Ruined by Moonlight (28 page)

“You may take it any way you wish.” It required some effort to keep his voice even. This was not the time or place for an argument, but he supposed it was as good as any if it had to be.

“Don’t be testy, Andrews, when I am the wronged party.”

“I’m afraid I don’t completely agree on that point.”

“Did she speak of me?”

As it was the last question he expected Ran had no idea what to say at first. “What?”

“Speak. Of me.”

“Some,” he admitted. This new direction could be more dangerous than an armed meeting on the field at first light. “She talked of the engagement.”

“What did she say?”

“I don’t recall specifically, Colbert. I was kidnapped and somehow that unusual occurrence was foremost in my mind.”

He didn’t want to mention Elena’s misgivings. It wasn’t his place, he had no right, and that was that. If she wished to discuss severing her engagement with her fiancé, it needed to come from her.

And if she declined to marry him, then she would be free.
…

For?

Lord Colbert stood, nodded in as civil a fashion as Ran guessed he could muster, and turned to walk away.

She’d declined all visitors so far; how could anyone expect her to entertain the morbidly curious? But when Alicia and Harriet were announced, Elena nodded at the young maid and set aside her correspondence.

The interview would still not be easy. None of this was going to be easy. But it would be very nice to be able to just tell the truth. To someone.

They were both in the yellow salon, and when Elena entered, Alicia, who was the far more impulsive of the two, rose and came over to give her a sound hug. Harriet followed, and then the three of them settled down in a sort of unspoken agreement that this was all awkward. She knew they were there in support of her. At some point she would have to tell her story and perhaps they were the best place to start.

She would welcome, especially, the chance to talk to Alicia. They were not far apart in age and had always been good friends, and, after all, she owed her cousin’s husband a great deal. Including the need to return his coat.

“I was kidnapped.”

Alicia nodded. “Ben told me. How awful.”

It really hadn’t been all that awful because of Ran, but Elena declined to point that out. Had it been someone else trapped with her in that tower room…it could have been far worse. She was glad she didn’t have to debate that matter. “I’m fine, as you can see.”

Harriet had always been the direct one. “Locked in with Andrews? That had to have been interesting. Any inkling as to why? One of his paramours bent on revenge?”

Elena smiled wryly. “He was the one to point out to me that it was doubtful anyone who sought revenge on him—and he couldn’t think of anyone readily—would trap him in with a young lady. He has honor, but if it isn’t his fault, no obligation to me. That is difficult to argue.”

Harriet muttered, “Or convenient. For him.”

It was difficult to explain that even with his notoriety she’d grown to trust Ran, and while his good looks and facile charm were compelling, there was more to him. Much more.

“In any case, he wasn’t behind it all.” Alicia nodded. “Ben agrees. So what can we do for you to help?”

Trust her cousin to get right to what mattered. “I don’t know.” Elena watched the tea cart being rolled in, her voice subdued. When the footman exited the room she added, “How would anyone know how to deal with this situation?”

“True enough.” Alicia, looking lovely in a cream day dress with small yellow tulips embroidered on the sleeves, picked up the pot and poured even though she wasn’t the hostess, her expression thoughtful. “Though one does wonder over the motivation.”

“Motivation…pffft.” Harriet accepted a cup, her gaze inquiring. “Tell us about Andrews.”

It was simply impossible not to flush a little. “He’s actually quite pleasant,” she said, hopefully with composure. “Polite. Cultured. Considerate.”

“Undeniably attractive,” Harriet provided, one eyebrow
lifted. “Notoriously charming. Rakishly infamous. Legendarily virile…I’m trying to think of more euphemisms but sadly failing.” She turned to her sister. “Any suggestions?”

Alicia laughed lightly. “Stop it, Hattie. We are here because we want Elena to know we support her as a family without question. Though I suppose I might add
gloriously handsome
.”

It was just the needed bit of levity to ease the situation.

Elena took an éclair and accepted a cup of steaming tea. “I adore you both. Have I ever mentioned it?”

“No need,” Harriet said airily. “We know we are infinitely adorable. Now, then. Andrews?”

