Girl Behind the Scandalous Reputation Read online

  Her case! Somehow she’d forgotten all about it with thoughts of Tristan swamping her mind.

  ‘Good morning, Detective.’

  ‘Miss Wild.’ His polite, modulated tones echoed down the line. ‘I apologise for not delivering this news in person, but due to workload issues I’m unable to travel to Hillesden Abbey today, and Lord Garrett was adamant that we inform you of any breakthrough in your case as soon as it came to light.’

  Lily swallowed, her palms sweaty around the silver phone. ‘And…have you had a breakthrough?’ she asked breathlessly.

  ‘Not just a breakthrough, Miss Wild. We’ve solved the case. Or should I say Lord Garrett has solved the case.’

  ‘Tristan?’ Lily shook her head.

  ‘Lord Garrett contacted us two days ago, after finding a discrepancy between the personnel records we initially received from the airline and the records that had been e-mailed to him.’

  Lily plopped down on the velvet ottoman in front of the dressing table and stared at a baroque wall plaque. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘One of the attendants who worked on your flight was not on the personnel list we were given, and was therefore not interviewed and fingerprinted. We were unaware of the last-minute replacement because the person who dealt with the staff-change had forgotten to send the information through to payroll. As we were given the original payroll records the replacement flight attendant did not appear on our list and was therefore not part of our initial investigation.’

  He went on to explain that when Tristan had started looking into the case he’d picked up on the discrepancy and immediately informed the police.

  ‘But why did she do it?’ Lily asked.

  ‘The flight attendant was bringing a small amount of narcotics into the country to earn a few extra quid on the side. When she learned that sniffer dogs would be going through not only the passengers’ belongings but also the flight crew’s she panicked, and you were an easy target. She was aware of your parents’ notoriety and hoped that would be enough to prevent her own capture.’

  Lily remained silent, struggling to process the information. ‘So what happens now?’

  ‘You’re free to go, Miss Wild.’

  ‘And the custody order?’

  ‘Will be repealed by the courts some time today.’

  Lily thanked the detective and sat for a few moments, completely stunned.

  She was free.

  She clasped her phone to her chest, trying to make some sense of it all. The whole sordid mess seemed surreal, and what stood out for Lily now was how sorry she was that her parents were still mainly remembered for their drug-taking rather than their artistic talents. Previously she would have felt suffocated by that. Tainted by it. But after her conversation with Tristan last night she saw that her parents had been only human. They’d made mistakes, yes, and paid the ultimate price for those mistakes. But they had tried.

  It didn’t mean she had to agree with their lifestyle choices, but nor did it mean she had a right to condemn them either—as many had condemned her. Except the author of the play hadn’t judged them. He’d written a funny, informative and ultimately tragic account of their lives in a beautiful and heartfelt manner. And if she were to play her mother it could be her gift to them. Her gift to herself.

  Lily felt short of breath at the surge of emotion that swept through her body.

  Tristan. She wanted to talk to him. Share this with him because she knew he would understand.

  She was free! And he had believed in her. Had helped her.

  Lily sprang off the ottoman and grabbed the first items of clothing she found on the floor.

  She wanted to feel Tristan’s arms around her as he held her to him while she told him her news. Or did he already know?

  She didn’t care. She wanted to drag him back upstairs and make love with him. Run her fingers over his morning stubble—run her hands over his chest and take him into her hands as he had stopped her from doing last night.

  Her body quickened, clearly agreeing with the direction of her thoughts and—

  What if he’s been working on your case just so that he can be rid of you?

  The ugly thought weaved through her mind like an evil spell but she immediately pushed it aside. No stories any more. Just facing her fears head-on.

  ‘I couldn’t believe it when Mrs Cole told me you were in the kitchen making a cup of tea. And why are you only half-dressed at nine-thirty? You’re usually up with the birds.’

  Tristan turned at the sound of his sister’s voice. He was half-naked because he’d needed to get out of Lily’s bedroom fast and had forgotten his sweater.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, a little more harshly than he’d intended.

