Redemption (21 page)

Ben
threw her a dour look. “You,” he murmured. “His treatment of you is
what I hold against him. Julian is a scoundrel through and through.
It is only right that he should be held to account for his
actions.”

“Then
you don’t hold it against me that I am effectively keeping him in
prison while I blackmail him?”

“No,”
Ben smiled. “I think a stint in prison should serve him well. It
will give him plenty of time to think Why shouldn’t you gain from
him for a change?”

Lizzie’s
smile grew wider when he swooped down and placed a tender kiss on
her cheek.

“Come
on. Let’s go and see if we can find any sign of his mistress in
here. If we do, we may have to evict her before we go, I am afraid.
Then we can secure the house.”

Lizzie
nodded. For some reason having Ben right beside her gave her the
confidence to face anything life threw at her. His quiet strength;
steady persona, and determination to do what was right assured her
that he was a good man to have around at times of
crisis.

She
could do no better than Benjamin McArthur and knew it.

CHAPTER NINE

“
Good Lord,
would you look at this?” she whispered from within the rather
startling confines of one of the guest rooms. She held up a gaudy
red dress for Ben to see and lifted her brows in disbelief. It was
embellished lavishly in feathers and ruffles and was something she
couldn’t envisage anyone actually wanting to wear. She wrinkled her
nose up in disgust when Ben glanced at it and smiled at
her.

Unaware
of his rather lustful thoughts, she watched Ben pull a feather boa
out of a drawer in the table beside the bed. He lifted it for her
to see and shook his head before he dropped it onto bed and rifled
through the remainder of the contents.

She
stared at the wardrobe and shook her head in disbelief. She was in
the room directly next to her step-brother’s suite of rooms, which
appeared to have been transformed into a lady’s boudoir. While the
rest of the house lay barren and dusty, this room had been
furbished with luxurious silks, laces, and what appeared to be a
fully stocked wardrobe of gaudy outfits more befitting for a
harlot’s bedroom.

“Not for
any lady are they?” she muttered as she lifted another brilliant
red dress free of the dresser and stared at it as though it was a
snake about to strike her.

Ben
smothered a smile as he closed the drawer on some rather
questionable objects he rather suspected belonged to the unknown
guest’s more professional days. Gaudy was the word he would use to
describe the vast array of clothing that was mostly brilliant red
and adorned with black lace. The low cut bodice on the dress Lizzie
held would have made an experienced madam blush.

“Rather
large in proportions too,” he murmured when Lizzie held up a black
dress with a shocking low décolletage against her chest
assessingly.

She suspected that its owner was a somewhat statuesque lady
with a hugely ample bosom. It was evident from the design of the
gown, and the size of it that its owner was nobody she had ever
met, and she rather suspected didn’t belong amongst the
ton
.

“Well, I
think we can take it that the rumours are indeed true and he has
moved his mistress in,” he murmured, pulling open the drawers of
the bureau beside her so they could both study the contents.
“Whoever she is, we need to get her moved out of here as soon as
possible.”

“Oh,
Ben,” Lizzie whispered. “Julian is a rotter, isn’t he?” It wasn’t a
question.

“Don’t
let it worry you,” Ben assured her. “First thing in the morning we
will get the locks changed. We need to take advantage of Julian’s
absence to remove your belongings out of here. Before we go, I
shall write a note for her and will leave it on the bed. The sooner
this woman realises she is to be evicted the better.”

Lizzie
eyed the boa she was still holding and lifted somewhat mischievous
eyes to Ben. Their eyes met and held. Ben eased closer. She
shivered as the warmth of his breath brushed gently against her
cheek, eliciting a shiver that swept down her spine.

“Ben,”
she murmured in a voice that was part question, part
plea.

His
response was a low moan that was smothered when his lips closed
over hers. As he plundered he slowly eased the boa from her fingers
and draped it across her shoulders, tugging it around her to hold
her still. Their tongues duelled and mated in a slow dance that was
as old as time. Neither of them was aware of anything other than
the flourishing desire that surged between them and became an ever
growing desperate need neither of them could ignore.

Aware
that they were still in the harlot’s bedroom, with the last
tendrils of strength he could muster, Ben slowly eased away from
the delicious temptation Lizzie presented.

“Tell me
where your room is,” he murmured, unsure if she knew what he was
asking.

Lizzie
studied him for a moment before she quietly directed him. Her gasp
was loud when he swept her off her feet and stalked down the
hallway toward her suite of rooms on the opposite side of the
house.

“I know
this is rushing things, Lizzie. I should like to say that we won’t
take matters too far but I am only a man. I cannot promise you
anything right now. Be sure that this is what you want. I don’t
mind if you want to wait for a while.” He tried to keep his gaze
averted from the bare flesh of her shoulder that had been revealed
when he had loosened the laces of her dress earlier, but his gaze
was drawn back to the pale expanse of flesh time and
again.

Lizzie
desperately wanted to agree, if only so she could satisfy her
curiosity. She had missed him so much over the last several weeks
that each day they had been apart had left her with a physical ache
around her heart that had been impossible to ignore. She loved him;
it was as simple as that. But was she ready for this? She barely
knew the man really. Was desire a good enough reason to risk her
entire future?

Sensing
her hesitation, Ben decided not to push her. He eased into the room
anyway and placed her tenderly on the bed rather than beneath the
covers before he followed her down and gathered her into his
arms.

“We have
time now we are together again Lizzie,” he murmured into the
quietude of the room. “I said I won’t rush you and I
won’t.”

“I know.
It is just that so much has happened in such a short period of time
that I don’t know what to think right now.”

