if hes wicked (14 page)

wanted his new home to be a happy one, but a happy home with Julian and his family meant that she would be pushed even further out of his life.

By the time Lady Evelyn left, Chloe was feeling very sorry for herself. She had tried to comfort herself with the thought that, as Anthony’s

godmother, she would have a place in his life. However, it was beginning to look as if he would never have a reason to turn to her once he settled in with

the Kenwoods. She suspected Julian’s sisters would welcome him as lovingly as Lady Evelyn had.

By late that evening, Chloe had worked herself into what even she had to admit was a deep wel of self-pity. Leaving the men to make plans for

when Julian would final y let the world, and his enemies, know that he survived the attack on him, she wandered out into the garden. Breathing deeply of

the scents of roses and honeysuckle, she struggled to shake free of the dark mood.

She had thought that she had always understood that she would lose Anthony, that he had never been hers to keep. It was apparent that she had

failed in that. Chloe realized that, deep in her heart, she had always felt as if Anthony was her child. Worse, she had somehow managed to mix him up

with her grief for her sister and her sister’s lost child. It was not fair to make Anthony carry the weight of relieving that grief. She had to let him go, and she feared it was going to rip out her heart to do so.

Letting Julian go was not going to be any easier, she thought, and sighed. Two kisses and she was besotted with the man. If that did not make her

a complete fool, she did not know what would. The brief plan she had had to enjoy what he made her feel for as long as he was with them was even more

foolish. She was no woman of the world, no gay widow, who could take a lover and then send him on his way with a smile. It would destroy her to hold him

and then have to let him go, to watch him with other women after he left.

“I am such an idiot,” she mumbled.

“Now why would you berate yourself so?”

The sound of Julian’s voice so close made her start so that she nearly fel off the bench she was sitting on. He caught her by the arm and steadied

her even as he sat down beside her. Chloe took a deep breath to steady herself only to silently curse as she breathed in his scent. The fact that even how

he smel ed could make her go weak in the knees only confirmed her opinion that she was already far too infatuated with the man to save herself from al

hurt when he left.

“Are you and Leo done with al your plotting?” she asked.

Deciding he would let her change the subject, Julian nodded. “I wil not be hiding out in my bedchamber for very much longer. Final y I wil be able

to help, to do something to free myself and my family from this danger and not just sit by while others do it.”

“That has been eating at you, aye?”

He smiled faintly. “Aye. I have my pride, after al . I think it has been battered enough over the past few years.”

“I suppose it has. Your mother already loves Anthony.”

Hearing the sigh in her voice, Julian put his arm around her. “Yes, she does, and so wil my sisters. You need not fear that. You wil always have a

place in his life.”

“I know. I am just feeling a bit sorry for myself. I wil shake it off.”

She turned her head to look at him and found their faces alarmingly close. The way he looked at her mouth told her he was thinking about kissing

her again. A voice told her to pul away, that she would only sink deeper into infatuation with the man if she kept letting him kiss her, but she stayed right where she was. As he lowered his mouth toward hers, she felt only anticipation.

“Miss Chloe,” cal ed Dilys from the door. “Anthony wondered if you could come and read him a story, as he is too excited to go to sleep.”

Chloe stared at Julian’s mouth for a ful moment, feeling a strange mix of relieved and disappointed, before she answered, “I wil be right there.”

“It might be best,” murmured Julian as he helped her to her feet.

“Sometimes what is for the best is damnably annoying,” Chloe muttered as she hurried away.

Julian laughed and shook his head. He had to face up to the fact that he had no wil power when it came to Chloe Wherlocke. If he did not acquire

some soon, he might just find himself with a new wife within days of being rid of the old one. As he walked back into the house, he realized that the thought did not disturb him as much as he thought it ought to.

It was astounding the difference three days could make, Julian thought as he donned his own waistcoat and felt barely a twinge in his shoulder or

his side. The stitching had been removed two days ago and, with the help of some herbal salve Chloe had given him, the itching often accompanying such

healing wounds had never truly tormented him. He was, al in al , one very lucky man. Julian just prayed that he stayed lucky. In a very short time, he would be putting that luck to a hard test as he stepped out of hiding.

He frowned as he checked his appearance in a lavishly framed mirror. When he stepped out it appeared that Chloe would be stepping out with

him. It made his blood run cold. Arthur was not a stupid man. Once he knew Julian was alive and once he caught sight of the boy Julian would soon

publicly claim as his son, he would soon figure out what and who was responsible for the failure of his plans. Julian knew that at that moment both Chloe

and Anthony would be in as much danger as he was. Anthony because he was the heir and Chloe because she had the audacity to interfere. The only one

who might not be adding to the danger in his life was Leo, because Julian doubted Arthur would seek the death of a man who was so important to the

Home Office, not unless his own life was final y at risk.

Looking forward to eating his first dinner at a proper table and with company, Julian shook aside his fears for the moment. The denouement could

not be avoided. The only thing he could do was try his utmost to protect the ones who might be caught in the crossfire between him and his uncle.

Stepping into the dining room, Julian had to smile at his mother and Chloe. They had one interest in common that had immediately made them

compatriots—Anthony. Even in the short time they had visited in the last few days, Julian suspected they had found others. To him, his son was a bright,

wondrous miracle, but Julian did not think Anthony could account for al the talking the women did when they were together.

He was pleased that his mother and sisters recognized the importance of Chloe and Leo in Anthony’s life. There had been no simple show of

gratitude fol owed by the complete taking charge of his son, but a blending. He hoped that would be enough to take some of the sadness out of Chloe’s

eyes.

They were halfway through the meal when Leo announced, “I believe we shal al go to the Winglingtons’ bal on Saturday.”