  ‘I have a little thing called a wedding at the local manor house tomorrow. Remember?’

  Tristan rubbed his belly. ‘I meant in the kitchen.’

  ‘You didn’t respond to Oliver’s text last night about meeting him at the polo field at half-eleven, so when Mrs Cole mentioned you were in here I thought I’d remind you. What are you doing in here?’

  ‘Fixing tea. What does it look like?’

  He glanced away from his sister’s too interested gaze and willed the kettle to boil.

  ‘Who for?’

  ‘Didn’t you say you had somewhere to be?’

  Jordana tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. ‘Why is your hair all over the place? And what’s that mark on your shoul—? Oh, God.’ She clapped her hand over her mouth in a melodramatic show. ‘You’ve got someone stashed upstairs!’

  Tristan followed Jordana’s gaze to his right shoulder and saw the imprint of Lily’s fingernails from their lovemaking last night.

  He’d woken this morning to find her curved in his arms, his upper arm numb from where she had used it as a pillow all night and a boulder the size of Mount Kilimanjaro lodged in his chest. He’d never woken up having held a woman all night before. In fact he usually tried to find a plausible excuse not to wake up with one at all, and he didn’t mind admitting that having Lily snuggled against him like a warm, sleepy kitten had scared the hell out of him.

  As had the feeling of well-being he’d been unable to dislodge alongside the boulder. If he’d thought the first experience with her mind-blowing then last night had been indescribable. She’d been completely abandoned in his arms and he…Suffice it to say it had been the most complete, the most intimate experience he’d ever had with a woman—even more unsettling than making love to her five nights ago.

  He’d tried to sneak out of bed, but she’d woken when he was halfway into his jeans. He’d turned when he heard the bedcovers rustling to find her leaning up on one elbow, the linen sheet clutched to her chest and her golden mane spilling over one shoulder.

  Her soft smile had slipped when he’d hovered over the idea of just walking out, but he hadn’t been able to. Not after all they’d shared last night. He wasn’t that big a heel. So he’d kissed her. Devoured her. Sucked her tongue into his mouth and very nearly forgotten why he had to get away.

  ‘So?’ Jordana prompted, bringing his eyes back to hers.

  ‘None of your business. And keep your voice down.’ The kitchen staff weren’t close, but still he didn’t want them overhearing. He turned back to the boiled kettle and filled the teapot, wishing that he hadn’t sent Mrs Cole off when she’d offered to make the tea for him.

  ‘I’ll find out. I mean, she has to come downstairs some time…’

  Tristan scowled at her too happy face. He’d be glad when this damned wedding was over and his loved up sister would go back to normal. ‘Leave it alone, Jo.’

  ‘Why? She must be important. Someone special?’

  He put the kettle back on the hob and ignored her.

  ‘Maybe it’s a guy?’

  ‘Jordana!’

  ‘Just joking, big brother. Jeez, Louise, where’s your sense of humour?’

  Tristan turned away and asked himself the same question. But her ne
xt inane remark sent him into panic mode.

  ‘That’s okay.’ Jo leaned against the bench. ‘I’ll ask Lily. She’ll know.’

  Tristan banged a lone mug on the tray. No way would he be having tea in Lily’s room with his sister on the warpath.

  ‘You won’t ask Lily anything. You’ll keep your nose out of my private life.’

  ‘Why so tetchy? I’m only teasing you.’

  ‘I’m not in the mood.’

  ‘Well, that’s obvious. Where is Lily anyway?’

  ‘In her room.’

  ‘Really?’ She raised her brows at him. ‘How can you be so sure? And isn’t that peppermint tea? Lily’s favourite?’

  ‘I said leave it alone, Jordana,’ Tristan growled.

  ‘Oh. My. God. It’s Lily.’ Both hands were clapped over Jordana’s cheeks. ‘You’re sleeping with my best friend!’

