Wicked Proposition (14 page)

“I thought you weren’t listening. It was just a
game my mother used to play upon my father,” she disclosed with a
nervous smile. “I now think he only pretended to agree with
everything she said.”

“I’m rather disappointed,” he replied with a
naughty grin and winked down at her. “I would have liked to see you
in nothing but one of my hats.”

Catherine looked up at him, feeling some pang of
regret for the deception she played. She felt a tightening in her
chest she attributed only to her guilt.

“It was only a game, Gabriel,” she reminded him
with a reproachful look that made him smile in anticipation.

“We shall have to play that game another time.
Today I show you London, in all its glory and shame,” Gabriel
promised. She smiled in enthusiasm.

###

The afternoon seemed to fly by and before she
knew it they were turning into Hyde Park. Gabriel sat back and eyed
her under his lashes. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked so
enchantingly lovely, he felt a tightening in his chest. Dare he
admit it, but he had actually enjoyed the outing?

He had seen these historical landmarks so many
times he had begun to take them for granted. Experiencing them with
her had made it all new to him again, a disturbing realization.

She was looking out the window, excited as they
took a turn in the park. He was afforded the luxury of watching her
discreetly. Catherine’s enjoyment was contagious. Her eyes were
sparkling. He felt this heart skip a beat when she looked over at
him.

Gabriel wanted to see real affection and
admiration in her gaze, not something he commanded because he paid
for it. He knew next to nothing about her, only that he wanted her
with an intensity he could hardly understand. She was beautiful
certainly, but many of his mistresses had been. Something about her
appealed to him more than the others.

Even Lillianne had not had this disturbing
effect upon his senses. He told himself once her debt to him was
paid, the feelings she aroused within him would be more than
satisfied. He was sure of it with a jaded sense of having had more
mistresses than he could count over the years. Women wanted only
one thing from him, and it was usually his wealth when all the
other avenues were closed off to them.

His thoughts darkened to think of his wife.

No, women were all alike, he brooded. Catherine
would soon become as greedy and grasping as all the others. He
would enjoy her now, before that change occurred in her. The fact
she asked for anything and made him want to give her everything.
Catherine was not boring either. The game at the breakfast table
made him smile once more.

Simple teasing such as that had made him long to
pull her into his arms and feed her breakfast upon his lap.
Catherine seemed unimpressed with his title and wealth as well. Any
other woman would be trying to wheedle gifts out of him by now.

Gabriel had no reason to feel guarded with her,
and didn’t seem to want to try. The emotions he had long-suppressed
seemed to be spilling through each crack in the wall he had built
around himself. The desire to be close to her was overwhelming, and
not just in bed.

Gabriel found himself wanting to know her
thoughts as well, confused of his growing passions for her. She was
too innocent to know what was between them. He was too jaded to
hesitate in exploring such a unique experience. He watched her lean
out the window to comment on the many ducks they passed along the
trail, looking over at him mischievously.

Catherine was muttering under her breath as she
retrieved the most immodest gown in the armoire. It was a vivid
violet gown trimmed in black lace. It was the most revealing gown
out of all of them, and it screamed of indecency.

She knew he would adore it.

She rolled her eyes in disgust as Mrs. Whitley
helped her dress. It seemed obvious he demanded she wear these
garments just to annoy her. He knew she felt uncomfortable with
their arrangement, and was determined she accept it.

Catherine was told by the housekeeper that
Gabriel had already left for the day. She was strangely
disappointed as she went down to the dining room for breakfast. She
didn’t dare try to seek out Thornton yet. She must find a way to
contact Lilly. Her sister had much explaining to do.

Catherine had been in the house a week, and
questioned everything her sister had ever said about her husband.
She had no reason to trust Gabriel. Common sense told her not to.
Still, he was not at all what she had been prepared for.

She remembered how considerate he had been in
showing her the sites the week before, blushing to recall how they
spent the remainder of that afternoon. His insistence she wear only
one of his hats in his bed made her face burn at the decadent
memory. The things he made her feel inside had her conscience
playing havoc with her.

