[Victoria Alexander] The Virgin's Secret (Harringt(BookZZ.org) (35 page)

She paused in mid-step and met Nate‟s gaze defiantly. “I loved every minute of it. It wasn‟t until he left me in England that I came to realize that what I had thought was his brotherly desire to keep me by his side was really no more than a convenience. It was easer for him to keep me with him than to arrange for my upbringing elsewhere. As much as I loved it, it was not in my best interests. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I have always known my brother‟s

concerns were always and only for himself, for his work, even if I have not dared admit it even to myself until recently.”

“I know.”

“You know?” She jerked her gaze to his. “You know about my childhood? My fortune?”

He nodded.

“How could you possibly know any of this?”

He winced. “I had some inquires made.”

“Inquiries?” Her eyes widened. “You had me investigated?”

“Can you blame me?” He glared at her. “You lied to me, to my family. Bloody hell, Gabriella, you broke into my house!”

“How long have you known?”

“Only since yesterday.”

She studied him carefully. “And when did you know of Quinton‟s part in all this?”

He hesitated. She would not take this well. “A few days ago.”

“Before I came to your room?” she said slowly.

He braced himself. “Yes.”

“And you did not think to tell me then?”

“I had other things on my mind?” he said weakly.

“Yes,” she said simply. “I suppose you did.”

Long moments ticked by in silence.

“So.” She met his gaze. “It‟s at an end, isn‟t it?”

Panic flickered through him. “What‟s at an end?”

“The search for the seal. We are no closer now than when we started.” She cast him a wry smile.

“So ends my efforts to give my brother the acknowledgment in death that he didn‟t have in life.

That he might not have deserved. I owed him that much.”

“You didn‟t owe him anything,” Nate said in a harsher tone than he‟d intended.

“Oh but I did.” She shook her head. “My brother gave me a purpose and a love for all things ancient. He did not prevent me from achieving far more in terms of my studies than most women ever dream of. He gave me as well Florence and Miriam and Xerxes, an odd sort of family

admittedly, but a family nonetheless. My life has not been a bad one, Nathanial, and for that I do indeed owe him. Besides, he was my brother and I loved him. No matter how he regarded me.”

She blew a long breath. “I was told recently that no matter what I did, how hard I worked, he would never love me. I hadn‟t even realized that was what I‟d wanted.”

His heart twisted for her. He should tell her that he loved her, that he wanted her in his life for the rest of his days. That he would never leave her. But telling her now might seem as though he was simply trying to ease her pain. No, his feelings could wait.

“Gabriella.” He started toward her.

She stepped back. “Please don‟t.” She drew a deep breath. “If you take me in your arms, I will let you. If you take me to your bed, I will allow that as well.” Her blue eyes were shadowed with emotion. “I have a great deal to think about. The rest of my life. You.”

“Me?” Hope rose within him.

“Yes, you.” She shook her head and started out of the room. She paused at the doorway and

looked back at him. “I trusted you.”

He shook his head. “I never betrayed your trust. I didn‟t tell you everything but I fully intended to. I never lied to you.” He paused. “And trust, Gabriella, as well as honesty, has to go both ways.”

“I know, Nathanial.” She stared at him for a long moment. “As do leaps of faith.”

When had finding the seal become less important than what she might have found with Nathanial?

She‟d spent the rest of the evening alone in her rooms trying to sort out her thoughts and emotions. Now she tossed and turned and tried to sleep, with no success. Not surprising, really.

She had entirely too much on her mind to sleep.

It was most annoying that he‟d had her investigated, but she couldn‟t blame him. She had lied to him from the beginning. She had expected him to trust her but gave him little reason to do so.

She wanted to be angry with him for keeping the information about Quinton‟s involvement from her, but didn‟t doubt that he would have told her. She couldn‟t fault him either for loyalty to his brother, loyalty that was no doubt returned. Nathanial was that sort of man. Honorable and honest. And she was a fool not to have realized that before now.

She had indeed trusted him. She groaned and punched the pillow. Obviously, she still did. What other reason could there be for confessing to him all the things she had? All those feelings about Enrico she had never admitted to herself, let alone to anyone one else.