  ‘Jo—’

  ‘I’m so excited. I told Oliver I thought there was something between the two of you at the restaurant. I knew it. This is great.’

  ‘Jordana, it’s not great.’

  ‘It is. I think you love her. The way you were looking at her that night at dinner…I told Oliver I thought it was fated. Lily getting into trouble and you bailing her out. It was as if it was meant to be.’

  Tristan recoiled as if she’d slapped him. He was not in love with Lily Wild.

  ‘Jordana, you’re a dreamer. If I did care for Lily Wild it would never be serious, so you can forget about taking your romantic fantasy to the next level.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I’m not ready to get married, and even if I was Lily is not one of us. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to start my day.’

  Jordana didn’t move from where she’d stood in front of him. ‘That’s very snobbish of you.’

  ‘You can look at it any way you want, but I have responsibilities to uphold—and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from our parents it’s that love fades. You might want to believe in for ever after but believe me that’s the exception, not the rule. I have no intention of falling into Father’s trap and marrying a woman who might or might not be looking for an entrance into our society. One who will run away when she finds out there’s a lot more to the title of Duchess than champagne and shopping.’

  ‘Lily’s not like that,’ Jordana protested.

  Yeah, he knew that. But he needed to tell his sister something to get her off his back, and if he told her that what he felt for Lily scared the life out of him she’d want to wrap her arms around him and kiss him better.

  Anyway, he enjoyed his freedom. He liked having sex with a variety of women and he liked his life the way it was. Didn’t he?

  Tristan shook away the disquieting question. ‘I don’t care. I don’t need love and I don’t love Lily Wild. She’s special to you—not to me. Personally, I can’t wait until this damn drug case is over and I can get on with my life again. And the sooner you get that through your head the happier I’ll be. Here.’ The tea tray clattered as he shoved it at Jordana’s chest. ‘Take this to her, will you? And tell her—tell her…’ He shook his head. ‘Tell her whatever you like.’

  ‘Can I tell her I think you’re afraid and letting the mistakes of our parents get in the way of your own happiness?’ she asked softly.

  Tristan cut her a withering glance and stalked out of the room.

  His sister had always been a child with stars in her eyes.

  It was why he and his father had protected her so much after their mother had died. She was too dreamy and too easily led. He remembered how he and his father had thought Lily would lead her astray.

  Only she hadn’t. Lily had actually tried to protect her.

  He gritted his teeth. Lily hadn’t turned out to be at all what he had expected.

  He marched out of the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time as he sought refuge in his own suite of rooms.

  Lily wasn’t trouble waiting to happen. She was beautiful inside and out. He should never have slept with her again last night. It had been hard enough getting her out of his head six years ago, after one innocent kiss, and he doubted he’d be able to get her out of his mind as quickly this time when she left the Abbey.

  Left the Abbey? He braced his hands against the sink in his bathroom and stared at his dishevelled reflection, wondering why that thought filled him with dread.

  Because he wasn’t finished with her, that was why. And by the look in her eyes this morning she wasn’t finished with him either. They had started something last night—nothing permanent, but something definitely worth pursuing for as long as it lasted.

  Jo had just panicked him before. Made him think this was more than it really was. But Lily herself wasn’t interested in relationships and for ever after. Hadn’t she said as much at Élan the other night? So what was he so het-up about? He didn’t have to end things so abruptly; he could just let them run their natural course.

  Lily pressed herself back against the hallway wall as Tristan stormed out of the kitchen, her hands against her chest as if that would make her thin enough to be invisible.

  But he didn’t see her anyway. He was in too much of a rage.

  She let her head gently fall back against the wall.

  It wasn’t a cliché that eavesdroppers rarely heard anything good about themselves, and Lily was still trying to register exactly what she had heard. Something about her not being special. Not being one of them. That he didn’t love her and couldn’t wait for her case to be over so he could get his life back.

  Jordana had said something after that, but her softer tones hadn’t carried quite so clearly.

