The Betrayed Lady Winters Read online

  He likes me, she thought to herself while clutching her stomach tightly. And I have stolen his journal.

  The fact that she had taken such a bold mood when she was wrong scared her. Now, Ivy had no idea what was going to happen. Royce would be angry, of course, this would lead to him yelling at her and she would have to take it because she knew that he deserved it. But that was not the only consequence of her mistake. The fact that Royce did not harm her father meant that she had been focusing on the wrong person and that whoever did do it was still out there and her brother would still be rotting in jail. She had wasted time, and now she did not know where to turn. Ivy had become so convinced that it was him that she did not even bother to worry about the other people surrounding her father. Now, she was going to have to start from scratch.

  Ivy wanted to scream, she wanted to yell and thrash and really fall apart, but she could not. Not when all of this mess was her doing. She needed to remain strong and to work out her next plan of action.

  Despite knowing that, she could not stop the wetness from flooding her cheeks as she thought about the hopelessness of Ewan’s situation. The longer that he spent in jail, the worse things became, and it was starting to become less and less likely that he would get out. Not unless their father woke up, which was also unlikely.

  “Lady Winters?” She pushed herself up instantly and wiped away the tears as Charlotte, one of the handmaidens grabbed her attention. “I am sorry to disturb you so late in the afternoon, but you have a visitor.”

  “Is it Mary… erm, Lady Turner?” Ivy replied, desperately hoping that it was going to be. Again, she found herself really needing the advice of her much wiser friend. Mary would know what to do, she always did.

  “No, it is not.” Ivy gave Charlotte a confused look. “It is actually a gentleman. I believe it is the one that you have been to see earlier on in the day.” Upon seeing Ivy’s shocked and horror filled face, Charlotte immediately offered her a solution. “I can let him know that you are not ready to receive visitors if you would prefer?”

  Ivy knew that turning Royce away would not end well for either of them, so even though she was nowhere near ready for this conversation just yet, she knew that she had to tackle it. She had done something wrong; she needed to face the consequences of that. Ivy had to face this head on.

  “It is fine.” She forced a weak smile on her lips. “I shall see him now, please take him to the drawing room. Is Jonathon still here?” Charlotte nodded. “Please ask him to meet us there too.”

  “Would you like refreshments brought to you?” Charlotte felt unsure; this did not feel right.

  “No, I do not think that Duke Merrick will be here long enough for that. Thank you very much.”

  Ivy sucked in a couple of deep and calming breaths, trying to cool the burning hot panic that circled through her body. Once Charlotte left her room, Ivy took the book and she closed it up, preparing herself to give it back to Royce,while facing his potential temper at the same time.

  He is a good man, she told herself. A kind man who wants to help people. Maybe he will be good to me, too.

  But the fact that she had stolen from him and invaded his privacy, the fact that she had read his private thoughts and she now knew how he felt about her, complicated things. Ivy was not sure that she could talk herself out of that at all. She did not think that she would be as forgiving if she wrote down her thoughts and someone had stolen that from her. Ivy knew that her rage would get the better of her and she would lose it.

  With a heavy heart and a sinking feeling in her chest, Ivy turned and made her way down the stairs to where Duke Merrick would now be waiting for her in the drawing room. She had asked Charlotte to take him there, so they could have this talk. It did not matter that she knew that he was not dangerous, Ivy was still very afraid.

  And not just about him. It was time for Jonathon to learn the truth.

  Chapter 10

  Royce paced up and down the drawing room in the Winters’ household, trying to work out what on Earth had happened. As far as he had known, things were going really well between himself and Ivy after their initial fallouts, so he could not understand why she would steal his very important journal from him. He knew that she had done it as well, because she had seen where he had taken the book, and if he really thought about it, it was not long before she went that way herself. At that moment, he had been so involved in a business conversation with Jonathon, that he barely noticed her leaving. He had, however, spotted the change within her when she returned to the table afterward. It was obvious that she had done something wrong, and now he knew what.

  When Ivy made an excuse that she was not well and needed to leave early, he actually felt sorry for her. He thought that she looked sickly in her face, so he had absolutely no reason to believe that she was lying.

  But she had lied to him, and she had lied so that she could steal from him. Lady Ivy Winters was not the woman he thought she was. His judgement when it came to her was very wrong. He had been blinded by her beauty and the way that she made him feel. He would not make that mistake again! Once he got his journal back, he would be much more cautious with his heart to ensure that he did not get fooled again.

  “Is this something that I can help you with?” Jonathon asked curiously. He had only stayed behind for a while, so he could get some letters written, but now he was glad, because this could have been terrible if it had happened without him.

  “No,” Royce replied stiffly. “I need to talk to Lady Winters. Preferably alone.”

  He knew that way he would get a more honest answer, but he also knew that would not happen.

  Eventually, he heard her footsteps before he saw her, he could tell that those dainty, fairly quiet feet were Ivy’s, so he turned his body around to face the door so that he was staring at her the moment that she came inside.

