His Jilted Bride (Historical Regency Romance) (28 page)

Beads of sweat rolled down Elijah's
face. But he didn't stop or slow his movements. Just then he dipped
his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth, adding just enough
fuel to her inner flame that she thought she might combust. And
then she did. Waves of fiery pleasure washed over her, shattering
her body into what felt like a thousand pieces that floated
away.

Elijah slowed his thrusts in time with
the slowing of the waves of euphoria overtaking her.

A moment later, she opened her eyes.
Elijah had his head propped up on one hand looking down at her.
She'd blush if he were anyone else seeing her thus. But for some
reason seeing him look at her this way after they'd just shared
such intimacy didn't feel embarrassing or shameful. She loved him
and it was rather obvious he cared for her, too.

She licked her lips and rolled onto
her side to face him. With the same torturous slowness he liked to
use with her, she trailed her hand down his chest and abdomen to
cup his erection.

He closed his blue eyes for an
extended blink, then took her hand from where it rested and brought
it to his lips. Kissing the tip of each of her fingers, he said,
“Not now. That was for you.”

“
What of you?” she questioned in what she hoped was a
seductive voice.

He pressed a row of kisses across her
knuckles. “Don't worry about me, just—”

***

Bang! Bang! BANG!
“Elijah, open up! I need to talk to you now. It's
urgent!”

Elijah's blood shot through his veins.
He'd never heard Henry shout like that. He cast an apologetic
glance to a startled Amelia and then ran to the front door. “What
is it?”

Henry ignored him and rushed into the
cabin. Then, without a word, he shoved something into Elijah's
hands.

Elijah's eyes scanned the words
written on the missive.

16C Call Street. Bath.
Eleven.

Elijah locked gazes with his brother.
“Something isn't right.”

“
I know,” Henry said quietly. “That's why I wanted your
opinion. It's not a puzzle.”

“
No. Nor is it his custom to send missives so
frequently.”

Henry shrugged. “I don't know about
that. He might just be getting impatient.” He took the missive from
Elijah's hand. “It gives a location: Bath. He might have known we
were in the area and wanted to get this over with
tonight.”

Elijah nodded. That made sense. There
was no need to let any more girls be sold into prostitution. But
still, something was off. “Let me see that again.”

Henry handed him the note. “The
handwriting is different,” Elijah murmured, frowning. Why hadn't he
noticed that the first time? Likely because he'd been so distracted
by Henry's shouting and the note's content. “The letters in the
past have been formed perfectly, and all the Cs have had that extra
swoop at the top.”

Henry frowned. “The man was clearly in
a hurry, Elijah. If he didn't bother to make his clue cryptic with
arithmetic equations and rhymes, he probably didn't care too much
about writing it in a hand to please a dandy.”

“
I concede.” He began folding up the missive and froze, his
eyes narrowing. “This isn't from him. I know it.”

“
Oh? Is the wax seal not in the precise place he's put it in
the past? Or perhaps it's a different shade of red. Burgundy
instead of crimson?” Henry asked, his voice dripping with
sarcasm.

“
No, you coxcomb. The others had wax that was flat, almost as
if someone had flattened it with the bottom of a candlestick
holder. This one was stamped with a signet ring.” He turned the
paper around so his brother could see it. “It's light but you can
still see the bottom half of a crest there in the wax.” It was just
enough that they might be able to identify it if they could compare
it to a picture, but as it was, there wasn't enough there to
recognize just whose crest it was.

Henry took the paper from Elijah's
grasp and cursed under his breath. “Damn. How did I miss
that?”

“
Because you lack the attention to details I have.”

Henry snorted. “I could
say something in response, but since I have a feeling we're about
to spend the next few hours locked in Alex's library poring
over
Debrett's
like two giggling debutantes on the hunt for a lord, I'll
refrain.”

“
I'd say you're capable of using your mind for something other
than dreaming about horseflesh after all.” He cast a glance at the
closed bedroom door and handed Henry back the paper. “Let me get
Amelia to the house so Caroline, Edwina and Mother can fuss over
getting her ready for the costume ball tonight. I'll meet you in
the library in thirty minutes.”

“
Very well. I'll go to the stables and see if anyone knows
what type of building is at this address.”

“
Amelia,” Elijah called, coming back into their
bedchamber.

“
What's wrong?”

Elijah forced himself to ignore the
look of confusion on her face. “Oh, you know Henry, he has a flare
for the dramatic that's only outmatched by an actor on Drury
Lane.”

“
No, he doesn't. What's wrong?”

“
Mother has threatened to look for a wife for him at the ball
tonight,” Elijah said thickly. He
hated
lying. Especially to Amelia.
But it would be the last one. Ever. Tonight, after they apprehended
the men involved he'd tell her the entire truth and never utter
another lie to her as long as he lived.

“
Gracious. I had no idea he was so opposed to matrimony.” She
looped her arms around his neck, came up on her toes and then
pressed her lips to his. “Perhaps he'll enjoy it more than he
thinks if he gives it a chance.”

“
Have you forgotten who we're talking about?” he murmured
against her lips. Unable to resist their temptation, he kissed her
again.

“
He's not as bad as I originally thought. Some lady might even
enjoy being married to him.”

“
Yes, if she likes sarcasm and insolence,” he agreed, dropping
his head to kiss her neck. He forced himself to stop. Tonight, he
promised himself. Tonight he'd tell her every one of his secrets
then make love to her until they were both too tired to move. “I
think it's time you go join the ladies and start getting ready for
the ball.”

“
Do I have to?” She slipped her hands under his shirt; her
fingertips brushing every edge and hard plane. “I'd much rather
stay here with you tonight.”