While Elena was blond, they were both dark-haired, though their skin had the same ivory hue, and all three of them had the signature indigo eyes that were a familial trait. She glanced at both of them and then set her cup aside with a sigh. “He’s very…cordial.”

“You’ve mentioned that.” Harriet pursed her lips. “I assumed he
could
be cordial, or else women in general would not like him, but it is not a word I would expect in description of the viscount.”

“Well, he is,” Elena said defensively, aware that the general repercussions from their captivity and his already disreputable reputation were not just going to affect her. “He protected me.”

“From?” Alicia’s question was delicate and quiet.

“There were armed guards that threatened us with pistols.”

“What?” Harriet looked properly horrified.

“It was not a lark.” Elena still recalled that moment
when she realized just how serious their predicament might be. “We were locked in, and though well treated, our liberty was not in question. Ran—er…Lord Andrews tried to escape the first day and was most effectively convinced his personal safety was at stake if we did not cooperate.”

“That is rather barbaric.”

“I agree.”

“What did they want?”

The question of the hour, certainly. Elena said slowly, “We have no idea. Trust me, we had time to discuss it at length and did so, and neither of us could come up with an answer.”

It was probably best to leave out the details of what else they had done. She could still recall the feel of his lips on hers, the skilled touch of his hands, the bursts of decadent pleasure…but more so the quickness of his smile, the way his gaze would catch hers, the brush of his long fingers as he handed her something, how he laughed…

She could not decide if she couldn’t wait to see him again or if she dreaded that fateful moment. Whatever their captivity had been for him, it had profoundly affected her life, and she didn’t mean just in terms of her new social notoriety. If he merely greeted her politely and acted as if they hadn’t slept—among other things—in each other’s arms, she had a sinking feeling she was going to be deeply wounded. However, if she was logical about the situation, it was certainly best if that was exactly how he handled it.

A devil’s own dilemma.

She found she thought of him constantly. It could be,
she kept telling herself, that it was a comrades-in-arms sort of an attachment since they had shared such an unusual adventure.

But maybe it wasn’t—though it would be a supremely foolish notion to fall in love with the very attractive but inconstant and detached Viscount Andrews.

Wouldn’t it?

A
licia rapped smartly on the door and smiled apologetically at her uncle’s butler when it opened. “I’m afraid I forgot my gloves.”

“I will retrieve them for you, my lady.”

“There’s no need. I know the way.” She walked past him and went back down the polished hallway, turning to gift him with a gracious smile. “Besides, there is something I forgot to say to Lady Elena.”

Luckily, Harriet had an appointment of some kind, so Alicia had deliberately left her gloves and sent her sister on her way, saying she would take a hackney home. She loved Harriet dearly, but Elena was much more likely to speak frankly to her alone.

Her cousin was still in the salon, looking somewhat pensive, her cup of tea—no doubt tepid by now—set aside. At Alicia’s reentrance she looked up in slight surprise.

“I forgot my gloves.” Alicia pointed them out, neatly almost hidden under a small embroidered pillow on the settee she had earlier occupied. “On purpose. Do you mind if I stay a few minutes longer?”

“No…of course not.”

“Excellent.” Alicia closed the door and went over to take her seat again. She gave her cousin a direct look. “Please trust me when I say I am not prying, but I need you to tell me the story of your abduction and the time you spent with Lord Andrews again, but this time in much more detail.”

Elena looked bemused. “Of course I trust you, Allie, but may I ask why?”

It seemed only fair if she was asking for trust, she give it back in turn. “Ben is going to catch whoever did this to you but he was certain you would be more comfortable talking to me.”

Her cousin’s voice held a resigned note. “I suppose my father asked him. He is quite bent on revenge of some sort. I am not convinced personally that won’t just draw more attention to what happened.”

That was a valid point but Ben was one of the most discreet people Alicia had ever met, and if and when he found the culprit they could then decide how to handle the situation. Her uncle, no matter how pompous he could be at times, would not seek further scandal either.

