The Princess and the Pauper (24 page)

As soon as she regained her
composure, he
charged, “You didn’t have to expose the girl to that
ghastly spectacle. She would have heard the truth when Dresmond was
arrested for murder.”

“
I . . . I . .
.”

“
Wanted
revenge.”

“
No.”

“
I think you did,
princess.”

“
I wanted
justice!”

“
You wanted to destroy the earl’s
world as he had destroyed your world. Miss Harte, even I, were
inconsequential. I know you well, Emily. I even understand your
rage.”

“
I didn’t mean—”

“
You didn’t care, you
mean.”

“
Rees, I had to
know,
” she
cried.

“
Know what?”

“
Why
Papa tried to end the
engagement.”

“
You could have done that without
involving the girl.”

“
She will survive. If I
survived, she will survive.”

“
Not everyone is as strong
as you, Emily.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t feel
very strong.”

“
You are,” he affirmed. “More
than you know.
”

Her lips trembled.

He looked away, aching to hold her in his
arms. “And does it matter? After all these years, does the reason
why your father tried to break the contract even
matter?”

“
Yes, it matters. His reason for
ending the betrothal
changed everything, set everything into motion. Aren’t you
the least curious?”

No, thought Grey, he wasn’t the
least curious. But he kept his indifference private. He wanted
nothing more than to put the murder of Augustus Wright in the past.
The man had already taken
everything precious from Grey—his grandfather’s
violin, Emily . . . and now Emily again.

Even from the grave, her father
conspired to keep them apart. Emily would never forgive
him for unearthing
the truth about her papa’s death. And now that the ordeal was over,
the killer unmasked, their time together was also at an
end.

“
Rees?”

She was relentless, and he finally
surrendered. “Fine. Why?”

“
I told you once
Papa suspected we
were—”

“
Yes, what of
it?”

“
He wanted to make things
right, Rees. He wanted to break my engagement with the earl . . .
so I could be with you.”

He
turned back, looked at her dead-on.
“Horseshit.”

“
It’s true, I know
it.”

“
I
was a bloody ‘chimney sweep,’ not a titled
lord. Why would your father break your engagement to a peer of the
realm?”

“
He loved me.”

“
And he wanted you to be a lady,
to have power.”

“
He loved me
more.”

Grey almost bit out “horseshit” again.
“Emily—”

“
Listen, Rees. He wanted me to be
a lady because he thought it would make me happy. It was his
greatest ambition. I wasn’t accepted by society as a child, but as
a titled lady, I would live among them, be one of them.”

And Wright would live among
them, be one of them.
The miser would
not
give up such an advantage to see his only child
married to a ‘chimney sweep,’ however much he loved her.

“
He would never let you
mar
ry a
servant.”

“
No, he
wouldn’t,
”
she agreed. “But you weren’t a servant anymore, remember? I read
news of your rising fame as a musician in every broadsheet. Papa
would have seen the same articles. He would have known you were a
talented, celebrated violinist.”

She whispered, “And he would
have known I cared for you.
I—I grieved after you left. I couldn’t hide my
feelings from Papa, though I tried, but . . . he knew. He asked me
once about the violin, the one he’d crushed. I told him the truth,
that your grandfather had made it for you. He said nothing, turned
away, but he
must
have realized he’d made a mistake.”

Grey suddenly felt as if
he
couldn’t breathe.
She had grieved for him? Her father had felt remorse?
“No.”

“
I know he called you the
‘chimney sweep,’ but only because he suffered from madness. He
always admired you, Rees, for taking on your grandfather’s debt. He
might have come around—”

“
No! His ‘heart remained
true,’ even in his madness.”

“
You are twisting Dr. Snow’s
meaning. He was talking about Papa’s love for me.”

“
And your father’s hate
for
me
.”

“
Then why would he
try to break the
betrothal?” she demanded. “If you’re so sure he hated you, if
you’re so sure he desired power above all else, why did he try to
give it up?”

“
He found you a better match. A
duke, perhaps.”

“
No, t
here was no other suitor. Here. Read
the solicitor’s letter yourself.” She pulled a crumpled paper from
her reticule and shoved it into his hands. “Papa wanted to end the
engagement because he wanted me to be happy—with you.”

Grey wouldn’t
even look at the
letter. Five years ago, he had stumbled from their house filled
with bitterness and pain. His own wounds had never healed, it
seemed, or he wouldn’t be in such agony now.

“
B
ut he didn’t end the engagement,” he said,
voice grated.

“
No,
” she whispered, hurt in her eyes. “The
earl tried to persuade him otherwise. He put doubt in Papa’s mind.
And then poison in his body. Papa was in great pain and confusion.
He didn’t know what he was doing—or thinking—after that. But I
know.” She thumped her breast with her fist. “If he hadn’t suffered
from delirium, he would have broken the betrothal. And you and I
would have been together.”

“
Impossible.”

Grey staggered back, unable to imagine
what he was hearing. He and Emily together, all those years ago?
She at his side, touring the Continent. She in his arms, inspiring
his music. She in his soul, living in harmony.

“
Oh, Rees.
” She stepped toward him, hesitant
yet expectant. “Papa had all the power in the world. He didn’t need
more. Not at my expense.”

An
overwhelming emotion welled inside him,
pushing tears to his eyes, and he stuffed the fanciful dream away.
But when her hand touched his breast, his heart
shuddered.

