Page 36 of The Lyon Whisperer (The Lyon’s Den Connected World #79)

A melia stared at her father, stunned. He wanted to discuss her mother? The notion was so foreign as to render her speechless.

He flicked a glance at Chase. “Perhaps my daughter and I should speak alone, first.”

From his stance behind her, Chase’s hands fell from her shoulders, as if he prepared to depart his own den.

Amelia found her tongue. “If you don’t mind, my lord, I prefer he stay. He is my husband now and any confidence you share with me you may share with him.”

Her father frowned, and for a moment she thought he would argue. Finally he nodded.

“Please,” she said, gesturing toward the sofa and armchairs near the grate.

The three took their seats, with Amelia and Chase sitting beside one another on the sofa, and her father settling in a sturdy armchair.

He leaned his elbows on his thighs and steepled his fingers before him. “Where to begin?” he murmured as if to himself. “I suppose, our courtship is as good a place as any to start.

“Your mother was…” He shook his head. “A force. A whirlwind. Beautiful, untamable. Reckless, some said, and, in retrospect, I agree.”

“Reckless, how?” Amelia asked.

He extended one hand toward her in a staying gesture. “I will get to that.”

“Very well.”

“She captivated people, put them under her spell. Her parents were too lenient by half. Her friends all danced to her tune. And men…” He huffed out a laugh. “We were putty in her hands. The moment I met her, I knew she was the woman I would marry. Unfortunately, I was not alone in that regard.”

Amelia frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Many men asked her father’s permission to court her that season. In the end, Leticia chose. Two of us topped the list, myself and Lord Selbie, and she let us know she had not made up her mind.”

“Dear heaven,” she murmured. “Lord Selbie?”

“She treated the whole thing like a game, as if she enjoyed having the two of us fighting for her favor. Naturally he and I grew to dislike each other intensely.”

Chase covered her hand with one of his, a gesture for which she was profoundly grateful. “If there was a problem between Selbie and yourself, you should have mentioned it before Amelia’s dinner party.”

Her father frowned. “It’s not that simple. We have an agreement of sorts. We agree to detest each other, avoid each other whenever possible, and maintain absolute secrecy about what transpired.”

“What…transpired?” Amelia swallowed. For the first time she wondered if her father’s disinclination to speak about her mother might have less to do with grief than shielding her from something.

But, no. That couldn’t be.

“I told her I’d had enough, that I meant to bow out.”

“Oh.” She glanced toward Chase, then back to her father. “No. It can’t be.”

A nostalgic smile curved her father’s mouth. “No, it can’t. I was bluffing. Still, with the jig up, she informed me she had made her choice and would marry me.”

Amelia released the breath she hadn’t realized she held.

“But her father, the wily bastard, made a secret pact with Selbie.”

“But why would he do that?” Amelia asked, horrified on her parents’ behalf.

“I really can’t say. I suspect, based upon events that came later, Selbie had information the earl didn’t want getting out.”

Amelia frowned. “What sort?”

Her father looked distinctly uneasy. “Something of a personal nature, I’d guess.” He glanced at Chase as if for guidance.

Chase cleared his throat and squeezed her hand. “Why don’t we let your father get on with his tale?”

She nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“After Letty’s father informed her of his decision, she promptly took off for Paris. Later we told everyone she’d gone to purchase her trousseau,” her father said.

“But in reality, she’d simply gone to buy time?” Chase guessed.

He nodded. “She never even said goodbye. I didn’t know what happened until I received a missive from her explaining the situation. She said she couldn’t go through with marrying Selbie. Said she would sooner sail to America. She asked if I would join her in Paris and elope with her. I did.”

“Aw,” Amelia crooned, charmed by the happy, romantic ending.

“We married, unbeknownst to her family or mine, and took an extended honeymoon. By the time we came back, the damage was done and irreversible—and Leticia was with child.”

“I imagine Lord Selbie was none too happy,” Chase said.

“Selbie was furious but could do nothing. Letty wrote to him, informing him of our marriage. By the time we got back, he was engaged to an heiress, the current Lady Selbie. We believed fortune had smiled upon us.”

