Legendary Lover (15 page)

»35

G?tNOTHER
   
CONVERSATION
   
IN
   
THE
   
CITY
   
WAS

proceeding
along a similar vein, Jack's cousin discussing the same concern with his solicitor.

"Since
Redvers
has never shown any serious interest in a lady before, last night was highly disturbing. At the Darlington ball, he almost fought with
Groten
over the Frenchwoman." Small and dark, Trevor Mitchell pursed his lips, his annoyance plain. "Should Fitz-James marry, my expectations are destroyed."

The solicitor
steepled
his fingers beneath his many chins, surveying his most promising client.
"How is it you were invited?" The man sitting opposite him didn't move in the first circles of society.

"The advantage of being a member of
Redvers
family, no doubt."

"Lady Darlington was being complaisant in the extreme."

"Maybe she wants
Redvers
for her daughter and thought it prudent to include those few existing relatives of the marquis."

"Apparently," the lawyer bluntly agreed. "As to your expectations, could
Redvers
simply be pursuing another of his ladyloves with a degree more attention than usual?"

"Had you seen him last night, Percy, you'd not be so calm. I tell you, I could see my chances for his title and fortune going up in the smoke of his passion for this woman."

"You're sure?" The lawyer's gaze scrutinized more closely.

Taut with nerves, Trevor shifted in his chair, his

136

knuckles
white on the chair arms. "As sure as I was before last night that my cousin would die from dissipation before he turned thirty."

"Hmmm."
Mr. Percy regarded his agitated client with a less tranquil regard. The Honorable Mr. Mitchell would need considerable financial and legal expertise should he suddenly become a marquis; Mr. Percy had much to lose in terms of fees and commissions. "Perhaps
Redvers
could do with a bit of surveillance."

"In case of an accident?"
Trevor softly interjected, a flash of a smile showing teeth yellowed from his penchant for Turkish cigarettes.

"No need for offensive measures just yet." Harold Percy specialized in family trusts and guardianships of a more disreputable nature. "Perhaps you could pay your cousin a visit first."

"If
I knew his whereabouts.
He left the ball rather hurriedly last night, carrying the Frenchwoman."

"Really?" the lawyer murmured, as familiar with the marquis's casual disregard for women as anyone with an ear to the fashionable world's indiscretions.
"In sight of everyone?"

"He took her down the main staircase and out the door as bold as you please."

"Why don't I see what I can find out in terms of his destination? Provided he's in residence where a social call's possible, you could arrive at his door and see for yourself exactly how serious his preoccupation is with this lady."

"I have no intention of giving up my expectations, Percy. Not in the least."

"I understand. Perhaps
Redvers
will resort to type and the lady will be gone ere long."

i37

"Or she can be persuaded to leave," Trevor ominously intoned.

"Let's not anticipate problems." Percy's large nostrils flared, as though he were sniffing the air for possibilities.
"First things first.
I'll put some men on the case, and once we've run the marquis to ground, you can go and survey the situation for yourself."

"With all due speed, if you please."
Trevor's dour face further soured. "I don't care to wait until his wedding."

/
KhILE
  
JACK
  
AND
  
VENUS
  
WERE
  
THE
  
OBJECT
  
OF

much
conversation that afternoon, the two lovers were already en route to
Castlereagh
, as if anticipating their most assiduous pursuers.

Jack lounged in the corner of the seat, Venus lying between his sprawled legs, his foot braced on the floor to hold them in place, the rhythm of the carriage delicious adjunct to their warm contentment.

The feel of her in his arms was like holding heaven, he thought.

"You're sure I won't be disrupting anything at your country home?" she murmured, half turning to gaze up at him.

"No more than you've disrupted my life completely." He bent his head to drop a kiss on her forehead.

"As you've vastly altered my life."

"We were meant for each other, it seems."

"At least for now," she said, smiling.

"Hmmm."
He kissed her smile, not inclined to relinquish her for a prolonged time. "I have a feeling you'll bring me luck in the Derby."

"If 1
stay
."

i3«

But the message in her voice offered more certainty and he pleasantly said, "I'll have to think of some incentive for you to stay."

"And I'll have to decide if it appeals."

"We can discuss it at
Castlereagh
," he lightly replied. "I'll have you a day's journey from London and in my clutches."

Her eyes shone with mischief. "It's more appealing already."

"Cheeky little wanton."

"Would you wish me different?"

He grinned.
"God, no.
I think I've gone to heaven."

"You offer glimpses of paradise as well, my lord," she playfully returned.

"It almost makes one reconsider the nature of religion." His arms tightened around her waist and his gypsy eyes looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hell and damnation," he whispered, disconcerted but unwavering in his intent. "You're staying for the Derby."

"Perhaps—if I can ride your black."

"They won't let you.
Jockey Club rules."

"I meant in training."

"That's all?" He wasn't used to women asking for so little.

"Should I ask for more?"

"Ask for whatever you like.
So long as you stay."

"You're that enamored of me?"

He hesitated for the merest moment, such an admission unparalleled in his life. But she was smiling up at him and he'd never felt such pleasure. "I'm that enamored, darling. What I have is yours."

She liked his open-handed largesse as much as she liked the warmth of his smile. And while she didn't

139

wish
for anything beyond his company, it was pleasant to know her feelings were reciprocated. "I'm looking forward to our holiday in the country."

He understood the significance of her words, the layers and texture, the anticipation. "I'll show you everything at
Castlereagh
, show you off to everyone."

