Heading for her horse, Eve realised her mistake in coming to Netherthorpe. Clearly this was not the time for a confrontation with Maxim. She was about to mount her horse when Maxim, having followed her out of the house, called for her to wait. Seeing his fixed expression, she was filled with unease and foreboding.
‘A word, if you please, Eve. You are not thinking of leaving?’
‘Yes, I think I must. Had I known you would not be here, I would not have come.’
Maxim clamped his hand on her elbow. ‘You are here now. It would be a pity to waste your journey. Will you please come back inside?’
‘No, thank you. Having just encountered your charming cousin, I have no stomach to face him again.’
‘Then come, let’s walk away from the house where we will be less likely to be interrupted.’
‘Very well, but please let go of my arm.’
He did as she bade and, side by side, they did not speak until they had reached the garden and a place where they could not be observed from the house.
Eve took note of the judicious set to Maxim’s jaw. She waited for him to speak, enduring the icy blast of his gaze. It dawned on her that he was striving to control his anger and she prayed he would gain it before she told him about the child.
‘Were you deliberately trying to publicly humiliate me last night?’ he demanded suddenly, giving her no time to prepare for the attack. ‘Come, Eve,’ he continued when she merely stared at him. ‘Don’t tell me you are stuck for words. You are clearly a woman of many talents, and it would seem one of them is to try and humble me. You didn’t succeed, by the way. I am too experienced and too thick-skinned to be baited by you. Why, if you feel compelled to show me you care nothing for me, did you need to prove it in such a petty, small-minded way?’
Maxim’s reprimand for her behaviour of the previous night was deserved. But Eve had not refused to dance the second dance with him to shame him or humble him in any way, so how dared he take the high ground after what he was guilty of where she was concerned?
‘Don’t you dare talk to me about being humbled and humiliated,’ she uttered irately. ‘You seem to believe this is all about you. What did you expect? It was more than you deserved.’
‘Really? I disagree.’
Eve’s mouth went dry when he moved closer. She stepped back. ‘Don’t you dare touch me. I hate it when you do.’
Maxim’s dark brows drew together and, reaching out, he pulled her into his arms. Before she knew what he was about, his mouth swooped down on to hers. She wanted to pull away, but she wanted his kiss more. Her anger quickly melted into searing passion.
When he felt her begin to respond, Maxim raised his head, looked down at her upturned face and smiled sardonically. ‘Now tell me you hate it when I touch you. Perhaps next time you decide to humiliate and embarrass me in public you will reconsider.’
Drowning in shame at her inability to control her own treacherous body, with flaming cheeks Eve twisted free of the bewilderment that had gripped her when he had drawn her into his arms.
‘You—humiliated? Embarrassed? How dare you say that, you despicable hypocrite?’ she fired back and had the satisfaction of seeing shock crack his hard, handsome features. ‘From the very beginning you set out to degrade me in the most shameful way of all, and yet you accuse me of humiliating you. Believe me, Maxim Randall, what happened to you in the assembly rooms was pretty tame, considering what you had intended for me.’
Maxim cocked a brow dubiously, somewhat amazed by the spirit of her. He reached out to draw her to him. Furiously, she shrugged him off.
‘Keep your hands off me. I haven’t finished. I’m not too proud to admit that in the beginning I was foolish enough to fall for your charms. It was quite wonderful, the most wonderful and remarkable thing that had ever happened to me. And now...now I have been told about the wager you made with your cousin. I am so ashamed—it was so trite. You are no doubt accustomed to that sort of feminine reaction wherever you go,’ she uttered scathingly. ‘I succumbed, just like every other unsuspecting woman you take a fancy to—a foolish inclination on my part, not supported by anything other than infatuation and my own imagination, because you felt nothing for me at all. That I knew.’
‘The wager? How did you know?’
His shocked expression and the question told Eve she’d made a mistake—that she had almost revealed her secret that she loved him—but she was so angry it no longer mattered.
‘I know because I was told.’ She flared, looking him in the eyes, ashamed of the feelings she carried for him in her heart. ‘I know because Elena Devlin told me the night after we were together. I may be naïve and silly, and many more things you’ve probably implied to your cousin, but at least she opened my eyes to the fact that you are nothing but a deceitful scoundrel.’ Turning from him, she moved to stand away from him.
Comprehension and a hint of dismay dawned on Maxim’s face. ‘What, exactly, did she tell you?’