“
Believe it, Rees.
I do. I know it’s
true.”

He pushed her hand aside. “What
difference does it make?” Turning toward
the window, he stared out at the
nightscape, his soul in uproar. “The past is dead. It can’t be
resurrected. So your father’s intention is too late.
Moot.”

Silence, then,
“I see.”

He heard a rustling and looked over his
shoulder to find her searching his coat.

“
What are
you looking for?”

“
The key,” she
whispered.

Grey stalked across the
ro
om and
removed the key from the side pocket. He slipped it into the lock
and opened the door. “Go.”

“
W—where will I
go?”

“
To your own room, of course. I
need a few days to gather my things and organize my papers, and
then I’ll leave for the Continent. The house is yours.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“
And you can take whatever funds
you need from my bank.”

“
Rees, what are you
doing?”

“
I can’t stay here in this house
with you. I can’t stay here, knowing you hate me, knowing you will
never forgive me for ‘disturbing the past.’ I’ll go to the police
tomorrow with the evidence, and then it will all be
over.”

She came toward him, grabbed both his
arms. The front of her dress slipped low, but she ignored it,
pressed her body into his chest. “I don’t hate you. I—” She dropped
her brow and nuzzled his breast. “Oh, Rees. I love you.”

His chest tightened,
his every muscle
screamed to touch her in return, but he stood firm. He had seen the
anger and mistrust in her eyes. And while he’d once hoped for a
reconciliation, her willful, dogged pursuit of revenge tonight had
revealed just how rooted her hate was, whether it was aimed toward
him or Dresmond or both. And he couldn’t live with that hate. It
was worse than death.

“
I give you the house, Emily. I
lea
ve you all
the money in the bank. You don’t have to pretend affection toward
me. I won’t leave you destitute, I promise.”

He pried her fingers off his
arms, as if peeling
away his own skin, and set her out the door. Without
looking into her eyes, he shut the barrier.

Grey gasped for air. He ripped off his
vest, then shirt. Still heavy and sinking, he removed his shoes and
hurled each into the wall.

If he ever opened his heart again, he’d
bleed out until nothing was left of him. He had to leave London.
Fast. He had to put as much distance between himself and Emily, if
only to dull the fucking despair that choked the very breath from
his lungs.

The door
crashed open. It wheeled on its
hinges and smacked into the wall, bouncing twice.

Emily stepped back inside the
room, features aglow
. She pulled the pins from her hair and tossed them to the
ground, her tresses tumbling like the billowing tide. She then
jerked the short sleeves off her shoulders and shoved the bodice
over her hips. The gown collapsed in a quiet heap on the floor. Her
shoes were next, kicked into the bed with resounding thwacks.
Finally, she reached for the pearl choker and unfastened the clasp
before she dropped the priceless beads onto the ground.

Grey stared at her,
confounded.

She slammed the door
closed.

Her smoke-filled eyes narrowed
on him and she set her hands akimbo. “I don’t want your blasted
clothes or your jewels or your money. And I don’t want this house.
I’ll take my possessions, the possessions I came with, and
I
will go.”

His heart seized. “Into the
streets?”

“
Yes.”

“
No!” he blasted, the thought too
gruesome to bear. “This is your home.”

“
This is not my home,” she
countered. “It’s your home. And it will only ever be
my
home if
you
live in it with
me.”

Blood surged through his veins unchecked.
Soon his head throbbed, his whole body throbbed.

“
You tricked me, Rees.”
Wearing only her
chemise, she approached him in slow, sensual strides. “You played
for me tonight.”

Entranced by her seductive
movements, he said, hoarse,
“At your request.”

“
Wicked of you, I think. To play
for
me
.
Then. There. In front of all those people. And to play
that
lullaby.” She
reached him, her eyes smoldering with fury. And more. “You stripped
me of everything. And then you revealed yourself. To
everyone
.”

“
I don’t give a
shit—”

S
he grabbed the back of his neck. “I know.
I know you don’t care what anyone thinks. I know
I
don’t care what
anyone thinks. And I know I can’t bury my love for you under guilt
or regret or anger. I love you more than all my mistakes. I love
you more than all my fears. I love you more than all my pain. I can
let go of every mistake, every fear, every pain, but I cannot let
go of you.”

When
her lips crushed his, the world
turned upright and everything fell back into place. Every broken
heart and impossible dream and dashed hope disappeared from
memory.

He had his princess.

Grey finally wrapped his arms
around her. He let loose
his suppressed desires, cried into her, and pulled
her toward the bed.

A fire burned inside
hi
m, so hot,
he lost his bearing and collapsed with Emily onto the mattress. He
had never known such a powerful want. It consumed him with savage
force. And he was glad to be lost in it. He held back nothing as he
slaked his hunger and moved his mouth over hers in rough
strokes.

“
Rees!”

Her body
undulate
d,
also calling out for him, and he groaned in total surrender. He
pushed the shift up over her waist, unfastened his trousers and
thrust into her.

Emily tightened, then moaned,
stirring his blood, making him sweat. She opened more and more with
wild, unfettered passion. And he took everything she offered him,
moving ever deeper inside her, thrusting ever harder. But when she
looped her slender arms around his neck and brushed his lips with
her tongue, he knew he would
never
have his fill of her. He was glad of that, too.
His unending ache for her gratified him beyond words.