around on

her heel and started for the door.

 
If you walk out on me now, Vicky, you

will regret it more than you can possibly

imagine."

The deadly soft tone stopped her as

nothing else would have. She turned back

to face him.
 
I beg your pardon. Did you

have something else you wished to say

to me?"

 
A great deal. But the time grows late

and I would rather have this conversation

in the coach than here in your aunt's

library. For now, however, I will only

say that I apologize for Lady Atherton's

emotional outburst. I assure you, I had

no idea she would fall apart in such an

unfortunate manner."

 
Yes, her timing was rather poor, was it not?

When had you planned to tell me the

truth, yourself?"

 
What truth would you have me tell you?

That I once asked Jessica to marry me?

That is old news, Vicky, and need not

concern us."

 
Damn you," she hissed.
 
You know very

well which truth interests me now. You

deliberately set out to form a connection

with me because I am an heiress. Do you

have the gall to deny it?"

Lucas held her cold glare.
 
No. You

guessed as much at the time, if you will

recall. I seem to have a very clear memory

of your warning me off. But you wanted

what I offered, regardless, didn't you? You

played a risky game and you lost, but it

was your choice to play. Did you not

once inform me that there was no real

risk without real danger?"

 
Must you throw my stupidity in my face

like this?"

 
Why not? It is little more than you

expect from me, is it not? I am nothing

but a heartless fortune hunter who has

snagged himself an heiress."

She felt as if she had been punched in

the stomach.
 
And now you expect me to

accept my humiliation without protest?"

He crossed the room in a few short

strides and gripped her upper arms. His

eyes were blazing.
 
I expect you to show

some trust in me, damn you. For the past

few weeks you've been willing enough to

trust me with your safety and your honor.

Now that you are my wife, I expect

no less."

 
Trust you? After what you have done

to me?"

 
What have I done that is so wicked?

I did not set us up to be discovered last

night. I told you the entire plan was

dangerous, but you had to have your

night of intellectual inquiry at all costs,

remember?"

 
Don't you dare mock me, Lucas."

 
I am not mocking you. I am reminding

you of how you tried to justify your desire

to let me make love to you. You wanted

what happened last night as much as I did.

Hell, you even told me you loved me."

Victoria shook her head, her eyes moist.

 
I told you I thought I loved you. I was

obviously mistaken."

 
You gave me the painting of Strelitzia

reginae and then you gave yourself to me

without any reservations. I believed you

did love me, madam. When your aunt

knocked on the door, my first instinct was

to protect you. What would you have had

me do? Refuse to offer marriage?"

 
Pray do not twist my words. You saw

the opening you had been waiting for and

you took it. Do not bother to deny it."

I will not deny that I wanted to marry

you. I would not have risked your honor

or my own last night if I had not been

certain that sooner or later we would be

married. It was unfortunate that your aunt

discovered us and precipitated this chain of

events, but the end result was inevitable."

 
There was nothing inevitable about it,"

she stormed.

 
Vicky, be reasonable. You must see

that we could not have carried on as

we had been for much longer. Things

were getting shaky enough even before

we went off together last night. People

were starting to talk and you were doing

nothing to stem the gossip. We were taking

dangerous risks to indulge your midnight

whims. Sooner or later we would have been

discovered, and once that happened neither

of us would have had a choice. There was

also the possibility you'd get pregnant, did

you think of that?"

 
Why could you not have told the

whole truth before any of it started?"

She could hear her voice climbing toward

the hysterical shriek of an enraged fishwife.

Frantically she fought to control herself.

 
To be perfectly blunt, I told you nothing

because I was out to win you and I was

afraid that if I went into a great deal

of detail about my personal financial

circumstances, you wouldn't give me a

chance. You were so adamant about not

getting married, so skittish on the subject

of fortune hunters, that I had no choice but

to woo you in the only way you allowed.

You will never know how hard the past few

weeks have been on me, Vicky. The least

you could do is show some consideration

and kindness."

She was incredulous.
 
Kindness? How

dare you attempt to make me feel sorry

for you now?"

 
Why not? You are quite prepared to

be kind to everyone else, up to and

including Lady Atherton. I saw the way

you were trying to offer her some comfort

as she wept all over your shoulder in the

conservatory." Lucas released her abruptly

and ran his fingers through his hair.
 