Gabriel was an early riser. He was gone about
his business each day before she woke. She discovered he had an
active seat in the House of Lords, ran six profitable estates in
England and in Scotland, and owned several different
businesses.

Catherine was impressed with his ambition,
despite her resentment to know he had abandoned her and her
brothers. He unceremoniously dumped his expense ledgers upon her
each day before he left, declaring he would go blind if he looked
at them anymore.

She made the necessary tallies, and to her
disgust, what errors she found were only to his benefit. The only
estate that seemed to be struggling was Amberley Hall, in the
north. After a full day of accounting and reading the figures, she
realized he was being cleverly fleeced. Her sense of outrage when
she brought this to his attention had surprised her.

His way of thanking her made her face heat,
recalling how he had tossed the ledger aside and availed himself of
her on his desk in the study. Gabriel’s daily schedule was
predictable, even if his nature wasn’t. He attended his
appointments until noon. The man attended his club every Tuesday,
went to the boxing saloon to exercise three times a week, and
arrived home at precisely five in the afternoon. Early evenings
were spent going over his accounts until dinner. After, she burned
to know he lavished his full attentions upon her.

There were few places left in the house he had
not lured her to. Few surfaces existed that she didn’t find herself
tossed upon when his lustful impulses arose. She grimaced to recall
the lusty misadventure in the upstairs linen closet, and her acute
embarrassment when they had been caught by the maid.

Gabriel had only laughed and dragged her away
from the giggling maid, kissing her lingeringly, his dark eyes
filled with devilish amusement. Catherine was disgusted to admit
she enjoyed every bit of his attentions. The guilt began to eat at
her daily. Her growing admiration for him made it difficult to
accept Lilly’s word anymore.

Later that morning, after breakfast, she wrote a
note to Lilly. She waited until Higgins left his post and looked
out onto the stoop. Catherine saw a small boy loitering on the
street corner. She called him over, gave him the note and a
shilling, and promised more if he ran her notes to the
Countess.

The boy agreed readily and ran to complete his
errand.

Catherine sighed with relief, leaning against
the door frame. She prayed her sister had the means of getting her
out of this mess before she was too deeply involved.

###

Lilly read the note delivered by the boy. She
tossed it into the fire with a curse. Her dark blue eyes narrowed
to realize her plan was flawed. Catherine was ruining everything
with her blasted conscience! Lilly wrote a hasty reply and gave it
to the boy.

Lilly fumed. Her little twit of a sister was
spoiling everything. She had planned everything so cleverly. Now
Catherine was threatening to leave. She could not afford for that
to happen. She had to stay just a bit longer.

Lilly returned to her desk and tapped her
fingers on the top, frowning at this new development. Catherine was
beginning to question the lies she told her. It did not bode well
for what Lilly planned. She needed more time.

###

Gabriel eyed Edward Thornton incredulously when
he finished speaking. He refused to believe what the man said.

“What do you mean there is not sufficient
evidence to suggest the Countess was unfaithful?” Gabriel all but
shouted at the man. “My wife has dangled herself upon every willing
cock in London! Find any man to come forward! Pay him if you must!
Just find the damned proof!”

“Lord Iverleigh, you as a peer are well aware of
what a scandal such as this is going to mean to your reputation?
The men you have named refused to bear testimony against the
Countess,” Edward Thornton finished patiently. “I have approached
them, they refuse. I even tried to push the petition through.
Without a credible witness to vouch for your wife’s adultery, you
have no case.”

“Are you married, Thornton?” Gabriel asked
tightly, taking the barrister off guard.

Thornton shifted in his seat and appeared
uncomfortable at the question. “No, my lord, I have not married
yet.”

“Then do not presume to understand my
frustration. Consider yourself fortunate, Thornton. I can assure
you if you had spent the last ten years of your life married to my
wife, you would find the nearest cave to hide in!”

