The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance (51 page)

“H-he made me s-so angry,” she sobbed.

“Aye, I know, love.”

“He was unfaithful t-to my m-mother.”

Heyworth knew that, too. But he kept his silence.

“And h-he made
you
tr-trustee.”

“Hush, my darling. We’ll work that out.”

She looked up at him with the most beautiful teary eyes he’d ever seen. “H-how? You have complete—”

“No. Whatever you need — ’tis yours to use as you see fit.”

She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek. “R-really?”

His heart twisted in his chest at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes and the tears that fell from them. “Of course. I never meant to keep you from your inheritance, Angel.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, content to merely cradle the woman he loved in his arms.

Angelique slept like the dead for an hour or so, after walking back to the house with Heyworth. He had not attempted to kiss her or touch her in any way after she pulled herself together, and she …

She could hardly credit that she’d been disappointed. She didn’t want him to touch her. And yet …

Heyworth’s caresses were unlike anything Angelique had ever known. He was strong yet gentle, insistent but patient. She yearned for his embrace, but did not want to encourage his attentions. He’d told her she would have control over the annuity, when her father had given
him
jurisdiction over it.

It was all too much. She did not want to grieve for a father who’d hurt her mother so deeply, and who had seen nothing wrong with tying her to a fiancé who was unfaithful. And yet that fiancé was being so kind to her now.

Heyworth handed Minerva into the enclosed carriage, and when Angelique looked round, she saw that there was no horse saddled and ready for him. “You are not riding?”

He gave a shake of his head, and a lock of his dark hair fell across his forehead. She longed to touch it, to thread her fingers through the thick mass of it.

“It will be far cooler outside the carriage,” she said. She did not want to spend the next half-hour in such close quarters with him.

“You aren’t afraid of having me near, are you, Angel?”

“Of course not.” It was a lie. Even with Minerva present, Angelique could not dispel her ridiculous longing for him.

“Very good. Shall we?”

He helped her into the carriage and off they went. Angelique tried to keep her attention on the passing scenery outside her window, but she felt his gaze on her and, whenever the carriage went over a rough patch, his knees bumped into hers, sending shivers of longing through her.

“Will you attend the race tomorrow, Your Grace?” Minerva asked.

“I doubt it,” he replied, and Angelique looked up at him, puzzled by the contradiction. “I have other plans.”

“Oh? Will you be returning to London?”

He looked right into Angelique’s eyes. “I don’t think so. Not just yet.”

“There’s no reason for you to stay any longer, Your Grace,” Angelique said, in spite of the conflicting emotions churning within her. “Once you release the funds my aunt and I will need to live on—”

“That was done before I came down to Berkshire.”

The world shifted suddenly. “
What?
”

“I had my solicitor transfer control of your funds yesterday morning. A letter was sent, but it seems you left London before it could be delivered to you.”

“But then why—”

“Angelique, do not badger His Grace,” said Minerva. “’Tis perfectly clear that he came all this way to tell you personally.”

That could not be true. He’d sent her a letter. Angelique bit her lip in consternation. If he hadn’t come for the horse race, or to talk to her about the annuity, then he must have come specifically because of their broken engagement.

Had he changed? According to Lord Rathby, a certain Mrs Dumont was a frequent recipient of Heyworth’s attentions. At least it had been a Mrs Dumont two years ago. Did she dare hope that he’d changed his ways? That he was ready to become a responsible, faithful spouse?

She took in the strong line of his jaw and his intense green eyes and wished it were so. She feared she still loved him, and knew that marriage between them could be wonderful.

Or a complete disaster.

When they arrived at Tapton Manor, Angelique was quite surprised to encounter Lord Rathby. Yet his presence made perfect sense, for he had an estate nearby where her father had often gone shooting. Of course he was on friendly terms with the Stillwaters, but Angelique had not seen or spoken to him in the two years since the fateful conversation that had resulted in her abrupt departure from England.

