Surrender of Trust (First Volume of the Surrender Series) (15 page)

Relief had surged through Chalifour in the
first few seconds following Lucy’s refusal of his wildly impetuous
offer. Chalifour hadn't yet resigned himself to looking for a wife.
Lucy, while desirable, did not meet the normal expectation for the
role of his future bride as Marchioness of Chalifour. Chalifour's
next reaction had been confusion. Most women would have leapt at
his offer, and Lucy didn't. It made no sense. Chalifour's last
response had been somewhat visceral. Lucy had rejected him! Women
seldom refused him anything. Chalifour had offered Lucy marriage
and she had declined! His vanity and been wounded and he had been
angry when she slipped from his room.

Chalifour had wanted Lucy badly. If he were
honest with himself, he had used the contract to force Lucy to
visit his estate so he could have her to himself. Chalifour could
easily have retrieved the contract from Lucy at her home, since he
often made the trip to and from Town. Chalifour had essentially
conjured up the need for Lucy to journey to his estate. He then
devised a plan that would cause his sister, the chaperone, to
retire, leaving Lucy alone with him. Lucy was a rare wine he had
thirsted to sample.

In his heart of hearts, Chalifour knew he had
set out to seduce Lucy. The damnable thing was, now that he had
her, instead of slaking his thirst, his desire was that much
stronger. Chalifour was a parched man standing in the middle of the
desert.

Chalifour continued pacing.
What was wrong
with him?
He seldom had any real entanglements with women.
Other than his occasional mistresses, his liaisons were
uncomplicated. The parties always understood the entanglements
would be brief.

There was something else too. Lucy's actions
continued to prick at the corner of his consciousness. Something
was off. Chalifour's reoccurring feelings of doubt nagged at him.
Lucy's reactions to his query about Lucien were suspicious. The
vague sense of unease which began the first time he met Lucy was
growing into full blown foreboding. Lucy’s consultation with her
brother at their house that day had been impossibly quick.
Chalifour's continuing inability to speak with Lucien had only
served to heighten his disquiet.

Then there was the visit with Perdan he had
interrupted. Jealousy unexpectedly raged through Chalifour and
caught him by surprise. Chalifour's head snapped up. Why did Lucy
need to visit Perdan when she accompanied Monique to Town? Was
Perdan courting her? What was Perdan's connection to the Goodwin
family?

The thought of Perdan courting Lucy was
reprehensible. The man, though a peer, was of questionable
character. The Jockey Club had certain suspicions about him.
Lucy couldn't possibly be interested in Perdan, could she?
Chalifour made a mental note to pay a social call on Monique during
his next visit to Town. He wanted to know the nature of the
relationship between Perdan and the Goodwins, and Monique might be
able to shed some light on that.

Chalifour was determined to speak with Lucien
in person, soon. That Lucien had requested no changes to the
contract had bothered him. At the very least, the man should have
demanded a concession on the spring foals this year. It was
downright odd that he hadn't. Chalifour needed to know why.

Last, what was the real nature of Lucien's
injuries? Based on the fact that he had seen Dr. Willets heading in
the direction of the Goodwin residence when he last left, Chalifour
could safely surmise that Willets was the treating physician.
Chalifour knew Dr. Willets just barely in a social context.
Chalifour did, however, know certain members of Dr. Willets’
family, like Lady Kathryn Deerdan, reasonably well. Chalifour
smiled. He should be able to get the information he needed.

The most perplexing thing was Lucy herself.
Chalifour knew she desired him. Her body had betrayed her feelings.
Smiling broadly at the memory of Lucy's response to his overtures,
Chalifour ceased pacing and lowered his hand to adjust his
trousers. He had proposed marriage to her. Lucy could marry a man
to whom she was attracted, and gain financial security, social
standing, and status unavailable to her by other means. Yet Lucy
had refused. Why? Something was definitely not right. Chalifour
intended to get to the bottom of this paradox.

Chalifour stopped his pacing again and walked
to the window. Looking out, he surveyed the broad expanse of lawn
before him. Was this merely a case of hurt pride? Was he looking
for something where nothing existed because he had been rebuffed
and his pride stung? It was possible, Chalifour admitted, but he
had a gut feeling there was something more to this scenario than
was readily apparent.

