Geoffrey leaned his elbows on his desk as he stared at his servant in interest. “What you’re telling me is that Kincade may have some connection with the dissidents, but that we can’t prove it?”
“We can’t prove it, yet, m’lord,” Bartley answered with reassurance and respect.
“So since your first report to me the day after the Demorest ball about his meeting at the Green Dragon with this Ryan Graves and Sam Adams, he’s done nothing? He’s had no contact with anyone?” Geoffrey demanded sarcastically.
“Well, sir…” he hedged.
“What is it, man? Tell me everything!” Geoffrey slammed a hand on the desktop.
“He did have an assignation…”
Geoffrey paled and then flushed with fury as he realized who the woman was. “With whom?”
“The Widow Woodham, sir,” he answered tentatively.
“When?” he snarled.
“Last evening. The man I hired to follow him said that he went there early in the evening and remained for several hours.”
“I see.” His tone was icy as his resolve to destroy Noah became more implacable. “What about his brother? Or the captain of his ship? Anything there?”
“The brother’s activities show some promise…”
“Oh?”
“Yes, m’lord. Matthew Kincade has been paying frequent visits to the home of the Widow Ruth Hammond and her young daughter, Faith. Hammond’s husband, as you will recall, was one of the colonists killed during that shooting some years ago,” Bartley offered helpfully.
“Hammond…” Geoffrey frowned. “No, I don’t remember. I don’t concern myself with that trivia.”
“Anyway,” the servant continued, “Hammond had been one of the troublemakers. We don’t know for certain if his widow or his daughter is still involved with the rebels, but we have found out that they do keep company with Ben Hardwick.”
“And just who is this Ben Hardwick?”
“Well, according to my sources, he’s one of the most ardent supporters of Adams and Hancock, m’lord.” He provided the information with a smile.
“Ah…the connection deepens… Noah Kincade had a meeting with Sam Adams and Ryan Graves, and his brother is involved with one of Adams’s staunchest supporters…to what purpose, I wonder.” His eyes narrowed as he considered all the possibilities.
“I have heard that a romance is developing between the Hammond girl and the younger Kincade.”
“Interesting, but hardly newsworthy,” he scoffed. “He may be dallying with the girl, but I doubt there will be any more to it than that.”
“I had thought the connection an odd one, too.” He agreed with his master’s assessment. “Also, there is one other piece of information.”
“Yes?”
“Matthew Kincade attended the meeting about the tea shipments that was held at Faneuil Hall with Ben Hardwick.”
Geoffrey nodded and then directed, “We have to discover just what they’re up to. Do you have anyone involved with Adams and his followers who might be able to give us a clue as to the Kincades’ purpose?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”
“Good. Pay whatever price is necessary, but find out. I need the information as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“You may go,” he dismissed. As the servant reached the door, he ordered, “Have my carriage brought around. I suddenly feel the need to visit the Widow Woodham.”
“Right away, sir.”
When Bartley had gone to do his bidding, Geoffrey sat back in his chair, deep in thought. He was furious that things were taking so long, but he knew that some things were worth waiting for. Somewhere in Noah Kincade’s activities there had to be something he could use against him. When he found it, he was going to destroy him completely. Eve Woodham was his. He knew it, and as soon as the carriage was brought around and he made the trip to her home, she was going to know it.
Matt sat with Faith in the parlor of her home. Ruth had just stepped into the other room, and at last he found himself alone with her. He’d been trying to get up his courage to propose to Faith for several days now. Each time he’d thought he was ready, he’d hesitated and the moment had been lost. Now he decided it was time. He loved her with a love that grew more potent every day, and he didn’t want to waste another moment of time being apart. He wanted them to be married as soon as they could.
“Faith…” Matt’s tone was a bit choked, and she looked at him curiously, noticing his serious expression.
“Yes, Matthew? Is something wrong?” Faith knew a moment of terrible fear. She loved Matt with all her heart, and the joy she experienced when she was with him was unlike anything else she’d ever known in her short life. Matt had become her whole world, and his solemn manner frightened her.