“You know we all want to protect you, not cause more problems, but it is rather hard to know how to do that if we don’t understand who went to such lengths or why this happened in the first place.”

Elena’s perfect complexion took on color, a delicate blush suffusing her cheeks.
She really is very beautiful,
Alicia mused,
with her pale hair and dark blue eyes. Surely Andrews was
not
immune.
Elena said quietly, “I think I know exactly what the villain wanted. A person would not have to have great detecting skills to deduct the intent.”

“To create a scandal…yes, I agree.”

“A bit more than that.”

That was intriguing. Alicia lifted her brows. “Oh?”

The blush deepened. “Your husband is correct. I would not tell this to anyone but you. My father doesn’t even know the particulars, but I am quite certain the entire purpose of the abduction was for Lord Andrews to ruin me in truth, not just by our mutual disappearance. We were locked in a room, our clothes gone, and besides a table and two chairs there was only a bed we had to share. We were given romantic dinners and fine wines each night, and silk robes but nothing else to wear.”

It was her turn to blink. “I see.”

“It was very much like a calculated seduction, or at least the perfect setting for one.”

Did he seduce you?
The question hovered on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t ask it. Instead Alicia said, “Start at the beginning and remember that no detail is unimportant.”

“I don’t remember the beginning,” Elena said flatly. “I was at the theater, and then I woke up in a strange place next to a man I knew only by reputation, and most of my clothes were gone. All I was wearing was my chemise.”

“That
would
be disconcerting.” Up until lately, even as a married lady, she’d never been that undressed in front of a man.

“When he finally woke—it was obvious he was drugged either more heavily or after me—Ran was so furious at first that he accused me of orchestrating the entire thing.”

Ran?
Well, Alicia did suppose that being locked in together for that many days might make for some informality and especially under the conditions just described, but still…
Ran?

“Surely he realized quite quickly you would have never taken part in such a scheme to trap anyone. Not to mention that you could have your pick of the gentlemen of the
ton
and are engaged,” she said with true indignation, because her cousin was not only genuinely lovely on the outside but also good-natured and intelligent.

“Keep in mind he was as confused as I was. Neither of us understood what was happening. “

Well, if that was true, Alicia was not sure she could blame the viscount, for titled men had been trapped into marriage before. That noted, Elena was hardly a likely candidate for that sort of maneuver. Her dowry was no doubt generous, she was the daughter of a powerful man, and she was, of course, a beauty. “Hmm. It is all very curious. What else? What can you tell me that might be helpful? Think hard and leave out nothing.”

“There really isn’t much.” Elena leaned back, slender against the elegant chair. “We played cards, ate together…he was restless at being imprisoned but so was I. We conversed, of course. What else was there to do?”

Alicia was more enlightened than previously as to what else there might be to do, especially with the licentious viscount, but she quelled the impulse to mention it. “That had to be…”

“Awkward? Yes, at first, but he is very easy to know.”

Apparently Andrews had lived up to his reputation for smooth charm. Alicia tried to concentrate on what she thought Ben wished for her to ask. “Did he have any ideas about who might have arranged the kidnapping?”

Dark blue eyes regarded her with a hint of wry humor. “He was convinced, and I assume nothing has changed, that it had more to do with me than him.”

“Is that so?” Alicia murmured the words, trying to assimilate the information. “So if I am correct, someone incarcerated you with a handsome, legendary lover and made sure you could not escape, the entire time treating you basically well.”

“As ridiculous as it sounds, that sums it up quite nicely.” Elena rose then and walked to the window. This side of the house faced the street and through the lace panel of the drapery she watched a carriage roll by. Alicia could hear the clatter of the wheels. Without turning around she asked, “Can you arrange a meeting, do you think?”

It was her turn to pause, but she’d caught a certain undercurrent to their conversation. Cautiously she ventured, “With Lord Andrews?”

“Colbert has not yet canceled our engagement. I dare not do it openly.”

Alicia hesitated, but then said, “I have come to believe my husband can do just about anything. I suppose I could ask him to speak to the viscount, but may I ask just what it is you wish to discuss? Does it have anything to do with the investigation?”