Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (68 page)

Scott

Brandon's gaze narrowed in dislike of Jack's devil's advocacy. 'It wasn't a game, Jack. It never was. Nora and I are not finished.' He stood and straightened his waistcoat. He wanted to find Nora and catch her up in his arms, swing her around the dance floor and kiss her silly. She would have to say 'yes' now. He was in no mood for Jack's nay-saying. Where was Nora? She should have been here by now.

Chapter

Y o u played two games and
won
them both.' 'Nora and I
are

Nora froze in the dimly lit hallway at the sound of two male voices. It was definitely Brandon and Jack. She could see the back of Brandon's dark head over the top of a chair.

Brandon had asked her to join them, but now that she had she felt as if she were eavesdropping. Had Brandon meant for her to overhear the conversation? Had he planned this as a cruel goodbye? Or perhaps he hadn't planned for her to overhear it at all. His ominous last words suggested as much.

What else did he have in store for her that could be worse than what she'd heard so far?

How could she have been so wrong about Brandon? How could she have lost such a complete perspective on the reality happening around her? Jack's comments horrified her. Tears gathered in her eyes. What he said made sense; there was no refuting his logic. Brandon had deceived her.

Nora sagged against the wall for support as the brutal duplicity of his lies hit her. All of it-the soft words, the afternoons spent arguing politics, every touch, every look, every every

caress-was a lie, a trap meant to ensnare her in the cruellest

Scott

of ways. All along, Brandon had known what he was doing. She should have shot him that night at St John's.

He'd cleverly used his wit and virility to charm her into of him as an ally. He'd gone so far as to propose marriage and to act as if he meant to see the deed done. He'd given Mary

a cottage. He'd lured The Cat on all fronts, pretending to share her cause.

Her stomach lurched. She felt sick. Brandon probably meant to

her in when he was done with her. But why go through with the public engagement? Why let her wear the diamonds?

Wasn't he afraid she would steal them? Merciless reality Therein lay the answer. His motives with the jewels were clear now.

He probably hoped she
would
steal them. Then he could go after her and expose her, or let Witherspoon do his dirty work for him. That was more likely.

She wouldn't let him get away with it. Cold calculation and the chill of heart-hardening anger slowly replaced the ache in her soul. No one used The Cat. She would strike back at the thing Brandon held most dear. Before she left town, she'd pay Stockport and his friends one last visit. He would realise all his contretemps had been for naught. Although he didn't know it yet, he'd been right about one thing tonight: he and The Cat weren't finished yet.

Brandon put a finger to his lips in

Jack broke off

in mid-sentence, his voice dropping to a low whisper. 'What is it? Did you hear something?'

Brandon gave a slight nod and launched into a discussion of horses in a voice loud enough to carry to the doorway. If anyone had been there, the conversation should prove to be un-exceptional to them. Two gentlemen talking about horseflesh was nothing significant. But Brandon couldn't shake the feeling that the person had been eavesdropping. It was no accident