Deception (23 page)

“That is entirely untrue.” Olympia glowered at him. “We took advantage of each other, sir.”

Jared’s mouth curved ruefully. “Did we?”

“Yes. We are both of the world, sir. We knew what we were about. Indeed, if anyone is to blame for what transpired between us, it is I.”

“You?” He stared, astounded.

She blushed but met his gaze steadily. “You are a gentleman, sir, but I sensed at once that you were also
a man of excessive passions. I fear I took advantage of that fact.”

Jared cleared his throat. “Excessive passions?”

“It is no doubt a family trait,” Olympia said kindly. “After all, you are a descendant of Mr. Ryder and from everything I have read about him, he was, indeed, a man of fierce emotions.”

“Allow me to tell you that you are very likely the only person on the face of the earth who sees me as a man of excessive passions, Olympia.” Jared’s mouth twisted in rueful amusement. “In point of fact, I am considered a rather dull sort.”

“Nonsense. Anyone who says that does not know you very well, sir.”

“My entire family holds precisely that opinion. And they are not the only ones. Lady Beaumont does, also.”

Olympia was momentarily distracted. “That brings up another matter I wish to discuss. Who is Lady Beaumont? An old friend of yours?”

Jared turned and walked back to Olympia’s desk without a word. He propped himself against it and folded his arms across his chest.

“Lady Beaumont was, until recently, Miss Demetria Seaton,” he said without any sign of emotion. “Three years ago she and I were engaged for a short while.”

“Engaged.”
For some reason that news shook Olympia more than anything else that had happened thus far. “I see.”

“Do you?”

“She is very beautiful.” Olympia tried to force back a rising tide of panic.

The knowledge that Jared had once loved the lovely Demetria was difficult to handle. Until now, Olympia realized, she had not really considered the fact that there had been other women in his life. She had known that he was not entirely without experience in such matters,
but she had not allowed herself to contemplate the notion that he might have actually loved another woman.
Loved her enough to become engaged to her
.

“For various reasons which I will not bore you with today, Demetria and I decided we did not suit,” Jared said.

“Oh.” Olympia could not think of anything else to say.

“The engagement was ended shortly after it was announced. There was very little gossip about it because the whole event took place at my family seat on the Isle of Flame, not in London. A year ago, she married Beaumont and that is all there is to it.”

“Oh.” Olympia could not think of anything to say to that, either. She knew instinctively that there was much more to the story but she also knew she had no right to pry. “Well, I suppose that is neither here nor there.”

“Precisely.”

“However,” Olympia plowed on, determined to stick to important matters, “we are left with an unfortunate situation because of the fact that Lady Beaumont recognized you this afternoon.”

“I would not call it unfortunate,” Jared said. “Perhaps awkward would be a better term.”

“Yes, well, whatever. The point is, we must deal with the matter.”

“I have a suggestion.” Jared watched her intently.

“So do I.” Olympia began to pace the small study. “The answer is obvious.”

“It is?”

“Of course. We must pack and leave for Upper Tudway immediately.”

“If that is your wish, we can certainly do so. However, leaving town will not solve the problem.”

“Yes, it will.” Olympia shot him a quelling glare.
“If we are quick about it, we can be gone before we are obliged to confront any more of your friends or associates. Back in Upper Tudway you may continue to pass yourself off as a tutor.”

“I do not think—”

“I can continue to work on the diary,” she said enthusiastically. “Everything will be as it was before we came to London.”

“May I remind you that it was your plan to pass ourselves off as a married couple in the event we were discovered?”

Olympia reddened. “I am well aware that this is all my fault, sir. But in fairness, I must point out that my plan would have worked very well had you been what you appeared, a gentleman of modest means and birth. It is the fact that you are a viscount and heir to an earldom that muddles the thing.”

“I know,” Jared said apologetically.

“No one would have cared a jot about our relationship before this. Now, however, your title and position makes our situation gossip fodder for the polite world.”

“I am well aware of that. I am responsible for all that has transpired.”

