Wicked Deception (28 page)

He agreed to protect her and he had,
most recently too. Lord Rudd hired men to come after Catherine now.
He dispatched one outside her house a fortnight ago.

Nicky had not hired him to entertain
his wife but keep her safe. He refused to allow himself to get
close to her. Getting close to her could get him killed, or her.
Still, he couldn’t help but peek into the foyer to see Ty escort
her to the dining room.

She looked beautiful in black. The
sight of her had made him silently applaud Nicky in capturing such
a lovely creature’s heart. She was more beautiful now than when he
last saw her. She would never know how much her husband adored her
and was unaware he had the whole underworld of London protecting
her now.

Caspian sighed as he thought of her
enchanting eyes, finding her more than worth it.

Elise was gone and already he was
mooning over another. He marveled over how quickly he became
besotted with Nicky’s wife. Watching her expressive face was like
reading sheet music to him. To see her grief, her anger, and now
her loneliness touched him. Caspian was never touched. For that she
had all his attention.

He smiled to think Nicholas was wrong
to think she would run into Iverleigh’s outstretched arms when he
died. The woman refused to go to the Earl’s residence tonight. He
found that most curious. Nothing in life ever intrigued him.
Catherine Van Ryker was the exception.

Caspian knew he had to keep his
distance. He was doing a job, he told himself. He had barely eight
weeks left until she sailed away forever. The thought of that
lovely creature wasting away on some godforsaken island made him
want to weep for the waste.

Watching her and reading her face had
become a past time he became rather good at. He could see how lost
she was now, how fragile. There was strength now too. She realized
the enormity of raising her children alone; being alone. He saw the
longing in her gaze too. She missed Nicky; that much was clear. Her
thoughts and feelings were like an open book, unlike those in his
world.

Catherine was grieving her husband. She
didn’t need him sniffing after her skirts. He was disgusted he even
dwelled upon the woman but she inspired him as nothing had these
last months. For the first time in almost six months, he was
writing music again. She was his muse, he thought and sighed
appreciatively.

~ ~ ~

Catherine could hardly sleep in the
strange house. She got up and down several times. She checked on
her sleeping children enough to know they had no problems resting
tonight. She sighed as she reentered her room from the hall and
heard the strains of the haunting music below.

She bit her lip and retrieved her
wrapper. She tiptoed down the hall to the staircase. She saw Ty
immediately and was disappointed she couldn’t sneak past him to spy
on the man who played beyond him.

She would only get to Caspian Roth if
he allowed it. In his line of work, it was obvious nothing happened
without his knowledge. Spontaneity could get him killed. Just when
she was about to return to her room, Ty left his post for nature’s
demands. She rushed down the stairs in the direction of the
music.

Catherine followed the lovely melody
down twisting hallways until she arrived outside the music room.
She cracked the door and saw him, eyes wide to see him naked at his
pianoforte. She would have left had she not been riveted by the
sight of him.

His long dark red hair was unbound, a
strand falling across his rugged cheek. The planes of his handsome
face were softened with the provoking sounds emanating from his
long, tapering fingers stroking over the keys. His chest was lean
and muscled and stained with ink smudges.

Catherine was enthralled as he
continued to play, his eyes closed as he reached the climax of his
piece. She chewed her lip to see how perfectly formed he was, at
home in his own nudity, free in his private domain. The tapers upon
the gleaming top of the pianoforte cast shadows across his handsome
face. She saw the sadness there and instantly felt a kinship to
him.

Catherine backed away from the door and
withdrew, disturbed by her desire to join him and horrified by her
boldness. She crept back up to her room, grateful to not to have
been caught by Ty. He was mad enough she fed her desert to the
servants earlier.

Sleep came eventually and with it
dreams of the dangerous, fascinating man who touched off such
warnings and longings at the same time. When she woke she was eager
to go home, disturbed by how she reacted to seeing Caspian at his
composing. She blushed to think he wrote his music in the
nude.

Within the hour her children and
brothers were fed, dressed, and ready to return to their home. She
was grateful Caspian had not seen fit to see them off. Recalling
seeing him in all his glory the night before, she didn’t think she
could face the man. The sight of his beautiful male body had
touched off purely feminine urges.

Ty showed them the door. As their bags
were loaded she looked past him to the direction of the music room,
hoping her benefactor would come to see them off. She was
disappointed when he didn’t.

~ ~ ~

“
Has she gone yet?” Caspian
asked when Ty entered the music room later.

Ty raised an eyebrow as he saw his
employer was up all night. Caspian knew Catherine Van Ryker was
gone. Nothing escaped his notice. He only asked to break the
silence; hear his own voice in the mausoleum that was his fortress
and prison.

“
She left for home just an
hour ago,” his guard muttered.

Caspian grinned without looking up from
his music sheets. Ty’s tone revealed more than he said. He heard
the relief in the man’s tone, knew he was still sore over his guest
passing out sorbet to all his servants when he went to such trouble
to serve her a fine meal. He saw her as ungracious, though he knew
nothing about Catherine.

Her behavior was a clear message she
desired his company the night before and acted out to get his
attention. Beautiful women could be so unforgiving when ignored. He
almost laughed to know he had provoked such an obvious response
from her. Interesting, he thought with a surge of elation. The
excitement to know he got under her skin and ruffled her lovely
feathers pleased him.

“
Send the men over at once,”
Caspian ordered without looking up, making marks here and there
with his quill. “Tell them to be diligent. I will relieve them at
nightfall.”

Ty looked upset. “It is not necessary
for you to do that, Caspian. We have able men aplenty to look after
the woman. It is an unnecessary risk to you.”

