On A Cold Christmas Eve (10 page)

When Lucy awoke the following morning after having spent a frustrating night alone in her bed, she was determined that tonight would end differently.  She knew Adam had sent her to bed by herself out of fear for her health, but truly, she was better.  She also burned for him, wanting to feel his body beside her and beneath her.  At her age, she wasn't completely innocent.  A virgin yes, but not innocent.  She knew a bit of what went on between men and women, and she wanted Adam desperately.

She also vowed that she would have him that night.  The following day was Christmas Eve and she doubted that he'd want to take her innocence on such a holy night.  She wouldn't mind, thinking it the greatest gift of love a woman could give a man, but she wasn't certain Adam felt the same way.

The day before had been nothing short of torture for her, or at least it had been every time her husband had touched her, which had been frequently.  It had driven her mad, and she'd wanted nothing more than to pull him to her and kiss him rather thoroughly.  Which would, of course, have made her the wanton woman her uncle had always accused her of being.

However Adam had awakened something inside of her when they'd been in his study, something so powerful that she didn't know if she would be able to put it back inside the Pandora's box from which it had sprung.  She wanted him, physically at least, even if she'd never really be able to hold his heart.  She might want that, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that a man like Adam - worldly, sophisticated, sensual Adam St. Vincent - would ever truly love a woman like her, even if they did share the taint of foreign blood.

No, Adam would never love her, but he did like her a great deal, and she knew that he was beginning to care for her, perhaps even deeply.  He was kind, courteous and considerate, which was more than she'd ever dreamed of when she'd been forced into the corners of London ballrooms with the other spinsters.  It had also been more than she'd dared hope for when she thought she would be marring Archibald.

For the first time since her father had died, Lucy felt love, even if it wasn't the kind she'd dreamed of as a child.  For now, however, it would have to be enough.

Deep in her heart, Lucy knew that she was falling in love with Adam.  She wasn't able to help it.  That love would have to sustain her for all of the years to come.  Perhaps, she thought, if she loved enough for both of them, that would be all she needed.

With that thought in mind, she allowed Elsie to dress her for the day, this time in a warm day dress of bright, holly green.  She felt festive, or at the very least happy, and wanted to radiate that same spirit to the staff of Overlook Hill.  She was the duchess now and needed to be the one to set a good example.  That was part of her new role as Adam's wife, one that she knew she had a great deal to learn about, but also one she was looking forward to immensely.

Still filled with that same cheer, Lucy went down to the breakfast room, ready to greet her husband with a kiss.  However, when she reached the room, it was empty.  Plates of steaming food were laid out on the sideboard, but they were untouched and there was no sign of Adam.  She was about to pour herself some tea and wait for him when she heard voices in the hall.  They were yelling, or at least one of them was.  She was uncertain about the others.

She was about to seek out the source of the commotion when the door to the breakfast room flew open and her uncle rushed in, followed closely by Adam, Harry Greer, and Tafford.

"There you are you greedy whore!" her uncle snarled, and Lucy stepped back as if she'd been struck.  "How dare you defy me!  You were to marry Archibald, not become a duchess."

That was enough to raise Adam's ire the rest of the way because he sprang in front of the earl, shielding Lucy with his own body.  "Enough!  I will not have you speak of my wife that way!"  There was a note of dangerous anger in his voice, one Lucy had never heard before and it made her shiver involuntarily.  She'd never seen Adam angry, but she had a feeling she was about to.

"She is my ward!" Wellsford howled.  "I dictate what she does and does not do!"  Lucy could see the veins in his neck throbbing and wondered if he might have a fit of some kind.  Not that she would particularly care, but it might make a mess on Adam's fine rugs.

"Not any longer you don't," Adam informed him, pulling himself to his full height, his body now more like a small mountain than that of a man.  "I am in charge of her now.  Legally and in all other ways."

Glowering, Wellsford stepped forward, now toe to toe with Adam.  "Then honor the contract your brother made and give me my money!"

