Wicked Proposition (62 page)

###

Catherine was looking for Thor’s latest letter
in her husband’s desk in their room when she spied the pocket
watch. She felt excruciating pain in her head and her vision swam.
She held onto the desk for support. Her breathing grew ragged.

She sat and slowed her breathing. She picked up
the pocket watch. Her memory saw her and her mother picking it up
at the jeweler’s for her father’s gift for her parent’s ten year
anniversary.

He had never taken it off. She recalled it was
missing that day Thomas came to the hall to report their deaths. A
robbery, he said.

How did Nicholas come to have it?

She jumped up from the desk and went running to
catch him before he returned to Iverleigh Manor. She was out of
breath when she arrived to his study. He was putting papers in his
safe. He saw her flushed appearance in concern.

“Where did you get this?” she asked with a
hysterical edge in her voice.

Nicholas saw the pocket watch Lilly had given
him and weighed whether he should tell her that it had been given
to him by her. Their new beginning reminded him of his vow to be
honest with his wife from now on.

“I have not thought of that since she gave it to
me, Catherine,” he replied tensely. “Lilly gave it to me.”

Catherine paled and her hand went to her
throat.

“What is it?” Nicholas asked in sudden
concern.

“This was my father’s!” she cried as she held it
up. “I was with my mother when she bought it for him, Nicholas. He
never took it off his waistcoat. It was taken from him when he
died, as well as my mother’s jewels.”

Nicholas stared at her intently. “You are very
sure?”

“He never took it off. He loved it. Look inside,
it is Gaelic. She had it engraved,” she whispered hoarsely and
closed her eyes, trying to remember. “It says, ‘Believe in me, have
faith in my heart, for always’.”

Nicholas grabbed her and hugged her tightly,
holding her close while she began to cry. She grieved still for the
memories of her parents that were forever ripped from her mind.

“We have her, Catherine,” he breathed against
her hair. “She could not have this unless she was involved in the
murders. This is our proof.”

Catherine pulled away, looking up at him with a
tearful smile. “I believe she may have some other items as well. If
she kept this, she must have my mother’s jewelry too.”

“Can you remember them?”

“I remembered them from the moment I saw this
watch.”

“Write them all down and describe each piece
with every detail you can recall.”

Nicholas watched as his wife took a piece of
paper and made the list of items believed stolen in the robbery the
day her parents were killed. They were never recovered, and they
had been in her family for centuries.

He took the list from her and smiled down at
her. “It won’t be long until your gift arrives.”

“What gift?” Catherine said pulling away from
him. “I need no gift. You spoil me.”

“I have gotten you nothing for giving me my son,
love,” he pointed out and grinned. “It should be here any time
now.”

Catherine was left to wonder for the remainder
of the evening. She was sitting in the salon doing some embroidery
when she heard the doorknocker. Her heart clenched to think it was
a message from Iverleigh Manor.

She rose and went to the foyer. Her husband
arrived as Hennessey opened the door. Chumley entered with an older
woman by his side. The woman held a small child in her arms.

Catherine stared at the woman and child in
puzzlement. Her husband came to her and slid an arm around her for
support.

“Go and meet your daughter, love,” he whispered
in her ear. “It is really her, Catherine.”

Catherine stared at the little girl who watched
all with her finger in her mouth. Her eyes devoured the child. She
had soft, ebony ringlets, and huge blue eyes. They were startling
and as bright as a morning sky.

She stepped forward, staring at the little girl
in fascination. Mrs. Gates smiled mistily at her as she handed her
the little girl.

Catherine held the child a bit awkwardly at
first. The child did not make strange with her, but smiled up at
her. Catherine’s expression was one of wonder then.

Suddenly, she gazed at Nicholas and back at the
little girl, and back again. She was about to remark upon the
child’s undeniable resemblance to her husband. She shook her head.
No, it couldn’t be possible…

“I am very glad to see you still live, Lady
Catherine,” Agatha Gates said with tears in her eyes. “I am pleased
to put your daughter back into your arms once more.”

