The Seduction (Notorious 1)

She had just turned to retrace her steps through the conservatory when a hushed voice called her name. She looked up in startlement.

A man blocked her path, attired in a slouch hat and frayed frock coat, with a short growth of beard darkening his jaw.

She had grown accustomed to seeing strangers at Rosewood, since scholars and scientists and botanists regularly came to study the roses in the summer. But none had ever approached her or followed her. This man could be anything from a university student to a ruffian.

Her wariness seemed to amuse him, for his mouth curved in a slow grin as he drew off his hat to reveal a familiar and beloved face. “What, Van, can you not give your only brother a greeting of welcome?”

“Aubrey? What on earth…”

He came forward and embraced her, then stepped back to eye her fondly. “I didn’t mean to shock you, my dear.”

She stared at him blankly. “Whatever possessed you to grow a beard? I would never have recognized you if you hadn’t spoken.”

His mobile mouth twisted wryly. “That is precisely the idea, love. Sinclair would probably shoot me if he knew I had breached his premises.”

“Oh, my word…” Vanessa exclaimed, recalling the enmity between the two men. “Are you mad? He will see you-”

“With luck he will never know I’m here. My disguise was effective enough to fool you, wasn’t it? I bought this coat from a student at Oxford for a guinea.”

“Yes, but…” She lowered her voice and, with a quick glance around, drew him farther into the conservatory, behind the Chinese screen. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see how you fared.”

“I’m well enough.”

Aubrey’s brow furrowed as he studied her intently. “Sinclair hasn’t mistreated you?”

Vanessa looked away from her brother’s penetrating gaze. “No, not at all. You shouldn’t be here,” she added.

“I couldn’t stay away,” he replied obliquely. “What of Olivia? I have no right to ask, perhaps, but I need to know. I saw her being carried out of the carriage a moment ago, but she was laughing. She looked… She didn’t seem to be suffering terribly.” His tone sounded hopeful. “At least not as much as I feared.”

Vanessa turned cool. “She hasn’t regained the use of her limbs, if that is what you are asking. She is still a cripple, and her physical state is wholly uncertain… although emotionally she has begun to recover a small measure.”

“I wish I could speak to her, just for a moment.”

“That is out of the question, Aubrey. It would only upset her to see you.”

“Does she hate me so very much, then?”

“What do you think?” Vanessa asked bluntly.

Aubrey winced, then looked away. “I want to tell her how deeply sorry I am.”

“I’m sure that would salve your conscience, but I cannot see how it would benefit her.”

“Will you at least take a letter to her for me? I cannot write to her. All my letters are returned.”

Vanessa shook her head. “No, Aubrey, I can’t. It would only remind her of how you ruined her life.”

His gaze grew bleak. “I can’t bear to think of what I’ve done.”

“Well, you will simply have to live with it,” Vanessa returned, giving him no quarter. “She has had to.”

To her surprise, she saw tears start to shimmer in her brother’s dark eyes. “Will you tell her of my regret?”

“I don’t dare, Aubrey,” Vanessa said more softly. “Olivia trusts me because she doesn’t know of my connection to you. It was bad enough that I had to deceive her, but if I were to reveal the truth after all this time, she would certainly feel as if I had betrayed her.”

“I wish… there were some way for me to make amends.”