The Postilion (The Masqueraders #2) - S.M. LaViolette Page 0,62

Earl of Norland, told me.”

Benna clenched her teeth against her rising gorge. It took a long moment before she could force herself to ask, “How did Michael find out I was with you?”

“Oh no, darling, that’s not how it happened. I had met Norland in the past—I played against him. But that was years ago, before he’d acceded to his title and become the guardian to the current duchess, a young woman nobody has ever seen. She’s barking mad, by all accounts, and Norland keeps her under lock and key in a sanitorium somewhere down south.” Geoff made a humming sound in the darkness. “That in itself was odd—why keep her so far away, I wondered.”

“How did you hear about that?” The only story Benna had ever found mentioned a spa, not an insane asylum. She couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been not to guess they were one and the same.

“It’s exactly the sort of gossip one hears once the evening is over and men relax and talk. Jevington cautioned me against bringing up the matter before we arrived—told me the current duchess’s condition was a touchy matter, one which Norland was notorious for not wishing to discuss I could understand that; who wants to have their family’s unpleasant secrets aired in public?

“I’d met your brother, too—played against him several years before I met you. He was a charming young man, but I quite cleaned him out. Not too clever and not much of a head for cards. Nothing like you in that department, Benna. Norland is a far better player, but he, too, lost a packet. He didn’t become churlish about his losses.”

Geoff paused, as if waiting for her to speak.

When she said nothing, he continued, “I stayed in your family home for three days. Norland is quite the most generous host I’ve ever met. Top shelf food, liquor … whores. Not only did he have his own mistress in attendance—a lovely, pricy bit of muslin—but he brought in beautiful, willing ladies for the rest of us.” He snorted. “That was an effective distraction for a man like Jevington, of course—the fool.”

Benna clamped her jaws shut, fury—at herself—churning in her belly. What a witless idiot she’d been.

Geoff made a low noise of contentment. “Yes, I enjoyed myself to the fullest. The man spends money like water. Tell me, Benna, is that Norland’s money that he’s losing at the tables and spending on high-fliers? Or is it yours?”

Benna was awake now, her mind frighteningly sharp, rage pumping through her body. “The one thing you can be certain of, darling, is that it will never be your money.”

There was a moment of silence and then Geoff’s laughter filled the room. “You speak the truth—and a somewhat demoralizing truth, at that. I’ve tried my damnedest, but you are the first and only woman I’ve ever failed to charm.”

“As far as you know.”

“Ah, still able to deliver a killing blow even with your hands tied, I see,” he said. “Yes, that is true: as far as I know.”

“If Michael didn’t tell you who I was then how did you figure it out?”

“First off, I saw that portrait of your father—all six bloody feet of it—in the library of your Edinburgh house. You could be the man’s twin; you look far more like him than you do your poor dead brother.

“The painter—Reynolds, I think your cousin said—did a bang-up job capturing the unusual turquoise color of your eyes. Of course, your father’s striking hair was quite different than your mousy brown, but I’d seen your cunny—recall—and knew what your natural color was. Added to that was his bone structure, height, and that great beak of a nose. It was almost like looking at you, Benna.”

“Congratulations,” she mocked in a derisive voice. “You’ve seen a picture of my father. My mother, on the other hand, was not a duchess but a parlor maid at the duke’s country estate.” Benna prayed as she waited.

There was a long pause and then Geoffrey chuckled again. “My God, but you are clever and quick. And, indeed that was the first thing I thought, too. After all, who in the world would ever believe an actual duchess was emptying my chamber pot?” He laughed. “But if that were the case, why were you masquerading as a man? And why were you so bloody terrified to go to Scotland? No, a valiant effort, Benna, but you are no bastard.”

Benna had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. Why had she