The Duke's Bride (8 page)

He actually grinned, but those gray eyes were calculating,
issuing a firm warning. “Hemmingly is a good place for you right now. Jared
will be going with me to France, so Emily and the children can stay with you as
well.”

Too stunned to speak, she let him escort her up the steps of
the Paxton mansion. Music floated on a cool breeze while candlelight flickered
through the tall windows. As they walked into the mansion, the conversation of
the crowd drifted their way while doubts and fears assailed her.

Jared was going with him?
It was all too secretive
for her. But she knew he would tell her nothing.

“I believe you wished you never married me,” she mumbled, nodding
politely to a couple a few feet away who could not hear her.

Her husband leaned toward her ear, the warmth of his breath
sending chills down her spine. “Perhaps, my dear, it would have been better if
we had not married at all. Is that what
you’re
saying?”

She looked up, feeling a knife twisting pain turn in her
stomach.

His face was grim as his gaze strayed to the low cut of her
gown. “I have seen you with Captain Argyle. James positively drools over you. I
saw that his carriage was a few behind ours. Stay away from him if you wish to
keep the poor devil alive.”

Her lips parted in disbelief. “You are a fool if you think
so little of me
or him
.”

He said nothing as they greeted their host and moved on. She
stiffened when his hand went to her back.

With a curt glare, she turned to him. “You are not on my
list of people I like at the moment.”

His devastating smile stabbed her heart. “You may not like
me, sweetheart, but I intend to keep you safe, no matter what I have to do. You
have my word on that.”

Jane returned his smile because people were looking. “You
are an arrogant, pompous duke,” she said sweetly. “And tonight, I am going to
stay far away from you.
You
have my word on that.” She fluttered her
lashes at him, smiled wider, and departed from his side with the air of a queen. 

R
oderick stood in stony silence beneath one of
the huge chandeliers in the Paxton ballroom. He should be dancing with his
wife. What the devil had happened in that carriage ride?

A wave of uneasiness washed over him as he moved along the
periphery of the crowd, barely listening to the waltz playing in the background.
He could still smell a distinct perfume that clung to his jacket. It was Jane’s.

He grimaced. Jane, the girl with the eyes as blue and clear
as a summer sky. Jane, the woman with the warm, gentle voice that could melt his
heart. Jane, the lover with her soft, tantalizing form and quiet touch. Jane, the
wife who hated him right now.

He bumped into a potted plant and cursed. Thunderation, he
had to stop letting his emotions get the best of him. But Jupiter and Zeus, he
couldn’t help it. He was a man. But more than that, he was her husband, by
Jove. He had to keep her safe, even if it meant keeping her safe from him.

When he had kissed her earlier today, he had felt as if he
had been in the desert for months, and had finally been given a few drops of
water. It had been heaven.

The taste of her had lit a raging fire inside him. In the
carriage, he had wanted to taste those berry lips again. Her creamy skin
enticed him. Her womanly curves tempted him. He yearned to crush his mouth
against hers and—

A sudden whack to his shin made him yelp. He turned and
almost bopped the plump lady in the face, but luckily, he caught himself in
time.

“You, madam, were within inches of obtaining a black eye.”

Agatha’s lips thinned in anger. “You, Your Grace, almost had
two sore shins instead of one. However, I have controlled myself only because
this is a ball, and I have no wish to make a spectacle.”

Roderick realized too late that he had moved into a secluded
corner while daydreaming. He stood behind a set of plants with a raging Agatha
holding a parasol to his heart. A deadly scenario by his standards. And by
Jove, he could not very well hit the woman!

He plowed a frustrated hand through his blue-black hair.
Hell’s bells, the entire evening was becoming one of the worst nights of his
life, and it wasn’t over yet. “Miss Appleby, I believe you followed me on
purpose.”

The lady lifted a salt and pepper brow. “My, my, you are not
only handsome, you are quite perceptive.” She rapped his calf with her parasol,
and he jumped again, almost falling over another plant. “And pompous,” she
continued, scowling at him. “And arrogant, and downright stupid.”

Roderick crossed his hands over his wide chest and peered
down at her. “Do not stop there, dear lady. I feel you have more to say. Out
with it, woman.”

She huffed. “Very well, if you insist. The carriage ride
went very well, did it not? You conniving, wretched barbarian! You broke Jane’s
heart!”

The melody of a country dance floated to Roderick’s ears,
making him all to aware of their setting. He glared at her. “I fail to see what
business my marriage is to you.” The annoyance was evident in his cool tone.
Yet the older lady seemed unaffected. Roderick thought her the most annoying female
he had ever known. But he would not hurt her for the world.

