Scandalous Deception (Russian Connection 1)

That bastard Viktor Kazakov intended to sneak into Vanya’s home and put his filthy hands on…

No. Oh, no.

He would kill him.

He would kill him, and then he would rip his heart from his chest and feed it to the vultures.

BRIANNA’S QUEASINESS returned with a brutal force, but feeling as if she were suffocating, she struggled to wrench aside the heavy blankets and stumbled from the bed.

“No.” She pressed a hand to her stomach as she paced toward a heavily scrolled armoire. “It…it is impossible.”

Vanya remained standing beside the bed, her strong features lined with concern.

“Are you certain? Absolutely certain?”

Brianna forced herself to think past the panic flooding her mind. The past weeks had been a blur and it was hardly surprising that she had paid little heed to her body’s usual functions.

So, how long had it been since her last bleeding?

The answer came with shocking swiftness.

Too long.

With shaky steps she made it to a nearby chair before her knees gave way. “Oh, my God.”

“Brianna.” With a rustle of silk, Vanya was standing at her side, her hand gently patting her shoulder. “Please do not distress yourself.”

“Not distress myself? What if it’s true? What if I am carrying Edmond’s child?”

“Then you will sit down with Edmond and discuss what you desire for your future,” Vanya said, her tone matter-of-fact.

Brianna shied from the mere thought of telling Edmond that she was with child. Instead, she concentrated on dark panic that squeezed her heart so tightly she feared it might halt altogether.

“What future?” she whispered, pressing her fingers to her throbbing temples. “Dear lord, it was going to be difficult enough to return to London and establish my own household without being utterly shunned by society. Now it will be impossible.”

“You are always welcome to remain here with me until the babe is born.”

Brianna lifted her head to meet Vanya’s steady gaze. “And then?”

“Then you could foster the child to a good family and return to London with no one ever knowing.”

Foster? Brianna abruptly surged to her feet, her mind-numbing fear oddly giving way to a surge of shock. No, it was not precisely shock. It was more…distress.

“Give up my baby?”

A wistful smile touched Vanya’s lips. “It is hardly an unusual situation, ma petite.”

“It is bloody well unusual for me,” Brianna muttered, startled to feel a tear trickle down her cheek. “Damn.”

“Brianna.” Vanya wrapped a comforting arm around Brianna’s shaking shoulders. “We know nothing yet. It might very well be that this illness is no more than a common chill.”

Brianna, however, was not about to latch on to the vague chance that this was nothing more than a passing illness. Her mother had been willing to bet her future on nothing more than a hope and prayer. Brianna was far too practical for such nonsense.

With an annoyed motion, she brushed away the tears and squared her shoulders.

“I am not an utter fool, you know,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I realized that there were bound to be complications when I became Edmond’s lover. But I somehow assumed that our affair would be so short-lived that there would be no time for…for a child.” Her lips twisted in a humorless smile. “My mother was wed near ten years to my father before I was conceived, and there was no child between her and Thomas Wade.”

Vanya gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Every woman is different, as each gentleman is different.”