Page 68 of Undercover Duke
Oh, God, no. Vanessa walked into the room wearing his banyan, which thoroughly engulfed her. With his heart hammering in his chest, he rose. “Nothing to worry you, Vanessa. Go on back to bed. I’ll be there shortly.”
“I’m not leaving.” The coldness in her eyes froze his blood. “Not until I find out what investigation you’re talking about. And what in the devil it has to do with my mother.”
Chapter Fifteen
With all eyes on her, Vanessa felt exposed, vulnerable. Her only consolation was that they weren’t looking at her as if they took her for a fool. Instead, they regarded her with sympathy. She had allies here, thank heaven.
Sheridan was probably not one of them.
Had it really only been scant minutes ago that she’d awakened from a blissful slumber to find him gone? That she’d come looking for him, thinking to discover him in a pantry somewhere and not surrounded by his family? It seemed forever ago.
“Someone please tell me what I missed,” she said through the lump of unshed tears in her throat. She’d known he hadn’t married her for love—she hadn’t expected that. But she’d thought he’d been spending time making Juncker jealous because he really cared about her. Because they were “friends.”
She’d been wrong. He hadn’t even caredthatmuch. Although it hadn’t stopped him from taking her to bed, had it?
Since no one had answered, she pressed on, unable even to look at him right now. “Let me see if I have this straight. You have all been investigating something having to do with Mama. And Sheridan was the one charged with questioning her ‘under cover’ of being my friend. Is that right?”
For a moment, the room was utterly silent, giving her a chance to remember all the times Sheridan had seemed more interested in her mother than in her, all the strange questions he’d asked, and, worse yet, the many ways Mama had avoided answering him.
“Well?” she repeated, impatient now. “Is it?”
The room exploded with explanations, too many for her to take in. But only Sheridan approached her, inexplicably holding a plate of food and a glass of brandy, as if they were peace offerings. “Perhaps you and I should go somewhere private so I can explain, sweetheart.”
She glared at him. “You have little chance of that,darling.I need your family here to keep you honest.”
Pain glimmered in his eyes before he masked it. “Do you think I would lie to you about it?”
“You’ve been lying to me about it all this time, haven’t you?”
“No. Just . . . omitting certain details.”
“You mean, like why you have to have secret meetings without me, even though we are now married? Or do you still think of me as some brainless fribble who doesn’t have the intelligence to be part of your family’s schemes?”
“I damned well don’t think of you as—”
“You’ve landed in the thick of it now,” Thornstock said with a laugh.
“Stay out of this, Thorn,” Sheridan snapped, “or I swear I’ll break your jaw.”
Vanessa caught her breath. Had she somehow missed this violent side to Sheridan’s character? She’d assumed that his striking Mr. Juncker was due to her, but now that she wasn’t sure ifanythingwas due to her, she had to wonder.
Thornstock snorted. “Right. Saint Sheridan is going to fight me.”
“Don’t put it past him,” Vanessa said. “He’s punched a man before. I’ve seen him do it.”
When his family stared at her aghast, Sheridan said softly, “Only for you, sweetheart.”
She ignored the frisson of pleasure that his remark sent through her. Clearly, Sheridan was better at flattery than she’d heretofore realized.
“Whom did you punch?” Lord Heywood asked his older brother.
“Juncker,” Sheridan said, keeping his gaze fixed on her.
“Ohhhh,” everyone said in unison, as if that explained everything.
“No doubt he deserved it,” Thornstock added.
It was her turn to scowl at the man. “I thought Mr. Juncker was your friend.”
