.
“Do you have any siblings?” Julius asked Leah. “A sister perhaps?”
William glanced over at his friend and noticed Julius was much more relaxed than when they’d entered the room. Before Mrs. Wells had appeared, Julius had been making ready to attack the woman from all sides, yet now he was calm, which William thought good, since he’d noticed the moment Leah had slipped the knife off the table.
She’d been clever to spill the wine as a way to cause confusion. He’d been ready to demand she put the knife back, but then he’d seen the tears in her eyes and had stilled. Something had pinched his heart at the look in her eyes, and a place deep within his soul had told him it was not an act.
He’d wondered at her thoughts just as he’d known Julius would assume it was the wine that caused the tears. William, however, had come to no such conclusion. It had been something else entirely, and she’d not had her eyes on the tumbled glass, but on him.
He’d always hated tears. He’d spoiled his younger sister, Naomi, as a child and even did so now if only to see her excitement. He’d been the same way with Natalia. He admitted that at first, he had only played with Natalia because she’d made him feel as Naomi did. He’d wanted to protect her feelings. Naomi had hated playing by herself, so William had become her companion. It had been easy to do the same with Natalia. He’d seen her sadness whenever Lorenzo abandoned her to play with the other boys.
So, once again, William had stepped forward.
But over time, it no longer became about Naomi. His affection for Natalia had become all about Natalia. No one had ever managed to call so many emotions from him in the span of an hour. He’d be irritated one minute and then laughing the next.
The day he’d accidentally killed Starlight had been one of the worst days of his life. Not even the slaying of English enemies had hurt him like breaking a part of his Tally. He’d not meant to, of course. It had been an accident, yet the damage was the same. For a girl who’d been abandoned by her father because of an affair and by her mother because of the woman's sadness, the tiny cat had been all Tally had.
She’d called him rough, but he’d never believed a word of it until that day.
He watched Leah now and knew he had to take care of her. He only had to figure out how.
He no longer believed she’d been married. There were no records of a Wells being married in Bergerac and no records of a Leah marrying anyone at all in Bergerac, church or otherwise. And while Levi had been able to find a record of a Leah, so far, his contact hadn’t found her.
In the end, it meant Leah had lied.
But why? Why come here? How had she known about Julius’ situation from the past?
Was she truly the blackmailer? William had known bad men and Leah didn’t strike him as the bad sort at all. In fact, she seemed good… except for the fact that she’d told him otherwise.
Another lie? Why risk it?
Because he’d promised to protect her.
Damn him. Now how would he ever gain the truth?
“I have a sibling, but not a sister,” Leah said in answer to Julius’ question. “Do you?”
Julius shook his head. “None.”
She stared at him. “Cousins then, my lord?”
Julius nodded. “A cousin named Stephen. He’s my Uncle Perry’s son.” And unlike Julius’ Uncle August, Perry had been nothing but kind to Julius. In fact, Perry was the reason Julius was alive. Julius’ grandparents had given life to three boys: Ganville, August, and Perry. August had been the bad seed of the three, coveting August’s position as the first born and Julius’ position as next in line for the title.
William didn’t question why Julius didn’t mention August. There was hardly a reason to bring him up.
Leah brightened. “Stephen is a fine name. How is he and your Uncle Perry?” She stared in earnest for the answer.
Julius smiled. “I hardly speak to Stephen these days, but last I heard, he was well. He’s married with two boys of his own. My uncle, I see often. He is also well, neither looking nor acting his age, but reminding people of it whenever he wishes to show his authority.”
William had met Uncle Perry many times and thought the best word to describe him was ‘loud’. The man shouted often, though he could be fun to be around. He also liked his guns and taught anyone who was willing to shoot how to use them properly no matter their sex or age.
Leah’s smile grew and she laughed. The sound of it seemed to break something in the air, softening the atmosphere. “That's so wonderful, my lord. I am very glad for you.” And she sounded like she truly meant it.
Julius sensed it and gave her a gentle smile.
For the remainder of the evening, no one dared add tension back to the conversation, and William watched as Julius became the one to be asked one question after another. The attention Leah showered over the man made William’s silence grow with added anger as the evening finally came to an end.
William stood and went to pull out Leah’s chair. As he did, he said, “Give me the knife.”
She hesitated for a moment then passed it to him without Julius being aware.
Julius went to the door and William put it down before taking Leah’s arm and escorting her out.
Unsurprisingly, Zed was in the hall. He straightened when they appeared.
When Leah tried to step away, he only held her more firmly.
Julius turned to Leah. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
Leah curtseyed. “Thank you, my lord. It was wonderful getting to know you.” Her voice was breathy and, again, it looked like she was about to cry, but this time her gaze was focused on Julius.
William noticed the other man grow uncomfortable before bowing and taking his leave.
Zed stepped forward. “I can escort Mrs. Wells to her room.”
“Thank you, but I've got it.” William didn’t allow the other man a rebuttal. He simply stepped around him.
“You don’t have to be so rude to him,” Leah told him when they turned a corner into the next hall. “He only sees me as a sister.”
