Page 87 of When the Rogue Returns
She wanted to believe him, to be sure that the past wasn’t influencing his decisions. But how could she, after what had happened to him? What if the real reason he refused to try giving Gerhart the diamonds was some lingering distrust of her?
She had to dosomething. If Victor wouldn’t involve Rupert, she would. Because she was not going to let Gerhart have her baby.
She headed for the door. Catching sight of herself in the mirror, she winced to see the purplish bruises ringing her throat. It was no wonder Victor wasn’t thinking rationally right now, if this was what he had seen. She didn’tthinkthe sight of them would turn Rupert irrational, too, but right now she needed both men to be sensible.
Determinedly, she jerked out a scarf and wrapped it about her neck. Then she went off to find Rupert.
♦♦♦
VICTOR HURRIED DOWNthe stairs with Isa’s words ringing in his ears. Was she right?Didhe still distrust her, somewhere in the part of his soul he never wanted to probe? Where the ghosts of his inquisitors resided?
Your wife is too clever for the likes of you. She knows you can never provide her with the riches she craves.
He thought he’d silenced those voices once he knew the truth, but perhaps she was right. Perhaps he never could.
Forcing that uneasy thought away, he joined his friends. He trusted her. He did. And now it was time to lay everything out for them, and make sure they trusted her, too. Because they had to help him. He couldn’t do it alone.
To his surprise, Dom and Tristan had brought Dr. Percy Worth with them, the man who had cured Victor’s pneumonia when he was near death on the ship a few months ago. The doctor had become the de facto physician to the Duke’s Men, so Victor wasn’t surprised that they’d wanted him along. He hadn’t said what his emergency was; they might have thought he was injured.
He was glad to see the man. He and Isa would need all the help they could get.
It took far too long to tell them everything that had happened, right up to the kidnapping. They asked a number of questions, and when they fell quiet at the end of his tale, it worried him.
Then Dom rose from his chair. “You do know how insane this all sounds.”
“Probably as insane as my turning out to be the long-lost cousin of a duke,” Victor said dryly. “Or you, a viscount’s son, being forced to become the owner of an investigative agency.” When Dom grimaced at that, Victor glanced at Tristan. “Or you ending up as an agent for the French police after stealing your half brother’s horse.” Victor crossed his arms over his chest. “Life is full of insanity. And just because it sounds insane doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
Tristan stared at him. “We’re not questioning whether it happened, but whether it happened the way your wife says it did. Shecouldhave conspired with her family to steal those diamonds years ago and set you up to be blamed for it. And she could very well be colluding with her family now to do it again.”
“You wouldn’t think that if you’d seen her throat,” Victor ground out.
He’d hardly been able to look at her once the bruises had begun showing, so dark against the pale skin of her neck. Just the sight of them had made his heart stop and his belly roil. And when he thought of the terror she must be feeling—the terrorhewas feeling—
Damn it all to hell. Amalie was out there somewhere, confused and afraid, and that bastard Gerhart meant to profit from it. When Victor caught up to him, he would kill him with his bare hands.
“If I had time,” he went on, “I could lay out for you every instance that proves her innocence—the interviews I conducted, the claims of her servants, the things Lochlaw and his mother observed. But that will have to wait.” He steadied his gaze on them, resolute. “My daughter is in that bastard’s clutches and I mean to find her, with or without your help.”
“You have our help, sir,” Dr. Worth put in. “You know that you do. But the girl might not even be yours.”
Victor bristled at that. They were as bad as his inquisitors, thinking him some fool. “She was born almost exactly nine months to the day after we married. I asked Gordon where she was christened, then checked the birth records.”
He’d had to talk to the man while he was hunting down Gerhart, in case Gordon had encountered the pair without knowing who they were. And Victor hadn’t been able to resist asking about Amalie’s birth. Then he’d endured Gordon’s lecture over it, a lecture he’d known he richly deserved. It had been his last little stab of distrust of her.
Hadn’t it?
Of course it had. “Don’t you think I probed every part of her story until I was sure of the truth of it? I am no longer a young idiot to be taken in by wild tales.” He choked down his temper. “I trust her. So you are going to have to trustmethat I am right about her. If you can’t do that, tell me now. Because I need you on my side if we are to rout Gerhart.”
A knock sounded at the drawing room door, and he let out a curse. What now? The door opened and Isa sailed in with Lochlaw in tow.
Victor scowled. “I told you I’d send for you.”
“Forgive me,” she said tightly, “but I find myself unable to wait on your leisure when our daughter is in danger.”
He ought to be glad she managed to stay awaythislong. “What’s he doing here?” Victor demanded, his gaze flicking to the baron.
Lochlaw flushed but stood his ground. “Let me help,” he said earnestly. “Amalie is a sweet girl. The diamonds are nothing to me next to that.”
“Damn it, Isa,” Victor cried, “youtoldhim?”
