What A Rogue Wants (6 page)

“
The breeze is turning
chilly,” the queen said. “You are all young, so you don’t notice it
as I do.” Everyone nodded dutifully in agreement. The queen let out
a long sigh as if being constantly agreed with was tedious. “I’m
off to read.” She pointed at Lady Juliette and Lady Annabelle.
“Come keep me company.” To everyone else she waved a negligent
hand. “Be inside by the time the sun hits noon, or sooner if Lord
Grey and Lord Gravenhurst no longer wish to keep you
company.”

Murmurs of agreement scattered amongst
the remaining ladies. Once the queen had walked out of earshot,
Grace addressed Lord Grey. “Perhaps Lady Madelaine will sing for
you.”

“
Or play the pianoforte,”
Lady Cecelia chimed in a nasty tone that matched
Grace’s.

Madelaine lifted her chin and forced a
smile as she looked at the two men before her. She wouldn’t let
Grace make her appear embarrassed when she certainly wasn’t. The
only reason she now wished for a single feminine talent was so the
queen might not find fault with her at every turn. “I’m afraid I
was a beastly daughter and never paid heed to the things a proper
lady is required to know.” Useless as those things were.

“
Such as nonsensical
conversation and not appearing too educated?” Lord Gravenhurst
speared Grace with a slanted-eyed look that dared her to say a
word.

Finally, a sensible man. “Exactly,”
Madelaine replied, enjoying Grace’s gasp and her splotchy
cheeks.

“
I’m curious, Lady
Madelaine…” Lord Grey said.

“
About what?” Her pulse
skittered unnaturally in her chest.

“
If you didn’t master your
lessons of pianoforte, singing and…?”

“
Embroidery,” his sister
supplied with a small smile tugging at her lips.

“
Ah, yes, the
all-important skill of embroidery,” he exclaimed. She wanted to
laugh at his dramatics, but she somehow managed to hold it
in.

“
Pray tell,
what did
you
master?”

She nearly gasped at his question. Was
he challenging her to lie? She didn’t want her secret to be
revealed but she refused to be ashamed of the things she knew.
“Archery, riding, and how to use a dagger.” Her eyebrows lifted in
defiance.

“
I’m impressed and
intrigued. I, too, am interested in archery.” Lord Grey’s friend
coughed and sputtered beside him. She glared at him for trying to
goad her. He smiled, and her pulse skittered oddly. Whatever was
the matter with her to respond to him like all the other silly
dimwits at Court probably did. She should ignore him. He proffered
his elbow. “Will you walk in the gardens with my sister and me? I
confess I’d love to learn if you have any special techniques you
use with your bow and arrow.”

Madelaine understood exactly what
Grace had meant when she’d said Lord Grey thrilled her to the bone
with just one look. His face had haunted her dreams many nights
since she had met him, possible preening peacock or not. Court life
had been a lonely, cruel surprise and fantasizing that Lord Grey
was good and gallant had helped her keep hope she’d meet someone
eventually. Her stomach swirled with butterflies. The way he stared
at her made her believe there could possibly be something special
about her.

She felt charming. The
notion was silly. She was an oddity, but he
was
looking at her as if he liked
that. Wasn’t he? Maybe she’d been wrong to think there was no one
who’d accept her for who she really was. Perhaps she
would
meet a man who she
really did want to marry for love. Maybe, that man could be Lord
Grey. How ridiculous she was. She didn’t really know him. He
probably bestowed that mesmerizing expression on every new lady he
met. Yet she wanted to take a chance. She slipped her arm through
his and refused to care one bit that Grace would make her life holy
hell if the murderous look on the lady’s face was a good
indicator.

As Lord Grey tucked Madelaine’s hand
into the crook of his elbow and reached for his sister’s arm, Grace
said, “I’ll come too. I’m positively dying to hear what sorts of
accomplishments intrigue the notorious Lord Grey.”

“
Notorious?” A sense of
foreboding weighed down upon Madelaine’s newly light
mood.

“
But of course,” Grace
murmured. “You’re well known for wooing the ladies but never
committing to them. Aren’t you, Lord Grey?”

His arm tensed under Madelaine’s light
grasp. She fully expected an annoyed denial, instead he looked
supremely bored. After a moment, an amused smile played at his
lips. “I suppose I am, Lady Grace.”

Madelaine tugged her arm for Lord Grey
to release her. Heavens she was a fool for falling so quickly under
his spell. Bewitching eyes didn’t mean a man was a good candidate
for a husband. A fact she needed to remember. A walk with a
scoundrel would do her no good. Avoiding him would be her wisest
course, and she fully intended to take it, once she spoke with him
about keeping their meeting secret. But now, surrounded by others,
was not the time.

Grey didn’t want to release Lady
Madelaine’s hand, but when she tugged on it for a second time, he
relinquished it. His mysterious Miss Prattle was quite the lovely
blusher. Was the blush out of anger or embarrassment? He could
assure her he had no intentions of seducing her, but that would be
a lie and could, in all fairness to himself, make her discomfort
worse.

Fate had delivered this lady back into
his life and he had every intention of unwrapping fate’s gift.
Especially after being awoken in a state of frustrated arousal many
times since meeting her. Add to that excellent reason the ribbing
he’d taken for weeks from Gravenhurst when the lady had failed to
reappear in Golden Square and seemingly disappeared into thin air,
and Grey was not about to just let her walk away from him again.
Now he knew where she was and why. Far be it for him not to use the
knowledge.

