She shot to her feet and whirled around,
pummeling him unmercifully in the ribs.
stone vale, you are a miserable, teasing
beast of a husband and you deserve to
rot."
My leg, my leg. Cease and desist at
once, madam, or you'll ruin me for
life." Lucas retreated toward the bed, his
laughter filling the bedroom.
To hell with your leg." She continued
her attack, closing in on him, forcing him
back until he toppled onto the bed. Then
she jumped on top of him, straddling him
triumphantly. Lucas held up his hands in
surrender.
I beg for mercy, my lady. Would you
continue to beat on a helpless man who
is already down?"
You may be down but you are far from
helpless, stone vale. You still have the use
of your mouth and it seems to me that is
what got you into trouble in the first place
tonight. You could not resist taunting me
in a most villainous fashion, could you?"
His smile was slow and filled with
sensual promise.
Allow me to put my
mouth to better use, madam."
He reached up with one hand and
splayed his strong fingers around the back
of her head. Then he dragged her face
down to his and captured her lips with
his own.
With a soft sigh Victoria gave herself up
to the magic of her husband's embrace.
Lucas knew he had only himself to blame
when the gossamer web of domestic
harmony he was just starting to weave
was ripped to shreds on the following
Monday morning.
He should have seen it coming, he told
himself. He should have been prepared.
He, who always prided himself on his sense
of strategy and planning, had been caught
off guard, and there was no excuse.
But his wife's timing was as good as that
of any field marshal who has studied the
opponent well.
She breezed into the library, waving the
newest letter from her aunt, just at the
very moment Lucas was going through a
detailed summary of her investments for
the past three years.
There you are, Lucas, I have been
looking for you. No, do not bother to
get up. I just wanted to tell you I shall be
writing a fairly large draft on my account
to cover an investment I plan to make
soon. I assumed you would want to take
it into consideration when you plan your
own expenditures this month."
Lucas sat down again and looked up, his
mind still reeling from the shock of what
he had learned recently about Victoria's
investment habits. She smiled brightly at
him from the other side of the massive
desk, looking as elegant and vibrant as
ever in a sun yellow morning gown.
How large a sum will you be needing
and what sort of investment are you
considering?" he asked cautiously.
Oh, I should think a few thousand
pounds will be enough to get me into
this particular investment."
A few thousand?"
Perhaps ten or fifteen." She glanced
down at the letter in her hand.
Aunt
Cleo says the group will be investing in
some new collieries in Lancashire."
Ten or fifteen thousand pounds? For
a coal production project in Lancashire?"
ir r
Lucas was stunned.
You cannot possibly
mean to do anything so foolish. I cannot
allow you to do it."
It was when he saw the light of battle
flare in her beautiful eyes that Lucas
knew he had just made a serious, tactical
mistake.
Our man of affairs, Mister Beckford, has
recently recommended the project very
strongly," Victoria said.
Aunt Cleo writes
that she intends to invest, herself."
Your aunt is free to do as she chooses,
but I cannot allow you to pour that
amount of money into a coal pit in
Lancashire. One can go through a fortune
very quickly investing in collieries."
I have a fortune, Lucas, remember?"
she asked far too sweetly.
You married
me for it."
Lucas tried to forge a path out of the
mire in which he found himself
Your
inheritance is sizable, my dear, but it is
not inexhaustible. Far from it. You are
intelligent enough to realize that. You
do not have enough money to warrant
taking risks of ten or fifteen thousand
pounds. Sums of that size should be put
into acquiring land, not digging expensive
pits in the ground."
But I already own some properties
in London from which I receive a very
nice income. And," she added, with a
challenging smile,
I am now a partner
with you in owning a good-sized chunk
of Yorkshire. I do not wish to acquire any
more land, Lucas."
Lucas returned to the accounting summary
and said, very matter-of-factly,
Then
you can put the money into the improve
ments we will be needing here at Stone
vale."
You are busy enough as it is spending
a great deal of my money on such
improvements. This colliery project is a
personal investment I wish to make on
my own behalf."
Vicky, trust me on this matter. Collieries
are risky investments, especially when they
are being run by others. If you are seriously
interested in mining, we can think about
having an engineer survey stone vale. There
is coal in Yorkshire as well as other minerals
and there may be some worth going after
on the estate. But I cannot allow you to
throw your money into a distant project
over which we will have no management
control."
Victoria marched to the library desk and
threw the letter down.
You are going to
forbid me the right to spend my money
as I wish?"
Lucas prayed for divine guidance but
there was none forthcoming. He would
have to deal with the devilish question
on his own and he already knew he was
damned either way.
He tried to choose his next words with
care.
You have come to me with a large
income that must be protected for the sake
of our children and our grandchildren and
their children. As your husband it is my
duty to guide you in your investments."
I thought so," Victoria announced
grimly.
This is how it always starts, I
imagine. One's husband begins by telling
his wife that she is incompetent to manage
her own affairs and that she must allow him
to do it for her. From there he moves to
take complete control, allowing her no say
whatsoever in how her money is spent."
That angered him. Lucas gestured
impatiently at the account book lying
open on the desk.
To be perfectly blunt,
my dear, I am not certain you should be
making all your own decisions. You seem
to have a tendency to take great risks in
your financial affairs. You have been in
deep water more than once."
I have always come about," she shot
back.
As you can plainly see if you look
at my current income."
Yes, thanks to your properties in Town.
You see, Vicky? It is the investments in
land that are most reliable. They are
what shelter an inheritance such as yours.
You have no business taking risks in the
funds or in shipping and distant mining
projects."
No business taking risks? That is
ludicrous coming from you. Before you
married me, your entire income came from
taking risks. What can be more risky than
the battlefield or the gaming tables?"
The fact that she had a point only served
to annoy him further.
Damn it, Vicky, I
had no choice in how I made my money.
I did what I had to do. But matters have
changed. We both have a responsibility to
manage stone vale and the income you
brought to this marriage as wisely as
possible. Your days of taking huge risks
with your capital are over."
She stepped forward and planted both
hands on his desk. Her eyes shimmered
with fury.
Say it in plain language,
stone vale. I want us both to hear you
say it."
I do not know how much plainer I can
make it."
Tell me very clearly that you are
forbidding me to spend my money in
any way I wish. Let us have the words
plain between us."
His own temper leapt to match hers.
You are deliberately trying to set a trap
for me, Vicky. You want me to choose
between saying the words that will give
you complete freedom and the ones that
will damn me as just another tyrannical
husband like the man who married your
mother. Do you think you can manipulate
me so easily, madam?"
I am not trying to manipulate you.
It is just the reverse. You are trying
to manipulate me." Victoria's tone was
unwavering under his severe gaze.
I am trying to protect you from your
own reckless nature."
Reckless? You call me reckless? You,
who made your living first as a soldier
and then as a game ster? Hah. That is an
excuse and well you know it. You want
complete control of my money and you
are telling me you will no longer allow me
any say in how I spend it. What's next,
Lucas? Will you force me to accept a small
quarterly allowance? Will I be obliged to
buy all my clothes and paints and books
and the occasional horse out of whatever
you choose to allow me by way of an
income?"
That did it. He lost what was left of his
temper.
Why not? If you are going to play
the role of a frivolous, spendthrift woman