He met Chase’s then Amelia’s eyes. “What I have to tell you next is not easy. I have not spoken of it in…” He broke off, eyeing Amelia. “Twenty-three years.”

Amelia swallowed. Her mother had died twenty-three years ago, after succumbing to a fever following her birth.

“I mentioned your mother had a reckless streak.”

“So you did,” she murmured.

“I will regret to my dying day I did not do enough to curtail it.”

“What happened, Papa?” Amelia asked softly.

Her father’s hard countenance softened briefly, and a smile flickered at his mouth. “ Papa . You have not called me that for a long time.” He wiped the back of his hand over a suspiciously damp eye and drew a deep breath before continuing. “Selbie waited until she gave birth to you. He then dispatched a letter to your mother, informing her he could do math relatively well and…how do I say this? Your birth came a bit too soon.”

Amelia blinked. “You mean…?”

His cheeks went crimson.

Amelia feared hers had a similar affliction.

“She was fond of midnight rides, you see. The exhilaration of racing under the canopy of stars and, I suppose, the illicit thrill of the thing.

“Before we knew her father had accepted Selbie’s suit, she… er …invited me to meet with her in secret. It was following my statement regarding ending my courtship of her. Naturally, I agreed to hear her out. That’s when she told me she would marry me and none other. We got caught up in the moment and… er …”

Chase interrupted. “I think we get the gist.”

He gave Chase a grateful look. “We didn’t know she was pregnant when we married, but we realized soon enough. Selbie had the right of it.

“In his letter, he threatened to tell all and sundry that she had conceived you on the wrong side of the blanket, unless she agreed to be his mistress.”

Righteous indignation filled her. “But you said he was engaged to be married.”

“So I did,” her father agreed.

“Vile creature,” she muttered.

“He probably did not expect her to tell me of the threat. Or perhaps he did not care if she did. In any case, she showed me the note. I told her not to worry about it, that I’d take care of it.”

Chase met her father’s eyes. “You intended to call him out.”

“I did—intend to, that is.” He gripped his hands very tightly before him. “That night, unbeknownst to me, she rose from her bed in the middle of the night. She was not yet recovered from childbirth, you see, and we slept in separate chambers.

“I’ll never know exactly what she was about, or whether she intended to have it out with Selbie as I’ve long assumed.”

“What do you mean?” Amelia asked on a whisper.

“I didn’t realize until the morning she was gone. By the time I went searching for her, it was too late.”

Her father’s chin trembled, and Amelia felt the backs of her own eyes burning.

“She’d taken one of her midnight rides. I found her in St. James Park, her beloved mare not far off. It had been a moonless night. The mare must have stumbled over the uneven ground. She threw Letty, who landed hard and sustained severe injuries.”

“A riding accident? But you said she died of a fever,” Amelia said.

“So she did. She was alive when I found her, and half crazed with hypothermia and pain. She had my pistol. She pressed it into my hand, talking gibberish.”

Tears welled in Amelia’s eyes, blurring her vision. “What did she say?”

Sadness radiated from him in waves. “She bade me watch over you and begged my forgiveness. She said it was all her fault. If she hadn’t toyed with Selbie, he would never have threatened you, our daughter.

“But she was wrong, Amelia. It was all my fault. If I had only reined her in to begin with, forbidden her those midnight rides and reckless ways, she would never have been on a horse in the middle of the night to begin with.”

Amelia could not speak over the hard lump in her throat. Tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked.

“I promised her I would keep you safe, and swore I’d deal with Selbie. By the time I got her home, she lapsed into unconsciousness. The doctor did what he could, but in the end, the fever took her.”

Amelia scrubbed the tears from her eyes and stiffened her spine. She had to hear the end of the tale. “What of Lord Selbie?”

Her father’s gaze turned resolute. “I knew I could not risk a duel. If something happened to me, if I died, I would leave you orphaned, and for what? To satisfy my pride? Instead, I let him know I had the letter he sent Leticia in a safe place and would broadcast his pernicious attempt at blackmail to the polite world, thereby destroying him socially should I hear one whisper hinting at impropriety concerning your birth. Afterward, I would kill him.”

