A Scandalous Deception (32 page)

“Dear God.” Luke’s brow creased in concern, a
look he’d worn most of the night. “I’ll travel there straight away,
then. What’s the name of the place?”

“The Kettering Arms. I’d go with you but...”
Fin gestured to his bad arm. Traveling would only open up his
wound, Doctor Perkins had explained.

“No need.” Luke waived him off. “I just hope
you’re wrong.”

“When has Fin ever been wrong about
anything?” Lissy teased from the threshold, sounding more like her
cheeky-self than she had in a while, clearly having only overheard
that last sentence. Her pretty blue eyes twinkled as she met Fin’s
gaze, touching something deep in his soul.

Damn it all. She took his breath away and Fin
didn’t know what he would have done if the previous night had
turned out differently, if she’d been taken from him by that
madman. “Lissy,” he breathed out as he stumbled to his feet, as did
Luke.

“Tell me, Luke,” she said as she navigated
around the table to slide into the seat beside Fin, “what is he
right about this time?”

Luke and Fin exchanged a glance, both
silently agreeing not to mention Fin’s theory about Staveley at the
moment. Lissy had been in such a state of hysteria the night
before, and it was such a relief to see her looking so well this
morning. Neither of them wanted to see her crumble like that
again.

“That the coffee tastes like tar this
morning,” Luke lied, forcing a smile to his face. “I had been
looking forward to a decent cup.”

“You are looking well,” Fin said to her,
dropping back into his seat.

She touched his wrist and smiled, heating him
from the inside out. “Juliet said you sat by my bedside all
night.”

After almost losing her, there was nowhere
else he would have been, but he simply nodded instead of saying as
much.

“Do excuse me,” Luke said, pushing out of his
seat. “A lot to do today.” He didn’t wait for any sort of response
before quickly exiting the breakfast room, headed most likely for
Northamptonshire without delay.

“How is your shoulder?” Lissy asked, her blue
eyes focused so intently on Fin, he wasn’t certain he could even
remember his own name.

Damn it all. What had she asked?

“Fin?” she prodded when he hadn’t uttered a
sound.

“Yes?” he said quickly.

“Your shoulder. Juliet said Doctor Perkins
stitched you up. How is it?”

His shoulder hurt like the dickens, but Fin
feigned a smile for her benefit. “Tender, but it’ll be right as
rain in no time, I’m sure.”

She heaved a sigh and her gaze drifted to the
table. “I nearly lost you,” she said so softly it was almost a
whisper. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

Fin tucked one of her stray flaxen curls
behind her ear and let his fingers linger against her cheek until
she met his eyes. “You won’t be rid of me that easily.”

“Easily?” A gurgled laugh escaped her. “How
can you make a joke about that?”

“Because it’s easier to do so than to think
about losing you, Lissy.”

“Oh, Fin.” She slid closer to him in her seat
and gently pressed her lips to his.

For the first time since he’d raced back from
Northamptonshire, Fin felt the world was right, even if his right
shoulder throbbed like nothing else. It was worth it. Freeing her
from Pierce’s clutches was worth any amount of pain he endured. And
she was free now. No need to race to London. No need to utilize his
contacts to obtain her an annulment. No need to do anything other
than kiss the woman at his side and beg her to never let him
go.

Someone cleared his throat from the threshold
and Lissy quickly broke their kiss. Keeton, who looked as though he
hadn’t slept in a week, stood just inside the breakfast room and
said, “Lady Felicity, a Mr. Heaton to see you.”

At her gasp, Fin grasped her hand in his.
“Who’s Heaton?”

“Aaron’s friend. His business partner.”

“What the devil is he doing
here
?” Fin
pushed out of his seat. After all the hell Pierce had brought down
upon Prestwick Chase last night, there was no reason for his friend
to ever show his face there.

“I don’t know.” Lissy shook her head. “I
thought I saw him, Fin. Back in London. I caught a glimpse of
someone who looked like him but had convinced myself it was just my
imagination.”

So he was Pierce’s spy. He’d come to The
Chase to finish off what his friend had started. “I’ll deal with
him,” he said, starting towards the butler. “Where did you put
him?”

“The white parlor, my lord.”

“Fin!” Lissy called from behind him. “Mr.
Heaton was always very kind to me.”

“I don’t think it was very kind,” he bit out,
“to lead that murderous beast right to you.”

Lissy had no idea how or why John Heaton had
showed up at Prestwick Chase, but she wasn’t going to let Fin
throttle the man, not with his bad arm, and not considering that
the Bostonian
had
always been kind to her. She followed in
Fin’s furious wake, trying to make him see reason.

“Phineas Granard! Do stop.”

But he didn’t. He strode right into the white
parlor and only stopped after he’d crossed through the doorway. “I
don’t know how you can even dare to walk through these doors,
asking to see Lady Felicity, but—”

“Oh, dear God.” John Heaton rose from his
spot at seeing Lissy. “It really
is
you.”

She stopped at Fin’s side and slid her hand
into his, hoping to calm his temper just a bit. Then she nodded at
her one-time neighbor. “It really is me.”

“How?” The man’s face contorted into
disbelief. “I searched the bay for you until I couldn’t see
straight.”

So he’d been the one to search? She suspected
as much, but felt quite guilty all of a sudden for the anguish he
must have gone through in trying to find her, the anguish she could
see reflected, even now, in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, John.”

