The Duke's Bride (12 page)

Emily looked as if she wanted to cry.

The music in the Pump Room had stopped, and all eyes
were upon them.

The scrutinizing stares made Jane feel as if she were
parading naked. The low hum of conversation directed her way felt like a
thousand needles sticking into her body. Her cheeks flamed. “Em?”

“Not now, Jane. Just come along.”

“But what’s happening?”

Emily’s face was as white as a sheet as she tugged her
toward the exit. “You did nothing, dearest. Come along.”

Trembling, Jane glanced over Emily’s shoulders and saw
Jared coming fast in their direction. His face was hard and purposeful. Then
Clayton and Briana closed in on her, with Stephen and Lizzie flanking her other
side. They removed her from the rising murmurs of the crowd as if she were
encased in a bubble. They didn’t let anyone touch her or talk to her. They were
an intimidating presence. But what were they protecting her from?

When she withdrew from the Pump Room, there was a
large crowd outside, staring at her. She stumbled, and Clayton all but lifted
her into his arms and stuffed her into the duke’s carriage. Emily followed with
Briana and Lizzie by her side. The door closed, leaving the men outside to
handle the ogling crowd.

Jane’s body was shaking uncontrollably. “Whatever is
the matter with everyone? It is as if I had some disease. Did those terrible
ladies let out some silly story about me? Perhaps Aunt Agatha whacked them with
her parasol again.”

“I fear it is much worse than that, dearest.” Emily
patted Jane’s hand. “There is an awful rumor going around, a terrible, nasty rumor.”

Briana nodded. “It’s inexcusable. I am livid.”

Jane looked on in dread. Their faces were filled with
concern, and more than that, anger. Not anger at her, but at the people who had
started the rumor. “What exactly are people saying?” she asked.

“They are mean-hearted people,” Lizzie said softly.

“Bullies,” Briana added. “I don not know why we even
came here today.”

Emily stared at them while she patted Jane’s hand. “
Jane
hasn’t been feeling well, ladies.”

It took the ladies a few seconds before their eyes
popped in recognition.

Briana squealed in delight. “Goodness, why did you not
tell us you were with child?”

Lizzie frowned. “Gracious. That can only add fuel to
the fire.”

Jane felt her head spinning. “I am in the dark,
ladies. Will you please stop changing the subject and tell me exactly what is
going on?”

“A
h, Elbourne, just the man I wanted to see.”

Roderick stood on the side of the Bath Abbey, out of
sight of the Pump Room. He was ready to have it out with Captain Argyle when
the booming male voice made him blink. He had heard the thunder of horses’ hooves
and the clamor of carriage wheels, but he had been too enraged with the captain
to even turn to see who had been coming down the street.

Blast it all. He should have known something was up
when the captain’s green eyes had narrowed on something over his shoulder. For
a second, Roderick had hoped the man was reacting to his fury. But he realized now
it was astonishment in the man’s eyes, not fear. James did not fear anything.
Anything but marriage, he thought.

Biting back a frown, Roderick looked over his
shoulder. Two rows of black horses with mounted soldiers in red coats stood alongside
an ornate carriage.

“Y-Your Majesty?” Roderick uttered, surprised to see
the king poking his head out the carriage window. In all truth, he had expected
the man to visit his home later that day.

Prinny, now King George IV, flipped his hand in the
air. “Curse me! You are looking younger every time I see you, Roderick.”

Captain Argyle straightened and gave a neat bow. “Your
Majesty.”

“And Argyle. Hear your shipping line is doing quite
well too. After I take care of matters here, I may want to talk to you.”

The captain chuckled. “I fear you may have to wait in
line. The duke is ready to box my ears.”

Roderick clenched his jaw.

The king stuck his head further outside the window. “What?
Always enjoyed a good fight, eh? But curse me, this is not the time.”

The hair on the back of Roderick’s neck stood on end
when the man’s chubby face puckered into a frown. “Elbourne, how could you do
this to me? Of all things. This journey to France is enough. With that man
after any of us, England is not safe.
I
am not safe. And now this. By
Jove, it is the outside of enough, I tell you.”

Roderick lifted his brows in confusion. Finding
Devereaux’s son was important because the man not only threatened Jared,
Roderick and their families, he also wanted the king dead. But what other
matter was the king referring to?

“Your Majesty?” Roderick asked, noting the king’s
soldiers were now flanking the carriage, preventing any onlookers from coming near
the man. “I understand about the investigation in France, but as to the other
matter, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

The king adjusted his cravat. “Your marriage, my boy. Devil
of a mess.”