Catherine was too overwhelmed to do more than
nod in agreement. Her eyes were too busy. They darted back to her
daughter’s ebony ringlets and then to her husband’s once more.
Nicholas invited Mrs. Gates to come in for refreshments. The older
woman obliged.

Nicholas approached his wife, seeing her
frowning as she looked down at her daughter. Catherine was perusing
the child from every angle now. She even removed the child’s shoes,
staring at her feet in dismay.

“I can assure you, she is indeed your child,
love,” he teased and clucked the little girl under her chin, making
her giggle uncontrollably. “She has your perfect little nose, and
your sweet little mouth, and look she has…” Nicholas frowned too,
looking closer at the child with disbelief etched in his
features.

“She has your damned eyes!” Catherine snapped
under her breath. “She has your curls, and your feet too!”

“It couldn’t be possible,” Nicholas said with a
guilty look. He dodged his wife’s accusing gaze. “Such things
aren’t possible, wife! Quit looking at me like that!”

“Just how well did we know each other before I
disappeared, Nicholas?” she demanded, realizing they were getting
looks from Chumley and Agatha now from across the room.

“What would you consider by ‘well’, love?”

“Nicholas!” she snapped under her breath,
blushing furiously. “You know exactly what I mean!”

“We knew each other very well, love,” Nicholas
admitted guiltily. He smiled down at the little girl again in
pleasure, his eyes twinkling in delight. “Cat’s out of the bag
now.”

Catherine swallowed hard as comprehension dawned
upon her. She stared at the obvious result of her past liaison with
Nicholas. Her eyes were narrowed as they met his.

“What else have you failed to tell me?” she said
in an angry whisper.

“She has my ears too,” he whispered back and
chuckled at her angry look.

“This isn’t funny at all, Nicholas!” she fumed
under her breath. “What do we tell Gabriel? It is obvious she isn’t
his! He will know the minute he sees her!”

Nicholas smiled as he took his daughter from
her. “He doesn’t know. I never told Gabriel you had twins,
Catherine. I decided you deserved to have something for all you had
been through, especially when he refused to let you have your son
back.”

Catherine was still stunned. What miracle of
conception had allowed her to birth two children from two different
men? She shook her head in wonder as she gazed at her daughter in
absolute certainty she was Nicholas’s offspring.

Seeing the little girl next to her husband made
it even more obvious. She cringed as he winked down at her. He was
puffed up with pride, and obviously enjoying the fact the child was
his.

“You will tell me everything we were to one
another later, Nicholas,” she warned under her breath.

“I will do better, and I will show you, love,”
he whispered back, chuckling as she muttered under breath and
returned to join Agatha and Chumley.

Nicholas couldn’t remove the smile from his face
as he held his daughter on his chest. His pride swelled a thousand
fold.

###

Tieghan sent word Gabriel was improving, but
still abed. He woke a day later, and appeared on the mend.
Catherine didn’t feel guilty about her daughter’s surprising
parentage. Not when the Earl sent the summons for her son and
brothers to be returned to him at once.

Brionne and Giles knew each other only five
days. The Earl nipped the visit in the bud with his edict.

The Iverleigh coach arrived and Tieghan arrived
back with the child’s nurse. Catherine tried not to cry as she
watched the children being packed back up. She put on a brave face
for her brother’s. They had been told Brionne was an orphan they
adopted for lack of a better explanation.

Nicholas and Tieghan disappeared into his study
and Catherine knew they discussed how to entrap Lilly. The Countess
had no doubt heard of her husband’s shooting by now.

They expected her back in town any day.
Catherine was feeling a wave of unease as she stood on the porch.
She backed into the house hurriedly, feeling as though she was
being watched. She felt real fear to know it wasn’t over yet.

###

Elise woke up and sat up weakly in the bed, but
strong hands pushed her back down. The room was dark. She felt fear
as she looked to the bedside where the man sat in the dark,
watching over her.

“Where am I?” she asked in a raspy voice. “The
boy, where is the boy? Did you find him? You must find him.”

The man ignored her question and gave her a
glass of water. He held it for her as she drank greedily. Her lips
were parched and her throat hurt. She felt lightheaded as she fell
back against the pillows weakly, trying to recall how she came to
be here.

