[Victoria Alexander] The Virgin's Secret (Harringt(BookZZ.org) (21 page)

understand and overlook this temporary flaw in your character.”

“Perhaps he could overlook that.” Gabriella shook her head. “But as you said, he is an honorable man. I daresay an honorable man couldn‟t possibly overlook—”

“Not if you don‟t give him the opportunity to do so.”

“I am…” It was hard to even say the words. Ruined. Fallen. Soiled goods.

“Gabriella, you were scarcely more than a child. You were fifteen.”

“And I should have known better.”

“Yes, you should have, and if you had been raised properly instead of being hauled around from one uncivilized place to another, pretending to be a boy, surrounded by men not substantially better than your brother, you would have known better.”

“I know better now.”

It had come as a shock to her, when she began attending school in England, how a single incident with a boy scarcely older than she would impact the rest of her life. When she realized that by allowing her own seduction—even though she had not comprehended the significance of the act at the time—she would never be an acceptable match for a decent man. When she understood

that what she had done with the son of a German archeologist was the same thing she‟d heard bandied about in snippets of conversation from men like her brother in lewd and vulgar terms.

Shame had filled her then, and she abandoned any thoughts of love and marriage and ever

finding someone to trust with her heart.

“But enough about me.” She drew a calming breath. “How is your Mr. Dennison this evening?”

“He‟s not my Mr. Dennison.” Florence grinned. “Yet.”

Gabriella raised a brow. “Oh?”

“I rather thought any chance I had to marry had passed me by long ago, and I never thought I‟d meet a man like Mr. Dennison. He is good and kind and clever. And he makes me feel…well,

special.” Florence sighed. “As if I were the most beautiful, most clever, most special woman in the entire world. And I must confess, when he kissed me—”

“You allowed him to kiss you?”

“Allowed him? My dear child, I encouraged him.” Florence leaned toward her in a confidential manner, a smug smile on her lips. “And he did so exceptionally well.”

Gabriella laughed.

Florence looked across the room. “I sent him for refreshments and I see he is back. I should return to him.” She studied Gabriella for a moment. “Are you all right, my dear?”

“Of course.” She mustered her brightest smile. “I am having nearly as lovely an evening as you.

You needn‟t worry about me tonight. Go back to your Mr. Dennison and have a grand time. I

shall send you a note tomorrow and tell you all about my evening.”

“Are you any closer to finding the seal?”

“Probably not.” Gabriella shrugged. “But we are no farther away, at least.”

“The Verification Committee begins its meeting tomorrow.” A warning note sounded in

Florence‟s voice.

“And concludes in ten days.” Gabriella shook her head. “I am well aware of that.”

“You don‟t have much time left.”

“I know.”

Florence paused. “Might I make a suggestion?”

Gabriella smiled. “Could I stop you?”

“If you don‟t find the seal, if you cannot present it to the committee…” Florence paused and her gaze met Gabriella‟s directly. “Abandon your quest. Go on with your life. Do not let this haunt you for the rest of your days.”

“Florence, I—”

“Enrico is dead. He‟s gone, and you must lay him to rest. Redeeming his professional reputation will not now change the way he felt about you.” Florence laid her hand on her arm. “It will not make him love you.”

Gabriella‟s eyes widened. “What an absurd thing to say. I have no doubt as to my brother‟s feelings for me. There is no question in my mind whatsoever that he did indeed care for me.

Why, he rescued me and provided for my home and my studies and everything.”

And did so with my money.

The unspoken charge hung in the air between them. She ruthlessly shoved it aside. It was

disloyal and unfair.

“My apologies,” Florence murmured. “I don‟t know what I was thinking to have said such a

thing. Of course he cared for you.” She leaned close and brushed a kiss across Gabriella‟s cheek.

“Have a lovely time this evening, my dear. I shall see you soon.” She cast the younger woman an affectionate smile and took her leave.

Gabriella watched her circle the ballroom until she reached Mr. Dennison. Even from where she stood, she could see the manner in which Florence seemed to light up in the secretary‟s presence.

