Chapter 17

Later That Same Night

Io was in her dressing gown and had already sent Moira to bed by ten o'clock. She was looking forward to an early night for a change, when the door to her bedchamber flew open and Edith blazed into her room, garbed in finery for the Merrivale ball, which is where everyone except Io was going after dinner.

"By all means, come in, Edith," Io said with heavy irony, striding to close the door the other woman had left hanging open. For some reason, she suspected this conversation was not one she would want the servants to hear.

Edith whirled on her. "I have just come from Hastings's study, where he told me about the bargain he struck with you."

"Would you like to have a seat?" Io asked sweetly, gesturing to the seating area in front of the cozy fire.

Edith closed the distance between them. They were very close in height and Io found herself staring into the eyes of a woman who honestly looked maddened to the point of insanity.

Concern flooded her at the other woman's obvious distress. "Edith, perhaps you should—"

"You are a slut."

Io's jaw dropped—not so much because Edith would call her that, but because she was flabbergasted that the moralizing prude even knew the word.

She couldn't help laughing. "Coming from you, that is not exactly an insult."

It was Edith's turn to stare open-mouthed. But she regained her wits with admirable speed. "I know about you and Everard Gordon—I daresay fully half of London knows what you two have been getting up to."

Io seriously doubted that. But she felt no compunction to set the other woman straight about her connection with Mr. Gordon. "Is that what you've come here to say? What a waste of your time. Why don't you go and tell Zeus?"

"His Grace already knows and has done for weeks."

That surprised her. "So, if Zeus has not said anything to me, then what objection should you have to my friendship?"

"Friendship," Edith sneered, her beautiful face ugly at that moment. "Is that what you are calling it? You must know that Gordon has been investigated and is under suspicion for seditious activities."

"That is in the past and he was cleared of all those charges. Or didn't your sterling sources bother to mention that part?"

"Where there is smoke, there is fire."

"That is very pithy, Edith. Did you just coin it?"

"The truth is that you choose to cavort with traitors and society's outcasts and your brother is so enthralled by the illusion of family that he has let his better judgment slip and allows you to drag his name and honor through the mud by indulging your treasonous leanings."

"Why do I have a hard time imagining you saying those same words to Zeus?"

Edith's flush told her it had been a killing hit.

But again, the other woman rallied.

Io recalled reading somewhere that you could judge a person by their enemies. If that were truly the case then Io was fearsome indeed to have attracted a foe like Edith Barrymore.

"His Grace may be distracted right now, but Mr. Masterson, I assure you, is not," Edith retorted with a malicious smirk. "He has a low tolerance for consorting with scum like Gordon."

Any amusement Io had been feeling was gone in a blink. "Oh. I see—he is your source on my liaison, is he?"

"There are still men you cannot corrupt."

Io wondered what Edith would say if she'd been a fly on the wall during her exhilarating last exchange with Masterson on the night of Eva's birthday ball, when reserved, proper Corbin Masterson had demonstrated his taste—at least sexually—aligned better with Io's than any man she had ever met.

Indeed, they aligned so perfectly that Io had made a concerted effort to never be alone in a room with Masterson ever again. Not because she feared what he would do to her body, but because she feared what she might do to his. Io knew she wouldn't just let him do whatever he wanted to her. She would beg him to have his way.

Of course she kept all that to herself but couldn't help taunting, "Oh, and I suppose you believe Mr. Masterson is one of those incorruptible men, do you?"

"No doubt you think to tempt Mr. Masterson off his path of righteousness with your crude, common appeal, but you will fail. He has fallen once, but it has been many years. And a woman like you is hardly likely—"

"What are you talking about?" Io asked, even though she feared she would regret it.

