Ruined by Moonlight (33 page)

“I will send it all to you tomorrow.” Janet smiled at a passing guest and it was a credible effort. “And whoever it might be didn’t sign their name. There is a symbol at the bottom of the page that I don’t recognize; that is all.”

How interesting.

Three months later

“W
hat on earth are you doing?”

“I am lifting you from your horse.”

By now Elena knew that heavy look in her husband’s eyes. In her
lover’s
eyes. As he deposited her lightly on the ground his arms tightened and he whispered in her ear, “It is bit cool out. Perfect for ravishing a fair maiden.”

No. He couldn’t be thinking of…not
here.

“Ran.” Elena, laughing, pushed at his shoulder, but it was a bit like shoving at a granite wall. “You don’t ravish fair maidens, and even if you did, I assume you prefer the comfort of a bed.”

Her handsome husband lifted a brow, a dark lock of hair dangling over his forehead. “In case you have not noticed, the bedroom is not all that private at this time of day. If you are in the house Lucy wants to be with you.”

“She likes me.”

“I do too.” He nibbled on her lower lip.

“And she needs a friend. Especially now that Janet has sailed.”

“I know.” He pulled back, his face taking on a sober cast. “I hope she enjoys her travels, but I must admit I’m surprised my aunt wished to go off on her own. She never told me.”

“Men are not the only ones allowed their secrets.”

“I suppose not.” His grin was boyish. “Just so that I make myself perfectly clear, I am grateful Luce is so enamored of your company, but it is damned inconvenient to my licentious urges. So can I beg a few minutes?”

“For what, my lord?”

His dark eyes held the singular wicked gleam of amusement she loved. He lowered her to the autumn-crisped grass. “Let me demonstrate.”

Nimble fingers unfastened her bodice and she gasped at the coolness of the air over her bared breasts, her nipples tightening.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.” Ran fairly tore off his expensive jacket, which would make his valet wince, and then divested himself of boots, shirt, and breeches in record time. He was good as his word, covering her with his rangy body, touching, arousing, his mouth traveling in a leisurely trail across her skin until she was panting and gloriously ready when he entered her in one silken thrust.

Perfection.

Her hips lifted to the carnal rhythm, his hand cupped her breast, and before long she didn’t care that she was naked in a glen with fall leaves littering the ground, no doubt getting bits of foliage in her hair because he’d recklessly loosened the pins of her neat chignon and sent them every which way.

It was passionate, a little wild, and he was correct, the unorthodox setting just added to the exquisite pleasure.
Being married to a rake, she decided in the breathless aftermath, was even more delightful than being locked in a tower with one.

“I adore you.” He finally lifted his head and grinned, but his eyes were serious. “And I never thought I would.”

“You never thought you would adore me?” Her tone was teasing. “I think I am insulted.”

“Adore anyone.”

Her fingertips skimmed his bare shoulder and stilled at the pulse still beating rapidly in his neck. “I know.”

“I’m happy.”

“I’m so very happy too, my love.”

Ran balanced his weight easily on his elbows, his lashes lowering. “I do think ours could be the most unusual courtship known to mankind, however.”

“True.” His dark hair was disheveled and she brushed a lock from his cheek. “Who else is kidnapped and held against their will?”

“On my brief journey to London last week I saw Heathton at our club.”

“Oh? How is Alicia’s handsome earl?”

The description brought a faint scowl to her husband’s face, but he said, “As enigmatic as ever. When I asked him if your father was still pestering him to find the kidnapper, he merely responded that his desire for revenge seems to have faded with our marriage. Though I swore vengeance for the interference in my life at the time, I find myself in the odd position of actually wanting to thank the perpetrator, so I can’t disagree.”

“I feel the same way. After all, he gave me you.” She kissed his chin, pulling him down closer, and then the corner of his mouth and then his lips.

And he proceeded to show her again the glory of the outdoors on a cool fall afternoon.