Ben
immediately felt an eel for suggesting this in the first place. “I
make no bones about the fact that I desire you, my darling. What we
shared in that folly was genuine, and for me has only been
reinforced by what we have shared today. I won’t push you but I
also have no doubt that in time we will end up sleeping together. I
will be your lover, Lizzie. When we do take that inevitable step in
our relationship, you will most certainly be acknowledging that you
accept the fact that your future lies with me; as my wife. I shall
accept nothing less.”

Lizzie’s
heart lodged in her throat. For a moment all she could hear was the
heady pounding in her ears. She leaned back to look up at him but
words failed her. All she could do; could think of doing, was
capturing his head in her hands so she could tug him down for a
very loving kiss. She poured every ounce of emotion she couldn’t
put a name to in that searing caress that left them both gasping
and wanting more.

“We need
to stop, darling,” he murmured when his body ached to such a degree
he wasn’t sure it would ever ease.

“I -”
she gasped, unsure what to do.

Ben
eased himself off her and rolled over to lie on his back while he
willed his body to cool. “We need to search the study downstairs,”
he gasped, desperately trying to get his mind off just how far
things had nearly gone. He had never been so close to losing
control with anyone ever before, and it unnerved him as much as
intrigued him.

“I need
to take a look at the contents of Julian’s desk,” she conceded,
fighting disappointment and the feeling that she had just lost a
precious opportunity. Still, if Ben was right there would be
another occasion just like this. Hopefully by then, they would be
better acquainted and able to allow matters to take their natural
course.

“Then
let’s go and take a look at it,” Ben murmured as he eased around to
sit on the side of the bed. He was more shaken than he cared to
admit, but was immensely reassured that she felt exactly the same
way about him as he did about her.

She
stood on shaking legs and made her way toward the door. She knew
that if she didn’t leave now, and try to focus her thoughts on
something else, she was going to go back into the bedroom and allow
Ben to take whatever liberties he wanted no matter what regrets she
might have in the morning. Desperate to keep her thoughts on
something else, she turned her attention to more mundane matters
like Julian, and the reason they were in Pendlebury House in the
first place.

“What
are we looking for in the study?” Ben asked as they made their way
across the upper landing.

“I need
to take a look at Julian’s financial papers. Although the solicitor
told me that I cannot be held accountable for any financial
agreement Julian has entered into, I don’t want anyone associating
me with him. I don’t put it past him not to run up debts in my name
too and lie about doing so. If I can just take a look at his
papers, I can rest assured that I don’t have any shocks looming in
the future.” She threw him a knowing look from the doorway. “This
is Julian Pendlebury we are talking about.”

Ben
nodded. Determined to follow her lead, he turned his thoughts to
the problems that Julian had brought her. He knew from how dark it
had gone outside that it would soon be time to escort her back to
the hotel. That thought was enough to bring a scowl to his
face.

“Tell
me, Lizzie, about this man who accosted you outside of the hotel.
What did he look like?”

Lizzie
told him.

“I am
afraid that if the stranger who accosted you may be a man called
Raymond Trent. He is a renowned gangster. I think he may be a loan
shark or something. Either way he runs a somewhat questionable
gaming house on the other side of the city. Anyway, he is a
criminal; the kind who won’t care who owes him what. If he has his
sights set on getting hold of Pendlebury House, or has a problem
with Julian, he won’t let a woman stand in his way. The best thing
you ever did was involve the solicitors in this. You need to go to
see them and tell them that it might be Trent who is bothering
you.” Ben scrunched his face up and tried to recall the last time
he had seen Raymond Trent. “Trent has silver hair and slightly
narrowed eyes.”

“That’s
him. That sounds like someone Julian would get involved with,”
Lizzie said quietly. She shuddered as she finally began to realise
just how low Julian had sunk. “That sounds like the man who
accosted me on the street this morning.”

“Then
you need to move to McArthur House first thing in the morning,” Ben
warned her firmly as he followed her down the stairs.

“I will
escort you back to the hotel once we have searched the papers,” he
murmured once they reached the study. “Your aunt will probably be
worried about you by now.”

He
realised then just how bad a decision it would have been for both
of them if they had allowed matters to go any further between them
tonight. The last thing he wanted to do the first time he shared
Lizzie’s bed was leave within the hour and, to his utter shame, he
had completely forgotten about her aunt back at the
hotel.

Once in the study they began to search. While they did, his
mind was awhirl with the list of tasks he needed to complete
tonight and tomorrow morning. McArthur House was going to be thrown
into chaos for the next few days but, as far as Lizzie remained by
his side and away from Trent’s clutches, he didn’t care. He didn’t
see any reason to tell her that Raymond Trent was step-brother to
Terence Sayers: one of London’s most lawless gangsters whose
behaviour had scared many magistrates into not to even attempting
to challenge him. His ‘patch’ spread over most of the East End, and
there were rumours afoot that his schemes, of which there were
many, had spread to certain members of the
ton
, like Julian, who had run up
debts, or backed themselves into corners they couldn’t get out of.
Sayers and Trent being who they were, were milking being able to
get the better of aristocracy in any way they can. Clearly, Trent
had chosen to take advantage of Julian and was prepared to bully
Lizzie to get what he wanted. But was that money, or Pendlebury
House?

An hour
later, armed with an assortment of Julian’s papers, they let
themselves out of the house. Lizzie shivered as cold air swept down
the bare flesh of her arms and drew her shawl tighter around her
shoulders. Ben held his arm out to her and nodded toward the
brighter lights at the end of the road. Their breaths fogged out
before them as they sauntered slowly toward the main road. It was a
relief to be able to get out of the house and take a deep breath of
the crisp evening air. She had never been so glad to rid herself of
the past before, and glanced back at the looming structure with a
shiver.