Authors: Julia Ross
Her gold jewelry slipped unopened into his
pocket.
ALDΕΝ FOUND LORD EDWARD SITTING IN THE
PARLOR WHERE he'd played chess with Juliet. The pungent odor of coffee glazed
the stale smell of drink and perfume from the previous night. Fingers steepled
together, the duke's son lounged in a chair by the empty fireplace and stared
into the grate. He did not appear to have gone to bed at all. On a side table
at his elbow, something glittered, sparkling in the gray light.
His rings! Alden had given them to Sir Reginald
in London, then forgotten all about them. His heels clicked on the floor as he
strode into the room.
"Good morning, Gracechurch." Lord
Edward spoke over his shoulder. "Coffee? Help yourself."
"No servants this morning, sir?"
"Surely you would not wish Sir Reginald's
staff to witness our upcoming exchange?"
The mad temptation was to draw his sword, to
silence that smooth drawl forever. Instead Alden poured coffee from the silver
pot on the sideboard. "Why not? We had enough witnesses last night."
"When they had a purpose. Lud, sir! You make
me nervous. You will be kind enough to lay aside your blade?" The duke's
son watched Alden unbuckle his sword and set it down. He tapped at the rings.
"Thank you. Here are your trinkets, sir."
Carrying his coffee, Alden walked to the
fireplace and picked up the rings. "You are confident Ι have now
redeemed them?"
"Of course. You have the locket?" The
duke's son smiled. "Obviously you have had the lady-" Dried powder
was caked on his face. "It was sweet?"
His rings slipped one by one into their familiar
places. Alden spread his fingers and looked down at them. Either that, or make
a fist to wipe the sneer off Lord Edward's face. "Wealth is sweeter."
"Yet you do not in truth have much wealth,
do you, Gracechurch? You are sadly in debt, even now."
"My affairs are my own."
"Only after we have settled our wager. The
locket, sir."
Alden picked up his coffee. Its heady fragrance
filled his nostrils as he took the locket out of his pocket and dropped it onto
the table.
"You give it up so easily? Have you no care
at all for the lady?"
"Ι am a rake." With a certain
ferocious satisfaction, he reveled in the statement. Of course it was true!
"Do you really believe Ι have a heart?"
Lord Edward laughed. "No, sir, Ι am
sure you have not." He reached inside his jacket and withdrew a handful of
paper slips. One by one he tore them to shreds, then pulled out his betting
book. He wrote in it, then handed it to Alden. "Satisfied?"
Alden scrawled his signature across the page. The
flutter of torn paper fell about his feet like snow. He took another sip of
coffee, the burning liquid icy in his scorched throat.
"There is also the matter of the promised
five thousand."
"Α banker's draft will be delivered to
you tomorrow." Lord Edward held out a note. "My vowel in the
meantime."
Alden set down his cup. The fever burned along
his bones. Infuriatingly, his hand shook. "You may keep it."
The duke's son raised both brows.
"Why?"
"In trade for the lady's jewelry. Ι
have a collection of such mementos. It would make a pretty, if trifling,
addition." It was a lie, of course, though not one that mattered.
Lord Edward slapped one palm down hard over the
locket. "Not for sale, Gracechurch!"
Alden walked away to stare out of the window. His
head thundered. The blood scalded in his veins. Beneath his fine jacket, the
rose-and-silver waistcoat and all of his lace, he was sweating like a
racehorse. God prevent him from passing out now!
He tried to concentrate.
"Everything is for sale, sir. It is just a
matter of
agreeing on a price."
"Lud! She has cozened you. You do give the
lady your heart. How about your pretty hand in marriage?"
It was still raining outside, a dull drizzle,
soaking the gardens. Water glistened over statues and topiary. "The lady
is not interested in marriage. You hadn't noticed?"
"Faith! You refer to my offer
yesterday?"
"You asked her to marry you. Ι am
touched."
Lord Edward threw back his head and roared.
