Ravishing Ruby (22 page)

“Yes,” she said. “Why don't we all sit and then I can…”

“Oh, I've quite the idea of why I am here. It took me a few minutes to put it all together, but I think I begin to understand. It's all business, isn't it, one type of transaction or another?” Derek's voice was still calm, but his eyes had grown cold. “I am very tired of having my life be manipulated because of my family's business.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she said, trying desperately to understand what was happening. She felt like she'd read the first three pages of a book and then found herself halfway through with no knowledge of what had happened.

Derek looked at her, his eyes sweeping up her body before again settling on her face. She could see the consideration in his gaze. “Perhaps you don't—or perhaps you are a better actress than I imagined.”

“What…?”

Before she could finish the sentence, he turned from her and focused on her grandfather. “What I am sure of is that he knows exactly what I am talking about. He, after all, is the one who sent me to you in the beginning. Am I supposed to believe that was just chance?”

She shook her head, trying to make sense of the conversation.

“I don't know to what you refer, Captain Price. I certainly never sent you to meet my granddaughter or her employer, Mrs. Grant. I believe you must be suffering from some misapprehension. It was Emma who invited you here. I have nothing to do with it.”

“And I am supposed to believe that?”

“Why, yes. I still don't understand the problem,” her grandfather replied, and even Ruby could hear the quaver in his voice and the look of entreaty that he sent Derek.

Derek stepped back, his shoulders straight. “Why can you not simply be honest?”

“What is going on here?” Ruby had had enough. “What is it you are not saying? I hear an accusation I do not quite understand, but there is more to it. Why do you think my grandfather was involved in my invitation to you, and why do you think that he has something to do with our meeting?”

Her grandfather swallowed—loudly.

For a moment nobody spoke and then Derek turned to her. “I do not think it.” His features clearly showed that he had reached some important decision. “I know it. He was responsible for our first meeting and I cannot believe that this has all been chance ever since. I thought it was strange when he sent me to you at the start, it seemed out of character, and now I can only think it has been a plan all along. I am not quite sure what his endgame was, but I am sure this is not all serendipity.”

“I still don't…” She tried to continue.

Derek ignored her. He turned back to her grandfather. “Do you want to tell her or should I?”

Ruby glanced over at her grandfather. He compressed his lips and said nothing.

“He is the one who first sent me to Madame Rouge's,” he said harshly.

What?
Derek to Madame Rouge's.
Her mind could not quite put the thought together. Grandfather didn't know about Madame Rouge's—or at least he always pretended he didn't. How could he have sent Derek there? And why would he have? It was impossible to even imagine her grandfather directing a man to a whorehouse.

She looked over at her grandfather again. He dropped his eyes and still said nothing.

“I don't believe…” She started to say, but let her voice trail off. It might not make sense, but Derek had no reason to lie about such a thing—and her grandfather was not denying it.

“He heard me talking to one of the men and volunteered the information. I would never have found it on my own. I'd have ended up someplace much nearer to the docks.”

That was probably true. Her clientele ran more to gentlemen than seamen. But something about Derek himself had made him not seem out of place. If she'd thought about it at all, she'd imagined his highbrow cousin had sent him to her. She'd never imagined her grandfather…

“I'd heard it was the best place in town, not at all of the common sort,” her grandfather mumbled at last.

“So it was complete chance that had you recommending the place to me?” Derek asked, the disbelief in his tone clear.

“It's the only such place I'd heard of specifically,” answered her grandfather.

“I find that hard to believe.”

Now her grandfather did look up. “I can assure you that I am not in the practice of visiting ladies of the night.”

If only she could just sink through the floor. Why was Derek doing this? She'd told him that Madame Rouge's was an untalked-about secret with her grandparents. Why was he trying to force it into the open?

Derek would not back down. “And it just happens that the only one you know of is Madame Rouge's?”

“Yes, as it happens, it is. And I find this a most inappropriate conversation to be having in front of my granddaughter. I do not know how you do things at home, Captain, but I can assure you that such conversation is not for a lady's ears on this side of the Atlantic.” Her grandfather's voice grew louder as he decided what tack to take. If only it did not sound so much like he was forcing the words out—and they were not the full truth.

Derek glanced between her and her grandfather, clearly deciding if he should force the issue. “Are you sure you do not wish to be honest? I have always had a strong dislike of liars.”

Of all the ways she had imagined this going, she had never even considered this. If only it were possible to go back in time and do things differently. Although what she would do differently she could not say.

“I do not like being called a liar.” Her grandfather was turning red again. “I did you a favor and this is how you repay me?”