A profound silence greeted his summation. Amelia had no doubt but that her father had meant every word. Clearly Lord Selbie had been convinced of the same.

Finally, Amelia spoke. “Why did you decide to tell me this after all this time?”

Her father slanted a speaking glance at Chase. “Because of your husband.”

“My…” She glanced between her husband and her father.

Chase’s inscrutable expression told her nothing.

“What has Chase to do with this?”

Her father scrubbed a hand over his face. “All these years I’ve done my best to keep you from making the mistakes your mother made. I tamped down the part of you that sprang from her, telling myself I was keeping you safe, when in fact I had it all wrong, again.

“You are like your mother—the best parts. You are beautiful and brave and unafraid to use your mind to question the status quo. You do take risks. However, not as an adventure seeker, but in your quest to aid others, including your beloved animals.

“I confused your unwillingness to fit into a mold with recklessness because I feared losing you the way I lost your mother. I was so afraid of making the same mistakes, of history repeating itself.

“Instead, I made other mistakes. Chase pointed out my constant criticisms and disapproval only caused you pain, as if I did not see what a precious gift I have in you. And for that, I am truly sorry.”

Amelia nodded, her throat once again tight.

“I love you, Amelia, more than anyone or anything in the world. I promise to do better about making sure you know.”

Warmth filled her to overflowing. “I love you, too, Papa,” she choked out.

He cleared his throat, and his expression sobered. “Lastly, let us deal with the wager. Where did you hear of it?”

She darted a glance toward Chase. “Lady Tully informed me.”

Chase cursed under his breath. “By God that woman is a menace. When?”

“Last night at the ball.”

Anger darkened his expression. “First the arsons, and now this.”

“Arsons?” Her father and Amelia demanded in simultaneous outbursts.

Chase waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “I do not wish to expand on all the details at this juncture. Suffice it to say, the countess planned and executed the recent arsons in Copsham, with the help of my previous forester, Dodd. I should have put it together sooner. Something Lord Tully said last night cinched it and the realization dawned this morning.

“I used the knowledge of her complicity this afternoon to secure the funds to repay you, Fallsgate. Millicent’s father still runs one of the largest banks in London. Evidently, he did not relish the idea of seeing his daughter questioned by Scotland Yard. He was only too happy to loan her the money to pay for damages.”

Admiration shone in her father’s eyes. “I wondered how you managed to acquire such a large sum.” He shifted his attention back to Amelia. “One thing I don’t understand. How did Lady Tully come to know the details of the wager?”

“She questioned the servants. I verified her statement today when I visited the Black Widow of Whitehall.”

Her father went utterly still. His gaze slid to her husband, seated to Amelia’s left, then he erupted in laughter. “By God, the look on your face, Culver. You have your work cut out for you.” He sobered a moment later. “Not that you aren’t perfect as you are, dearest.”

She slanted Chase a cautious glance. As she feared, he was glaring at her.

She licked her lips and made a valiant effort to redirect the conversation. “The… er …bet, my lord?”

Her father resumed speaking. “As you no doubt learned, yes, I won a sizable amount off Culver, and, yes I agreed to marry you to the Iron Lion in lieu of payment—”

“With a double or nothing wager tacked on, and a stipulation Chase would make a proper lady out of me.”

Her father got a hunted look. “All true, and for all the reasons I just cited, and maybe—all right, no, maybe. It was wrong of me. But I promise you, it was never about the money.”

He looked to Chase. “Lord Culver, consider your uncle’s debt paid in full.”

Chase’s jaw firmed. “I do not want your money if it comes with strings attached.”

Her father’s jaw went just as firm. “It goes toward my daughter’s dowry. The only thing I ask is that you provide for and protect my daughter.”

Amelia leapt to smooth things over between the two men. “My lords—”

“I will protect her with my life, Fallsgate, for the rest of my life. Providing for her goes without saying.”

Chase’s heartfelt vow warmed her to her toes. She prayed her love for the man was not written all over her face. Not now with her father present.