Julian felt an immediate surge of anticipation, something that was not dimmed much by the looks of horror on his mother’s and Chloe’s faces.

“That is the night I make my debut, is it?”

“Aye,” said Leo. “They move to grasp hold of as many of your assets as possible. Even the protections we have initiated might not help much. I

begin to think your uncle made sure he had al ies in the right place so that he could expedite matters when the time was right.”

“I cannot believe that al of this is about nothing more than greed,” said Lady Evelyn.

“Greed is behind many an il deed, Mother. The more I have thought on it al , the more I realize that my uncle has always suffered from the sin of

greed. My wife also. She, however, may be evil, possessing more faults that I could list, but she did not start this. Nor, I think, wil Arthur al ow her to finish it.”

“You believe Arthur wil kil her.”

“My uncle does not share wel , and Beatrice wil most assuredly demand her share.”

Lady Evelyn shook her head. “I tel you no secret when I say I never liked Beatrice, but never, not once, did I think she was capable of what she has

done.” She grimaced. “If nothing else, I thought the woman one of those who only knew how to use her beauty to her advantage. A heartless, and perhaps,

witless seducer, one fil ed with vanity and greed and little else.”

“I wish I had had the same clarity of vision. As for Beatrice planning any of this, I doubt she went beyond the point of agreeing that she wanted it al .

Stil , although she is not a particularly intel igent woman, she is cunning, especial y when it comes to her comfort and her life. Arthur chose her because of those skil s, and he chose wel . I am but shamed by how long it took me to see exactly what she is.”

Patting his hand, Lady Evelyn said, “You have seen the truth now, and that is what matters. That and the fact that you never let her taint you with al

that is wrong in her. I am just so very sorry that you had to suffer.”

“The longer I stayed away from her, the more I realized that it was mostly my pride that suffered.” He looked at Leo. “Is there any more to the plan

than my simply appearing in public, alive and wel ? Have we a tale that must be told to explain it al ?”

“Just that you needed to recover from your wounds in a safe place, somewhere where the ones who are trying so hard to kil you could not find

you,” replied Leo. “By letting the world think you were dead, we prevented the further threat of your enemies hunting you down.”

“The truth save for the names of my enemies. Very clever.”

“I do try,” murmured Leo and grinned when everyone laughed, but he quickly grew serious again. “I have always found that giving out as much of

the truth as possible is best. It worries one’s enemies and arouses the curiosity of others, ones who might wel go searching for the truth themselves. And they wil natural y share whatever they discover with others.”

“And what of Anthony?”

“We shal try our best to keep him hidden, but there is always the chance that he wil be found out. Try not to worry about the boy. He wil be very

wel guarded. The best thing you can do for him is to take away the sword that hangs over his neck.”

As soon as the dinner ended, his mother left, not wishing to arouse too much suspicion by lingering at the Wherlockes’ for too long or too often.

Julian was glad his sisters had not come to dine with them, for their constant company would definitely raise a few eyebrows. They did help his mother

with her charity work, but not too consistently, as both of them were just entering society, stil young and considered far too innocent for much of the work his mother did.

After a short conversation and a brandy in the blue salon, Leo also left. Julian had to wonder what the man did at night, but did not ask. He was

sure it was not a continuous round of debauchery, and anything else probably had to remain secret. It amused him, and dismayed him just a little, that Leo

had left Julian alone in the blue salon with Chloe without any hesitation. The man did that a lot and Julian hated himself for abusing the trust Leo had in him.

Julian sat next to Chloe even though he knew he should keep his distance. “Are you worried about my debut?”

“Very much so,” she replied without hesitation.

“I am completely healed, or near enough so that it makes no difference.”

“The matter of your health is not a very large part of my concern. Your enemies are.” She smiled faintly. “I know you must do this, that nothing can

be solved by simply staying out of their reach, but that does not mean I have to like opening our doors and letting them peer inside. I much preferred it

when they thought they were successful in kil ing off two heirs to the earldom.”

“In truth, so did I.” He exchanged a grin with her. “It must be done. Leo has gathered al the information he can, but nothing exceeds the value of a

direct confrontation. No matter what we tel the world, Arthur and Beatrice wil know that we are aware of al their plots and what they have done. Oh, they wil think they stil have a few secrets, but not enough, not as they had before I was stabbed in that al ey.”

“I rather agree with your mother. It is so hard to believe that greed alone would make people do this, cause them to kil three members of their

closest kin. Plus who knows how many others on the way to achieving that bloody goal.”

“With Beatrice it probably is just greed. Even before I gave up on my marriage, I had begun to notice that there was a coldness in her, a hardness.

My uncle? Wel , I think his reasons are many. There is definitely greed involved, but I think there is also a long-simmering resentment over the fact that he was not born to be the earl.”

“That was hardly your fault.”

“It is my fault that I continue to stand in the way of him obtaining what he believes should always have been his. Do not try to understand it, or him.

There are far too many younger sons who suffer that envy or resentment, although few of them resort to murder to end what they see as a great

unfairness.”

Julian could not help himself; he began to toy with one of the fat curls her maid had twisted Chloe’s hair into. Ever since the night in the garden

when she had been cal ed away before he could kiss her, he had taken every, and any chance he could grasp to kiss her, to touch her. His whole body

ached for more, far more, every time he was near her.

She enthral ed him, intrigued him, and aroused him. Every time she was within reach he wanted to touch her,
needed
to touch her. It worried him.

His mind told him he could trust this woman with his life, that she had proven herself over and over again. Yet his battered pride kept him wary. He did not want to feel this way about any woman, especial y not one who could prove to be a quick road to marriage. Despite that, he kept coming back to her, kept

wanting her.