“Did you do me a favor or Madame Rouge? It would seem to me you are nothing but a procurer.” Derek almost spat the words.

I have never needed anyone to find me patrons. I could work only with my current clients and be set for life.
And I certainly would never use my grandfather.
The desire to speak the words, to yell the words, was strong. She wanted to yell, to fight, but even now, in the midst of this mess she understood the trap that lay all about her. Her grandfather had still not admitted to knowing that Emma and Madame Rouge were one and the same. If she forced the issue and then Derek left, as it seemed he must, then she would be left with nothing. The state of detente with her grandfather would be over. If he were forced to admit that she ran a brothel, then he would disown her as he had her mother. It would be useless to try and persuade him that there was a difference between being a whore and running a business. And she didn't even know if she would bother. She had long defended her girls and their reasons for acting as they did and to now act like she was better than them would seem a betrayal. She said nothing. She bowed her head and fisted her palms, waiting for this to be over. There would be time enough to pick up the pieces when Derek left. She could only hope there were enough pieces remaining to put back together.

Derek stood still, waiting for a reply. He didn't know what he wanted to hear. He wasn't sure that there were any words that could fix that which had broken within him when he realized he had been set up—again. He wasn't sure by whom, whether it had just been old Scanton or whether Ruby had played a part. And did it matter? He'd clung to her innocence at first, convinced she would say something that would make it all make sense, that would dull the pain that grew within him. Just this morning he'd been so confident that she would never play him, but gradually, as her silence had held, as he'd realized she wasn't going to say anything, he'd felt his earlier anger return. His feelings about Anne's actions combining with this new situation.

He had believed it of Anne, believed that she would see him as no more than a pawn to be moved at her pleasure, but Ruby?

He didn't know what the Scantons' purpose was, but clearly there was one.

Scanton spoke up. “I don't understand your anger. I merely gave you a referral. I did not demand that you go there. Indeed, it was not I looking to mingle with whores.”

Did Ruby pale as he spoke? Did she feel the bitterness in that last word? It didn't matter. “I was looking for help for one of my men. I am sure you remember that.”

“And of course you did not indulge yourself.” It was impossible to miss the edge of sarcasm in Scanton's voice.

Derek turned back to stare fully at Ruby. Her eyes lifted and he could see her memories of that first night he had come to Madame Rouge's, the night she had watched him through the peephole as he fucked one of her girls. “I had been at sea for months. I need no excuse for my behavior. I have no wife I have sworn to be faithful to—at least not yet.”

And there was no mistaking that Ruby lost any remaining color with those words. Only her lips retained any trace of pink. He didn't understand how it could feel so good and hurt so much to see her response to his cruel words.

He turned back to Scanton, pushing her from his mind. “I will never do business with you again and I will see that my family does not either.” The irony of his repeating Mr. Williams's threat was not lost upon him.

Scanton's head rose at that and Derek could almost feel him stepping back onto familiar ground. “Go ahead and give that a try. You and your family will find it hard to do business if I look upon you with disfavor. I control half the cloth that comes in through this port, and what I do not control I have influence over. A few bad words from me and you will find all of England closed to your merchandise. A few more words and most of Europe will join me. Do you think that, even with these new machines you mentioned, what you produce will be so special that a replacement cannot be found elsewhere?”

Derek had no idea whether Scanton spoke the truth or only spoke boldly trying to frighten his opponent. He stared back, saying nothing. He had fought too hard to earn his father's admiration and now he might lose it over a woman.

Scanton met his eye and continued. “I see you start to understand. While I am far from a truly powerful man, within my own small world I can sway my own peculiar army. You would do far better to align with me than to anger me.” The man's gaze swept past Derek to settle on Ruby. “Yes, an alliance would be a fine thing.”

Ruby's head came up, her eyes glowed and Derek could feel the uncomfortable heat she directed toward her grandfather.

An alliance.
The word settled about him. He was not wrong. It had all been a plot and he was the lamb being led to slaughter. He looked over at Ruby, her delicate features and lush curves. It might be a quite enjoyable slaughter, but he was no lamb. If he had not still been so angry from last night, he might have seen it differently, but…“So that is the plot. I can only say that if that is what you are selling, I have no interest in the merchandise.”

He turned and strode from the office, stomping down the narrow stairs.

“Well, that did not go quite as I hoped,” her grandfather said.

“No, I imagine it did not,” Ruby replied even as she felt her world tumble around her. It was all she could do not to run down the stairs after Derek, begging him to listen—although she knew not what she would say. She still was not quite sure what had just happened, other than that she had been refused. There had been no mistaking that final look from Derek. He had taken in her value and found it wanting.