"After I send for my clothes."
She lifted the wrinkled fabric of her
ballgown
.

"There are local dressmakers. We'll summon one in the morning to make you something until your luggage arrives."

"Discounting my behavior to date, I'm not sure I'm that brazen. What will your neighbors say when they hear the inevitable gossip?"

"I see no reason I can't have my spinster cousin out to visit."

"Thank you very much. I'm a year older than you."

"But quite on the shelf, darling, in terms of the marriage mart," he playfully noted. "Think how amusing the pretense. When I'd refer to you as my spinster cousin, anyone with eyes would have to swallow their cavil."

"Because you're the mighty lord of the county."

"Of course, but what an enticing role you could play, dear
cuz
."

She laughed. "I'd prefer less drama. Can't we be in hermitage at
Castlereagh
?"

"Whatever you like," he said, entirely serious once again. "You decide."

"I'm allowed carte blanche?"

"You're allowed anything for the pleasure you bring me»

"Now I know why all the ladies adore you."

140

He shook his head. "Not for that," he bluntly said. "You're the first." And abruptly he spoke of his Derby horse, as though he'd talked out of turn.

Equally uncomfortable with ardent emotion, fully aware of the transience of their relationship, Venus immediately responded to the new topic, which was less fraught with earnestness. They compared notes on their thoroughbreds, stables, and jockeys with a casual
poli-tesse
, and in the course of their journey that sunny afternoon, both were careful to keep the discussions entirely urbane.

Chapter 10
-—
esse
               

V^T l/EANWHILE,
  
A
  
FLURRY
  
OF
  
ACTIVITY
  
WAS

taking
place in London. Both Bella and Harold Percy had servants and servitors out on the street, talking to the staff at Lord
Redvers's
and Miss
Duras's
establishments. The investigation was done with discretion in the case of Lady
Tallien
, her lady's maid having connections with both houses. For his part, Percy's men were skilled at their craft; over drinks in the neighborhood pubs, they discovered the necessary information from the footmen at both homes.

Come morning a day hence, two carriages left London bound for Cheltenham. The inhabitants were noticeably distrait, Jack's cousin partaking of considerable rum on his journey to allay his nerves. The marquis had indeed taken the lady to
Castlereagh
, an ominous
portend
, considering Lord
Redvers
had always punctiliously avoided having his paramours anywhere near his country home.

Inherited directly from Jack's grandfather,
Castlereagh
was a place of solitude, without undue taint of his father's memory; a place of refuge, Trevor knew. And now Jack had taken Miss
Duras
there.

Bella understood less of the marquis's family issues,

142

but
she knew perfectly well it boded no good that Jack had brought that woman to his favorite abode.

"He never brings anyone to
Castlereagh
," she heatedly remarked to her niece.
"Never!"

"Then we must stop her by all means!" Sarah exclaimed, wringing her handkerchief into
a twisted
wreckage. A second later, her perplexed gaze fixed itself on her aunt, sitting opposite in the fast-moving carriage.
"But how?"

It wasn't as though the topic hadn't been discussed at some length already, but young Sarah couldn't retain facts beyond the color and cut of a gown. Everything other than fashionable attire and gossip was quite outside her capacity to recall.

"We'll decide for certain once we arrive at
Castlereagh
and see what's transpired in the past two days."

"What if he's procured a special
license!
" Sarah wailed.

"That news would have reached London within hours." Bella drew in a calming breath. "Apparently he hasn't entirely lost his senses—yet." However, Lady
Tal
-lien's personal concern was more that Jack Fitz-James might have fallen in love. Marriage itself wasn't of concern to her. Men were never faithful to their wives in the beau monde unless . . . That dreadful word
love
again came to mind.

"I might still be able to marry him after he tires of that Frenchwoman." Sarah pronounced the last word as though she had something distasteful in her mouth. "He
will
tire of her, won't he?" Sarah looked to her aunt as ultimate social arbiter; her mother's passion for whist left little time for maternal duties.

"We'll have to see what we can do to facilitate that

143

process
," Bella firmly said. "But first, we must call on Lord
Redvers
in the most benign fashion. Remember, we're abroad on a spur-of-the-minute excursion to escape the frenzy of the Season for a few days. You're too fatigued to go on a moment more, and Farleigh House is only in the next county."

"Oh, Bella, you're ever so smart. How do you think of such cleverness?
Farleigh House, indeed.
How perfect, and I shall display the most dreadful ennui and weariness. You'll be exceedingly proud. Look." She half-swooned in her seat, gazing up at her aunt from beneath lowered lashes.

"A little less drama, my sweet," her aunt cautioned. "We mustn't put Jack on his guard. Perhaps a small sigh on occasion will suffice."

"Oh, I can sigh ever so well."

"And you must be exquisitely polite to the Frenchwoman."

Lady Sarah's mouth turned down in an instant pout.

"If you don't give me your word, I'll leave you in the carriage and go in alone." Lady
Tallien's
voice was determined.

"Oh, very well."
Sullen and moody, her niece agreed.

"If you want Jack, you must conduct yourself without petulance or any other adverse behavior that might be construed as discourteous. He won't tolerate it, I assure you. And our visit will be highly suspect, so we must behave."

The young girl smoothed her skirt briskly, clearly agitated by the necessity of being civil to her rival.

"You'll have time tonight to ready yourself, since we'll arrive in Cheltenham too late to call. We'll stay at