Dance with Deception: Scandalous Secrets, Book 1 - Exclusive Edition (Scandalous Secrets - Exclusive Edition) (38 page)

“There is no need,” she assured him. “Don’t
worry about me, I’m fine. Or at the very least I will be.”

His hand clamped over hers, a gesture of support. “There is no way in hell I’m returning to Ainsley tonight, leaving you alone with a husband who is ignoring you.”

Gwen tensed at his harsh tone. “We’re both to blame.”

“Yes, well, forgive me if I don’t jump to his defense.” Tristan stood, his rugged shoulders stiff with tension.

She followed him, offering, “I’ll ring for Winston and have a suite prepared for you.”

Tristan stalked toward the door in long, lion-like strides. “There’s no need for that. I’ll ask your husband to do it.”

“Tristan,” Gwen’s tone was thick with warning, “don’t do anything I will regret.”

Her brother turned towards her as a mock expression of innocence swept over his chiseled features. “Me? Never.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“I promise you.” He placed his right hand over his heart. “Regret will play no role in my conversation with your husband.”

Tristan closed the door behind him and Gwen remained frozen, her eyes fixed upon it for several seconds.

He was almost convincing.

Almost but not quite.

Tristan found his brother-in-law sitting behind his massive mahogany desk. He didn’t bother to knock on the door. Instead he strode into the room, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Well, well, imagine finding you here.”

Sebastian’s hands paused in the process of lighting the cheroot pressed between his lips. “It should come as no surprise. This is, after all, my office.”

His uninvited guest walked over to the sideboard and poured himself a tumbler of whiskey from a crystal decanter.

“By all means, help yourself to my liquor.” Sebastian’s eyes bore into the man’s back.

Tristan took a large gulp of the amber liquid before turning to face his brother-in-law. “I just had an enlightening discussion with my sister.”

“And?” Sebastian exhaled two large puffs of smoke as he stretched his legs, heels resting on the edge of his desk.

“You might try conversing with your wife sometime in the near future. It’s astonishing what you might discover.”

Sebastian didn’t respond. Instead, he inspected the cheroot that he twisted between his fingers.

Although he hadn’t admitted it to anyone, especially his wife, guilt consumed him. It planted seeds in his brain, his conscience feeding into it until it had evolved into some uncontrollable force. It was his own duplicity that brought his wife and her deceased father to blows. The fact that he didn’t cause Lachlan MacAlistair’s death made no difference, for Sebastian did cause the estrangement
between the man and his daughter.

“Gwen told me you aren’t traveling with us.” Tristan placed his free hand on his hip.

Sebastian nodded but remained silent. His brother-in-law walked over to him, shoving his feet off the desk.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?” The young man leaned against the spot where Sebastian’s feet had rested moments before. “This is called conversation. I speak you respond and vice versa. Now, why aren’t you escorting your wife to her father’s memorial service?”

Sebastian made no effort to conceal his anger as he glared at Tristan. “Why should I? She wants me there even less than I want to be there.”

He stood, pushing his leather chair against the wall with force then marched over to the sidebar. “Besides which, it would be hypocritical for me to mourn his loss. I despised him, after all.”

“All of us loathed the man.” Tristan’s tone betrayed no shame. “The fact remains that your wife needs you.”

When Sebastian didn’t respond, Tristan added in a strong timbre, “I’m disappointed in you.”

So am I
.

Though the words flashed through his mind, Sebastian remained silent, choosing instead to extinguish his cheroot in a silver and porcelain ashtray. He then poured whiskey into an ornate crystal tumbler. After taking one large gulp, he began to trust that he could keep his tone in check.

“Your sister has made it clear that she doesn’t need me. Hell, she may not even love me anymore.
Why in bloody hell would she want me to travel with her?” He swallowed almost half his glass before setting it against the bar and lifting the crystal decanter in an effort to refill it.

“You are such a horse’s arse.” Tristan joined his brother-in-law at the sidebar. He then placed his own tumbler on the marble tabletop, waiting for a refill.

