The Seduction

Chapter Sixteen

Vanessa stared blindly out the window of Damien’s traveling carriage as they sped steadily north from London, the wet, gray day mirroring her spirits.

She had lied last night. Damien had indeed hurt her. Not physically, of course. On the contrary, he’d given her body pleasure as great as any she’d known.

It was her heart he had shattered without even being aware of it. His cold, casual experiment in carnal gratification at Madame Fouchet’s had reminded Vanessa of how foolish she was to dream about impossibilities. She wanted his love, while he wanted only her body.

Strangely Damien hadn’t appeared to enjoy the visit to the brothel any more than she had. Instead, he’d seemed dangerously angry when he escorted her home last night, whether at her or himself she couldn’t tell. His brusque announcement had startled her.

“I should like to return to Rosewood tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? So soon? ”

“It is a few days early, I realize, but I should think you’ve seen enough of the demimonde by now. And I doubt there is much more I can teach you.”

Truthfully Vanessa had seen enough of the depraved side of London to last her a lifetime. Far from being disappointed, she was actually relieved to be leaving. Damien’s decadent world of luxury and license held little appeal for her, especially since the man she had fallen for so hopelessly seemed to have vanished. During their entire time in town she’d seen no evidence of the tender lover and friend she’d initially glimpsed at Rosewood. There was only the wicked rakehell known as Lord Sin.

A sadness swept over her, so intense it made her ache. Had she only imagined the intimate, caring part of him that he kept hidden from much of the world?

Beside her on the carriage seat, Damien was absorbed by his own brooding thoughts as his conscience soundly flayed him.

It had been a mistake to expose Vanessa to Fouchet’s brothel last night. He’d seen her shock and disillusionment reflected in the dark luster of her eyes. Disillusionment with him.

Damien winced inwardly. Vanessa must have known the sort of life he led; certainly he’d never attempted to hide it from her. But the reality clearly was more unsettling than she’d expected, the entertainment far more salacious. If she’d thought him debauched and dissolute before, she now had irrefutable proof.

Her tears had cut at his heart. Almost as tormenting was her lack of candor when she’d refused to tell him why she was crying. Perhaps it was absurd, but he wanted honesty between them.

Had Vanessa perhaps been comparing him to her late husband? Had his wicked sexual games reminded her too closely of her pain and shame at Sir Roger’s hands? Or had the comparison started earlier in the evening, upon seeing the Swann at Vauxhall? If memory served, Sir Roger’s last scandal was the result of a duel over an actress… Good God, Elise Swann.

Damien swore profanely under his breath as he remembered Vanessa’s stricken expression at the encounter in the pleasure gardens last night. How could he have failed to see the reason for it?

He’d thought her wounded look due to simple jealousy. Given the troubled history of her marriage, she would understandably be upset to have his own former relationship with another woman brandished in her face. But her distress clearly went far deeper. Her husband had been killed over the same actress he himself had enjoyed and showered with emeralds. It had devastated her to have her most terrible humiliation flaunted in her face-and he was to blame.

Then he’d compounded her misery by taking her to a brothel and treating her like any sophisticated harlot- even though a sophisticated harlot was precisely what she was determined to become, and what he had set out to make of her.

Fiend seize it, he couldn’t go through this charade any longer. He couldn’t pretend indifference while Vanessa strove to win a place in his wicked realm. She didn’t belong in his world, any more than his own sister did. There were doubtless other less destructive ways for her to obtain the financial independence she so determinedly sought. He would have to end this gut-wrenching scheme of theirs if his conscience was to have any peace at all.

Damien turned to stare out the carriage window, through the gloomy mist. He despised himself just now.

His careful tutoring had been designed to forearm Vanessa against the sort of libertine she would doubtless encounter in her new role. Rakes of his own ilk. But if he had any pretensions to nobility, he reflected darkly, he would protect her from himself.

The drizzle had subsided by the time they arrived at Rosewood. Damien escorted Vanessa into the house, where they were greeted by an unsmiling Croft.

When Damien asked where his sister could be found, the butler’s frown deepened. “I believe Miss Olivia is in the garden, my lord. She is entertaining a gentleman caller.”

Vanessa froze in the act of surrendering her pelisse. Her first thought was of her brother. With her heart suddenly quickening, she followed Damien through the French doors of the drawing room, out into the garden.

Olivia was not immediately visible, but a few moments later, they spied her in the distance, seated in her invalid chair beneath a linden tree. A man sat on the bench before her, holding both her hands in his.

Recognizing Aubrey, Vanessa blanched.

“Damien, wait…” she urged breathlessly, fearing what he would do. He merely quickened his step, long, angry strides that carried him rapidly toward his sister.