A leaf danced across the grass, shining in the brilliant sun, tumbling like a joyous child. Ben watched it absently, walking up the drive with his hands casually in his pockets, the wind ruffling his hair. “It’s a Chinese symbol,” he said in a contemplative voice. “But even the professor of antiquities I consulted who has visited the Orient many times could not decipher the meaning. He sent it to several colleagues and the answer finally arrived in the post this morning.”

Strolling next to him, her cheeks slightly pink from the cool breeze, Alicia sent him a glance. “And?”

“I’m told there are variations in the language and this is from a particularly obscure dialect in the northern part of the country.”

“So they couldn’t tell you?”

“No, I have my answer.”

His wife gave an audible exhale of frustration. “Ben, do not dangle it in front of me this way by talking in circles. Tell me.”

“The explanation was rather long-winded and full of dry scholarly rhetoric, but in the end I am told in loose translation it represents divine power.”

“Hmm.” Her smooth brow wrinkled and she shivered slightly despite the warmth of the sun. “I rather do not like the sound of that, but in an awful way it makes sense, I suppose. Whoever went to such lengths certainly had power over Elena’s life, and, for that matter, despite his wealth and position, Lord Andrews as well. Even Lord Colbert and my aunt and uncle were held prisoner by worry and scandal.”

All true.

“The brilliance of it all,” Ben mused aloud, “is that our devious matchmaker’s methods are so extreme that if anyone contacts him and it does not happen to work out happily, like your cousin and Andrews, I doubt the person who paid for the services would dare to complain. It would put the blame on them for starting the process in the first place. Let’s not forget, Janet’s request put it all into motion, and even though the results are what she wanted she still begged me to never tell her nephew because the way it was handled was hardly what she anticipated.”

“So our villain does not run the risk of exposure for his drastic tactics. Clever.”

That remained to be seen, though he had to admit the kidnappings were orchestrated perfectly and evidently his opponent was well educated.

Ben said neutrally, “I wonder if this is the first time he has struck. Somehow I doubt it.” He added quickly before she could respond, “But though I wanted to tell you what I discovered, that is not why I suggested we take an afternoon walk.”

The smile he’d received when he pointed out the beautiful afternoon had been dazzling and he wasn’t at all sure he deserved it.

His wife’s delicate brows went up in mild inquiry.

He pulled the small box from his pocket. “I never gave you a wedding gift.”

“On the contrary,” she objected as he handed her the box, “you gave me the Heathton diamonds and so many other pieces of heirloom jewelry, I doubt I will ever be able to wear them all.”

“Nothing personal,” he corrected quietly. “From me to you, selected with your specific tastes in mind. Open it.”

They had stopped walking and stood in front of the house, the façade gilded by sunlight, the air fresh and clean. Alicia hesitated and then took off the ribbon and lifted the lid.

The pearl earrings were not actually the real gift, though she’d told him once that she preferred less heavy pieces of jewelry and they were rare black pearls that had cost him a small fortune. Their iridescent luster reminded him of her hair, and in a sentimental moment he’d purchased them.

Of course, he wasn’t even aware he had sentimental moments before he’d married his beguiling wife.

But the card was the actual gift and he knew she realized it when she said haltingly, “It is quite beautiful.”

He’d never said it.

Her eyes were luminous when she raised her gaze to meet his, and he slipped his arms around her, accepting the unspoken invitation as he lowered his head and kissed her.

With all his soul. With all his heart. What could a man ask for more than a glorious afternoon, a beautiful woman, and…

“My lord?”

A man
could
ask for no interruptions,
he thought in irritation and let Alicia go, turning to look at the footman who seemed suitably embarrassed for intruding on such a tender moment. “What is it?’ he asked curtly.

“We’ve been waiting for your return. You have a visitor.”

The last time he’d heard that phrase he’d gotten embroiled in the disappearance of Lady Elena, and…

He raised his wife’s hand to his lips. “Please excuse me. I will return to you as soon as I find out what requires my attention.”

And he set off for the house, leaving his wife smiling behind him.