What the devil had a proper lady been
doing in Golden Square shooting a bow and arrow? Unlocking that
secret, and whatever else Lady Madelaine was hiding behind her dark
eyes and deceptively delicate appearance, would be a pleasure. A
lady who claimed an affinity for riding, archery and daggers was a
lady with mettle. Strong women were so much better in bed than
weak, simpering misses who refused to tell you what she craved and
exactly how she wanted it.

The fact that she had never met him as
promised no longer bothered him. No doubt she’d only been in Golden
Square by trickery. He smiled. If the chit sought more than the
constraints life offered her, he’d gladly introduce her to other,
more exotic constraints. Lady Madelaine studied him with her
slumberous gaze the color of a chestnut flecked with black. She
pulled her cape tighter around her, her fine-boned hands white as
cotton clutching the dark material, and her honey-colored hair
bunched up under the cloth. Right now, she looked more like a
trapped fox than a potential bed partner who was assessing
him.

He had the unusual desire to assure
her he’d never led a woman to his bed by force or trickery. Yet,
now in others’ company was not the time to say such a thing.
There’d be time enough later to tell her he may be known as a
seducer, but he’d never seduced a single lady who didn’t wish the
seduction and willingly participated in the game. No doubt she was
probably worried about his keeping her secret and would seek him
out. He could practically see her worry in her lovely eyes. Maybe
she was even considering how they could rendezvous or if it would
be too dangerous.

Her tongue darted from her mouth and
she nervously licked her plump lips. She definitely recognized the
perils of a private meeting. His muscles tightened in awareness of
the invisible gauntlet that had just been thrown. Of course, he
would pick it up and show her there were ways to meet privately
even at Court.

“
It’s gotten cold
suddenly, hasn’t it,” she said.

It hadn’t at all, but he nodded. “If
you want to go inside we can postpone our walk.”

The relief that made her body relax
amused him. He didn’t wait for her answer, he already knew it.
“Gravenhurst, will you see Lady Madelaine and Lady Cecelia inside?
I don’t want to deprive Elizabeth of our walk, and I know how much
Lady Grace likes exercise.” From what he had been told, the woman
had a voracious appetite for vigorous bed sport.

Lady Madelaine slipped her arm through
Gravenhurst’s but focused her dark eyes on Grace. “I wasn’t aware
you enjoyed anything that required you to breathe
heavily.”

Grey bit back a laugh. Lady Madelaine
did indeed have some steel in her spine and perhaps a bit of gossip
regarding Lady Grace stashed.

“
As usual, you know
nothing,” Lady Grace snapped, before schooling her features into a
syrupy smile.

“
I know more than you
think,” Lady Madelaine said. “Shall we go, Lord
Gravenhurst?”

“
By all means.”
Gravenhurst rested his gaze on Grey. “I’ll see you in a
bit.”

Grey nodded and as the three walked
toward the castle, he wished he were Gravenhurst. Then he would be
leading the beguiling Lady Madelaine inside instead of dealing with
a jealous harpy. Since he had to see the king soon, he couldn’t
afford to delay his duties, and setting Lady Grace straight was a
must to protect his sister. Pursuing Lady Madelaine would wait, and
if it didn’t then the seduction wasn’t meant to be or was meant to
be accomplished by someone else. He hoped not Gravenhurst. The
thought didn’t sit well.

“
I’m so glad you wanted me
to stay and walk with the two of you,” Lady Grace said.

He studied her. He’d never liked the
woman, suspecting she had a viperous streak hidden behind the
angelic façade she presented. His sister’s letter and Lady Grace’s
nasty treatment of Lady Madelaine confirmed his suspicion. What was
surprising was the queen’s open dislike of Lady
Madelaine.

There was an interesting mystery.
Queen Charlotte was usually kind to all. Grey stared off into the
distance as an idea formed. He would uncover what tension lay
between Lady Madelaine and the queen, and he would disarm the
hostility and earn Lady Madelaine’s trust and favor. He smiled,
pleased with the possibilities his idea would bring and with the
fact that he had once again proved his father wrong. Father thought
him uninterested in politics. It wasn’t that at all. It was that
his father had never bothered to discuss a damned thing with him,
only Grey’s older brother.

He was perfectly happy to discuss
politics. He did so quite frequently in bed with a beautiful lady
in his arms. If soothing the queen’s anger without her even
realizing what was occurring wasn’t a perfect example of the
political savvy his father loved to point out that Grey’s brother
possessed, Grey didn’t know what was.

A discreet cough brought him back to
the present, unpleasant task. “I did not want you to walk with my
sister and me.”

“
I beg your pardon?” Lady
Grace stammered.

“
You force me to speak
plainly, Lady Grace. A situation I’ve learned most women
dislike.”

“
Grey!” Elizabeth hissed
and clutched at his arm. “You said you received my letter. I assume
you read it since you’re here.”

He squeezed his sister’s cold hand.
He’d die to protect Liz, but he did wish she were more like him
than just the looks they shared as twins. While he was a devil, she
was an angel. It didn’t serve to be an angel, especially at Court.
People turned other’s kindness to weakness. “I read your letter,
poppet, don’t worry.”

“
Then you know I’ve
recommended Lady Grace to you.”

Lady Grace smiled. “Did you forget the
contents of your sister’s letter, Lord Grey?”

“
I never forget anything.
Ever. You’d be wise to remember that. Let me explain something to
you. Men talk amongst themselves a great deal.”

Lady Grace’s eyes widened.

“
I see you understand. Or
I think you do. Yet I find the need to be perfectly clear since you
threatened my sister, who is the one person in this world I hold
dearer than myself.”

“
I didn’t threaten
her.”