Gabriel chuckled despite himself at the man’s
look of indignation. His dark eyes met Edward’s speculatively. “I
find I know little about you except that you once worked for my
father-in-law. Your references were impeccable. Dunleavy wrote a
glowing account of your skills at litigation. Yet I can’t get this
one thing done. Why is that Thornton, I wonder? Do you have
remaining loyalties to Dunleavy and his daughter? Do you play
against me in this?”

The man colored under Gabriel’s gaze and
hastened to assure him. His brown eyes flared with anger at the
Earl’s insinuation.

“I don’t like what you suggest, my lord.”
Thornton scowled as he nervously shuffled papers in front of him.
“A divorce is easy enough to obtain. You have enough money and
connections. I cannot be blamed because you have no proof of any
gross misdeeds against your wife, other than your word. No attorney
could help you. I cannot do the impossible, Lord Iverleigh.”

Gabriel decided he would gain nothing by
badgering the man. “I apologize, Thornton, if I have offended you.
I want to be free of the woman. I am anxious for this to be
over.”

Edward tapped his finger on the detective’s
reports he received. “Our man Vickers has been adequate enough in
his reporting, my lord. I must have a witness who is credible in
order to persuade the courts to approve your petition. There is
nothing I can do otherwise.”

“Let us hope Vickers turns something up, shall
we?” Gabriel rose to leave his barristers office. He was already
convinced Thornton was doing absolutely nothing to aid his
cause.

Gabriel also accepted the nagging suspicion
Thornton was working against him for his wife, though he had no
proof of it.

###

Edward pushed papers around his desk after the
Earl left. He glared at the documents, frustrated he was unable to
conclude this business. He thought of her. His eyes narrowed. She
knew he had no choice but to help her, knowing what they had done
to improve his future.

Edward’s lips twisted when he remembered her
assurances it was so they could be together. She had played him
false to do her bidding. Now more people were dead. He was playing
a dangerous game now. The nobleman was no simpleton. The Countess
had underestimated the Earl from the very beginning when she
plotted her scheme. The day he stole her mother’s diary was not the
end of it, as she assured him. It was only the beginning. Edward
had done all for her benefit since. The woman was evil incarnate.
He dared not cross her. She knew too much about his past and held
it over him now.

Edward had been a fool to fall victim to her
charms years ago. Those brief lustful encounters upon his desk in
Dublin had cost him much. He was her puppet now. He was trapped
into making sure her husband found no way out of their marriage. He
stalled the petition as long he dared. The Earl was growing
suspicious of him.

Edward hastily wrote a note to Lilly. He had his
secretary run it over to her residence, warning the man to watch
out for Vickers.

###

Lilly muttered under her breath as she crumpled
the note in her fist. She donned Amy’s cloak, used the rear
entrance, and slipped away from Vickers unseen. She hailed a hack
blocks away from the manor, waiting in a fury in front of his
office.

The coach door opened and Edward Thornton slid
onto the seat across from her. He looked panicked as he met her icy
blue eyes.

“I had to contact you, Lilly! We have a
problem.” He grimaced as he saw her expression of displeasure.
“Iverleigh came to see me unannounced. He grows suspicious. I must
move forward with his petition. He will dismiss me and find another
attorney if I don’t. We knew this could happen. You must seek to
hurry along your plan. Time runs out.”

Lilly glared at her one-time lover, eyeing him
in distaste. He could have said all that, and did, in his note!
Damned incompetent idiot!

“My plan is underway,” she purred dangerously,
“however, several loose ends have emerged. The Devereaux woman must
be dealt with. I want my mother’s diary back. She threatens to go
to Gabriel. It is all you’re doing by frothing off at the mouth to
that damned whore!”

Edward blanched at her words. He had been rather
full of himself that night. He had far too much wine when he
discovered Constance was Iverleigh’s favorite. He had not meant to
boast of his knowing Lady Iverleigh intimately, but he had been
drunk. Constance was skillful at getting him to talk. His satchel
had been left unattended in the salon. When he left to go to the
whore’s room, its contents fell into the lap of Clarice.