And she loved him. She should have told him, but after talking about Enrico it would have

sounded…well, pathetic. Obviously she was more of a coward than she had ever imagined. Now, she feared telling him. Feared he wouldn‟t feel the same, and feared as well the look of pity in his eyes. She could accept almost anything but that.

It was past time to face the reality that the search for the seal was over. And hadn‟t she told Nathanial yet another lie? Deep in her heart, didn‟t she want to find the seal as much to justify her own life as well as her brother‟s? Wouldn‟t it have been her own triumph as well as his?

Wouldn‟t his moment of glory been hers too?

Still, it scarcely mattered now. There was nothing to show for her efforts but the seal Quinton had had. She‟d paid it scant attention. Carved of chalcedony, it appeared Assyrian…

Good God! She bolted upright in bed. How could she have been such an idiot?

Gabriella flung off the covers, leapt out of bed, and headed for Nathanial‟s room. She forced herself to knock quietly on his door; it wouldn‟t do to wake up the entire household. She tried the handle and grinned. The man didn‟t lock his door. Stepping into his room, she snapped the door closed behind her.

She crossed the dark sitting room, grateful for the faint light from the window. Silly man didn‟t even close his drapes. She felt her way to his bed and reached out to shake him.

“Nathanial,” she whispered.

“Wha…” he groaned.

Laughter bubbled up inside her. “Gracious, Nathanial, how can you sleep when I can‟t?”

“Gabriella?” he said, his voice rough with sleep.

“Were you expecting some other visitor?”

“I wasn‟t expecting anyone.” He grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed. “But I am nothing if not a grateful host.”

Before she could protest, he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her long and hard, a kiss to melt even the sternest resolve. A kiss to steal a heart or seal a promise.

He pulled away. “Am I to take this to mean you are no longer angry with me?”

“I wasn‟t angry with you.”

He chuckled. “Then I would hate to see you when you are.” He paused. “Why are you here?”

“First…” She kissed him again. She couldn‟t see his eyes in the dark, and that was for the best.

For good or ill…she drew a deep breath. “I love you, Nathanial, and I thought you should

know.”

“Gabriella—”

“No, you needn‟t say anything right now. But that‟s not all I have to tell you.” She kissed him once more, then grinned. “I know where the seal is.”

Twenty-six

You what?” At once he was wide-awake.

“I know where the seal is.” She laughed and rolled off the bed. “Get dressed and I‟ll meet you in the hallway.”

“Why am I getting dressed?”

“We have to go find the seal.” Her shadow moved away and disappeared into the sitting room.

“Now?” he called after her in a stage whisper. Excitement sparred with disappointment. Couldn‟t they go in the morning? After a long night in his bed?

“Yes, now.”

He heard the door close behind her. She knew where the seal was? He grinned. Wasn‟t that

incredible? Wasn‟t she incredible? And she loved him. Damnation, he hadn‟t expected that. Not tonight anyway. He had hoped, of course. He quickly threw on clothes and stepped into the

hallway. She was already waiting for him.

He raised a brow. “I see you‟re wearing your housebreaking clothes.”

Even in the scant light shed by the lone lamp in the hallway he could see her blush. He loved making her blush.

“They were…expedient.” She shrugged. “And they seemed appropriate.”

“For treasure hunting perhaps.” He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. “Does this mean we will be breaking into any houses?”

“Absolutely not,” she said staunchly.

“Good.” He rested one hand on the small of her back, his other hand drifting lower to caress her buttocks. “I love it when you wear men‟s clothes.”

“Stop it, Nathanial.” Her smile belied her words. She pulled out of his arms and started toward the stairs. “Come along.”

“Why can‟t this wait until morning?”

“It can, I suppose, but I can‟t.” She hurried down the stairs.

“Where are we going?”

“I have a small house.” She glanced back at him. “I assume you know that?”

He grinned. “Will we be taking Mr. Muldoon with us?”

“I see no need to wake…” She heaved a resigned sigh. “You know about him as well.”

“Gabriella, my love.” They reached the front door. He opened it and they stepped outside. “I know everything.”

