Wicked Deception (36 page)

Their mother died a year later, of a
broken heart, no doubt. Francis enjoyed tormenting her with what he
did to her daughter. Gillian shivered in disgust and horror as she
tried in vain to block out the nights when she hid under her bed
when he came looking for them.

He always found Eunice first. It was
only later when they were safe at the convent her sister confided
she allowed herself to be found so he would leave her
alone.

She wept knowing what Francis did to
her older sister. The guilt tore at her that Eunice alone had
suffered such degradation at their brother’s hands. She protected
her then and now she was gone.

She felt the tears sliding down her
cheeks unbidden, knew she would shed many until the shock of her
sister’s death set in. She glared at the dresses piled upon her
bed. She dare not further anger Lady Atwell but she wasn’t even
allowed to grieve for her sister, bitter tears hung upon her
lashes.

She and Eunice were victims as well.
She scowled darkly when she thought of her intended husband. The
man was a blackguard, no doubt, and a philanderer. Why else would
he marry the hideous Lord Rudd’s sister?

Gillian sighed as she slid into a chair
near the bed, her spirits dipping as the mantle clock ticked away
towards the evening hours. Imogene entered and eyed her knowingly
as the other servants brought water up for her bath.

She waited until they were all gone to
dissolve into sobs. Imogene rushed to her side and held her as she
became inconsolable in her grief. She allowed the servant to rock
her until her sobs quieted and Imogene smoothed back her hair,
smiling down at her sadly.

“
Lady Gilly, it’s time to
get ready. I know your heart is not in this. I listened at the door
earlier to all that was said. I’m not happy with how Lady Atwell
has handled this, but she is right. Lord Iverleigh is your only
hope.”

“
The man’s reputation is in
tatters, Imogene! He can’t even hope to do better than me for a
wife now! What does that tell you?” Gillian raged and pushed away
from the servant, infuriated she agreed with Lady Atwell. “I may
have no choice but to marry this man, but I won’t act like I like
it all!”

“
Lady Gilly!”Imogene warned
sternly, frowning at her. “You’d best mind your manners at this
dinner! The nuns might have been fooled by you all these years, but
I know that look well! You can’t afford to lose any more of Lady
Atwell’s sympathy this day!”

Gillian smiled harshly as she flounced
by her maid, her sea green eyes seething in anger. She was ready to
implode she was so angry. She felt powerless and when she felt this
way, she usually did something rash. She was aware she could
ill-afford to draw Lady Atwell’s wrath but she would make sure the
lady felt every bit of her displeasure this night.

Gillian said nothing as Imogene helped
her out of her dress. She scowled as she slid into her bath
finally. She took little pleasure in the bath, remained silent as
Imogene chattered as she inspected the dresses Lady Atwell
provided.

Her maid knew Gillian hardly cared
which one she wore and chose one for her. It was a demure pink,
with a very modest neckline. Lady Eugenia was a bit shorter and
smaller in the bust, but the gown would serve until she went to a
dressmaker.

Gillian felt and looked like a ten
pound sausage stuffed into a five pound sack as she glared at her
reflection later. The too-tight gown made her feel horribly
conscious of her bosom, which looked like it would rupture out of
the top of the gown if she breathed too deeply.

Imogene fixed her hair into a charming
upswept style. She hardly cared what she looked like as she sat
simmering in fury before the dressing table. She wanted to get this
evening over with.

Imogene was clucking nervously as she
found the matching wrapper and found her mistress’s slippers.
Gillian’s temper was sorely tested. She prayed she got through the
evening without showing her intended husband what a feisty shrew
she could be when pushed. Somebody had to feel her outrage. She
felt pity for Lord Iverleigh.

~ ~ ~

Catherine was more than a little lonely
as she put the children down and returned to the guest room. She
stayed at the Tulley home for a few days. Tulley was napping and
Martha went to the market. She picked up her book, but tossed it
down in disgust after several minutes.

She felt miserable for how she left
Gabriel’s home, but there was little they had to say to one another
now.

He was angry she was leaving and she
knew he didn’t understand her feelings. He thought that because
Nicholas was gone they could be together now. He didn’t see things
as she did. She was such a fool all these years to pine for
something she couldn’t have.

She had not bothered to wonder if it
was what she really wanted until her husband was gone. She saw it
wasn’t. She would give anything to have Nicholas back. Tears filled
her eyes to think of how she had taken his love for granted. The
love she felt for him was real.

Sadly, she discovered the love she
believed she still felt for Gabriel was a young girl’s fantasy, saw
all the ways her and Gabriel didn’t suit one another now. His
highhandedness bothered her. His arrogance annoyed her. She
despised the way he assumed authority over her and her children, as
if it was his due now. He had tunnel vision when he wanted
something and saw nothing else in his path.

Right now, he was determined to shut
her out and push her away for refusing him. She didn’t argue it
now. She was more than relieved at the distance, relieved from the
tension every time they were within one another’s
company.

He made her feel such guilt for not
giving into his desires. He expected her to forget all and jump
into his arms now. Catherine could only think of what her husband
wanted now and the promise he got from her the day he
died.

She owed it to him now for not being
able to give Gabriel up when he was alive. She felt so stupid! What
a waste it was now! She was too late to tell her husband he was
right all those years he warned her to be careful what she wished
for when he caught her mooning over her lost love.

How he would laugh to know she learned
all too soon that she changed drastically when the bullet tore her
mind apart. She was never quite the same woman she’d been before
that night.

She forced those former feelings for
Gabriel to the forefront, without considering whether she even felt
the same. She was relieved he would marry another, shocked to know
she felt little pain at all. Losing Nicholas made it easy to lose
Gabriel now.

