Chapter Twelve

January 23, 1818

Darnell House

Mayfair, London

Everywhere Vivian looked, candlelight flickered. Though it might be chilly outside, inside the drawing room at Darnell House, golden illumination was everywhere and a steady fire in the hearth lent the room a pleasant warmth. The crush of people added to that and filled the air with the buzz of conversation and laughter.

Oh, it had been such a long time since she'd attended a society function! She had caught up with a few friends she hadn't seen in ages. By and large, most of the guests she'd spoken with were thrilled that Evan was back from the dead and that he was ready to resume his role as the Earl of Baselton. Though she'd had to introduce everyone to him, and he had no idea who they were or how he'd once known them, he'd been everything proper and charming, which meant conversation flowed smoothly.

A fleeting touch at the small of her back encouraged her out of her thoughts and back into the present. When she glanced to her side, she smiled up at her husband. "Did you enjoy the country reel?" Earlier in the day, she'd taught him the basics of that dance. If he was proficient in at least that, then perhaps he might feel more confident.

"I did. Thank you." There was a certain light in his brown eyes she couldn't quite read. "And by the by, that gown is gorgeous on you with the jewelry."

"I'm glad you noticed." She smoothed a hand down the front of the navy silk gown that was devoid of adornment by design. The rounded neckline allowed the spectacular sapphires and diamonds to shine in the Marie Antionette necklace, and the comfortable weight of the matching earbobs was a constant reminder that she was here to tempt a member of the criminal network.

"Of course I noticed." He lowered his voice, put his lips closer to her ear. "Everything you do is enthralling for me, and I'll never tire of it."

"You are far too charming for your own good, Baselton." Yet she grinned; couldn't help it, for he had been quite attentive of late.

"Perhaps I wish to make up for lost time." Then an expression of concern lined his handsome face. "If you wish to beg off being the bait, please know that I will understand. You are far more valuable than the jewelry."

"Such a romantic." After their coming together last night where he was forceful, protective, and very much in control like the man she'd remembered, having him flirt with her now kept her guessing. Besides, she enjoyed being courted, especially since their last time had been rushed and expected due to the arranged marriage. "But I'm certain." Excitement mixed with unease in her belly, but she shook her head. Seeing him in his dark evening clothing accelerated her heartbeat, for he was quite distinguished, and being here with him reminded her of the times when they would do societal events early in their marriage. "I have already committed, and I want the violence against you and your friends to stop as much as you."

"I appreciate that." He nodded but kept his fingers at her back. "Especially after the most recent news I heard shortly before the country reel."

"Oh? What has happened now?"

"Viscount Aldren's home was broken into late last night. He and his wife were in residence, but since they are renovating their townhouse, there were many weapons available."

Vivian sucked in a breath as another lighthearted reel set up on the makeshift dance floor. "Were they harmed?"

"A few cuts and bruises. From all accounts, the couple fought back against their attacker, so the intruder got away with many wounds. The two are skilled in boxing, you see." A frown tugged down the corners of his mouth. "Unfortunately, after trying to apprehend the man, they were unsuccessful. He managed to elude them in an adjacent neighborhood."

"Yes, this needs to stop." Though fear tingled down her spine, it also firmed her resolve. "The men in your club have done nothing wrong. It is ridiculous you are being targeted, and it's beyond the pale the families are as well." She laid a hand on his arm. "If that means you and I are instrumental in ending this threat, I cannot wait to start."

"Good, and the sooner that is accomplished, the sooner we can capture someone and question him, the sooner you and I can return to the business of strengthening our marriage." When he grinned, flutters moved through her lower belly.

Could the man be any more adorable? "If you continue to look at me like that, we shall both be in trouble." Not that she wouldn't mind if he wanted to carry her off to an unused room…

His chuckle tickled through her chest. "Then we need a distraction. Would you enjoy a glass of champagne or perhaps punch?"

"Champagne, please. It makes me feel elegant." And too much of it made her extremely affectionate.

