Authors: Arpan B
Ethan
blinked. Diffident?
Jane
?
He
turned back to the intruder. "Who the bloody hell are you?"
"Stanton"
raised a brow. "Persistent fellow, isn't he?" he said to
Jane.
Jane
moved forward. Ethan could have sworn she was trying to put herself
between him and this balls-forward Stanton bloke.
"Ethan…"
Jane turned to him with a careful smile. He hated that careful smile.
"Ethan,
meet Mother." She took a breath. "And my cousin, the
eleventh Marquis of Wyndham."
Ethan
let out a breath. "Oh." He turned to Lord Wyndham. "Why
didn't you just say so?"
Jane
turned back to Wyndham. "Stanton, I can explain—"
A
new voice echoed in the hall. "Wyndham!" Dalton appeared in
the study doorway. If Ethan was not very much mistaken, his lordship
was somewhat out of breath.
Lord
Wyndham gazed curiously at Dalton. "Etheridge?"
Dalton
entered and nodded at Ethan, greeting Jane as well. "My lady."
Then he faced off against Wyndham. "If you want to destroy this
man, you'll have to go through me," Dalton declared. "He's
one of mine."
Lord
Wyndham showed a trace of astonishment. "He's a Liar?"
Ethan
felt rather astonished himself. "I'm still a Liar? I thought you
only wanted me to infiltrate Maywell House!" He was stunned.
They still wanted him?
At
that moment, Collis appeared in the doorway, not quite so breathless.
"I figured Dalton had everything in hand," he said easily.
He blinked at all of them. "What, you didn't need me, did you?"
"If
I might get a word in edgewise?" Jane's voice had regained
something of its usual acerbic tone. She turned to her cousin.
"Stanton, I'm simply worried that you've the wrong idea about
Mr. Damont." She took a breath. "He never laid a hand on
me," she stated definitely.
Ethan
had to pause and admire such a nicely delivered bald-faced lie.
Wyndham
turned to Ethan. "What have you to say to that?"
Ethan
feared he wasn't going to lie nearly as professionally as Jane. And
yet—he'd never actually used his bare hands, had he? He turned
to Wyndham, the picture of a misunderstood gentleman. "I vow to
you all—I never laid a hand on her."
Jane
smiled proudly at him. He only nodded back as serenely as Jeeves—er,
Pearson.
"Not
only that," Jane went on. "The only reason Lord Maywell
didn't kill me days ago was because of Ethan's— et, Mr.
Damont's—influence on him." She sent Ethan a slightly
irritated glance. "Mr. Damont is an excellent operative. I never
suspected a thing."
Wyndham
narrowed his eyes at Dalton. "About that… why wasn't I
informed that Maywell was being investigated?"
Dalton
matched Wyndham's gaze. "Why wasn't I informed that you and Lord
Maywell were related through your cousin?"
Collis
cleared his throat and raised one hand like a dutiful student.
"Pardon me, but I want to know how Lord Wyndham knows about the
Liars."
Jane
let her gaze drift back to Ethan, standing so upright and alone among
the others. All she wanted to know was if Ethan still loved her, as
he had shouted to her in Hyde Park.
She
took a step toward him, but before she could say anything, Ethan
reached for a folded paper on his desk. He handed it to her without a
word.
Jane
took it and silently unfolded it. One sheet was the legal deed to
Diamond House.
The
other was a statement in a rather hideous scrawl that stated the
transferal of ownership of Diamond House to the sole possession of
Lady Jane Pennington, signed by Ethan Damont.
She
looked up at Ethan, hope blooming in her heart. He would never give
up his house—not unless he meant for them to share it!
"I
want you to have it," he said stiffly. "I—I don't
want it any longer and you've lost so much—"
Vast
and infinite disappointment swept Jane. He wasn't asking her to share
his home. He was giving it to her as a parting gift.
"Where
are you going to live?" Her voice didn't break, she was
surprised to notice. Oh, that must have been her heart that
shattered, she thought dully.
"I
thought I'd take an extended journey to the West Indies," Ethan
told her distantly.
Jane
narrowed her eyes. "Isn't that where men flee to escape their
debts?"
He
blinked at her in surprise. She saw the first glimmer of
comprehension cross his face. He indicated the deed. "Is that
not enough repayment?"
Jane
crossed her arms and tapped the folded deed against her chin. She
became aware that the others were watching them. She cared not a
whit. "No," she said firmly. "It is not."
Ethan
drew back. "What else do you want from me?"
"Zeus,"
Jane responded instantly. "I want Zeus."
Ethan's
jaw dropped. "But—" Then his face hardened. "Of
course. I can hardly take him with me, after all."
