Lessons in Seduction (Greentree Sisters 1)

Eddie and Ellen stood at the edge of the staircase, looking down into the shadows. The old stone lion with its chipped ears and broken paw had been pushed hard to one side. Eddie had discovered the trick. The lion was fixed to a large rectangular slab on the floor, but if one of the carvings on the slab was pushed down, the fastening opened with a loud click. Then it was a matter of heaving, hard, to move the lion and slab aside. Beneath it was an opening and a staircase, going down.

A secret chamber.

Ellen was impressed, but she edged closer to Eddie and the lantern he clutched in his hand. The candle flame inside flickered wildly, and they both held their breath until it began to burn more steadily.

“I don’t like the dark, see,” Eddie explained. “Once my da’s lady friend locked me up for a long time—days! I was in a small, dark cupboard. I felt like I couldn’t breav. After that I ran away, and since then I can’t never go into small dark places.”

“It’s all right,” Ellen whispered, and cuddled her doll to her thin chest. “I’m here, Eddie. I’ll keep you safe.”

Eddie nodded seriously, as if pale, skinny little Ellen could protect him, and took a step down, and then another. “Come on, then,” he said in a voice that sounded too shaky to be brave, “let’s get on wif it.”

They disappeared down into the darkness, the candlelight wavering as they went, and the lion looked on in silence.

“Miss Greentree?”

Startled, Vivianna looked up from packing books in one of the crates that the wagon would take from Candlewood to Bethnal Green. As far as she had known she was here alone, apart from her coachman waiting outside with the horses. The Beatty sisters had gone to Bethnal Green with the children to begin the process of settling in.

The man standing in the shadow outside the doorway was tall, and for a moment she thought, with a treacherous lift of her heart, that it was Oliver. But then he stepped forward and she realized it was actually Lord Lawson.

Lawson killed my brother.

“Lord Lawson,” she said, and dusted off her skirts, seeking time to recover. Instinctively she knew it would be a mistake for him to realize she knew about him and Oliver’s brother.

“I hope you do not mind me walking in upon you like this, but I could not find a servant.” Lawson was moving toward her now, and Vivianna forced herself to stand still and not to turn and run.

“We are rather short of servants at Candlewood,” she replied with an attempt at a wry smile.

He smiled back, but his eyes were cold. They were blue, but not dark and sensuous like Oliver’s; Lawson’s eyes were like ice, and with just as much humanity.

“Miss Greentree, it is Candlewood I wanted to discuss with you. I know it is something we both hold dear.” His gaze went past her to the open trunk. “Are you leaving?”

Vivianna looked at the trunk, too; anything to escape those cold eyes. “Yes, of course,” she said. “We have to leave. Lord Montegomery has offered us lodgings in Bethnal Green and we are moving there as soon as possible. Candlewood will soon be empty.”

“Will it indeed? Well, I will be sorry to hear it. As you know, I was a dear friend of Oliver’s brother, Anthony, and I know he was very fond of this house.”

But that didn’t stop you from shooting him in cold blood.

He looked at her sharply, and for a moment Vivianna thought she must have said the words aloud, but the next moment he was smiling and asking her in a charmingly tentative manner whether it would be acceptable for him to take a walk over the house.

“I may not get the chance again,” he said with a sigh, “and then I will have nothing but memories.”

“But of course!” Vivianna could play games, too. “I will come with you, my lord. I think I deserve a rest from packing. It will be interesting to hear about Candlewood from someone who knows it well.”

He wasn’t happy with her—she could see it in his eyes—but what could he do? He bowed politely, and Vivianna led the way out.

“Miss Greta and Miss Susan are at Bethnal Green,” she explained as they meandered up and down corridors. “There is much to be done there.” Vivianna glanced at him sideways. “I believe you made an offer for Candlewood, my lord, and was turned down.”

She felt his start of surprise but did not acknowledge it. They were moving toward the unfinished wing, where it was forbidden for the children to go. Vivianna wondered whether they should turn back—she felt rather as if she were taking a stroll with a dangerous animal—but Lawson’s next words drove all such thoughts from her mind.

“I made the offer for the sake of the orphans, Miss Greentree. I could not bear to think of them losing the home they had grown to love.”

Anger curled inside her at the sheer hypocritical nature of his statement. Oliver may have tricked her and humiliated her, but he had never used the children in his plot. He might have refused to bow to her wishes as regards to Candlewood, but he had always been honest and steadfast about his refusal. This man was wicked.

“I am sure it is all for the best,” Vivianna replied blithely.

She felt his eyes upon her, studying her. “I must say I am surprised to hear you say that,” he said at last. “I did not think you would be so forgiving. From what I have heard, you have fought like a tigress for Candlewood, and yet now you seem quite calm in defeat. Perhaps Oliver has won you around to his point of view?”

The door to the unfinished wing was unbolted. With a puzzled frown, Vivianna passed through into the long, colonnaded room with the faded mural upon the ceiling. “I do not think he has won me to his point of view, my lord, but sometimes to continue to fight is pointless.”