Page 59 of The Art of Sinning
You mean, the man who taught you to kiss? And more?
Damn it, he must uproot this jealousy spreading through him like a noxious weed. First Knightford, then Ruston. No woman had ever roused such possessiveness in him. “I heard of him from your servants, of course.”
Horror suffused her features with crimson. “Myservantstold you this... this nonsense?”
“Not exactly,” he said warily. “They told Damber.”
“That I was intimate with Lieutenant Ruston.”
“No! Not that. I mean ...” Damn, this wasn’t exactly how he’d intended to have this discussion—with her up in arms and him on the defensive. Determined not to let her brazen it out, he locked his gaze with hers. “They told Damber that there was talk of a possible marriage between you and the lieutenant.”
“I see,” she said frigidly. “And from that, you deduced that I let him get me with child.”
Her genuine outrage threw him off-kilter. “Ithasbeen four years and some months since you knew the man, and you did say the child was four.”
“So, based on that coincidence, you decided I was a lightskirt who secretly bore Lieutenant Ruston’s love child. And then I what? Sent the babe off with an actress friend to raise, before completely losing track of the boy?”
“Something like that.” When she put it that way it sounded far-fetched. And painted her in a light that seemed too harsh. Perhaps he’d been somewhat hasty. He would have expected her to have shownsomeembarrassment by now.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “And when was I supposed to have borne this child?” she demanded indignantly. “How did I hide that I was carrying it? Because I assure you, I haven’t taken any months-long trips abroad in the last five years. You can have your spy Damber ask my servants aboutthat, too, if you don’t believe me.”
Her sound logic—and the icy tone with which she delivered it—perversely reignited his temper. “If the boy isn’t yours, why are you so desperate to find him? Why risk your reputation to come here for him? And why in God’s name would you hide your plans from Blakeborough?”
“Because the child is my nephew, you dunderhead!”
He gaped at her as a knot tightened his gut. The boy was hernephew?
No, he couldn’t believe it. Blakeborough wasn’t the sort to sire—
As the truth hit him, he groaned. Not Blakeborough.Samuel Barlow.Her other brother, the criminal, who’d already sired one by-blow, according to Bonnaud.
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Yes,” she said, as if she’d read his mind. “My brother’s child.Samuel’schild. I cannot believe you would think thatI—”
“You can’t blame me,” he said defensively. “I assumed that if your secret mission involved Samuel, you’d have gone straight to your eldest brother for help.” His reasons for his conclusions had been perfectly sound. He wasn’t an idiot.
Though the look on her face saidshecertainly thought he was. “I did go to him. Edwin refused to help. He thinks our brother’s claims about a son are part of some devious scheme to shame me or him or the family. Edwin ordered me to stay out of it.”
Jeremy winced. That did sound like Blakeborough.
Dragging a hand over his face, Jeremy began to pace. All this time, he’d assumed she’d been involved with some blackmailing fiend, when she’d just been doing as she always did, following the lead of her too-kind heart.
“I can’t believe you actually thought I was searching for my own child, whom I apparently abandoned to the dangers of the stews,” she went on, hurt in her voice. “What kind of woman do you take me for?”
“The kind who has secrets involving brothels.” He still chafed over being made to look the fool. But damn it, it had been a logical assumption. Mostly. “What did you expect me to think? You wouldn’t tell me why you were coming here, and then I find out you’re looking for a child, and given what I’d already learned about this Ruston fellow—”
“Because you sent Damber to question my servants,” she accused. When he shot her a sharp look, she said, “That’s what happened, isn’t it? Our staff is normally very discreet.”
“They’d have to be with a fellow like Samuel in the family, wouldn’t they?” When she flinched, he cursed his quick tongue. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
She glanced away, the emotions on her face showing she wasn’t yet placated. “But you did send Damber to spy on me, didn’t you?”
“I asked him to keep his ears open, yes.” He stepped toward her. “It was strange that a lady would wish to visit a brothel for any reason, so I didn’t want any surprises when we got here.”
She gave a rueful shake of her head. “It appears that the joke is on you.”
“And on you, too.” He sighed. “Sorry that I... accused you... of bearing a child in secret. I wasn’t thinking straight. Though itisodd that you’d be so adamant about coming here yourself. Most women would leave such matters to the men of the family.”
“I know. And I did try.” She rubbed her temples. “I just couldn’t bear the thought of my nephew languishing in a bawdy house alone somewhere—not when I could make sure he was provided for. That’s why I didn’t want you to tell Edwin. Because he would put a stop to my plans.”
