Page 60 of A Lady Igniting Wicked Passions
“It was doomed. You would have lost your money,” Arabella said.
Aaron nodded. “You know horses. Better than I or Bredwardine. I wanted you to be wrong because this seemed to be providence. But I could not bear the thought that I was hurting you. Not even for a moment. I told myself that when it won, I would make it up to you…but…I could not do it. And now, I do not know what to do.”
“You could start by telling me everything. And I will not accept any silly assertions that it is man’s business and has nothing to do with me. I will not accept a marriage in which I am inferior to you or kept in the dark.”
Aaron laughed. “I should have known better than to try. I believe my mother was made of the same stuff as you. Very well, but I fear you will judge me for it.”
Arabella turned in her seat and fixed Aaron with a level look. “Try me.”
“I invested in a gambling hell owned and run by my uncle.”
“The uncle I met?” Arabella asked.
“The same. The Ashenwood fortune was left in tatters by my father. I invested in Blakehill because he seemed to have a thriving business. It is in Whitechapel but is frequented by members of Parliament, lords, even members of the royal family.
Men like to gamble. It seemed a good investment. But it was not. And in desperation, he accepted a loan from…an unsavoury character in London’s East End.”
Arabella nodded. She felt no judgement that Aaron had a stake in a gambling house. It was not a whore house, after all. That might have been too much to bear. But what harm in a place that let rich men throw their money away?
“Unsavoury?” she asked.
“A criminal and a very dangerous man. I was…summoned to him the day after our wedding. After that conversation I sought Blakehill to find a solution and then sought drink and cards to block out the world. Bredwardine found me thought and told me of his miracle horse.”
“Which is lame,” Arabella said.
Aaron laughed bitterly. “I was grasping at straws. Now, I do not even have that.”
Arabella took his hand. “I presume this man is not open to reason.”
“You presume right. He is a violent man with many other violent men around him in his employ,” Aaron replied.
Arabella stroked a lock of his hair back from his face, running her fingers through his hair. He leaned his head against her hand. The carriage had left Ascot behind, but it did not feel as though their troubles had been left at the races. Arabella stared out of the window, absently stroking her husband’s hair, and kissing his forehead.
“Are we in danger?” she asked, quietly, fearing the answer.
“Not you,” Aaron said, raising his own head. “I shall see to that.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I am talking of pure practicality. I know that you will protect me with your life but are we truly in danger from this man?”
Aaron did not reply for a long moment, then he nodded. “I fear so. I fear he will try to hurt you as leverage over me. He has already paid off some of my London household staff.”
That sent a chill through Arabella, but she simply nodded, refusing to give in to her fear. Aaron liked to portray strength, but she knew this must be tearing him apart. She would not add to his burden by going to pieces.
“I must send you away. Somewhere that he does not know of. Somewhere that I do not know of. No connection to my family or to yours. Once I know you are safe, then I can face him,” Aaron said with finality.
Chapter 36
Upon their return to Ashenwood Castle, Aaron remembered his visitor. The presence of Aunt Victoria had quite escaped his mind, as well as Arabella’s judging by the surprised expression on her face as they entered the library together. Victoria sat before the fire in Aaron’s favourite armchair. She had her stockinged feet propped on a pouffe and was reading aloud from a quarto volume of Shakespeare.
Her delivery was immaculate, and her voice filled the room as though she stood on a stage at the long-lost Globe. She was reading a passage fromMuch Ado About Nothing, a pair of pince-nez perched on the end of her nose. As they entered, she took off the spectacles and looked up.
“Hello there. I did not expect you to return so soon. I had thought the races would last longer into the night. Your staff assure me the last race is often after eight.”
“We had more important business and decided we did not have time for…frivolity,” Arabella said.
Aaron was grateful for her discretion, having an instinctive dislike of his mistakes being shared with others, particularly people he did not know. Then he considered the eccentric woman who seemed so close to Arabella.
“Have the staff provided you with dinner, Mrs. Waverley?” He asked solicitously.
