The Scandalous Duke Takes a Bride (31 page)

“And that’s always baffled me.”

She looked away, but a small smile tilted up her lips. “When it became apparent that I could not have children, and after his first palpitation episode with his heart, he made it very clear that he wanted to seek out a new bride before he was on his deathbed. I think he thought himself invincible before his health problems started. But in order to take a new bride, there was one problem.…”

It pained her a great deal to recall that conversation with her husband. The cruelness of his words, his hate more evident than it had ever been prior to that outburst. Hayden didn’t prompt her to continue but let her take her time. The words were hard to find for what she was about to admit.

“… It became apparent that I was increasing further then I ever had before.”

“If he was willing to have a child—and desired to have the next Fallon heir, which you carried—why would he go so far as to poison you?”

“I think he had a change of heart after the first fall. And he knew he could not successfully divorce me if I was increasing. And while this is entirely my opinion, I think he felt he had no choice at that point. He was so fixated on the fact that I was a whore’s daughter—his choice of words, not mine—that he thought I sullied the Fallon title and any children I had would do the same.”

Jessica pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders even though it wasn’t cold.

Hayden rubbed his hands over her arms in an attempt to stave off the chill that overtook her. After wiping away the last of her tears, she sat up and looked at Hayden.

Though she expected to see something akin to disgust—toward Fallon, never her—she only saw compassion. There wasn’t an ounce of pity in his expression, either, which she respected and appreciated a great deal more than she wanted to admit.

“What do we do now, Hayden?”

“I wish I would have killed Miller before I let the bastard ship off to Australia.”

“Then you would have had to live with blood on your hands. I would never want that, especially in the name of our friendship.”

“I should have at least gotten the full truth, so I could have acted on this sooner.”

Hayden kissed her forehead, then each of her tear-dampened cheeks. “If I could erase the pain he caused you, I would.”

“That pain made me the woman I am today. I wouldn’t change the memories of his treatment toward me. You know it’s unlikely I can bear children, considering my past.”

Hayden pressed his thumb against her chin and shook his head. “I haven’t changed my mind.”

She smiled in return. “If we are going to go through with marriage, I want it done properly. Banns need to be read. I’ll not go into our marriage as though I’ve been compromised. I don’t want to play to the tune of the
ton
anymore. Though I despise them, I don’t want to be the brunt of all their jokes, and the example of what young ladies should never strive to be.”

She waited for him to think that through. What it would mean for them.

“And here I thought starting off in scandal would be your preference.”

She shoved playfully at his shoulder. “Don’t make jokes at a time like this.”

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, Jess.” He cupped her face with both his hands.

“Under normal circumstances, it might be different; we could run away, escape to Scotland, and be married before the week is out. But that’s not what I want. Not with my secrets hanging over our heads. I’ll deal with Lady Montant in good time, but right now, I just want something normal, something I can count on going right.”

“While I prefer to claim you as my wife, now, as I’ve longed to for so long, this is one wish I will grant you. Though I can’t promise I won’t try to persuade you otherwise when this whole business with Tristan is looked after.”

Jessica placed her hand atop his and nuzzled into his arms, closing her eyes. “That’s all I want.” She pressed a light kiss to his hand.

Hayden pulled her onto his lap and set to kissing her full on the mouth. They explored each other for some time. The dinner trolley rolled past their car and they couldn’t ignore the smell of food for long. Hayden helped straighten out her dress so they were presentable before entering the dining car.

“All this time together and I’ve been talking about myself,” she said. “What do you think will happen with Ponsley?”

“Ponsley is a man of honor above all things. I think he only needs to prove a point to save face with Warren. He can’t just let his daughter be stolen away in the same week his chaperone was found to be having an affair with Leo.”

“Warren…” It suddenly dawned on her that he might not be in London any longer. “Do you expect he’ll be at the challenge?”

“Couldn’t say.” Hayden shrugged as he curled a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”

Chapter 21

Word of a duel between two prominent houses has come my way. Will it be Montague or Capulet who wins this time? Or will the old man step in to divert disaster among the young lovers vying for one lady’s heart? Who knew she was worth the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into? Perhaps her dowry is cushioned far more than I previously imagined, not that either gentleman needs the treasures attached to Lady C——’s name.
Mayfair Chronicles
, August 1846 The sky had darkened significantly with the threat of an oncoming rainstorm by the time their train pulled into Birmingham Station. While the hour was still too early for bed, they couldn’t risk riding out to Hayden’s estate in the dark, so they sought lodgings at a reputable inn instead.

Hayden stepped up to the reservation counter. “Two rooms, adjoining doors, if you have them.”

“We have no adjoining rooms available. The storm brewing outside has brought in stragglers that might not otherwise worry about lodgings.” The woman looked down at her ledger, her mobcap the only thing Jessica and Hayden saw for some minutes before she looked at them with her wrinkled face and gray eyes. “And we certainly don’t have any rooms grand enough for your wife—”

“One room will be fine,” Jessica said, stepping forward.

Hayden turned to Jessica, his look full of astonishment, but she only shrugged in response. There was no reason they couldn’t share a room. Even though they’d shared a bed before, this felt …
different.

“We’ll make do, Hayden.” She smiled innocently.

When Hayden turned back to the proprietor the woman asked, “Your name for the books, fine sir?”

He hesitated only a brief moment. “Lord and Lady Duchene of Lancashire.”

