Page 83 of So Wild A Heart

“That was when she let me have her,” he said, staring sightlessly at the wall as his thoughts turned back to that time fifteen years before. “I had been chasing Leona for over a year. She would tease me, offer more and never fulfill it. When I went to Brighton, she introduced me to Constance. Leona knew that I was mistaken about Constance’s being experienced, and she did not correct it. I think she wanted to see what would happen. Leona would come to my apartments late at night and want to know what had happened with Constance. It was a kind of triumph for her to know that my telling her about it made me crazier with desire than anything Constance and I had done.”

He shook his head, then plunged his fingers back through his hair. “I am sorry. I should not be telling you things like this.”

“You can talk to me about anything,” Miranda said calmly, despite the hot anger against Leona that burned in her.

“But I guess when Cons—when Elizabeth told her that she was pregnant, Leona realized that the fun and games were over. I had taken her to task over not telling me that Constance was a virgin, and she must have suspected that I would marry Constance even though I loved her. She didn’t want that. So she made up those lies—convinced Elizabeth to flee to America, made all the rest of us believe that Elizabeth was dead so that we would not try to find her.”

He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was rougher. “I think that she wanted me to feel to blame for Constance’s death. She knew that my sinking deeper and deeper into wickedness would bind me to her even more. It would make me more like her and less like my family and the other people I knew. The more I separated myself from the rest of the world, the more I was tied to her. Does that make sense?”

Miranda nodded. “Yes. She didn’t understand the good parts of you, I am sure, and they frightened her. She knew that it was the goodness inside you that would make you likely to leave her.”

“She ruined Elizabeth’s life without a second thought.” He shook his head. “She watched me suffer with guilt. She stood by while my father and I broke over Elizabeth’s death. I never spoke with him again. He died despising me. And she never said a word to me about what really happened.” He looked up at Miranda, tears shimmering in his eyes. “How could she have been so heartless?”

Miranda’s throat closed with sympathetic tears, and she could only whisper, “I don’t know.”

“She never really loved me,” he went on.

“I don’t think she is capable of love,” Miranda agreed.

“It is no wonder she never felt jealousy. Her heart wasn’t in danger. All she cared about was having power over me. She even urged me to marry you. She did not realize—” He stopped abruptly and looked at Miranda. “Dear God…”

“What? What’s the matter?”

“Of course. It is she who—”

“Who what? Devin, what are you talking about?”

“It is Leona who has been trying to kill you.”

“What? Why? What would she get out of it?”

“Everything. Don’t you see? You have interfered with her power over me far more than Constance ever did. I told her the other day that I was not going to see her again. Even before that, she was bound to realize that her control over me was slipping away. I haven’t been with her since I became engaged to you. She’s lost me.” He grimaced. “More importantly for her, no doubt, is the fact that she has lost her chance at your money.”

“What?”

“I told you, she wanted me to marry you. She thought, as I did, that your money would be under my control. She no doubt still thinks that. I never told her any differently. Her idea was that I would spend your money on her and the things we liked to do. She told me that Vesey was curtailing her spending. So to her way of thinking she has lost a great deal of money. If you were dead, however, she would assume that I would inherit your money. And with you out of the way, I am sure she thinks that she could get me back under her spell again. No doubt it was she who arranged for all your ‘accidents’ to happen.”

“You really think so?”

“Who else? It makes sense now.” Devin rose to his feet. His eyes glittered with an unholy light. “I’m going over there. I’m going to make sure that nothing else happens to you.”

“Dev!”

But he had already turned and was striding from the room.

20

Devin rode to Vesey Park, impelled by a white-hot fury. He reined up in front, turning his horse over to a groom, and went to pound on the front door. A startled footman opened the door, then hastily stepped back as Devin pushed his way through it.

“Where is she?” he growled, and when the footman began to stutter out a response, he yelled, “Leona! Leona! Where the hell are you?”

“Sir!” The footman gaped at him. “I shall announce you if you—”

Devin did not spare the man a glance as he strode through the entry hall to the staircase and began to take it two steps at a time, bellowing Leona’s name. The footman hurried after him, wringing his hands and calling out, “Sir!” ineffectually.

Leona appeared in a doorway halfway down the hall. A smile curved her mouth, and she sauntered toward Devin, waving back the footman. “It’s all right, Portman. I will see Lord Ravenscar.”

She waited for Devin, arms crossed beneath her breasts, a smug smile firmly in place. “Well, well, Devin, even sooner than I thought…I told you that you would come running back to me, didn’t I? Now, the question is, how much should I make you crawl before I take you back?”