“No, Faith. Nothing’s wrong,” he answered, his blue eyes darkening to mirror the seriousness of his intent.
“Then what is it? You look so…I don’t know…worried?” she ventured hesitantly.
Matt managed to flash her a grin that at once both thrilled her and relieved her as he reached out to take her hand. “I am worried…”
“But you just said that nothing was wrong…” He was confusing her.
“And I hope I still feel that way after I get through with what I have to say to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Let me finish.” He lifted her hand to his lips, his eyes sparkling now as they met hers. “Faith, there’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time, and I think it’s time I said it.”
“Yes? What?” she was totally mystified.
“Faith.” His tone was suddenly deep with meaning. “Faith, I love you.”
Matt was so pleased and relieved that he’d finally managed to say it that he smiled widely, quite proud of himself. His gaze searched Faith’s as he said the words for some sign of her reaction, and what he saw reflected there sent his heart soaring.
“Matthew…do you really mean it?” Faith couldn’t believe that he’d actually professed to love her. He was Matthew Kincade…nobleman…and yet he was claiming to love her! The thought filled her with rapture and she realized that maybe, sometimes in life, dreams really did come true.
“More than anything, Faith. I love you, darling. I have from the first moment I saw you, and I want you to do me the honor of being my wife.”
The last came as a total shock to Faith, and she looked away from him. For all that she had allowed herself to fantasize about having his love, she had never, ever, even in her most wild imaginings, thought that he would propose marriage! She was speechless.
“Faith?” Matt was suddenly very nervous. He had hoped that she would respond without pause, but she’d gone silent on him and he felt a terrible sinking feeling. What if she didn’t love him? What if she didn’t want to marry him? “Faith, I love you. I want to marry you.”
Her turquoise eyes, when they lifted to his, were luminous and filled with tears. Matt wasn’t sure if they were tears of misery or tears of joy.
“Faith?” He put his arms around her and drew her close.
“Oh, Matthew…” she cried. “Can you really mean it? You love me and you want to marry me?”
“I mean it, love. I’ve never felt this way before, and I know I’ll never feel this way again. I love you, darling. I will forever.” He murmured the last against the softness of her hair, and he felt the tension drain from him at her answer.
“I love you, too, Matthew, and there’s nothing I’d like more than to be your wife.”
Matt held her slightly away from him to look down at her. Never in his life had anyone possessed his devotion more completely. Faith was the woman of his dreams…the woman some men would search their entire lives for and never find. Matt had found her, and he never intended to let her go.
They came together in a rush of passion, their mouths meeting and blending, their hearts beating as one. Only the sound of Ruth clearing her throat in the doorway forced them apart.
“Faith…Matthew…” Her tone was reprimanding, and Matt jumped to his feet, embarrassed at having forgotten in his joy where they were and what they were about.
“Mrs. Hammond, my apologies. “I…we…well, I have just proposed to Faith and she’s accepted, and I suppose, in the moment, we forgot ourselves.”
“What?” Ruth was completely dumbstruck. She had hoped from the beginning that there might be a future for these two, but she had not planned on it. If there was anything she’d learned from life, it was to take what happiness you could while you could.
Faith came to her feet, too, and she took Matt’s hand. “Yes, Mother, Matthew has proposed and I’ve accepted.”
Ruth looked from one to the other, reading the love and happiness in their faces, and she smiled, moving into the room to kiss her daughter and hug Matt. “That’s wonderful.”
“I had hoped you would feel that way, Mrs. Hammond,” Matt told her as he looked down at his future bride, his eyes alight with the depth of love he felt for her.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Ruth was glowing. “I think you’re a wonderful man, and I also think you love my daughter very much.”
“Indeed I do, ma’am,” he replied.
“Have you discussed the wedding yet?”
“No, Mother. Matthew had only just proposed when you came in,” Faith answered, and then blushed as she remembered the kiss her mother had witnessed. “Matthew?”
“As soon as possible,” he told them enthusiastically.