The sound of the swiftly indrawn breath seemed loud in the still air between them as Eve whirled to face him, her eyes blazing against the angry flush on her taut face.
‘Enough. About the wager you so callously made with your wretched cousin—that if you failed to seduce me by Christmas Edward would be richer by a house. A house, for heaven’s sake! Is that all I am worth? How dare you use me for your amusement by pretending to be my friend by using deception and trickery on someone who is too honest—and, yes, naïve, even—to recognise how depraved you are? How you must have laughed to yourself at my stupidity. When I first met you, I saw only a show of civility on the surface—just as easily as you wore your polite manners and title. I knew nothing and understood nothing—even about my own body or the sensations and emotions easily aroused by an unscrupulous seducer.’
‘Eve, I am grieved that Lady Devlin told you about the wager, but please believe me when I say I regret even considering it. I give you my word, I never intended to hurt you.’
Her eyes were alight with pain and fury. ‘Liar!’ she cried contemptuously. ‘Your word means nothing to me.’
White-faced with his guilt and remorse, Maxim tried to placate her. ‘It was a temporary madness. It was cruel and thoughtless, and I realise you must be deeply hurt.’
‘Yes, I am,’ she snarled, her eyes blazing with turbulent animosity. ‘And there is no excuse. How does it feel to know you won the wager? Are you pleased with yourself? At least you won’t have Edward living on your doorstep. What a fool I made of myself. You are a scoundrel, Maxim, and what is true of most scoundrels is doubly so of you—you despicable lecher.’ She turned from him and walked away, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him.
‘Eve...’ Maxim began tautly, but she whirled on her heels like a dervish and stalked back to him, her storm-dark eyes pinpointed by tiny red flames reflecting the light of the sun. Did she but know it, she reminded Maxim in that moment of a cornered vixen, all teeth, claws and angry vibrations that he could feel emanating from her.
‘Tell me, Maxim, what was I?’ she scoffed sneeringly, jabbing her finger into his chest. ‘Was I some tender morsel you decided to play with, a simpleton to fill your needs for a night or two? What amusement you must have had playing your sordid little game with me. My one regret is that Elena Devlin didn’t tell me before I shared your bed.’
Nothing moved in Maxim’s face, but his eyes darkened. Quietly he asked, ‘Will you listen to what I have to say?’
‘No. I am not interested. I will never be able to forgive you. But you listen to me, Maxim Randall,’ she said, her chilled contempt meeting him face to face. ‘The harm you have done me will stand between us for ever. There are some issues we will have to talk about—important and necessary issues—but this is not the time. Not when there is so much anger between us and I expect your cousin to appear at any minute.’
With her head held high, she turned, marched out of the garden, headed back to the driveway and mounted her horse. She was down the drive and heading off across the fields before Maxim could gather himself and call her back.
Eve’s hostile encounter with Maxim had stoked a burden of emotion inside her. She should have told him about the child, but she hadn’t wanted to discuss something so precious to her in an atmosphere of hostility. She firmly believed Maxim didn’t feel any remorse at all for what he had done to her. Her mind had always shied away from delving too deeply into what her feelings were for him, but now she had to ask herself.
Despite what he was guilty of where she was concerned, she cared for him deeply—there was no denying that—and she treasured the times they had been together. She could not discard from her mind that exquisite night she had spent in his bed, in his arms and the pleasure and intensity she had experienced before she knew about the wager.
Almost beyond conscious thought, she felt as if all emotion had been drained out of her. She reminded herself that he was a scoundrel, a libertine, and that righteousness was on her side. But, if so, then why did it hurt so much and why was her face wet with tears?
Maxim didn’t return to the house immediately when Eve had left him. Weighted down with unbearable guilt, and hating himself with a virulence that almost choked him, he stared into the distance. So that was what all this had been about—that blasted wager. Everything had been made clear, presenting the whole sordid picture in every profane detail. As he watched her leave he was not afraid for himself, but he was tortured by the thought that he could lose her. Imagining it, he felt sick.
He had come to realise that he wanted to spend his life with her. He never again wanted to be separated from her. This was a life-changing thought and he played out the consequences in his mind. He was sure Eve’s feelings were similar to his own. Despite the distance she seemed determined to put between them, he thought he could not be mistaken about that. But she had created so many questions for which he had no answers.