She felt awkward facing him now, but the same was not true of Heyworth. Obviously, the Duke was unaware of Rathby’s part in her abrupt departure and the cancellation of their wedding, or he would not have been quite so cordial with the Earl.

And yet his cordiality had a strange edge to it, something Angelique could not quite define.

Heyworth took her elbow, as he drew her into the house. Angelique allowed herself to enjoy his innocent touch, nearly as comforting as the caresses he’d given her at the lake. She had never felt more attracted to him than she did at that moment.

When she was in Italy, it had been far easier to deny everything she’d felt for him. It was nearly impossible now.

She’d wanted him during their engagement, had lived for their stolen kisses and the promise of pleasures she could not even imagine after they were wed. Angelique tried to curb her longing for his touch, but feared she still loved him. She feared she did not have the strength or the will to reject him again. If he took her into his arms, or kissed her …

She would quite possibly melt.

Mrs Stillwater embraced her lightly. “You look pale, my girl. Come inside and sit down.”

“I’m quite all right, Mrs Stillwater,” Angelique said. “’Tis very good of you to invite us.”

Lord Rathby came and bent over her hand. “My sincere condolences, Miss Drummond, and my apologies as well, for my absence at your father’s funeral. I was in York and did not hear of his passing until it was too late.”

“’Tis quite all right, Lord Rathby. You were a good friend to my father.”

“Aye,” he said quietly and, when he slipped away to the far side of the room, Angelique suddenly wondered why he had bothered to seek her out two years before, to tell her about Heyworth’s perfidy. He’d been so earnest … and yet now, he was not quite so bold in his demeanour. His gaze darted towards Heyworth, as though worried that the Duke would suddenly divine who had tattled on him two years earlier.

Angelique made a study of him as the conversation flowed around her. It wasn’t as though Rathby himself had been vying for her hand, for he had not been one of her suitors during that season. What difference would her marriage to Heyworth have made to him?

Would he have had some reason to lie to her?

A leaden feeling of dread centred in the pit of her stomach. She’d never had any reason to doubt Heyworth before Lord Rathby’s tale of loose women. Rathby might have held a grudge or had some other reason for wanting to damage Heyworth. And yet Angelique had jumped to the conclusion that her betrothed was just as unprincipled as her father. She’d been afraid to trust him, afraid to trust that he was different.

Her mind reeled with possibilities.

“Do you plan to stay at Maidstone for very long, Your Grace?” Mrs Stillwater asked the Duke.

“No. Only until tomorrow.”

“Then back to London, is it?” the Squire asked.

“For a short while, then I plan on travelling.”

“How lovely. Where will you go?”

“To Greece. My agents are en route now, securing lodgings and a cruising yacht for my use.”

A little wave of panic came over Angelique. He could not go. She needed to speak to him, to ask him some pointed questions, something she should have stayed and done two years before. She’d been a rash and headstrong fool.

“Such a romantic trip,” said Mrs Stillwater. “I would have enjoyed travelling at one time, but now I’m quite comfortable in our old house, and glad to have our grandchildren nearby.”

“How do you find Maidstone, Ange—Miss Drummond?” asked her childhood friend, Caroline. “It has been some time since you were here last, has it not?”

Angelique nodded, swallowing her agitation and turning her attention to Caroline — now Mrs Gedding, a vicar’s wife. Caroline was only a year older than Angelique, and yet she and her vicar husband already had two children. Angelique felt yet another troubling emotion, a pang of longing for what she’d foregone when she’d left England. Left Heyworth.

She needed to speak to him alone, to ask him … Dear heavens, there was so much to ask, starting with his forgiveness. “Primrose Cottage is just how I remembered it,” she said, looking for an opportunity to take him aside, but finding none. “’Tis a lovely respite from the close confines of London.”

Caroline glanced at her father. “There is quite the crush in town, isn’t there, Papa?”

“Aye, but we will not be part of it, thank heavens.” He turned to Heyworth. “Your Grace, will you escort the elder Miss Drummond in to supper?”

“Of course,” Heyworth said, taking Minerva’s arm. They all retired to the dining room, where Angelique was directed to a seat beside the Duke.

