Jaded Moon (Ransomed Jewels Book 2) (15 page)

“What kind of boy is he?”

She listened to the lazy lapping of the fountain and watched the water spray. “He has a gentle disposition and is very bright. He loves books and never wants me to quit reading when I get to the end of a chapter.”

“He’s a good student?” he asked, clearly interested.

“He’s going to be an excellent student. He’s only four, Lord Rainforth. He hasn’t been taught to read yet, but last week Mrs. Lambert found him in the library practicing his letters on his own.”

Josie looked up to see the smile on his face.

“When this is over, I’m going to take him to live with me.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s my son.”

“But he’ll never be your son in the legal sense of the word.”

“Do you think that’s all that matters? It doesn’t to me. And I’ll make sure it never matters to him either. You more than anyone should understand that.”

Josie looked over at the man who was such a conundrum to her. He was a threat to everything she’d always guarded herself against, and if she were smart, the only emotion running through her would be distrust and wariness.

Instead, she found herself in danger of losing her heart.

She stood as if separating herself from him would make everything better. Leaving his side only made her shiver.

“You’re cold.”

“No, I’m fine,” she started to say, but he was already placing his jacket around her shoulders.

A rush building with the force of a tidal wave shot through her, heating the blood in her veins and not easing until it settled with a molten heaviness at that place low in her belly.

If only he’d never come to St. Stephen’s.

This was why he was a man to be feared. Even though she’d aligned all her defenses to fight him, she was weakening at every turn. Then, he stepped closer to her and looked down on her.

She knew what he was going to do when he reached out to cup his palms on either side of her face and she knew she should do something to stop him, but she didn’t.

“Ah, Josephine,” he whispered, then leaned forward and brought his mouth down on hers.

She should have been prepared for the force with which she reacted to him. His voice alone had the power to cause her insides to stir and tumble, and every time she was near him the air separating them sparked as if it had been charged by bolts of lightning. His kiss had the power to tip the earth from its axis.

The pressure of his mouth against hers was not so demanding to frighten or intimidate her, yet not so innocent she missed his intent. With a slight moan, she accepted his kiss and tilted her head as a sign of her willingness.

Josie leaned into him, taking in the passion building between them and suddenly, without understanding where such a need sprang from, she wanted even more.

Her whole life she’d ignored thinking about what it might feel like to be kissed by someone she cared for. She’d shoved her curiosity aside because she knew giving in to any man was forbidden. As if any man would want her if they knew.

But when she kissed the Marquess of Rainforth, she forgot. The passion raging within her made her willing to risk it all and give into him with all the abandon of a starving person after a crust of bread.

He must have realized what she wanted because he deepened his kiss, then opened his mouth atop hers and skimmed his tongue along her lips. The second she parted for him, he entered her mouth, his tongue mating with hers in a ritual that sent her emotions into rampant flight. It wasn’t only their closeness that sent fiery sheets of heat spiraling through her, but his arms wrapped tightly around her, pulling her to him.

Josie wound her arms around his neck, holding on to him with a desperation that brought him closer. On legs that were almost too weak to support her, she leaned against him, her body nestled next to him. There they stood, mouth to mouth, chest to chest, and heat to heat. And she couldn’t have found the will to move if it meant her very life.

She was lost to what he was doing to her. A molten river swirled low in her stomach to awaken a place that was unfamiliar to her. The woman standing in her shoes was a stranger, wanton and hungry with desire. She tightened her grip around his neck and kissed him back with a desperation that couldn’t be assuaged.

She wasn’t sure when she realized she’d lost control of the passion that soared through her. Wasn’t sure when she didn’t care about anything except his hands moving over her, skimming the sensitive skin at the back of her neck then running up and down her spine. Or the feather-like strokes of his fingers as he brushed them against her cheek, then down the column of her throat, and lower yet over the rise of her breast.

Flames seemed to lick at her flesh, flames of desire and passion far hotter than any fire she’d ever known. The chilly air was warm now and every inch of her burned as if she were standing in an inferno, the heat from his kisses sapping her of her strength.