At that moment, she smiled at Lord Jason Yardley who peeked
around the corner. As soon as the man departed, she struck like a cobra,
hitting Roderick with that deuced parasol, directly in his left rib.

“You imbecile,” she hissed. “How could you treat Jane the
way you have?”

Roderick clenched his teeth. He was no one’s whipping boy. “Jane
is my wife, madam. A fact you seemed to have forgotten. She is my
responsibility. I may treat her any way I see fit. What I do, I do for her own
good. And you, madam, have just used a weapon against a peer of the realm.”

“Goodness me, whatever was I thinking?” she said
sarcastically as she tilted her head back to look at him.

He raised a black brow as if she was nothing but a nuisance.
But in reality, his annoyance was increasing. The only recourse he had was to
lift the older lady and move her out of his way. Right now, he was seriously
thinking about it.

“Word from London is that you are barely seen together,” she
ripped out.

He released a grim chuckle. What had Jane told this woman? “My
dear woman, I came with my wife in the carriage tonight. You can scarcely say
we were not seen together.”

The lady’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and something told him
that Agatha would do anything to protect Jane. After all, she had been like a
mother to her. If the woman’s anger had not been directed his way, it would
have warmed his heart. Her connection to Whitehall was only known to a few. But
what this lady could do with her parasol was nothing compared to what she had
done to Napoleon and who knows whom else.

“There is talk of a mistress,” she suggested bluntly. “Lady Trayton,
to be precise.”

 Roderick’s head jerked.
What the devil!

Lady Trayton had been Miss Susan Wimble before she had married
the late earl, a man who had been old enough to be her father. The female in
question was an attractive, deceitful lady who had pulled the wool over his
eyes years ago, and who later had moved on to Jared before the man had married
Emily.

His eyes blazed with fury as he looked down at Agatha. He
had been true to Jane from the first time he met her.

“Pure rubbish,” he said to the older lady, his face turning
hard.

“It is not rubbish,” Agatha said in a hushed tone as the
music died down. “You have hurt her, you big ape.”

Big ape?
He wanted to laugh. His chest shook, but he
held back from actually voicing his amusement. “I vow Agatha, some day…”

“Some day,” she snapped, “you will be sorry at the way you
treated her. I don’t care what you are trying to do, but this is not the way to
handle things.”

“This,” he said firmly, “is between me and my wife.”  

“Your wife? You certainly don’t treat her like one. Or do
you? Is this how an Englishman treats his wife, eh?” She paused, looking him up
and down. “Or his property?”

Roderick’s hands clenched by his sides. “I vow, if you were
not a lady, I would call you out.”

Agatha’s laugh was without humor. “I fail to see what
killing me would do. You would still have your conscience to deal with, and I
would say right now, you are not dealing with it very well at all. If this relates
back to Cecile and your duty—”

He flinched. “I am not going to discuss my relationship with
my wife or my past...past women, to be precise. Do you have anything else you
would like to say?”

The strain between them turned icy.

“Yes,” she finally replied, inspecting a plant beside him. “When
you return home tonight, make mad love to her.”

Roderick almost choked. “Hell and spitfire! I fail to see
where my love life is your concern.”

 “Do not take that tone with me, young man.” The
parasol struck again and he jumped. “I believed you loved her, you fool.”

“I do love her,” he said between clenched teeth.

“Then prove it.”

“That, madam, is exactly what I am doing, whether you want
to believe it or not.”

Roderick gave her a quick bow, picked her up, and deposited
her behind another potted plant. She stood there, mouth agape, her parasol limp
by her side. He smiled and strode away as swiftly as possible, hoping he would
not run into any other women in his family, and that included his wife, his
sister, and his sisters-in-law. Luckily, his mother was too busy with Lord
Bringston these days and he barely saw her. As a group, the women were a force
to be reckoned with. Even though he had fought the worst enemies in all of
England, just the thought of all those women in one room, fighting against him,
made him shudder.

Jane walked beside Emily as they waited out the set in the
ballroom. Her friend looked beautiful in her delicate green gown with its French
lace about the bodice. Before Jared had left for the card room, he couldn’t
stop looking at his wife.

Jane felt her heart squeeze when she thought about Roderick
and how they had left each other in such anger. She turned to smell the pink roses
in the Chinese vase beside her and placed a hand on her stomach. Similar vases
were scattered about the room, reminding her of the beauty of life. The
fragrance from the flowers was sweet and wonderful just as her thoughts were
for her child.

Whatever Roderick said didn’t change the fact that she was
determined to have this baby. Luckily, her gowns had hidden her condition,
along with her body that appeared smaller than most women carrying a child at
this time. But Agatha was right. She couldn’t hide her delicate situation
forever.

Emily handed her a glass of punch. “I cannot believe you
haven’t told Roderick yet.”