Dawn had barely broken and the sun cast a
weak light onto the moist grass outside the window. Chalifour
watched his coach pull to the front of the estate. Lucy hurried out
to meet the coachman. The little minx! She was going to leave
without a proper goodbye. Should he rush down and try and confront
Lucy before she absconded?
No
, Chalifour decided. He would
return her parting surprise with one of his own. Chalifour would
pay an unexpected visit to Lucy in the very near future.

In the interim, Chalifour was going to get
answers to some of his questions. He was going to pay a call on
Monique and Dr. Willets and find out what Lucy Goodwin was hiding.
Then he was going to see Lucien.

Lucy had desperately wanted to depart early
to circumvent speaking with Chalifour. Aside from her aversion to
facing Chalifour and his anger, she needed to evade any additional
questions related to Lucien and the contract. The need to speak
with Lucien was now more urgent than ever. Lucy needed to make her
brother aware of the fact she had forged the contract with
Chalifour and made a payment to Perdan with forged cheque
paper.

Then, of course, if Lucy was honest with
herself, there was the little matter of the incredible intimacies
she had shared last night with Chalifour. To save her heart from
being destroyed as it surely would be, Lucy had an urge to create
the physical barrier of distance between them. Chalifour's desire
for her was physical. Her hunger for him was more. Chalifour had
awakened both her emotional essence and her sensual self. Chalifour
posed a great danger to her for so many reasons.

Just after returning to her room in the wee
hours of the morning, Lucy had summoned Chalifour's coach to return
her home. After all, the plan had been for Lucy to leave today,
even though the assumption had been her departure would be at a
more reasonable hour. The coachman and grooms glared at her with
bleary eyes.

The men tried to stifle their yawns when they
loaded her baggage and opened the door of the coach for her. The
coach set off at a brisk pace. Though the coach was well sprung,
Lucy still bumped along the uneven road and grew tired within a
short time. Burrowing into the plush upholstered seat, Lucy
experienced a pang of guilt for rousing the poor men so early.

The coach carried Lucy in the direction of
her home. Her thoughts collided with one another throughout the
trip. Chalifour's offer of marriage was almost humiliating. It was
painfully obvious Chalifour felt a moral obligation toward her, but
there was no affection in it. Still, a thrill had coursed through
her at Chalifour's suggestion of marriage. Chalifour had probably
thought of the potential negative consequences of their affair in
relation to his association with her brother. Well, Chalifour
needn't worry. Lucien wouldn't know. No one would know unless it
was from Chalifour's own lips.

Arriving home several hours later, Lucy
hopped from the coach and raced to the door where Cedric greeted
her. She offered the hospitality of her house to Chalifour's
coachman and the groom who accompanied him. The men accepted her
offer, knowing it wise to rest the horses and themselves before
making the journey back.

Leaving Chalifour's men in the hands of
Cedric, Lucy went directly to Lucien's room. Alistair was just
leaving, a bottle of laudanum in his hand. Lucy looked inquiringly
at Alistair who simply nodded and smiled. Her heart fluttered with
hope and she entered Lucien's room.

Lucien glanced up when she entered and smiled
weakly. "Lucy, where have you been? Alistair told me you went to
see Lord Chalifour?"

Lucy closed the door behind her and walked to
the edge of Lucien's bed and sat. Looking into his eyes, Lucy said,
"Yes, Lucien, I did. We have much to discuss, but before we speak,
I need to know how you are. You've been sleeping off and on for
close to two weeks. What do you remember?"

Lucien dropped his gaze and stared at his
hands. "I remember being in a coach accident on my way back from
Town. After that, not much I'm afraid. I remember waking and ...
"He ran his fingers through his hair, sighed, and looked up at her.
Lucien's bruises had faded, but dark circles still shrouded his
eyes.

"How do you feel?"

"I've felt better, much better." Lucien
motioned toward his left leg, "Thankfully, it's not broken. Dr.
Willets said I shouldn’t move around for a while. I can only hope
it heals correctly and ends up the same length as my other leg. I
don't fancy walking with a limp the rest of my life."

