A Most Dangerous Profession(17)

“So ask them. But I’m going to get out of the tub first. It’s getting cold.”

“No, you can get out when I leave. If it’s getting cold, then answer quickly. You went through an elaborate ruse to get me to marry you.”

She’d charmed him into dressing as the King of Hearts to her Queen for a fancy dress ball at Vauxhall Gardens. It had been a foolish costume, but she’d been adamant about wearing them and he’d allowed it because he was already under her spell.

That had been his almost-ruin. The Home Office had grown suspicious of Moira, who had somehow convinced all of London that she was a Russian princess. Because of his connections to the ton through his sisters, who’d all married quite well, Robert had been asked to discover what he could about this mysterious woman.

It had been his first major assignment and he’d thrown his heart into it. Perhaps too much so. The instant his eyes had met hers, something had flared between them—and was flaring between them right now. Try as he might, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her glistening shoulders as they rose above the edge of the huge tub.

He shifted in his chair. “As far as weddings go, ours was a paltry affair.”

She chuckled low. “Don’t be bitter. The gardens were lovely and . . .” Her smile faded. “You looked very handsome.”

And she’d looked like a fairy that night, her eyes sparkling more brightly than the diamonds about her neck. “I was a bloody fool.”

Something flickered in her gaze but she merely shrugged. “Nonsense. It was an elaborate deception and you didn’t expect such a thing. How could you?”

He must have asked himself that question a thousand times. While wandering Vauxhall’s famed dark gardens, they’d run into an obviously drunk man dressed as a vicar, who swore they were the most beautiful couple he’d seen that night. He then demanded to be allowed to “marry” them.

Robert had thought the man mad, but Moira had laughed and teased him that he was afraid. Drunk from both her beauty and the fact he was embarking upon his first assignment, he’d agreed to the unthinkable—to allow the “vicar” to marry the two of them on the spot. The vicar was quick to comply and even produced a false marriage license, demanding that it be signed.

Moira’s green gaze met his as she swiped at a curl across her cheek. “How did you discover that silly wedding wasn’t a mockery? I didn’t think you’d give it a second thought.”

“When you disappeared the next morning, I began to investigate everything you’d said and done. That night kept coming back to me. Something about it . . . it seemed wrong somehow.” How Moira must have laughed at his naïveté. “To my surprise, I found the marriage license. You went to a lot of trouble to make our false marriage seem valid.”

Her lashes dropped to shadow her expression. “I knew you would be angry, but—”

He waited, but when she didn’t offer more he said sharply, “But what?”

She looked away and waved a hand as if banishing an annoying insect. “It was fun while it lasted.”

He scowled. “Which part? The bedding? Or the sham of a relationship that never was? Frankly, neither was all that memorable to me. If I didn’t feel that you’d stolen something from me, I would never think of either.”

Color stained her cheeks and her lips folded into a straight line. “There was nothing wrong with our performances in bed. I still cherish those memories.”

So that hurts, does it? Good. He couldn’t help being pleased. “When all was said and done, I found myself the most sorry for the vicar.”

At her surprised look, Robert added, “I found him not long after you disappeared. He told me how you’d contacted him and offered him a fortune to do this one thing. How he said no, but you were determined.”

“He said yes quick enough once we began talking money,” she said sharply.

“His little sister was ill. He needed it to pay for her care.”

A shadow crossed Moira’s face. “I didn’t know.”

“He admitted that. But that’s neither here nor there. You set everything in motion, including posting banns and filing the license, so that our marriage appeared to be legal.”

She began to speak, but he held up a hand. “I realize I could have it set aside, but only if I was willing to face public scrutiny. You knew I wouldn’t do it. Why, Moira? Why go to so much trouble?”