Surrender of Trust (First Volume of the Surrender Series) (5 page)

When Lucy turned to face him, he had been
unable to take his eyes off of her. Chalifour found himself lost in
the emerald pools of her eyes, unclouded by grief this time. The
sensuality of her mouth made him think of nothing but sin. Perhaps
there might be a diversion for him with Lucy in the future. He
certainly hoped so.

Despite the lingering misgivings of his
visit, Chalifour was sure he was going to proceed with this
business transaction. The contract would be fair and beneficial to
both of them. Chalifour would have his lawyer draw up the
agreement. He could bring the contract to Lucien Goodwin for his
signature when he returned to his estate in the next few days.
Chalifour couldn't help being disappointed. After all this time, he
would have liked to finally meet Lucien. Maybe he would have an
opportunity on the return trip.

Before initiating discussions with Lucien for
a potential business partnership, Chalifour had investigated the
family. His investigation has confirmed the Goodwin reputation for
forthrightness and integrity. The father had been well respected
and known for his brilliance in breeding winning thoroughbreds.

Lucien, living in the shadow of his father,
was not as well known as a breeder. He was, however, known as one
of the most renowned jockeys in the field. After his father's
death, Lucien Goodwin, as the heir, had taken the reigns of the
family business, literally and figuratively. Chalifour hoped
Lucien's leg was not broken. Lucien's fame as a jockey was an
important asset to the new partnership. His many winnings in
various races had brought much acclaim and demand for the Goodwin
horses, which would soon be affiliated with his own.

The Goodwins possessed horses descended from
the great bloodlines of Herod, sired by The Byerley Turk, and the
undefeated Flying Childers, "Mile a Minute Childers," sired by The
Darley Arabian. He himself possessed several "royal mares"
descended from Matchem, from the Godolphin Arabian's line. All of
his own mares were listed in the General Stud Book. Their combined
cattle represented all three of the great thoroughbred
bloodlines.

Chalifour and Lucien were going to bring all
three of these bloodlines together. This business partnership would
be a coup for both him and for Lucien Goodwin. Chalifour had always
loved horses and thoroughbred racing. Now he could combine his
passion and his business. His excitement at the prospect made him
restless. Chalifour intended to breed a line of the finest
thoroughbreds available.

Chalifour's thoughts deviated once again to
Lucy. The image of her mouth made him shift in his seat. He had the
curious sense Lucy had been simultaneously annoyed with him and
grateful to him. Why she would feel either of these emotions was
beyond him.

Chalifour, no stranger to women, never lacked
for female companionship. Women, however, for all the many
pleasures they could provide, were frequently an enigma. Except for
his occasional mistresses, Chalifour just could not make out the
internal workings of their minds.

His mistresses were the only women who were
generally straightforward. They provided pleasure to him, and in
return, he provided lavish gifts and money to them. Yet, a
diversion with Lucy Goodwin might be worth exploring.

Shaking off the image of Lucy Goodwin,
Chalifour began to work out some of the details which needed to be
included in the contract. He would meet with his lawyer first thing
the next morning to get the process underway. Chalifour should be
able present the contract to Lucien Goodwin on his way back to his
estate in the next two to three days. His dream was within his
grasp. So was Lucy. Chalifour smiled and settled back into his
seat.

Dawn broke clear and bright, but Lucy was
cold and grey inside. Until Lucien was better, the task of keeping
the business prosperous fell to her. They had to make payments to
Perdan, or he would dishonor them with the scandal of an unpaid
debt. They would be ruined.
Or she could become his
mistress
.

Lucy shuddered. She must succeed. If she
didn’t, they were lost. How was she going to keep their business
intact until Lucien recovered? Lucy wouldn't allow herself to
entertain the notion that Lucien might fail to recuperate.

Hugging her knees to her chest, Lucy brooded
over the debt. Could the debt have originated from their father's
funeral? In retrospect, her father's funeral was both elaborate and
expensive. Her father was laid in a gilded coffin and the hearse
was adorned with black ostrich plumes. The horses which bore the
hearse were dyed black and wore matching ostrich feathers with
black and silver trappings.