~ ~ ~

Gabriel glared out the
window as the coach made its way towards the Atwell
residence.
Closer to my
doom
, he thought in despair once more
today. He was furious he was going ahead with marrying Rudd’s
sister and it showed. He prayed he got through the evening without
betraying his own disdain to be marrying the girl and making it
obvious to her.

She had to endure her brother’s hideous
crimes, after all. He had no choice if he was to recover from the
scandal that dogged his steps every since he clapped eyes upon
Catherine. He was bitter she’d not made it all worth it by staying
with him now.

He asked her one last time to marry him
that day. She flatly refused. He knew he was acting like a spoiled
child but he was angry. He put his life on hold for her for years
and waited. Now when they could finally be together; she left him
without a thought of how she ripped his heart out by it. He felt
guilt gnaw at him daily when he faced the ghost of Nicholas
condemning him, blaming him for the way things turned
out.

~ ~ ~

Tieghan made few teasing comments,
sensing his friend’s unhappiness. Gabriel was determined to move on
with his life now that Catherine was leaving, but his heart was
very much still hers.

Tieghan thought it too soon for him to
marry, but Gabriel said the marriage was little more than a
business arrangement. Tieghan wisely held his tongue. His friend
had no idea how callous he appeared marrying so quickly on the
heels of Catherine’s refusal.

He stayed out of it, despite a certain
feeling of resentment he felt towards his behavior. He was very
much starting to think Gabriel deserved his own
unhappiness.

They arrived at the Atwell residence
and Gabriel glowered at him before they alighted from the coach. He
informed him they were skipping desert and drinks, and made him
leave his cigars in the coach. He was staying no longer than
propriety deemed it necessary. They were going out after. Tieghan
frowned, preferring to return to Elise.

“
Quit scowling or you will
scare the girl, Gabriel,” he chided softly, his pale eyes merry as
he noted his friend’s churlish demeanor. “You can still back out of
this, you realize? The girl can hardly make a case of it if you cry
off now.”

“
I should have known better
than to expect your understanding, Tieghan,” Gabriel snapped, and
his dark eyes flung him an angry look. “I have to make a go of
respectability if I hope to even submit my case to the House of
Lords. Given the last five years of upheaval in my life, they will
laugh me out of there unless I change my blasted image. The
marriage is unfortunately necessary, and given Catherine’s
determination to leave me, I have no choice. I refuse to wait one
more damned minute for her to change her mind again!”

Tieghan wisely held his tongue. Now
wasn’t the time to point out the obvious. Catherine had never given
him one sign she was willing to marry him at all. His arrogant
friend likely assumed it, as he did all else. He was again using
another woman to get over Catherine. He dearly prayed Lady Gillian
had more of a sense of humor, or Gabriel was in for more of the
upheaval he mentioned.

Lady Gillian sat seething as her cousin
Eugenia hardly hid her amusement to see her in one of her old
gowns, barely disguising her contempt at all. Gillian endured the
pair as Lady Atwell sat with them. They waited for Lord Iverleigh
and his companion, the unknown Norwegian Jarl who had all of London
whispering.

Eugenia was tiny and blonde and had
simpering blue eyes when they were not centered upon her cousin in
extreme dislike. She wailed incessantly to be forced to dine with
them this evening and her mother forced her to accompany
them.

Lady Atwell appeared weary. Gillian
wisely held her tongue when she realized the gentlemen were late.
Everyone’s nerves were frayed, hers especially. She was broiling in
anger and could do nothing but sit in the too-tight gown and
wait.

While Imogene assured her she looked
lovely, she felt ridiculous. The gown reached her ankles and barely
covered her chest. She felt ungainly and unattractive next to her
cousin in her beautiful light-blue silk gown.

She was content to dump all of her
ill-feelings upon her betrothed’s head now. Her sea green eyes were
fairly snapping with outrage when she realized he was an hour late.
When the butler announced them, she was sure she heard a growl
escape her tightly clenched lips. Lady Atwell smiled too brightly
as she rose and bade the girl’s rise from the settee.

A sound of fabric splitting made
Gillian gasp. She raised her arm to see that she had finally split
the underarm of the garment. Eugenia was chortling at this until
her mother pinched her to quiet her. Gillian was flushed with
embarrassment and felt like running from her cousin’s home. Then
she raised her gaze to see Lord Iverleigh in the
doorway.

Her eyes met his and she could see
little emotion in their cold, hard depths. His gaze flicked over
her briefly and he came forward to greet Lady Atwell. Gillian felt
dismissed by his look, and was livid when he was finally forced to
make her introduction.

He was golden and sinfully attractive
and so elegantly attired, she felt even more ridiculous as she
curtseyed and heard another ripping noise. Eugenia was making a
choking noise behind her. Her eyes were spewing with fury now. She
was grateful when the Earl introduced the Jarl.

Both the other women were agog over the
Norwegian nobleman while she licked her wounds behind them all. The
fabric under her arm was rent nearly to her waist so she had no
choice but to keep her arm glued to her side to keep from revealing
it to all. Eugenia’s spiteful smile met hers and she knew the girl
would dearly love to see her further humiliate herself.

Lady Atwell led them into the dining
room on Iverleigh’s arm. The Jarl was fairly grabbed by Eugenia,
leaving Gillian to trail behind them. The Earl pulled out her chair
and she mumbled a conciliatory reply as she sat, cringing as she
heard yet another tear in her ears. She was mortified to know she
had now split the other underside of the gown.

If she lifted her arms, she was going
to show all. How she would manage to eat without raising her arms
was anyone’s guess. She was miserable and it showed as dinner was
served. She didn’t dare reach for her spoon to test the
soup.

She cringed every time the handsome
Earl eyed her quizzically at the end of the table. She was grateful
Eugenia monopolized all conversation, content to suffer in silence,
having not been included in any of the talk.