  Lily felt the methodical beat of her heart as her thoughts coalesced.

  She supposed she now wasn’t left in any doubt as to how he had felt this morning. That frown had been real and the kiss he’d given her had not. What had it been, then? Pity?

  Lily reeled sideways and then righted herself. She wished she could go back ten minutes and reverse her decision to come downstairs looking for him.

  Or did she? Wasn’t she better off knowing how he really felt? Better off knowing that if she’d jumped into his arms as she’d wanted to do she would have just embarrassed them both? Wasn’t this part of facing her fears?

  A shiver of misery snaked down her spine and she blinked to clear her vision. She heard a rattling sound from the kitchen, and then voices, and quickly turned to sprint up the staircase before Jordana headed out to deliver her tea.

  She made it to her room unseen and leaned back against the door, her breathing laboured and her stomach churning. Tristan’s angry words were parroting through her brain like a DVD on repeat mode. He didn’t love her. Didn’t want to love her and never would love her. And, worst of all, she wasn’t good enough for him.

  She blinked. The shower. She would jump in the shower so that Jordana didn’t see how upset she was.

  In all honesty she hadn’t expected that Tristan would wake up in love with her, but did he seriously think she was interested in his title?

  Right now she’d like to tell him where he could stick it—only then she’d have to admit she’d overheard his conversation with Jo and she couldn’t go there. Not without breaking down altogether.

  Like her mother used to do over Johnny. Her mother had always turned to alcohol when Johnny had turned to his groupies, and where once Lily had looked back in anger at her mother she now looked back in pity. Because finally she truly understood what it felt like to fall in love with a man who didn’t love you in return.

  Lily felt as if she had a claw stuck in her throat as she let the hot water beat down over her face. As much as she might understand her mother a little better now, she also realised that she truly wasn’t anything like her. She was her own person, and she wouldn’t cling to Tristan, or rant or beg. She’d hold her head up high, tell him it had been great, and walk away.

  Oh, Lord. She sucked in a deep breath and felt tears form behind her eyes. She remembered the moment she’d
found her parents had died, the moment her uncle had said he couldn’t take her, the moment her mother’s best friend said she couldn’t take her, the moment Frank had sent her to boarding school because she didn’t want to appear on his TV show any more, and the moment six years ago when Tristan had sent her away.

  But none of that had felt anywhere near as painful as hearing Tristan say he didn’t love her, and it was only Jordana calling her name from the other room that prevented her from sliding to the floor and dissolving into a puddle of misery.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  WHERE the hell was she?

  Tristan scowled as he leaned against one of the ornate oak sideboards in the main drawing room, sipping an aperitif and talking with one of Oliver’s cousins while awaiting the remaining guests for the rehearsal dinner.

  A waiter discreetly circulated amongst those already present, and Tristan glanced through the open double doors to where a lavish dining setting, resplendent with antique crystalware, awaited twenty-four of Jordana and Oliver’s close friends and family for the rehearsal dinner.

  From what he could tell the room was empty of everyone other than waiting staff. Which meant that Lily wasn’t down yet.

  Tristan knew he should have been in a better mood, given that his baby sister was marrying one of his oldest friends the following day, but he wasn’t. After his run in with Jordana this morning his day had gone from bad to worse.

  He’d been off his game during polo from the start, and then Oliver had informed him that Jordana’s ‘surprise’ for Lily was to set her up with all three of his single cousins!

  Tristan had left the field immediately after that and discreetly cornered Jordana, telling her in no uncertain terms to rearrange the evening’s place settings so that Lily sat beside him. Only she’d floored him by telling him that Lily had already asked that the place settings remain as they were.

  Then she’d apologised for her earlier behaviour. ‘Lily set me straight this morning,’ she’d said. ‘She told me she was just taking my advice and “cutting loose” by having a harmless fling with you, and that it was now well and truly finished.’ Which had been news to him. ‘I was just a bit carried away by the excitement of my wedding. I’m truly sorry to have teased you the way I did.’