Princess Charming (28 page)

“By odious man, did you mean Deering?” she asked then. At her stepmother’s troubled silence, Maura tried another tack. “If you truly wish to apologize to me, I know how you could make amends.”

“How?” Pris asked cautiously.

“If Deering continues to claim ownership of Emperor, you could confirm my version of events—that you sold my horse without my knowledge or consent.”

“I don’t know if I can do that, Maura. It is more … complicated than you realize.”

“Then why don’t you explain it to me?”

Maura was startled to see Pris twist her gloved hands together, since the beautiful widow was never one to wring her hands. Then even more surprising, Priscilla looked away. “I am ashamed to admit what I did.”

“You are speaking in riddles,” Maura pressed, trying to quell her impatience.

“You must understand, I was under great duress. I thought Viscount Deering and I had … an understanding.”

“What sort of understanding?”

“You see … in exchange for purchasing your horse, he promised to pave the way for my daughters’ debut in society. I knew his patronage would significantly minimize the taint of scandal against their stepfather—”

“You have told me all this before, Priscilla.”

“Yes … well …” Pris took a deep breath and met her gaze again. “I have not told you what happened last week after you stole—After you took back your
horse. Deering gave me an ultimatum. He would only lend his support if I … if I shared his bed.”

Maura stared at her stepmother. “You slept with Deering to curry his favor?”

“Not willingly.” Her lower jaw trembled. “That cursed man made me do it.”

Maura had no idea what to say. Priscilla was so alluring, it wasn’t surprising that Deering had coveted her as an object to add to his collection of prize possessions. But for her to have paid so exorbitant a price? She must have been desperate.

At Maura’s speechlessness, Priscilla sent her a pleading look. “I was an utter fool, I know. I thought we had a bargain, and instead Deering reneged on his promise and blackmailed me. He said that unless I complied with his new terms, he would make it known that I had shared my favors just like any whore.”

Maura shook her head in disbelief. She had always suspected Priscilla capable of using her body to gain her ends, but her seductive wiles had backfired this time when she’d tangled with a man far more ruthless and dishonorable than she.

“Maura, you must realize … I only was thinking of my daughters. After your father died, their matrimonial prospects were nonexistent. There was no one to protect us or stand up for us. We were entirely on our own, with no one to advance our entrée into the ton and no way to finance the vast expense of a Season.”

That last complaint struck a discordant chord in Maura. “Papa left you the London house and a significant income, enough to keep you in comfort if you had been in the least frugal.”

“But you know I am not frugal. I sold your horse to
fund my daughters’ debuts. Then when Emperor disappeared, Deering blamed me. I was afraid he would destroy our lives entirely, Maura, so I did as he demanded.” Bowing her head, Priscilla covered her face with her hands. “I am so ashamed.… I felt so … soiled afterward.”

She was weeping by now. Those disconsolate tears were very real, Maura realized.

Unexpectedly, she felt a strong measure of sympathy for the woman who had been almost her adversary for more than a decade. Priscilla was Deering’s victim, too. And she seemed genuinely remorseful now.

Moving away, Maura sank down in a nearby chair. She hadn’t thought Deering could be any more repulsive, but this latest revelation was utterly appalling. First he had brought about the disgrace and death of an innocent man, then forced the man’s widow to steal and whore for him.

Maura’s hands curled into fists as a wealth of dark emotion rose inside her along with the echo of old grief. The memory of her father dying in shame made her sick and furious all over again, as did her own guilt for being unable to save him.

“I do understand, Priscilla,” she whispered, her voice holding anguish. Clearing her throat then, Maura vowed to keep a tight rein on her emotions and began again. “Blackmail is Deering’s weapon of choice. He did the same thing with Papa. He said he would withdraw his accusations of cheating if Papa would agree to sell Emperor to him.”

“I know,” Priscilla sniffled.

Her response made Maura’s heart twist. “Deering actually admitted that Papa was innocent?”

Priscilla raised her head, showing eyes that were red and swollen. “Not in so many words, but he implied it.”

“But you sometimes act as if you believed his lies. As if Papa were guilty.”

Arresting her sobs, Pris swallowed. “Of course I know Deering lied. Noah was innocent all along.”

Maura returned her stepmother’s gaze steadily. The acknowledgment coming after all this time was welcome. Yet it was still hard for her to believe in Pris’s complete conversion. “How can I believe your change of heart, Priscilla? You wed my father for his fortune.”

“I don’t deny that,” she said quietly. “I was poor, and yes, I married Noah for monetary reasons. But I came to love him, Maura. He was kind and generous and he did not deserve the end he received.” She took a shuddering breath. “I wronged him, and I wronged you too, Maura, from the very first. I was jealous of the bond you had with him … of the advantages you had over my daughters. You were so beautiful and poised and stood to inherit your father’s estate. That is no excuse for the cold way I treated you, I know. And truly, I regret being in league with Deering against you, Maura. If you could bring yourself to forgive me … I should like to try and begin anew.”

Maura wasn’t certain she could be entirely so forgiving, but she did want to be on better terms with Priscilla. “Very well, we can try.”

“I sincerely want to make it up to you, Maura.”

She hesitated before making her suggestion. “If so, then you will help me clear Papa’s name.”

Wiping away her tears, Priscilla grimaced. “I don’t
know if that is even possible. You’ve made a mortal enemy of Deering.”

Maura’s gaze hardened. “On the contrary, he made a mortal enemy of
me
two years ago when he destroyed my father.”

“He is still a devious force to be reckoned with … and I still fear what he could do to my daughters.” She shuddered. “I can’t bear to think of him anywhere near them.”

“I think you needn’t worry about Hannah and Lucy any longer. Lord Beaufort and his family will see that they are safe from Deering and that their futures are secure.”

