Price of Desire (8 page)

Bloody
h
ell
.
T
he words
only reminded him of her.

Bloody,
b
loody
h
ell.

He lay back upon the pillows and closed his eyes, forced his mind to focus
.
He must remember the truth about her, remember what she’d done to him five years before.

He remembered the way his heart had lifted when he’d gone to the hay barn and found her
.
She stood in a beacon of moonlight, her hair flowing loose about her
.
His brain had swum with poetry and the
far-
off memories of pagan goddesses
.
She had been his goddess
, her white hands beckoning him to paradise – and then
Hades
.

But then his memory turned to Burberry’s pain-filled eyes. The
a
dmiral’s glance had darted between Wulf and Rose
.
Those eyes had seemed to discover secrets, to delve into every corner of Wulf’s broken soul
.

Even, now the memory cut him
.
Rose
had no right to do that to her husband, to do that to him
.
God, he hated ladies and their deceitful wiles.

He was tempted to walk to the door and shove it open
.
He’d march right up those stairs, stomp through the halls and tell her a thing or two
.
He’d let her know just who
m
she’d trifled with, show her what she’d done to him, teach her that being born a lady wasn’t an excuse to play with people like chessmen.

He sank back in the bed, his head swimming with brandy and emotion
.
First, his uncle’s legacy and now her
.
. .

And the child
.
Did she look like her mother
?
Was there anything of him in her
?
He barely knew her name
.
Lady Burberry had said . . . Anna.

The child, his child.

This time he’d see her
.
He’d not be denied as he had when they met at her husband’s funeral
.
He’d been wrong to think that leaving was the way to win
.
He’d actually considered finding an excuse to meet the girl in the past,
and
now fate had opened the door
.
Damn, regardless of why he’d come, he’d stay as long as he damned well pleased
.
Blasted witch
.
He’d not dance to her tune again.

He’d get up and crash through her door, show her what a real man was, that he wasn’t to be
trifled
with
.

Yes, just as soon as the room held still, he’d go.

###

Turning away from the morning sun, Rose straightened her spine and pasted a smile on her face as she waited for her
invited
guests
.
The wheels of
an
approaching carriage rattled in the distance
.
Her first guest was about to arrive
.
She ignored the pounding pain in her head, and strode to
ward
the
front door
.

She felt a presence over her shoulder and
,
turning her head
,
saw Marguerite slip like a shadow to her side.

“Oh, who is it?” Marguerite said.

“I am not sure yet.”

“I am so nervous I feel like I put my skin on backwards.
”
Marguerite swayed from foot to foot
.
“I can hardly believe the number of guests who are coming
.
I still do not understand how you managed to put together such a lis
t
.
Did you know that Lord Jason
Knightly is the second son of a duke
?
Do you think it is his
carriage
?
And you
have two earls and a countess
.
That is not even mentioning the baronet
.
Mama would faint dead away if she imagined me in such company.”

Rose rubbed a hand down her sister’s back
.
Marguerite was fairly jumping with excitement
.
“Actually, yes, I am aware who is invited and who’s accepted
.
It’s lucky Tristan St. Johns, the Marquess of Wimberl
e
y, refused, or I fear you’d faint dead away.”

“Oh, you should not laugh at me so
.
I have never even been in the company of a nobleman, and now I am going to be meeting so many.”

Rose turned to fully face her sister, portraying a calm she did not feel
.
“They are just like anybody else, dearest
.
I fear you will be greatly disappointed – to be honest, the most imposing and attractive man I ever met was a mere mister.
”
Oh, how had that slipped out
?
“And besides, you met Burberry many times, or do you discount him?”

Marguerite’s cheeks matched the sweetly scented lilies that fragranced the air.

“Oh, of course
,
you are right
.
And I am afraid I did discount Burberry
.
He just never . .
.
well, he was not . . .
”

“Don’t worry; I know just what you mean
.
It’s what made him so special
.
I can only hope the crowd descending will not be far different.
”
Rose turned back towards the carriage that was nearly upon them.

“Do you not know?” Marguerite asked.

Rose took her sister’s hand and smiled at the girl’s naiveté
.