He did not want her—at least not for a wife.

It should not have hurt so badly. She did not need a man. Her life had been designed to leave her independent. She needed no one. No one.

Turning, she walked to the cloudy window that let one look down over the main floor of the warehouse.

Derek was gone. There was not even the sight of him disappearing into the distance.

No one.

Even if she lost her grandparents, she would survive. It would not be easy. There would be pain, but she would survive. Strength lived deep in her core and she would draw upon it, she would force it to the surface and she would go on.

A bitter laugh rose within her and she let it bubble out. She could do what her grandfather wished and marry a man she did not care for, give up being Ruby, become Emma. A good and dutiful wife, a woman who cared not for business, who cared only for husband and family. Or she could continue as Madame Rouge, give up the love of her grandparents, and be more alone than she had ever been. It was a daunting choice. Perhaps she would move to Cornwall and surround herself with kittens. Maybe she'd keep so many that she could name all the Knights of the Round Table.

“What do you find funny?” Her grandfather sounded quite confused.

“Only everything. I have fought so hard for so long and now it lies in ruins all about me—and as far as I can see I've done nothing wrong.”

Her grandfather's face grew cloudy at that. It was clear he thought that she had done much wrong even if he could never voice the thought. “We should have insisted that your mother hand you over to us when you were born. That house was no place to raise a child.”

“It was a wonderful place to grow up.” She fought back for the first time in her life. “My mother—and my father—loved me. I was treasured.”

“Treasured until you did not suit their needs.” He spoke coldly.

“And are you so different?” She knew the words were unwise, but could not hold them back. “You cut off my mother the moment she displeased you and now you threaten the same with me. How is that different than my father? I do not understand this idea that love is something you can simply choose to end.”

“We were patient with your mother until she pushed too far. How could we ever admit to having a daughter who lived unmarried in a man's house? A man who was married to another woman. Who bore his child.”

“That child being me, who now so conveniently becomes a distant cousin instead of a beloved granddaughter.”

“You are beloved.”

“And yet you will cast me away if I do not do as you wish.”

“We want only the best for you. Can you not understand that? I think we have been very patient with you and the life you lead. Instead of forcing you home when your mother died we let you stay at your—your place of employment.”

God, she wanted to make him say it. He so clearly knew what she did for a living. Hell, he'd even sent Derek to her. Why did it have to remain forever in the shadows? Why could she not force honesty for just this one moment? And yet she could not. She knew the price of that moment in the light and it was not a price she was willing to pay. “It was too late by the time my mother died. Perhaps if you had come to me when my father first said he no longer wished me in his life things could have been different—but then again, perhaps not. I did not wish to allow anyone to control me at that point.”

“Which is why you did not come to us. You say that we did not come to you at that moment, but how could we have? We knew nothing until the situation had been settled in your mind. You made your decisions without consulting us. Do not blame us for that now.”

This she could answer. “Perhaps because I had seen how you treated my mother, I did not need to consult you. I knew what choices you would offer me and I wanted them no more then than I do now.”

“And yet they are the choices that are yours now. Some things cannot be avoided.”

She hated that his words were true. Some things could not be avoided. “And what of Captain Price? Why did you not tell me that you knew him yesterday? Why not give me a chance to prepare myself, a chance to see if there were any way around this mess?”

“I did what I thought right. I did not think it would work out like that.”

“Really?” What exactly had her grandfather thought would happen? Did he think that Derek would be pleased to be told he should marry a whore? Although wasn't that what she had thought? Hadn't she thought that he would be pleased to see that marriage between them was possible, that she could do as much for his family as Anne?

“Yes, really. I made the referral with only the best of intentions. I did not expect it to come back to haunt me in this manner. It was an impulse at first. I really did not think much beyond that I thought he was a man who would interest you, perhaps make you see things differently.”

Was her grandfather actually admitting, if subtly, that he knew she and Madame Rouge were the same? “And what did you want?”

“Only to be helpful.” Her grandfather met her glance as he said the words. “I only wanted the best for everybody. I knew things needed to change and thought maybe you would see your own way to changing them.”

And she just might have if given more time. “And what is the best? Why do you think you always know better?”

“Because I do. And you would be happier with a husband and family than you are now. I truly have no doubt of that. I only do what I can to help make that happen. And I really did not think it would come to anything. I just knew Captain Price had been at sea for years, had traveled the world, and seemed more open-minded than any other man I'd met. I am not sure why I thought it would work, but…”