After a long moment, Priscilla released a shaky sigh. “What would you have me do?”

“If you would be willing to make his dastardly scheming public, we could sue him in a court of law.”

She look dismayed. “Who would believe me? No one would take my word over his. And my shame would come out. It could ruin me, Maura. I haven’t your noble connections to champion me. There must be another way.”

Although reluctant, Maura had to agree. Priscilla’s testimony against a nobleman of Deering’s stature would not carry substantial weight. They would have to find another way to bring him down—which meant that Ash’s plan to expose the viscount’s perfidious machinations
had
to succeed.

Just then, a rap sounded on the parlor’s open door. When Ash entered, Priscilla looked flustered at his presence, no doubt realizing that her tawdry tale would come out. After a pleading look at Maura, she curtsied awkwardly to the marquis and hurried from the room.

“Well?” Ash asked.

Maura shook her head as she rose to her feet. “It is even worse than we feared. Deering is a villain of the first order.” Her hands fisted again as she quickly explained how her stepmother had been blackmailed.

“This is no longer about only restoring my father’s honor,” Maura said urgently. “We have to render Deering powerless to hurt anyone else.”

Ash’s eyes reflected sympathy, but there was real anger in the set of his jaw and in his tone. “Have no fear, love. Deering’s predilection for preying on the weak will end tomorrow night.”

He gave her a swift kiss and took her arm. “Come, we need to return to the drawing room. Supper has been served.”

He made it sound so simple, Maura thought as she accompanied Ash from the parlor. But she was willing to trust him when he declared that they would prevail.

The buffet table was laden with tempting fare, and much of the company was already gorging on rich lobster patties and delicate meringues. Maura and Ash filled their plates and carried them to an empty table, where he seated her. While Ash was occupied with having a footman pour glasses of wine, Maura’s stepsisters passed by her chair and halted long enough to speak to her.

“This is so famous, Maura,” Lucy exclaimed, her eyes shining. “We cannot thank you enough—”

“Yes,” Hannah interrupted reverently. “We have you to thank for our good fortune, dearest Maura. No fewer than five gentlemen have asked to call on us tomorrow.”

“And several of them have been fighting over the privilege of taking supper with us now,” Lucy added. “Mama is to chaperone us, of course. Look, she is waving to us now. We had best hurry, Hannah.”

Maura followed Lucy’s gaze to see Priscilla beckoning them.

Before Hannah complied, however, she leaned down and whispered to Maura. “I keep pinching myself to see if I am dreaming. We have already thanked Lady Skye and Lady Katharine profusely. But please, will you convey our thanks to Lord Beaufort, Maura? I can see why he won your hand and heart.”

Both girls quickly kissed her cheek, then hastened to join their mother and their new beaux.

Maura sat frozen in place, though, the echo of Hannah’s innocent observation reverberating in her ears.

Surely it wasn’t possible
.

Her gaze lifted to seek out Ash’s tall, powerful form. The roaring in her ears grew louder as the truth sank in. Ash had indeed won her heart. Against her will, against all her better judgment, she had fallen in love with him.

Jolted by the realization, Maura shook her head weakly. Ash had seduced her heart without even trying, luring her into his web of enchantment over the past week, surmounting all her defenses when she had been especially vulnerable.

Her most powerful dream was that she would find love and family and an end to loneliness, and he had shown her explicitly what it meant to be part of a passionate, loving family. She couldn’t help loving the Wilde cousins, Ash most of all.

Yet she had no earthly idea what she would do
about her shocking acknowledgment. Ash didn’t love her. He was merely playing at the
game
of love, exploring the theory that they could be legendary lovers. As for winning her hand, their betrothal was only a charade, merely a means of defeating a common enemy.

Maura shook her head again, but when Ash returned with their wine and took his place beside her, she realized that any attempt at denial was futile.

It was far too late to protect her heart, for she had foolishly gone and fallen in love with her prince, just as Cinderella had done in the timeless fairy tale.

Somehow Maura managed
to hide her newly-realized feelings of love from Ash for the rest of the evening and during the next day. Too much was at stake for either of them to be distracted by the uncertainty of their future together—although she promised herself that as soon as the issue of her father’s vindication was settled, she would squarely face the matter of her feckless heart.

The following night, Lord Jack escorted her to Sutter’s gaming establishment. Maura had refused to be left behind, and Ash permitted her participation, saying that she needed the satisfaction of seeing her longtime nemesis exposed. For propriety’s sake, however, she went incognito, wearing a hooded domino and mask as genteel ladies often did when they wished to conceal their identities.

Sutter’s, Maura realized from the moment they were admitted, was a prosperous club, the decor sumptuous but surprisingly tasteful. There were several large rooms crowded with elegantly dressed gamesters and patrons of both sexes being served refreshments by
attentive waiters. She noted a roulette wheel, as well as various card games in progress—some, such as faro, overseen by professional dealers.

Ash was already there, since he had arrived early in order to put his plan in motion. Maura’s heart leapt when she spied him sitting at the green baize card table across from Viscount Deering.

It seemed that the game had already begun.

When she took a step closer, Jack firmly grasped her arm and guided her toward the far wall.

“You agreed to observe from a distance, remember?” he reminded Maura. “We don’t want Deering to know you were complicit in his downfall, and if I allowed him to see you, Ash would have my head.”

Nodding reluctantly, she let Jack seat her so that she could watch the game from well back in the crowd. Shortly, he placed a glass of Madeira in her hand, yet Maura couldn’t drink with the knot of anxiety tightening her stomach. Even from a distance she could see that Deering’s expression was one of smug, supercilious arrogance. He clearly expected to win—and the next few hours would prove whether or not his confidence was justified.