Improperly Wed (8 page)

She'd expected her mother to be overjoyed. Uncle Hugh certainly was. But then, her uncle was a lot closer to the family's bills and financial statements than her mother. He was the gatekeeper, while the idea of being financially responsible was one her mother had never grasped.

Her mother sighed. “What will your life be like?”

What, indeed.
Belinda had asked herself the same question numerous times since agreeing to remain married to Colin.

She was having a hard time seeing what their marriage would be like. Perhaps, like most couples, they'd have to make things up as they went along.

Belinda bit her lip. What if she became pregnant with Colin's child?

She could only imagine what their two families would think about the joining of their bloodlines and what kind of life their child would have caught between the feuding families.

Belinda gave a slight shake of her head. No, she and Colin had an agreement, and at the end, they would go their separate ways. Implicit in that understanding was the fact that they would plan not to have children.

She was thirty-three. Even if Colin turned the property over to her in two years, she'd be thirty-five and still have some time ahead of her.

She recalled Colin's words when she'd asked what would prevent her from obtaining a divorce eventually.
Perhaps I'm banking on the fact that you won't want to.

She experienced a strange quiver. She wasn't sure if she
still completely understood Colin's motives, and that was troubling.

Her mother exchanged looks with Uncle Hugh and then addressed her. “Perhaps you might see Tod…in order to make amends.”

Belinda's jaw dropped. “Make amends?”

“Yes, darling, in order to keep your options open. You will, after all, be a single woman again some day.”

Belinda was flabbergasted. Here she'd been concerned about the possibility, however unlikely, of conceiving a child with Colin, and her mother was already thinking about her
next
husband.

Her mother had obviously not given up on the Dillinghams.

“You know I won't be around forever,” Uncle Hugh joined in, “and Tod would make a good steward of the Wentworth estates.”

“There are practically no Wentworth estates at the moment,” Belinda retorted. “It's all in Granville hands.”

It wasn't technically true. They still had one estate in Berkshire left, as well as a couple of rental buildings, but it hadn't been in the family that long. Still, at least they wouldn't be homeless, thank goodness, if Colin turned them out.

“This arrangement with Colin need be only a bump in the road,” Uncle Hugh went on. “Surely once it's over, you'll wish to return to your rightful groom and pick up where you left off.”

Belatedly, Belinda recognized just how much animosity her uncle harbored toward Colin, who'd divested him of the Wentworth patrimony. Uncle Hugh was ready to shoo her back in Tod's direction at a moment's notice.

Her mother was worse. She was almost suggesting that
Belinda befriend Tod and keep her options open, as it were, even before her marriage to Colin ended.

“Tod is no longer in the picture,” Belinda responded flatly.

She reached forward and set her teacup down with more noise than necessary.

“Now, now, Belinda,” her mother said in a soothing voice, “no need to get snappish. Your uncle means well.”

“We're thinking of your best interests.”

“Are you?” Belinda said as she stood up. “Then why is it up to me to save the family fortunes?”

She turned then and walked out the door.

She would head back to her London hotel, and then fly to New York to settle her affairs there.

Life had just taken a detour—one that led to Halstead Hall.

B
elinda's eyes misted as Pia reached the front of the church.

Pia looked beautiful in her wedding gown, holding a tightly bunched bouquet of red roses. A delicate tiara graced her coiffure. It was a gift from Pia's groom, Hawk, for their wedding day.

In a nod to her groom's country, Pia had made a fashion-forward choice from a British designer. In a bow to tradition, however, the dress had lace elbow-length sleeves and a full skirt. The ensemble was light and ethereal, like Pia.

Belinda adjusted the skirt of Pia's dress and then took the bouquet from her friend's hands, all the while steadfastly refusing to make eye contact with Easterbridge, standing a few feet away, next to the groom.

The service was being held in the parish church near Silderly Park, the Duke of Hawkshire's estate in Oxford.

Belinda was Pia's lone attendant. Because Tamara was
several months' pregnant, she had bowed out of being part of the wedding party and had instead chosen to remain comfortably seated among the wedding guests.

To Belinda's discomfiture, however, Colin was acting as Hawk's best man. Belinda wondered if Pia's romantic nature was at work in the choice. After all, not so long ago, Pia had suggested that Easterbridge was drawn to Belinda like a moth to a flame.

Pia gave her a bright and tremulous smile before facing the minister.

Belinda was truly happy for her friend. But much as she hated to disillusion Pia, Belinda didn't think she and Easterbridge bore even a passing resemblance to Romeo and Juliet—though their families, she admitted to herself, might rival the Montagues and Capulets.

Belinda kept her eyes firmly on the Anglican minister as he began to speak. When the time came for the couple to recite their vows, though, her gaze drifted of its own volition to Easterbridge's.

“Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife…”

Colin's face remained cool and fixed, but his eyes were hot as they looked into hers.

“Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

Belinda felt herself heat, as if she could feel Colin's caress as well as see it. Every bone in her body seemed to melt under Colin's gaze.