She’d had no good reason to doubt him two years before. He was far too kind to her now, and his civility towards Rathby rankled.

The Duke hardly looked at her, though his eyes flashed with intelligence and awareness. He seemed tense, his powerful body poised for action, while Lord Rathby remained nearly silent all through the meal. When it was over, Squire Stillwater invited the men to retire to the veranda to smoke, and Angelique resigned herself to waiting until they returned to Primrose Cottage for the private moment she intended to have with him.

It would be now or never. Heyworth was counting on the Squire to make sure that he and Rathby were left alone for a few minutes. And Mrs Stillwater was to bring Angelique into the small sitting room adjacent to the veranda. From there, she would be able to hear the men’s conversation.

Heyworth sensed that Rathby was about to bolt. The Earl had done all that etiquette required after discovering that the Duke would also be dining at the Stillwaters’ and now he could leave. He wouldn’t want to spend any more time than necessary with the man who had not only witnessed his attempt to rig a horse race, but seen to it that he was censured by the jockey club and banned from the races for a full two seasons.

Heyworth hoped Mrs Stillwater had had time to bring in Angelique. He stood in front of the door, blocking Rathby’s path of escape, and blew out a plume of cheroot smoke. “Have you got a favourite tomorrow, Rathby?”

Rathby hesitated, eyeing Heyworth with a measure of extremely justified mistrust. It was mutual. “I certainly wouldn’t tell
you
. I don’t want you betting against me.”

“You don’t
ever
want to bet against
me,
Rathby.”

The man’s complexion darkened. “Oh? My bet that Miss Drummond would believe my tales of your duplicity destroyed you, did it not?”

“Nearly, Rathby. You lied to Miss Drummond, but I am about to rectify that matter.”

The door burst open and Angelique came through, her expression one of heated astonishment. She looked at Rathby with complete disgust. “You … you lied to me?”

Rathby tossed his cheroot to the ground and started to walk past, but Angelique grabbed his sleeve. “Tell me the truth now. When you came to me and told me about Heyworth’s mistress …”

“Aye. You heard me admit it.” He cast a hateful glance at Heyworth, looking more like a petulant schoolboy than a peer of the realm. “’Twas a lie. All of it. I wanted my revenge, and I got it, by God.”

He made an abrupt turn and walked round the outside of the house, leaving Angelique and Heyworth alone. Angelique was speechless. Heyworth approached her and took her gently into his arms.

“I was such a fool,” she finally said against his chest.

“No.” He slid his hands down her back, pulling her closer. “He was your father’s friend. You couldn’t know—”

“I should have known.” She felt tears fill her eyes for the second time that day. “I should have trusted you. You were always honest with me, but I was afraid — afraid to trust my own judgment.”

“’Tis all right, Angel. Rathby’s lies are in the past.”

A well of despair opened up inside her. “B-but you’re leaving for Greece—”

“Not without you, love.” He stepped back and, keeping her at arm’s length, looked into her eyes. “Marry me now. Tonight. It seems impossible, but I love you more than I did two years ago. I don’t want to go another day without you as my wife.”

Angelique sniffled. “I have no dowry. And I’m in mourning.”

“You had no dowry two years ago, either. It didn’t matter.”

Angelique was shocked. He’d wanted her — a disreputable viscount’s daughter — even without a dowry? “But the banns—”

He pulled a folded sheet of vellum from inside his coat and showed it to her. Angelique read the special licence quickly, then looked up at him, gazing deeply into his eyes.

“I love you quite desperately, you know,” she whispered.

“I know. That’s why you had to flee England.”

She raised her brow in question.

He caressed the side of her face. “Because I had the power to hurt you quite dreadfully. I promise I never will, my darling.”

“Oh, Brice, I love you. These past two years without you have been abominable.”

He tipped his head down and touched his lips to hers in a light kiss that held the promise of so much more. If only they could leave the party and return alone to Primrose Cottage.

“We ’re together again. ’Tis all that matters, Angel.”