“I beg your pardon.” Sebastian’s hand stilled in the process of pouring. “You’re in my house, drinking my liquor. You may want to be a bit more cordial.”

Tristan clucked his tongue. “That reminds me. I’m staying here tonight.”

“Bloody lovely. It’s not enough that I must endure your insults now, I must endure them into tomorrow?”

“Speaking of insults …” Tristan grabbed the decanter from his brother-in-law then poured more liquor into his own glass. “I never realized you were so daft.”

Sebastian grabbed the decanter from his uninvited guest’s hand. He didn’t trust himself to speak. Instead he opted to bring both his glass and decanter back to his desk.

Once settled in the comfortable brown leather of his desk chair, he refilled his glass then began tracing the rim with his index finger. “First I’m an arse then I’m daft? You need to decide which it is and stick to it before I throw your own daft arse out of my home, brother-in-law or not.”

“My sister loves you.” Tristan gentled his tone and expression.

Sebastian took great care to ensure his own timbre was controlled. “She wasn’t certain of that when we last spoke.”

“Did you ever stop to consider that something else happened between Gwen and my father?” Tristan paused. Sebastian assumed it was for dramatic effect. He then continued, “Perhaps my sister is battling something that you know nothing about?”

Sebastian studied the contents of his glass. “I know about Colin.”

“So do I and that’s not what I’m referring to.”

Sebastian’s head snapped toward his guest. Scrutinizing Tristan through narrowed eyes, he remained silent, certain the man would continue.

Tristan did not disappoint. “Sebastian, you’re an intelligent man. Be logical. My sister loves you with an intensity I’ve never before seen. Do you believe, in all honesty, that she would just up and decide she doesn’t love you anymore?”

Although Sebastian admitted to himself that his wife’s twin had a valid point, he wasn’t quick to relent. “Not only did my wife learn of my own deception, but in an effort to punish either me or Gwen or both of us, her father revealed that her eldest brother is my illegitimate half-brother. Add to that the fact that her father tried to kill her and I think it’s highly likely that she could stop loving the man who precipitated the whole damn mess.”

“Back up!” A vein began to pulsate in Tristan’s temple. “What do you mean my father tried to
kill
her?”

Sebastian closed his eyes.
Damn it to hell
. Of
course Gwen hadn’t shared that little tidbit with her brother. He returned his attention to Tristan, taking great care to soften both his features and his tone.

“The morning of your father’s departure, he visited Gwen in the gardens,” he paused, making certain the young man was ready to hear the particulars.

Tristan nodded. “Yes, my sister told me.”

“Tori ran to me immediately, explaining that she left Gwen with your father and that he seemed different. She was fearful for Gwen’s safety.”

Tristan squeezed his glass so hard that his knuckles turned white. “What did my father do to Gwen?”

“When I found them in the gardens, Lachlan had his hands wrapped around Gwen’s throat, choking the life out of her. He would have killed her if I hadn’t arrived when I did.”

The young man’s rage erupted. He stood with force, knocking his chair backward onto the carpeted floor. In one swift stroke, he threw his empty glass against the mahogany-paneled wall across from him. Tiny shards of glass flew through the air.

In a painstakingly restrained tone, Tristan spoke. “As God is my witness, if that man were still alive I would kill him with my bare hands.”

“I almost did but Gwen begged me not to.” Sebastian studied his own glass. “In the end, God took it into His own hands.”

Tristan turned toward his host. “My sister left this part out in a deliberate attempt to protect me. She planned on keeping the truth about Colin from
me for the same reason.”

That was his wife, Sebastian contemplated with a pang of sadness. She always tried to protect everyone around her: her family, Victoria, even the husband who had betrayed her trust.

His heart swelled. If only he didn’t love her so damned much, but it was too late for that. He loved her with his every breath. His brother-in-law’s words came back to haunt Sebastian. What was Gwen hiding?

He had to know.

“You said she’s coping with something else, something Gwen hasn’t shared with me. What is it?” Sebastian prodded.