He lifted his mouth from hers and kissed her cheek, then moved downward over her jaw and to the column of her throat. She gasped for air, knowing there was not enough restraint in the whole universe to save her now. For the first time she understood the passion that had destroyed her mother, and Carrie Gardner, and every other woman who’d given herself to a man and been left behind with a babe in her belly and an empty future that offered the woman nothing but a broken heart.

Without willing it to happen, all the nightmares she thought she’d buried surfaced until the man kissing her was not the Marquess of Rainforth but someone else. The hands holding her were not his but someone else’s.

She knew the moment he realized she was no longer a willing participant. He lifted his mouth from her and stepped back. The void that separated them seemed cavernous.

Neither of them spoke for several long minutes. She struggled to find her voice but it took more than one false start before she was finally able to utter any sound.

“I don’t think Lady Clythebrook intended for you to take your assignment so seriously, Lord Rainforth.”

“Don’t you? I think this is exactly what she intended.”

Josie darted her gaze upward and caught the seductive glint in his eyes.

“Rule number four,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Passion is a very dangerous game to play. You can never let a situation go beyond your control or no matter how many rules you try to follow, they’ll all be for naught.”

Josie didn’t care a fig about his rules. The only words worth remembering were the ones he’d spoken earlier.

A wise woman never falls in love with a scoundrel.

Josie didn’t come to this section of the orphanage unless she had to. Tonight, she had to.

She lifted her lantern higher while she made her way down the steep stairs that led from a secret door at the back of the old larder in a wing of the orphanage that was no longer used and consigned to storage.

When she reached the cellar, she went down another set of stairs and through a second locked door that opened to a maze of tunnels. She took the path to the right then turned right again and stopped. She stepped behind a false stone wall and moved forward until she reached a thick, oaken door. She took a separate key from her pocket and worked it into the lock then turned it. The hammer clicked and she pushed downward on the heavy latch until the door opened.

She wasn’t the only one who knew where this door was—one other person did. But she was the only one who had a key. That had been her first stipulation when she’d agreed to let the smugglers use the secret tunnel beneath the orphanage to move their contraband from the caves to their waiting wagons on the other side of the meadow. Not all the men who delivered the goods were savory characters and she would never let anyone who might be a threat anywhere near the children.

Tonight she didn’t have to worry, though. She wasn’t here to open the passageway so the men from Captain Levy’s ship could bring in their goods. Tonight she’d come because she’d received a message from Baron Lindville that he wanted to meet.

A part of her hoped he was going to tell her that they’d found another way to bring in the goods and they wouldn’t need to use the caves any longer. Another part of her hoped it was to tell her things had gotten too dangerous and this would be the last shipment that would come in.

She wanted to laugh. When had she begun to consider an alternative to the smuggling? The most disastrous effect of her meetings with the Marquess of Rainforth was believing that his cattle venture would be able to feed and clothe the children, or that he intended to stay around long enough for it to happen. It was frightening when she thought of how much she’d weakened since she’d met him. Before he’d come she wouldn’t even have considered trusting anyone else with providing for the children.

Josie walked down the long passageway until she heard the gentle slapping sounds of the waves coming ashore. The air felt different here. Heavier. Wetter. She didn’t mind looking at the waves from up above, but every time she came through the caves, she felt as if she were suffocating. Tonight though, she’d had no choice in the matter. Baron Lindville’s message had been most insistent.

Josie walked further into the cave, then stopped when she reached the widest section. She lit the two torches stuck into the wall and looked around. She dreaded meeting with Lindville but told herself that after this last shipment she’d never have to come here again. Even if he didn’t realize the smuggling had to stop, she did. Once Rainforth began work above the caves, there’d be no way they could continue without risking that they’d be seen.

“I could have had the torches burning when you came,” a voice said from the shadows, “but I wasn’t sure you’d be able to come and I hated to take the chance that someone would see the light.”

Josie spun around and clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the scream that wanted to escape.

“Did I frighten you?”

Josie gasped. “You could have at least made some sound to warn me you were here.”