Roderick grimaced. What did the king have to do with
his marriage?

“I fear I am still in the dark,” Roderick said,
wishing the captain was not standing beside him, smirking.

The king swore. “Step in here then! I gave you word I
was coming. And you too, Captain. Might as well come along too. Give the duke some
moral support. I know what it’s like to have marriage problems. The thing is, women
can make a man quite blue-deviled. Yes, quite blue-deviled indeed. But of all
things, Elbourne! Curse this day! I cannot fathom what I did to deserve this.
But I must see this right and tight. My duty, you know.”

Roderick felt his head swimming as he and the captain were
maneuvered into the royal carriage. He sank back on the velvet set and frowned.

What in the blue blazes was the king talking about? And
what had it to do with his marriage? Did the man know about his troubles with
Jane? But why would that matter to the king?

“Now, now,” the king said, scowling. “It’s a blasted
coil, but if you would just marry the girl again, it will be quite acceptable,
eh?”

“Marry the girl?” Roderick asked, baffled.

 “Ah, know the feeling,” the king went on. “Might
not be the one for you, eh? Well, curse it, you are the duke. Pay her off then.
Send her to the Americas. Don’t want to be leg-shackled? Cannot say I blame
you. Devil of a coil for me too. I can tell you that. I had my love and lost
her…”

The older man looked pensive, and Roderick wanted to
knock him on his head. But he was the king, after all. Still, Roderick had no
wish to hear about the king’s marriage troubles. The story of the man’s estranged
wife Princess Caroline and his mistress
Maria
Fitzherbert were not something Roderick wanted to talk about now or ever.

“Are you suggesting the duke is not married, Your Majesty?”
The captain’s voice seem to pull Roderick back to the present.

Roderick looked up at the captain’s twinkling emerald
eyes and scowled. Thunderation, he would like to pummel the man.

The king shook his head, as if coming out of a stupor
himself. “I am not suggesting! I am declaring it!”

“What?” Roderick shouted.

The king’s gaze narrowed. “Do you forget to whom you
are speaking?”

Roderick clamped his jaw tight, afraid of what he
might say.

The king sighed. “Yes, well, I can see how this has
come as somewhat of a shock. And for this one time, I will let your foul
language toward me pass.” He turned and snapped his fingers near the window.
One of the soldiers handed him some papers. “Right there,” the king said,
pushing the documents under Roderick’s nose. “Seems your license was not dated
correctly. It’s a year off. Curse it all. You married Miss Greenwell under
havey-cavey conditions, my boy.”

Roderick burst out laughing. “Ah, this is a joke. I
beat you at cards the last time we met. Now, you are getting even!”

The king stared at the captain. “My dear sir, would
you please tell your friend I am not joking. His marriage is not legal. At the
time of his so-called wedding, the license was dated a year later than the man
was supposed to have wed, therefore making the document invalid. A stupid
mistake. But curse it all, the duke is not married and never has been married to
the lady in question, a Miss Jane Eleanor Greenwell.”

The captain turned to Roderick, his face grim. “Roderick,
it seems you are not married to her.”

“Impossible!” Roderick protested. “This is a minor
detail. We married at St. George! Confound it! You were there!” He pointed to
the king.

“Detail or not,” the king said, frowning. “It was
brought to my attention the other day, and I could not very well dismiss it.
Not a duke’s marriage, mind you. This is simply not something I could push
under the rug. I have my own problems, don’t you know. The coronation is next
year. It will be quite the thing, and nothing can foul things up. This marriage
scenario of yours would only compound my problems. Caroline is giving me a
devil of a time as it is. Must do the right thing here. Either marry the girl
again or pay her off. There is no other way.”

Roderick stared at the date on the license, his mind
going a hundred different directions. How could this have happened?

“Hell’s bells,” he finally said, frowning. “There is
no decision to be made. I will marry her again. Today. By special license.”

The king smiled. “Have the special license right here.”
He laughed. “Know the archbishop, don’t you know.”

Roderick’s entire body stiffened in outrage. This was
not a laughing matter.

The king handed him the new license. “I wouldn’t wait
if I were you. And read the fine print, my boy. Look at the date! You were so
meticulous during the war. But love has that way with one, does it not? But hey
ho, if you don’t care for the female, you could marry another? It worked the
other way around for me. But what, the world is our oyster, is it not?”

“There is no other woman for me,” Roderick snapped.

The king nodded. “Thought so. That is why I am here. You
and your family saved England during the war. Did things no other men would do.
Not many like you or the captain here.”