Jane took a sip of the cool liquid and frowned. “I tried.
But he refused to listen. I know that sounds ridiculous, but before I could say
another word about it, he mentioned he was going off to France to look for
land.” She scoffed. “Of all things. Land? How stupid does he think I am? Something
is obviously afoot. I know he was involved in reconnaissance during the war. And
I also know that he still keeps in contact with Whitehall.”

Emily’s violet eyes twinkled. “Sometimes, you are too smart
for your own good, Jane. But if you must know, I am not happy that Jared is
going either. Frankly, I don’t know everything, but it has something to do with
Whitehall and the war.”

“But the war’s over,” Jane said, frowning.

“Yes, but there were things they did over there. Things I
don’t want to know.”

Jane gazed about the room as another waltz started up. “I
know you had something to do with the war too, Emily. Things I shouldn’t know
about. Agatha was involved as well.”

Jane wasn’t surprised to hear her friend’s gasp. She laughed.
“Do not try to deny it, Em. I lived with Agatha for many years. I tried not to
interfere in her doings with Whitehall, but once in a while, things did slip. I
know Briana was involved in things too.”

Emily blew out a harsh breath. “Well, and I thought you the
sweetest, most innocent little thing.”

Jane shrugged. “I surprise even Roderick sometimes.”

“I would say so,” Emily said, laughing. “But how you are
with child is beyond me. Wait,” she giggled. “Not that I am saying anything
about Roderick, and well...you did tell me. Oh dear, I am sticking my foot in
my mouth, am I not? Please rescue me, dearest.”

Jane’s smile froze.

“What is it?” Emily asked, frowning.

“They are here,” Jane said, her heart racing. She paled,
watching as Lady Horatio and Lady Philomena skirted the ballroom. Their bright
red and purple gowns were hard to ignore, not to mention the fancy feathers
waving about their high curled coiffures.

Emily turned. “Oh, good gracious. I cannot believe
they
were invited. Last week, they announced Lady Paxton was seen in a carriage with
Lord Boxby. All I can deduce is that Lady Paxton wants to prove to them there was
nothing to it.”

 “Who is that beside them?” Jane asked, relieved that
Lady Horatio and Lady Philomena were engaged in conversation with their host. “The
woman seems quite pretty. I cannot get a good look at her though. She reminds
me of someone.”

Emily fingers clamped on Jane’s arm. “What do you think
about a walk outside, dearest? I find the air in here is rather warm, don’t
you?”

Jane had a sinking feeling the lady was someone she would
not like to know. “Em, who is she? And no excuses. I am not going anywhere.”

Emily curled her lips. “That is Lady Trayton.”

Jane’s delicate brows rose in question. “And?”

“Um, do you recall a certain Susan Wimble?”

Jane blinked. “The Susan Wimble that tried to steal Jared
from you?”

Emily nodded, her face grim. “She claimed she was engaged to
him first. She is quite the actress. After I married Jared, she married an earl
who was old enough to be her father.”

“Lord Trayton, I presume?” Jane asked, watching as the
woman, clad in a breathtaking turquoise gown, floated into the room. She was
absolutely gorgeous with her shiny dark hair and big, luminous eyes. “Yes, I
remember her now. Good grief, I just did not recognize her in her new hairstyle
and dazzling gown. She was quite pretty before, but now, she is stunning.”

“She gave birth to a son,” Emily continued. “And the earl
died a happy man. He had an heir.”

Jane didn’t like the thought of the woman competing for
Jared’s affection, even if it had been years ago. She turned to Emily and
smiled. “But she is nothing compared to you. I vow Jared never looked twice at
the lady after you came along.”

Emily giggled. “Oh, Jane. You are ever the innocent. He was
more or less engaged to her, if you recall. But that’s in the past. However, do
not distract me. Back to Roderick. You should tell him about your little
surprise before he leaves for France. Jared mentioned something about them leaving
this week.”

Jane twisted her hands against the light fabric of her gown.
A sob rose to her throat. “I don’t know why life has to be so complicated. I am
having a baby, but Roderick won’t hear a word I have to say on the matter. I
told him to his face, but he acted as if I had said it was raining outside. Is
that not the silliest thing in the world?”

Emily frowned. “Silly, indeed.”

Roderick slapped the cards on the table and leaned back in
his chair, taking a sip of his wine. “You owe me five thousand pounds, Garette.”

The young earl took another swig of his brandy. White blond
hair hung over his eye. The man pulled out his snuff box, shook a bit on his
wrist and inhaled. “I shall give you my vowels, Elbourne.”

Roderick grimaced. He glanced at Jared and his brothers. Clayton
and Stephen were frowning from across the room. They all knew Garette could be
a handful when sober, but when drunk, the man became impossible.