The Greatest Lover Ever (36 page)

*   *   *

“I think she likes me,” said Lord Lydgate as they left Lady Chard’s and mounted their horses.

“Lady Chard?” said Xavier, deliberately misunderstanding him.

“No, the divine Miss Allbright, of course,” said Lydgate. “You never told me how pretty she is.”

Xavier threw him a scornful glance. Truth to tell, he’d spent the entire visit quelling the urge to lean in to Miss Allbright and wipe the smudge from her elegant little nose with the pad of his thumb. Even when she’d rubbed at her face, she’d missed the spot. His suggestion that she refresh herself had sprung from a desire to remove temptation from reach, rather than any wish to improve upon her appearance.

Of course, being female, she’d taken his suggestion as a criticism, and that was just as well.

“You think her pretty?” said Xavier, investing his tone with indifference he only wished he could feel. “I would not have said so.”

In fact, he did not consider the lady who called herself “Miss Allbright” to be pretty, nor even beautiful. Those banal epithets did not begin to do her justice.

“You are trying to provoke me,” said Lydgate.

“No, I am refusing to allow
you
to provoke
me
,” Xavier calmly replied. “You will not flirt with my wife, Lydgate.”

“Until you claim her as such, I say she’s fair game for flirting,” said his irrepressible cousin with a grin. “I still don’t know why you left her to kick her heels in this backwater for eight years.”

Xavier made no immediate answer. It was true that after his first, fruitless search, he’d had little trouble locating his new bride. She’d been clever in her attempts to cover her tracks, surprisingly resourceful for a girl her age. But he’d had resources at his disposal of which she could never dream.

Yes, he’d found her, but he’d left her quite alone. He’d judged her far safer with the kindly vicar than with him.

Now, he said, “There seemed no urgency. She was very young.”

“You mean you wanted to go on raising hell without a wife to plague you,” said Lydgate.

“Now there, Lydgate, you are lamentably wide of the mark,” said Xavier. “But do go on. Enlighten me as to my motives. You are nothing if not entertaining.”

As their horses walked, Lydgate narrowed his eyes, and a shrewd look came into his face that his family had learned to mistrust. “You profess to be the Devil himself when it comes to sin. You throw orgies to rival the Hellfire Club—”

“Now there, I must protest,” said Xavier, holding up one gloved hand. “My orgies never involve vulgarity, and I find black masses and the like utterly ridiculous.”

“—and yet you rarely take part in those orgies yourself,” continued Lydgate as if he had not spoken. “In you, my dear cousin, I detect strong ambivalence. When obliged to marry this Miss Allbright, you did not wish to mend your ways, but you wanted to protect your wife from your world. Perhaps, even, from yourself.”

Xavier found that his jaw was rather too tightly clenched. He ought never to forget that Lydgate possessed a keen mind beneath all that hair.

“How is that so far?” asked Lydgate.

Deliberately, Xavier relaxed his facial muscles. “Like a bad play. But pray continue.”

Lydgate’s voice gentled. “Now you find yourself in sudden need of a son, a necessity which never seemed likely before.”

He had braced himself for some allusion to Jack and Charlie, but he felt the anger rise up anyway. Not at Lydgate, but at a cruel, perverse Fate, which had seen fit to take two blameless little boys while allowing corroded souls like his own to live on. He would have died to spare his cousins from the fever that took their young lives, but he’d long ago learned the futility of such bargaining. He might as well hold black masses for all the good that would do.

In a more forceful tone, Lydgate added, “You cannot allow Vincent to step into your shoes, nor that scurvy boy of his. You need a son.”

Coldly, Xavier said, “Either that, or I can simply ensure that my wicked uncle and his blasted spawn predecease me.”

Lydgate tilted his head, no doubt considering ways and means. “Something could be contrived.”

Xavier snorted. “Do not trouble yourself. I don’t want blood on your hands on my account.”

“Oh, I shouldn’t think we’d need to murder ’em,” said Lydgate cheerfully. “No, I mean perhaps we might produce an entirely new heir. A long-lost brother, perhaps?”

“Dear God, wasn’t Davenport’s resurrection enough?” Another relative, Jonathon Westruther, Earl of Davenport, had staged his own death for reasons which Xavier privately thought nonsensical. If the fool had thought to come to Xavier for help, he would not have needed to take such drastic measures. It was Xavier’s practice never to interfere with his relations if he could avoid it, but sometimes one was obliged to make an exception.

He waved a hand. “Forget finding a new heir. Even I balk at perpetrating such a fraud. My ancestors would spin in their graves.”

“Very well, then,” said Lydgate. “So. Unbeknownst to everyone, from your nearest and dearest to the Ton’s wiliest matchmaking mamas, you already have a wife.
Ergo
—”

Xavier cut him off. “I think we shall leave the rest unsaid.”

He never spoke of his
affaires
, not even with Lydgate, but he found himself particularly reluctant to discuss his admittedly obvious intentions toward his marchioness. In fact, he began to wish he’d never allowed Lydgate to accompany him to Little Thurston. But his cousin knew Lady Chard well enough to make visiting her their excuse for coming. Xavier had no legitimate reason to be here.

No reason but to bed his wife.

His naïve, deceitful, pert, and damnably alluring wife.

Also by

Christina Brooke

Heiress in Love

Mad About the Earl

A Duchess to Remember

Praise for Christina Brooke’s
Ministry of Marriage series

A Duchess to Remember

“Christina Brooke is a bright new star.”

—RT Book Reviews

“
A Duchess to Remember
surpasses all expectations, leaving you longing for the next installment.”

—Fresh Fiction

“A delightful, attention-grabbing, sweetly romantic historical read you won’t want to miss.”

—Night Owl Romance

“This is a two-night, preferably one, book. Cecily and Rand’s romance is a fun, deceptive, quickstep of a dance.”

—Romance Reviews Today

Mad About the Earl

“A true historical gem.”

—Romance Junkies

“[A] version of Beauty and the Beast … that readers will take to their hearts.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Captivating!”

—Night Owl Romance

“A sweet and sexy romance.”

—Dear Author

Heiress in Love

“Each scene is more sensual and passionate than the last.”

—Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Riveting tale of life, loss, convenience, and heart-wrenching love! Superbly written!”

—Fresh Fiction

“With this delightful debut Brooke demonstrates her ability for creating a charming cast of characters who are the perfect players in the first of the Ministry of Marriage series. Marriage-of-convenience fans will rejoice and take pleasure in this enchanting read.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Clever, lush, and lovely—an amazing debut!”

—Suzanne Enoch,
New York Times
bestselling author

“A delightful confection of secrets and seduction,
Heiress in Love
will have readers craving more!”

—Tracy Anne Warren

“One of the most compelling heroes I’ve read in years.”

—Anna Campbell

About the Author

Christina Brooke
is a former lawyer who staged a brilliant escape from the corporate world and landed squarely in Regency England. She lives in Australia with her husband, two sons, and an ancient Great Dane cross called Monty. Christina loves travel, window-shopping in antique stores, pink champagne, and fine Swiss chocolate. She especially loves hearing from readers. You can find Christine on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or “at home” on
www.christina-brooke.com
.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE GREATEST LOVER EVER

Copyright © 2014 by Christina Brooke.

Excerpt from
The Wickedest Lord Alive
copyright © 2014 by Christina Brooke.

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

www.stmartins.com

eISBN: 9781466822276

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / January 2014

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.