Roderick stared at the thoughtful look on the
captain’s face. If James thought he was going to marry Jane, the man had another
thing coming!

 “I am beholden to you,” the king continued. “And
so is England. My presence in Bath will give credit to this marriage as final.
No one will question it. Especially since we will have the licensed double-checked
by a handful of people before the ceremony, making it al nice and tight. Then, when
you sign the papers afterwards, all will be well. This will be just a little hitch
in the scheme of things, eh?”

Roderick glared at the captain. Was the man waiting to
hop from the carriage and make his way toward Jane? Roderick balled his hands
by his sides. He would die before he let that happen.

 The king sat back against his seat and sighed. “This
disagreeable mess will be set to rest, and you will have your duchess again. There
will, of course, be a few whispers here and there, but that will die down as
soon as another one of the
Beau Monde
falls, eh? What say you to that?
Besides, you have to be off to France as soon as possible. We must take care of
this before you leave or tongues will be wagging for quite a while.”

Tongues will be wagging?

Roderick’s brain began to start working again. Blast
it all! What would this do to Jane? He had to get to his wife!

With a curse, he lurched from his seat. “I left her in
the Pump Room!”

Jane sat in her drawing room of her Bath home,
worrying her hands against her gown. Hot tears swelled in her eyes as the
gloomy faces of Emily, Lizzie, and Briana stared back at her. Were these ladies
her family anymore? The very thought they were not made her sick to her stomach.

A bang brought Jane’s gaze jerking toward the hall.

“Out of my way, Jared,” came a loud female voice. “I
have come to see Jane. Not you! Not the duke! And certainly not the rest of you
men…blathering idiots the lot of you!”

Jane wanted to smile, but her heart wasn’t in it. She
looked up as Agatha entered the drawing room in high dudgeon.

The older lady marched in with her trusty parasol at
her side. She closed the door behind her with a snap. Her gray gaze softened as
they met Jane’s face. “What’s this I hear about you not being married?”

Jane blinked back a sudden rush of tears. She
shrugged, afraid to speak because if she did, she might start sobbing.

Agatha moved to her side and looked down at her. “So,
we have a problem. Now, what have you decided to do about it?”

Jane swallowed past the hot lump blocking her throat.
She peered up at the older lady. “Me? How can I do anything?”

Agatha’s brows rose as she took in the three ladies
surrounding Jane. “No doubt you are here because you know of Jane’s situation?”

Briana, Lizzie, and Emily nodded.

“We are all here to help her,” Emily replied.

“Our husbands know about the marriage,” Lizzie put in.
“But they have vowed silence on the matter.”

 “Silence?” Agatha cried, looking frustrated.
“Silence means nothing now. All of England will know of this soon enough. And
what about the duke? What does he say about this?”

“He’s not here,” Jane said, her voice crumbling.

Agatha’s face went taut. “I see.” Her lips feel into a
tight line as she took a seat on the sofa next to Jane and patted her hand.
“There, there, child, we will figure something out. Everything will work out
for the best. You must trust me on this.”

“But I am going to have Roderick’s baby,” Jane sobbed.
“And now they say I am not legally wed to the man. Trusting you does not change
that fact.”

“Well,” Agatha said, grimly. “It is a bit of a coil.
But this should make Roderick think about things, I daresay.”

Briana tried to lighten the mood. “All Jane has to do
is marry the duke again, and all will be well.”

Lizzie nodded. “Just a small family gathering. We will
make sure the license is dated correctly and that will be that. But I must say,
I have never heard of anything so strange in all my life.”

Jane curled her hands against her skirt. “I cannot
believe this is happening.”

No one said anything for a while. But the anxiety
caused by the situation had settled over the room like a black cloud.

Agatha opened her mouth and closed it.

Jane had hoped Agatha could fix this. But what could
the lady do? This was something she and Roderick had to work out for
themselves. “Will Roderick marry me again, do you think?”

Agatha’s brows knitted into a frown. “Of course. But
the way matters were going between the two of you, perhaps this will help him
make up his mind about a lot of things.”

Jane sniffed. She thought about the girl Cecile whom Roderick
had loved years ago. Had that lady been his true love?

“I fear he will think twice about marrying me,” Jane
said, wondering now if Roderick would marry her out of obligation instead of
true love.

Agatha scowled. “If he refuses to marry you, I shall
whack him with my trusty parasol until he does!”

Jane let out a laugh, breaking the tension in the room.
The rest of the women joined in the merriment.