Page 39 of Masquerading with the Duke
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‘Yes.’ She glanced up at him. ‘There, now you know it all.’
‘I cannot find the words to tell you how impressed I am,’ he said, his voice soft and sincere.
‘We survived somehow without losing our virtue, so you can be sure that I will never submit to the likes of Redrow.’ She tossed her head, her eyes flashing with indignation and a fierce determination that he couldn’t help but admire. Perdition, he admired every damned thing about her. ‘Never!’
‘Thank you for telling me. You must have been terrified. I am full of admiration for your courage.’
‘I’m not sure that we were especially courageous. We were just desperate to survive. Besides, it was Ariana who did most of the planning for our future, while doing everything she could to protect me. It was she who found a way to escape from our captors when we arrived in England, otherwise Lord Amos would never have come upon us, half frozen to death and scared out of our wits, and saved us. That’s why I don’t want Ariana to know about Redrow, although she does now. I worried that she would feel obliged to do something about it—involve the duchess perhaps—and they have both already done more than enough for me. However, she has promised to let matters rest. My sister is very perceptive and knows that I feel the time has come for me to stop depending upon her and fight my own wars.’
‘Battles. Fight your own battles.’
She sent him a harried look. ‘Why must you always correct me?’
‘Because you want to be perfect.’ He paused. ‘You are.’
‘Well, now you know all there is to know about my past. I have never told anyone the full story before.’ She glanced up at him. ‘I cannot think what persuaded me to tell you, but I did, so now it’s time for you to be equally candid and tell me why you are so interested in Redrow.’
‘Interested?’
She stamped her foot in evident exasperation. ‘You don’t like him, that much is obvious. But if it was not you who I saw with Redrow in his gardens, and I accept your word for it that it was not, then either you have a double or he is in league with a relative of yours.’
Jared lowered his head and let out an exasperated sigh. ‘You are too observant.’
‘And you are still trying to protect me,’ she responded impatiently. ‘It seems to me that you need my help, not the other way around. There is something that you want to know about Redrow. You think I might be able to enlighten you but still you won’t confide in me out of some misguided sense of gentlemanly conduct.’
He flexed a brow. ‘You don’t look upon me as a gentleman?’
‘Stop changing the subject, since I shall not be deterred from pursuing it.’ She turned towards him, eyes flashing with magnificent ire. A man could drown in the depths of those compelling eyes if he didn’t have a care. But then there were worse ways to die. Considerably worse. ‘Just tell me what you want to know,’ she said, calmer now.
‘It was my brother whom you saw with Redrow. I suspected it the moment you mistook him for me. Then he turned up uninvited at my estate today, saying he had business in the area, confirming my suspicion that he must be in league with Redrow.’
‘For what purpose?’
‘I’m not sure. We don’t get along, which is probably hard for you to understand, given how close you are to your siblings.’
‘We were forced by adverse circumstances to stick together, especially Ariana and me. It was the two of us against the world, so we came to mean everything to each other. She was the leader and I depended upon her absolutely, but I think she took strength from having me with her.’
‘I am perfectly sure that she did.’
Martina flashed a distant smile. ‘Despite all that, I do understand that a lot of families don’t see eye to eye.’
‘My brother came to me hoping for a handout, and I failed to oblige,’ Jared said curtly.
She blinked. ‘I don’t see what that has to do with Redrow. How do they know one another?’
‘I was not aware that they did until you mentioned seeing them together.’ Jared turned away from her, convinced that she would not be fobbed off with half-truths. ‘How well situated are the Redrows?’
‘Financially?’
‘Yes. Do you know?’
‘Well, there was never any shortage of money to meet the girls’ endless requirements for silk and muslin, and Mrs Redrow kept a good table, entertaining lavishly whenever her husband was at home.’ She gave an elegant shrug. ‘I have no idea where the funds came from. The Redrow estate is not large, and cannot yield much of a profit. I just assumed that Redrow must have private means.’
‘He does not.’
‘But he advises a government minister. He’s proud of that and makes sure everyone knows how important he is. Or so he likes to think.’ She turned up her nose disdainfully, tapping her index finger against her teeth as she reasoned the matter through. ‘Your paths crossed in France and you suspect him of working against British interests.’
