Whirlwind Affair

wouldn't be forced to confide the humiliating details of her marriage. She could simply sail home without him ever having to know.

He lightly shook her shoulders, regaining her attention. 'You must abandon this idea of leaving. Not only would Elizabeth never forgive me if I allowed you to do so, but you cannot make such a trip alone. If, after seeing Elizabeth, you are still determined to cut your visit to England short, we will arrange for a traveling companion to accompany you.' His compelling blue gaze bore into hers. 'But you do not strike me as the sort of woman who would run away.'

His statement struck her as both compliment and challenge, strengthening her determination not to allow David to rob her. of anything else. All of Lord Robert's arguments to stay were sound, while the thought of leaving filled her with an ache she could not name.

'I'll stay,' she said. The instant the words passed her lips, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from her heart.

Lord Robert expelled a long breath, and his grip on her shoulders relaxed. 'Excellent. Now you must tell me what is going on. I've pledged to do my utmost to protect both you and my family, but I cannot do that until I know everything.'

Everything. He was right, of course. There was more at risk here than simply her own safety. Her silence might be placing him in danger. Indeed, it already had. If further harm were to befall him-

No. She couldn't allow that to happen.

He gave her shoulders another tiny shake. 'Let me help you. Trust me.'

She swallowed the humorless laugh that rose in her throat. Yet even as her mind scoffed at the notion of trusting him, her heart reminded her that this man had proven himself trustworthy, at least as far as protecting her was concerned. He'd rescued her from her abductors, and had watched over her since she'd arrived.

Let me help you. She briefly squeezed her eyes closed. To have an ally… someone to talk to. Confide in. Lean on. But what would he think of her once he knew the truth? The thought of seeing the warmth and admiration fade from his gaze saddened her. But she owed him the truth. With his safety at risk, she had no choice.

'It's rather a long story,' she said.

His gaze never wavered. 'I have as long as you need.' His hands slid down her arms, and he clasped her hands in a reassuring grip. 'Come. Let's sit.' He led her to the settee, and once they were settled, she drew a deep breath.

'Did Elizabeth tell you anything about… my husband?'

He appeared surprised. 'No. Only that he'd died.'

'She didn't mention how he died?'

'No. I assumed an illness of some sort.'

'David was killed in a duel.' She longed to look away from his penetrating gaze, but forced herself to look him straight in the eye. 'By his lover's husband.'

It clearly took several seconds for her words to sink in, but then there was no mistaking his stunned reaction. Unable to stand the pity she saw brewing in his eyes, she rose and began to pace in front of the fire.

'I had no idea,' she said. 'One minute I thought I had a husband who loved me as much as I loved him. The next minute I found out he was dead. Before I could even assimilate that news, I learned he'd been unfaithful to me… almost from the moment we'd wed.'

Now that she'd begun, the words seemed to pour from her, as if she'd lanced a wound, letting out the poison. 'I was still reeling from that blow when I realized that adultery was the least of David's sins. While packing away his belongings, I discovered a journal. After reading it, I learned exactly what sort of man I'd married.'

She pressed shaky hands to her stomach in a vain attempt to calm her inner trembling. 'He was a thief. A blackmailer. A criminal. The journal listed, in great detail, hundreds of items he'd stolen and then sold. Of sums he'd extorted.' A fresh onslaught of pain rushed through her at the memory, tightening her throat. 'I was sick. Literally sick. Every comfort I'd enjoyed as his wife-our fine home, the beautiful furnishings, my exquisite wardrobe-were all at the expense of other people.'

She turned to him and spread her hands. 'I didn't know,' she whispered. 'I didn't know. And once I found out, it nearly destroyed me. So many emotions churned through me, I thought I might lose my mind. I spent an entire week locked in my room. First crying over what I'd lost-my husband, my security, my future. Then I cried over what a fool I'd been. I'd trusted David absolutely, with my whole heart. He'd fooled me so completely. Had fooled everyone. Except Elizabeth. She'd tried to warn me. Cautioned me I didn't know him well enough, but I wouldn't listen…'

Pausing long enough to draw several deep breaths, she continued, 'After a week of indulging in tears and self- pity, I couldn't stand myself anymore. That is when anger replaced the self-pity. Anger at myself for being such a naive fool. And with David for all his lies and deceit.'

Turning from him, she started to pace once again, the words flowing even faster. 'Once I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I decided I would not, could not, allow David to rob me of my self-respect. He'd stolen everything else, but he wasn't going to have that. And there was only one way I would ever have a chance of feeling good about myself again. I decided to return all the monies he'd stolen.

'To that end, little by little, I sold everything. The house, the furniture, my jewelry, and eventually even my clothing. As soon as the house sold, I moved away. The gossip and scandal surrounding David's death at the hands of his lover's husband… well, you cannot even imagine how unbearable it made my life. I settled in a small town outside Boston. David had lived in the city for several years, and according to his journal, the majority of the people he'd stolen from were from that area. Living close by enabled me to ensure that the funds safely reached those I needed to repay. As Brown is a common surname, and I did not tell anyone my husband's name had been David, everyone simply regarded me with the respect due a young widow. I earned a bit of money taking in sewing. With that independence, and the feeling of doing something useful to right the wrongs David had wrought… I eventually started to heal.'

Memories flashed through her mind. Her modest rooms. Long nights that had eventually ceased to seem quite so lonely. Her self-respect slowly seeping back as, one by one, she anonymously paid back David's victims.

'I found one item among David's belongings,' she continued, 'that was not mentioned in his journal. It was a small rusted box containing a coat-of-arms ring. I thought it odd that there was no mention of the piece, especially given how meticulously all the other ill-gotten items were listed. Candlesticks, jewelry, snuffboxes. With the exception of perhaps a dozen items, he'd sold the wares as fast as he stole them, therefore I could only return the money he'd sold them for, rather than the actual goods.' Another humorless laugh escaped her. 'While I couldn't explain why there was no mention of this ring in the journal, I of course had good reason to assume it was stolen. If it was, I wanted to return it to the owner. If it actually had belonged to David, I planned to sell it, then donate the money to charity. I wanted all traces of him gone.'

She stopped pacing and glanced at him. He sat on the settee, leaning forward, his forearms braced on his spread legs, his hands clasped, watching her intently. Questions lurked in his intense gaze, but he said nothing, clearly waiting for her to continue.

Clearing her throat, and pacing once more, she plunged on. 'I consulted with an antiquities expert in Boston, but was only able to learn that the ring was old, of English origin, and probably belonged to a member of the peerage. Which meant, of course, that David had almost certainly stolen it, no doubt before he sailed to America. I left the ring as my final item to return, deciding to combine my search for the owner with a visit to Elizabeth. It took me three long years to locate, then repay, David's victims, but I finally succeeded. The only things I kept were my silver wedding band, which I no longer wore, and my mourning gowns, which I wore every day. I couldn't afford other clothing, and the black kept any suitors at bay. And both the wedding band and the gowns served as daily reminders of what I'd lost… and a harsh warning to never allow myself to be put in a similar situation again.' She stopped in front of the fire and stared into the flames, her hands fisted at her sides. 'Never again,' she whispered fervently. 'Never again.'

'Does Elizabeth know all this?' he asked.

Turning to face him, she shook her head. “No one knows. All Elizabeth knows is what I wrote to her in my very first letter where I told her that David had been killed in a duel. Because she deserved to know she'd been right about him, I informed her about the circumstances