Why

shouldn't I try to gain a little kindness for

myself? After all, I am your husband and

God knows that role is not going to be

an easy one."

 
What have you got to offer in return?"

He took a deep breath.
 
I will do my

damnedest to be a good husband to you.

You have my word on it."

 
And just how do you interpret the

notion of being a good husband to me?"

She rubbed her hands over her forearms

where his fingers had gripped her tightly

enough to leave red marks.
 
Obviously you

will not have to provide financial support.

I am the one supplying the capital in this

marriage, according to your former love.

You do bring me a title. I'll grant you

that much, but I have never been overly

concerned with titles."

Lucas's mouth tightened.
 
I also brought

you the adventure you had been seeking."

 
You mean you tricked me with ad

venture."

 
Vicky, listen to me
 
."

 
There is one thing I must know, Lucas.

Do you intend to begin a romantic liaison

with Lady Atherton now that you have

taken care of the business of getting

married?"

 
God, no.
 
Tis plain you don't think

much of my integrity at the moment, but

if you knew Jessica as well as you think

you do, you would realize the whole idea

of a romantic liaison with her is out of the

question."

Victoria winced.
 
Forgive me. Of course

it is. Lady Atherton is a paragon of all that

is proper. She would not dream of getting

involved in an illicit affair with you."

 
Quite right."

 
She is such a noble creature. She had no

qualms at all, apparently, about following

the dictates of duty rather than her heart

four years ago when she accepted Lord

Atherton's offer instead of yours."

 
She did what she was obligated to do,"

Lucas said impatiently.

 
How dreadfully understanding you are

about the entire matter," Vicky said.

 
Four years is a long time," Lucas said

with a shrug.
 
And to tell you the truth, I

am greatly relieved now not to be married

to Jessica. Lately I have come to realize it

would have been a bad match."

Victoria gave him a sidelong glance.

 
Why do you say that? She seems so very

perfect for you. She is obviously the sort

who would be a dutiful wife, being, as

we have just noted, a paragon of female

behavior."

 
Sheathe your claws, Vicky." Lucas's

mouth quirked faintly.
 
The fact is, I

find her rather dull. I have discovered

recently that I prefer a more adventurous

sort of female. And after last night, I

would have to say that I also prefer a

more passionate sort."

 
Really?" Victoria's chin rose.
 
You speak

from experience, I presume? You have had

an opportunity to compare my performance

in bed with that of Lady Atherton's?"

Lucas's smile broadened into a wicked

grin.
 
Don't be a goose, Vicky. Even in

your wildest flights of imagination, can you

possibly envisage Jessica sneaking off to an

inn with me or any other man? I assure

you, she was just as prim and proper four

years ago as she is today. She would never

have risked her reputation for a man or a

night of the sort of intellectual inquiry we

shared at that inn."

Victoria sighed.
 
Unlike me."

 
Yes. Unlike you. Completely unlike

you. In fact, I have never met a woman

who is anything like you. You are quite

unique, Vicky. Which is why I am not

always certain just how to handle you, I

suppose. But I assure you, I fully intend to

do my best. Now, we have wasted far too

much time on this pointless discussion. Go

upstairs and change at once." He glanced

at the clock.
 
You have fifteen minutes."

 
For the last time, my lord, I am not

going anywhere with you."

She jumped slightly when he moved

without any warning, covering the short

distance between them with his distinctive,

oddly balanced stride. He caught her chin

on the edge of his hand and forced her

to look up at him. When she did, she

froze. The full, unleashed force of his will

glittered in his eyes.

Victoria suddenly understood why men

had followed Lucas into battle and why

everyone else in the household was walking

about with such extreme care.

 
Victoria," he said,
 
it occurs to me

that you do not fully comprehend just

how serious I am about leaving in fifteen

minutes. That is no doubt my fault. Until

now I have been so indulgent of your

headstrong ways, so willing to ignore my

own better judgment in an effort to please

you, that you are obviously under the

impression you can disregard a direct

order from me. I assure you, that is not

the case."

 
I do not take orders from you or any

other man."

 
You do now, Vicky. For better or worse,

you have a husband and he means to leave

London in" he paused to glance at the

tall clock
 
thirteen minutes. If you are

not dressed for traveling when he is ready

to go, he will personally put you into the

coach in whatever garment you happen to

have on at the time. Is that very clear,

madam?"