"No."  That single word conveyed a wealth of emotion, and Lucy thought that if her uncle was smart, he would simply walk away.  Then again, he had never been the brightest man she knew.

"Yes," the earl countered, unwilling to walk away without what he felt was his due.  "We had a contract.  Archibald and I.  And if you don't honor it..."

With a bored look, Adam relaxed his stance a bit now that it became clear that Wellsford wasn't going to strike Lucy.  "I hate to inform you, Wellsford, but Archibald St. Vincent is, at this precise moment on his way to the peninsula to defend his country.  He has also signed a number of new documents indicating that he was coerced into agreeing to various contracts that in his words 'would harm those innocent of all blame,' which includes your niece.  My wife."

"Gone?"  Some of the bluster went out of Wellsford.  From his expression, it was clear that he hadn't anticipated Archibald renouncing the contracts.  "But he can't be.  We had a deal."

Moving forward and essentially forcing Wellsford to back up, Adam advanced on him.  Lucy could see the muscles of her husband's body flex and, though she knew it was totally inappropriate, she found herself growing more than a little aroused at the sight.  Soon, Adam had her uncle pressed up against the wall, her relative's usually sallow skin now a sickly yellowish green.  He rather looked as if he was about to be ill.

"Gone," Adam repeated slowly and quietly as if he was dealing with a dull witted child.  "And he is not coming back.  Ever.  It was either that or die for his crimes, and while I would have accepted that, the Prince Regent felt that it might be a waste of a devious mind that could be put to better use elsewhere."  Then he shrugged, once more imitating his sister's signature move of uncaring.  "It is of little consequence to me, so long as he is out of my life, not to mention the life of my wife, and that he does not darken our door ever again."

Clearly this wasn't something that the earl had anticipated and he stood there gaping at Adam, his mouth opening and closing so that he resembled a fish.  "But the money..." he finally managed, and then his mouth snapped closed as if he'd realized what he had said.

When Adam snapped his fingers, Harry appeared at his side with a small bag.  Plucking the bag from his friend's hand, Adam emptied some of the contents into his palm, and Lucy gasped in surprise.  There, glittering in the morning light, were some of the many jewels her uncle had sold off over the last several years.  She'd never thought to see them again.  Immediately, her eyes flew to the Bow Street Runner who stood silently next to the duke, an air of thinly disguised danger clinging to him.  There was also a slight smile on his face, one that indicated he was more than a little pleased with this turn of events.

"How dare you come here and speak of money?" Adam hissed, now radiating power and seeming every inch the Devil Duke he was rumored to be.  "After you sold these jewels, taking that money for yourself and leaving your ward nearly destitute?"  He shoved the gems back in the bag and returned it to Harry, who promptly tucked it back into his coat for safe keeping.  "Then you dare attempt to sell the daughter of an earl to the highest bidder, as if she was a common trollop?"

This time, Adam did move closer and Lucy saw her uncle wince.  "You would have made her a whore, turning a profit that would line your pockets so that you could dally with opera dancers and bar maids and worse!  You would take someone so precious and perfect and throw her away as if she was trash!  Well, now you will never be able to harm her again."

Then her husband did something that Lucy never would have suspected.  He lunged for Wellsford's throat, seemingly intent on strangling the other man.

Someone screamed, and Lucy knew that it was probably her, but it forced the other men to spring into action.  While Harry pulled Adam away from Wellsford, Tafford was busy pushing the other man out the door and into the hall.  It appeared that events would begin to settle until Wellsford made another comment about Lucy and her virtue, which sent Adam into a mad rage once more.  Before Lucy realized what was happening, all of the men were out the door and disappearing down the hallway, leaving her alone in the breakfast room once more.

She had no idea how long she stood there and only came to her senses when she heard the brisk footsteps that could only belong to Adam's sister.

"Well, that was ugly," Amelia said as she calmly moved to the sideboard and began selecting breakfast items as if the previous ugliness had never occurred.  "I knew Adam was furious, but I had no idea he was that angry."

