Page 461 of Wicked Highland Heroes

Josephine closed her eyes and willed back the tears.

Forgive me, Father.

Lord Wylst lifted the pearls from around her neck and she whirled to face him.

“There now,” he said. “That wasn’t so terrible, was it?”

“You may consider that next month’s payment,” she said in a low voice.

His brows rose. “Is that so?”

The crunch of boots on rocky ground cut off her reply as Nicholas appeared with her sister, Lady Deeds, and Henry Maxwell from within the tall bushes on the far side of the fountain. Josephine glimpsed Lord Wylst slipping her pearls into his jacket pocket and she wanted to melt into the ground. Of all the people to come upon her and the baron it would have to be Nicholas. Yes, she realized, it was all too coincidental, which meant it was no coincidence at all. He had come in search of her. She wanted to cry and scream at the same time.

“Smile,” Lord Wylst hissed under his breath. “You look as though you have just come from a funeral.”

She felt as if she had just come from a funeral, but forced aside the pain, and said, “Lady Allaway’s garden is hailed as one of the most beautiful gardens in all the Highlands.” Her voice was too bright and she feared neither Nicholas nor her sister would be fooled.

“So I have heard,” Lord Wylst said. “They are, indeed, the most beautiful I have seen.”

She repressed the desire to slap the satisfied smile off his face, and smiled at the approaching group. “Good evening, my lords, Lady Deeds.”

Josephine didn’t miss the thin-lipped disapproval on her face. The old biddy wasn’t a gossip, but she was a busybody. By night’s end she would make certain Josephine’s father knew she’d been in the gardens alone with Lord Wylst. Jo recalled her father’s threat to marry her off to the man she seduced and suppressed a shiver at the thought of him thinking she was cavorting with the baron.

The group stopped beside them, and she said, “I see you were able to get Lord Grayson out for a walk, Annabel.”

“He was quite willing,” she replied. “In fact, we hoped to run into you.”

Jo wagered they did. She prayed her shock at having given up her pearl necklace didn’t show.

When Nicholas said, “Wylst,” in a voice dripping with condemnation over the fact that the baron was alone with the future Countess of Grayson, another wave of shame rolled over Josephine.

* **

Nicholas didn’t wait for a response from Wylst, but turned his eyes onto his betrothed. She smiled and spoke enthusiastically with her sister and Lady Deeds, but the animation didn’t reach her eyes. She didn’t look as if she had been caught in another man’s embrace—she was fully dressed and not a hair was out of place on her head. In fact, he was sure she didn’t like the baron. So what was she doing with him in the gardens? Had Wylst followed her?

Nick shot a glance at him. The man appeared to listen intently to the women, but Nick detected no signs of lust. He hadn’t forgotten the young woman Wylst was rumored to have ruined during Nick’s stay in Paris. He never learned the details, but he hadn’t doubted for a moment the man was capable of the despicable act. He and Beaumond were of the same cut.

“It is growing late,” Nicholas said. “Perhaps we should return to the castle.”

Wylst made a move as if to offer his arm to Jo, but she slipped her hand into the crook of Nick’s arm. It seemed she hadn’t seen Wylst, but Nicholas was certain she had.

Wylst’s eyes narrowed in resentment, but Nicholas pretended not to notice, and said, “Shall we?”

“Indeed,” Lady Deeds said. “It would not do for someone to catch a chill.” She gave Josephine a meaningful look, which Jo blithely ignored.

Nick pressed a hand to Annabel’s back to start her forward ahead of them. She fell into place alongside Lady Deeds and Henry, with Wylst beside Josephine as they began walking.

“I understand you are investing in Easton’s shipping company,” Wylst said to Nicholas.

He jerked his gaze onto Wylst. “Where did you hear that?”

The baron smirked. “You are not the only gentleman Easton does business with.”

Jo’s fingers flexed on Nick’s arm. He looked down at her in inquiry, but she stared straight ahead.

“Cumberland, I believe is the name of the company,” Wylst said. “He plans a year’s trip to the orient. Should be quite lucrative.”

Nicholas made a mental note to decline investing in the company. If Easton was fool enough to involve Wylst, he wanted nothing to do with the venture.

“It looks as though you and I will be partners,” the baron went on.

“I cannot see how.”

Wylst looked surprised. “As investors in Cumberland, we will be partners.”

“If you are looking for a company where you can take an active role, you have made a mistake with Cumberland. Easton is looking for silent partners.”

“So he is telling most of the investors he approaches,” Wylst replied. “But he is looking for two equal partners as well. He tells me you are one.”

Nick lifted a brow. “I do not intend to go into the shipping business.”

Wylst frowned. “Easton is under the impression you are committed.”

Nick gave Wylst a cold smile. “Then he is as mistaken as you.”