Page 18 of The Lyon Returns
“Maybe,” Gideon murmured.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon had also assumed he’d died. Else why promote him to Mrs. Barnes as a manalmost certainly dead?
He contemplated the blonde-haired bluestocking who’d invadedhis home. She’d moved into his bedchamber, the audacious chit, thanks to her preference for big beds. He wondered where she intended to sleep tonight.
His loins stirred instantly to life. Bloody hell. Perhaps he could make time for one more stop before heading home to call on Mrs. Emily Trent.
For some odd reason, the notion held no appeal, which made absolutely no sense. He had been long without the charms of a woman, and he and Emily had conducted a mutually beneficial, unexacting affair for the past several years. She was beautiful, sensual, and made no excessive demands.
“I say, Gideon, are you all right?”
“Fine. Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re scowling, and because I asked you a question which you appear not to have heard.”
He hadn’t. “I was trying to work out a conundrum. I apologize. What did you ask?”
“I asked why you’d conclude Brice filing the insurance claim would indicate he’d thought you’d died? It’s far more likely he was simply short on cash, as usual, and seeking the quickest route to line his pockets.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“When we met to discuss matters, he never intimated he thought you’d perished,” Grayson added, eyeing Gideon askance.
“Who called the meeting?”
“Brice did.”
“Tell me about it.”
“As I said, Brice set it up, a few weeks after the shipment sailed. We gathered at the Lyon’s Den, like always, only Dirk was missing.”
Grayson went on, very earnest, now. “When I asked where he was, Brice explained he’d double-crossed us. According to his contacts at the Home Office, eye-witness testimony claimed to have seen ourconvoy—headed up by Captain Dirk—sailing into French waters under armed guard.”
“Did Brice say anything about me?”
“About you? How do you mean?”
“Dirk was my hand-picked man. Did he ever wonder if I was in collusion with the man?”
“Of course not, Gid. That would be tantamount to treason. Neither Brice nor I would ever suspect you, even when rumors of your involvement started circulating.”
“I wonder who started the rumors?”
“Just what I wanted to know.” His brother slammed a fist into his thigh. “I told Brice he better damned well make it clear to his contacts that not only is the very notion of you as a traitor absurd, you have nothing to gain from such an endeavor. It is not as if you need the money.”
Gideon nodded. “How did Brice respond to your suggestion?”
“He agreed, of course, and had every hope of clearing your name.”
He had not done a stellar job of that, Gideon reflected. “I appreciate your confidence in me, Grayson. Let us hope the Home Office draws the same conclusion as you.”
Chapter Five
Gwen sat dutifullyon the stool before the vanity in the chamber she now occupied, while a humming Clara brushed her too-fine blonde hair ’til it gleamed. She contemplated her surroundings without much enthusiasm. The room adjoined with the master’s suite, and was clearly intended to accommodate the mistress of the house. But it had none of the usual feminine frippery of a wife’s domain. No pastel wallpaper, no painted furniture, no gold or silver gilding.
She knew from Mrs. Dove-Lyon that Gideon had lived here with his previous wife. Thus, she could only conclude he had stripped the chamber clean of her presence after she died. Had he so loved her that he could not bear any reminder of her?
“Turn your head, if you please ma’am.”
