Page 34 of Two Secrets to Surrender (Blackwood Legacy #2)

Chapter Thirty-Three

W hen Conrad awoke, he was instantly aware that Gigi was not beside him. This was displeasing. However, he was reassured by her lingering scent, which told him she hadn’t been gone long. Perhaps she needed a moment alone after the intensity of last night.

Perhaps he did, too.

Fitting his hands behind his head, he stared into the dark, swirling canopy of his bed. He’d tested her limits last night. At first, he’d worried that maybe he’d gone too far: that he ought to have waited before coming down his near-virgin bride’s throat. What he’d discovered between Gigi’s sleek thighs had relieved his concerns. Her pussy had been so swollen and ripe that it had required only a few licks before her sweet juice filled his mouth.

That had been in the carriage. When they arrived home, he’d carried her to his bedchamber and made love to her through the night. They’d fallen asleep, entwined and momentarily appeased. Now thoughts of their intimacies—including how she’d cried her climax into the pillow while he’d shafted her from behind—had given him a morning cockstand that tented the bedsheet. He thought about hunting Gigi down and giving her another injection of marital bliss…yet something stopped him.

I must talk to her first. I must tell her about Pearce.

Unease slithered through him as he recalled her reaction to his plans for Robert’s family. The way she’d taken their side instead of his. His dominant behavior in the carriage had stemmed partly from a need to reinforce their bond—to show her how fully she belonged to him. He needed to know that, come what may, he could count on her loyalty.

While they hadn’t yet discussed the ball, he knew she didn’t agree with his method of justice. If Gigi had any faults, it was that she was too tender-hearted. Her empathy and sheltered upbringing blinded her to the harsh realities of life. The duchess and Lady Anne might weep at the prospect of having their lives of privilege and luxury ripped away, but that was too damned bad. They’d made their bed and now they had to lie in it. Moreover, the argument that they were “family” held no water. If the situation were reversed, if Conrad needed help from Lady Katerina, she would probably spit on him.

Vengeance was the goal that Conrad had been working toward for decades—that defined him not as a victim but as a victor. He’d expected Gigi to see his point of view, yet she’d advocated for his enemy. This did not bode well, especially as it pertained to his plans for Abel Pearce. All along, Conrad had told himself that once she was his, she would understand why he needed to destroy that which Pearce most cared about. Why selling Chuddums off piece by piece until there was nothing remaining of Pearce’s legacy was a necessary act of justice.

Worry gnawed at him. Maybe he should have told Gigi earlier, but the time had never felt right. He hadn’t felt certain enough of her love…until now. Last night, she’d surrendered to him so sweetly, and if she could trust him to have his depraved way with her, then surely she could take his side against Pearce.

In his head, he prepared concessions. He would spare Miss Letty’s spa. If Gigi’s other friends needed work, he would see to it that they were not left in the cold. He would toss out his idea to develop a bustling square for them…just not in Chuddums. Truth be told, he’d avoided this conversation long enough. News of Pearce’s misfortune might have hit the village by now, and Conrad wanted to be the one to break the news to Gigi.

When she didn’t return to bed, he rang for his valet and got dressed. He found her downstairs in the drawing room. Sunlight streamed through the window, gilding her upswept raven locks and rich burgundy dress. She was scribbling at the escritoire but smiled at him as he approached. Tipping her chin up, he gave her a thorough morning kiss.

“You look hard at work,” he murmured.

“I felt uncommonly energized this morning.” She gave him a teasing look from beneath her long lashes. “Which is odd, given how little I actually slept.”

“Blame yourself.” He ran a thumb along her cheekbone. “You are quite the distraction, love.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

He was about to kiss her again when Owen stalked into the room.

“Good morning,” he said. “Hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Actually, I need to speak with my wife—” Conrad began.

“You’re not,” Gigi said.

Since they’d spoken simultaneously, Gigi tipped her head at him.

“Was there something you wished to discuss?” she asked.

No. Yes. Bloody hell, stop being a namby-pamby and tell her about Pearce.

“As a matter of fact, yes. In private.”

Owen was retracing his steps to the door just as the butler opened it. One look at the old retainer’s visage, and Conrad’s gut tightened.

“What is it, Yardley?”

“Lady Georgiana’s family has arrived, sir.” The butler cleared his throat. “And they are demanding to see her. Immediately .”

