Surrender (38 page)

face hardened.
 
I will introduce you to the

staff, although as yet there is not much of

it. The butler's name is Griggs. He's from

my London staff. The housekeeper is misses

Sneath. She's from the village."

Exhausted from the long trip, depressed

by what she had seen of stone vale, and

too proud to give an inch in response to

Lucas's small overtures, Victoria picked up

her skirts and climbed the stairs to her new

bedchamber.

Dinner that night was not an impressive

affair. Griggs apologized for the poor

quality of the wine and the lack of footmen

to serve. The food was limited, both in

quality and selection. The surroundings

were even less prepossessing than the

food. The carpet was threadbare, the

furniture scarred and unpolished, the

silver tarnished. The chandelier overhead

had obviously not been cleaned in years.

But it was the grim silence at the table

that really got to Victoria. She was not

a creature of long silences and she had

almost reached the end of her ability to

maintain one. It annoyed her now that

Lucas seemed oblivious to her efforts.

 
Well, my lord," she began after fortifying

herself with a large sip of wine.
 
Where

do you propose to begin spending my

money? On the gardens, perhaps? Or the

tenants" farms? Or maybe you would like

to refurnish the house itself? It certainly

needs it."

Lucas swirled the wine in his glass and

regarded her for a moment.
 
Where would

you like to start, Vicky?"

 
Why would my feelings on the subject

matter to you? Salvaging stone vale is your

project, not mine." She smiled a cold,

brittle smile.
 
And now that you have my

money, I am certain you will think of lots

of ways to spend it. My stepfather certainly

had no problem spending my mother's

money on his horses and his women."

It occurs to me, madam, that you are

in this fix in the first place because you

lacked a suitable challenge in your life."

She glared at him.
 
What is that supposed

to mean?"

 
You are a woman of intelligence and

energy who happened to have access to a

great deal of money. You used that money

to buy your independence and finance your

social life, but you did not use it to do

anything else particularly useful."

That stung.
 
I have always given large

sums to charities."

 
Which demanded very little of your time

or skills. Furthermore, you had neither a

husband nor a family to absorb your

considerable energies. Other than your

interest in botanical painting and the

occasional scientific lecture, you did not

devise anything else of a serious nature to

occupy your time and ability. Your only

outlet for action was your social life. So

you got bored and started looking for

adventure. And that, my dear, is what

got you into trouble."

Victoria was incensed.
 
I was not bored

with town life, sir, I assure you."

 
No? I rather think it was boredom

that led you to dream up your midnight

escapades."

She paled.
 
That is not true. You know

nothing of why I sought my midnight adventures

and I would appreciate it if you

refrained from making silly conjectures."

He shook his head thoughtfully.
 
No, I

believe I am correct in my logic. You were

initially attracted to me solely because I

was willing to give you the adventure

you wanted. If you dislike the notion

of being married for your money, how

do you think I felt knowing that my

primary appeal for you was that I could

offer you some fleeting excitement? You

were perfectly willing to use me for your

own ends, were you not?"

 
That is not true," she retorted before

stopping to think.

 
No? Are you admitting your feelings for

me went deeper than a frivolous desire to

use me to provide you with the adventure

you wanted?"

Victoria scowled at him.
 
Yes, I mean

no. Damn it, Lucas, you are twisting my

words."

 
Either way, you are here now, madam,

and there is no going back. You were

aware of the risks and you chose to

run them. The first rule of gaming, my

sweet, is learning how to pay up without

whimpering when you lose. If you play,

you pay," Lucas said.

 
I am not whimpering. I am furious.

There is a vast difference."

Lucas leaned back and folded his arms.

You are sulking, Vicky. It is nothing more

than that. Having never dealt with you in

this mood, I will admit I'm curious to see

how long it will last. I had hoped you

would be through the worst of it by the

time we got here, but it appears I was

wrong."

 
Yes, it certainly does appear that you

were wrong." She was vibrating with the

force of her anger. The injustice of his

accusations was intolerable.
 
Completely

wrong."

 
You should be grateful to me, Vicky.

I am offering you a way to avoid future

disasters of the sort that led you into this

situation. I am pleased to be able to give

you a project that will in turn give you

something important to do both with your

time and your money." Lucas looked at

her.
 
Help me restore stone vale and its

lands."

 
How kind of you to refer to it as my

money."

 
Vicky, I want you to be a part of this

place. I want you to share it with me. I

admit that I can do nothing without access

to your inheritance, but I do not intend to

spend your money without consulting you.

I am more than happy to involve you in

every detail. You have a good mind and

a vast store of knowledge, thanks to the

way you have been raised. You can be

a tremendous influence on what happens

here at stone vale. All I ask is that you

work with me instead of amusing yourself

with a fit of the sulks."

 
What you offer is certainly very exciting

to say the least," she said in silky tones.
 
If

you are so eager to include me in every

little decision, then perhaps you would like

to consider giving me a written wedding

contract? One in which you guarantee not

to touch a penny of my money without my

consent?"

His mouth curved ruefully.
 
I am not

a complete fool, madam. It would be the

height of idiocy for me to have such a

contract drawn up while you are in your

present mood. Perhaps we can discuss the

matter again when you have decided you

are ready to be a true and loving wife

to me."

 
Hah. You would never give me such a

contract and we both know it."

 
Even if I did, it would carry little

real weight under the law, Vicky. We

are husband and wife. That relationship

will always give me certain rights."

 
It is the principle of the thing."

Lucas smiled briefly.
 
The hell it is. If

I were to give you such a contract right

now, you would use it to get even with me

for this marriage. Admit it, Vicky. You are

not accustomed to being outmaneuvered

and all you can think of at the moment

is revenge."

 
At least the notion of revenge has the

undeniable advantage of providing me with

something useful to occupy my time and

energy, does it not?" She smiled coldly and

rose to her feet.
 
Now, if you will excuse

me, my lord, I fear I am not yet done

feeling sorry for myself I believe I shall

retire to my bedchamber and sulk for a

while."

Griggs scrambled to open the door for

her as she swept out of the dining room.

Lucas watched his wife's magnificent

exit through hooded eyes and then signaled

the butler for the port he had brought with

him from London. His leg ached from

the long days of riding it had recently

endured.

For a considerable length of time Lucas

sipped the port and contemplated which he

would rather do: strangle Jessica Atherton

or turn Victoria over his knee.

On the whole, turning his wife over his

knee sounded far and away the more

interesting option. He would give a lot

right now for another glimpse of her

enticingly curved backside.

Lucas slowly and deliberately worked

his way through the bottle of port in

splendid solitude. The wine was useful

for something besides dulling the ache in

his thigh. It also took some of the edge

off his frustrated desire. Since that hot,

sweet night of illicit passion at the inn,

he had been plagued with memories that

pushed his normally ironclad self-control

to the limits.

He could not believe that Victoria was

not haunted by the same memories. She

had been so responsive, so magnificent in

her passion, so welcoming and trusting.

Damn it, he thought, she had even told

him she thought she was in love with him,

and he was quite certain she had never said

as much to any other man.

And he knew for a fact that she had

never given herself to anyone else. The

joy of watching her sensual discovery had

been the most erotic experience he had

ever known.

The painting of Strelitzia reginae was

already hanging on the wall upstairs near

his dressing table, where he would be able

to see it every morning. Lucas had directed

that it be among the first of his personal

items that were unpacked. He wondered if

Victoria had any idea how much the small

gift had meant to him.

Probably not. She was not thinking of

anything else at the moment except her

savaged pride.