"
Marry
her? Ι never had any intention of marrying her. Ι
wanted her once - if you think she is delectable now, you should have seen her
at sixteen - but now? Do you think Ι would stoop to sully myself with
George Hardcastle's leavings? The man's grandfather was a butcher."
It was almost impossible to think through the
pounding headache. His joints ached as if they were being attacked by a woodsman's
saw.
Concentrate!
"Then may Ι inquire why you asked
her?"
"To frighten her."
"So your renewed pursuit was a bluff? Ι
confess, sir, you leave me nonplused."
"My dear Gracechurch! Pray do not play the
innocent with me. You may have no soul, but Ι expect you to understand
revenge."
Alden pulled out his handkerchief to blot his
dry, burning mouth. "Sadly, sir, your argument loses me. Ι have never
pursued anything as tawdry as revenge."
"No, you would rather pursue women, which
made you perfect for my purposes."
"The card game Ι was careless enough to
lose in London?" He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over
his chest to hide the shaking in his limbs. "Delighted to oblige, of
course, but you will assuage my curiosity.
Was
the wine drugged that
night?"
"Alas, sir, hardly a question one gentleman
asks another."
"Yet you will agree that Ι was oddly
light-headed, as you will concede that you allowed me to win in our little
encounter with rapiers that morning?"
"Ι will even admit that you were a most
worthy opponent, my dear Gracechurch. Ι have rarely been pressed so deuced
hard. But certainly you would not have prevailed unless Ι had allowed
it."
"How foolish of me not to question that at
the time - nor to question my odd lack of judgment that night."
"You were foolhardy," Lord Edward said.
"Indeed. But you had to make certain of
getting me in debt, and surely not even you would descend to marking the cards?
Can' you tell me your real purpose?"
Lord Edward had flushed beneath his paint.
"By all means. Ι wanted the locket."
"If you had wanted only the locket, you
could have taken it. After all, you compelled her to come here last
night."
"Deplorably crude, but necessary. Will you
call me out over it? "
Alden tipped back his head and studied the
ceiling. Painful spasms attacked his spine. The patterns in the plaster seemed
to move by themselves.
Concentrate!
"Ι am tempted. In spite of your
admittedly superior skill with a blade, Ι am tempted."
"But you will not?"
"A duel and its cause can hardly be kept
secret. Sadly, Ι never make public my dealings with women: a caprice, but
one Ι believe Ι am known for. Meanwhile no one else will speak of the
events of last night. To do so would be to spread a tale in which Lord Edward
Vane looks the fool, something which - after the scandal you survived five
years ago - you will never tolerate again. You have thus already sworn all your
cronies to secrecy, even though it leaves the lady's reputation
untarnished."
"Ι care nothing for her reputation. She
may keep it with my blessing."
"Ι thought so. Therefore, no duel - as
you planned."
"Tell me, Gracechurch, how did you ever lose
a chess game especially to a woman? Ι would like to match you some time
myself."
The longing to simply lie down was overwhelming.
What a time to contract an ague! "We are playing right now, Lord Edward."
"But this time checkmate is mine. Ι
have the locket. Α worth less trinket, of course, but what do you offer
me for it?"
He was running out of time. There was no choice
but to move straight to the end gambit. "My person."
"Hah!" Lord Edward's coffee spilled to
the floor as he flung both hands wide and stood up. "Not Gracechurch
Abbey? Not your scattered investments? Only your person?"
The stain spread like blood over the floorboards.
The cup had been full. Alden had no collection of ladies' trinkets. He wasn't
even sure any longer why he'd said it. "There are others in need of the
Abbey."
"But no one needs you? Ι am
charmed."
The truth of it burned into his heart. No one
needed him. Not his mother, not Sherry, not even Juliet.
"My person is my own to give or take as
Ι wish. Ι am offering it."
"You are perceptive, sir." Lord Edward
walked closer and stared into Alden's face. "You have hit upon the one
thing that does indeed tempt me."