And the way he lit up in hers.

Gabriella smiled. Florence had apparently found love. Love. Her smile faded. How could

Florence say such a thing about Enrico? He did love her, of course he did. He was a good

brother.

As for the money, she was a child when he had found her. She certainly could not have managed her fortune. And if, as she grew up, he never mentioned it to her, it was no doubt because it wasn‟t important. He‟d used it to support them both as well as fund his travels and his work.

Besides, even if she had known, she wouldn‟t have protested. Aside from all else, he was her brother, her only male relative, and in the eyes of society he had every right to use her resources as he saw fit.

Still, it would have been nice to know.

Not that there was anything that could be done about it now. No one knew better than she that the past was the past, and aside from a few artifacts, a few crumbling relics and the occasional memory, it was best to put the past firmly in the past.

“May I have the honor of this dance, Miss Montini?” A voice sounded behind her.

“Certainly,” she said with a sigh of relief. A dance would be just the thing to set her spirits right.

“I should be delighted.”

She turned to face her new partner and froze.

Fourteen

Shall we?” Lord Rathbourne offered his arm.

He was tall and imposing, with dark hair touched by gray at the temples. She‟d seen him before, of course, but never this close. He looked younger than she had thought, somewhere in his fifties perhaps. On first glance he would have been considered distinguished and extremely handsome, until one noted the cold look in his eyes.

“Yes, of course,” she murmured, and allowed him to escort her onto the dance floor. Words like ruthless and whatever means possible popped to mind and a chill shivered through her.

They took their place on the floor, and for once the music didn‟t sweep her away.

“I understand you paid a call on my wife,” he said coolly.

“Yes, I did.” She forced her most pleasant smile. He knew about their visit, she had no idea what else he might know. “She was gracious enough to talk with me for a few minutes.”

“I know.”

“She is quite lovely.”

He smiled. “I know that too.”

“You are a lucky man.”

He glanced down at her, the smile on his lips never reaching his eyes. “I do not depend on luck, Miss Montini. With enough money and determination and power, one makes one‟s own luck.”

“Oh.” She uttered a weak laugh. “How resourceful of you.”

“I am extremely resourceful.” He paused. “I understand you are looking for the ancient seal your brother once claimed to have in his possession.”

“Yes?”

“Come now, my dear, you needn‟t look so surprised. Surely you understand what an incestuous community this is—this world of treasures and those who hunt for or study them. The only way to keep a secret is not to share it. You have been asking questions. It has not gone unnoticed.”

A frisson of fear skated up her spine. It was absurd, of course. She was safe enough here in the middle of a crowded ballroom. “As you are aware of my search, perhaps you would be so good as to answer one of my questions.”

“How wonderfully direct of you, Miss Montini,” he said smoothly. “I should be happy to answer any question you have.”

“Excellent.” She didn‟t quite believe him. Still, it would do no harm. “Do you have the seal?”

“Alas, to my eternal regret I do not. I had, however, arranged to acquire it.”

Her heart sped up. “Oh?”

“I shall not bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, the efforts taken on my behalf—”

“You mean the attempt to steal the seal by a man in your employ,” she blurted, indignation in her voice.

He raised a brow. “My, you are direct. I would not have put it so bluntly.” He chuckled, a mirthless sound. “My methods may be considered—”

“Nefarious?”

He glanced down at her. “Again not the word I would have chosen. Regardless, my methods

have always proved most efficient. This time, unfortunately, that was not the case.”

She stared. “Then you admit you tried to have my brother‟s seal stolen.”

“Miss Montini, whether I admit anything or not scarcely matters. I could admit any number of misdeeds—”

“Misdeeds?” She could barely choke out the word.

“Crimes if you prefer, although that does seem an arbitrary term. And might I point out, Miss Montini, that as we are dancing, and dancing is supposed to be an enjoyable activity, you should try very hard not to look as if you are either furious with me or terrified.”