“So sorry, my dear. Didn’t occur to me.”

Josie hung the lantern she’d brought with her on a peg stuck in the wall and walked to where Lindville stood. She wished he’d come out of the shadows. She didn’t like talking to him in the dark. He gave her no choice.

“I’m not sure why you wanted to meet here, and at this time of night. Surely you could have come to Clythebrook, or at least to the orphanage.”

“I didn’t want to chance we might be overheard. Talking about smuggling and illegal contraband is not exactly appropriate parlor conversation.”

Josie hated it when Lindville referred to the goods they brought in as illegal contraband. She tried not to think of it that way. There was nothing illegal about what they were bringing in, only cheaper. Because of their remote location, they were unable to buy the items they needed without paying a tremendous freight charge. Captain Levy offered to ship in what they needed for half the cost, but only if they told no one what he was doing. That had seemed simple enough to Josie and she’d never had reason to question what they were doing until now.

“Why did you need to see me?”

“To see if you think there is any chance Rainforth will abandon his plan.”

Josie shook her head. “He won’t abandon it. The plan’s a good one and he’s getting too much support from everyone not to go ahead with it. I doubt he’d give up even if he received no support. He’s a very determined man.”

“That’s too bad.”

Baron Lindville took a step closer and Josie countered his maneuver by inching back. He followed until they were both out of the shadows.

She could finally see his face and the first thing she noticed was the vacant look in his eyes. She hated when he stared at her as if he were looking through her. There was something frightening about him. “Did you shoot at Rainforth last week?”

“Someone shot at Rainforth?”

There was a genuine look of surprise on Lindville’s face and although she should be relieved it hadn’t been him, his denial created another question—one even more disturbing. “If not you, then who would try to frighten him away?”

“Oh, there are many people who might have shot at the man, my dear. But I doubt they were simply trying to frighten him away. Too bad they missed.”

Josie felt an unmistakable wave of fear. “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t I?”

Lindville took a flask from inside his jacket and pulled out the stopper. After he’d taken a swallow, he tucked it away and looked up. “So, what do you suggest we do now?”

Josie faced him squarely. “It’s getting too dangerous to continue. The next shipment of goods should arrive in approximately two weeks. It’ll be the last one we can chance bringing in.”

He clicked his tongue while shaking his head. “Not the right answer, Josephine. Not the right answer at all.”

She studied his reaction as another niggling of concern sprouted inside her. She moved back another step. “I’ve convinced Lady Clythebrook to keep the marquess from bringing in the cattle for one month, but after that this whole area will be covered with cattle and the men taking care of them. It’ll only be a matter of time before we’re discovered.”

“Then we’ll have to think of something else.”

“What?”

“I have the solution. A solution that’s perfect.”

Baron Lindville uncorked his flask again and drank deeply. Josie wondered how much he’d already had to drink tonight. If the slur of his words and the glassy look in his eyes were any indication, it had been quite a bit. And yet he didn’t seem drunk to her. Just … different.

“What solution?” she asked, knowing she wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Marriage.”

“Whose marriage?”

“Our marriage. Yours and mine. To each other.”

Josie wanted to reach out to steady herself against something but there wasn’t anything within reach to grab hold of. “What are you saying?”

“We’ll marry. We’re already partners of a sort. It only seems natural that we extend our arrangement to include personal aspects of our lives, too.”

Josie couldn’t breathe. “It’s preposterous. I can’t marry you. I—”

“Don’t refuse so quickly. Just think of the benefits. Getting my hands on the inheritance my father left me has always been a problem, but once I’m married, Mother won’t have a reason to withhold the money any longer. I’ll need a great deal of ready cash to set up my own household as any newly married husband must, and if Mother doesn’t part with some of the reserve she’s been hoarding, she’ll be seen as a miserly tyrant. Which, of course, I’ll convince her Society will discover.”

Josie took a shaky step away from him. The blood rushed against her ears and she couldn’t think. “You can’t be serious.”