Lucy and her brother had even hired mutes,
professional mourners who walked in the funeral procession. The
buffet she and Lucien served after the burial was lavish and
costly. Lucy smiled. Her father would have loved the attention.
Surely they were able to afford the expense?

The first immediate problem to resolve was
how to deal with their patrons. After all, Lucy possessed no legal
standing. All legal standing rested with her brother upstairs in
his bed, incapacitated. So where did that leave them? Lucien wasn't
apt to tend to his business any time soon. While some of the
merchant class might work with her, the ton most assuredly would
not. And the ton constituted a majority of their business.

Lucy needed someone to help her device a
plan. There was only one person she could trust and that was her
dearest friend, Lady Monique. Sitting at the ornate oak desk which
had belonged to her father, and now Lucien, she removed a crisp
sheet of foolscap. Lucy flipped the lid of the inkpot open and
dipped the nib of the quill into the ink. She paused in
concentration, and began to write.

Dearest Lady Monique,

I hope my letter finds you hale and hearty. I
do not know what you may have heard about my recent circumstances,
but I have a great need for your wise counsel. While I know this is
not much notice and Season has gotten under way, if your social
calendar would permit, I would benefit from your company.

If you are able to visit me post haste, I
will instruct my servant to wait upon you and bring you here. If
not, please send word as to when I might expect you. Besides, it
has been far too long.

Always yours,

Lucille Goodwin

Lucy read the letter to herself and decided
it was satisfactory. She blotted the paper carefully and waved the
letter in the air. She folded the letter and removed her personal
seal from the desk. Lighting a candle, she melted the wax, poured
the wax over the folds in the letter and imprinted it with her
seal. She would send the letter with Cedric today in the hopes
Monique would be able to leave without delay and be here tomorrow
evening.

Lucy walked from the salon and into the large
entrance hall. She climbed the main staircase taking one stair at a
time. Reaching the last step, she exhaled. Like a sleepwalker, she
drifted down the wide hallway and entered Lucien's room. Alistair
hunched over Lucien and sponged his forehead.

"How is he?"

"The same. Though this morning he's been a
little more restless. He's been speaking some, but it's mostly
gibberish."

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed and stroked
Lucien's hair. "You'll be fine," she said, more for herself than
for him.

"Soon you'll be riding again and I'll be
picking out our horses, just like always."

Eyes soft, Lucy recalled when their mother
passed away. Their father had been engulfed in grief. He had been
overwhelmed in trying to accept the loss of his wife and the
demands of his growing horse breeding business. Their father had
been unable to cope well with the additional needs of two young
children.

She and Lucien had in many ways been left to
fend for themselves. They were alone, not so much in a physical
sense, but in an emotional sense. They too had been overwhelmed
with grief over the loss of their mother. She and Lucien had clung
to each other during that time and comforted one another. There was
no one else to turn to, only each other. Now Lucien lay helpless in
bed.

Lucy would care for Lucien and nurse him back
to health. She had to do the same for his business. The breeding
business was her brother's inheritance from their father. Lucy
wasn't going to let anything happen to Lucien, or to her father's
legacy. Moreover, the business was their sole source of income and
what stood between them and ruin.
And me becoming the plaything
of that repulsive man.
Lucy needed a plan
. Dear heavens, I
hope Monique will be able to free herself.

Monique had swept into the house the night
before like a burst of summer breeze. For the first time in days,
Lucy laughed and enjoyed herself with carefree abandon. They
chatted and caught up on recent gossip. Monique's brother would
send a coach for her on Sunday to take her back to Town.

Both women avoided the topic which had
brought Monique here at Lucy's urgent request and enjoyed their
time together. Monique's family loved racing thoroughbreds and had
purchased Goodwin horses on a regular basis over many years.
Monique and Lucy met when Monique accompanied her father and
brothers on one such trip.