Gigi braced herself as Mama and Papa entered, followed by Ethan and James. Her family’s grim expressions heightened her guilt and anxiety, and she hurried toward them.

“Hello, everyone. How did you get my letter so quickly? I thought you would still be at Grove Hall?—”

“Is it true, Georgiana?” Papa thundered. “Did this blackguard trick you into marrying him?”

She’d never seen her father so enraged. The steel in his eyes flashed, his posture rigid and hands fisted for battle. Behind him, James and Ethan had similar stances.

“Conrad didn’t trick me into anything,” she said quickly. “Did you read my letter? In it, I explained?—”

“We did not read your letter.”

Mama’s gaze was narrowed upon Conrad, who stood beside Gigi. Tension came off him in waves, adding to her fears that this encounter with her family would go even worse than the last. She couldn’t let that happen.

“Then how did you know that Conrad and I are wed?” she asked.

It was the first time she’d confirmed the status of her marriage. Seeing its effect on her kin—her papa looked staggered, her mama pale—she almost wished she could take it back. But it was the truth and the path she’d chosen to take.

“It’s all over London,” James said tersely. “The town is abuzz with how you showed up at the Grantley ball with Godwin—or Christian Beaufort or whatever the blazes his name is. There is wild speculation about what prompted your marriage and whether you had our support. I was swarmed the moment I set foot in my club this morning.”

“I will explain everything, I promise. However.” Gigi drew her brows together. “What are you doing in London? I thought you were at Grove Hall for the week.”

“We came to London because we were concerned about Godwin’s interest in you,” Papa said tightly. “James felt, as I did, that something was not right about Godwin’s appearance in Chuddums. Why would a man of his financial stature be interested in a sleepy village? We came to London to investigate the issue.”

“You investigated me?” Conrad’s voice was low and menacing.

“We will do anything that is required to protect Gigi.” This came from Ethan, whose countenance was stormy. “Marriage can be undone. You wed her under fraudulent pretenses, which is grounds for an annulment.”

“Gigi knows who I am,” Conrad fired back. “And you will be laughed out of the courts if you claim my deception, as it were, harmed her in any way. Not only am I rich, but I am also going to make her a duchess before long.”

“Do you think we care about a bloody title?” Papa roared. “It is your character, sir, that makes you unfit for my daughter. You have deceived an innocent girl at every turn, and when she finds out your true nature, she will leave you.”

“The hell she will?—”

“ No. No more fighting.”

Panicked, Gigi moved in between Conrad and her father.

“Please, Papa,” she begged. “Conrad hasn’t deceived me. He didn’t even know I was coming to see him. I found a clue, you see, concerning the attempt on his life. As it was important, I felt I should deliver it personally, and Owen escorted me?—”

“To be clear,” Owen muttered. “I did not volunteer.”

“Fine, I dragged Owen here. When I arrived, Conrad and I came to an understanding. While unexpected, it was not in any way coerced. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Willingly. Because I love him.” She gazed beseechingly at her family. “We Harringtons have always married for love, and I promise you I have upheld that tradition. I know I should have waited for your permission and hope in time you will forgive me, but, well, love can make one impetuous. I didn’t want to wait a moment longer to be Conrad’s wife.”

“Oh, Gigi.” The pain in Mama’s expression stabbed her heart. “Oh my dear girl, do you know the man you have married?”

Gigi slanted an uncertain look at Conrad. He was impassive, his eyes as cold as a winter sea.

“It is true that Conrad didn’t tell me his identity until after we were married. But he had good reasons for it,” she said quickly. “Reasons that are his to share, if he wishes, but which I can assure you make perfect sense. Moreover, none of that changes how I feel about him.”

“Did he tell you about his dealings with Abel Pearce?” James asked.

Her brother’s inquiry slid like a cool droplet down her spine.

Frowning, she said, “What about Mr. Pearce?”

“Do you want to tell her, Godwin?” James lifted his brows. “Or shall I?”

When Conrad said nothing, his jaw tight, Gigi felt a pulse of fear.

“What is it?” she whispered. “What involvement do you have with Mr. Pearce?”

“I’ll explain everything,” he gritted out. “In private?—”

“There is no way in hell I am letting my sister be alone with you,” Ethan snarled. “Nor will she want to, after she discovers your plans for Chuddums.”