"Two glasses are your limit, remember," he said in an offhand manner as he scanned the dance floor.

Vivian gasped. "How did you know that?"

His attention snapped back to her with a frown. "I have no idea, but is that significant?"

"It is." She squeezed her fingers on his arm. "Champagne seems to affect me quickly, especially if I haven't eaten enough. The fact used to always make you laugh."

"Then I won't dally when fetching you the beverage." He glanced the glove-covered knuckles of one hand along her cheek. "I'll return in a twinkling."

"Thank you." As she watched his retreat through the crush of people, she sighed. I fear I am falling in love with my husband all over again. Which might prove a problem if the obstacles still between them grew. For now, though, she would enjoy this reprieve.

As a waltz formed on the makeshift dance floor, Vivian watched with a bemused smile. Too bad there had been no time to teach Evan how to waltz. That would have been a singular experience.

"You look like a woman who badly wishes to dance."

The sound of Edward's voice startled her from her thoughts. A feeling of dread twisted down her spine while knots of worry pulled in her belly. Frowning, she glanced at the Earl of Starkington as he came near. "I am quite fine here. Thank you." As much as she didn't wish to see him again, he was beyond handsome in the requisite evening attire.

He made a sound of dismissal and then entered her personal space. "I know how you enjoy a waltz."

"I do, but I will not indulge that tonight. As I've told you before, you and I are through." With a glance to the door and not seeing Evan, she tamped down on the urge to huff. "Please find a different partner."

"I have only ever wanted you." A hint of annoyance threaded in his voice. "That hasn't changed, even if you are temporarily distracted."

"Distracted?" The hiss in her voice should have run him off, but he was stubborn. She moved closer to the nearest wall, and the earl followed, even dared to press closer to her until she was all but trapped between him and the wall. "I have been with my husband. There is no sin in it." How well she remembered being with Edward, but that had been an error in judgment in her past; she wanted Evan only.

"My feelings for you haven't changed."

"I'm sorry to hear that." What was delaying her husband?

"You were going to marry me, yet you've thrown me over for him?" Edward leaned into her and dared to rest one gloved hand on her shoulder, moved it slowly upward to cup her nape. "Baselton is no one, doesn't remember who the hell he is."

"Be that as it may, I know who he is, and he needs me." Vivian trembled, from reaction, from his proximity, from unexplainable fear, for she'd not seen Edward in such a dominating way before, and in a public venue no less.

"What do you even know of his life while you were apart?" His green gaze bore into hers, tempting her, almost demanding that she acquiesce. "He could have married, had a family, or fucked a handful of courtesans in the years he spent apart from you." The brush of his fingers at her nape nearly distracted her, but she held firm. "Hell, he could have a criminal past, and you don't care because he's back from the dead and you have some demented view of what things used to be, what you hope they can be again."

"Stop speaking like that, and for that matter, you have no right to linger so close to me." She planted a palm against his chest and gave him a bit of a shove. Not that it put much distance between them. "It's unseemly."

"You can deny what I say all you want, but deep down, you know it might be the truth."

A growl of frustration escaped her throat. As much as she wanted to stamp her foot like a petulant child, she refrained. "I have asked him what he did while away. His memory from that time is unmarred."

Edward snorted. "Don't be na?ve, Vivian. He could have lied."

"He's not that sort of man!" Her voice had risen slightly above a whispered hiss, and even though the waltz was well underway, there were still more than a few heads that had turned in their direction to stare.

"You don't know what the hell kind of man Baselton really is." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You have been hoping his memories would return and he would be the man you used to know."

"No." Confusion set in, and she shook her head. "I like the man he is now. He's… different." She grinned and it felt all too swoony. "He's more relaxed and not quite as rigid or ordered or uptight as he was before." In the back of her mind, she knew she shouldn't keep babbling, but she couldn't help it. "Evan shows his emotions now instead of hiding them. It's quite endearing." When she raised a hand to fidget with the sapphire and diamond necklace, her gloved fingertips glided over bare skin. Where the devil was the necklace? "He, uh, asks my advice and listens to me instead of ignoring me in favor of duties to his title."