“Will you be wanting a big wedding?” Ruth asked cautiously. She expected that Matt might be wanting a splendid wedding and reception befitting his status in life, and the thought troubled her. There was no way she could afford more than the simplest of celebrations.
“I think that’s something we have to talk about. There are things I have to tell you that need to be discussed,” he told them seriously.
Again Faith was puzzled by his tone and she drew him back down on the sofa beside her. “What do you have to tell us, Matt? It sounds important.”
“I’m afraid it is, but it’s not going to stop us.”
“What?” Both women were attentive.
“As you both know, I am here with my brother, Noah.”
“Yes, you told us about him…” Faith urged him on.
“Well, Noah and I have had a falling out, and I’m not completely sure what my status is right now.”
“I don’t understand. What did you have a fight about?”
Matt sighed as his expression grew troubled. “It’s a long story that began in England many months ago. You know that my father died recently.”
“Yes…”
“When he died he left enormous debts that had to be settled against the estate.”
“Oh no…” Faith was immediately sympathetic. “Did you lose everything?”
He smiled weakly. “Not everything, but almost. We still have two good vessels left and a small inheritance from our mother’s estate.”
“Your mother is dead also?”
“Yes, she died some years ago. Anyway, Noah was more affected by the losses than I was. It devastated him to see our family’s holdings stripped away.” He shook his head sadly. “Noah changed.”
“How so?”
“We got along marvelously until this happened. The loss of all he held dear seemed to destroy him, and he suddenly became almost obsessed with the need to reclaim our heritage.”
“I can understand his feelings,” Faith said with empathy.
“I can, too, but there comes a time when maybe it would be better to start anew, start over fresh-throw out the past and look to the future. That’s what I want to do. I like the colonies, I like Boston. I can see how a man with drive and ambition can make a comfortable living for himself.”
“And Noah?”
“Noah wants to make as much money as he can, as quickly as he can, and then return to England.”
“Have you told him how you feel?”
“Yes, and that’s when we argued. He doesn’t want me to stay behind. He wants me to go back with him, but that’s when I told him that his dreams were his, not mine.”
“I’m sorry.” Faith’s eyes were upon him with love and understanding.
Matt tried to shrug, as if it meant nothing to him, but he wasn’t convincing. The pain in his eyes was too evident. “I’ve tried to talk with him about staying here, but he refused to even consider it.”
“Matthew, why don’t you invite him here to dinner for a small celebration?” Faith offered, looking to her mother for support for the invitation.
“We would love to meet him,” Ruth agreed, “and this is the perfect opportunity.”
“I would like that, and I think he would, too,” Matt responded.
“Then it’s settled. Why don’t we plan on next Sunday? That way Ben can join us, too.”
“It sounds wonderful…and the wedding?” Matt turned again to Faith.
“In two weeks?” she suggested eagerly, not wanting to delay their marriage any longer than necessary.
“Two weeks…” Matt agreed.
“Lord Radcliffe?” Knowing how her mistress felt about him, Peggy was surprised to see Geoffrey, and her voice reflected her reaction.
“May I come in?” Geoffrey asked in his most arrogant manner as he strode past the diminutive maid and glanced up the staircase in the direction of Eve’s chamber. “Is Eve here?”
“Well…um…”
“Is she at home or isn’t she?” he demanded, his gaze frosty upon her.
“If you’ll wait in the sitting room, I’ll get her for you.” Peggy directed him toward the parlor and then raced up the back steps to her mistress’s room.
Eve was sitting at her dressing table brushing out her hair when Peggy knocked at the door. She found the intrusion annoying, for she had given orders earlier that she didn’t want to be bothered so she could spend the day totally wrapped up in her thoughts of Noah and the future she believed they had together.
“What is it?” Her tone was sharp with irritation.
“It’s me, ma’am, Peggy…” Aware that Eve had wanted to be undisturbed, she opened the door only a crack and peeked inside.
“Yes, I gathered that. What do you want?”
