Page 38 of My Secret Duke

O livia and Roberta had been waiting with Justina ever since Gabriel and Charles closed the library door. They had started off in the blue sitting room, but Justina hadn’t been able to remain seated patiently in her chair. After Roberta came to inform them that Ivo had arrived and gone inside to join the two men, the girls took up a position outside the library. Olivia wasn’t sure what Ivo being here meant, but Justina wondered aloud if he had come to protect his gambling club partner in case Gabriel turned violent.

Roberta said that was silly. “Gabriel would never hurt Charles. Although, he did get into fisticuffs when he owned the club. I wonder which one of them would win?”

“Roberta!” Olivia reproved.

Justina wailed. “If they fight, Gabriel will forbid me from ever seeing him again.”

As the minutes ticked by, Olivia and Roberta did their best to keep their sister’s mind off the worst scenarios.

“A Christmas wedding,” Roberta said in a falsely cheery voice. “I don’t think you should wait too long.”

Justina stared at her with glassy eyes. “Or I might die a spinster.”

“Maybe you want a long engagement?” Olivia suggested, slightly desperate now.

“I don’t care, as long as Gabriel lets me marry the man I love. If he says no, then I’ll… I’ll elope!”

As if on cue, the door opened and Gabriel led Charles out, with Ivo following. The men were smiling and looking pleased with themselves, and Olivia wanted to collapse with relief. Justina hurried over to Charles, and he then proceeded to lift her in his arms and swing her in circles. Gabriel snorted a laugh, and Ivo grinned.

Just then, his gaze found Olivia, his green eyes sparkling, and her heart leaped when he moved as if to come and join her. It was like the night at the Longhursts’ all over again, and she could already feel his arms encircling her and his mouth covering hers. She had missed him so much.

Then, very deliberately, he looked away, and everything seemed to stop and then crash to the ground. He half turned his back, his shoulders stiff, his hands clenched at his sides. As if he was holding himself back from her. And she knew then that he wasn’t going to approach her. He wasn’t going to talk to her. He was cutting himself off from her, and from whatever feelings existed between them.

But those feelings still existed. Olivia knew they did. She loved him, and he loved her. She was almost certain he had used a dare to propose to her at the supper dance. Why was he doing this? Had Gabriel warned him off? But Olivia did not think Ivo was afraid of her brother.

Ivo was speaking to Charles and Justina, congratulating them. “I’m very glad for you both.”

“Thank you.” Charles’s voice was hoarse with emotion, and his blue eyes filled. “And thank you for being here, even if you were late.”

“You won’t let me forget that, will you?”

Charles shook his head. “But you came. Not many people know what it is like to grow up in an orphanage and have no blood relatives.”

“Hey, you had me!” Gabriel joked, but he was watching Charles with fond concern.

Charles laughed, but still looked very emotional. “I had you, and Freddie, but there is a sense of loneliness, of being alone, that never goes away. Until now.” He wrapped his arm around Justina, holding her as if he’d never let her go.

Ivo leaned in closer and said something Olivia could not hear, before stepping back with the words, “I’ll leave you to your celebrations.”

“You won’t stay for a glass to toast?” Charles asked. “Gabriel?”

Gabriel’s smile wasn’t quite as genuine as it had been. “Yes, please do, Northam.”

But Ivo shook his head and waved a hand at them as he turned to the front door, where Humber was stationed. “Congratulations again!” he called. And then he was gone. Without even looking at her again, or speaking to her, or recognizing that she stood there, holding her breath and waiting. She felt bereft.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Roberta muttered beside her, “go after him.”

Stung into action, Olivia checked to make sure Gabriel and the others weren’t taking any notice of her before she hurried toward the door. Humber was still waiting there. He seemed about to ask her what she was doing, but when she met his eyes, he wisely changed his mind. Olivia slipped outside.

Ivo was heading down the carriage driveway. He had evidently arrived on foot, and now that she thought about it, he did seem to do a lot of walking. He probably missed his salt marshes when he was in London.

Olivia paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Ivo? Why don’t you stay and drink a toast? Gabriel is calling for the best champagne despite the expense.”

He took another step, as if he wasn’t going to stop, and then slowly, reluctantly, turned toward her. “I can’t stay,” he said, and he sounded as flat as she had ever heard him.

She crunched her way over the raked gravel to face him. “I’m not sure why you came.” She sounded more hesitant than usual. Perhaps whatever he was feeling was catching. “Not that it wasn’t very nice to see you, and I’m sure Charles appreciated your support.”

Ivo stared down at her in the moonlight, as if he was considering his answer and whether he should speak it aloud. But he was taking a long time, and Olivia was tired of waiting. She reached for his hand, catching hold of it tightly in case he did something silly like pull away. Then, with a tug, she began to lead him across the driveway.

He resisted, dragging his feet, as they turned down the side of the house to a swath of green lawn surrounded by garden. When she didn’t let him go, he sighed.

“I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you. Soon, everyone will know.”

“Tell me what?” she asked as their steps slowed and stopped. A moth blundered past as it made its way toward the lit windows. Her eyes were on Ivo.