“The boy is fine. Don’t try to talk,” he said
softly in a deep, rich voice. “You have been very ill. You are
safe. Go back to sleep.”

Elise was too weak to do more than nod. Her eyes
sought the shadowy figure in the chair next to the bed. She tried
to see him, but soon her eyes fluttered closed again.

Caspian left her bedside and returned to the
room down the hall. Elise confounded him by waking up and demanding
to know if Ezra was alright.

She never asked for this James person, or this
Tieghan she cried out for in her delirium. Caspian was encouraged
the men were not of importance to her anymore. It did not matter.
He decided Elise would stay with him.

Caspian returned to his music, reasoning he had
another hour before he would go guard the Van Ryker residence.

###

Caspian met Nicholas across the street in his
coach parked outside the residence. Nicholas regarded the crime
lord intently as he slid inside.

“Lilly returned to London last night. She showed
up at the residence and was denied access to Gabriel,” Nicholas
told him tensely. “She was told Lord Iverleigh was on his deathbed
by his mother. She stays with Lord Lyndon.”

“Then all is in place,” Caspian said
approvingly. “She will think her husband is near death. That should
give him ample time to recover. She will want to finish this
quickly.”

“I want Lyndon dealt with.”

Caspian frowned. “We only agreed upon me looking
after your wife, Nicholas. I am not here to fight the Earl’s
battles. He can take care of himself.”

“The man has his own agenda against Gabriel,”
Nicholas said stiffly, his eyes filled with anger. “He lost his arm
in a duel over Lady Iverleigh years ago. He seeks revenge now. He
won’t stop until Gabriel is dead.”

“Nicholas, it is not your matter, but
Iverleigh’s,” Caspian snapped harshly. “You do not owe it to the
man to wipe his backside through life! Men like Iverleigh are bound
to make enemies. The man should be shot again for what he did to
your wife!”

“You know nothing of that!”

“I have heard the gossip. I have also heard Lady
Iverleigh’s absurd version. I saw enough in the last months to come
to my own conclusions, Nicky,” Caspian said testily. “Leave it be.
You can only make things worse for the man.”

“You will not do it?”

“If you want Lyndon eliminated; you will do it
yourself!”

Nicholas wanted to argue with Caspian, but he
knew he was right. Killing Christian Bane would not ensure some
other unseen enemy didn’t lurk around another corner for his
friend. He could not see into the future.

Leaving such a rabid dog behind snapping at
Gabriel’s heels didn’t set well with him. He was still unnerved by
Gabriel nearly dying weeks before.

“You are right,” Nicholas said grudgingly, and
Caspian chuckled appreciatively.

“I know I am. The threat to your wife is nearly
over,” Caspian said and sighed dramatically, his expression
obvious. “I mean to take a much-needed holiday when this is all
over.”

Nicholas smiled knowingly at the expression on
Caspian’s face. “You have met a woman, I see. Noelle will cut your
cock off if she hears of it.”

“This one is a lost dove I rescued from Lester
last week,” Caspian replied and smiled appreciatively. “She is
glorious. Noelle has left me. She has no say in it.”

Nicholas’s smile grew wider. “Does this lost
dove realize she is in the hawk’s lair yet?”

“I just met the girl, Nicky,” Caspian replied as
if offended. “She doesn’t need to know all of my business.”

“How is it you have survived this long doing
what you do, Caspian?” Nicholas asked seriously, his blue eyes
filled with concern. “My business is dangerous, yours is
deadly.”

“I know who my friends are, Nicky,” he replied
with a frown as he looked out the corner of his eye, noting
movement on the walk. “Changing residences often helps. I also stay
out of affairs that do not concern me, as you should learn.”

“I cannot thank you enough for protecting my
wife,” Nicholas said and their eyes met with unspoken
understanding. “She means everything to me, Caspian. We are at last
even.”

“Yes, we are even,” Caspian replied and his
cryptic green gaze softened. “The next time you come into my
territory demanding favors of me, you better bring your lady with
you. I should like to meet her one day.”