Surrender (43 page)

me that women have been inventing ways

to feign virginity for as long as men have

been so arrogant as to insist upon it. Even

if one is certain one's wife is a virgin at

marriage, that still does not ensure her

children are not the footman's by-blows,

does it?"

 
Victoria
 
."

 
No, it would seem to me, my lord,

that the only way a man can be relatively

certain his children are his own is if

he truly trusts his wife and knows he

can believe her when she tells him they

are his."

 
I trust you, Victoria," Lucas said softly.

 
Well, as you said,
 
tis all irrelevant as

far as we are concerned, is it not?"

Not entirely," he muttered.
 
Victoria,

could we please get on with the legend?"

She blinked and occupied herself with

the teapot.
 
Yes, of course. Kindly continue

with the story, my lord."

Lucas took a swallow of tea, wondering

how in hell he had allowed the conversation

to get so wildly off track.
 
The earl had

his suspicions, but no proof, and since he

was very much in love with his new wife,

he decided to believe what he wanted to

believe. That worked until the babe was

born dead. His lady was so grief-stricken

that she lost her wits. She confessed all,

blamed her unhappiness on her husband

for having made it impossible to marry

her true love, and claimed she was now

so miserable she wanted to die. Then she

promptly did precisely that."

Victoria's eyes flew to his, deep suspicion

in her amber gaze.
 
How?"

Tray do not look at me like that. He

didn't kill her, you know. She simply never

recovered from childbirth. misses Sneath

says the legend has it that she willed

herself to die and the fever obligingly

took her."

 
What a tragic story. What did the earl

do?"

 
He grew bitter and cynical toward all

women, There was pressure from the

family to produce an heir, so he eventually

 
21C

remarried. But this time not for love. It

was strictly a business decision on his part

and he and his second wife hardly formed

what could be called a happily married

couple. In fact, after the required heir was

born, the earl and his wife spent very little

time together and none at all at stone vale,

apparently."

 
Was that when the lands began to go

into a decline?"

Lucas nodded.
 
Yes, according to the

tale and to the old ledgers and records.

I went through several of them today

just out of curiosity and I must admit

one can trace the gradual decline of the

estate to that disastrous marriage three

generations ago."

 
Truly?"

 
Yes, truly. The next earl, my uncle's

father, was not only a cold and bitter

man, he was also a rake and a poor

game ster. He started the tradition of the

Earls of stone vale spending more time

at the gaming tables and less on their

lands. He, too, eventually married, but

not for love. Once my uncle was born,

his father and mother went their separate

ways," Lucas said.

 
And the lands continued to decline.

Hardly surprising, given the lack of interest

on the part of the masters. What about

your uncle?"

Maitland Colebrook never even bothered

to marry for the sake of the title

or anything else, let alone love. He

concentrated instead on going through

what was left of the family fortune. He

bled the estate dry and then retired to the

country to rail against his ill fate."

 
So that is how the villagers explain their

present impoverished situation." Victoria

stared thoughtfully into the fire again.

 
Interesting."

Lucas studied her averted profile, won

dering what she would do if he pulled her

into his lap and kissed her. Would she

melt for him the way she always had in

the past or would she use her nails on

his eyes and cut him to shreds with her

tongue? One thing was for certain, when

he eventually got around to taking her into

his arms, it would be a real adventure for

all concerned.

 
The most interesting part is that

business of the Hawkins child in the

village calling you the Amber Lady," Lucas

said quietly.

 
Why is that? She had obviously been

told the tale, and when she saw me

dressed in that particular shade of yellow,

she jumped to a child's conclusion."

Lucas watched the firelight bring out

the amber and gold in Victoria's tawny

brown hair.
 
I am not so certain she

jumped to the wrong conclusion. There

is something rather amberish about you,

you know. Your eyes, your hair, the colors

you choose to wear."

She glared at him.
 
For heaven's sake,

Lucas, do not talk such nonsense."

He held out his cup for more tea.
 
It is

little wonder the child would like to believe

you are the Amber Lady. I have not yet

told you the last bit of the legend."

She glanced at him warily as she poured

tea into his cup.
 
How does the tale

conclude?"

 
Tis said that one day the Amber

Knight and his lady will return to the

great house and the lands of stone vale will

once more prosper along with their love."

 
What a tidy ending," Victoria said

scornfully.
 
But if the luck of the region

depends upon the lord and lady marrying

for love, then it is obvious everyone around

here will have to wait for another chance at

bettering their fortunes. The newest Earl of

stone vale married for money, not love."

 
Damn it, Vicky
 
."

She was already on her feet.
 
If you will

excuse me, my lord, I will bid you good

night. I grow weary."

Lucas swore again as he got to his feet.

He waited until the door had closed behind

her before he put down his teacup and,

with cold deliberation, went across the

room to pick up the brandy decanter.

Idly he massaged his aching leg. It was

going to be a long night.

Three hours later as Lucas lay awake

in bed listening to the soft sounds in

the room next door, he wondered if he

was being a fool to continue to restrain

himself. Maybe this waiting game was not

such wise strategy after all.

He heard another whisper of movement

from the next chamber. It sounded as if

Victoria had gotten out of bed. It was

obvious she was not yet asleep. Perhaps

she was afraid to go to sleep too early for

fear of inducing another nightmare.

There was nothing like the sort of

passion they could experience together to

ward off bad dreams, Lucas told himself.

As a concerned husband he owed her

what comfort and reassurance he could

give her, even if he had to force it

on her.

Resolutely he pushed back the covers and

reached for his dressing gown. This had

gone far enough. One way or the other they

had to form a normal marital relationship

and it was rapidly becoming clear that his

self-imposed restraint was having no effect

whatsoever on her recalcitrance.

In other words, he thought ruefully, she

was hardly begging for his lovemaking.

He heard the outer door to her

bedchamber open and close just as he

lifted his hand to knock on the connecting

door. Quietly he twisted the knob and

stepped into his wife's empty room.

Fury and panic seized him. Surely she

was not idiotic enough to run off in the

middle of the night. Then he recalled

that Victoria was very much accustomed

to running about in the dead of night. He

had even taught her something about how

it was done.

Lucas put down his candle and hastily

pulled on breeches, boots, and a shirt. A

few minutes later he was moving swiftly

down the hall. His instincts told him she

would leave via the kitchen door. It was

the way he would have gone if he had

been trying to sneak out of the house. He

hurried after her.

A few minutes later he emerged from the

house. He saw Victoria almost at once. She

was standing quietly in the dilapidated,

sadly overgrown kitchen garden. She was

wearing her long, hooded, amber-colored

cloak to ward off the chill and she was

bathed in moonlight. Memories of all those

other nights when he had rendezvoused

with her in her aunt's garden swept over

him, leaving him filled with a hunger that

was sharpened to the point of pain.

This was his wife and he wanted her.

Lucas stepped slowly out into the

shadows, making no sound. But she

sensed his presence and turned toward

him. He sucked in his breath.

 
I have missed our midnight meetings in

the garden," he said softly.

 
You wooed me most cleverly when you

promised me adventure in the middle of

the night, did you not? I succumbed to

that lure as I would have succumbed to

no other."

His stomach clenched at the soft

bitterness in her voice.
 
Were you going

to seek an adventure on your own tonight,

Vicky? I doubt there are any gaming

hells or brothels or inns filled with

young lordlings and their opera dancers

in the village." He walked toward her

until he was standing only a short

distance away.

 
I merely wanted to walk," she said

quietly.

 
Will you allow me to accompany you?"

 
Have I any choice in the matter?"

 
No." As if he would allow her to

wander around out here alone at night,