“It’s Lord Radcliffe, ma’am. He’s downstairs, and he wants to see you.”
“Geoffrey…” Eve remarked more to herself than to Peggy. “All right. Tell him I’ll be down shortly. Give him a drink or something.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will.”
When Peggy had gone, Eve quickly styled her hair back into a sedate bun and then stood up to straighten her skirts. Originally, after setting her sights on Kincade, Eve had sought to end all intimacies with Geoffrey, but she was now thinking better of the idea. Kincade’s refusal to bed her had pleased her emotionally but left her decidedly hungry for a man. While she wanted no future with Geoffrey, she certainly wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to enjoy his sensual company, if he was so disposed. A small, cunning smile curved her perfect lips as she thought of how easy it would be to seduce Geoffrey, and she started downstairs with just that goal in mind.
“Geoffrey, darling…” Eve swept into the parlor with all her usual aplomb, and she was thrilled to see the spark of desire in his eyes as he came to his feet.
“Eve…” Geoffrey’s cool tone belied the heat of his gaze as he greeted her.
“I’m so glad you dropped by,” she told him with saccharine sweetness as they both sat down on the sofa.
“Really?” he drawled in mocking disbelief. “Somehow I hadn’t thought you would be.”
“Come now, Geoffrey.” Eve tapped his arm in a light, flirtatious manner. “Whatever can you mean?”
Geoffrey knew Eve very well, and he did not appreciate her using her artful, manipulative ways on him. It tested his already sore temper, and he grabbed her hand in a viselike grip.
“I believe you know what I mean, Eve.” His words were a low, threatening growl as his hold on her tightened.
“Geoffrey…what do you want?” Eve’s eyes widened slightly as his grip became painful. She struggled to pull free, but her efforts were to no avail.
His gaze raked over her lasciviously before he answered in a deceptively casual tone, “I’ve merely stopped by for a visit.” He released her abruptly.
Eve eyed him cautiously as she rubbed her wrist. She had never seen this unpredictable side of Geoffrey before, and she was startled by it. Always in the past he’d been malleable and quite easy to influence, but today…today there was something very ominous about him. In a strange way, it excited her even as it frightened her.
“Would you care for another drink?” she offered, seeing his half-filled glass on the table.
“No. I didn’t come here to drink, Eve, and you know it. Why do you feel it necessary to play coy with me?”
“I’m hardly playing coy with you, Geoffrey,” Eve answered with as much indignation as she could muster.
“I wish that were true, my sweet, but I’ve seen and heard enough for myself lately to know exactly where your interests now lie…” He stressed the last word with snide meaning.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” She was deliberately evasive.
“Your portrayal of innocence is not amusing, Eve.” His gaze was hooded as he regarded her. “You made every effort to avoid me at the Demorests’ ball, and then you left with Noah Kincade. The two of you have also shared a dinner assignation here just the other evening. I may be many things, darling, but I am no fool.”
“I never thought you were.” Eve was finding his manner far too overbearing.
He laughed harshly at her answer. “Come now, my dear, you tried to make a fool of me, and I’m here to let you know that you’ve failed. If I want you, Eve, I’ll take you, and if I decide I don’t want you anymore, then I’ll be the one to end it. Do you understand me?”
She stared at him in silent wonder. Could this be the same Geoffrey who only several weeks ago had scurried to do whatever she asked? Had her flirtation with Kincade changed him so?
“I take it by your silence that you do understand.” He put an arm about her waist and drew her closer.
Eve was mesmerized by his more forceful personality, and she did not try to resist him.
“I think it’s important that you know I don’t share what is mine with anyone, and you, my precious Eve, are mine!”
His mouth ground down on hers in a brutal assault that left no doubt in her mind as to his emotions. He was furious with her, and he was here to prove to himself and to her that she was still his.
A short time before Eve would have fought his domination, but she found this new, assertive Geoffrey much more appealing. Since she knew Kincade wouldn’t be coming to her bed any time soon, she hungrily accepted his kiss, her arms slipping around his neck to entice him even closer.
