any more than he can change his eye color.'
'Damned if he can't,' came his scowling reply.
'There is no need to be cross,' Lottie said. 'And you haven't yet told me who and where this mysterious viscount is, which leads me to believe that you're making it up.'
Gentry changed position, shifting uncomfortably, his gaze carefully averted from hers. 'It's me.'
'What?Are you trying to fool me into thinking that you are some long-lost peer?You , a crime lord and thief- taker, are a secret viscount?' Lottie shook her head decisively. 'I don't think so.'
'I don't give a damn if you believe it or not,' Gentry said evenly. 'Especially when it has no bearing on the future, as I will never claim the title.'
Lottie stared at his hard profile in astonishment. He certainly seemed to believe what he was saying. But how could it be possible? If there was any truth to his claim, how had a son of the aristocracy come to this turn? One did not begin life as a member of the nobility and end up as a...whatever he was. She couldn't keep from pelting him with questions. 'You are John, Lord Sydney? The son of the Viscount Sydney who died twenty years ago, supposedly without an heir? Do you have any proof of this? Is there anyone who would corroborate it?'
'My sister, Sophia. And her husband, Sir Ross Cannon.'
'The magistrate? The former head of Bow Street is yourbrother-in-law ?'
Gentry responded with a single nod. Lottie was utterly confounded. She supposed she had no choice but to believe him, since the story could easily be discredited if it were untrue. But it was so fantastical, so absurd, that she couldn't begin to make sense of it.
'I was seven years old, perhaps eight, when my parents died,' Gentry explained gruffly. 'Other than me, there were no male relatives who could lay legitimate claim to the title or lands. Not that there was much to inherit, as my father was in debt, and the estate was in disrepair. My older sister Sophia and I knocked about the village for a while, until she was finally taken in by a distant cousin. But I had become a hellion, and the cousin was understandably reluctant to take me under her roof. So I ran off to London, and became a footpad, until I was imprisoned for my crimes. When another boy died in prison, I took his name so that I could gain early release.'
'He must have been the real Nick Gentry, then,' Lottie said.
'Yes.'
'And you took his identity and let everyone believe that you had died?'
A defiant gleam entered his eyes. 'He had no more use for the name.'
'But certainly later you must have thought about reclaiming your true name...your rightful position in society...'
'I have exactly the position in society that I want. And Nick Gentry has become my name more than it ever was his. I intend to let Sydney rest in peace.' He smiled sardonically. 'Sorry for the loss of prestige, but you're going to be known as Mrs. Nick Gentry, and no one save my sister and her husband will be aware of the truth. Do you understand?'
Lottie nodded with a puzzled frown. 'I don't care about a loss of prestige. If I did, I would have married Lord Radnor.'
'You don't mind being the wife of a commoner, then,' Gentry said, watching her intently. 'One with limited means.'
'I am used to living in humble circumstances. My family is of good blood, but as I mentioned once before, we are poor.'
Gentry studied the polished tips of his boots. 'Lord Radnor was a damned stingy benefactor, if the condition of Howard House is anything to judge by.'
Lottie inhaled swiftly. 'You've been to my family's home?'
He glanced into her wide eyes. 'Yes, I visited your parents to question them. They knew that I was searching for you.'
'Oh,' Lottie said in dismay. Of course her parents would have cooperated with the investigation. They had been aware that Lord Radnor wanted to find her, and as always, they had acceded to his wishes. The news should not have come as a surprise. And yet she could not help feeling betrayed. Had they taken even one moment to consider her interests, rather than Radnor's? Her throat tightened, and she could not seem to swallow properly.
'They answered every question in detail,' Gentry continued. 'I've seen the dolls you once played with, the storybook you drew in...I even know the size of your shoes.'
Filled with terrible vulnerability, Lottie wrapped her arms around herself. 'It seems odd that you have seen my family, when I have been away from them for two years. H-how are my sisters and my brothers? How is Ellie?'
'The sixteen-year-old? Quiet. Pretty. In good health, it seems.'
'Sixteen,' Lottie murmured, unsettled by the realization that her siblings had grown older, just as she had. They had all changed during the time they had been apart. Her head ached suddenly, and she rubbed her forehead. 'When my parents spoke of me, did they seem to...'
'What?'
'Do they hate me?' she asked distractedly. 'I've so often wondered...'
'No, they don't hate you.' His voice became oddly gentle. 'They're concerned for their own hides, of course, and they seem to entertain a sincere belief that you would benefit from a marriage to Radnor.'
'They've never understood what he is really like.'
'They don't want to. They've profited far more by deceiving themselves.'
Lottie was tempted to rebuke him even though she had thought the same thing a thousand times before. 'They needed Lord Radnor's money,' she said dully. 'They have expensive tastes.'
'Is that how your father lost the family fortune? By living outside his means?'
'I don't believe there was much of a fortune to begin with. But my parents certainly spent whatever was available. I remember that when I was a child, we had the best of everything. And then when the money was gone, we nearly starved. Until Lord Radnor intervened.' She continued to rub her forehead, letting her fingers drift to her aching temples. 'The argument could easily be made that I've benefitted from his interest. Because of Radnor, I was sent to the most exclusive girls' school in London, and he paid for my food, my clothes, and even hired a maid to attend me. I thought he wanted to make a lady of me. At first I was even grateful that he took such care to prepare me for being his wife.'
'But it became more complicated than that,' Gentry murmured.
She nodded. 'I was treated like a pet on a leash. Radnor decided what I could read, what I was allowed to eat...he instructed the teachers that my baths were to be ice cold, as he believed it was more conducive to good health than hot water. My diet was limited to broth and fruit wheneverhe decided that I needed slimming. I had to write a letter to him every day, to describe my progress on the subjects he wished me to study. There were rules for everything...I was never to speak unless my thoughts were well formed and gracefully expressed. I was never to offer an opinion about anything. If I fidgeted, my hands were tied to the seat of my chair. If I became sun-browned, I was kept indoors.' She let out a strained sigh. 'Lord Radnor wanted to make me into another person entirely. I could not fathom what it would be like to live with him as his wife, or what would happen when he finally realized that I could never attain the standards of perfection he set.' Lost in the dark memories, Lottie twisted her fingers together and spoke without being fully aware of what she revealed. 'How I dreaded coming home on holidays. He was always there, waiting for me. He barely allowed me time to see my brothers and sisters before I had to go with him and...'
She stopped suddenly, realizing that she had been about to confide the secret that had caused her parents to erupt in fury when she had tried to tell them. It had seethed at the bottom of her soul for years. They had somehow made it clear without words that the family's survival, and hers, depended entirely on her silence. Choking back the forbidden words, Lottie closed her eyes.
'You had to go with him and...' Gentry prompted.
She shook her head. 'It doesn't matter now.'
'Tell me.' His voice was soft. 'I assure you, nothing you say could shock me.'
Lottie regarded him cautiously, realizing it was true. With all that Gentry had seen and heard and done, nothing would disgust him.
'Go on,' he murmured.