Both girls had been young and recently
bereaved of their mothers. They were also surrounded by male family
members and shared a love of horses. Those facets of their lives
had formed the basis for an unlikely friendship despite the
differences in their stations. Though now grown women, Lucy and
Monique still maintained a close friendship.

After finishing breakfast, they retired to
the main salon and Lucy explained what had happened to Lucien.
Shivering, Lucy wrapped her arms around herself and proceeded to
describe the subsequent visits paid to her by both Lord Perdan and
Lord Chalifour. Monique listened, her eyes widening in horror.

"Good heavens! What a despicable bounder Lord
Perdan is. Even if your brother owes him money! To treat you in
such a way is unforgivable! I hesitate to tell you this, but I
suppose I should. There are rumors about Lord Perdan. I have heard
whispers that some of his mistresses may have been beaten. There
was even talk of one of his women being burned."" Monique's lips
twisted with distaste.

Lucy recoiled in horror. "Do you think it’s
true?"

"I don’t know. I only heard because I was
eavesdropping on my brother one day. Perdan is not well liked by
anyone I know. The only reason he is even tolerated, I think, is
because he is a peer. Otherwise I don't believe anyone would bother
to speak with him, much less invite him to social events."

"I should think not. He is truly repulsive,
but that doesn't change the fact he claims a debt against Lucien.
If anything, I think that makes the matter worse."

"Yes, and a gambling debt is a debt of honor.
That can be serious business. And so is forgery, which you are also
contemplating."

"But I don't know if it's a gambling debt. I
don't know what the debt is for! All right, let's review the
situation." Lucy shot up from her chair and began to pace the room.
"I have misled Lord Chalifour somewhat."

"A lot. You have misled him a lot, Lucy,"
Monique said sternly.

"What choice did I have? You yourself said a
gambling debt can be serious business. What else can this debt be
for? We have money, but not enough to pay this off. I can't use
every bit of money Lucien has in the bank. We need money to pay our
other creditors too."

Lucy waved her hand in the air to encompass
their surroundings. "Though this enterprise pays well, it's only
during certain times of the year when we sell the foals or allow
the stallions to sire and take stud fees. During the remainder of
the year, there’s extra money if Lucien wins a race. We haven't
started selling foals yet and so money is not as abundant as during
other times of the year."

"I've never known much about your business,
though what you just explained makes sense. All right. Let's say
you forge this contract with Lord Chalifour. Not only will you
commit forgery, you will also be selling him an interest in a
business your brother may not even rightly own if he is truly this
deep in debt to Lord Perdan. Did you know that Lord Chalifour is a
member of the Jockey Club?"

Lucy stopped pacing and shook her head
no.

"He is one of its members who is well known
for being committed to rooting out corruption in horse racing and
working hard to raise the prestige of the sport. Given his stance
on corruption, I think it highly unlikely he would be very
forgiving of someone if he discovered them committing a
forgery."

"If I don't do this, we could be dishonored
and ruined. Lucien could be looking at debtor's prison and we would
lose our home. I can't let any of this happen. I must keep this
business intact until Lucien is well again."

"If you do this and things go badly for any
reason, you could be looking at prison too."

Lucy sat next to Monique on the settee. "When
Lucien has recovered, we can devise a plan to pay Lord Perdan off.
For the time being, I don't see an alternative course of action.
Maybe Lucien will be able to compete in more races in the future.
Some of the purses are rather large. A few wins would go a long way
toward paying this debt. In the meantime, forging the contract is
the only thing I can do right now to bring in an income. Unless, of
course, you think I should become Lord Perdan’s mistress."

"Don’t even suggest such things!" Monique
reached over and placed Lucy's hands between her own and looked
into her eyes. "Lucy, you could consider taking a husband," she
said quietly. "I know you've had a few good offers over the years.
My family's connections are available to you. We could help you
find a suitable match. While you are not highborn, there are men
who would gladly marry you, if for no other reason than to have
access to the Goodwin horses. Have you considered that? It could
help solve your and Lucien's financial difficulties."