Geoffrey was caught totally off guard by her response. He had expected her to fight…to argue…to refuse his advances, but instead she was submitting to him almost eagerly. Having temporarily lost his element of anger and vengeance in the face of her surrender, he softened his kiss to a more coaxing, tantalizing exchange.
“Geoffrey…it’s been so long…” Eve invited when they broke apart for a moment. “Let’s go up to my room, where we won’t run the risk of being interrupted.”
She took his hand, and together they left the room with one thing and one thing only on both of their minds.
It was a long time later that they lay together, limbs intertwined on the wide softness of her bed. Sex between them had always been inventive and satisfying, but today there had been a new element to their coming together…the element of provocation.
Despite his deceptively calm demeanor, once Geoffrey had gotten her into bed, he’d been completely determined to control her. She had taunted him with her interest in Kincade, and Geoffrey was now resolved to prove to her that he was the better man. He knew her body as well as he knew his own, and he’d played upon her senses until she’d been crying out for him to satisfy her needs. Even then he’d refrained from giving her what she had so craved and had teased her with his body until she nearly fainted from the power of her desire. Only when she had completely surrendered to his will did he finally take her to the heights of ecstasy.
The moment of domination had given Geoffrey a supreme sense of power more stimulating than any sexual adventure they had ever shared. He’d held himself in restraint until the last possible second, enjoying the thrill of conquering her body as long as he could before seeking his own release.
Eve lay sated and relaxed beneath Geoffrey. They had always gone on well together, but what had happened between them just now had been different from anything she’d ever experienced, and she wasn’t quite sure if she’d truly enjoyed it or not. Geoffrey had mastered her. There was no other way she could describe it, and even as his caress had aroused, it had also degraded. His demanding, insistent touch had left her with no will of her own. She had been mindless in her need, and the discovery that he could reduce her to that left her unsure of herself. She was the one used to being in control.
Geoffrey braced himself above her on his elbows and smiled down at her in triumph as he began to move within her.
“Geoffrey?” Eve was amazed to find that he was ready for her again.
“Ah, yes, my dear. We have a lot of time to make up for and a lot of things to talk about…”
“We do?” The question was a gasp as he rolled, bringing her above him, his hands commandingly on her hips as he guided her movements.
“Most assuredly,” Geoffrey answered, his eyes glittering as he thought of her in this same position with Kincade. “Did you know how dangerous it is for you to be involved with Kincade?”
“I’m not involved with Kincade.” She tried to deny her desire for the other man, but he wasn’t believing it.
“Don’t lie to me, Eve. I’ve known you far too long. I’m sure he’s been in your bed, sharing your favors…” His hands on her tightened painfully and she cried out.
“You’re hurting me…”
“Good,” he snarled, his mouth twisting into a hate-filled smile. “You deserve far worse… And perhaps I shouldn’t tell you what I know, but I am not finished with you yet.”
His hands swept up from her hips to squeeze and knead her breasts. When he could tell that she was beginning to enjoy his caresses, he stopped.
“This time, you please me, Eve…” he ordered, and Eve, eager for more, started to move excitedly.
Her hands were everywhere upon him, fondling, caressing, touching, and Geoffrey responded in kind when his desires grew to a fever pitch. Pivoting again, he brought her beneath him and thrust powerfully into her until together they reached the pinnacle of delight. They drifted slowly back to reality, aware of little save the heat of their bodies and the harsh rasping of their breathing as the excitement waned.
Exhausted and weak, Eve lay quietly against Geoffrey, wondering at the strength of her response to his torrid lovemaking. Never before in all the time they’d been together had he been so overwhelmingly sensual, and she smiled in satisfaction.
“Eve.” He rose above her to stare down at her, his features cold and remote.
The warmth she had been feeling died as she met his gaze. “Yes?” Her tone was soft and unsure, and it pleased Geoffrey to know that she was disquieted.
“You will not see Kincade anymore,” he ordered.