Hearing footsteps, the couple looked up guiltily as he approached. Both of them went still.

Vanessa knew the exact instant Damien identified the caller, for he came to an abrupt halt. She could see the wave of cold rage overtake him; every line of his body went rigid.

Far from fleeing in fear, though, Aubrey rose slowly to his feet. “My lord,” he murmured, standing his ground.

Vanessa couldn’t help but admire her brother’s bravery. She felt the blistering force of Damien’s wrath as she came to a halt beside him.

Silence followed, as potent as the aftershock of a lightning bolt.

It was Olivia who spoke first. “Damien… I did not expect you-”

“What the devil are you doing here?” Damien demanded of Aubrey. “I thought I gave you fair warning to keep away from my sister.”

“I invited him to call,” Olivia said hastily.

Damien turned to stare at her, as if she had lost her mind.

“I had a question to pose to Miss Sinclair,” Aubrey said in a quiet voice.

His attention snapping back to the intruder, Damien clenched his hands into fists. “I suggest you take yourself off my estate before I forcibly remove you.”

Vanessa caught his arm anxiously, remembering how violently Damien had dealt with the young man who’d tried to kiss her at the recent ball. His anger at Aubrey was a hundred times greater, and unlike the squire’s son then, Aubrey showed no indication of backing down.

“I love your sister and hope to wed her,” he declared in that same quiet tone. “She claims to love me in return.”

Olivia held out an imploring hand. “It’s true, Damien, I do. Please, don’t be angry.”

“Olivia, keep out of this!” he demanded, keeping his eyes fixed upon his foe. “I’ll have a footman take you back to the house at once.”

She stiffened. In one instant her girlish shyness was finally transformed into a woman’s strength. “You cannot send me to my room as if I were a child.”

“I assure you,” Aubrey interjected in a conciliatory tone, “no one feels more remorse than I for what I did to her-”

“And I have forgiven him, Damien.”

“Olivia, I won’t brook your interference!”

Vanessa winced at his harsh tone, while Olivia raised her chin with defiance. “And I won’t brook yours! This is my future you are dismissing so callously.”

Concerned, Vanessa clutched at Damien’s sleeve. “Please, couldn’t we discuss this in a calmer moment?”

He ignored her plea and glared at his sister. “It is indeed your future. And I won’t allow you to ruin it completely.”

“What does it matter to you? You don’t care about me, you never have.”

When Olivia bit her trembling lower lip, Damien made a visible effort to control his raw fury. “Olivia, this man destroyed your life. You’ve said so yourself.”

“I thought perhaps he had, but I was mistaken. Last week I felt a pain in my foot, Damien. I didn’t tell you for fear I might have imagined it. But it happened again yesterday. Do you realize what that means? If your doctor is right, if my limbs do recover sensation, then I may regain full use of them in time.”

He stared at her for a long moment, no doubt feeling the same startled gladness Vanessa was feeling at the possibility of his sister’s recovery.

But then Aubrey grasped one of her hands, and Damien stiffened with renewed fury. “Vanessa, take my sister into the house.”

It was an order she could not obey. “Damien, please, I think you should hear them out.”

The searing gaze he turned to her almost made her flinch; his eyes had hardened to silver shards. “You actually condone this? But, of course, you would. He’s your brother.”

“That isn’t why-”

“I suppose you knew about their clandestine meetings?” he demanded.

“She isn’t to blame,” Olivia said quickly. “I made her agree to chaperon me.”

Vanessa returned his fierce gaze with unyielding resolve. “Olivia is mature enough to know her own mind, Damien. And it was obvious they still had strong feelings for each other. I thought they deserved the chance to work out their differences. Aubrey sincerely loves her. You ought not dismiss his proposal out of hand.”

“You cannot be serious. He’s a wastrel, a womanizer, a cad-”

“It’s true,” Aubrey agreed solemnly. “I once was all those things. I haven’t led an admirable life, but I’ve vowed to change.”

Damien’s blighting glance returned to Aubrey, who made another effort at appeasement.

“Before meeting your sister, I never questioned my profligate tendencies. I never had reason to. I can understand, my lord, why you wouldn’t want me wed to your sister-”

“How perceptive of you,” Damien returned savagely, dripping sarcasm. “But I see what you’re about. You’re pursuing her fortune to save your own skin. Why else would you want to wed a cripple?”

Olivia flinched as if from a blow, anguish flashing across her face.

Damien gave a start, evidently realizing he’d been unforgivably harsh, yet he was clearly too enraged to render any apology. Vanessa felt her own heart wrench. He seemed capable of hurting everyone who loved him.