She jerked her chin up and adopted her most brilliant smile. “Does this meet with your

approval?”

“Not entirely but it will do.”

“Do continue, my lord. You were about to confess everything to me.”

“What I was about to say is that I could admit any number of transgressions to you here in the middle of this ballroom. And while the world would prefer to believe the word of a beautiful

young woman over an aging collector, that is not the way these things work.” He shrugged.

“Furthermore, you have no proof of anything. My efforts were futile and I do not have your seal.”

She studied him closely. “Why should I believe you?”

“You have no reason to do so, but then I have no reason to lie to you.” He pulled her closer and spoke into her ear. “Still, it might be great fun to lie to you.”

She shivered but refused to let her unease show. Indeed, this was her opportunity to get

information from him. And if a little banter—even flirtatious banter—was required, why not?

Besides, here and now she had nothing to fear.

“And what, my lord, would you lie to me about?”

“The usual things one tends to lie about to a lovely woman, I imagine. The extent of my estates.

The quality of my stables. The size of my…” He smiled. “…fortune.”

“And would you need to lie about such things?”

“One could always own more land or have a larger fortune.” He chuckled. “But no, I have no need to lie about those matters.”

“Then the seal remains the only thing to lie about?”

“You are a clever girl. But I have not lied to you about the seal. You have my word, which I rarely give, and never lightly.”

“I see.” It‟s not that she trusted him, she had no reason to do that. But he was right when he‟d said he could confess nearly anything to her and few would take her word over his. So why go to the bother of lying?

They danced on in silence for a few moments.

“I have a proposition for you, Miss Montini,” he said at last.

“Do you, my lord? Dare I ask what such a thing would involve?”

“Nothing nefarious, I assure you. It has come to my attention in recent days that many of my acquisitions have not been catalogued as thoroughly they should be. In the past, those I have charged with the care of my collections have been somewhat lax, which is why they did not

maintain their positions for any length of time.”

She stared. “You‟re offering me a position?”

“I am indeed.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“My, you are a suspicious creature, but then I should consider you rather foolish if you weren‟t.

The why is obvious. I have a task that needs to be done.”

She shook her head. “But why me?”

“Any number of reasons. First of all you are extremely qualified for a position of this nature.

One might think you had been training for it for much of your life.”

“Go on.”

“One gets to a point in life when one realizes there are more days behind you than before you. In addition, I have recently realized that my friends are far fewer in number than my enemies.

Indeed, I am hard pressed to name a true friend. It‟s nothing new, it has always been that way. I am a difficult person to know and even more difficult to like. It‟s the price one pays, I suppose, for taking what one wants in life without apology. Still…” A hard light shone in his eyes. “If I had to live my days over, I would do exactly the same things again.

“I make no excuses for who I am, Miss Montini. No doubt it is my advancing years that cause me now to take notice of my failings in life in regards to those things other people take for granted—friends, family, and the like.” He paused. “But these are treacherous times, my dear girl, for both of us perhaps. You would beware.”

She widened her eyes. “What on earth do you mean by that?”

“Only that there are those who search for the same thing you do. Those who would not hesitate to do whatever they deem necessary to acquire your seal.”

“Oh.” She swallowed hard. It wasn‟t a completely new thought, of course, but coming from Lord Rathbourne, it seemed somehow less of a possibility and more of a certainty.

“I want my collections put in order so that when the time comes that I am no longer on this earth, they will make a certain amount of sense. I want my genius, if you will, acknowledged.”

“My lord,” Gabriella said cautiously. “Are you ill?”

“No more so than any man of my age. My collections are priceless, and I intend for them to remain together always regardless of where they might end up. Beyond that…” He cast her an assessing look, as if she were a horse he intended to purchase. “…I rather like the idea of a beautiful woman among my other possessions.”

“Your wife is beautiful.”

“But she does not share my interests.”

“Nonetheless, I‟m not at all sure this is a good idea.”

“Allow me to tell you why you cannot pass up this opportunity.”