He belatedly realised he should never have agreed to the wretched wager in the first place. What had he been thinking? Damn it! He was old enough and experienced enough to have known better, and to have thought of the possible consequences, and he cursed himself for having so recklessly allowed himself to be goaded into yielding to a wildly irrational impulse. He had made a mess of the entire situation and he had no one to blame but himself. Eve’s revelation answered so many questions and why she had behaved as she had on leaving London.
Dear Lord, he had hurt her very badly. She must hate him, and with good reason. Knowing this, he felt a pain that was a thousand times worse than any wound he had ever received. If only she had waited and allowed him to explain that he had told Edward the wager was off, that he could have the house since he wanted to renege on the bet. He was going to have to find a way to tell her, to redeem himself—but would she believe him?
It was not until he was returning to the house that he wondered what had brought her to Netherthorpe. It hadn’t been about the wager—that had cropped up incidentally. So why had she come? And what ‘important issues’ had she been talking about?
Unable to leave things as they were between them, he was soon riding in the direction she had taken.
Far too tense and overwrought to remain calm, Eve rode her horse hard. When she was out of sight of the house, she slowed. It seemed as if everything about her had become still, almost as if time itself hung precariously before petering out. The only sound she could hear was in her head—Edward’s condescending, harshly delivered words echoing cruelly in the darkness of her mind—until suddenly she could hear the drumming of a horse’s hooves coming closer.
Halting her horse in a clearing, she waited for the rider to emerge from the trees. She wasn’t really surprised to see Maxim. Bringing his horse to a halt, he threw himself out of the saddle and strode towards her.
‘Get down, Eve. Please. There is too much between us for us to part in anger.’
On a sigh, she slipped from the saddle, looking up at him.
‘I couldn’t let you leave like that. I’ve been trying to catch up with you, but you were riding as if the Devil himself were in pursuit. We cannot leave things as they are.’
‘No, we can’t. I’m sorry if I spoke harshly, but my encounter with Edward made me angry.’
‘I can understand that and, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. But you must listen to what I have to say.’
‘Yes, of course. I am all ears, Maxim. Perhaps you should begin by telling me about the wager—which one of you came out the victor?’
‘There was no victor, Eve. I reneged on it.’
Confused, Eve stared at him, a feeling of unease beginning to steal over her. ‘I think you’d better explain.’
‘I wanted to. As I recall, you didn’t want to know. You were so furious with me, I felt my protestations of innocence would fall on deaf ears.’
‘You had made me an object of ridicule and I was furious—as anyone would be. Why did you agree to the wager in the first place?’
‘Because I wanted you—quite desperately, in fact. I wasn’t thinking straight. I never can where you are concerned.’
His words didn’t answer her question fully, nor did they remove the hurt. But they did fill her with hope, with warmth and, loving him as she did, she realised for now it would have to do. ‘Why did you fold on the wager?’
‘Because I had developed a deep regard for you, and I would not dishonour you. True to my word, I honoured the wager when I saw Edward in London. Allowing him to take up residence in the Dower House is proof of that.’
The blood drained from Eve’s face and she almost stopped breathing when the implication of what he’d told her hit home. ‘I see,’ she said tightly. ‘And your cousin? Does—does he know...?’
‘What? How well we came to know each other?’ He shook his head. ‘Of course not. What happened between us is no concern of anyone else.’
‘Thank goodness,’ she murmured, suddenly beginning to feel tired. ‘Although it will be a long time, if ever, that I will be able to forgive you for agreeing to the wager in the first place. But did you have to allow him to live in the Dower House?’
‘I’ll have to discuss it with him further. In all truth, I don’t believe I can suffer having him living on my doorstep.’ Maxim stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. ‘You look pale, Eve. Are you unwell?’
‘If I am, then it is your fault.’
His body tensed, his jaw tightened and his eyes grew cold. ‘My fault? How is it my fault? And what were the issues you referred to before storming off?’
‘I am with child, Maxim. Your child,’ Eve said quietly. ‘Small wonder the ladies you associate with can’t forget what you do to them, if you impregnate them the first time you take them to bed.’
Maxim’s face became thoughtful, his eyes narrowing speculatively. ‘How long have you known?’ He stood straight, his hands by his sides, his face impassive—the expression he normally wore to shield his thoughts when troubled or angry. A muscle began to twitch in his cheek.
Eve found the calm of his demeanour to be more infuriating than any display of anger. ‘A couple of weeks,’ she replied.
‘I see. And you are certain?’
‘Of course I’m certain. The child is yours, Maxim, so don’t you dare try wriggling out of it,’ she snapped.