“Tell you that Charles Wickley is my half brother. My father was free with his favors, and there was a woman in Portside. You can guess the rest. The baby was handed over to St. Ninian’s to spare my mother. We only discovered the truth recently, although I have suspected it for some time. There is a likeness… You may have noticed it.” His mouth twitched into an almost smile.

Olivia felt a jolt. Her grandmother had warned her that Ivo might be like his father and make her miserable, and although she did not think that was true, she now understood her meaning.

“Your half brother! That’s… Well, that’s wonderful. I wish you had both known sooner. Then Charles could have lived with you, and you could have been friends. Although he might not have been best friends with Gabriel then, and Justina might not have fallen in love with him.” She was rambling, and her cheeks warmed with embarrassment.

Ivo didn’t interrupt her, but his smile grew wider.

She finished on a positive note. “You have a brother, who is also your partner, and I think it is a very good thing.”

He seemed to reflect on that before answering. “It is a good thing. Sometimes life can change in an instant. A chance meeting, a missed appointment, a glance across a ballroom…” He stopped. She saw him turn away before looking down at her again, his gaze cataloging her features as if he wanted to remember them forever. “And nothing is ever the same again.”

This was the perfect setting for a romantic declaration. The shadows creeping in, and the air scented with clematis, while the crickets sang in the grass beneath their feet. It was a magical moment, and she was certain it was their moment. There would never be another one like it, and she must snatch it up with both hands and hold on tight. She searched for the right words, the perfect words, but Ivo spoke first.

“Olivia.” He breathed her name as if he was bewitched.

She could see the intense longing in his face, and surely he could see everything she was feeling for him in hers. “Ivo,” she whispered.

In an instant, he had crushed her to him, kissing her mouth as if he would die if he didn’t. It felt as if they were both drowning as they sought to get as close as possible. Her fingers tugged at the hair at his nape, twisting in the soft curls, while his tongue invaded her mouth and twined with hers. This felt desperate and heartfelt. The culmination of a long, hard-fought battle between them.

When at last the need to breathe forced them apart, Ivo cupped her face in his hands and gazed down at her. His thumb brushed back and forth over her swollen lips.

“I’ve wanted to kiss this mouth since the first time I saw you,” he said. “I made that stupid wager just so that I could, and I ruined everything.”

She blinked. She was in danger of forgetting the questions she wanted to ask him, and the answers she needed before they took the next step. Her fingers trembled as she covered his hands with hers.

“Are you really a smuggler?”

His expression changed, hardened, and he dropped his hands and stepped away. She could tell it was the last thing he had expected her to ask him, and the last thing he wanted to answer. But Olivia came after him. She wasn’t letting him go now.

“You can tell me anything, Ivo, as long as it’s the truth. I want to hear it from you and not through the whispers of people I care nothing about.”

He had stilled to listen, but she could see by the resolve in his face that his answer wouldn’t be one she wanted to hear. “You say that now, but this business is dangerous. And it isn’t over. I could end up in prison. Or with the hangman.”

“Ivo, no,” she gasped, because now it seemed very real.

“My family have been smugglers for generations, and when my father handed the business to me, I was so proud. I wanted him to be proud. Smuggling may be illegal, but it supports the people in Portside and brings in welcome income for us. For a long time, I didn’t think about the consequences if I was caught, and it felt like a game. Now it’s real, Olivia.”

“I understand,” she said softly. “I really do, Ivo.”

“Do you? Then you should understand that I don’t want to drag you into it. You were wise not to accept my proposal that first time. Until I met you, I don’t think I ever really considered how my behavior affected others. Now I can’t stop thinking about it. Your brother doesn’t trust me, and he’s right, because I’m not sure I trust myself when it comes to you. I need to deal with the situation in my own way, without worrying you will be hurt by it.”

She stood like a statue. He really meant it. He wasn’t going to change his mind. He was strong and determined, and he cared about her more than he cared about getting his own way. Was this the new Ivo or had this man with a steel core been there all along?

“What about what I want?” she said. “If I am willing to risk myself, then it should be my decision.”

“No. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. I’ve done a lot of foolish things, and this will not be one of them.”

“Ivo!” There were tears on her cheeks. “You asked me… you dared me to marry you. Don’t you want to hear my answer? Because it is yes. Yes!”

He seemed shocked, and then, with a groan, he took her hands in his tenderly, and raised them to his lips. “Sweetheart, you have made me happier than I have ever been. Truly happy. But…”

“A tête-à-tête in the garden. Why am I not surprised?”

The voice was mocking, and Ivo turned at the same time as she did. There was someone standing watching them, and Olivia’s heart sank. Gabriel.

“I’ve warned you before, Northam,” her brother said, and now his voice was a gruff growl. “You may be Charles’s brother, and I may have to welcome you because of him, but know that if you cross the line one more time with Olivia, I will see you ruined.”

He was furious. Olivia did not doubt he meant what he said, but she knew she couldn’t let him send Ivo away. Not now. She stepped between them, even though her legs were trembling from the fury in her brother’s voice. Gabriel loved her, she reminded herself. He was doing this because he loved her.

“Wait,” she said. “Please, Gabriel, listen to what I have to say.”

For a moment, she was sure he was going to refuse and everything hung in the balance, and then he seemed to collect himself. “Very well,” he snapped. “But talk quickly, Olivia, because my patience is running thin.”