Chuddums? Why would Conrad have plans for the village?

Her heart thudding, Gigi said, “Please. Someone tell me what is going on.”

James took pity on her. “A few days ago, the bubble burst on a railway scheme engineered by a fellow named Jonah Westfield. It’s all over the papers. Investors have lost everything.”

“That is horrible, but how is that relevant?—”

“Abel Pearce was among the investors. He went all in, and now he doesn’t have a penny to rub together. Even worse, he was already up to his eyebrows in debt. His properties in Chuddums are mortgaged to the hilt, and suddenly his loans were called in. The news spread like wildfire through the county. When I heard, I had a suspicion that I could only confirm in London.”

Gigi glanced at Conrad, and his stony expression sent her anxieties spiraling.

“What suspicion?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“The timing of Pearce’s downfall with Godwin’s appearance seemed more than coincidental,” James said matter-of-factly. “My man of business knows the head clerk in Westfield’s office, and he was able to find out more about Pearce. Apparently, Pearce was a recent investor, and the clerk remembered how he’d bragged about being referred by ‘the famous Conrad Godwin himself.’”

“Conrad?” Gigi stared at her husband. “Is this true?”

“Pearce asked my advice, and I gave it,” he said flatly. “Look, there are things you don’t know. Things I will explain when we are in private?—”

“So that you can tell my sister further lies?” James’s mouth curled in a sneer. “No, Godwin, she will hear the truth. Not only did you deliberately entice Pearce into investing in a faulty scheme, you had an ulterior motive for doing so. I had my man of business investigate Pearce’s debts. Apparently, one by one, his loans were bought up by a holding company called Sterling Capital. The company has remarkable legal scaffolding to hide its owner, and I almost stopped digging until I discovered Sterling Capital owned a company I was familiar with. One that Gigi once asked me to look into: Empire Investment. The firm that tried to buy Miss Letty’s spa.”

Sucking in a breath, Gigi turned to Conrad. “You own Empire Investment. Do you own Sterling Capital as well?”

“I do,” he said curtly. “That is what I wished to discuss with you this morning. Before your family’s unannounced arrival.”

“What were you going to say?” Her head was spinning. “That you deliberately ruined Mr. Pearce so that you could take over Chuddums?”

“No, my grievance is with Pearce,” he stated. “He wronged me, Gigi—grievously so. Gaining control of Chuddums was part of my plan to gain justice.”

“This is about revenge…again?”

She stared at him, seeing the Viking in a gentleman’s suit. Everyone had told her he was a ruthless man, and she’d seen the evidence herself. Yet she’d made excuses and willingly let herself be deceived. Fissures spread through her heart as she looked at her husband and wondered if she knew him at all.

She took a breath. “What are you planning to do to Chuddums?”

Conrad hated being backed into the ropes. It was a weak position, where you found yourself defending against blows until one finally knocked you out. In this case, he wasn’t just facing his supposedly loyal wife: the entire Harrington clan was taking jabs at him.

Stay calm. You knew Gigi would find out eventually. Just explain everything, and she will understand.

As much as he resented having to share his past with anyone but Gigi, he had no choice.

“I am related to Abel Pearce,” he said. “On my mother’s side.”

Gigi stared at him, her lips pressed together.

“You’ll recall that my papa died when I was not yet eight. My brother Robert became my guardian and decided to send me to Creavey Hall.”

There was still no response from Gigi, but he heard the marchioness exhale. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d heard of the school. It had a notorious reputation.

“My mama didn’t want us to be separated,” he said gruffly. “I told you she promised to find a solution, and that is where Abel Pearce came in. He and my mama were descendants of Langdon Pearce’s sons; their great-grandfathers were brothers. Abel’s family stayed in Chuddums, while my mama’s left. Nonetheless, my mama’s branch of the family retained the deed to a local cottage, and my mama was so desperate that she took me to see Pearce.

“She told him our situation. Begged him to honor the deed that had been passed down to her so that we might have shelter from Robert’s cruelty. At the time, Pearce was a wealthy man, and it would have cost him nothing to save my mama’s life and mine. But he refused.”

“Why?” Gigi said quietly.

“Because of indifference.” The dark undertow of fury sucked at him. “Because he was too busy, too important, to give a damn.”

“He wronged you,” Gigi said.