‘I would not do that.’
‘That’s something, at least.’ Her face became flushed with emotion.
‘Is that what brought you to Netherthorpe today? To tell me about the child?’
‘That—and to tell you I knew about that disgusting wager you made with your cousin.’
‘I’m sorry. I take full responsibility for what has happened and I am duty-bound to do the honourable thing. Why didn’t you tell me before now?’
‘You’ve no idea how much I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t.’
‘You need not fear for the future.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘That we will be married immediately.’
Eve could not believe what she was hearing. He sounded so dispassionate, she was not quite sure if she had received a proposal of marriage or a comment about some inconsequential issue of the day. ‘I see.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And are you quite sure that you want to marry me, Maxim?’
‘These are not the most romantic of circumstances under which to propose, and I am more than likely wounding you by discussing the arrangements in such a blunt way, but we have no choice.’
A lump of nameless emotion constricted her throat. He was treating her as if there had been nothing between them, as if they had never shared the intense passion between a man and a woman. She suppressed the intense regret that it was so. She had not yet said she would marry him. So much still remained unspoken between them. Tell me you love me! She didn’t say the words. She couldn’t. Nor could she speak of her love for him.
‘That was not what I asked you.’
‘My feelings have no bearing on this. There is nothing else to be done. You must be aware of the stigma attached to an illegitimate child, that it will be an object of censure and ridicule throughout its life. Think about it. A woman alone with an illegitimate child is prey to the pitilessness of society.’
‘I know. A harsh society that believes the sin is all the woman’s, that she is to blame for being in the condition she has brought on herself, and that the child as well as her must be shunned lest it contaminates them—while the man who is equally to blame walks away without a blemish on his name. I would like to say that I will not allow my destiny or that of my child to be dictated by circumstance, society or you—but I cannot.’
Maxim looked at her hard. The expression on his face was difficult to read, but some new darkness seemed to move at the back of his eyes. ‘I have an obligation to the child—to you, Eve. We will be married as soon as it can be arranged, for I will not compound any wrong I have done you by abandoning my honour and my duty. It takes two to make a child, and you and I made together the one you are carrying.’
Eve pulled herself erect with as much composure as her shaking limbs would allow, but the penetrating eyes meeting hers gave her no assurance. ‘I know, but that was before that cruel wager you made with your cousin. I was alone and confused and I had to deal with what happened. So, you see, after this you cannot blame me for being angry. I even told myself that I did not want you to be the father of my child.’
His expression changed, becoming harder still, and the tone of his voice became deadly quiet. ‘Nevertheless, that is what I am, so let that be an end to it. It may not have been conceived in the kind of circumstances I would have liked, but I will use every means at my disposal to keep its reputation untarnished.’
She nodded her agreement. ‘Yes. That is how it must be.’
Turning away from him, she went to her horse. Maxim stood and watched her. For the first time in his life he found it difficult to tell a woman that she was the most alluring and desirable he had ever known. Even when she had told him about the child, when the consequences of his actions were so grave, he wanted her. She had become a passion to him, a beautiful, vibrant woman, and he had hurt her very badly.
Striding after her, he halted her before she could mount. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face him, looking at her for a long moment. Even now, when the consequences of what he had done to her were grave, when the future of his heir was all important, he wanted her.
Without warning or hesitation, he bent his head and brushed her parted lips with his own, encouraged when she did not protest. His kiss was slow. He didn’t use force but, when the tip of his tongue touched hers, her lips opened a little more without any direction from her or urging from him. Some part of him wanted more, but he simply let his mouth linger a moment longer and then pulled away.
‘I have hurt you very badly, Eve. I know that. I suppose it’s conceited of me to assume you will marry me, that you would accept our marriage as a matter of course because of the child. But, putting all that aside, I do want to marry you regardless of anything else.’ His eyes softened. ‘Do not fight me, for I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you. I consider marrying you as simply the right and honourable thing to do.’
He lowered his head and kissed her again, bending her head back better to accommodate his lips on hers—soft, gentle and ever so persuasive. Eve was as helpless to stem the rising desire consuming her as she had been when first they’d kissed in London.
‘Eve,’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘What do you say about our marriage? You’re a difficult woman to win over.’
Eve’s senses were still spinning. She wasn’t sure what bothered her more—that he’d dared to kiss her, that he seemed so unaffected by it or that she was beginning to realise that she was no longer able to control her own fate.
