“I promise I have no intention of challenging you for her affections. I agree wholeheartedly. She is yours.”
“As long as you and she both know it,” Lisle muttered. Then he paused. “It is too early for wine, but would you care for a pint of ale to cement our new understanding?”
Quinn smiled for the first time. “I would very much like that.”
—
Vast relief filled Venetia when Quinn returned home seemingly unscathed. Watching his arrival from the parlor window, she waited anxiously until he joined her and she could confirm for herself that he had suffered no physical harm.
However, she wasn’t certain what to feel about his conclusion that Lisle was not the perpetrator.
“Far from being angry and bitter,” Quinn said as he settled beside her on the sofa, “Lisle was amused by my suspicions. And he was quite happy to learn I had no designs on his mistress, Lady Dalton.”
That revelation made Venetia extremely happy also. She listened earnestly as Quinn detailed the steps he had taken to find the gamester George Bellamy.
“Bellamy has lodgings on Clarges Street. When I called there, his landlord said he had left for the coun
tryside nearly a month ago on a repairing lease. Apparently he was short of funds due to his gaming losses. But he recently paid his rent in full for the next quarter and is expected back in town shortly. I promised the landlord a large sum to alert me the moment Bellamy sets foot in London again,” Quinn added with a determined glint in his eye. “And I’ve tasked Hawk with investigating him in addition to Huffington. It’s imperative that we learn more about his background, and quickly.”
“It is almost as if you are enjoying the intrigue,” Venetia observed, noting Quinn’s expression.
He was quick to deny any relish. “I might enjoy solving the mystery if the consequences weren’t so serious. Count me angry and frustrated, though, not to mention troubled. As long as the assassin is at large, my family is at grave risk.” His gaze came to rest intently on Venetia. “Protecting you and my sister and the rest of my clan is my most important goal just now.”
Venetia was grateful that he wanted to protect her. Other than Cleo, no one had cared about her welfare in two long years, not even her parents, who by rights should still have felt some sort of sheltering instincts.
The thought made her throat tighten. What a stark contrast from Quinn, she reflected, recalling how he had sprawled over her, shielding her from a bullet with his own body.
Indeed, he had been concerned for her from the first, even before she returned from France. His ostensible advances toward Ophelia had been altruistic—his attempt to repair some of the damage his friend Ackland had wrought on Venetia and her family with his dissolution. Venetia had certainly misunderstood Quinn’s motives….
“Meanwhile we can turn our attention to your family,” Quinn was saying. “It is time to mend the rift.”
“I’m not sure that is possible,” she said uncertainly. “My parents may not even speak to me.”
“They will if they are at all wise. I shall write them immediately, informing of our intent to call this afternoon.”
When she looked skeptical, Quinn smiled without humor. “They won’t dare refuse me admittance.”
“Probably not. I, on the other hand…They despise me, not only for my rebellion two years ago but now, I’m sure, for stealing you from Ophelia.”
“You didn’t steal me.”
“Even so, I can’t help but feel guilty for spoiling her chances to marry well.”
“You are accepting too much blame. Don’t fret, darling. I am responsible for our marriage. And I will deal with your parents.”
Venetia bit her lower lip. “Truthfully, I am not as worried about my parents as I am about Ophelia. No doubt I hurt her. I very much want to meet with her and explain what happened…try and make peace with her, if that is at all possible.”
Quinn’s reply was a faint scoffing sound. “You care more about your sister than you do about yourself.”
“Perhaps. In any case, I need to make amends for my past actions.”
“You have more than made amends already. You wed me to spare her from ruin. You could even say you sacrificed yourself. Your family should all be grateful.”
“They won’t see it that way.”
“You don’t deserve their condemnation,” Quinn returned forcefully.
Venetia had to agree. It still shocked her a little that her parents were so callous and unfeeling as to cast her out for refusing to marry Ackland.