L
ondon’s most infamous murderess settled into the chair in his study in a swirl of expensive Lyon silk and a hint of floral perfume.

Now, this,
Benjamin Wallace, the Earl of Heathton, thought,
is going to prove to be an interesting afternoon.

“Thank you for receiving me, my lord.”

“Not at all, Lady DeBrooke.” He sat also, but behind his desk, where a neglected amount of tedious correspondence awaited his attention. “Though I admit I am curious about your call.”

An understatement.

“You know all about me. Everyone does.”

To her credit, she didn’t sound bitter, accusatory, or even defensive. She just sat there, elegant and as exquisitely alluring as rumored, her poise impressive.

To admit or deny? He wasn’t sure, and as usual, he took the middle ground. “I certainly know who you are.”

“So diplomatic, Lord Heathton.” Her smile held a telltale hint of sardonic amusement. “You have a reputation for subtle intrigue, so I am sure you know exactly what I was implying when I said you know about me. Let me
be more frank. You know all of the
rumors
about me.”

He did, but he was much more concerned about how she’d heard about
him.

“We’ve been introduced before. Your husband was a friend.”

He actually remembered the meeting quite clearly. She was a raven-haired beauty with crystalline gray eyes, her form graceful yet enticing, with an opulent bosom and narrow waist—she was the picture of feminine allure. Ebony brows were perfect arcs over those silver eyes, and her nose dainty and straight. Her gown was tasteful but seductive, with a fashionable décolletage, and when she reclined and crossed her ankles, the movement was languid and elegant.

The
haut ton
had given her the nickname Dark Angel, and her debut had been the event of the season the year of her coming out, with scores of dazzled gentlemen vying for her attention before it had all gone terribly wrong.

However, Ben was difficult to beguile, or at least he liked to think so.

“My second husband, you mean.” Her tone wasn’t combative, but instead neutral.

He inclined his head. “Thomas and I knew each other from Cambridge.”

“How close of friends?”

“Please tell me how important the answer is to this conversation and I’ll give due weight to the answer.”

“You have such a way of speaking and not saying anything at all, my lord.”

Since he’d been accused of that enough times, instead of replying to the hint of challenge, he asked, “Would you like a sherry before you tell me why you are here?”

After a moment she nodded. “Yes, thank you. Perhaps that will help.”

He thought it might. She wasn’t nearly as poised as she seemed. The facade was sleek and polished, but the inner trepidation showed to someone who understood how to read the small nuances.

And there was the true question:
Help what
?

He rose to go over to the small drinks table and pour her a glass, taking it back and handing it over with a small bow. “I believe my wife mentioned recently you had returned to London.”

As she accepted the drink, her hand trembled slightly. It wasn’t much, but it betrayed her, confirming his suspicion that her sophistication was only on the surface. Lady DeBrooke murmured, “Ah, yes, the society pages. They refuse to leave me alone.”

“Notoriety can be uncomfortable, I’m sure.”

If the frank observation stung, she didn’t show it. “Yes.”

He could play a game of dancing around the question as well anyone—and better than most, given his past—but at the moment, he just wished to know her purpose. “I assume this isn’t a social call.”

“I need your help.”

The last time he’d heard those words, he’d stepped into a nasty scheme that involved kidnapping and slander. Ben gazed at the woman sitting upright in the chair across from him and almost reflexively refused. His marriage was sailing along smoother waters than a few months ago, his financial holdings were prosperous, and while being the earl wasn’t exciting, it was fulfilling in other ways…

Perhaps not the ways he craved, though he was happy that he and his wife were more in tune.

“What kind of help?” he asked against his better judgment.

Lady DeBrooke stared at the liquid in her glass for a moment, a fringe of long lashes lending shadows to her perfect cheekbones. “I’m quite desperate and I heard you can clear up small puzzles with amazing skill.” She glanced up. “I hope that applies also to large ones.”

“Who told you that?”

“I am not supposed to say.”

That was fine—he’d find out on his own. Already he had his suspicions on who might have pointed her his direction. “How large?”