“I know,” William said. He believed her and was actually glad she had someone else protecting her. That didn’t mean William wanted Zed stepping in when he was around. It had been a last-minute decision to invite Julius to dinner, but now he wanted Leah alone. “You seemed to get on well with Lord Darvess.”
Leah blew a breath as they started up the stairs. “You really ought not take me to my room. The women will think we're having an affair.”
But they were having an affair. Only now he knew it wasn't illicit. She was a free woman and could do as she pleased. If he told her the evidence he’d gathered, would she tell him the truth? There was only one way to find out.
“I’m to protect all the women in the house,” William told her. “That includes you.”
“Yes, but all your attention is on me.” She held her skirts as she climbed the stairs. “If we go on this way—”
“Are you certain it is only the women you care about? Perhaps you wish to attract the attention of a certain marquess.” The words came out with more aggression than he wished.
When they reached the second floor, she turned to him. “I don’t wish to attract Lord Darvess. It’s just…”
“What?”
When she tugged at her arm, he let her go. There were doors open in the hallway, and he could hear conversations coming from them. The open doors meant he could go no farther down the hall, for he’d have to pass those doors to get to Leah’s, and he didn’t want anyone to feel as though he were invading their space.
But there was a break before the stairs and the hall where they could go unseen. He pushed her that way and effectively had her alone once more, only to be seen if someone came up the stairs. He’d hear them long before they got close.
When Leah tried to move away, he stopped her with a hand on her hip. “Finish what you were about to say. What is it you feel for Lord Darvess?”
She slowly lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I can sense his sadness. That is all.”
“You blackmailed him. You didn’t seem to care for his feelings then.”
Her gaze fell to his cravat. “It’s different seeing it up close.”
He touched her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. “You didn’t blackmail him.”
“I already told you that I did.”
His thumb brushed her lower lip, and she gasped against his finger before her eyes darkened.
He moved closer. “You don’t have to lie to me anymore, Leah.” Retracting his hand, he took her mouth in the kiss he’d wanted to give her in her room.
Her soft willingness to engage broke over his flesh and caused him to deepen it. He swept his tongue past her parted lips just as he moved his hand to the back of her neck, bringing her closer.
Her hands swept around his back and William felt himself being dragged in. Her need for him was just as great. He wanted to get closer, press his skin against her, but such a thing would be impossible in this house. So, he took what she gave him.
His sucked her lower lip, kissed the top, grazed his teeth down her chin, and lapped at the pulse in her throat.
She made quiet anxious sounds. Her breath fanned his ear and the heat traveled to his cock until it became a pounding knock against his breeches, swollen with need.
He wanted her. He wanted to undo her clothes and remove her silly wig and see her true color.
His hand kept in that direction and just as swiftly, she pushed him away. Her hands went to her wig, and she glared.
“You have no right.”
“I want the truth from you.” He crowded her space again.
“The truth about my hair? What good will it serve you?”
He touched her cheek. “I want the truth about everything. I want to know you.”
“You can’t.” Her gaze showed her conviction was strong.
“I know you’re not married. I checked. There are no records of a Wells wedding in Bergerac.”
She froze and then opened her mouth, but he placed a finger over her lips.
“No more lies,” he whispered. “I only want truth from you from now on.” He needed the truth from this woman he was slowly considering to be his. “Only truth from this moment forward.” He removed his hand. “I’m on your side.” How she’d become this important was beyond him, but he knew that by her side was where he wanted to be.
She frowned and said, “Very well, but don’t ask me questions to answers I can never give. I’m sorry, but there are simply some things you can’t know.”
“Ever?” he asked.
Her brows relaxed, and her eyes grew sad. “I don’t know.”
“Are you married?”
William felt his entire world hedged on this answer. He prayed she’d give him the one he wanted.
She grabbed his shoulders and touched his cheeks. “Swear to me—”
“I’ll tell no one,” he replied.
“Not even Maura,” she said. “She’d remove me from the house if she knew.”
Dear God, she wasn’t married. He’d known it to be so but hearing it from her changed everything.
“Why are you here?” William asked. “You don’t need to live here. I could help you.”
She shook her head. “No.” Her touch continued to be gentle. “I can’t leave. Not now.”
“Why?”
“Soon,” she whispered. “I’ll leave soon.”
He pressed himself closer. “But you’ll not leave me.” He wanted her to vow that. “You won’t disappear, will you?”
She smiled sadly. “That is another question I can’t answer.”
“I want you to stay.” He wanted the chance to get to know the woman behind the facade.
“I fear if you knew the truth…” Her fingers trailed over his mouth and down his chin, her eyes following the move. “I fear you’d change your mind.”
He wouldn’t, yet at the same time… “Are you really the blackmailer?”
“I have to go.” She took back her hand. “Good night, William.”
“Liam.” He preferred it when she called him that. He liked watching her lips move when she did so. He felt closer to her when she called him Liam.
“Liam,” she whispered. Then he let her go.
But not forever, he promised himself. He planned to know her and would dedicate himself to that mission alone.