‘Damn you, Maxim Randall.’ She flared, pushing him away and folding her arms over her chest. ‘You are right, and I hate you for being right. If I am to give our child the best possible chance in life, then it will need a father—so, yes, I will marry you.’
‘Good. That’s settled, then.’ He put his hands gently on her shoulders and drew her to his chest. ‘I have had lovers before, but I would like you to know I have never felt this way about anyone before. You are the only woman I have wanted to marry, Eve,’ he murmured, his mouth touching the crown of her head just where the thick, golden hair parted.
‘Believe me, my darling. You have nothing to fear. You are a wonderful, brave, incredibly beautiful woman. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you—how could I not? I love you more than anything on earth.’
Eve’s breath caught in her throat and, tilting her head back a little, she looked up at him, feeling a glimmer of hope. Maxim loved her? The beginnings of happiness swelled in her heart.
‘You never told me.’
‘That was because it took me a while to realise it,’ he said tenderly. ‘And then there was so much going on between us that I was afraid to mention it until I was sure I stood a chance of winning your regard. I do love you. So very much.’
Hearing the gentleness in his voice, Eve drew back to search his rugged face. Sunlight slanting through the bare branches of the trees highlighted his thick hair and increased the sharp clarity of his eyes, making it impossible for her to deny the love she saw there. She took a steadying breath, daring to believe. And, suddenly, all the doubts and fears of the past days and weeks were gone.
‘I thought I had lost you,’ she whispered, a break in her voice. ‘And I couldn’t bear it.’
‘Well, well,’ a voice rang out. ‘What a touching scene.’
Maxim and Eve spun round to see Edward pointing a pistol at them.
‘What have we here?’ Edward jeeringly asked, arrogant in his demeanour, confident with a gun in his hand. ‘A love scene—how very touching.’
Maxim stiffened and his cheeks tensed with fury. ‘Edward!’ he exclaimed, automatically taking Eve’s arm and thrusting her behind him. ‘What the devil are you doing?’
‘I have some unfinished business. I wanted the two of you to be together. This is perfect for what I am about to do.’
Maxim’s eyes never wavered from the man he now knew to be the most malignant of enemies, his nemesis, the man he was now certain had murdered his brother. His tall frame was rigid with anger, his voice when he spoke measured with a sinister steadiness.
‘So, Edward, we have the truth at last. I understand what all this means, and why you have decided to enact it now, and how you have schemed and manipulated and must have waited for this moment. After two attempts on my life have failed, it appears you’ve decided to finish me off yourself. I congratulate your bravado at last.’ Each word had a bite, and Maxim’s eyes were deadly. ‘Who’d have thought it of my cousin?’
Edward’s smile was icy. ‘You never did know me very well, did you, Maxim?’
‘That was my mistake. I do now,’ Maxim replied with tightly controlled fury. ‘I never thought... I never realised... How could I have known, my clever, vindictive cousin, to what ugly lengths you would go? You killed Andrew, didn’t you, Edward.’
He shrugged. ‘It wasn’t difficult. Yes, I partly severed the girth on his horse. It broke during the hunt, throwing him off. When he tried to get up I...’
‘Hit him over the head. According to Dr Ennis, it was the blow that killed him.’
Edward raised his head aloofly, his expression carefully controlled with no hint of either guilt or regret. ‘I do not deny it. No one was present. If anyone suspected me, then they did not speak out.’ He was confident now, a triumphant smile on his lips. ‘There was no proof. There was no one to set themselves up as my executioner for a crime they were unable to prove that I committed. I should have been the Earl of Levisham—according to my father, who always professed to have been the first born.’
‘So he would have you believe. He was mistaken—like he was in every aspect of his misbegotten life. You should have left well alone. With Andrew out of the way, no doubt all your hopes of me dying in the Peninsular were dashed when I came back to take up my rightful position at Netherthorpe.’
‘Yes, something like that. You came back to cheat me out of all this.’
‘Netherthorpe was never yours, and yet you have been brooding and seething all this time. The longer your resentment went on, the more bitter and dangerous you became. You’re quite mad, Edward.’
Intent and dangerous, Edward advanced on Maxim, all trace of patience vanished in his need to finish what he had started when he’d killed Andrew. The only sign that he had come close to losing his control showed in the harshness of his breathing, in the stillness that held them all in thrall. If Eve had thought he hadn’t the stomach to assassinate Maxim himself, she now knew she had been mistaken.