She bit her lip. "You'll be fine,
Lucien."

"Don't patronize me, Lucy! You know damn well
these things don't always heal properly."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to patronize you. I
know you're worried. I'm here for you. I'll do whatever I need to
do to help us get through this, but you have to have faith and
think positively."

Lucien nodded his head, his lips pressed
together for a moment. He sighed and asked Lucy, "So why did you
journey to see Lord Chalifour?"

What to tell him?
"I, uh, he asked me
to visit him and give him my opinion on some of his mares since you
were convalescing and not available to help him."

"You went there without a chaperone?" Lucien
looked at her incredulously. "How could you do that? That kind of
scandal could prevent you from making any kind of suitable match,
Lucy."

Lucy glared at him, suddenly angry "Why are
you suddenly so concerned about me making a match?"

"Because you're of an age that you need to
consider your future."

"My future is here, with you, and the horses!
This is my home!"

"Lucy," he leaned forward and placed his
hands on her shoulders, "I love you, but sooner or later, you'll
want a home and family of your own."

"I don't want to marry, Lucien," she said
flatly.

"Lucy, you'll always have a place here, you
know that. I just think you're going to change your mind at some
point in time and I don't want you to ruin any of your chances for
happiness, that's all. I'm sorry if you feel I've insulted your
integrity. I'm just concerned for you."

"I know that. Please don't worry. My visit
was not without a chaperone. Lord Chalifour's sister, Lady
Elizabeth was at Chalifour Manor. She served as my chaperone."

"That seems a little thin, but I suppose it
will do unless someone has the audacity to question Lady
Elizabeth's integrity, which hardly seems likely."

"Precisely. That's why I believe I will be
fine. I understand that you and Lord Chalifour have been discussing
some sort of business arrangement?"

Lucien shifted in the bed. Wincing, he laid
his hand across his injured leg and rubbed it unconsciously. "Yes,
we have. It's not final yet. There are a few details yet which must
be worked out before I agree, but, yes. We have been working on
something."

Lucy's heart plunged. What details did he
want to work out? She had already committed Lucien to a partnership
with when he wasn't quite ready!
Now what!
She swallowed.
"What are the business arrangement and details you are trying to
resolve?"

Lucien was silent. His eyes closed and he or
slipped away into slumber. The laudanum must be taking effect.
Lucy's teeth gritted. For heaven's sake, what details had been
unresolved in Lucien's mind?

Oh, Lucien! I need to talk to you!
Frustrated by her conversation with Lucien, or rather lack thereof,
Lucy made her way downstairs. She wanted to see the horses. The
horses always managed to ease her mind. Walking along the path to
the stables, Lucy admired the profusion of colorful flowers
blossoming along the path.
How long had the flowers been
blooming like that?
She had been too preoccupied to notice.
Reaching the stables, Lucy paused in the doorway and inhaled the
sweet scent of grass.

Lucy walked into the building and paused at
Thor's stall, "Thor." She cooed and rubbed his forehead. "I've
missed you, but don't tell Zeus." Lucy ruffled Thor's ear.

Zeus neighed and stamped his hoof in a nearby
stall. Lucy smiled and turned and walked to Zeus's stall. Zeus
nuzzled her hand, and she hugged him. "I've missed you too, Zeus.
Have they been riding you enough? I promise I'll ride you more now
that I'm back."

Lucy then moved to Heather Mist's stall and
rubbed the pretty filly's sensitive nose. Heather Mist had a
deceptively sweet disposition. She could be as fierce a competitor
as Thor or Zeus. "Hello, darling girl. You don’t know it yet, but
you're going to help us salvage ourselves." Lucy stroked the glossy
fur along the horse's graceful neck.

Rather than dwelling on the questions which
plagued him since Lucy's departure early Saturday morning,
Chalifour busied himself making the final arrangements to move the
mares to the Goodwin estate and to relocate into Town for Season.
His sister was positively ecstatic at the turn of events. Chalifour
typically drug his feet about leaving for Town for Season. It meant
he would spend the next few months evading determined mothers and
grasping young women seeking a suitable match. Naturally, he was a
prime target for all of these female machinations.