"Neither did I," Lucy agreed, moving back to the table, needing to sit down for a few moments and gather her wits.  She'd had no idea Adam was capable of such violence.  "I can't believe he just did that."

Amelia plunked a sugar cube into her tea with more force than was necessary.  "I can."  When Lucy was too stunned to reply immediately, Amelia simply raised an eyebrow and looked at her new friend.  "He's in love with you, Lucy, even though I'm certain he has no idea that he is."

Shaking her head, Lucy took a sip of her now cold tea, not really noticing its tepid, weak flavor.  "He's not.  He cares for me, yes, but he doesn't love me.  I'm not the type of woman men fight over.  I'm simply not.  Besides, one does not fall in love that quickly."  Placing her cup back in the saucer, she sighed and looked in the direction where the man had gone.  "I think that we all realize Adam married me to save me from his brother and the fate that was to befall me.  He did it out of kindness and nothing more.  He did not wish to see me become a whore."

"Funny," Amelia said with a sly smile as she picked up a few pieces of bacon and a muffin, "but for all that you have just said, I did not once hear you say that my brother's feelings were irrelevant because you didn't love him.  Not to mention that, well, he isn't known for his kindness.  Yet you claim him to be kind, among other attributes."  She moved a bit closer, her smile widening as if she'd just discovered a lovely secret.  "No, I think we both know that there is more to this than merely wishing to keep you from harm.  So do you love him?"

Lucy wanted to protest the blunt question and tell Amelia that it was really none of her business.  She wanted to say that no, she had not come to love the man she'd married, even though she'd known him only a few short days.  However, to say those words would be to lie, and Lucy did not lie.

She was surprised when Amelia reached out to touch her hand. "I saw the way he looked at you, Lucy, the night I arrived here.  I found him sitting beside your bed, watching you, and I knew in that moment that finally, my brother, the Devil Duke, had fallen hard and fast for a woman, one that he did not even know well."  

Then Amelia smiled and her face softened, making her appear prettier and less exotic.  "I will share a secret with you, Lucy.  My brother, even though he is the duke, has endured a hard life.  Taking the title at such a young age will do that a man, but he shouldered the responsibility well.  Still, as his sister, I saw what it cost him, how much of his life he gave up to care for all of those who depended on him.  Including me."

"But he is so powerful, so strong."  Lucy could never imagine Adam as weak in any way.  He was the duke.  There was no question of his power or his strength.

"Now he is," Amelia agreed, "but when he was younger?  The dukedom?  The responsibilities?  They stole his soul, or much of it anyway.  Archibald did little to help, always needling at Adam, reminding him that our blood was not pure the way his was.  So Adam fought back, as it was the only way he knew to show his strength, and the animosity grew between them until Adam was cold and closed off and Archibald was, well, little better than a common criminal."

Biting her lip, Lucy considered everything Amelia had just told her.  While it was true that she might have awakened something lying dormant within Adam, that didn't mean that he loved her.  Did it?

"None of that equates to love," Lucy finally said with a tone that brooked no argument.  "Not to mention that I was unconscious when I arrived.  How could he fall in love with a woman who was not awake?  It simply does not happen."

Rising, Amelia smoothed her skits and gave Lucy one last, long and considering look.  "That I do not know, my dear.  I only know that it did.  My brother loves you, and you love him.  Though you two may be blind to it, the rest of us are not."  Then she grasped Lucy's hand before moving towards the door in a soft rustle of silk and satin.  "Tell him how you feel, Lucy.  You will not be disappointed."  Then she was gone, leaving Lucy to stare after her and wonder if anything Amelia said about Adam's feelings was true.

Chapter Six

Despite all of the talk about love, Lucy didn't see Adam at all the rest of the day.  Nor did she see much of anyone else in the household either, most notably Tafford.  Those that she did see needed Lucy's guidance on preparations for the upcoming Christmas celebration, since she was the new duchess, and therefore in charge of Overlook Hill.  Thankfully, no one said anything about her inexperience, instead offering suggestions and helping to guide her in the decision making process.