‘That’s right. I am mad, and I have no conscience for what I am about to do. When your bodies are found, no one will have reason to suspect me. Two attempts have been made on your life already—and I was nowhere in sight. Yes, you killed the last assassin—but it will be assumed he wasn’t working alone.’
‘And the reason?’
‘That will be open to conjecture. As a soldier just returned from Spain, it would not be unusual for someone to have a gripe against you and be out for revenge.’
Instinctively Maxim’s arm snaked behind him to protect Eve. ‘You intend to kill us both?’
‘Why not? It would be suicidal to let her go. She knows too much.’
‘Eve is with child—my child. Would you murder that too?’
Edward’s face hardened as he looked towards Eve, who moved closer to Maxim. ‘So, you seduced her after all. I understand now why you reneged on the wager. All the more reason to get rid of the three of you.’
Eve had to admire Maxim’s cool nerve, which she put down to his military training.
Suddenly one of the horses shifted and snorted, the noise sounding loud in the quietness of the glade. Distracted, Edward whipped round. Maxim took this moment of distraction to leap forward to knock the weapon out of his hand, but Edward held on to it and leapt back. A struggle ensued. Eve watched, her heart in her mouth as the two fell to the ground, locked in a deadly struggle.
She pressed a hand tightly across her mouth as her heart throbbed in sudden dread. She stood irresolutely on the edge of the scene, her eyes darting from one to another of the major players in the drama unfolding before her eyes. Fear rose within her and she could not beat it back. A bright flash of light erupted from the gun and the sound was deafening. The next moment, Edward became still, clutching his chest, blood beginning to seep through his fingers.
Maxim got to his feet and looked down at the man who had wanted him dead, bending over his prostrate form. One of Edward’s hands clutched at his chest, blood seeping from between his fingers. He was obviously in a lot of pain, his breathing ragged. The lines around his mouth were deep and his face was pale. He lifted his hand and groped around for his pistol.
‘Leave it,’ Maxim said. ‘You’re in no condition to put up a fight. You fool, Edward. Guilty of killing Andrew and your attempts on my life—you have got what you deserve.’
Edward raised his head and glared at him, his gaze shifting from Maxim to Eve and then back again. ‘Damn you, Maxim,’ he gasped, his head falling back as the effort proved too much. ‘You’ve finally got it all. This was not how I planned things. And you, Eve Lansbury—with aspirations above yourself.’
‘It will very soon be Eve Randall,’ Maxim informed him curtly, pulling her close against his side. ‘Countess of Levisham. Eve has consented to be my wife.’
‘Wife?’ Edward snarled. ‘Then I damn you—twice, Maxim. You have it all. You really have no idea at the lifetime of misery and humiliation your family have subjected me to over the years—the poor relation, my fate decided when our fathers were born and your father was proclaimed the heir—damn him.’
‘As you damned me in your ambitions to remove me as you removed Andrew.’
Edward closed his eyes to hide the pain of his own defeat. ‘Don’t be smug, Maxim.’ And then he laughed, a horrible, grating sound which made a cold shiver run down Eve’s spine. ‘At least I’ve cheated the hangman.’
The words came haltingly from between his lips, and when his head fell back they realised there was nothing they could do. There came a sudden death rattle in his throat, and his whole body heaved, as if in a convulsion. Even as Eve gave a little cry of horror, he collapsed.
For a long moment there was silence in the woodland glade as they realised Edward was dead. Eve’s face was drawn and white, the ordeal having taken its toll. Maxim held out his arms and she moved into them gladly, almost like a child seeking comfort and reassurance, for she was still prey to the fear she had felt when she’d truly thought Edward was going to shoot them both. Maxim placed his lips gently on the crown of her shining hair, which snaked its way down her back like a silken sheath.
‘What a dreadful thing to happen. How are you feeling?’ he asked quietly.
‘Overwhelmed by a turmoil of emotions. It’s a combination of relief, gladness and at the same time a feeling of horror, mingled with some element of surprise—knowing that the man who intended destroying us both is dead himself.’ She looked at him, her eyes luminous with tears. ‘It was so terrible. I truly believed, Maxim, that we were going to die.’
Maxim’s arms tightened around her, for there had been a moment when he had also thought this. ‘I know,’ he said hoarsely, overcome with emotion.
Eve leaned back in his arms and looked at him. ‘This is so awful for you, Maxim, knowing Edward really did kill your brother—that he was also the one trying to kill you.’
