Jacquie D’Alessandro - Seduced at Midnight

"Is it true?" Carolyn asked, her eyes filled with concern. "Do you love him?"

"It doesn't matter," Julianne said, plucking at a loose thread on her ruined gown.

"Of course it matters," Sarah said in a fierce whisper.

"No, it doesn't," Emily insisted. "She is betrothed to the duke."

"The announcement wasn't made," Carolyn pointed out.

"But they're going to be married in two days!" Emily said.

"Perhaps she doesn't want to marry the duke," Sarah said. "Perhaps she'd prefer to marry Mr. Mayne."

Sarah's whispered words hung in the air, stealing the breath from Julianne's lungs. They were words she hadn't even dared say to herself, let alone speak out loud.

"Marry Mr. Mayne?" Emily repeated in an aghast hiss. "Instead of a duke? Are you daft?"

Sarah fixed Emily with a skewering stare. "Have you ever been in love, Emily?"

A scarlet blush colored Emily's cheeks. "No, but-"

"Then, with all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about," Sarah said firmly. She turned to her sister. "Would you have married Daniel if he weren't an earl? If he were, say, a baker?"

"I see the point you're trying to make-" Carolyn began, but Sarah cut her off. "Yes or no, Carolyn. Would you have married him if he were a baker?"

"Yes. But," she added quickly, "I'm not an earl's daughter."

"You were a viscountess by virtue of your first marriage. And as a viscountess you still would have married Daniel if he were a baker?"

Carolyn let out a sigh. "Yes."

"Why?" Sarah persisted.

Carolyn shot her an annoyed look. "You sound like a barrister."

"Then answer the question."

Carolyn folded her hands in her lap then said primly, "Because I love him."

A triumphant smile lit Sarah's lips. "And there you have it."

"And there you have nothing," Emily said. "This is not some game, Sarah. If Julianne were to go against her parents' wishes and not marry the duke-and to throw him over for a Bow Street Runner? Good God, the scandal would ruin her. She'd be disinherited. She'd lose everything."

"She'd lose money," Sarah agreed. "Material possessions. And most likely any relationship with her parents. But she wouldn't lose everything. She wouldn't lose me ." Sarah raised her chin and grasped Julianne's hand. "I never aspired to a title, but since I have one, I won't hesitate to use it shamefully. The Marchioness Langston stands firmly behind Julianne. No matter what."

Hot tears pushed behind Julianne's eyes at Sarah's steadfast loyalty.

"Julianne hasn't actually said she'd prefer to marry Mr. Mayne," Carolyn said. She reached out and brushed back a lock of Julianne's hair. "Is that what you want? If you had the choice, would you choose to marry Mr. Mayne?"

Julianne drew in a deep, shuddering breath, then whispered, "To quote Themistocles, 'I choose a man without money rather than money without a man.' If I had a choice, I would choose Gideon. I would rather be ostracized from society and share a life of modest means with him than live in the grandest splendor with anyone else."

"Well," said Emily, sitting back with a plop and looking stunned. "Isn't that quite something."

Sarah patted Emily's hand. "I know it seems shocking now, but you'll understand after you fall in love."

Emily shook her head. "Oh, no. I've no intention of falling in love. Look at this poor girl." She waved her hand in Julianne's direction. "Look what love has done to her. She's miserable."

"I am miserable," Julianne agreed.

"I'm in love, and I'm not miserable," Sarah said. "Neither is Carolyn."

"You seem to be forgetting something," Julianne said. "Mr. Mayne has not said anything about loving me . Nor has he expressed any interest in marrying me."

"Well of course a Bow Street Runner would never think to ask an earl's daughter to marry him," Emily said with a sniff.

"I wonder what would happen if he did think to do so?" Sarah mused.

And suddenly Julianne wondered the same thing. Would Gideon want to marry her? Yet even as hope flared in her chest, it was instantly extinguished. Her parents would never agree. The banns would have to be posted for three weeks… she'd be long since married to the duke by then.

Unless she simply refused to marry the duke. Yet if she did, she could well imagine her father forcibly dragging her before the vicar. If she ran away… but where could she go? She couldn't involve Sarah in such a scheme. It was one thing for Sarah to recognize a friend who married below her family's expectations but quite another to house a runaway bride. The scandal would then affect Sarah, Matthew, their unborn child…

Yet, here she was, wasting energy on all these useless thoughts. Gideon hadn't expressed any desire to marry her. Hadn't said he loved her. She knew he cared, knew he desired her. But that didn't mean he wanted to marry her. And unless he did, there wasn't any decision for her to make.

She turned, her gaze seeking him out. He stood in the drawing room, now deep in conversation with Logan Jennsen, Matthew, and Daniel. All four men looked extremely serious. Gideon, especially, seemed very tense.

What on earth could they be talking about?

After ascertaining that Julianne was safely ensconced in the small sitting room chatting with her friends-away from the windows and where he could see her through the open door-Gideon pulled Charles Rayburn aside and told him about the kidnappers' plan to kill him.

"Appears you've stepped on someone's toes," Rayburn said when he finished.

"Yes," Gideon agreed. "The question remains, whose?" Just then he spotted a familiar face across the room and he nudged Rayburn. "That woman, with the dark hair wearing the rose gown. Who is she?"

Rayburn craned his neck. "The one standing with Walston and Penniwick?"

"Yes."

"That's Lady Celia. She's Walston's sister, visiting from Dorset."

Gideon froze. For several seconds it seemed as if he couldn't even breathe. Snippets of conversation and facts of the investigation flashed through his mind: pieces of a puzzle that he hadn't yet been able to put in the proper formation. And then, like gears turning in perfect unison, those snippets and facts clicked into place. He took a moment to carefully review, to make certain he wasn't mistaken. Then his gaze settled upon the person he sought. The last clue to the puzzle. Standing across the room, looking elegant, chatting with friends. And Gideon knew he was right.

"Is something amiss, Mayne?" Rayburn asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Gideon turned toward him. "I have," he said, his voice grim. "Now I all have to do is catch it." And now was the perfect time. But he had to act quickly. His mind racing, he swiftly formulated a strategy. "I have a plan. But we'll need help." Once again he scanned the room, halting when he saw who he was searching for. "Follow me."

He walked to the far end of the room, Rayburn on his heels, halting when he reached the trio standing there. "I know who the murdering ghost robber is," Gideon said in an undertone to Matthew, Daniel, Logan, and Rayburn. "We have the opportunity to catch the person here. Now. I have a plan. Do you want to help?"

"Yes," Logan said without hesitation.

"Count me in," said Matthew.

"Me, too," added Daniel.

"Good," said Gideon. "Here's what I want you to do."

Gideon approached Lord Haverly. "A moment of your time, Haverly, if you don't mind," he said, nodding toward the corner to afford them some privacy.

"What do you want?" Haverly asked, looking none too pleased at being pulled away from his conversation.