Page 9 of The Taming of a Wicked Rogue

“My mother and I keep to ourselves. My father ensured we take no part in society anymore.”

“There would be those who would still greet you, surely?” He pointed at his chest. “Myself, for example.”

She gave a half-smile. “He borrowed and stole and left people penniless. He schemed and broke hearts. I do not blame anyone for giving us the cut.”

Leo shook his head, wishing he had been there to console her. There were plenty of scandalous characters within thetonbut none quite like Roger Fortescue. He had not only accrued great debt and run from it, after using whatever means necessary to amass new wealth, he had left not one but two wives in the wind before committing fraud and trying to wed a young lady from Grasmere, the village next to theirs, who had a large fortune to her name. There were other more minor crimes committed too, but it had been the fraud that had seen him hanged. Pretending to be a peer of the realm was more often than not punishable by death.

“It must have hurt you—to know the truth of him.”

She lifted a shoulder. “My mother and I managed. There are many others who suffered more at his hands.”

“But after sixteen years of him in your life...”

She put hands to her hips. “I have no desire to speak of him, Leo.”

“You cannot blame me for having questions. You did rather vanish in the middle of the night with no word.”

“Yes, well...that could not be helped.”

“Really?”

“Do you wish me to come with you or not?”

He considered his options. If he sent her on her way, he’d never forgive himself, but he’d be damned if he would not get the answers he sought eventually. Rebecca Fortescue had broken his heart and changed his life irreparably at a tender age.

“You owe me answers,” he said.

“You have not changed,” she replied simply.

Oh, he had changed. In many ways. He had hardened himself, ensured he would never be hurt again. Now would be the true test. Could he have Rebecca in his life once more without having his heart broken all over again?

∞∞∞

TRUE TO HIS promise, Leo snuck her into the grand house undetected. Little had changed in the time she had gone. The beautifully carved staircases and painted ceilings still stole her breath. A few different paintings adorned walls, including one of Leo and his brothers. Rebecca averted her gaze from it and realized the folly of her action. She had the real man next to her and he was far more devastating to look at than a painting.

Why had she agreed to this? She could have survived another night in a barn. Those years in Italy, when their life had been ripped from underneath them thanks to her father’s debts, had taught her to survive on her own. She had gone from pampered young lady to practically a penniless urchin with rough fingers and holes in her dresses. Their fortunes had changed over the years, mostly thanks to her mother’s skills as a seamstress and Rebecca’s determination to ensure they did not starve. Now they had enough money set aside so her mother could cease working while Rebecca managed the modest shop in Florence.

Leo led her up the stairs, through the corridor to the east wing and unlocked the door separating it from the central part of the house. With no lamps lit, a shiver ran through her as the cool air of the unheated section of the building touched her. A plush long rug sunk underfoot, and she grimaced when she spied her muddy footprints trailing behind her. She tapped Leo’s arm.

“Uh...I think we might end up detected.”

He paused and eyed where the footprints followed them. “I shall take the blame, never fear. Mrs. Jones still thinks of me as an unruly sort of boy anyway.”

Unruly. Yes, that was a fine way to describe him. Though, the unruly boy she had known was far different to the man she had read about all these years. When she had known him, unruly could have been used to describe the way he rode horses bareback faster than anyone she knew or how he always snuck injured animals into his room. Now it meant he bedded every eligible woman in London. Not unusual behavior for some members of thetonshe supposed, but it did not stop her heart from giving a painful pang.

She rolled her eyes to herself. Honestly, what did she expect? That he would save himself for her after she had vanished? She’d be a fool to believe that and the last thing she wanted to be was foolish. She’d been enamored with her father for years, admiring his ability to charm anyone, and truly believing him to be the best of fathers. While other girls had fathers who ignored them or constantly dismissed their ideas, her father never once made her feel small or useless.

That was until he had dragged them all to Italy in the dead of the night, forcing them to abandon all they knew, before leaving them several weeks later with promises of wealth and comfort.

He never returned.

And she would never let herself believe such stories again.

“I believe this room should do it...” Leo twisted the doorknob and eased open the door, revealing a bedroom she had not seen before. She blinked at the sudden invasion of light. It did not surprise her that she did not know it as Eastwick boasted forty bedrooms, though she had seen enough to know the elegant cream room with its gold touches, and pale blue silk swags upon the bed, was not unusual. Leo’s mother had impeccable taste.

She slipped into the room, grateful for the wooden floors that allowed her to skirt the heavily detailed rug. Remaining close to the wall, she peered out of the window. The room overlooked the kitchen gardens where she spotted several workers. She ducked back from the window and flattened herself against the wall. “Are you certain no one shall know I’m here?”

“Absolutely.” He grinned. “You shall be my little secret.”

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