Page 119 of Wicked Rivals
He was the only worthy adversary who played a game of chess with living pawns as well as Hugo did, and now Lennox had proved who would prevail.
He must have kept one before he handed them over to my agent.It was the only logical explanation. The late Lord Kincade would not have left one letter out. He was too methodical in their dealings to make such a mistake.
A sense of doom closed in around him, choking him like the river had when he’d tried to erase Charles from the world. The League had managed to outmaneuver him.
But hope still remained, however slim. They still needed to learn how to decode the message, and none of his agents had found the cipher that was sent to Rosalind. Perhaps it had been lost? And if the League were to discuss what they had found within earshot of his men… Well, at least then he would know what they knew, and he could prepare a defense accordingly. It was possible the fragments they possessed held nothing too damning. And with luck, his men might even be able to steal it from under their noses.
A sharp chill dug into the base of his spine. He held hope, but no illusions. The evidence they had could destroy the world he’d spent the last years building.
He leaned closer to the fire and let the packet drop on top of the logs. He watched the flames burn away at the letters.
And yet he was not safe. It was only a matter of time before a reckoning came.
*****
It was raining on his wedding day. Ashton stood at the front of the altar in the small cobblestone church only two miles from his ancestral home, listening to the rain whisper against the windows and the hum of it on the vaulted roof above.
“Even you cannot control the weather, old boy,” Charles teased as he stood beside Ashton.
A rueful smile twisted his lips. “Indeed, I cannot.”Damn the rain. I will marry Rosalind today, no matter what.
He waited, desperate to somehow distract himself from his nerves. What if she didn’t show? No, she would. She’d promised him, and that promise held a greater weight than the most secure bank in England.
In front of him he saw Godric, Cedric and Lucien all in attendance with their wives, amused grins flashing his way.
“She’ll come.”Godric mouthed the words.
Ashton gave his friend the slightest nod of acknowledgement.
“Ash, I have to tell you something,” Charles whispered in his ear.
Ashton glared at his friend. “Now? It had better be something to put me in a good mood.”
“Oh, it is,” Charles assured him. “Back at your home, when you were ill, I tried to lure Rosalind away from you by offering to buy her debts.”
“You didwhat?” He did not look in Charles’s direction again. If he did, he would strike the man down.
“Calm yourself. She refused the offer. Pointedly. That’s a woman worth marrying. A woman worth betting a man’s life upon.” A hush crept through the chruch when everyone heard the sound of a carriage outside.
Ashton was shocked. Rosalind hadn’t taken the opportunity to escape their marriage bargain? He knew now that she loved him, but before? She’d kept her promise even then. And she would keep it now.
The doors to the church opened and two figures entered, lit by a pale light from behind. A cloud of rain followed them, but the taller of the two lowered an umbrella he’d been holding to reveal the smaller woman beside him. Brock and Rosalind had arrived.
Three times Ashton had stood and watched his friends marry. He could scarcely believe it was now his turn.
I am a fool, but a happy fool.Ashton couldn’t contain his joy at the sight of Rosalind, her cheeks flushed. Even across the room he could see the glint of a laugh in her eyes as she saw him waiting for her. Perhaps she had had the same moment of doubt about him being there, and the same moment of relief when she finally saw him.
The white gown on Rosalind’s body was exquisite. The bodice had a pattern of intricate pearls sewn in, and the hem of the gown was layered with embroidered snowdrops. The silk of the dress shimmered as she walked down the aisle.
A true vision of beauty. A dream come true. Ashton’s throat constricted as he struggled to retain what little control he had left. He worried now that he would not be able to speak when she reached him, and that would make the clergyman standing next to him very cross indeed.
When they finally reached him, Brock kissed Rosalind’s cheek, then nodded to Ashton in a silent show of approval before stepping back.
Rosalind’s mouth hinted at a smile when she saw how he watched her.
“You allowed it to rain?” she teased in a whisper only he could hear.
His lips twitched as he tried to hide his own smile.