Jane
was disappointed. She was going to have to raise the ante, it seemed.
"I want the house, Zeus, and…" She glanced at Lord
Etheridge and Collis, then she smiled. "And ten years of
indentured servitude." She pointed at Dalton. "To him."
Ethan
scowled. "What?"
Collis
snorted. "She wants you to be a Liar, you idiot."
"The
commitment is usually for life," Dalton drawled. "But I'll
take that ten years and raise you another cat." He rolled his
eyes skyward. "God knows we have enough of them running about
Etheridge House."
Ethan
held up his hands. "Wait just a moment—"
"I'm
not finished yet," Jane snapped. "You owe me. You admitted
as much yourself. Is that not so?"
Ethan
cleared his throat and looked away. "Yes. I owe you. I'll serve
ten years in the Liars."
Jane
nodded briskly. Her cousin was watching her closely, but for all that
she owed him, she would not give up Ethan. "I want you to smile
more often." She ticked each item off on her fingers. "I
want a decent proposal of marriage. And sometimes…" She
leaned closer to Ethan, although she truly did not care who heard
her. "Sometimes," she whispered loudly, "I want to be
on top."
Ethan
put both hands over his face and laughed helplessly for a long
moment. "Janet, you're killing me." His voice was muffled
but she could already tell he was smiling. Then he dropped his hands
and inhaled deeply. "No more running."
His
eyes were shining so brightly that Jane felt her own chest grow
tight. Love, for the first time unfettered and unrestrained, shone
from his eyes like a beacon through the fog.
He
dropped to one knee and took her bandaged hands in his bandaged
hands. "I have no name, no fortune, nor even much value as a
man. All I've ever had that was of any worth is this house and my
cat. If you'll have me, Lady Jane Pennington, then all I have is
yours."
Jane
shook her head. "I'm sorry, that isn't enough. You're supposed
to tell me how much you love me."
He
smiled sadly up at her. "Would you believe me? I've been known
to lie on that topic before."
She
arched a brow. "Try."
He
bowed his head for a moment. "I don't think I could keep
breathing for a single day if you weren't," he said, his voice
husky with emotion. "I don't think I could bear to pass one
moment of my life knowing that I hurt you, or that you were hurt
because of me. I don't think I could watch another sun rise if I
didn't watch it with you."
He
looked up at her at last. "Is that love enough?"
Jane
nodded, her eyes filling. "It'll do."
He
smiled at that. "Then, my lady, we have a deal."
They
solemnly spat on their palms and shook on it. Then he stood and
pulled her into his arms.
Jane
fell headlong into his kiss—until someone cleared his throat
behind her.
"Oh,
hell," Ethan murmured against her mouth. "I forgot about
them."
Jane
chuckled and hid her face in Ethan's neck.
Lord
Wyndham sighed. "A Liar in the family. Oh, well, I suppose it
could be worse. He could be a—"
Collis
held up one finger. "Better not say a tradesman's son. Or a
dandy. Or a card cheat."
"Oh,
hell," Wyndham murmured faintly. "Maybe she ought to marry
him soon, before he gets any worse."
Jane
giggled. "Or before I do," she whispered to Ethan.
Jane
peered curiously about her as Lady Etheridge led her through the
secret portion of the Liar's Club. "Are you sure it is all right
for me to be here?"
Clara
smiled. "Considering that you are marrying the Gambler and are
already an operative for a member of the Royal Four—"
Jane's
eyes widened. "Shh! Ethan doesn't know about them," she
whispered.
Clara
eyed her with amusement. "Don't you think you ought to tell him
before the wedding next week?"
Jane
thought about it. "Hmm. No," she said firmly. "He has
enough adjustments, with the prince trying to knight him and
everything." She sighed. "Have you heard all the details of
his rescue of the Prince Regent? It's such a thrilling tale—"
Clara
held up a hand. "Yes, dear, I have. Several times." She led
Jane down a hallway. "We'll just pop up to the attic for some
drawing supplies and then you can describe the Chimera to me. I've
become quite good at using other people's descriptions…"
But
Jane wasn't listening. She'd stopped before the notice board, her
eyes locked on a drawing already placed there. "That's him,"
she breathed.
Clara
hurried back to her. "What?"
Jane
reached out to touch a drawing of a sullen young man, not more than
twenty, with a round face and peevish expression. "That's him.
That's the Chimera."
Clara
went very still. "
Dalton
!"
Lord
Etheridge and Ethan Damont came barreling down the hall. "What
is it? Are you unwell?"
Clara
took down the drawing, her hands shaking as she pulled the pins from
the paper. She handed it to Dalton.
"The
Chimera," Clara said slowly, "is Denny."