Page 69 of His Improper Lady

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, don’t you start, too. Brock and Wells already harangued me about it. It’s not as if I did it on purpose. Yes, I should have been more careful. Yes, I should have locked the door to the exercise room, and I will next time. It isn’t normally a dangerous area. In any case, I handled it.”

“Handled what?” Tom was looking grimmer by the moment.

Desiree told him about the attack. He continued to scowl, but when she described her escape from her assailant, he relaxed into a chuckle. “Trust you to damage him more than he did to you. I hope he has feet-sized bruises on his front.”

She gave him a smile. “I rather enjoyed that part of it.”

“Who was it? What did he want?”

“The will. No surprise there.” She added irritably, “And I don’t know who he was. I don’t even know what he looks like. The blasted man had on a mask. I wish I’d torn it off.”

“Don’t worry about that. All that matters was you got away from him.”

“It was either Falk’s man or the fellow that followed us the other day, because he said something about you hitting him,” Desiree went on.

“I should have hit him harder,” Tom muttered. He thought for a moment. “Your message to Falk’s man was pretty clear. Falk is distrusting but he also should know you well enough to know you told him the truth about not having the envelope.”

It warmed Desiree to hear Tom’s faith in her honesty, so different from his past attitude, but she said only, “Yes, and Falk never mentioned a will, only an envelope. I’m not sure he knew what was inside. Which would lead to the conclusion that it was the man with Pax’s cuff links. I couldn’t tell if it was the same voice.”

“It still seems odd to me that Alistair’s friend would be so interested in his will. My money is on Gregory Moreland being behind this. He’s the one who was trying to find it yesterday morning. It’s most suspicious that you were attacked the very afternoon after he learned that Con didn’t have it.”

“Yes, but you said he didn’t know about us and Con didn’t tell him our name. How would he know to come here?”

“There’s nothing to say Gregory was telling the truth. I thought he seemed surprised, but maybe he’s just good at lying. Maybe he’s known who you were all along, but it didn’t matter because this new will didn’t surface until now. But when Con mentioned you, he decided you must have it.”

“But if Gregory is the man who hired the man who followed us, who hired Falk?”

Tom sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve no idea. It’s as confusing as ever.” He went to her. “The important thing is that nothing happened to you.” He stroked a finger down her throat beside the scratch. “I hate to think of anyone hurting you. Promise me you’ll be more careful in the future.”

“I will.” Desiree looked up into his eyes, and the air between them was suddenly electric.

Tom’s fingers tightened on her arms, and he leaned closer. But then he dropped his hands and stepped back, clearing his throat. “I...ah, should leave.”

“Tom.” Desiree wanted to take Tom’s hand and tell him to stay.

He stopped. “What?”

Desiree’s fingers clenched at her sides, and she said, “Nothing. I will see you tomorrow.”

Then he was gone, leaving Desiree standing in the parlor alone. She looked around her and sighed. It was better this way. Really.

All she had to do was convince herself.

DESIREE MET TOM the next morning at the office, and they drove to the Morelands’ home. They were to meet the three wives of the Moreland siblings for a call on Aunt Wilhemina. Desiree was silent, stomach dancing, and she had to clasp her hands firmly together to keep them from fidgeting.

Tom glanced over at her once or twice. “Nervous?”

“A little.” It continued to surprise her how easily she admitted her doubts and mistakes to Tom. All her life she had kept them a carefully guarded secret. If you admitted fear, if you let them know you had made a slip, people didn’t let you do things. But somehow with Tom, it didn’t bother her.

“About meeting Aunt Wilhemina?” Tom asked.

“Some. But more about meeting Con’s and Alex’s wives.”

“Sabrina and Lilah?” He smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll like them.”

“It’s not that. I’m worried whether they will like me. I think they’re more apt to be like Megan than the others. I’m fairly certain she was suspicious of me.”

He shrugged. “Megan doesn’t give her trust as easily. You have to remember, though, that she’s a reporter. Sabrina and Lilah aren’t—and you have to be pretty open-minded to marry a Moreland. They’ll give you a chance, even if they might be more protective of the family. The Morelands tend to have that effect on people close to them.”