Surrender (51 page)

She shot to her feet and whirled around,

pummeling him unmercifully in the ribs.

 
stone vale, you are a miserable, teasing

beast of a husband and you deserve to

rot."

 
My leg, my leg. Cease and desist at

once, madam, or you'll ruin me for

life." Lucas retreated toward the bed, his

laughter filling the bedroom.

 
To hell with your leg." She continued

her attack, closing in on him, forcing him

back until he toppled onto the bed. Then

she jumped on top of him, straddling him

triumphantly. Lucas held up his hands in

surrender.

 
I beg for mercy, my lady. Would you

continue to beat on a helpless man who

is already down?"

 
You may be down but you are far from

helpless, stone vale. You still have the use

of your mouth and it seems to me that is

what got you into trouble in the first place

tonight. You could not resist taunting me

in a most villainous fashion, could you?"

His smile was slow and filled with

sensual promise.
 
Allow me to put my

mouth to better use, madam."

He reached up with one hand and

splayed his strong fingers around the back

of her head. Then he dragged her face

down to his and captured her lips with

his own.

With a soft sigh Victoria gave herself up

to the magic of her husband's embrace.

Lucas knew he had only himself to blame

when the gossamer web of domestic

harmony he was just starting to weave

was ripped to shreds on the following

Monday morning.

He should have seen it coming, he told

himself. He should have been prepared.

He, who always prided himself on his sense

of strategy and planning, had been caught

off guard, and there was no excuse.

But his wife's timing was as good as that

of any field marshal who has studied the

opponent well.

She breezed into the library, waving the

newest letter from her aunt, just at the

very moment Lucas was going through a

detailed summary of her investments for

the past three years.

 
There you are, Lucas, I have been

looking for you. No, do not bother to

get up. I just wanted to tell you I shall be

writing a fairly large draft on my account

to cover an investment I plan to make

soon. I assumed you would want to take

it into consideration when you plan your

own expenditures this month."

Lucas sat down again and looked up, his

mind still reeling from the shock of what

he had learned recently about Victoria's

investment habits. She smiled brightly at

him from the other side of the massive

desk, looking as elegant and vibrant as

ever in a sun yellow morning gown.

 
How large a sum will you be needing

and what sort of investment are you

considering?" he asked cautiously.

 
Oh, I should think a few thousand

pounds will be enough to get me into

this particular investment."

 
A few thousand?"

 
Perhaps ten or fifteen." She glanced

down at the letter in her hand.
 
Aunt

Cleo says the group will be investing in

some new collieries in Lancashire."

 
Ten or fifteen thousand pounds? For

a coal production project in Lancashire?"

ir r

Lucas was stunned.
 
You cannot possibly

mean to do anything so foolish. I cannot

allow you to do it."

It was when he saw the light of battle

flare in her beautiful eyes that Lucas

knew he had just made a serious, tactical

mistake.

 
Our man of affairs, Mister Beckford, has

recently recommended the project very

strongly," Victoria said.
 
Aunt Cleo writes

that she intends to invest, herself."

 
Your aunt is free to do as she chooses,

but I cannot allow you to pour that

amount of money into a coal pit in

Lancashire. One can go through a fortune

very quickly investing in collieries."

 
I have a fortune, Lucas, remember?"

she asked far too sweetly.
 
You married

me for it."

Lucas tried to forge a path out of the

mire in which he found himself
 
Your

inheritance is sizable, my dear, but it is

not inexhaustible. Far from it. You are

intelligent enough to realize that. You

do not have enough money to warrant

taking risks of ten or fifteen thousand

pounds. Sums of that size should be put

into acquiring land, not digging expensive

pits in the ground."

 
But I already own some properties

in London from which I receive a very

nice income. And," she added, with a

challenging smile,
 
I am now a partner

with you in owning a good-sized chunk

of Yorkshire. I do not wish to acquire any

more land, Lucas."

Lucas returned to the accounting summary

and said, very matter-of-factly,
 
Then

you can put the money into the improve

ments we will be needing here at Stone

vale."

 
You are busy enough as it is spending

a great deal of my money on such

improvements. This colliery project is a

personal investment I wish to make on

my own behalf."

 
Vicky, trust me on this matter. Collieries

are risky investments, especially when they

are being run by others. If you are seriously

interested in mining, we can think about

having an engineer survey stone vale. There

is coal in Yorkshire as well as other minerals

and there may be some worth going after

on the estate. But I cannot allow you to

throw your money into a distant project

over which we will have no management

control."

Victoria marched to the library desk and

threw the letter down.
 
You are going to

forbid me the right to spend my money

as I wish?"

Lucas prayed for divine guidance but

there was none forthcoming. He would

have to deal with the devilish question

on his own and he already knew he was

damned either way.

He tried to choose his next words with

care.
 
You have come to me with a large

income that must be protected for the sake

of our children and our grandchildren and

their children. As your husband it is my

duty to guide you in your investments."

 
I thought so," Victoria announced

grimly.
 
This is how it always starts, I

imagine. One's husband begins by telling

his wife that she is incompetent to manage

her own affairs and that she must allow him

to do it for her. From there he moves to

take complete control, allowing her no say

whatsoever in how her money is spent."

That angered him. Lucas gestured

impatiently at the account book lying

open on the desk.
 
To be perfectly blunt,

my dear, I am not certain you should be

making all your own decisions. You seem

to have a tendency to take great risks in

your financial affairs. You have been in

deep water more than once."

 
I have always come about," she shot

back.
 
As you can plainly see if you look

at my current income."

 
Yes, thanks to your properties in Town.

You see, Vicky? It is the investments in

land that are most reliable. They are

what shelter an inheritance such as yours.

You have no business taking risks in the

funds or in shipping and distant mining

projects."

 
No business taking risks? That is

ludicrous coming from you. Before you

married me, your entire income came from

taking risks. What can be more risky than

the battlefield or the gaming tables?"

The fact that she had a point only served

to annoy him further.
 
Damn it, Vicky, I

had no choice in how I made my money.

I did what I had to do. But matters have

changed. We both have a responsibility to

manage stone vale and the income you

brought to this marriage as wisely as

possible. Your days of taking huge risks

with your capital are over."

She stepped forward and planted both

hands on his desk. Her eyes shimmered

with fury.
 
Say it in plain language,

stone vale. I want us both to hear you

say it."

 
I do not know how much plainer I can

make it."

 
Tell me very clearly that you are

forbidding me to spend my money in

any way I wish. Let us have the words

plain between us."

His own temper leapt to match hers.

 
You are deliberately trying to set a trap

for me, Vicky. You want me to choose

between saying the words that will give

you complete freedom and the ones that

will damn me as just another tyrannical

husband like the man who married your

mother. Do you think you can manipulate

me so easily, madam?"

 
I am not trying to manipulate you.

It is just the reverse. You are trying

to manipulate me." Victoria's tone was

unwavering under his severe gaze.

 
I am trying to protect you from your

own reckless nature."

 
Reckless? You call me reckless? You,

who made your living first as a soldier

and then as a game ster? Hah. That is an

excuse and well you know it. You want

complete control of my money and you

are telling me you will no longer allow me

any say in how I spend it. What's next,

Lucas? Will you force me to accept a small

quarterly allowance? Will I be obliged to

buy all my clothes and paints and books

and the occasional horse out of whatever

you choose to allow me by way of an

income?"

That did it. He lost what was left of his

temper.
 
Why not? If you are going to play

the role of a frivolous, spendthrift woman