The memory of their own wedding rose between them. It had been just the two of them, the officiant and standby witnesses called in by the chapel. Their service had been a lighthearted, can-you-believe-we're-actually-doing-this reverie. They'd both been looking forward to consummating their marriage.

“Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband…?”

Once upon a time, Belinda thought, she'd answered yes to that question to the man standing a few feet from her and eating her up with his eyes.

“Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”

Pia had chosen to modernize the traditional vows by omitting a reference to
obey
and instead using vows that mirrored the groom's.

Colin smiled ever so slightly.

Belinda raised her chin a fraction. Was he recalling that she similarly had chosen not to obey? It was a good thing, because the very next morning she'd chosen not even to
keep
him.

She recalled Colin's puzzlement and then thin-lipped control when she'd nearly bolted from their hotel room, horrified at her rash actions.

She had never imagined Easterbridge would agree to obtain a marriage license before she slept with him. She'd followed through rather than changed her mind because she'd been irresistibly drawn into his orbit by that point and Vegas was an uninhibited gambler's paradise.

It had been irresistibly seductive to be wanted so much. And now that Easterbridge was staking his claim on her again—moving heaven and earth to do so, in fact—she felt almost…cherished.

Belinda tingled down to the tips of her toes. Her gown was a modest peach chiffon confection, but under Colin's gaze, she felt as if she were wearing a revealing sexy ensemble, and enjoying its effect.

Colin looked as if he could lift her up right now and carry her down the aisle and directly to a bed—
his bed.

At least, Belinda thought, she'd gotten desire if not love.
Easterbridge had given a vow to
love
her, but he couldn't have meant it—not after knowing each other so briefly.

She held back a sigh. It would be wonderful if a man could vow to love her and mean it. She'd never had the opportunity to test the proposition with Tod because their ceremony had been cut short. And with Easterbridge…

Because she felt unexpectedly teary, she drew herself up straighter.

Rats.

She would not give Easterbridge the satisfaction of seeing her get emotional. Though it was not unusual, of course, to cry at a wedding, she knew Colin would wonder if it was Pia's happiness or her own memories that had caused her tears.

Fortunately, she was able to make it through the rest of the ceremony without a hitch.

Later, at the wedding breakfast at Silderly Park, she found Pia and hugged her again.

Tamara walked up to them just as the quick embrace ended.

“I'd join the hug, too,” Tamara quipped, looking down at her stomach, “if I didn't have a basketball in my way.”

“I'm so very happy for you, Pia,” Belinda said, blinking more rapidly than usual and then casting a glance at Tamara. “And for you, too, though you look ridiculously radiant as a pregnant lady.”

“Only because my morning sickness has stopped.” Tamara turned to Pia with a smile. “I suppose we'll need to address you as
Duchess
from now on.”

“No,
ma'am
will do,” Pia teased.

As a duchess, Pia outranked both Belinda and Tamara, who were marchioness and countess, respectively.

Belinda was sincerely glad that Pia and Tamara had found happiness with Colin's friends, the Duke of
Hawkshire and the Earl of Melton. Still, though to the outside world she might be a marchioness, Belinda knew that, unlike Pia and Tamara, her marriage wasn't built to last.

Sure, both Pia and Tamara had encountered roadblocks on the way to a happy marriage. Pia had had a fling with Hawkshire years before—when he'd represented himself as simple Mr. James Fielding—that had ended with her feeling discarded until their reunion years later gave him a second chance to earn, and this time, keep her love. Tamara, in contrast, had entered into a marriage of convenience with Melton that had turned into a love match. But Belinda doubted that a similar happy ending was in store for her and Easterbridge.

As if reading her mind, Pia leaned in conspiratorially. “What is happening with you and Easterbridge?”

“It's your wedding day,” Belinda protested. “Let's not talk about other matters.”

“I'm already pulling rank as a newly minted duchess,” Pia teased.

Belinda knew Pia meant well, and since Tamara looked on with interest, she reluctantly gave in. “I suppose then that this is as good a time as any to tell you I'm no longer pursuing a way to dissolve my marriage to Easterbridge.”

Pia clasped her hands together. “Oh, Belinda, that's wonderful news. You and Colin have decided to try to make it work.”

Tamara looked doubtful. “I'm not so sure Belinda regards it as happy news, Pia. In fact, I'm guessing there's more to the situation than she's saying.”

Pia widened her eyes. “Is that true?”

Belinda sighed. “I did warn you this wasn't a fitting discussion for a wedding day.”

Pia touched her arm. “Oh, no.”

“Let's just say Colin has plenty in common with Sawyer and Hawk in the complicated courtship department.”

Pia looked surprised and Tamara resigned.

“He's blackmailing you?” Tamara hazarded a guess.

Belinda raised her eyebrows. “Why use an ugly word like
blackmail
when
proposition
will do?”

Tamara's eyes narrowed. “Just what is Easterbridge offering you?”

“Colin is now the proud owner of the Wentworth family town house in Mayfair, as well as the old estate in Berkshire.”

