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  “I’m a barrister, Marbury. I know how to keep a confidence. All my client cares about is your contract with the Ordnance Department to manufacture cannons. That and the fact that some of your cannons are reputed to earn you fast and tidy profits.”

  A wary expression clouded Simon’s face. “I don’t know what you’re—”

  Gareth waved a hand. “I don’t care about ethics and neither does my investor. He has twenty thousand pounds.”

  Simon’s red eyes widened. “Twenty thousand pounds?”

  “A first installment.”

  Simon leaned close. “I want to meet this man.”

  “It’s not possible. He does business only through me. Are you interested?”

  Simon raised his glass. “I admit I’m intrigued. But I know better than to commit to anything without further discussion.”

  Marbury was hesitant to trust anyone, even an investor willing to offer a small fortune. Gareth would have to cultivate a friendship with Marbury and slowly earn his trust.

  Gareth nodded. “I understand you have concerns.”

  Simon set his empty glass on the table and stood. “Shall we go to the Seven Sins to talk details?”

  Chapter Five

  The following afternoon, Jane met Simon Marbury in Hyde Park. He waved as she approached riding side-saddle on her white mare.

  “Good morning Lady Stanwell.” Sitting astride his horse, he was dressed in the latest fashionable attire—breeches, top boots, a meticulously tailored olive green coat, and starched cravat. Yet for all his finery, there were faint circles under his eyes, and she wondered how much alcohol he’d consumed after she’d left him the prior evening.

  Jane smiled in greeting. “How did you know it was me?”

  “Your fetching bonnet does not entirely cover your hair. The fair color is lovely and quite recognizable,” he said.

  “Thank you, Mr. Marbury.”

  “You must call me Simon.” He motioned to the stretch of gravel roadway. “Shall we?”

  The line of carriages on Rotten Row traveled at a slow pace at the fashionable afternoon hour. The sky was a brilliant blue, and sunlight glistened off the Serpentine River. The fragrant scent of flowering shrubs filled the air.

  Jane adjusted the skirts of her elegant riding habit as she took in the scene. Her clothing was new, and she’d chosen a forest green that complemented her coloring.

  A sporting curricle and several high-perched phaetons dashed by. Passersby stopped to greet friends. The park was the place to be seen, and Jane realized they were attracting a significant amount of attention during the promenade hour. She experienced a moment of unease.

  She glanced at Simon. If he was distressed, he did not show it. To the contrary, he sat straight in his saddle, exuding an almost brash confidence, and seemed to enjoy the attention.

  “Forgive me for my forwardness, but I find myself drawn to you, Lady Stanwell. You have not attended many society events in a while, have you?”

  If he was probing about Charles’s suicide, she didn’t acknowledge it. Surely Simon Marbury was aware of her reputation as the tragic widow, but for some reason, he had chosen to ignore it and take her for a ride in the park. Now that he’d shown interest, society had opened up to her. It was only the afternoon after Lady Sefton’s masquerade, and she’d had two invitations delivered to her home that morning.

  How bold could she be?

  “You’re right. I haven’t attended many functions.” She tilted her head to the side and regarded him. “May I be truthful?”

  “Of course. You must consider me a friend.”

  She shifted in her saddle. “It’s been over two years since my husband’s death. I’m tired of the isolation.”

  “The official mourning period is only one year and one day,” he pointed out.

  “True, but I’m aware of the gossip. What people whisper. I want to start over.”

  “Meaning?”

  She met his blue gaze. “I seek excitement.”

  His nostrils flared slightly. “Tell me what you are looking for.”

  “I want to live life to its fullest. Experience everything I have been denied. I want fun, pleasure…excitement.”

  His lips curled in a smile. “I am more than happy to oblige you.”

  “I understand you are a man who enjoys all the Season has to offer,” she said.

  “My reputation precedes me, then?”

  He asked a question, but his tone suggested he knew exactly what others thought of him and he liked it.

  He leaned forward in his saddle, and his blue eyes held hers. “I sense you must be handled delicately.”

