Princess Charming (24 page)

Her younger stepsister, Lucy, dashed a tear from her eye. “Harmed us? No … at least not yet. We are fine, Maura. We just wish to tell you how outraged we are that Mama barred you from your own home!”

“Yes, it was abominable!” Hannah added just as passionately. “Especially since
we
are the ones who will suffer from your banishment. We don’t want to lose you as our sister, Maura.”

It seemed ironic that she should be the one offering consolation for being expelled from their family home, but Maura smiled comfortingly. “You could never lose me, my dears. But your mother will not be happy that you are here visiting me.”

Hannah frowned. “Well, there you are mistaken. Mama gave us permission to call on you this morning. Indeed, she encouraged us to come and even let us have the carriage.”

Maura must have looked skeptical for Lucy hurried to explain. “Mama said she regrets sending you away last night.”

“Did she now?” Maura replied in surprise.

“Yes, because of your betrothal to Lord Beaufort, you see.”

She felt her mouth twist with faint humor. “I suppose I do see.” Priscilla must have recalled that a marquess
trumped a viscount and that making an enemy of her stepdaughter’s future husband was extremely unwise. No doubt she would try to endear herself to Ash, just as she had Noah Collyer.

Hannah took over the explanations then. “Mama believes she acted too hastily and has offered to let you come home. But Lucy and I have discussed it at length, and we think you should make her grovel a bit—but only if you won’t hold it against us, Maura.” Hannah glanced around the elegant parlor adorned with flocked silk wallpapering, velvet draperies, and expensive chintz and rosewood furnishings. “So long as you are staying in this splendid house, it won’t be a hardship for you, will it? In fact, you may be much happier living here. But we don’t want you to forget us.”

“Surely you know I could never forget you,” Maura said. “And it may be best if I keep away from you at present. Your mother is right: My associating with you could bring Deering’s wrath down upon your innocent heads.”

“We don’t care!” Lucy declared loyally.

Hannah was less certain on that score, however. “It
is
rather worrisome. Mama lives in dread that he will destroy our chances to find husbands. Given our family scandal, even a whiff of censure from Viscount Deering would drive away any potential suitors. But that cannot be allowed to matter—and it is not as if we had any suitors beating down our doors to court us anyway.”

“Certainly it matters,” Maura asserted. “But I promise you, Deering’s threat will never come to pass. My friends mean to lend you their patronage. If the entire Wilde family is seen to support you, Deering will find
it difficult to bring about your ruination. In fact, Skye and Katharine have offered to take you about society so that you may meet some eligible gentlemen.”

“Oh, that would be famous!” Lucy exclaimed, while Hannah professed, “Mama will be vastly relieved.”

And so will I
, Maura thought, grateful to her friends.

Although, she added to herself, it would mean yet another reason to be indebted to Ash and his family, not just for protecting her stepsisters, but for averting a possible murder. For if Deering dared to harm Hannah or Lucy, she would strangle him with her bare hands or shoot him with her pistol, and then she truly would be thrown in prison and hanged, this time for slaying a nobleman rather than merely stealing back her stallion.

While Maura was consoling her stepsisters, Ash was conferring with Quinn in the library. By then, the Wilde family council had disbanded, with Skye and Kate repairing to the drawing room to attend to their correspondence, Jack to return to his own home, and Uncle Cornelius to prepare for an appointment with a colleague.

Quinn remained behind to discuss possible ways to take down the viscount.

“You would have the most leverage over Deering,” Quinn suggested, “if you could reveal him as a cheat as well as a liar. When he played against Collyer, were the cards actually marked, and if so, who marked them? If it was Deering, he might attempt to cheat in the future, given high enough stakes. If you were to play him at cards, you could contrive to expose him.”

“An excellent notion,” Ash said with a thoughtful nod. “I’m glad you occasionally put that brilliant mind of yours to good use.”

Quinn smiled. “Let me know if you need assistance against him. I would relish the opportunity.”

“At some point I may require your help, but for now, I hope to let Miss Collyer orchestrate his defeat as much as possible. She has a large score to settle with Deering and needs the satisfaction of routing him herself.”

“That I can understand,” Quinn said. “What confounds me is how easily you allowed yourself to be caught up in Kate’s preposterous theory. Only a few days ago you were bent on making your own destiny.”

“I still am,” Ash contended.

“Have you determined if she is your true love?”

Ash hesitated. “I don’t yet know.”

His cousin’s amused blue eyes held a hint of mockery—a cynicism that was not unexpected. Of all the Wilde cousins, Quinn was the least likely to believe in such unproven possibilities as lovers who were fated to be together.

But given his closeness with his cousin, Ash felt the need to expound. “I imagine I will know in short order. Although it seems longer, it has only been three days since we embarked on this endeavor together. Our betrothal should prove a good test.” He paused another moment. “I do feel
something
for her, I admit. But pray, don’t tell Kate or I’ll mill you down.”

Quinn returned a pained grin. “I wouldn’t dream of it, for it would only encourage her matchmaking.” Rising from the table, he gave a friendly squeeze to Ash’s shoulder. “But pray remember, my own freedom depends
upon your success or failure. Kate will hound the rest of us unmercifully if you end up losing your heart to your legendary lover.”

His cousin’s assertion left Ash pondering his ever more complex feelings for Maura. Admittedly, his carefree bachelor’s existence had begun to lose its flavor. He had no wish to wind up like his Uncle Cornelius, alone and unloved but for his relations’ children.

Furthermore, Ash was willing to concede that he had never wanted a woman more than the honey-haired vixen who had invaded his life so profoundly this past week. His admiration for her had grown even more. Maura was courageous, smart, resourceful, passionate, and sensual as the devil, yet at the same time comfortable and familiar. She would easily fit into his family, with their bonds of loyalty and affection and repartee.