Olympia sighed. “Do not blame yourself, sir. What happened was probably unavoidable, given your nature and temperament. A man of strong passions is always at risk of causing talk. However, I believe that if we depart for Upper Tudway at once, the gossip will soon cease.”

“The damage is done,” Jared said. “We have introduced ourselves as Lord and Lady Chillhurst. One can hardly expect that sort of gossip to simply evaporate.”

“It will if the next time you happen to be in London, you put out the word that it was all a jest,” Olympia said quickly.

Jared stared at her. “You want me to pass this whole thing off as a jest?”

“It could be done,” Olympia said earnestly. “You can explain that I was just a friend.”

“A friend?”

Olympia frowned. “Well, perhaps you could say that I was your mistress, or paramour, or something. I know very well that gentlemen frequently keep their convenients tucked away in houses here in town. It’s done all the time.”

“Bloody hell.” Jared’s jaw went rigid. “What about your reputation, Olympia?”

“No one knows me here in London and it is highly unlikely that anyone in Upper Tudway will ever hear about this nonsense.” Olympia stopped her pacing and began to tap one toe. “Furthermore, I do not particularly care if anyone does hear about it. I have told you before that I am not concerned with my reputation.”

“What about me?” Jared asked quietly. “I have a reputation to consider also.”

Olympia eyed him uncertainly. “I believe you will be able to brush through this without too much damage to your reputation.”

“Is that a fact?”

“It is not as though you will actually be seeking work as a tutor in the future,” she pointed out. “And no one will take any notice of the lady you seduced. After all, I do not have any position in Society. You apparently rarely even appear in London, yourself. All you need do is simply keep out of sight for a few months.”

“I have another solution, Olympia.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I suggest we make the thing a fact. We can be married quietly by special license. No one need know precisely when the marriage took place.”

“Married.” Olympia’s mouth went dry. “To you?”

“Why not? It seems a very logical answer to our predicament.”

“Impossible.” Olympia recovered herself and hurried around the corner of her desk. She collapsed into her chair and took a deep, steadying breath. “Absolutely impossible, Mr. Chillhurst. I mean, my lord.”

Jared straightened and turned to face her. He planted both hands on top of the desk and leaned forward. The expression on his face appeared to have been carved in stone.

“Why not?” Jared asked through set teeth.

Olympia gave a start. Then she narrowed her eyes, refusing to give way beneath the blatant intimidation. “For one thing, you are a viscount.”

“So?”

Olympia was flustered by that response. “I am hardly a suitable wife for a viscount.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

She blinked. “You are asking me to marry you only because of the awkward situation in which we find ourselves.”

“I would have gotten around to asking you eventually, Olympia.”

“That is very kind of you to say so, my lord, but you will forgive me when I tell you that I do not entirely believe you.”

“Are you calling me a liar, Miss Wingfield?”

She braced herself. “Not precisely. You are merely behaving like the noble gentleman that you are.”

“Bloody hell.”

“It is only to be expected,” she assured him. “However, I am not going to allow you to trap yourself in an unwanted marriage when there is absolutely no need for such a sacrifice.”

“I assure you, Miss Wingfield, I want the damn marriage.
Having you in my bed will more than compensate me for any sacrifice on my part.”

Olympia felt herself turn scarlet. “Sir, that is your passionate nature speaking. Passion is all very well and good in its place, but it hardly constitutes a sound reason for marriage.”

“I disagree, Miss Wingfield.” Jared lifted his hands without any warning and caught her face between his palms. He bent his head and kissed her fiercely.

Olympia was so startled that she could not even muster a token resistance. Her mouth opened beneath his and she trembled as she always did when Jared kissed her. The familiar warmth gathered in her lower body. She moaned softly.

Jared released her and stepped back with a look of fierce satisfaction. “Between my passionate nature and your own, Miss Wingfield, I am certain that we shall deal very well together.”

He started toward the door.

Olympia swallowed and found her voice. “Hold one minute, sir. Where do you think you are going?”

“I am going to obtain a special license and to make arrangements for an extremely discreet marriage. You had best prepare yourself for your wedding night, Miss Wingfield.”