“I believe I’ve
met everyone, except Lord Jason
.
He’s coming as a friend of Lady Clarington’s son
.
But, it is far different to meet in society than in one’s own home
.
And besides, when I met them I was with Burberry, and while we may have known him for the sweet man he was, I am afraid that with company he could put on quite a stiff countenance
.
It always put others on their best behavior.”

“I thought you knew them well
.
If not, why are they coming?”

“I think they’re coming to inspect me.
”

Rose knew her own cheeks matched her sister
’
s
.
She turned her entire attention to the carriage as it pulled to a stop
.
She could not be sure whose crest marked the door
.
“I gather I am a bit of an unknown and I think frank curiosity draws them
.
Not to mention a pile of hurried correspondence between myself and everyone I could think of who might have an eligible prospect for me.”

“But, why
?
You have been out for years
.
Why should anybody be curious about you now?”

“There is apparently a difference between being the gangly young bride of a known recluse and being a widow of sizable portion
.
For some reason, that makes me more interesting
.
There are, apparently, even rumors of my great beauty.
”
Rose looked down at her ample curves and faded blond hair
.
Her complexion was decent, except for the annoying tendency to flush red
,
which she shared with Marguerite.

“Don’t be silly, Rose
.
You know you’re pretty as a peach.
”
Sincerity shone in Marguerite’s eyes.

“I’ve always considered myself more of an apple.
”
Rose patted her full hips.

“You can be a bit tart.”

“As long as I am not a bit of a tart.”

Marguerite giggled, until she couldn’t speak
.
A
t least she
no longer appeared
ready to drop in a faint – not the best way to greet one’s guests.

Rose sighed inwardly, but said only, “You cannot even envision me a tart?
”
She’d certainly felt like one last night as she’d let her memories overcome her
.
But s
he pulled her shoulders back
.
She had the duties of a hostess to fulfill
.
“Come now
.
Let’s see who it is.”

The coachman opened the carriage door and helped a very narrow lady out
.
The lady sorted out the full skirts of her gown and stiffly turned to Rose
.
It was evident she
wore the tight corset of twenty
years before, nothing else could account for that perfection of posture.

“Lady Burberry, I believe,” the woman
uttered,
before Rose could open her mouth
.
“I am Lady Smythe-Burke
.
We were introduced at your late husband’s memorial
.
You must forgive my early arrival, but I can’t bear to lunch on the road, so I always make provision to arrive at my destination before noon
.
My dear friend
,
Mrs. Huntley
,
has spoken well of you and your own correspondence has proved most satisfactory
.
I always like a girl who says just what she means
.
Some would be put off by this plan of yours to find a manageable husband, but I believe it shows good sense in the extreme
.

“Now show me to my room so I can refresh myself
.
I want to be on hand when the others arrive
.
Only proper that I complete all the introductions
.
I know everybody, of course
.
Only strange bit of the whole plan is hosting a party where you don’t know all the guests
.
B
it like being in a play
.
I always enjoy a good farce
.
Of course, with me here to give credence to the whole affair it can only go well
.
I do believe you took my advice on the guest list
.

“
Shame that Wimberl
e
y won’t come, but then he never does
.
I invite the boy to all my soirees just so I can have the pleasure of his reply
.
He does decline most prettily, but then he is a pretty thing
.
Did you ever meet him
?
Oh
,
of course not, burying yourself away here in the country
.
Fine thing when Burberry was alive
.
I always did like that man, but how do you expect to find a h
usband if you never make it to T
own
?
Maybe you’ll be lucky
.
I did give you the soundest advice on whom to invite
.
If not
,
I’ll dust you off and have you as my guest
.
I always did like a girl with sense.”

Still giving Rose no chance to reply
,
Lady Smythe-Burke sailed into the house
.
She was past the master stair before she paused.

“Where did you say my room was
?
Such a nuisance having to learn the order of a house all over again
.
I would think they could all be built on the same scheme and then one would always know where one was
.
Great idea
,
that.”

“I’ve put you in the Blue Room, up a floor, overlooking the rear garden
.
I thought you might like someplace peaceful.”

“You don’t have peacocks
,
do you?”

“Well, no.
”
Rose glanced at Marguerite
,
whose eyes watered with mirth
.
“Why do you ask?”