  Royce attempted to remain steely as Ivy slipped into the room but the mere sight of him made her waver once more. He really did adore the way that she looked and the fire that he could see behind her gaze. It did not make it easy for him to remain strong when his heart so desperately wanted to let all of that go.

  “I am sorry.” Ivy decided immediately to address the issue and hand the book over. “I did not mean for this to happen. I did not want to hurt you with my actions. I am very sorry for any trouble that I have caused.”

  “What is happening here?” Jonathon asked, confused, but neither Ivy or Royce acknowledged him.

  “Oh.” Royce took the journal from Ivy, wondering what would happen next. “Well, thank you.”

  He tilted his head towards her and stared into Ivy’s eyes. His pulse rate sped up dramatically as did hers. There was something powerful sizzling between them, but neither of them knew how to address it.

  “Why… why did you take it?” Royce finally asked, while forcing himself to break the eye contact.

  Ivy sighed loudly before she finally opened up and told Royce the truth. “I took it because I was afraid that you were the one who hurt my father.” She could barely even look at him. “I know that someone other than my brother has done this to him and I needed to find out who before Ewan is charged with the crime.”

  Jonathon parted his lips, wanting to speak out to find out more about what was slowly becoming an extremely confusing situation, but unfortunately, he did not get a chance to speak.

  Royce could not believe what he was hearing; this completely blew him away. “You… you thought that it was me?” He actually took a step backward as the shock raced through him. “Why would you think that?”

  Ivy squeezed her eyes closed, trying to keep the tears of shame inside. She had cried enough over this situation; she did not deserve to cry again. “I had just told my father to reject you if you asked to spend more time with me. I did not get a good first impression of you, and I did not want to continue with that.”

  “Oh.” Royce felt like he had been thumped in the stomach. That admission hurt him. “I see.”

&
nbsp; “I did not know you then,” Ivy insisted, needing to explain herself. “I am ashamed to say that I childishly did not see any reason to give you a chance. That is something that I deeply regret now.”

  Royce shook his head, trying not to get caught up in the pain he felt inside. That crushed him, but there were more pressing issues here. “But why does that mean you believe I would hurt your father?”

  Ivy hated herself for having to continue with this conversation, but she started and had to finish.

  “My friend had told me that there were rumours about you. That you had gambled away all of your money and that you needed a wife with a dowry. I guess in the heat of the moment, I jumped that up one step further in my mind, and I thought that you might want revenge on my father because of my rejection.”

  Ivy did not like how arrogant she sounded as she said that. It did not make her sound like a nice person at all. It would now seem that she thought herself so important, so desirable, that someone would be so desperate to marry her that they would go to such lengths. She felt foolish, and again blamed herself for everything.

  “I am terribly sorry, I can see now how bad that is. I understand if you never want to speak to me again…”

  “I do want to continue speaking to you,” Royce surprised her by saying. “I am not offended by your assumption.” He held up the journal to her. “If you have read any of this, you will know that I am used to being judged. People in London have spent my entire time here assuming things about me.”

  Instinctively, Ivy reached out and touched Royce’s arm in a comforting gesture. “That does not make it right.”

  Royce could feel something sizzling under his skin; it was a powerful sensation that he had never experienced before. It made him feel unsteady on his feet; it was challenging for him to remain standing upright.

  “No,” he murmured. “That does not make it right, but it is the path that I have chosen for myself.”

  Ivy felt the connection between them building even deeper, despite everything that had happened she could feel herself getting sucked in by him. There was a strange sensation in her heart, neediness that was crying out for something. She was almost compelled to raise herself up onto her tiptoes so that she could kiss him; her lips yearned to press against his to feel how powerful these sparks could go… but luckily, she managed to stop herself at the very last moment. She could not act in that way; it was not right! It would ruin her. He would think she was easy and that would bring shame to her family, and that family name had already been spoiled by everything that had happened. She could not make it worse.

  “So, what are we going to do?” Royce asked Ivy decisively. “How are we going to solve this?”

  “We?” Ivy asked him curiously while giving him a strange look. “What do you mean, we?”

  “I am not going to let you go through this by yourself, am I?” Royce replied as if it was obvious. “It is a terrible situation that you find yourself in, and I believe with my help we can solve it quicker.”

  “Yes, of course.” Jonathon finally got some words out. “I do not know exactly what is happening here, but it involves my family, so I would like to help as well.”

  It was the lifeline that Ivy wished for, but that she never thought that she would get. Two men with resources and connections were offering to be on her side, which meant she would get her answers faster.

  It is for Ewan; she reminded herself. For Ewan and my father. I can face anything for them.

  “I do not know,” she admitted “I have not thought too far ahead, I guess I got caught up in thinking it was you. I have not planned what I am going to do afterwards, but I cannot leave my brother in prison.”

  Royce bristled, still not enjoying the feeling that anyone could think that he was capable of something so terrible. He knew that if he allowed himself to really think about it, the hurt would last forever, but he could not. Ivy only wanted to help her family, that was something that he could understand. And he would help her.

