Scandalous Deception (Russian Connection 1)

“I—” Edmond came to a sharp halt as he was struck by a sudden thought. He had already dismissed the notion of Thomas Wade being involved in the shooting. The foul beast wanted Brianna alive and in his bed. But he hadn’t considered the notion that just being his fiancée might put her in danger. After all, he’d assumed that if someone wanted to bring an end to his engagement, he would be the intended victim. It had never entered his mind that someone would be desperate enough to kill Brianna instead. “Christ.”

Chesterfield gave a dip of his head. “Quite.”

Edmond pushed from the mantle to pace the cramped room. No. He could not dwell on the thought. Now was no time to be distracted.

“Even if she was the target, no one could have known any of us would be on the balcony.”

Chesterfield spread his hands in defeat. “I will agree it makes no sense.”

“Do you think Howard is responsible?” Edmond growled.

“No.” Chesterfield once again reached into his pocket, on this occasion removing a small notebook. He flipped through the papers, his brow furrowed in concentration. “I have kept a constant surveillance upon him, and he has met with no nefarious associates who might be willing to kill off his relatives.”

“He might have other means to contact them. Or he might have given them their orders before you began to trail him.”

“True, but from what I can discover, Summerville has no immediate expectations of coming into a fortune.” Finding the appropriate page in his notebook, Chesterfield handed it to Edmond. “Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Edmond shrugged as he regarded the indecipherable words and numbers scrawled across the paper.

“What is this?”

“It is the name of the ship your cousin has booked passage upon as well as the date it is leaving London.”

“The Rosalind.” Edmond lifted his head to study Chesterfield with a growing sense of frustration. “Where is it bound?”

“Greece. It seems that Howard Summerville’s wife has an uncle with a villa near Athens who is willing to offer them sanctuary.”

So his cousin was preparing to flee the country. And within the next fortnight.

Did that mean he was clever enough to have an alternative scheme, should he be unable to murder his way to the ducal fortune? Or more likely, was he simply a spineless creature who was preparing to bolt like the coward he was?

Damn.

He was not one step closer to discovering who the hell pulled the trigger in the garden.

DESPITE THE TEDIOUS LECTURES that she could not possibly be well enough to be leaving the town house, Brianna dressed in a jade gown edged with black gauze and a matching spencer, firmly demanding that a carriage be brought to the door.

What did it matter if Janet trailed behind her with a sulky expression, or that Lady Aberlane did not bother to hide her concern as they set out for Bond Street?

She had to be away from Huntley House, if only for a short time. She could not bear to remain in her chambers, dwelling on the endless hours Edmond had devoted to making love to her, and the astonishing pleasure to be discovered in his arms.

Or at least, that was her hope.

Unfortunately, it did not matter how many shops she visited, or how many bonnets she admired, or how many acquaintances Lady Aberlane halted to chat with, she could not rid her mind of the potent thoughts of Edmond Summerville.

Perhaps it was that way for all maidens. A woman did, after all, lose her innocence once in her lifetime. Perhaps it was only to be expected that she would be obsessed with thoughts of her lover.

Or perhaps she was a weak-willed creature who had not only handed her virginity to Edmond on a silver platter, but her few wits as well.

By God, she had promised herself this would never happen.

She, better than anyone, understood the dangers of allowing herself to become bewitched and distracted by Edmond. Or worse, becoming…attached.

Not when she was so close to achieving the independence she had craved since she was just a child.

At last, disgusted with her inability to control her renegade mind, Brianna called for the carriage and, with Janet and Lady Aberlane, began the return trip to Huntley House.

They traveled in silence, Brianna brooding on her treacherous thoughts, and her even more treacherous body that even now hungered for Edmond’s touch, and Janet and Lady Aberlane exchanging worried glances.