The hateful sparkle in Edith's gaze confirmed that fear. "Mr. Masterson was in seminary when he got a young woman of loose morals and no family connections pregnant. He did not marry the female of course—nor did he accept the woman's claim that her daughter was his spawn. Although Mr. Masterson is illegitimate, his family name on his father's side is an ancient and well-respected one. He was forced to leave seminary, but it was fortunate for him that his father overlooked his lapse and paid for him to go to Harvard. Thanks to his friendship with Hastings, Mr. Masterson had a second chance. To my knowledge, he has not had such a lapse in judgment again."

Io reeled at this information, utterly off balance. "What happened to the woman and her daughter?"

Edith sneered. "You would care about such creatures, being one of them yourself."

With Io still in shock, the other woman pivoted on her heel and left after getting the last word, and a painful one at that.

Io despised many things about Corbin Masterson—his allegiance to Edith, for a start—but she had never believed that he would be so hypocritical as to impregnate a woman and then shirk responsibility for his child. Especially given his own background!

She paced her room, profoundly disappointed to have discovered this new, and repulsive, facet of his character.

But her shock quickly turned to anger. And then to vengeful fury.

How dare he try and make Io feel like a whore when he was far, far worse?

Io shoved her feet into slippers and flung on her favorite old wool shawl before storming from her chambers.

Just as they'd been at Hastings Park, Masterson's rooms were not far from Zeus's, both of which were at the opposite end of the house from Io.

She saw no servants on her way to his chambers and wouldn't have cared if she had.

She rapped loudly on his door. When he did not immediately open it, she wondered if he'd accompanied Eva and Edith to the Merrivale ball, something he did far too frequently for Io's liking since they'd come to London.

Liar. You love having his gaze on you as you flirt your way through London ballrooms.

Well, that was true.

Io was just about to knock again when the door opened and Masterson appeared, garbed in everything except his tailcoat.

His jaw dropped and his nostrils flared in anger. "Are you mad to be coming to me again?"

And then, unbelievably, he began to shut his door.

Io shoved her foot in the gap and leaned her body against the solid slab of wood. "Open up and let me in or I shall make an ungodly racket, Masterson."

For a moment she thought he would opt for crushing her foot rather than allowing her into his chambers.

But then he made a noise of furious exasperation and flung open the door.

Io smirked in triumph and strolled into his room at her leisure.

He quietly shut the door, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back against it. "I won't offer you a seat because this—whatever this is—will be brief. Now. What do you need so desperately that you would come here at this time of night? Miss Barrymore and your siblings are gone, but the duke is in his library with Axbridge as we speak."

"I have long believed you to be an insufferable prude, Masterson. But not until today did I think you were a hypocrite and a despoiler."

His frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know."

His gray eyes narrowed. "Indulge me."

"The woman who holds your leash told me about your ejection from seminary and the reason for it."

If she had believed him chilly before, he was now a wall of ice.

"What, exactly did Miss Barrymore say?" he asked quietly.

Io hated that he didn't deny his relationship with Edith, but his reaction was not the anger and masculine bluster she had expected.

A whisp of worry snaked its way into her belly. Something told her that he deserved to know exactly what Edith had said, and without any derision or embellishment this time.

"She said you got a woman pregnant and were kicked out of seminary. She said you refused to marry the woman and left her and your child to their fates."

His jaw flexed and his eyelids lowered, but not before she saw a flare of hot rage behind the ice. "And you believe her."

It was not a question. But…

"I don't want to believe her, Masterson. But is she wrong?"

"Why are you asking? Do you need another weapon to wield against me? Proof—other than what I have already given you—that I have feet of clay?"

"Damn it! Tell me. Is. She. Wrong."

He stared at her with such brooding hostility that she thought he would kick her out of his room.

But then, he said, "Only partially."

***

After the way Miss Barrymore had behaved toward Lord Balthazar and Mrs. Dryden, Corbin was not surprised that she had disseminated such information about him. But he was deeply disappointed. He'd not believed her to be a cruel woman. But then perhaps she had hoped to destroy the attraction that blazed between him and Lady Io. Corbin was no idiot—well, not usually—he knew that Hastings, and probably everyone else in their small circle, was also aware of the attraction.

