The Lady Who Saw Too Much. Thomasine Rappold
more than Aunt Clara did. This was a delicate matter, and he wasn’t a delicate man. It would be less embarrassing for Gia to have the situation handled by a female.
Even if that female happened to be Aunt Clara.
Gia certainly would be eager to go. Especially since she’d brought this mess on herself. She should have considered the consequences before sneaking into his room. Even so, his response to her kiss made him guilty for his part in the debacle. He would have done far more than kiss her, had she been willing. This admission struck him with the force of his mounting regret. What the hell had he been thinking?
The door opened and he rose to his feet. Aunt Clara charged into the room, dragging Gia with her.
“Sit,” she told him. “You too.” She all but shoved Gia toward a chair.
Gia straightened in her seat, looking more frightened than Alice did while in the midst of a crowd. His chest tightened at the stark panic on Gia’s face, and all at once, he rued allowing his aunt to handle Gia as he had.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Aunt Clara announced.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“After what she’s disclosed to me, her leaving town is no longer an option.”
Landen stared in confusion. He turned to Gia for help, but she averted her eyes. She stared down at her knees, her face unreadable.
“She’s not leaving?”
Aunt Clara shook her head. “No, Denny, she’s not leaving.” Her smug tone sent a chill down his spine. “You and Miss York will be married instead.”
* * * *
“She is lying!” Landen shot to his feet.
“Perhaps,” Aunt Clara said matter-of-factly. “Unfortunately, you can’t prove it. And given the witnesses…” She tossed up her hands. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. Word will spread through town and everyone will believe the worst.” She lifted her chin. “You have no choice.”
The four words enclosed him, squeezing the air from his lungs. The one thing he swore he’d never do was fall victim to a woman’s manipulations again. And here he was. The victim.
Apparently, he’d learned little from the mistakes of his past. And nothing of scheming women. “And if I refuse?” he asked for the hell of it.
Aunt Clara shook her head. “You won’t. You’re an honorable man, Denny. You’ll do nothing to discredit yourself. Nothing that might cause your business dealings to suffer.” She shrugged. “You know it. I know it.” She tossed a nod toward Gia. “And I’ve a hunch that Miss York knows it too.”
Gia stared at the floor. He strode toward her, glaring down in disgust. “You conniving little—”
“Enough!” Aunt Clara waggled a finger. “That’s no way to speak to your future bride.”
His anger rose at his aunt’s obvious elation. Her desire for him to settle down and have children was no secret. She’d been hounding him for years. “You wished for this,” he said. “The two of you may as well be in cahoots.”
“Don’t blame me for your self-inflicted plight,” Clara said. “You’re the one who was caught red-handed and half-naked with the companion you hired for your sister.”
If possible, hearing this truth made him angrier.
Clara tilted her gray head, her tone softening beneath her underlying pity. Despite all her berating, he knew that she loved him. “Accept it, my boy. You’ve been outsmarted.”
He turned to Gia, but she still refused to look up.
His heart thundered as he struggled like an animal caught in a trap. His thoughts spun in futile circles for some way out. Drained and sickened, he exhaled in surrender as the icy calm of defeat settled over him. “So it seems.”
Gia glanced up, finally meeting his eyes.
“You’re a clever girl, Miss York,” he said, as evenly as he could manage. “And I intend to reward your cleverness by being the husband you deserve.”
Chapter 5
Gia stepped from her room the next morning, dreading having to go downstairs. With every descending step, she felt the hellfire of Landen’s fury waiting to incinerate her alive. Prompted by the remote possibility he might be absent at breakfast, she quickened her pace. Clara’s friend, Beatrice, was still snoring loudly in the room across from Gia’s. With any luck, Landen was a late sleeper as well.
Gia entered the dining room to find Alice seated at the long table with Clara. “Good morning.” Gia took a seat across from Alice, exhaling in relief at Landen’s absence, however temporary.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Clara’s cordiality seemed genuine, and Gia swallowed her shame. She’d lied to the woman, setting in motion a turn of events she hadn’t expected. Gia had been so desperate to extend her stay, she hadn’t fully considered that Clara might actually insist Landen marry Gia. Or perhaps, deep down, she had, and didn’t want to admit to this possibility. Either way, Gia would now have to live with what she’d done.
“Landen has left for business in Troy,” Clara said. “But not to worry. A few days in the city will give him some time to adjust to your sudden engagement.”
And the distance to keep him from wringing my neck. Gia’s heart plummeted at the memory of the scene in the parlor yesterday. His hatred of her was obvious. And justified. Even so, she hadn’t been prepared for how the disdain in his eyes would affect her.
Gia couldn’t deny she was drawn to him. The moment she’d set eyes on him, something inside her had stirred. Some primal part of herself that she’d never known existed had been shaken to life. This strong attraction was ridiculous—she barely knew him—and yet in the wake of what she’d done, she felt a great sense of loss. And guilt.
Her purpose for staying here was to help him, not hurt him. How strange. She was marrying him to save his life, and yet she was ruining the life he had. Did everything connect? Like a tumbling line of strategically placed dominoes, did each action affect the next? It was all so confusing.
Landen would marry her, but he’d never forgive her. He’d made that clear with his threat to be the husband she deserved. His opinion of her had been shattered beyond repair. As was Clara’s, no doubt. And Alice’s.
“In the meanwhile, Gianna, you and I have much to discuss,” Clara said.
Alice finally glanced up at Gia, and she knew at once the girl was privy to what had happened. The wounded look in Alice’s eyes conveyed what she was thinking. That Gia had come under the guise of helping her, only to help herself to her brother.
Gia had betrayed Alice just as the girl was beginning to trust her. If possible, Gia sunk lower. She had to say something. “Alice, I—”
“Excuse me, please.” Alice tossed down her napkin and shot to her feet. “I must tend to my roses,” she said as she strode stiffly from the room.
Clara continued as if nothing were amiss. “Now, about your family. They must be notified at once.”
Gia shook her head. “I have no family.”
Clara narrowed her eyes. “No one?”
“They’re all deceased,” Gia said. The lie sounded smoother than she had expected. Perhaps it was practice, or the raw truth in it. After all her parents had done, they were, in fact, dead to her. The threats of having her committed, the forced tonics, the way they looked at her, were the nails in their coffins.
Their apathy toward Gia before the accident had always pained her. They’d favored her brothers and never pretended otherwise. Three of their children had fallen through the ice, but the one they’d loved