“He bloody well did,” Conrad agreed. “That is why he is getting what he deserves. I am going to take away what he took away from me: everything. I am going to destroy his legacy by selling it off piece by piece. By the time I am finished, no one will even remember the name Pearce.”

“In the process…” Gigi’s violet gaze held his. “You will destroy Chuddums.”

“I will not touch Miss Letty’s spa,” he assured her. “I promised you that, and I am a man of my word.”

“What of the other villagers? Have you thought about them?”

He didn’t like the accusation in her eyes.

“They are not my problem,” he said brusquely. “The way Pearce was managing his affairs, it was only a matter of time before he would have to sell off the square?—”

“Mr. Khan isn’t your problem? The Thorntons? Mrs. Pettigrew and Wally?” Gigi’s voice rose.

He strove to hold onto his patience. “If they need work, I’ll find them jobs elsewhere. Maybe I’ll develop a square in a more profitable place than Chuddums?—”

“The villagers are not cattle to be herded from one place to the next!” She balled her hands. “Do you know what the irony is? All of them speak of you with admiration . They say you are a fine addition to the village and hoped you would take up permanent residence at Honeystone Hall. Yet this entire time, you were a wolf in sheep’s clothing. No, I take that back. You didn’t even bother to wear a costume. I pulled the wool over my own dashed eyes!”

“Gigi—”

“You lied to me, Conrad. Time and again. And before you argue”—she held up a hand—“lying by omission is still lying .”

Feeling the ropes biting into his back, he reacted as he always did: by going on the offensive.

“I have never hidden the kind of man I am,” he shot back. “Yet you came to London to find me. You let me put my ring on your finger, and you gave me your vows. Which means your loyalty belongs to me—not to Grantley’s family, Pearce, or those bleeding Chuddumites.”

“This isn’t about loyalty, you bounder,” Gigi cried. “Not mine, anyway. You are the one keeping secrets. You are the one hiding things from me .”

“I’ve told you my reasons,” he snarled. “I’ve explained myself to you and your goddamned family, and that should be bloody enough.”

“It’s not.”

Her tone felt like a slap.

“I beg your pardon?” he said icily.

“To ruin your enemies, will you sacrifice the lives of innocents? Do you care nothing about the good and decent folk who will be caught in the crossfire? For the sake of revenge, are you willing to become like those men who hurt you?”

“Do not compare me with those bastards! You know what they did to me. What I suffered?—”

“Yet you are willing to inflict suffering on blameless villagers? Listen to me.” Gigi was as stern as he’d ever seen her. “You have the opportunity to be different from those who hurt you. Instead of destroying lives, you could save them. Chuddums has much to offer. Look how far my scheme with the water has gone. You could use your wealth and skill to help the economy grow?—”

“You are wasting your breath, daughter.” The marquess regarded Conrad as if he were vermin. “A leopard does not change its spots. Godwin has, and always will be, a man without ethics or principles. He is not good enough for you.”

The pressure shot up in Conrad’s veins. “You know nothing about me, you judgmental bastard. I have my reasons?—”

“Do not speak to my papa that way.” Her eyes flaring, Gigi set her shoulders back. “I don’t care about your reasons. All I care about now is what you will do with Chuddums.”

She doesn’t care about my reasons? What I’ve gone through? She cares more about those stupid villagers than me—her own husband?

His vision flashed scarlet.

“You wish to hear my plan? Here it is. I am going to sell that place off to the highest bidders, brick by brick,” he said concisely. “I will make a tidy profit, but the true returns will come from the satisfaction of wiping Abel Pearce’s legacy from the face of this earth.”

“If you do this, you are not the man I believed you to be. The man I thought I married would never choose vengeance over everything…over love.” Her voice wavered, but her resolve clearly did not. “If you destroy Chuddums, our marriage is over.”

It had been a long while since anyone dared to give him an ultimatum. To be issued one from Gigi, the one person he’d trusted with his darkest secrets, felt like a knife between the shoulder blades—like the inflicting of all the scars on his back combined. Worst of all, he felt panic whirling inside him. The closing in of the dark forest.

Chest heaving, he jabbed a finger at her. “You do not get to make that decision.”

“I am leaving,” Gigi said. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

She turned her back on him.

Turned. Her. Back.

A moment later, she walked out.