  She wasn’t sure what he meant. Was he referring to her isolation from society or her disposition after her husband’s suicide?

  “We should start slowly. I would be honored if you’d accompany me to the Theatre Royal next week,” he said.

  Excitement thrummed in her veins. It had been years since she’d attended the theatre. She’d always loved to go, but Charles never had time to escort her. He was always at his clubs, Newmarket, or Tattersalls.

  “I’d like that very much,” she said.

  “Splendid.”

  Jane glanced at him beneath lowered lashes. His profile was even more striking in the daylight. What would it be like to kiss him?

  The thought barely crossed her mind before another followed. How would it compare to the kiss she shared with Gareth Ramsey? Would her pulse leap to life, and a delicious shiver heat her body?

  She mentally berated herself. She had to cease thinking of their shared kiss.

  Of him.

  She despised Gareth. He was a brute, a high-handed man who couldn’t be controlled.

  Completely unlike Simon Marbury.

  The sound of galloping hooves drew her attention.

  “Hello there!”

  Jane whirled around in disbelief to find Gareth approaching astride a big black thoroughbred.

  Dear lord! Had she conjured his presence?

  Or worse still, had Gareth followed her here? He’d known she would be at the park. She’d told him last night at the ball. A disturbing thought froze in her mind. Had he pulled her onto the terrace and purposely angered her in order to learn when she would next meet Simon? But why would he bother? For some reason she was a challenge to him. There was no other logical explanation.

  “Hello, Ramsey. Out for a ride?” Simon asked.

  “I find it invigorating. You never know whom you will meet.” Gareth nodded at her in greeting, his dark eyes traveling her form. “Good day, Lady Stanwell.”

  She looked at him in disbelief. He was wearing top-boots and leather breeches which outlined the muscular thighs that gripped the powerful thoroughbred. His navy coat stretched across his broad shoulders, which appeared a mile wide. His big hands held the reins skillfully, his fingers tapered and strong. She remembered what his hands had felt like around her waist, holding her close. What would they feel like if they touched her elsewhere?

  “I’ve never seen you ride in the park at this popular hour,” Simon said.

  “I’m aware I’ve avoided the promenade hour. I prefer to ride early in the morning.” A faint glint of humor lit Gareth’s eyes as he looked at her. “But I realize I’ve been quite unsocial, and I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf.”

  Jane was mortified. She’d said the same words to him in Lady Sefton’s library.

  He was trying to intimidate her. His unspoken words were loud and clear: I know your secrets.

  She stiffened her spine and gripped her reins tightly. If he thought to scare her with his knowledge of her list, then he would soon learn of her mettle.

  “What an interesting choice of words, Mr. Ramsey,” she said, her tone light.

  Gareth cocked a dark eyebrow mockingly. “You don’t believe in starting over, Lady Stanwell?”

  She met his gaze without flinching. “To the contrary, I very much believe in it. I just didn’t think a man of your advanced years
would trouble yourself.”

  Simon burst out laughing. “The lady has wit, Ramsey. Pray tell me, what did you do to earn her ire?”

  Gareth shrugged. “Nothing I can think of. My friend Lord Kirkland married her cousin, Lady Sophia, last year. Some would consider us almost family.”

  Jane gaped. Family was the last word she would choose to describe Gareth Ramsey.

  But Simon clearly found the entire exchange humorous. “Come,” he said, urging his mount down the path. “It’s too nice an afternoon to spend it bickering.”

  They rode together for the next few minutes, chatting about nonsensical matters. It was clear Gareth wouldn’t move onward.

  Jane found it difficult to meet Gareth’s gaze. Her eyes kept dropping to his mouth—his full sensual lips—and the memory of his infuriating kiss returned. Her skin prickled in awareness, and her pulse beat in her throat.

  It was bad enough he knew about her list, but must she constantly relive the rest of what had occurred in the library?

  They were more than halfway through the park when a group of gentlemen waved in the distance. “Marbury!”