“
I made a promise I mean to
keep.”

“
It could get you killed!”
Ty exploded and shook his head. “I will go look after her. You need
to sleep.”

Caspian grinned. Ty was so obvious. He
didn’t want him anywhere near Catherine Van Ryker. “Elise is not
coming back Ty. You need not keep her place warm.”

“
You do not know that,” Ty
muttered and glared at his employer’s amused expression when he
looked up. “I refuse to believe she could love that Norwegian dog
over you.”

“
I believe the words she
used were ‘adore’, Ty.”

Ty glared at him. “She will come back
to you.”

“
You will doubtless be
waiting; I will not.”

“
You let pride get in the
way!”

“
I let common sense
intervene, Ty,” Caspian finally barked and tossed down his quill.
“She loves the man. You think I can change that with only three
words she would have tossed right back at me? What did I do for
months but try? She does not want this life I lead. You heard her
say it.”

“
She said she didn’t want to
stay to see you die. You could have left with her. None would have
known of it. I would have left things handled for you to walk
away.”

“
And do what?” Caspian
scoffed. “Wait until she realizes it isn’t what she wants and
leaves me?”

“
She loved you! You pushed
her away, made light of her, as you always do when you care,” Ty
argued. “She would have stayed.”

“
Elise had a choice, Ty. She
chose Tieghan. Leave it alone. I wished them well and meant it. You
just can’t let it go,” his employer grumbled. “Did it ever occur to
you that sometimes love is not enough? I have; often, these last
six months. Leave it be. I’m content to be alone.”

Ty refused to answer and left the
doorway. Caspian sighed and got up from the bench and stretched. He
rubbed his naked backside, sore from sitting so long at his music.
He frowned when he recalled Ty’s words about Elise’s reasons for
leaving.

She was fragile and broken when he
found her that night, both physically and mentally. Learning she
lost the child tormented her. She never spoke of it, even after
they became lovers. Caspian tried to reach her and knew a part of
her was shut off to him, reserved for the man who fathered the
child.

Elise was grateful and nothing more.
After he saw her back to health she came to his bed, determined to
forget the man she loved and lost. He had come to care for her,
feelings he had long disdained for any woman.

Elise went to work for him as well, her
talent with scams just as effective in weeding them out. She saved
him far more money than she ever cost him, refusing payment in
exchange. Then on her way home from working, she saw
Tieghan.

She ran from him. He chased her back to
his door. As luck would have it, the man wasn’t as dumb as he
looked. He tracked her down and wooed her away from him with
nothing but a silly promise Caspian had not made to her. Why did
all women need to have words and a ring to know they were loved? He
would never understand the blasted creatures as long as he
lived.

Elise was far more honorable than her
former profession implied. She told him the truth. She still loved
the man from her past. He knew what she really asked when he saw
those troubled hazel eyes fill with tears.

She asked him to offer her what Tieghan
had; to give up his business and leave with her, start over
somewhere else. She could not live like this, she said. He wished
her well and left her standing in the foyer.

His own thoughts; she would have left
him anyway. Had she loved him; she would have stayed under any
circumstances. Knowing that didn’t help assuage his pain to know he
lost her. He accepted it; unlike his trusted guard. Ty adored Elise
from the start. No other woman was good enough for him after she
left.

Elise could say he had chosen his life
of crime over her, but they both knew the truth. She felt obligated
to him much like all those who sought his protection. She
practically asked him permission to leave him to be with Tieghan.
In her eyes he had seen fear too; fear he would hurt the man she
loved. It was that fear that made her come to him that day and not
run with Tieghan; not some love his guard insisted she had for
him.

Women! Bah! He could buy a better woman
than he could ever find on his own. At least he got what he paid
for. All he got out of his relationship with Elise was a block that
stopped his music from flowing and a headache from all her blasted
crying. No, Elise was where she wanted to be and it wasn’t with
him.

Catherine inspired him like nothing
before. Just thinking of her made his creative juices flow and
other juices he ignored far too long. He was never one to look gift
inspiration in the mouth. He would indulge whatever feelings the
woman provoked in him, knowing his music would soar as a result.
Even now his hands itched to write the melodies in his head, knew
every note that came to him were from his thoughts of
her.

Caspian was too smart to not know he
played with fire. His infatuation with Catherine could get him
killed. The woman made him soft in the head and destroyed his
focus. He knew better to explore such tumultuous responses to a
woman. No good ever came of them. It was unfortunate he never
looked for good. Bad was so much more fulfilling.

~ ~ ~

Gabriel didn’t see Constance’s look of
annoyance as he rose from her bed to leave. She sat up, her brown
hair falling about her shoulders as she pulled the sheet up about
her waist. Her eyes traced his broad back with regret.

She knew he would not stay the night
with her. He never did. He’d been coming nearly every night for a
week and left before it was light in the sky. She didn’t understand
what motivated Gabriel St. Armand to seek her out again but enjoyed
it nonetheless.

She sighed, drawing his gaze as he slid
into his breeches. His dark eyes were emotionless. She bit her lip,
knowing his friend Nicholas died recently. She watched him continue
to dress and could stand it no more.

“
Gabriel, why do you come
here to me when you do not want what I offer?” she asked with some
female annoyance in her voice. “It is my profession to know when a
man has something on his mind. You have much on yours, it
appears.”

“
I wouldn’t want to bore
you, my dear,” he drawled. “Trust me, it is of no
concern.”

“
I would listen if you want
to talk about her?” she broached hesitantly.