Unfortunately, she suspected it was. He took one look at her, and his brows shot up. In another moment, he was on his feet.

“Well, then, now that’s all settled, I must be off before it grows much later.”

Amelia sprang up. “My lord, you must not hasten off. Surely, we can provide a chamber and a meal for your trouble.”

Beside her, Chase unfolded his long body from the sofa and rose. “You are, of course, more than welcome, Fallsgate.”

She slanted him a look from beneath her lashes. He did not sound overly enthusiastic about the prospect.

“Thank you, but I prefer my own bed.”

“If that is your wish,” Chase said, far too quickly.

Amelia scowled at him, but he paid her no heed.

He started for the door. “I’ll see you out, my lord. Amelia,” he called over his shoulder, “may I suggest you take this opportunity to freshen up which you expressed a desire to do? Afterward, I believe we will have a nice chat concerning your day’s adventure, hmm ?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” She ought to have known she would not get off that easily.

Her father arched a brow. The amusement in his eyes said he was pleased not to be the one to take her to task.

“Perhaps some of your concern over my behavior was not so off the mark.”

“You don’t say?” He held out both his hands toward her. In another moment, her smaller hands were engulfed in his.

“I hope you can forgive me in time, Amelia. I never meant—”

She shushed him and squeezed his fingers. “We shall start anew. In truth, there is not all that much to forgive. Maybe, sometime soon, we can spend an afternoon together and you can tell me more about my wild and untamable mother.” She sent him a tentative smile.

He grinned back, affection shining in his faded eyes. “I’d like that.”

Amelia trotted up the stairs for her bedchamber, anxious to remove her dusty gown before Chase came for her.

Her mind was awhirl. Meeting the Black Widow of Whitehall, learning the woman had known her mother, the revelations of her father concerning her mother, and at the forefront, the many wonderful things Chase had said to her father about her all vied for her attention.

Chase. He’d not only defended her, he’d sung her praises. He vowed to protect her and provide for her. He stood behind her in a show of solidarity the likes of which she’d never experienced.

She flung the door to her chamber open and dashed for the vanity, and the fresh basin of water, already stripping out of her gown.

She knew she should be content with what he had given her today.

Instead, her greedy heart yearned for more: a declaration of love.

She kicked out of her skirts, unlaced, and removed her boots, and peeled off her undergarments.

She set herself to scrubbing off the worst of the day’s grime and wondered how severe her talking-to would be. She had, after all, disregarded her husband’s express directive not to ride alone into town.

Afterward, she dried herself and applied a liberal amount of her favorite perfumed oil, essence of rose and bergamot. She breathed deeply of the soothing scent then began to dress.

She was nestled on the chaise in her antechamber, reading, her toes tucked under her skirts, when a solid rap sounded on her door.

She set the book aside and folded her hands in her lap. “Come.”

Chase entered the room, closing the door behind him.

She smiled, enjoying the sight of his large, masculine body in her feminine chamber, with its pastel-peach wall coverings and painted furniture.

He stood there a long moment, his dark eyes skimming over her with brooding intensity. Then, he jammed a hand through his hair and stalked toward her.

“Well, Amelia. Have you anything to say for yourself?”

She tilted her head back to gaze up at him.

“I do,” she said softly. “Thank you, for the things you said earlier.”

He slanted her a petulant look and dropped onto the armchair adjacent to the chaise. “Do not think to distract me, madam. Do you know what you put me through earlier?”

She sat up, untucking her feet and planting them on the ground. “I know you must have been very angry when you discovered I disobeyed you.”

“Angry? Is that what you think?” he erupted.

She swallowed. “Well, yes.”

He shook his head. “I suppose I was. Am.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Why did you do it?”

His tortured tone tugged at heart. She could combat anger. She didn’t know how to deal with this. She didn’t even know what this was.

“I…needed answers. I intended to broach the subject of the wager with you this morning, but you announced you were leaving.”

He rose and paced to the window. “Once I realized Millicent and Dodd’s ‘Molly’ were one and the same, I knew I had found the means to cancel my uncle’s debt to your father. She would do anything to avoid a scandal that might cost her reputation, and her father would do anything for her.”