  “Pardon me for a moment. I have a wager to discuss with Lord Wheeler and Lord Closter.” Simon said.

  As soon as Simon rode off to greet his friends, Jane whirled to face Gareth. “Why are you here? And don’t tell me you wanted fresh air.”

  “I cannot stop thinking about your list,” Gareth said.

  Her mind spun. “A gentleman would keep a lady’s secret.”

  “Your secret is safe with me. But I find that I cannot stay away from you.”

  An undeniable magnetism was building between them. “Why?”

  Reaching out, he snatched her reins from her hands and led her horse down a meandering pathway into a secluded grove of shady trees.

  Panic rose up her throat. “What are you doing?” she cried out.

  He peered at her intently. “Don’t you feel it?”

  “Feel what?”

  “The attraction. Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy our kiss last night.”

  A tingling began in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head in denial. “I did not.”

  “Liar.”

  “You’re crazed.”

  “Come now, Jane. You were a married woman. Surely you can recognize desire…passion.”

  Her face grew warm and heaven help her—she felt a lurch of excitement. “Do not speak to me like that. It’s entirely improper.”

  He studied her closely, too closely. “Unless you haven’t experienced passion. Was your husband unskilled?”

  He was too intuitive. She didn’t want to share anything about her marriage, and certainly not with him. “Stop this at once.”

  “He wasn’t skilled, then. Was he incompetent in bed?” Gareth said.

  “Stop it!”

  “I can’t. You’re even more intriguing than I thought. Let me show you what it can be like between a man and a woman. Between us.” Still holding her mare’s reins, he urged the thoroughbred close until his muscular thigh grazed her skirts.

  He looked at her as if he wanted to strip her naked, toss her to the ground, and have his way with her in the secluded grove. The thought should repulse her. Instead his nearness made her senses spin and her heart pound. Whatever feelings she had for him, they seemed to be growing, and she was more shaken than she cared to admit.

  “No,” she said firmly. “I don’t want you. I want Mr. Marbury.”

  A muscle ticked angrily at his jaw at the mention of Simon’s name. Gareth had exhibited the same physical reaction last night when she’d purposely flirted with Simon at the refreshment table.

  “Why Marbury?” he ground out.

  Why indeed? With Gareth Ramsey staring down at her with those dark eyes she couldn’t think.

  Couldn’t breathe.

  Her body felt heavy and warm. She desperately needed to put distance between them. “There are too many people in the park. Anyone can see us,” she protested.

  He shook his head. “We’re well hidden. And I find it hard to believe you care. You caused quite a scene waltzing with Marbury last night and riding with him today.”

  “Who I dance with or who I choose to meet in the park is none of your concern.”

  His eyes narrowed, and a shiver raced down her spine.

  “You plan to see him again, don’t you?” he demanded.

  “Yes, he’s taking me to the theatre next week,” she blurted out angrily, then bit her lip as soon as she realized what she’d revealed. He knew too much, was too shrewd, too cunning. She opened her mouth to argue, but Gareth tugged on her horse’s reins.

  Caught unaware, Jane lurched forward as her mare started. She grasped the pommel to prevent herself from falling as Gareth led them back on the main path.

  She flashed him a look of disdain. “Don’t you ever do that—”

  Gareth dropped her horse’s reins. “Careful, my lady. Marbury returns.”

  She turned to see that Simon had indeed left his friends and was riding back to them. She was furious with Gareth, and even angrier with herself for her loose tongue and her physical reaction toward the infuriating man.

  She was careful to avoid eye contact with Gareth for the remainder of the ride. At last they reached the end of the roadway.

  Gareth turned to Simon. “Don’t forget we have business to discuss.”

  Simon nodded. “I’m interested, Ramsey, but I still have questions.”

  “I’ll be in touch to talk privately,” Gareth said.

  Jane looked back and forth between the two men. What business could they possibly have together?

  She didn’t want to know. Her concern was Simon. She wanted nothing to do with Gareth.

  They left the park and came to the street where traffic was heavy. Elegant curricles and carriages moved alongside rattling hackneys and heavy brewers’ carts driven by men in leather aprons.