“You must ask my sister because I won’t betray her confidence,” Tristan turned toward him again before adding, “but you won’t have time to discuss that with her, for she and I depart tomorrow to attend a memorial service for a man who doesn’t deserve it.”

Tristan picked up the chair that had toppled over and placed it upright. His eyes locked with Sebastian’s. “This is going to be hell for her, you know – returning to the dwelling that stripped her of her independence. Then there is Keir,” he added, his tone dripping with venom. “I can see his smug expression now when he learns that you didn’t accompany your wife.”

“What do you want from me?” Sebastian placed his glass on his desk with a loud thud. “Do you want me to be a hypocrite? To pity her?”

“I want you to behave like a husband, perhaps a loving one at that.” Tristan placed his palms against
Sebastian’s desk, leaning forward. “Take a lesson in forgiveness from your wife. If she can forgive you for deceiving her, surely you can swallow your own damned pride.”

When his brother-in-law didn’t respond, Tristan pointed at him as he spoke, his tone devoid of compassion. “Either you love my sister or you don’t. If you do, start showing it and if you don’t, then release her.”

Remaining silent, Sebastian considered the last time he showed his wife how much he loved her. They shared an evening of sex after which neither was fulfilled.

“Listen to me very carefully, Your Grace.” Tristan’s voice was hard, his statement dripping with disdain. “I refuse to sit back while my sister resides in another stone fortress unloved or unwanted. She did it enough as a child.”

Sebastian blinked as he absorbed his brother-in-law’s last comments. Had he turned his home into the type that his wife grew up in? His chest constricted. It was the last thing he wanted to do, yet he feared that he might have indeed done just that.

Tristan’s stare was unrelenting. “My sister and I leave tomorrow afternoon. If you make no effort to reach out to her, I won’t bring her back here.”

“Don’t threaten me, Tristan!” Sebastian stood, slamming his fist against the desk. “I’m her bloody husband.”

“That can be rectified.” The younger man narrowed his eyes, his expression dangerous. “I am an attorney, remember?”

Sebastian glared at his brother-in-law with a look that made most men cower. Tristan didn’t recoil, though. Instead, he stared back at him, undaunted, his expression equally threatening.

“I won’t allow Gwen to suffer. Your choice is quite simple. Love your wife or let her go.”

Tristan then marched to the door and yanked it open. “Sorry about the mess. I’ll have your butler show me to my room,” he called over his shoulder before slamming the door behind him.

Sebastian studied the door as his anger ebbed then surveyed the room and the many shards of glass strewn over the carpeted floor. His brother-in-law’s final retort echoed in his ears.

He was left with no choice but to fight for his wife because Sebastian refused to give her up. Even though he had been avoiding Gwen for the past few days, it wasn’t because he didn’t love her. Instead, it was out of his sizable fear that his wife would admit she no longer loved him or, worse yet, that she never did.

His heartbeat pounded in his temples as he tried to decipher what else Lachlan could have confessed to his daughter. Sebastian remembered what Gwen had said at Ainsley just a few nights before.

My father left me with a rather grim fairy tale before he left
.

Sebastian had assumed she was referring to his own untruth and Colin’s paternity. What was he failing to comprehend?

He searched his brain, trying unsuccessfully to put the pieces together before storming out of his office and up the grand staircase.

Once ensconced in his bedchamber, Sebastian stood beside the closed door that adjoined his suit with his wife’s and flattened his palm against the polished wood.

He considered knocking but decided against it. It was late and he assumed she was sleeping. Besides, he needed to formulate his next move. Though Gwen was unaware, her husband would be accompanying her on her journey to the Highlands.

Sebastian strode into his large wardrobe, flinging the solid mahogany door open before heaving a trunk onto the floor of his bedchamber. He had already decided not to ring for his valet as it might alert Gwen to his plan. The last thing he wanted was for his wife to try and thwart his accompanying her. As he began to pack, he realized that he knew something his wife didn’t.