Had Edward managed to manipulate the clasp and then somehow slip the necklace from her person without her knowing?

"Ha!" The earl shook his head. A maniacal light had entered his eyes she didn't quite trust. "Does the incomparable Baselton know that you're barren?" This time he didn't bother to modulate his voice, which meant even more people stared in their direction. "That he'll never have an heir?" One of his raven eyebrows rose in question. "Once he does, he'll have no choice but to petition the courts for a divorce. A fallow title doesn't hold well with the powers-that-be in our world."

"No…" She shook her head.

But the earl continued. "Any man worth his salt wants an heir to keep the family name alive, to keep the title valid, yet between the two of you, there is nothing, and no hope of it to come."

"I…" Yes, she and Evan had briefly talked about the same thing the night before, but she didn't wish to become overly emotional so had asked that he change the subject. Some of the joy from the evening faded. "We haven't discussed the situation in depth."

"Ah." A slow grin broke over his face, and she certainly didn't trust that expression of victory. Dear God, what was he thinking?

"You are mine, Vivian." There was nothing but determination in his eyes. "Since you are too afraid or too timid to finally make this break like you and I had planned, I shall do it for you."

The knots in her belly pulled tighter. "Don't do anything stupid, Edward."

"It is not stupid, but it is an impetus." Without another word, he left the drawing room.

Struck with indecision, Vivian stared after him, for she couldn't bring herself to follow lest he try to get her alone in a corridor or room as he'd done before. Yes, the man was handsome as sin and she only had so much willpower, but she truly did want Evan.

Didn't she?

Stop this at once, Vivian. You know which man you want. Dithering is unbecoming.

That didn't calm the unease coiling cold and slippery in her gut like a snake. Just when she had made a decision to hide in the ladies retiring room, Edward returned to the drawing room as the waltz enjoyed its final moments looking far too pleased with life. He had Evan in tow, and unfortunately, her husband's face was like a thundercloud.

The urge to retch assailed her, and she put a hand to her throat. Dear God, what had Eward told him?

When the men reached her location by the wall, Evan shoved a champagne flute into her hand. "Starkington sought me out just now."

"Oh?" Her hand trembled so badly, she feared she would drop it. She didn't dare to glance at Edward, but his presence was difficult to ignore, as were the continued stares of the people immediately around them. "What did he say to you?"

Annoyance and disappointment clouded Evan's eyes. "I realize that he was courting you before, in my absence."

"Yes." Vivian nodded, and the feeling of unease increased. "I thought you dead. We covered this already. I didn't lie to you."

"Not about that you didn't." When Evan lowered his voice, her throat suddenly went dry. "But this next bit you failed to inform me of, which is much like a lie of omission." Anger lined his face, made his eyes flash brown lightning. "Starkington told me he'd bedded you… while you were still legally bound to me."

"I… He…" Her fingers tightened around the stem of the wine glass. "Don't do this here, Evan. I beg of you."

"Now I know why you went pale the few times our conversations came dangerously close to the topic."

"It's not what you think…" Though, how else was there to interpret that?

"He told me you thoroughly enjoyed that time with him, twice in one night even. Gave yourself to him with abandon." Rage fueled the words, even if they were in a hiss, but what stabbed through her chest with the accuracy of a knife was the hurt and betrayal clouding his eyes. "What the hell gave you the right to whore yourself out to him? I never once took another woman into my bed, not during my stint in the army—I hope, but that is what my friends have confirmed—and not while I was away without my memories. I stayed faithful. To you." The last two words were raised and seemed to echo through the room.

Oh, good heavens. All sounds of laughter and talking were muted. She no longer saw the crowds that pressed in on their location. "I thought you were dead, Evan. I needed to move forward with my life, had needs…"

"By choosing him?" Evan raked the fingers of one hand through his hair.