  “We need to look into your father’s business,” he told her decisively. “We need to discover if there is anything there which might make someone dislike him. We also need to work out the names of everyone at your party, so that we can combine both lists. We also need to see if you father has any dark secrets that he is hiding…”

  “He does not,” Ivy insisted rapidly. “He is not that sort of person. He would not do that.”

  “Yes, I thought that about my father, too, but it turned out that I was wrong.” Royce did not enjoy dishing out the tough love, but if Ivy wanted to delve into this, then she needed to do so with an open mind. She might go on to learn things that she did not like, and Royce felt responsible. He wanted her to be prepared. “Sometimes, people do things for their family that is not always right, but at the time they do not see any other way.”

  Ivy’s chest felt tight as she considered that prospect. Maybe her father did have secrets, maybe the foundation that her life had been built upon was about to be ripped away. He had done everything on his own; perhaps he had been forced to do things that he did not agree with just to keep his family afloat. She could not judge him for making choices under pressure. Either way, she needed to know, she had to face the truth.

  She glanced towards Jonathan to see what he thought about it all, but all he did was nod in agreement.

  “I am ready,” she tried to sound serious as she said this. Ivy cold almost feel the colour draining from her face. “I am ready to find out whatever it is. I need to know so that I can help my family.”

  “Of course, the best thing that could happen would be your father waking up,” Royce murmured, almost to himself as he thought things through. “He might know something that could really help us with this.”

  “He has not made any sign of waking up yet, but I do hope that he does soon.”

  Ivy and Royce stared at one another for a few moments, emotions swirling around them. Part of Ivy was keen to get started, to find out what was going on immediately, but another bit of her wanted to hold off. Ignorance had been bliss, so far, she wanted to cling on to that for a little while longer.

  “So, I believe it is late now,” Royce declared with a sharp nod. “I should go back home, but I shall return in the morning with a better plan in mind and we will get started unlocking all the secrets that might give us a clue.”

  He tapped the journal in his hand as he thought, which made Ivy feel terribly guilty. Royce had not even asked her about what she had read within those pages, and that included the information that she had seen about herself. He truly was a wonderful man with a kind heart. Maybe if he had not gone out of his way to impress her at the party, and he had shown her his true self, then she would have fallen head over heels in an instant. It would not have stopped everything from happening, but at least Ivy would have some direction in her life.

  Now, she was not sure how she could feel. She certainly felt something for Royce, but that would have to be pushed to the back of her mind. Maybe even forever, if he decided not to forgive her in the end…

  Chapter 11

  Ivy blew out a deep breath of air as she glanced around at all the paperwork that she, Jonathon, and Royce had scattered over the floor as they researched. When they first started with this, she felt terrible as they rifled through her father’s private documents, but it soon became clear that he had nothing that he would be angry at her for reading. It was all very professional stuff. Ivy hoped that her father would understand why she felt this necessary.

  “I do not think that we are going to find anything, do you?” she asked Royce helplessly.

  “I did hope that we were going to find some sort of clue that your father had been involved in dodgy dealings, not because I wanted you to discover anything bad, but just because it would make things easier, but we have not.” Royce sighed loudly, disappointment crushing him, too. “Is there any other reason that he might not be liked? Can you think of anything that could potentially be more than you first t
hought?”

  Ivy paced around the room as she desperately racked her brain. She had never paid much attention to anything that her father did inside the home, but maybe she had subconsciously picked up on something… but nothing immediately came to mind. Her brain remained frustratingly blank; it was like a big deep hole.

  “I cannot think of anything. My father has always been a fun, well-liked man. Why would this happen?”

  “Yes,” Jonathon interjected. “I have only heard good things about him, too. I might not know him much, but I do not imagine him doing anything terrible.”

  Royce felt hopeless; he had not figured that it would be so hard. He supposed that he could see how Ivy got herself so focused on him for the blame. Today, he had a one-track mind with the idea that he was going to find something untoward happening, and it was crushing to discover that he was wrong.

  “What can we do now?” Ivy asked, needing an answer from Royce. “What is our next step?”

  Royce took Lord Winters’ chair and rested his head in his hands. “We cannot let it go.” He did not want Ivy to think that he was giving up. “There must be something. Maybe we should look somewhere else.”

  Ivy could feel the tension rolling off Royce in waves; the stress balled up on his shoulders and there was a tautness to his neck. This was stressing him out, possibly even more than it was her. She was so grateful to him; he was far nicer than anyone she had ever met in her life. It was lucky that he wanted to help… she just wished that they had actually found something. Neither of them wanted to end up empty-handed.

  “We could look through the book shelf?” she asked helplessly. “I read something once about people hiding their most important documents in the pages of their favourite books. Is it… worth a try?”

  At first, the look that Royce gave her was one that made her shrink into herself. She felt foolish and embarrassed, knowing that she should not have said anything so silly. But then his expression softened.