“How did you figure it out?”

He turned to face her. “I questioned Tully last night.”

“Yes, and he knew nothing of the arsons.”

“Correct. I also asked after his tailor. He gave me Hoby’s name, and, as an aside, mentioned Millicent saw to all his wardrobe needs for him. This morning, everything clicked into place. The blonde angel with access to fine fabrics who just happened to disappear after the last fire? A woman who made herself into the perfect mate for Dodd?”

Amelia slid him a knowing look. “Just as she did for both you and Tully.”

“I realized it must have been she who warned Hoby off of helping you—to protect herself from discovery.”

“But why do it at all, Chase? Why the fires?”

“I asked her that myself, this morning. She admitted to everything, by the way. She said she wanted the one thing she could never achieve. Tully’s love.”

“ Ah .” She nodded in dawning understanding. “She thought if she ruined you she might finally win his affection.”

“It didn’t work. Neither her attempt to bankrupt me, nor her attempt to please Tully—”

“Nor her attempt to turn me against you,” Amelia said softly.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Then why in God’s name did you dress in your Lady MacIvor widows weed’s and ride alone to London? You wanted to dot I’s and cross T’s by visiting a gambling hell and sometimes brothel?”

She bristled and rose to her feet. “Brothel? I wasn’t aware. Have you frequented this brothel, my lord?”

He glared at her. “I have not. We stray from the point.”

Absurdly gratified by his immediate denial, she moved to close the distance between them. “What is the point of this argument, Chase? If you were not angry—”

“I just said I was. Am.”

She gave him a gentle smile. “After first balking at the notion.” She lay her palm on his chest, needing to touch him, to soothe him.

A tremor went through him. A moment later he dragged her into his arms. “You were gone far too long. No one knew where. Visions of a riding accident, of you being hurt and alone had me half crazed.

“When I finally learned you’d taken off in your widow’s garb, I knew you had to have gone to London. But I didn’t know why. You didn’t even leave a note. I only knew it had been hours. Hours. Anything could have happened to you, Amelia. Don’t you see?”

She thought she did. Hope bloomed in her chest. She cupped his hot cheek in one hand.

He twisted his head to press a kiss to her palm, then regarded her with tortured, dark eyes. “Promise me, Amelia. Promise me you won’t ever do something so dangerous, ever again, regardless of whether or not you think you’re justified.”

She smiled at him, her eyes misting for what seemed the hundredth time today. “Why?” she whispered.

He released her only to grasp her shoulders. He stared at her with wild eyes. “Why? That’s all you can say?”

She nodded. “There must be a reason, my lord.”

He huffed out a laugh. “There is. Because I’m mad for you. Because I love you so completely, so desperately, I don’t think I could ev—”

His words cut off as she threw herself into his chest and twined her arms around his neck. “You love me?” she exclaimed.

He gave a muffled sound of frustration, though his arms tightened around her. “What do you think I’ve been saying for the last hour, madam? What else could it be? What else would drive me to London to secure the loan to pay off the debt between my uncle and your father?”

“You didn’t want me to know what my father had done.”

“I also didn’t want you to think I chose to marry you for the sake of the estates.”

She leaned back. “It’s all right. I understand you did, at first.”

He shook his head with vehemence. “Maybe that’s what your father thought, and maybe I tried to convince myself of the same thing. But the truth is, from the moment I heard your voice, cooing to your beloved puppies, I was lost. Then I looked into your eyes and…” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “For the next several days all I could think about was finding a reason to call on Fallsgate so I could see you again.”

“Truly?”

“Truly. I fought it, fought it with everything in me, but I never stood a chance. I was yours before I walked out your father’s door the first time.”

“Oh, Chase, I do love you so.”

She rose onto her tiptoes to kiss him.

He pulled out of reach. “Your promise, madam wife?”

“I promise, my lord, never again.”

“Now, we need to discuss you venturing into the stews for your strays.”

This time, when she rose up on her toes to kiss him, she refused to be denied. “Later, my love.” She pressed her lips to his and let him show her without words how very much he loved her, indeed.