“I’m just so glad you’re alive.” He raked a
hand through his hair. “I—”

“Yes, well,” Fin began, his tone rather
clipped, “that’s no thanks to Aaron Pierce.”

John Heaton’s gaze flashed from Lissy to Fin.
“Where is Aaron? He never came back to the inn last night, I
expected he would.”

“He won’t be going anywhere ever again,” Fin
replied before Lissy could say anything.

“I beg your pardon?” The American frowned.
“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean he’s dead.” Fin heaved a sigh. “He
slaughtered the magistrate’s son in the middle of the night,
slashed my arm open and intended God knows what for her ladyship if
he hadn’t been stopped.”

“Oh, dear God.” John dropped back into his
seat, his face as white as a ghost. “I-I had no idea.” He shook his
head in disbelief. “I knew he was angry, but—”

“Angry!” Fin roared.

“Fin,” Lissy broke in. “None of this is Mr.
Heaton’s fault. He—”

“He what?” Fin glanced down at her. “He
didn’t know what sort of a monster his friend was? He traveled with
the man from London to Derbyshire and had no idea what the man had
in store for you?”

“I-I didn’t,” the American protested. “I had
no idea. I thought he meant to talk to his wife, find out what had
happened. I had no idea he meant to harm anyone.”

“Who knows how many he’s harmed along the
way?” Fin muttered enigmatically. “How could you not know?”

“No one ever knew what happened to me,” Lissy
said, hoping Fin’s anger would dissipate a bit. “Aaron could be
very charming, he was always whoever anyone ever needed him to be
in any given moment.” She glanced down at her floor. “He certainly
pretended well enough with me until after our vows were spoken. No
one could see through him, not unless you knew what to look
for.”

She felt John Heaton’s eyes on her, but she
couldn’t lift her gaze to meet his.

“No,” the American said softly. “There were
times I thought I’d caught a glimpse of something else beneath his
surface, but I never looked hard enough to see anything I might not
like. I don’t know what he did to you, Felicity, but you can’t wipe
away my complacency so easily. I should have done something.”

At that, she did look up, finding her
one-time neighbor with an expression that tore at her heart.
Aaron’s actions were certainly not John Heaton’s responsibility.
“You did.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “You searched the bay for me
until you couldn’t see straight.” In his own way, he’d helped her
gain her freedom. He’d added the credibility that her suicide story
had needed.

He blinked at her in apparent wonder. “You
are amazing. I’m not sure how you managed all of that. The blood,
the note, the escape. But I was quite certain you were gone.” A
breath seemed wrenched from his soul. “I am so glad to discover
otherwise.” John pushed back to his feet and added, “I suppose I
have some arrangements to make if you can point me in the right
direction. He may not deserve any sort of service, but my
conscience requires I give him one anyway.”

Without a doubt, John Heaton was an honorable
man, if nothing else.

“I’ll point you in the right direction,” Fin
said, his tone softer than it had been thus far. “Or rather, I’m
certain Keeton can do so.”

And then the two of them were gone and Lissy
was alone in the white parlor wondering at how much had changed in
her life in so little time. For years, she’d been certain her
future was etched in stone, without a thing she could do about it.
But now her future was what she could make of it.

She could spend the rest of it afraid to move
forward, or she could take the second chance she’d been given and
live the life she truly wanted. Juliet’s advice echoed in her ears.
She
was
free to start over. Free to make better choices than
she had so long ago.

When Fin returned to the parlor, she spun on
her heels to face him. Noble, honest Fin. The man she loved more
than she could have ever imagined. “Do you still mean to marry me?”
she asked, hoping his answer hadn’t changed.

A bemused look spread across his face. “Do
you think me so fickle, Lissy? I’ve told you I love. I’ve showed
you I love you. And I will love you until my final breath.”

She didn’t even try to keep the tears from
streaming down her face now. “Then I suppose we should have the
banns started, Fin; because I mean to hold you to your word on
that.”

The smile he flashed her lit up the room. He
pulled her into his one-armed embrace and kissed her for all she
was worth.

May 1821 – Carraway House, London

Giddiness bubbled up inside Lissy. But she
was afraid to move. Afraid to find out she was dreaming. So she
just sat in bed, and would be perfectly happy to stay there in that
exact spot for the next eight months. She wouldn’t eat anything
unusual or laugh uncontrollably or raise her voice or…anything. She
wouldn’t even suck in a breath if she could help it. And she
could
help it. She would do anything and everything in her
power to make certain Fin’s baby came into this world.

She glanced down at her flat belly and
touched a tentative hand to it. Was she really going to have a
child? She had long since given up hope and so had Fin, not that he
ever said as much. True to his word as always, he had never made
her feel less than for her inability to give him an heir. He doted
on Luke and Juliet’s brood as an adoring uncle. He continued to
guide Edmund with the wisdom and love of a father. But she knew
there was nothing more he would love than to cradle his own child
in his arms. And now…

Now that was an actual possibility.

If she wasn’t dreaming.

But should she tell Fin? That was the real
question plaguing her even as excitement welled inside her. She
might feel better about telling him if
old
Doctor Watts had
attended her this morning and not his son. The younger Doctor Watts
hadn’t been at this as long as his father. What if he was wrong?
What if he had no idea what he was doing? She couldn’t let Fin get
his hopes up only to have them dashed.