Price of Desire (45 page)

Once she was in the house
,
she slowed
.
The troubles she’d been trying to outpace in the garden descended around her
.
Nothing was turning out as she had planned
.
The worst part was she no longer knew if that was a
problem
.
She could dismiss Wulf for the qualities he lacked – manageability and
too great a desire for control –
not to mention a simple affection for her
.

No, those were definitely not things she co
uld expect from the man
.
Still
–
she paused
in
a stream o
f sunshine, letting it warm her
–
he did have good qualities too
.
He was loyal, and steadfast
.
He’d be a wonderful father to Anna
.
She didn’t doubt his competence, and the passion . . . she was glad there was no one here to see her blush.

But something was missing, some niggling thing she couldn’t put her finger on
.
She worried at her lower lip with her teeth
.
If only she could understand what it was she wanted from him
,
then she could plan how to achieve it.

She knew t
hat she didn’t want title and estates
.
That was
,
perhaps
,
one of the biggest flies in the ointment
.
How was she to watch over her own lands if she was being dragged all over his
?
And a title
.
That probably meant society and London
.
She swallowed, hard
.
She didn’t know how large the Earldom of Falmouth was, but she im
agined it
was more than large enough to occupy a man – maybe he’d be content to manage his lands and leave her to hers
.
He’d have claim to Anna and that was what he wanted
.
No, he didn’t seem the man to leave a wife behind regardless of his feelings for said wife.

The thought filled her with both hope and despair
.
Why were her thoughts so tangled
?
Why did she ache so for the man and what lay ahead as he awaited word of his son
?
She should hate him for what he forced her to, but all she could remember was the gentle kin
dness he’d
showed to Anna and those few seconds that she’d see
n
the same look turned on her, before he remembered his contempt for her actions.

“Ah, Lady Burberry, I was hoping to find you before I left.
”
Sommerton swung through the door and paced towards her.

“Lord Sommerton, I was sorry to hear you were departing so soon
.
I was just coming to say my farewells
.
Are you sure the roads are dry enough?”

“Lady Clarington
certainly thinks so and who am I to doubt a lady?
”
He turned and met her gaze
.
“I am smart enough to take what I can get rather than reach for what’s moved beyond my grasp.
”
He took her hand and laid a light kiss across its back.

Then standing
straight he arched his shoulder
s back and looked down at her from his full he
ight, h
is eyes veiled with hauteur
.
“Besides, you really weren’t well enough bred for me
.
The funds helped, but I should have known you weren’t born to the blood
.
Not at all what I am looking for.”

He headed for the door
.
Standing in its frame he stopped and looked back over his shoulder
.
“Good-bye, Lady Burberry
.
I hope you’re happy with your choice
.
I know Huntington should be
.
I’ve seen the size of the wagers that he’ll win your hand
.
I imagine he’s placed a few himself and is due quite a fortune.
”

She stood struck for a moment
.
Her first impulse was to set him straight on a number of points, but
– oh
, what did it matter
?
Had Wulf wagered
funds that he would win her hand?

Did it matter?

She would have expected anger at the thought, but found only sympathy
.
If he’d been so in need of funds, then it might have been foolish, but she certainly understood choices of necessity.

It had certainly governed the choices she made
.
She ran her hands down her skirts, straightening them
,
lifted
her chin fully to the sunlight
and
drew in a deep breath
.
She followed Sommerton into the hall.

Lady Clarington’s voice met
her
.
“Oh good, the last trunk has
been loaded
.
Maybe now we can be on our way
.
Don’t know why we had to wait
.
Lord knows we’ve time enough ahead on the road
.
Clarington, I daresay you’ll want to ride ahead on that new gelding you speak so much of
.
And Sommerton, I do hope you’ll join me in the carriage
.
It will be dreadfully dull if I am left alone.
”
Lady Clarington stood poised in the grand doorway,
her eyes focused on her new pre
y.

Sommerton looked momentarily nonplussed, but then with a shrug of his shoulders, walked towards her.

“Of course, I am always eager to please a lady.”

“Good that’s settled then.
”
Lady Clarington’s eyes devoured him, before she turned back towards her husband
.
“Now where is Simon
?
He knows I am eager to be off.
”

Rose stepped forward
.
“I saw him walking in the gardens an hour or more ago
.
Did he know you were planning to depart?”