Since Jessica wanted a proper engagement, it did make perfect sense to make up a married name for them. Especially since they had already shared a room prior to marriage. While they’d been intimate already, he didn’t assume they would be again this evening.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes. It could prove to be a very long night.

“Would you like a tray brought up, my lord?”

“Yes,” he said, threading Jessica’s arm through his. “Can you have someone carry up our cases, too?”

The woman snapped her fingers and a young man came forward and led them to their suite for the evening. He opened the door for them and brought their bags in behind.

“What’s your latest post out in the evening?” Hayden asked.

“Monday through Thursdays by five. If it’s for London it should be there in two days’ time. Otherwise it depends.”

“And what about special posts?”

“We’ve a rider for local deliveries, my lord.”

Hayden gave him a few coins for his services. “The maid can collect the letter with the food tray. I’ll need the letter to arrive before midnight, and it won’t take your rider far from Birmingham, maybe two hours each way if he makes it ahead of the rain and rides swiftly.”

“Of course, my lord.” The young man bowed, then shut the door on his way out.

“Where do you need to post a letter to? Surely Tristan knows you are on your way?” Jessica asked.

“I need to get a letter to my estate. They’ll bring horses down for us to ride the rest of the way.”

“I don’t know that I should go with you to Tristan’s just yet. We’ve a few days before the duel actually happens.”

“Did you want to stay on at my estate alone?”

“I think that’s best. I don’t want to distract Tristan with our news when he needs all his focus for Ponsley.”

“And you don’t think his new wife is distracting enough?” he asked, one eyebrow quirked.

Jessica tossed her shawl at him playfully. “I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that your mind is focused there, when we happen to be sharing a room.”

“I make no presumptions, Jess. Besides, the sofa looks comfortable enough.” He glanced over at the short settee, which lacked pillows. It didn’t look the least bit suitable to sit on, let alone sleep on, but if need be he could make it work.

She reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “It’s not as though we haven’t shared a bed before.”

He brought her knuckles up to his lips and kissed them. “And look at where that led us.”

Hayden pulled her slowly into his arms. His timing couldn’t have been worse. A knock sounded at the door. He released her reluctantly to answer it.

A young kitchen maid carried a silver tray laden with soup dishes and sandwiches. He motioned for her to come in, and she placed the service on the table in front of the sofa.

“If you’ll wait a minute, I have a letter I’d like to write for delivery this evening,” he said.

The girl curtsied. “Yes, my lord. Will you require a response?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Walking over to the desk in the room, he took the hotel stationery and wrote a note for his butler—instructions for his needs. He handed it to the maid along with some coins. “Thank you for taking care of this so promptly.”

“It’s not a bother,” she replied before she closed the door behind her, leaving him and Jess alone again.

What did you say to the woman who was to be your wife? Not only did they know everything there was to know about each other, they’d also been more intimate than most couples ever had the opportunity to be before their wedding day, yet he didn’t know quite how to approach sharing a room and possibly a bed with his wife-to-be.

Jessica sat on the settee in front of the service of food that had been placed on the table. She lifted the first lid and leaned over the steaming broth to smell the contents and sighed. “A most delightful-smelling vegetable broth.” She turned to him, a spoon in hand. “Would you like to join me? There are ham sandwiches, too. Though I think I’ll stick to the soup after the dinner we indulged in on the train.”

“Enjoy the soup. I’m not hungry.” Not for food, anyway.

While she delicately sipped at her soup he unpacked his bag, hanging up his clothes for the morning ride to his estate and washing his face with a damp cloth from the basin.

Jessica watched him as he walked around the room readying for the night ahead.

“I do hope you know I’ll need your assistance?” She reached the spot between her shoulder blades, where a delicate row of buttons lined up like little soldiers guarding what lay beneath.

He sucked in a breath.

“Why are you staring at me with that expression?”

“What expression?”

She put down her spoon and joined him in the middle of the room. Only a handspan separated them. “As though you’re starved for something other than food.”

“Perhaps I am.” He grabbed her, pulling the lower half of her body against his hardness, and he kissed her.

She pulled her head slightly away, her lips damp. “I have a question for you before this carries on any further.”

He was tempted to lean into her neck and inhale the soft scent of her floral perfume that always got his blood pumping and his body needing more. “Your question, my dearest lady.”

“The time you slept in my bed, you pulled away from me before we could…” She filled the sudden silence with her hands. As though that explained what was in her head. She cleared her throat in a very dainty, ladylike fashion. “Before we finished what was started. You could have taken full advantage of the situation to the point you could have pressed your suit for marriage then and there. Instead you stopped.”

“Yet we’ve been intimate since then,” he pointed out.

She blushed a deep scarlet. “Our passions were high and we acted in the moment without thought to the consequences.”

He took a deep breath. There hadn’t been much thought in pulling away from her, other than preserving the last shred of his decency. When they’d been in bed together, so close to consummating something he’d wanted to do for nearly a decade, he had realized he couldn’t fulfill that desire unless Jessica was fully cognizant of what she was allowing and what their joining would mean. And though he knew she’d eventually come around, he would never have forced her into marriage before her realization that they were the perfect match.

“You weren’t willing to accept the consequences of a union between us. And there was no sense in rushing things along when you knew deep down that I’d already won you over.”

She took another step toward him and grasped the lapels of his jacket. “And what about earlier today? You didn’t press your suit when things got carried away with our actions.”