Page 82 of Impeccable
Her gaze snapped to his. “Honestly, I didn’t think it mattered. That was the past. I am not that person anymore.”
“Who you were is part of who you are. I wanted to know everything about you.” He still did, but he hated that she’d kept something so important from him.
“Did you really want to know I’d been a courtesan?” she asked derisively. “I can see from your expression that it disgusts you. ThatIdisgust you.”
“I don’t know how you can tell that because it isn’t true. I am angry you lied to me. I’m also upset that you and Lucien seem to still share a bond. Perhaps that is why you wish to never wed—the man you truly want isn’t available to you.” Gregory knew that Lucien didn’t want to marry.
“Don’t be jealous, Gregory. Lucien and I share a close friendship, but there is nothing romantic between us.” Her words soothed Gregory’s agitation and filled him with relief. “I choose to remain unwed because I have spent my life fighting for comfort and stability. I have those things throughmyhard work. I don’t want to be beholden to anyone. I didn’t even want to accept this job from Lucien when he first offered it. But he convinced me that he needed my skill and talent. And now I’m going to doom his dream.” She took a halting breath.
Gregory moved slowly toward her, hating to see her hurting. “It isn’t your fault.”
She laughed suddenly, a broken, hollow sound that carved into Gregory’s heart. “The irony is that my father was a chevalier. During the Terror, he sent us here for safety. He was supposed to follow as soon as he ensured some others were safe. He never came. It was years before we confirmed he had died.”
“Evie, I’m so sorry.”
One of her beautiful, elegant shoulders lifted. “I don’t remember him at all. I was very young when we came from France. Just me, my sister, our mother, and her maid, Nadine.” Her eyes met his. “You met my sister—Heloise. Rather, Mrs. Creighton.”
“I did think you bore a resemblance to one another,” he confessed.
She exhaled. “That has been a problem since I became Evangeline Renshaw. It’s why she doesn’t come to town. That, and she’s a pariah because she married above her station.” She gave him a sad look. “I’m sorry your name will be sullied with mine. You don’t deserve that. I should have been honest with you so you could decide if you wanted to sully yourself with someone like me.”
Gregory couldn’t stand another moment without touching her. Yes, he was angry, but he was also outraged for her. In agony—forher. He went to her and gently clasped her upper arms. “I would never think that, not even knowing the truth. You are a remarkable woman, Evie. To have lifted yourself from an unimaginable devastation is incredible.”
“Do you say that because my father was a chevalier? What if we—Heloise and I—were simply poor girls from the East End? Would you still think me remarkable?”
He understood her point, and the truth was he didn’t know, because that wasn’t the situation. “I’d like to think so. Evie, I was—and am—drawn toyou, whoever that is.”
“And what if I don’t know?” she asked brokenly.
Gregory tried to pull her to him, but she broke away and put distance between them, positioning herself closer to the door. He couldn’t help feeling wounded that she’d allowed Lucien to comfort her, but not him.
“You don’t need to have all the answers.” Gregory had often told his students that. “Life is an endless query and exploration.” Hell, he’d only recently decided what he wanted to do. And it appeared he was going to have to shift his goal again since that way was now closed to him.
Evie folded her arms over her chest. “How did they find out about us?”
“I don’t know.” Gregory thought about what Hargrove had said, but couldn’t discern any clues as to how he might have learned about their affair. He knew his brother was involved somehow. Had he somehow discovered there was something between them? He suddenly realized what it could be. “At Witney Court, when you came upstairs to see Ash—”
Her eyes rounded. “Someone knows what we did in your bedchamber?”
“There’s no way anyone would have seen what we were doing, but when I left, I saw a maid. If she saw you too and told my brother, or worse, if she told Susan…” Gregory shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Your sister-in-law noticed we were both absent,” Evie said flatly.
“It’s also possible Susan noticed my frequent absences at Witney Court and that you and I spent time together on outings and drew her own—accurate—conclusions. But that is just a supposition.”
“There’s also my neighbors. Mr. Kirby saw Ash on the street with a gentleman—you. If he somehow identified you…and he knew that same dog spent the night with me, he may have reasoned that you and I were at least friends. Then, if he or someone in his household happened to see you coming to or leaving my house…” She put a hand to her cheek. “We were so foolish.”
“We were also rather happy,” he added softly, unable to summon even a small amount of regret. Though it sounded as if she had enough for both of them. “Do you have any idea how they learned of your past?”
She exhaled, sounding frustrated. “It has been a risk since the beginning. I’ve always chosen my invitations carefully, and there were certain people Lucien wouldn’t allow to become members for fear they would recognize me. At first, I changed the color of my hair, and I permanently stopped wearing many cosmetics. I also altered my wardrobe, which was frankly necessary after no longer being a courtesan. Over the past two years, I’ve let my hair gradually go back to its normal color.”
“You made a concerted effort not to be recognized.”
“Of course I did,” she said sharply. “Mirabelle Renault was never going to be accepted anywhere polite. She certainly couldn’t be a patroness of the Phoenix Club.”
“But Mrs. Renshaw could.”
“She was Lucien’s idea—a respectable widow. I left town for several months and came back as someone entirely new.” Her lip curled. “I should have realized this harmony could never last. Someone was bound to put it all together. I suspect it was Philip Arbuthnot. I encountered him at Witney Court. He found me familiar, but couldn’t place our connection. I met him at a courtesan ball.”