Lady Clarington glanced at Rose with the barest shrug
.
“I asked his valet to let him know
.
He was probably just saying his farewells to your sister
.
He seems quite taken with the girl despite my best . . . Well, let’s just say it’s good that we’re leaving
.
I am sure you’ll agree your sister is a little . . . young to be forming attachments.”

Rose didn’t think any such thing
.
But the thought of sweet Marguerite with Lady Clarington for a mother-in-law was reason enough to discourage the relationship
.

“Are you sure the
roads are dry enough for travel
?
I’d hate for you to get stuck
.
Why don’t you stay another day?
”
Rose bit her cheek as she spoke the words.

“Nonsense
.
I’ve a coachman who can manage through any mire
.
We’ll be just fine
.
I’ve plans to visit with the Duchess of Devonshire the beginning of next month and I need to visit the modiste first
.
Something that’s truly a necessity.
”
Lady Clarington’s eyes swept Rose’s gown
,
making it clear that she also was in desperate need of a visit to the dressmakers
.

Rose resisted the urge to straighten her skirts further
.
She knew her gown was old fashioned
.
She had been in mourning for the last year, and even before that fashion had never been her weakness
.
Still, under Lady Clarington’s unforgiving eye she felt
unsure of herself
.

“If you are sure, I would certainly not want to delay your departure
.
I’d hate to interfere with your commitments.
”
She smiled as sweetly as she was able.

“No, I am sure you wouldn’t
.
I must say it’s been a most interesting party
.
You certainly have a unique style of entertaining.”

“Yes, doesn’t she?
”
Wulf
spoke with surprising bite considering the flatness of his tone
.
He descended the stairs from above, the Marquess of Wimberl
e
y at his heels.

Wimberl
e
y eyed Lady Clarington
.
“I know I for one have had a most interesting visit
.
I do hope our tales won’t be contradictory when I return to London
.
It’s always surprising who people choose to believe, isn’t it?”

Wulf strode forward until he stood directly behind Rose
.
She could feel the heat of his body wrap around her like a most comforting blanket, only her long ago lessons in deportment kept her from sagging against him
.
She should have been upset by his taking command, but it was a relief to let someone else bicker with Lady Clarington.

Matson
appeared in the front entry
.
“The carriages are ready, my lady
.
And your horse as well, Lord Clarington
.
Might I say what a fine looking animal he is.”

“He’s a rum one
.
That he is
.
You should come and take a look
,
Wimberly
.
Reckon that even in your stable you’d be hard put to find his equal
.
Come along Minerva, you’ve been fussing all morning about how you wanted to return to the civilized world
.
Never did understand why London’s described that way
.
There’s nothing as civilized as a mown field and a good mount.”

Rose trailed after her guests as they moved down the stairs to the waiting coaches
.
Lord Simon
c
ame running up just before departure and swung in with his mother and Sommerton
.
Rose wished she could see Lady Clarington
’s
expression.

“That’s a relief.
”
She thought she’d spoken to herself, but both Wimberl
e
y and Wulf raised their brows
.
“Well, it is.”

Wulf chuckled deep in his throat
.
“Yes, it is
.
I’ve enough worries without having to check that the hands in my pockets are my own.
”
His eyes sobered as he spoke.

“Are you expecting another guest?
”
Wimberly
,
who stood high on the steps by the door
,
gestured into the distance
.
A large horse and rider could be seen, with several more riders trailing behind.

Chapter S
ixteen

“He’s not yours, is he, Tris?
”
Wulf spoke to Wimberly
.
Rose could hear each word catch in his throat.

“Don’t think so
.
I am not aware that any of my men can afford a mount the likes of that one.”

The huge black stallion drew closer by the moment and Rose knew that there was not a single inhale between the three of them as the watched the powerful mount.

“
Westlake
.
”
Wulf gulped the word as he drew a large, audible breath deep into his chest.

Wimberly followed suit with his own swallow
ed
gulp
.
“Yes, it must be the license.”

Rose stood poised at the bottom of the steps
.
First joy that it was not the dreaded news filled her, then tension as Wimberly words sank in
.
And then . . . warmth and acceptance
.
Her choice was made and strangely she did not dread it any longer
.
It might not be the life she had planned but, she glanced at the tall man who stood above her on the stairs, she would do her best to make it a good one.