Victoria sucked in her breath, realizing

he would do exactly as he said.
 
You

appear to hold the whip hand, my lord,"

she drawled in a scathing tone.
 
And like

most men, you do not hesitate to use it."

 
I assure you, I would never use a whip

on you, Vicky, and you know it. Now

stop trying my patience. You have less

than twelve minutes left."

Victoria turned and fled.

The journey into the distant wilds of

Yorkshire was the longest Victoria had ever

endured in her life. She saw very little of her

husband along the way. Lucas spent most

of his time outside the coach, choosing

to ride his stallion, George, alongside the

vehicle, rather than deal with Victoria's

temper. At night she and Nan shared a

room at the inns where they stopped and

Lucas took a separate room for himself and

his valet. Meals were a series of chillingly

polite affairs.

By the time they reached stone vale,

Victoria's mood had not improved one bit

and she suspected Lucas's hadn't either,

although he seemed content to ignore her

as long as she gave him no trouble.

Her first view of the lands surrounding

her new home was not inspiring. It did

not take even her extensive background

in horticulture and botany to detect that

this summer's crops would be mediocre

at best. There was a generally depressed

atmosphere about everything she saw, from

the farmers" run-down cottages to the

gaunt animals standing listlessly in the

fields.

The lack of goods in the village shop

windows emphasized the economic gloom

that hung over the area like a dark cloud.

Victoria frowned at the sight of several

children playing in the dirt. Their clothing

was as bad as any street urchin's in

London.

 
This
 
is
 
inexcusable,"
 
she muttered to

Nan.
 
These lands have been allowed to

wither and die."

 
I reckon his lordship has a sizable job

ahead o" him," Nan offered cautiously. She

was well aware of her mistress's feelings

about the earl.
 
He'll earn his fancy title,

he will, if he manages to put some life

back into this place."

 
Yes, he certainly will," Victoria agreed

grimly. And he'll need my money to do

it, she added silently. For the first time

she began to realize the magnitude of the

responsibility Lucas had faced when he had

inherited stone vale. Everyone living in and

around the estate depended on the general

prosperity and leadership of the great house

that dominated the economy. Victoria was

well aware that the fortunes and futures of

the local tenants and villagers were closely

tied to stone vale.

If she had been handed the task of

salvaging these lands, would she have been

above marrying for money? She wondered.

Probably not. As Lady Atherton had said,

damn her, one did what one must.

That acknowledgment did not make

Victoria feel any more charitable toward

Lucas, however. She might be able to

understand his need to marry an heiress;

she would never forgive him for choosing

her and tricking her into this marriage.

Surely he could have found a willingsacrifice

if he had been willing to search

for one among the ladies of the ton.

There were those who would have traded

a fortune for a landed title.

 
It's a lovely house, ain't it, ma'am?"

Nan said, leaning eagerly out of the coach

window to catch the first glimpse of the

great house of stone vale.
 
Pity the grounds

and garden are so shabby. Not like Lady

Nettleship's country place at all."

Victoria found herself leaning forward

for a look, although she had vowed she

would adopt an air of disdainful aloofness

about everything concerning Lucas's home.

Her maid was right. stone vale was

a magnificent house. The stone facade

was imposing and well proportioned. The

wide front steps descended to a cobbled

courtyard and a huge curving drive. A large

fountain and pool decorated the middle of

the curve. But the pool was full of rubble

instead of water. The fountain was silent.

There was the same air of depression

and hopelessness about the house as there

was about the village and surrounding

fields. Victoria stared at her new home

with a sense of dismay as the coach halted.

It was all a far cry from the luxurious,

comfortable, well-gardened world she had

known with her aunt.

Lucas turned his mount over to a groom

and came forward to escort Victoria up the

steps and into the house.

 
As you can see," he said quietly,
 
there

is much to be done."

 
That is certainly an accurate observation, my lord."

She was feeling somewhat

dazed.

 
I would like us to share the task

together, Vicky. We both have a stake

in stone vale. It is your home now as well

as mine. It will be our children's home."

She flinched at that, recalling more of

Jessica Atherton's words. If you cannot bring

yourself to have any real affection for Lucas,

only think how hard this is on him. He must

have an heir from you.

Victoria composed her features immediately,

but she knew Lucas had seen her

brief expression of anger because his own