Or whatever it was.

Corbin had never wanted to talk to anyone about Emma before. But, for some reason, he did now.

"I did get a woman pregnant," he confessed, wincing at how bald the words sounded out loud. "But Miss Barrymore has the story the other way around. I did not refuse to marry her, nor did I abandon her. The woman in question was not free to marry me."

He was vaguely amused by the astonishment on her face.

"No, it is not what you are thinking. The self-righteous seminary student did not commit adultery with a woman who was living with her husband in holy matrimony. But there is a grain of truth to it. Although I did not know it at the time, I committed adultery with a woman who had been abandoned by her husband."

He'd not thought about his relationship with Emma in years. But now that he was forced to mention her, he felt the same regret he always did.

"I did not abandon Emma or my son."

"A son? But Edith said you had a daughter."

"No. I had a son and both died in childbed."

Io's jaw dropped, and then her face crumpled so suddenly it was shocking to watch. "Oh, Corbin. I am so sorry."

His body's reaction to hearing his Christian name on her tongue was inconvenient, not to mention inappropriate, especially given the somber subject matter. But Corbin had long been convinced that he could spring an erection in the middle of a funeral as long as Io Hale was there.

"Why would Edith say that you had a daughter?" she asked.

"I suspect she has her information muddled. The little girl Miss Barrymore was talking about is Lizzy and she is not my daughter."

"She is the one you gave the book to—my book?"

"Yes." Corbin allowed his chagrin to show. "I must admit I'm not pleased that anyone knows of my contact with Lizzy because I have taken pains to keep our association private."

"Why? Who is she?"

Corbin cut her an exasperated look. "Please. Don't hold back."

To her credit, she blushed. "I'm sorry. I should not be—"

"Lizzy is the natural daughter of my half-brother, Richard."

Furrows marred her smooth brow. "The same one who has your business?"

He had to admit the words your business warmed him. "That is the only brother I have. At least that I know of," he amended dryly. His father had liked women; it wouldn't surprise him to one day discover more siblings.

"But…" She broke off, her teeth sinking into that plush lower lip that tormented him in his dreams.

"You want to know why I am caring for my brother's child and taking pains to hide it?" he guessed.

She nodded.

"I'd like to say I'm doing it because I am a decent, moral man who tries to do what is right. But I'm sure a large part of my motivation is guilt—guilt that I wasn't able to save my own child and his mother. In any case, it is little enough money and Lizzy is well worth the amount and more." He only wished he had more to give her. "Her mother died four years ago and since that time she has been living with an elderly couple. They are kind, but they are only looking after her for the money I send. As to why I try to keep my connection with Lizzy a secret," he sighed. "That is because my brother would likely take her away and make sure I never saw her again if he knew I was caring for her. Not because he loves her, but because he hates me."

Her eyes grew glassy with unshed tears. "I am so sorry for believing the worst of you."

Corbin blinked, bewildered by her emotion. "Er, thank you."

"I should have known you were not the sort of man who could do such a thing."

Corbin tried to find words to respond, but all he could think about was her current involvement with Everard Gordon, a man suspected of spreading sedition. And also the man who was her lover.

The second of which you consider the far greater crime, is that not true?

To his shame, it was true.

Ask her if it is true, you fool! Now is your chance.

If he asked her, he knew her expression would change instantaneously.

If he asked her, she would go back to openly loathing him, while the look she was giving him now was almost…tender.

You are a coward.

When it came to Io Hale, he was.

"Good night, Masterson," she said, robbing him of his chance to wreck the tenuous truce between them. "Don't worry, I will make sure nobody is about before I go," she said, her smile weary rather than sarcastic or combative.

Corbin roused himself to get to the door first and open it for her, watching mutely as she slipped out of his room and disappeared, leaving nothing but an ache in his chest and the faint smell of lavender in his nostrils.

And if Corbin's chest felt as if it had just been kicked in as he watched her leave? Well, he would get over it.

He always did.