He smiled. “But I am. It’s a known fact that one day you’ll inherit Clythebrook Estate. As the future owner, I’ll forbid Lady Clythebrook to have anything to do with Rainforth’s scheme. It’ll solve all our problems.”

He closed the distance between them and brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek. Josie jerked her head away from him.

“Don’t look so horrified, my dear. Our marriage will be especially beneficial for you. Just imagine what you’ll gain from marrying me. You’ll go from being Miss Josephine Foley to Baroness Lindville.”

“I’m not interested in your title.”

“Of course you’re not. But you
are
interested in providing for the children. Once the smuggling stops, where will the resources come from to feed and clothe the children? Marrying me will ensure that none of your precious charges ever go without.” He laughed. “Your generosity will put the meager gifts my mother donates to Sacred Heart to shame.”

“Your mother will never allow you to marry me.”

Lindville swiped his hand through the air in an angry arc. “My mother has no say in this.”

Josie was frantic to come up with reasons to squash Lindville’s idea. “This is ludicrous. Your mother will faint dead away when you tell her you intend to take someone of my station as your wife.”

He laughed. “One can only hope.”

She shook her head and stumbled back. He didn’t let her put any distance between them.

“I agree the circumstances surrounding your birth are regrettable, but once Mother realizes the benefits, she’ll be forced to welcome you with open arms.”

Josie spun away from him. He was daft. Completely insane. “What benefit? I know what the goods bring in. Surely your share of the money we receive isn’t worth what you’re suggesting?”

He laughed. “You have no idea what our little venture is worth to me. What I gain affords me at least a small amount of independence from my mother and keeps me from toadying to her at every turn.”

She stepped back another foot. The torches cast shooting shadows against the stone walls, making the room seem frighteningly confining. “No, I won’t—”

He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Is it a show of affection you want? Do you need some proof that we will fit together on the physical side of our marriage?”

Before she could protect herself, he backed her up against the wall and brought his mouth down over hers.

Lindville’s abhorrent kiss was nothing like Rainforth’s. Lindville’s lips were cold and lifeless atop hers—completely without passion. And when he stopped, she was left with nothing but a disgusting emptiness followed by a resurgence of the confining panic.

Josie clamped her hand over her mouth and fought a sensation that bordered on revulsion.

“I’ll call on Lady Clythebrook tom—”

“No! I need time. Until the end of the month.”

“We don’t have until the end of the month!”

“Two weeks, then.”

“Procrastination won’t save you, Miss Foley. Nothing will. Neither of us has a choice, really. You will marry me to save the children. And I will marry you to save myself.”

He brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek and turned away from her. He took a few steps into the shadows, then stopped. “The smuggling will not cease. Don’t think for a minute you have the power to make it stop. And when you speak to Rainforth next, you might explain to him that he was lucky to escape with his life. He might not be so fortunate next time.”

Josie stared into the shadows and listened to the soft padding of his footsteps against the packed ground of the cave. She couldn’t believe Lindville had just suggested they marry, although his words had been closer to a demand than a proposal. She was sure he hadn’t meant them. He’d been drinking. That
had
to explain his ludicrous idea. And even if he had been serious, his mother would never allow it. Not in a million years. An uncomfortable knot settled in the pit of her stomach.

What if he wanted access to the caves so badly he would do anything to get it, even marry someone for whom he didn’t care a whit?

She hugged her arms around her middle. Marrying Lindville was a sacrifice she could not imagine making, even for the children’s sake. No, she’d chosen her path. The next shipment would be the last one to which she would be a part.

Surely she was reading more into Lindville’s demand that they marry than he intended. When he woke in the morning, he more than likely wouldn’t even remember that he’d foisted the idea upon her.

Yet, she couldn’t forget the threatening tone in his voice when he’d told her the smuggling would not stop.

Or the threat he’d made against the Marquess of Rainforth.

…

Ross dismounted from the carriage and strode up the short walkway. He couldn’t help but smile when the door opened before he reached it. His visits with Josephine over the past ten days had been well noted by everyone in the area. Even Ross’s steward had commented on it this morning.

“Good afternoon, Banks.”