‘At least we know the truth of it now and we can move on. Dear Lord, how I wish I had looked into Andrew’s death sooner. If I had, none of this would have happened.’
‘You could not have foreseen what Edward would do. Don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault. You weren’t to know he would go to such drastic lengths.’
‘You are very generous, but I cannot be acquitted so lightly, my love.’ Looking down at Edward’s recumbent form, he sighed. ‘What has happened has to be dealt with. Do you think you could ride to Netherthorpe? Tell them what has happened and send someone into Woodgreen for the constable. I’ll wait here.’
‘Yes—yes, of course. I’ll also have someone ride to The Grange to explain things to Sarah. She’ll worry if I’m late.’
Not until Edward’s body had been taken back to the house and Eve found herself alone with Maxim did she begin to relax. Darkness would soon be falling, and they were alone in the elegant drawing room at Netherthorpe, seated side by side in a window recess.
Taking her hand, Maxim raised it to his lips. ‘How I have agonised over that dreadful wager I made with Edward. You had every reason to be angry with me that day, and I should have known better than to do anything so reckless. My ignorance as to the merits of your character has caused me to reproach myself many times. It was cruel and indefensible.’
‘Yes, it was, but I beg you not to reproach yourself further. All that is in the past—let us put it behind us. Edward can no longer harm us.’
‘That’s true. Without doubt he was a man driven by ambition and disillusionment over the past—embittered and vengeful. I did not realise how fanatical he was in his desire to take Netherthorpe from me. There is little he would not do—even murder—to further his goal. He confessed to killing Andrew. Justice has been done, but I feel no victory in it. All his hopes were pinned on getting Netherthorpe for himself. I should feel compassion for his loss, but I cannot find it in my heart to do so.’
‘I can understand that. Edward brought fatal harm and too much distress to you to deserve your sympathy.’
‘I have always believed in Edward’s sincerity. No amount of gossip and scandal could shake me from that belief. No proof of his perfidy—and it has been offered to me—could convince me that he was other than what he seemed. But I now realise that, in all the years I have known him, I have been allowed to see only one side to him, the side he wanted me to see. He created an image of himself of a loving, concerned cousin or, perhaps by a stretch of the imagination, a brother. Thinking of him now, I feel the pull of old loyalties, of the confidences between us, the laughter and adventures we had as boys.’
‘He clearly grew up with a grievance towards you and Andrew. Did he not consider a military career like yourself?’
‘No, not a bit of it. As an only child he had never done a day’s work in his life. The only thing that mattered to him was pleasure—his pleasures many—and becoming the Earl of Levisham. He was agreeable in public to most people if it suited him to be, people who could make his lot in life easier, but I now know that underneath he was quite ruthless and a calculating congenital liar. With his sights set on Netherthorpe, getting rid of Andrew was a calculated risk, but it had worked—until I came home from the Peninsular. I had to be got rid of and then his path to being the Earl of Levisham would be clear.’
‘Thank goodness he didn’t succeed.’ Nestling against him when he placed his arm about her and drew her close, she said, ‘Are you sure you want to marry me, Maxim? You’re not just asking me because of the baby?’
‘I want you,’ he said in a tone of tender finality. He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it, forcing her to meet his steady gaze as he quietly added, ‘And you want me. Ever since that day you left me in London, I’ve been in purgatory. You have no idea how much I wanted you, how I tormented myself thinking of ways to get you back. You are going to marry me. I am determined.’
‘But I am not of your world. We aren’t suited.’
‘None of that matters,’ he whispered, sliding his hand around her narrow waist and moving her closer against him, his tender gesture demonstrating quite clearly that he disagreed with her. ‘I adore you, Eve. I have adored you since I first looked up and saw you bending over me when I’d been shot. And that,’ he added on a husky note, ‘Is no doubt the reason I was willing to go to any lengths, honourable or not, to make you my wife. I love you.’
‘Oh, Maxim,’ she murmured, her eyes shining with her love. ‘You are a wicked rogue, and after the way you have treated me you do not deserve that I should love you, but I do. Very much.’
‘Then you agree that we will be married as soon as it can be arranged?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered. There were tears in her eyes. Tears for the speed of her surrender. Within the protective circle of his arms, she tilted her head. There was nothing she wanted more in life other than to be joined to him for ever. ‘I do love you, Maxim. I shall be proud to be your wife.’