“You’re wrong, my lord,” Aubrey replied grimly, his own anger finally showing. “I would love her even if she never walks again.”

“I don’t believe it. You’re nothing but a fortune hunter, damn you. But perhaps you aren’t aware that I could cut her off without a farthing.”

“I’m fully aware of it. But it wouldn’t matter if she were destitute. I will support her to the best of my ability, perhaps not in luxury, but I swear she will never want for anything.”

“Your best isn’t nearly good enough.”

“I know,” Aubrey said humbly, glancing at Olivia. “I can never hope to be worthy of her. But I mean to try.”

Damien’s expression was as cold as Vanessa had ever seen it. “I think you forget I control everything you own. Your gaming debts give me that power.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” His tone was quiet.

“Then don’t forget this,” Damien gritted out. “I’ll see you in hell before I permit you to wed my sister.”

Olivia struck the arm of her chair as tears filled her eyes. “I love him, Damien. I truly do.”

Her brother shook his head fiercely. “Livy, he has duped you all over again, rekindled your foolish infatuation-”

“No… he has not. I know my own heart, Damien. This is not infatuation. I’ve had ample time to consider it. I’ve done nothing else for months. It’s true that I once wanted to make him pay for what he did, but I’ve learned to forgive him. As you will, if you give him a chance.”

“I will do no such thing.” His jaw hardened as he glanced at Aubrey. “I suggest you leave before I’m persuaded to put a bullet through you.”

Alarmed, Vanessa gripped his arm more tightly. “I beg you, don’t hurt him…” Damien shook her off.

“I don’t want your sister’s wealth, Lord Sinclair,” Aubrey insisted. “And I know I must earn the right to love her. But I will, I swear it.”

“Meanwhile you hide behind her skirts as you hid behind your own sister’s, leaving her to deal with your gaming debts.”

Anger suffusing his expression, Aubrey took a step forward, his fist clenched. When Olivia gave a cry of fear, though, he stopped abruptly and glanced down at her. A look passed between them, one of tenderness, of resolve.

“For your sake, my love,” he murmured, “I will go… for now.”

He would not give up the battle, Vanessa knew. Aubrey might withdraw for the moment, but he would return to fight another day. She shuddered to think what would happen then.

Vanessa watched as he retrieved his hat from the bench and bowed to the company. With a lingering look at Olivia, he turned away.

When he was gone, Olivia gave a sob of outrage and turned on her brother. “You have no right to send him away!” she accused.

Ignoring her tears, Damien summoned a footman who was stationed discreetly a short distance along the garden path. “Convey your mistress to the house.”

Olivia glared at him. “If you drive Aubrey away, I will hate you forever.”

Damien’s mouth tightened, but he made no reply. In a moment Olivia was wheeled from the garden, leaving him alone with Vanessa.

The silence that remained was fraught with tension. Vanessa faced Damien defiantly, her emotions torn between anger at his heartlessness, guilt at betraying his trust, and the desperate wish to make him see reason. She had feared this confrontation would come from the moment her brother had shown his face at Rosewood.

“I presume you mean to tell me,” Damien began in a low, tight voice, “why you allowed Rutherford to prey on my sister again.”

Vanessa took a deep breath. At least he meant to give her the opportunity to explain. “Aubrey was never alone with her until this past week when we went to London,” she said firmly. “I made certain of that.”

“Yet you conspired with them behind my back, encouraged their secret meetings.”

“It was not a conspiracy. I simply afforded them the opportunity to discover how serious their feelings were for each other.”

“Damnation, as Olivia’s companion you were responsible for her welfare!” The controlled savagery of Damien’s tone told her how close his temper was to shattering.

“I understand quite well my responsibilities toward Olivia,” Vanessa returned evenly. “And I did what I thought was best for her.”

“For her? You expect me to believe you weren’t scheming to improve your brother’s fortunes?”

Vanessa stared into Damien’s blistering gray eyes. “I was not scheming, I assure you. Aubrey’s wishes scarcely entered into my thinking. Olivia’s happiness is what concerns me. She was clearly miserable without him. And she will be even more so if you refuse your consent for their marriage.”

When he didn’t reply, Vanessa added with quiet intensity, “Olivia is capable of making this decision for herself, Damien, and she should have that right, just as my own sisters should have the right to choose whom they wed.”

A muscle knotting in his jaw, Damien strode over to the linden tree. His hand rose, clenched, as if he might strike the trunk with his fist. “Your brother is nothing more than a fortune hunter, a wastrel. He ruined Olivia’s life. I refuse to entrust my sister to such a scoundrel.”