  Just then a small scrap of a boy darted past and startled the horses. Simon’s horse reared upward, his hooves inches from the boy’s head.

  Gareth jumped off his thoroughbred and yanked the boy from danger just as the horse’s hooves came crashing down, narrowly missing Gareth’s shoulder.

  “My God! Are you all right?” Simon asked.

  Gareth nodded tersely then turned to the boy. “Have a care where you’re going, son.”

  “Sorry, guv’nor. The cart dropped an apple.” The boy’s brown eyes were wide in his dirt-smudged face. His shirt was stained and his trousers ripped at one knee. He looked like he could use a bath and a good meal.

  Gareth pulled his purse from inside his coat and gave the boy a gold coin. “Buy yourself a hot meal.”

  The boy’s eyes grew enormous. His small fist clenched around the coin and he sprinted across the street and disappeared in the throng of traffic.

  “Ungrateful wretch,” Simon said. “They don’t belong near the park.”

  “He was scared and hungry,” Gareth said. “It wasn’t the boy’s fault.”

  Jane knew there were poor, starving children in the city, but she’d never literally stumbled across one. She wanted to chase after the boy, see that he was bathed, fed, and had a warm bed for the night.

  She turned to Gareth instead. He’d acted swiftly, risking injury to save the child. “Thank you, Mr. Ramsey.”

  “You were never in harm’s way, my lady,” Gareth pointed out.

  Jane looked at him incredulously. “Not for me—for saving the boy’s life.”

  Gareth approached her seated on her horse. “It was in my power to help him. Wouldn’t you have done the same?”

  Jane swallowed. “I would hope so. But you put yourself directly in harm’s way to save another. I don’t know if I’d have the courage.”

  “I don’t doubt you would.”

  His words made her heart pound. She regarded him with heightened curiosity, and she longed to reach out and trace her finger down his chiseled jaw. She couldn’t stop herself from wonde
ring about his true character. How could a man be so infuriating one minute, then act so valiantly the next?

  …

  Gareth watched as Jane and Simon disappeared down the street. Simon intended to escort her home, and Gareth had experienced a stab of jealousy as Simon led her away.

  Jane was proving to be a challenge with her wit and beauty. She wanted a lover and an adventure. He strongly suspected her husband had been either unskilled or uninterested in his young wife’s pleasure in the bedroom.

  She was a fascinating contradiction. She acted the worldly widow seeking a liaison, but she was naive when it came to the dissolute interests of the men of the ton. All the men on her list, especially Simon Marbury, were depraved and completely unsuitable in Gareth’s opinion.

  He had to take care that he not lose sight of his mission. He had already taken steps to befriend Simon Marbury. Their night at the gambling hell and brothel still hadn’t resulted in a firm agreement from Simon to enter into business. Gareth needed to gain Simon’s trust, to entice him to do business with his “mystery investor.” He’d have to get closer to Simon, play upon his greed and spendthrift ways. The man was a reckless gambler who spent lavish amounts of money on his clothing. Simon needed money, and his avaricious nature would be his downfall.

  If Simon was interested in Jane, then Gareth would use that interest to get closer to Simon. He’d already been successful in prying Jane for information. He’d appeared at the park today, and he’d learned about her future trip to the theatre with Marbury. But Gareth would have to be careful. Jane was no fool. If he kept showing up whenever she was out with Marbury, she would suspect there was more to Gareth’s appearances that just a man pursuing a woman he desired.

  He wanted to seduce Jane and keep her away from Marbury. But his mission required that he cultivate a friendship with Simon and gain his trust. Only then could he learn how many others were involved in the conspiracy to supply inferior cannons to English troops.

  He would do what was necessary, and he never had qualms about whom he’d used in the past to accomplish his missions. During his last assignment, he’d developed a friendship with a judge in order to prove the man guilty of accepting bribes from defense barristers. Gareth’s conscience hadn’t suffered, even when the man was arrested before his family and carted off to Newgate.