Valiant (Gentlemen of the Order #3) - Adele Clee Page 0,37
him of your mutual affection?”
Evan firmed his jaw. “No. No issue.”
“I think my lack of experience helped,” Miss Hart said, “coupled with Mr Sloane’s skill in that department. Mr Golding seemed more than pleased.”
Evan inwardly groaned. D’Angelo would make jests about this until the end of his days. “And so now we need to marry and have Mr Golding bear witness.”
“What happens then?” Ashwood asked.
“I assume our wedding gifts will provide the clues to finding our legacy. In the meantime, we intend to investigate all suspects. Namely, Mr Wicks, Mr Ramsey, Charles Sloane and Lady Hollinshead.”
Evan knew the last name on the list would prove unpopular with Miss Hart, but he did not expect her to gasp and jump up from the chair in open challenge.
“Why have you added the countess to the list?”
“Because it’s likely she knew about the contract, and you used her carriage to visit Mr Golding on the day the intruder broke into the lawyer’s office. She persuaded your mother to move to town. She’s visited Silver Street and knows when no one is home.”
Miss Hart shook her head. “What motive would she have for wishing to steal our legacy? Surely you don’t believe she rode through the fields of Little Chelsea wearing a plague mask?”
“Why not? Perhaps you’re not the only woman to don breeches or ride astride.”
“I might have been killed in the carriage accident.” She touched Evan’s chest lightly as she made her plea—an action that captured the notice of Evan’s colleagues. “The countess swore an oath to protect me. As my mother lay groaning in her sickbed, the countess gripped her hand and promised to give me the life I deserve. Every ball gown I’ve worn since belongs to her. She has been nothing but generous and kind.”
Evan might have offered an opposing opinion, but the comment about the ball gowns tugged at his heart. He scanned Miss Hart’s plain blue pelisse, worn for warmth not style, observed the simple poke bonnet fixed with new lilac ribbon and a sprig of lavender. When he considered the state of her furnishings at home, it was evident the lady hoped their legacy amounted to a king’s ransom. While Evan had inherited a vast sum from his father, who had inherited his wealth from Lady Boscobel, Miss Hart had been less fortunate.
Daventry coughed to gain their attention. “Miss Hart, good people commit terrible crimes when pushed to the brink.”
Evan touched her upper arm, for he saw the war between logic and loyalty raging in her dark eyes. “Ask yourself why you haven’t told the countess about the contract. You have a host of exceptional qualities, so why did she not round up eligible men to fill your dance card? Why did she leave you alone in the ballroom with those deemed unpopular?”
Tears brimmed as she looked into Evan’s eyes, but she dashed them away. “You know how reckless I can be. I kept to the shadows because I did not wish to embarrass the countess. But you’re right, she did not encourage me to do anything other than watch the merriment from my chair.”
“Then like the rest of society, she is blind to what truly matters.”
What currently mattered to him was making Vivienne Hart smile. He wanted to hear her laugh so hard her ribs ached, to see tears of joy. He wanted to draw a deep moan from her lips as she found her release. He wanted to buy her the finest silk gown, drape rubies around her throat, have every man see what he’d seen when she stood before him in a damp dress and muddy stockings.
Vivienne!
The urge to kiss away her feelings of inadequacy burned. This woman had pushed through his blockade to cause untold havoc with his conscience.
“Should I consider everyone a villain?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion. “Who can I trust?”
He squeezed her arm gently. “You can trust me, Vivienne.”
She gasped upon hearing her given name fall from his lips. Wait until she heard him pant her name as he thrust into her willing body. The kiss had awakened her hidden passions, stirred a craving she would need to satisfy. And a woman need not feel ashamed about making love to her husband.
“You can trust all those who work for the Order,” Daventry added. “Cole will find out what he can about Mr Ramsey. D’Angelo will investigate the lawyer and his nephew.”
“But I’m working on the widow Emery’s case,” D’Angelo countered.