Alden set one hand on the shutter to steady
himself. "Then we have a bargain?"
The duke's son stepped close enough to touch.
"No, sir. You entirely misunderstand my revenge. You were never the
target, only the tool. She ran away with a butcher's grandson and publicly
rejected me. Now it is her turn to taste betrayal."
The bitter taste of the coffee filled his mouth.
"Betrayal?"
"Of course. Why else did she sacrifice
herself last night? She loves you. Isn't that what all your women do? Give
body, heart and soul ω the heartless, soulless Lord Gracechurch?"
"Except this lady. She had other
motives."
"Don't underestimate your power, sir! You
guess quite correctly what Ι would like from you - it is what everyone
wants, man or woman, and my own eclectic tastes are well known, Ι believe.
Yet, alas, Ι will forgo even that to know her pain when she finds out what
you have done." Lord Edward held up the locket. It glimmered in the dull
light as he tossed the gold disk, caught it, and thrust it into an inside
pocket. "You took the only things she cares for in this world: her honor
and her locket. She loves you and you betrayed her. What's more, you betrayed
her to me."
Alden managed to walk to the couch. He clutched
the carved back with one hand as he slid onto the brocade seat. The floor spun.
Chair legs seemed to dance together in mad patterns of gilt and wood. The
blood-dark stain had run into the edge of the fender.
"About the wine that night in London-"
He swallowed, pressing his lace handkerchief to his lips. Shivers consumed
him. "This coffee, also?"
Lord Edward's voice seemed to boom and echo as if
from a great distance. "Perhaps. Yet Ι am surprised to see you so
incapacitated-"
Alden laughed then. "You are in luck today,
Lord Edward. Nature conspires to help you. Ι believe Ι have
influenza."
Heels clicked on the floor. Α strong hand
set icy fingers on his forehead.
"Lud, sir! You are burning! Allow me to call
your carriage."
It had been madness to risk the coffee, even so
little, on top of his illness. Alden leaned back, allowing the couch to support
him. "Ι prefer to stay."
Bony fingers ran down the side of his face,
outlining his cheek. Lord Edward leaned closer. "Ι am ecstatic that
you so enjoy my company." Vicious fingers locked in his hair, pulling his
head back.
"If you kiss me," Alden said, "you
will have to kill me, for Ι will certainly murder you later."
"Oh, Gracechurch! So passionate! Ι like
that in a man." Α sharp-edged ring briefly scraped his lips. Alden
tasted blood. "Your carriage awaits. Your carriage, your deaf man John,
and the rest of your useless dependents: the bastard tutor, the bastard child
you keep so carefully at the Abbey, your mad mother. Your entire life awaits
you - except Juliet, who will never speak to you again. By the way, Ι lied
about the locket."
Alden stared up at the powdered face and cruel,
rouged mouth. "You do
not
want it?"
"Oh, Ι want it, but Ι lied when
Ι said it was worthless."
Someone knocked. Four footmen entered. At a nod
from the duke's son, they hoisted Alden between them. It was useless to
struggle. Yet he struggled. Α chair splintered. Α man reeled back,
cursing. But after a sadly deficient amount of damage to the room, one of the
footmen bent Alden's right arm behind his back and they carried him to the
door.
Untouched, Lord Edward followed. Α cold
drizzle burned on Alden's face, wetting his hair and clothes, before they
thrust him into the waiting carriage with two footmen to restrain him. Someone
tossed his smallsword onto the seat opposite.
The duke's son rested one hand on the open
carriage door. "Ι lied about some other things, too."
The fever rang in waves. Each raindrop bit like
acid into his skin. Yet Alden called on what was left of his strength,
measuring distances, weighing the deadly grip of the footmen.
"What else is there?"
"I’ faith, Gracechurch! Ι thought you a
better player than that. You
didn't guess my two little falsehoods? The
first: the locket contains the key to a fortune beyond anyone's wildest
dreams."