His heart leapt. He'd rather stay here
with her, too, but he couldn't. “I'm sorry, Amelia, but we have to
attend. This is very important to Caroline.”

She sighed. “All right, I'll
go.”

“
Good.” He helped her repair her gown well enough to go to the
main house and start getting ready for the ball.

Elijah walked her across the lawn to
the house, savoring every step along the way. He loved spending
time with her. He was a lucky fellow, indeed.

He led her upstairs and
helped her find where the ladies were chatting it up in the drawing
room. Of course when he left, they were all chatting about having
the
perfect
costume for Amelia. He grinned. How fortunate he was to have
a large family who welcomed Amelia as if she'd been the lost family
member they'd always been searching to find.

Content that she'd be taken care of,
he went to the library.

“
Have you found anything?” Elijah asked.

Henry shook his head, but didn't
bother to look up from the table. “No.” He turned the page. “Why
must everyone put swords or a horse on their coat of
arms?”

Elijah chuckled and sat down next to
him. “Because rabbits and flowers aren't nearly as
powerful.”

“
You're a true jester, Elijah, aren't you?”

“
I try,” he said dryly. He peered over at the nine crests on
the page closest to him. He studied each of them, then glanced at
the wax seal, hoping for a match. Not in the top row. Nor the
second. He sighed. “It's not any of these.”

Henry flipped the page and in silence
they both scanned their sides of the page. Nothing. Henry flipped
the page again. Nothing again.

“
What do you propose we do when we find it?” Elijah
asked.

“
Call the constable to arrest him. Then torture him until he
gives up the names of everyone else involved,” Henry
suggested.

“
So then we're in agreement, the author of
this
missive is
involved?”

Henry nodded. “You were right earlier.
About the handwriting.” He turned the page. “While you were taking
your precious time kissing your wife goodbye, I compared the
writing on this one to the writing on the others we've received.
There were differences that couldn't be accounted for by haste. The
one who sent clues never used punctuation at the end of sentences
or commas. This person used both.” He turned another page. “The
other fellow crosses his Ts and Fs up at an angle, this chap goes
straight across. Even in a hurry, he'd still make the same
movement.”

“
All right, but what reason would someone have to give
themselves away?”

“
That's the part I don't understand, either,” Henry said on a
sigh. “My guess is that the one who wrote this won't be there
tonight.”

“
No,” Elijah agreed, dread washing over him. “And neither will
we if we don't find out who this crest belongs to.” Dash it all,
he'd hoped to be done with this nonsense tonight; but even the
greenest of those who worked for the Crown knew better than to go
anywhere on an anonymous tip that raised more questions than it
answered.

“
It's not in here,” Henry said, closing the book with a
thump.

Elijah leaned his head back and
pressed his fingers against his eyelids. The sun had fallen from
the sky more than an hour earlier. Caroline's costume party would
start in less than an hour and whatever was going to happen at 16C
Call Street tonight would happen without them in a little under
two.

“
What if the ring is old?”

“
Yes, I imagine it is,” Elijah mumbled.

“
No, I meant, the title and crest could be dormant,” Henry
explained.

Elijah whipped his head
around to look at the only shelf in the library that didn't hold
some sort of science tome. “Is that the only copy of
Debrett's
we
have?”

Henry scanned the shelf. “It appears
so.”

“
I wonder if Mother has her old copy.”

“
Why would she?” Henry asked, coming back to the table. “She
said she never cared for the Season and her marriage had been
arranged. She wouldn't have needed a copy.”

“
No, but perhaps she kept the one issued after she became a
baroness.”

Henry snorted. “Have you met our
mother? I don't think she ever gave a fig about being a
baroness.”

Elijah stood. “Nonetheless, if there
is an older version to be found in this house she'd be the one to
have it.” Mother may not have been so high in the instep as to
shoot icicles at people who didn't address her with the proper
respect due her rank, nor did she enjoy participating in Society
overmuch, but she was a bit sentimental; and if Elijah had to
guess, she'd kept a copy because it had listed his father as the
Baron of Watson.

A swift set of raps halted Elijah's
steps to leave the library.

“
Enter,” Henry bade.

Their grey-headed, bespectacled butler
opened the door. “Master Henry, it would seem Curtis is downstairs,
asking to speak to you.” The twist of his lips left no doubt what
he thought of a stablehand seeking an audience with
Henry.

Henry and Elijah exchanged a look.
“Very good. I've been waiting to see him.”

Elijah tried not to chuckle at the way
the butler's eyes widened just a hint before recomposing himself.
Snatching the missive from the table, he stuffed it into his breast
pocket and set out to find his mother.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Amelia looked ridiculous. Her gown was
made of a light blue silk with a high waist that formed a point.
That part wasn't so bad, but then had come feathers for her hair in
various shades of blue and green and a bright white mask that tied
behind her head. According to Elijah's outspoken cousin, Brooke,
Lady Townson, she looked like a princess. According to Amelia, she
looked like a fool.

Oh well, the good thing about costume
balls was that nobody knew who anyone was and usually everyone else
looked just as ridiculous. Or not. She scanned the drawing room
where she, Regina, Caroline, and Edwina were all waiting while the
others finished getting ready. Regina had on a regal gown worthy of
a queen. Caroline wore solid black with black lacy gloves and a
matching fan. She certainly looked like a seductress. Edwina had
worked the hardest on hers, and had sought some help from her Aunt
Carolina in fashioning a gown that would have been the height of
fashion in Charleston back when Aunt Carolina was a young
debutante.