“Now, see here, Mr. Chillhurst, I mean, Lord Chillhurst. You are, strictly speaking, still in my employ. You cannot issue orders of that sort without my permission.”

Jared unlocked the door and opened it. He glanced back briefly. “In case you have failed to notice, Miss Wingfield, I have been running your household since the day I arrived. What is more, I have a talent for it.”

“I am well aware of that, sir, however—”

“There is no reason for you to concern yourself with the pesky little details of day-to-day life at this juncture,
Miss Wingfield. Such matters are not your forte. Just leave everything to me.”

Jared went out the door and closed it with enough force to make it shudder on its hinges.

Olympia started to rise and then fell back into her chair with a groan. Although she had never had occasion to witness Jared’s streak of hot-blooded arrogance until now, she knew she should not be surprised to discover it. It went right along with his excessively passionate nature.

Nevertheless, she could not allow him to get carried away with his outrageous scheme to marry her. The man was, after all, driven by passion and honor, not true love.

He would only live to regret his impulsive decision, she told herself sadly. He would come to resent her and she would end up with a broken heart.

She had to save him from his own passions, Olympia thought. She loved him too much to allow him to go through with the marriage.

Besides, when one got right down to it, this entire mess was her fault. She was the only one who could put it right.

  The knock on the door of Jared’s bedchamber came shortly before the evening meal. He had just sat down at the small writing table to compose a letter to his father.

“Enter.”

He glanced up as the door opened to reveal Robert, Ethan, and Hugh. Minotaur brought up the rear of the small column that filed into the room.

Jared took one look at the determined expressions on the three young faces and put aside his quill. He
turned slightly in the chair, and rested one arm on the back of it.

Robert squared his shoulders. “Good evening, sir.”

“Good evening. Was there something you wished to say?”

“Yes, sir.” Robert took a deep breath. “We came here to find out if what Mrs. Bird says is true.”

Jared stifled an oath. “What was it, precisely, that she said?”

Ethan’s eyes lit with excitement. “She says you’re a viscount, sir. Not a tutor at all.”

Jared looked at him. “She is half right and half wrong. I am a viscount, but I believe I have also done a creditable job in my position as a tutor in this household.”

Ethan glanced at his brothers in confusion. “Well, yes, sir. You are a very good tutor, sir.”

Jared inclined his head. “Thank you.”

Hugh frowned anxiously. “The thing is, sir, will you continue to be our tutor now that you’ve turned into a viscount?”

“I fully intend to continue to supervise your studies,” Jared said.

Hugh relaxed slightly. “Very good, sir.”

“I say.” Ethan grinned. “That’s good news, sir. We would hate to get another tutor.”

Robert scowled at the younger boys. “That is not what we came here to talk to him about.”

“What did you come here to talk about, Robert?” Jared asked quietly.

Robert’s hand was clenched in a tight fist at his side. The words came out in a headlong rush. “Mrs. Bird says you’ve had your way with Aunt Olympia and that you’ve got what you wanted and everyone in town knows who you really are now and you’ll disappear soon because of the scandal which will occur when
everyone finds out you are not actually married to Aunt Olympia.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Ethan said before Jared could respond. “But what does it mean, you’ve had your way with Aunt Olympia?”

Robert glared at him. “Be quiet, you idiot.”

“I was just asking,” Ethan muttered.

“Mrs. Bird says you’ve ruined her,” Hugh said to Jared. “But a short time ago I asked Aunt Olympia if she was ruined and she said she was feeling quite fit.”

“I am pleased to hear that,” Jared said.

“It appears there’s more to it than that, sir.” Robert shifted uneasily. “Mrs. Bird says that the only way to set things to rights is for you to marry Aunt Olympia and that you are hardly likely to do that.”

“I fear that Mrs. Bird is wrong on that last account,” Jared said. “I have already asked your aunt to marry me.”

“You have?” Robert looked startled and then hope dawned in his eyes. “Sir, we are not precisely certain what is going on but we do not want anything bad to happen to Aunt Olympia. She has been very kind to us, you see.”