"He was the only one there for me in my lowest and weakest moments! I wasn't thinking clearly, and when one thing led to another one night, I gave in." She forced a hard swallow into her throat as she held his gaze. "But as soon as you came back, I was faithful. I told Starkington more than a few times our relationship had to end."

"As if that absolves you of being his mistress? As if everything between us since then doesn't matter?" Slowly, he shook his head. "We coupled, and I thought it meant at least… something."

"It did!" Was that what the whole thing truly boiled down to. She had still been married to Evan and she'd known it when she let Edward bed her, when she'd succumbed in a weak moment. That she was naught but a mistress, an adulterer. "Is that how you see me, then? That I couldn't wait to have you out of the way before taking another into my bed?" Was that how the beau monde thought of her?

"What else should I think, Vivy?" If his voice hadn't broken on that last word, she would have been fine, could have kept her composure, but it did, and tears sprang into her eyes. "You gave up on me, had paperwork filed to declare me legally dead, when all the while, I had no idea who I was or where I was. If I had, don't you think I would have tried everything within my power to come back to you?"

"I…" As she glanced between the two men, a wave of hot panic rushed up into her chest. Heat filled her cheeks. For the past few months, there had been one suitor too many in her life, and now everything was crumbling down around her. The only thing she wanted to do was run away and hide, perhaps take comfort in tears because it was all suddenly too much.

Edward smirked as he trained the whole of his attention on Evan. "Poor Baselton. The blows just keep coming, don't they? Is it difficult to hear that your wife chose me over you?" While Evan glared, the other man continued to pick at the wounds that hadn't healed. "When you fucked her, did it make her scream in pleasure? Because that is what she did with me." His chuckle held an arrogant, mirthless tone. "Has she let you between her thighs, eating her out? She did with me, and I'll wager she'll never forget those memories."

"For the love of God, Edward, please stop talking." She would be the subject of gossip before the morning, thanks to these two men. Where their parts in this sordid tale would be chuckled over in drawing rooms and clubs, her reputation would be forever tarnished and damaged, and she would be branded little better than a courtesan. Needing a distraction, she blurted, "I highly suspect Edward stole the Marie Antionette piece, right off my neck."

"What?" Evan's expression reflected incredulity. "It's gone, and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't have the time!"

"Even in this I cannot trust you?"

Yet wasn't wearing the necklace the point of the evening? "Don't come the crab. You wanted me to wear it!" The flute slipped from her suddenly lax fingers as the people around them gasped and gawked. Champagne and glass shards splattered against her skirting and slippers. "In the grand scheme, perhaps him bedding me isn't the most important thing just now."

"I will kill you for it all, Starkington." The promise was uttered around a low growl, and then seconds later, Evan apparently lost his mind. With a yell, her husband sprang at the other man. He got off a solid punch that landed squarely on Edward's jaw.

It was raw and primal, and she enjoyed it far too much. Despite her humiliation and despair, Vivian couldn't pull herself away from the spectacle.

Starkington reeled backward, crashed into a few men standing nearby. "Oh, I won't allow that to go unchallenged, but I believe I'm more of a gentleman than you, so I will gladly leave and take this matter up another day." As he spoke, he came back toward Evan, poked a gloved forefinger into her husband's chest. "But mark my words, Baselton, I will have my revenge, and I will have Vivian. We are in love and had planned to marry before you came along and mucked it up."

"I'd have to be stone cold dead before I would allow any of that to happen," Evan warned with flashing eyes and his hands still curled into fists.

"Baselton, hold!" The hail was from Baron Twinsfield, one of the rogues in attendance this night to apprehend the person who would steal the necklace.

Which she had somehow lost without being aware of it. Even in this she'd failed. "I have to go…" Before she added retching in public to her list of recent societal sins. With one last glance at Evan and the undeniably wonderful picture he made, Vivian skirted around the mess on the floor and then shoved her way through the crowds. Once free, she fled the room as if the hounds of hell were running after.