Pia gasped, and Tamara's expression turned to one of sympathy.

Belinda resisted the urge to rub her temples. “Apparently, my uncle believed that the corporate entity to whom he was selling was a cloak for a wealthy foreigner who preferred anonymity. He didn't know it was Easterbridge until I broke the news to him recently.”

“Uh-oh.”

Belinda shot Pia a glance that said she agreed with the sentiment. “Of course, this change of ownership is all hush-hush. No one is supposed to know about it, and Uncle Hugh is continuing to reside at the town house in London.”

“Well, don't worry,” Pia said, “as far as I know, Mrs. Hollings hasn't gotten wind of this angle to the story.”

Belinda frowned. “What do you mean by angle?”

Pia and Tamara exchanged looks, as if debating who was going to tell her.

“Out with it.”

Pia pasted on a smile. “Mrs. Hollings published news in her gossip column this morning that you had moved into Halstead Hall and that you and Colin have decided to make a go of your marriage.”

Belinda closed her eyes. “Oh, Pia, on your wedding day!”

“It's all right,” Pia soothed. “My wedding will no doubt feature prominently in tomorrow's column. Mrs. Hollings' column is actually what prompted me to ask about you and Colin.”

Belinda sighed. “I didn't want to trouble you with my news in the days before your wedding, and Tamara is pregnant and has other things on her mind.”

The truth was also that she was still coming to terms with her new status quo with Colin.

Belinda had no idea how Mrs. Hollings got her information. The woman seemed to have sources everywhere. On the other hand, Belinda acknowledged that she herself had not gone to great trouble to conceal her steps, either. She had appeared on Colin's doorstep last week with weekend bag in hand and had let it slip at work that she'd been at Halstead Hall. For better or worse, she was going to be Colin's wife for the next two years, and word was bound to get out sooner or later.

She knew her marital status had been a source of speculation and interest at Lansing's, and elsewhere in New York and London. Everybody was aware of the debacle at St. Bart's last year—some had even been eyewitnesses.

She supposed that the silver lining to Mrs. Hollings' gossip column today was that her work colleagues would stop conjecturing about her marital status and see her as settled into married life.

Tamara fished a cell phone out of her small handbag. She scrolled down and then handed her phone to Belinda.

Belinda read the text with unease.

This columnist has it on good authority that a certain marquess and marchioness are nesting in Berkshire
near H****. Could it be that a little birdie will hatch next spring?

Belinda mentally winced.

She handed the phone back to Tamara. “Isn't there something you can do to stop Mrs. Hollings? Doesn't she work for Sawyer's media outlets?”

Tamara shrugged as she put away the phone. “Mrs. Hollings is a renegade. Sawyer believes in the separation of the news and business sides of his companies. He won't interfere to kill an individual story.”

Belinda grimaced at Mrs. Hollings' words.
Hatch a little birdie?
She hadn't even slept with Colin again—yet. She'd arrived back in England from New York just in time for Pia's wedding.

“What are you going to do?” Tamara asked.

Belinda lifted her shoulders. “What can I do? Nothing. No annulment, no divorce.”

“So that's it? You plan to stay married…until death do you part?”

“Not quite,” Belinda admitted, hedging. “I've talked Easterbridge into a sort of postnuptial agreement. The longer we stay married, the more Wentworth property I can walk away with in a divorce.”

In fact, Easterbridge had had a short agreement drawn up by his solicitor while Belinda had gone back to New York. She'd had her lawyer review it, and the agreement had been signed just yesterday.

Pia looked deflated. “Still, perhaps Colin really does care for you, because what other incentive would he have for agreeing to such an arrangement?”

“Hardly,” Belinda responded.

Tamara tilted her head. “And so, you're planning to stay the course in this marriage until you gain title to all the Wentworth property?”

“Exactly.”

Belinda watched Pia and Tamara exchange another look.

“Just be careful,” Tamara finally spoke. “Take it from me, this marriage of mutual convenience situation can be trickier than you think.”

Belinda knew Tamara was remembering her own predicament with Sawyer, when her future husband had also made marriage a condition to the both of them getting what they wanted.

Belinda bit her bottom lip. “I've already learned my lesson, remember? I eloped with Easterbridge once. It's not the type of mistake that I intend to make again.”

She knew she had to keep her guard up with Colin. She didn't have a crystal ball or good insight into his motivations.

Pia looked doubtful. “Well, this time you're already married, so the only thing that can happen is—”

Warningly, Tamara gave a quick shake of the head.

“—anything,” Belinda acknowledged, finishing for her.

 

At the wedding reception, Colin barely took his eyes off of Belinda. He stood to one side of the ballroom and took a sip of his wine. He knew he had unmasked desire on his face. He was committing the unbelievably gauche sin of lusting after his own wife at a social event, but he didn't give a damn.

After Pia and Hawk's wedding ceremony, followed by a traditional wedding breakfast, everyone had repaired and refreshed in time for an elegant black-tie dinner-dance in Silderly Park's ballroom.