“Perhaps Aubrey was all you say, but he’s changed greatly, for the better. He is truly ashamed of what he did, both for crippling Olivia and for tarnishing her reputation. He’s determined to reform… to make amends. He’s honestly offered her the protection of his name in marriage, and I think you would be gravely mistaken not to consider his suit.”

When Damien refused to respond, Vanessa continued her argument. “It would actually be a good match for them both. If not for his terrible transgression against her, Aubrey would make her an eligible enough connection. His rank exceeds your own. He is educated and intelligent. And while he may have lost the remainder of his inheritance to you, he’s not without the hope of gainful employment. He has actually found work in the district as a social secretary to one of your neighbors. That is what finally convinced me of his sincerity. I’ve never seen him as single-minded and determined as he is now. I believe he’s truly fallen in love.” Vanessa paused. “What really matters, though, is that Olivia loves him.”

Damien made a scoffing sound deep in his throat. “What does a green girl her age know about love?”

“Undoubtedly more than you do.”

His head swinging around, he fixed her with a dark glare.

“Olivia claims to know her heart, Damien. If he is her choice, what right do you have to stand in her way?”

Anger flashed in his eyes like silver fire. “As her brother, I not only have the right, I have a duty to protect her from unscrupulous rogues like your brother.”

“You would be protecting her by allowing this match. Consider it. She will be a viscountess if she marries Aubrey. Unwed, she will always have the stigma of her recent scandal to live down.”

“So you would have her wed her debaucher?”

“What, pray, is the alternative? Perhaps she could find a more eligible suitor than my brother, but would her heart be engaged? There is nothing worse than being trapped in a loveless marriage-believe me, I know. She could choose not to wed at all, to remain a spinster, but that is a lonely life for a woman, without husband or children. Olivia has been alone more than enough, in my opinion.” Vanessa eyed him coolly. “Of course, she could seek companionship outside of marriage. But I doubt you would wish your sister to take the course I’ve elected, to become some wealthy gentleman’s mistress.”

His glance collided with hers, and Vanessa could see she had struck a nerve.

“The circumstances are quite different,” he said tightly.

“Indeed they are. As an heiress, Olivia has choices I never had. If you will allow her to make them.”

“You seem intent on making me out to be the villain in this piece.”

“No, I’m merely intent on persuading you to keep an open mind.”

His lip curled. “Two months ago Rutherford was a gamester and a reprobate. How can you be certain this miraculous transformation of his will last?”

“I cannot. I only know that Aubrey is a good man at heart. And I believe he would do his utmost never to hurt Olivia again.”

Damien set his jaw. “That is a risk I am not willing to take.”

Vanessa stamped her foot in frustration and despair, while her voice rose in anger. “Doesn’t your condemnation of him strike you as the least bit hypocritical? How can you possibly be an adequate judge of anyone’s character, a man of your lurid past and wicked reputation?”

When she received no reply, a hard smile touched her own lips. “Tell me, Lord Sin, how is my brother any more depraved or dissolute than you are? You might not wish or deserve the chance to prove you can love and be loved, but there are men who truly want redemption.”

She waited, but he remained silent. Finally her shoulders slumped. “If you will please excuse me, I intend to go comfort Olivia. I expect she could use a sympathetic shoulder just now.”

With that she turned on her heels and walked away.

Eyes fiercely narrowed at her back, Damien leaned against the tree trunk. He still wanted to hit something. Yet Vanessa’s earnestness had given him pause.

It wasn’t surprising to hear her plead her brother’s case so passionately. He’d expected nothing less, although, strangely enough, he believed her claim that she hadn’t conspired with Rutherford to prey again on Olivia.

The parting shot Vanessa had made about his own character, however, had cut too close to the bone. How can you possibly be an adequate judge of anyone’s character, a man of your lurid past and wicked reputation?

Damien gazed out over the vast gardens, scarcely aware of the fragrant scent of roses surrounding him. What had she said about him that wasn’t true?

If he looked at himself through her eyes, what would he see? A jaded nobleman driven by an unquenchable restlessness, engaged in the reckless pursuit of pleasure and indulgence. He’d always done his damnedest to live up to his name of Lord Sin, filling his world with sophisticated games and sensual depravity. To Vanessa, her brother would seem a veritable innocent in comparison.

Even so, his own conduct had no bearing in this instance. The only one whose character was at issue was Rutherford, whether he was worthy of Olivia’s hand in marriage.

And the answer was an emphatic no.

Damien clenched his jaw as he renewed his resolve. Despite Vanessa’s staunch defense of her brother, he wasn’t about to turn over his cherished innocent sister to such a man. Olivia would simply have to learn to get over her infatuation.

It could be done; he had proven that with Vanessa. Even the deepest bonds could be torn apart with fierce perseverance.