She snorted. “We‟ll need a carriage, it‟s too far to walk. Can you harness one yourself?”

“Yes, but I know where we can get a cab.” He took her elbow and they started off at a brisk pace.

“At this hour?”

He nodded. “It‟s not far from here.” He paused. “It‟s a…business establishment.”

“What kind of business has cabs waiting at this hour?”

“A very discreet business,” he said firmly. “Which is all you need to know.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “I see”

A quarter of an hour later they reached their destination, and as he had thought, there were several cabs waiting for fares. He held his questions until they settled in one and were on their way.

“You think the seal is in your house?”

She nodded. “And has probably been there all along.”

“Why?”

“The seal you showed me last night, the one Quinton had.” She leaned toward him, excitement underlying her words. “It‟s the same one Enrico showed to the committee. The one that was

substituted for his.”

“You‟re certain it‟s the same one?”

She hesitated. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“So you‟re saying—”

“Enrico must have been the one to take it from Quinton.” A smile sounded in her voice. “He would have liked the irony of that, of replacing his seal with the one that had been traded for his.

As though it had all come full circle.”

“But why didn‟t he tell you that he had recovered the Ambropia seal?

“I‟m not sure he didn‟t.” She thought for a moment. “You read his last letter. It was rambling and convoluted but there was an odd sense of victory to it. I paid no real attention to it at the time. But now…” She nodded. “Now, it makes sense.

They pulled up in front of her house and he asked the driver to wait. She hurried up to the front door, inserted a key and turned the lock easily. Too easily perhaps. Unease drifted through him and he ignored it. It was probably nothing more than the circumstance of being at a house

unknown to him late in the night.

She stepped inside and glanced back at him. “Florence and Miriam were called away so there is no one here.” She lit a lamp in the front entry, stepped into what he assumed was a parlor, and came back with a second lamp. She lit that one and started up the stairs. He trailed after her, unable to shake a sense of unease.

She turned at the top of the second flight of stairs, led him down a narrow hallway and pushed open a door.

“Hold this, please.” She thrust the lamp at him.

He glanced around. They were in a bedroom sparsely furnished with only a bed and a dresser. A small wooden crate sat in one corner. Gabriella moved to the crate and shoved off the top. It clattered to the floor, the noise resounding in the dark house.

He drew his brows together. “Did you hear something?”

“No.” She stared at the crate.

“I thought I heard something,” he muttered, and strained to listen. It was probably nothing more than the sound of the top of the crate echoing in the house. Still, he could have sworn he had heard something else.

“This was sent to me after Enrico died. We opened it but…” She paused for a moment.

Regardless of Enrico‟s character, he was still her brother and she had obviously cared for him.

“But I haven‟t yet looked in it.”

She drew a deep breath and knelt down in front of the crate. He positioned the lamp to give her better light, moving it farther away from his nose. It had an odd scent of smoke, and he

wondered if it had been some time since it was used.

Gabriella reached into the container and began pulling out the odds and ends of Enrico Montini‟s life. A few articles of clothing, several books and bound notebooks, some interesting but not particularly important artifacts, a well-worn pair of boots. She started to set the boots down then hefted one in her hand and glanced at Nate.

“What?” He moved the lamp closer.

She reached into the boot and pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle. She dropped the boot and started to unwrap the bundle but her hands shook. She grimaced. “I don‟t recall my hands ever shaking before yesterday.”

“Here.” He grabbed her free hand and pulled her to her feet, then traded her the lamp for the bundle. Quickly, he unrolled the wrappings to reveal an ancient cylinder seal. She moved the lamp closer. It was greenstone. He met Gabriella‟s gaze. “I think we‟ve found your seal.”

She grinned. “Thank you, Nathanial.”

“No, it‟s I who should thank you.” He leaned closer and kissed her. “I can think of nothing I‟d rather do than hunt for treasure with you.”

She laughed, and for the first time since they‟d met it struck him as carefree and happy. The sound of it wrapped around his soul.

“Do you want this?” He held out the seal.

“No, you keep it.” She brushed her lips across his. “I trust you.”