But that didn’t mean he was prepared to take the enormous step of marrying Maura, or ready to risk turning his heart over to her.

On the other hand, his desire for her was increasing by the minute, and having Maura living in his house only a few corridors away would prove a grave challenge to his honor and, even more, to his sorely strained willpower.

Deering was not at home when Ash called, so he continued on to White’s Club for Gentlemen where the viscount sometimes lunched. He found his quarry relaxing on a comfortable couch, perusing
The Racing Chronicle
.

“Ah, just the man I was looking for,” Ash said easily.
Upon settling in an adjacent chair, Ash proceeded to reveal the stallion’s current whereabouts.

He had to give the viscount credit: Deering hid his anger tolerably well, responding merely with a cold stare. “I wondered how that she-devil managed to outwit my stablehands,” he muttered. “I should have known she had an accomplice.”

“Oh, no, the theft was my doing entirely,” Ash claimed. “I had no difficulty at all seizing the horse from your stables. You really should have taken better care of your property, my friend.”

His thinly veiled taunt had the desired effect, for Deering’s countenance darkened.

“I advise you to let the matter rest now,” Ash suggested. “It looks better for you if I claim to have acquired the stallion as payment for a gaming debt than if the ton thinks you were bested by a mere young lady who was only reclaiming her rightful property. And did I mention,” he added with a pleasant smile, “that the she-devil, as you call her, has promised to be my wife?”

He received enormous satisfaction when the viscount’s expression slowly turned livid.

Even so, Deering sat in rigid silence for a long moment before finally gritting out, “It was unwise of you to ally yourself with her in this matter, Beaufort. You do not want to make an enemy of me.”

“I could say the same of you,” Ash replied lightly. “In fact, allow me to be plain. Any action you take against my future bride I will consider to be a direct strike against me. And that extends to her young stepsisters as well. Do I make my meaning clear?”

Deering’s fingers clenched on his newspaper so tightly that the page tore in two places.

Content for now to leave his warning vague, Ash rose and sketched a casual bow before turning and striding away.

He had not made an outright declaration of war, but he had no objection to employing all-out warfare if necessary. For he had every intention of forcing Deering to recant his previous lies in order to give Maura back her late father’s reputation.

Although Maura had
formed no precise expectations when she came to live with Ash, she learned in short order what it meant to be embraced by the Wilde family, who never did anything by half-measures. All his relations rallied around her and claimed her as one of their own, beginning that very evening. The cousins appeared en masse at two select ton functions, where the Marquis of Beaufort treated the cream of society to a firsthand display of his startling betrothal and his evident devotion to his lovely, if somewhat disgraced, fiancée.

Naturally, rumors of Miss Collyer’s battle with Lord Deering simmered beneath the surface, but for the most part, she was absolved in the court of public opinion of committing any felony regarding her stallion’s sudden disappearance from the viscount’s stables.

The cousins’ aunt by marriage, Lady Isabella Wilde, also joined in the campaign to close ranks around Maura. Late that night, only moments after the family returned to Ash’s home and gathered in the drawing room to discuss their next plans, the strikingly handsome
raven-haired widow arrived like a fresh breeze and proved just as lively as Katharine had claimed.

Lord Cornelius had fallen asleep again in one corner of the room, but Lady Isabella, upon hearing the rudimentary details about Maura’s plight and Ash’s objectives, roused her brother-in-law and insisted that he partake in the discussions.

Jointly the Wildes decided to attend several more entertainments the following evening and over the next few days, so as to be seen about town. Isabella even prevailed upon Cornelius to accompany them, since constantly burying his nose in a book was not good for him.

Thus it was that during the succeeding week, the entire clan set out to conquer the ton on Maura’s behalf and embarked upon a full-blown charm offensive—an endeavor at which she could only marvel. The delightfully infamous Wildes might be known for their amorous scandals, but it was fascinating to watch them win over their detractors with their bewitching appeal.

Maura’s stepsisters also benefited hugely from their attentions. When Skye asked what challenges the girls faced in finding husbands, Maura answered honestly. “Given our tarnished family honor, it will be difficult without the added enticements of significant fortune or beauty. But Hannah has a voice like an angel, and Lucy plays the pianoforte with real artistry.”

“Then we shall hold a musical evening,” Skye declared, “to showcase their talents and make them appear in the best possible light. Kate and I will invite some potential suitors, and demand that our brothers encourage their unattached friends to attend. And since
the girls need to shine, I will have my dressmaker make them new gowns.”

When Maura automatically protested, Skye sweetly cut her off. “Trust me, Maura, bringing Hannah and Lucy into favor will be the most effective way to protect them from Lord Deering.”

Additionally, Skye arranged a shopping expedition to Bond Street to buy new accessories, with Ash footing the bill. Maura felt uncomfortable accepting such largesse, but her objections were swiftly overridden.

“Nonsense, you can settle finances later,” Skye insisted, slipping her arm in Maura’s. “By now you should realize that our family sticks together. It has long been the Wildes against the world, and you are now an indispensable member of our clan.”

Maura wasn’t as certain that she deserved such distinction, at least until the first evening after Isabella’s arrival, when the cousins met for dinner at Grosvenor Square before attending a gala event.

They assembled in the drawing room first, and when they went in to dinner, Maura found herself seated on Ash’s right. Naturally, she felt a trifle nervous at the formal family gathering, yet she needn’t have worried, for she fit right in.

She even managed to win Jack’s devotion when she agreed to privately sell him a yearling sired by Emperor, thus bypassing Tattersalls, where the premiere stock in England was bought and sold.