It was a command that angered her. Who did he think he was? True, he might share her bed, but he was not her husband and had no claim on her.
She responded stiffly as she tried to move away from him. “You don’t own me, Geoffrey, and I can see whomever I want!”
“I had never thought you to be stupid, Eve,” he remarked derogatorily as he watched her climb from the bed to stand glaring at him, her hands on her hips. He studied her with an almost clinical detachment, his eyes visually caressing the pale beauty of her breasts and thighs. Eve was a vitally beautiful woman, and he knew he had to have her for his very own.
“You dare to call me stupid?” she gasped, and he gave a careless lift of his shoulders.
“It would seem so, if you insist on continuing to see Kincade. You see, I have some very private information about him that, once revealed, might ruin him forever.” He watched Eve’s expression as he spoke. “I’m certain that you wouldn’t want to be caught up in all the ugliness once it comes out.”
“What kind of information?” she asked skeptically.
Geoffrey chuckled evilly. “Do you think that I would reveal all to you? Surely you give me credit for more intelligence than that! Why, if I told you now, I have no doubt that you would run to your other lover with the news just as soon as I leave you.”
That had been Eve’s original intention, but now she hesitated. Supposing Geoffrey was right… What if Noah was involved in something terrible? Did she dare risk everything to continue to pursue him, or did she give him up now, while she was still safe? Her dilemma was very real, for she wanted Noah very badly, but she knew she could not let Geoffrey know the truth of her feelings. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she considered all the angles.
“Despite what you may think, Geoffrey, I have never made love to Noah Kincade.” Though it was not from a lack of trying on her part, she felt positive that she could use that bit of information now to her advantage. Slowly she moved sinuously back toward the bed, aware that his eyes were upon her.
“Really?” He wasn’t quite sure whether to believe her or not.
“Since you’re so well informed about my activities, I’m sure your informants must have told you that he never spent the night. They did report that to you, didn’t they?” She sat on the edge of the bed and rested a teasing hand upon his chest.
“Yes, but…”
“There are no ‘buts’ to the situation, Geoffrey,” she told him huskily. “Kincade has never spent the night with me. No one has since my husband died except you, Geoffrey. You’re the only one…” she purred as she traced her hand lower, nearer to his manhood.
Geoffrey found her touch disorienting, and he had to force himself to concentrate on what she was saying. “You want me to believe that you haven’t slept with Kincade?”
“It’s the truth and I wanted you to know it.” Her hand caressed him boldly. Knowing that his power to resist her was weakening as she deliberately sought to arouse him and then seduce him, she smiled seductively. “You’re so wonderful, Geoffrey…” She let her gaze drift over his body before returning to meet his passion-darkened eyes. “So strong and virile. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you care enough about me to warn me about Kincade.”
“I care about you, all right.” His voice was husky as his desires flamed.
Geoffrey’s earlier anger and jealousy had slowly dissolved upon her confession of never having bedded Kincade. Now, caught up in the web of her skillful charms, he was once again totally enamored with her. She had struck any doubts he’d had about her from his mind, and he knew now that she would be his, and his alone. Pulling her into his arms, he pressed fervent kisses upon her waiting lips.
“You’re mine, Eve, only mine,” he growled between kisses.
“Yes, Geoffrey…” She managed to make her words sound like a sigh, but in reality she was celebrating her victory.
While she was giving him the outward appearance of being his, and his alone, Eve had already decided that she could not give up her dream of becoming Lady Kincade. She was firmly convinced that Noah was her destiny, and she knew what she had to do to fulfill that future. She would play Geoffrey along and encourage his complete trust and devotion until she could maneuver him into revealing to her the damning evidence he had against Noah. Once she was in possession of that information, she would go to Noah with it and thus win not only his unending appreciation, but also his love.
Until then, though, she knew she would have to be very careful as to how she handled the situation, for she could not risk Geoffrey catching on to her plan. The time to begin convincing him of her desire for him was now, and she arched herself against him in total sensual abandon, aggressively seeking to make him once again her willing sensual slave.