Improper Pleasures (The Pleasure Series)

by Cheryl Howe

  “I can’t seem to make this man understand that I’ve been dressing myself since I was out of the nursery. I don’t need of a manservant to assist me.” James folded his arms over his bare chest, flexing muscles in his biceps. Astra tried not to stare but her mother nodded with an appreciative smile.

  “Believe me when I say that I don’t usually receive female visitors half-clothed.” He tucked his hands under his arms as if shielding himself and lowered his head.

  “I do hope you are just being polite, Lord Keane.” Her mother fanned her face with her hand, pausing to examine James over the curve of her long fingers. “Please do not feel the need to change your customs.”

  “I’ll have no lord of mine dressed like a common seaman.” Mr. Rudd spat each word in a clipped threat.

  James tensed. Astra seriously feared the confrontation would end in bloodshed.

  “I laid him out a perfectly good shirt and a brand new pair of boots that Master Trent never even unwrapped.” Mr. Rudd softened his tone to mildly disrespectful.

  “They’re not my clothes.” James unfolded his arms and balled his fists.

  “Please, James, consider the clothes Mr. Rudd has provided.” The plea from Lady Phillina caused both men to startle, then instantly ease their fighting stances. “I would be honored to have you wear my son’s clothes. You look so much like a Keane.”

  “Thank you for your generosity, ma’am. Excuse me.” James bowed and took a step backward.

  Mr. Rudd tried to escape from the suite with James’s confiscated boots and shirt, but James lunged for him. Lady Phillina’s laugh stopped James before he could wrestle the goods from Mr. Rudd.

  “He shall return your boots polished and stitched. Is that not so, Mr. Rudd?”

  “They are a disgrace, my lady.” Mr. Rudd stepped out of James’s reach. “Not fit for a Lord Keane.”

  “But they are his. Notify the local tailor that Lord Keane shall require a few items to fill out his wardrobe.”

  “My clothes are fine,” James said. “But thank you, ma’am.”

  “Call me Auntie Phillina. Please.” Her smile wobbled and tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. “I am so happy to have finally made your acquaintance, James Keane. Though I was terribly saddened to hear of the loss of your father.”

  “You knew my father?” James asked, clearly surprised. For the first time, Astra realized how truly unprepared James had been for his sudden inheritance. He still appeared baffled by all it entailed and the family who came with it. James tensed and the muscles in his chest deliciously tightened. Astra experienced a rush of heat and a similar contraction in a place she desperately tried to ignore. A sprinkling of golden-brown hair stretched across his nipples then trailed down his lean stomach, disappearing beneath his breeches. Astra gripped her hands together, trying and failing to avoid picturing other parts of his athletic body.

  “Perhaps we should allow James to make himself presentable?” Astra’s voice was unsteady and earned a smirk from her mother.

  “It broke all our hearts when your father left for America,” Lady Phillina continued, ignoring Astra’s plea. “You look so much like him. All the Keane men share your robust good looks. Except for Lowell. He took after me, but I like to think he was special in other ways.”

  “I must be consulted on the fitting of Lord Keane’s wardrobe,” her mother said as she strolled in front of James.

  Astra was grateful for the distraction. Talk of Lowell would always make her heart heavy.

  Her mother’s hazel eyes, one of the few features they shared, sparked with open interest. “I know what is fashionable in London these days. Tight breeches. That’s the thing for you, Lord Keane.” Her mother raised her dark eyebrows suggestively, then laughed at James’s horrified expression. “Oh what a delight you are. Eastlan has been so boring since Trent”—her mother glanced at Lady Phillina and swallowed her usual complaint about the appeal of West Country life—“left us.”

  Astra’s mother enjoyed bringing up the fact whenever she had the chance that Trent was eaten by his pet tiger. Unfortunately, Astra suspected the Keane name could not be spoken in society without the gruesome details being retold. Thankfully Astra hadn’t been to London since the accident and only had to hear such things from her mother.

  “Thank you both, but I’m sure my own clothes will suffice.” James shifted under her mother’s overly familiar regard. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll put on the items Mr. Rudd was so thoughtful to provide.” James gave Mr. Rudd a warning glance before he turned and strode into the adjoining bedroom.

  Mr. Rudd slipped from the suite while Astra tried in vain to suppress a scorching image of what she had witnessed behind that particular door, the one James had this time remembered to close.

  “Oh, he is lovely.” Her mother twirled to face them in a flash of vermillion skirts. “London is in for a treat.”

  “I don’t believe he intends to visit London,” said Astra too quickly. At least she hoped so. The sooner he left Eastlan the better.

  “He shall have to appear next season to take his seat in the House of Lords,” insisted Lady Phillina. “Lowell was never able to make the journey. The Keanes need to be represented again.” No matter how much the idea disturbed her, Astra dare not dissuade Phillina of the notion. Meeting James marked the first occasion the matron Keane had spoken of remaining with the living for any extended period of time since Lowell’s death. At least James’s arrival seemed to have perked her up.

  James returned wearing a pressed shirt with an abundance of lace and sleeves too short, exposing his thick wrists. An embroidered waistcoat topped the ill-fitting garment, sporadically buttoned wherever James’s bulk would allow. He shrugged on an unadorned dark blue coat that obviously belonged to his own rustic wardrobe.

  “I suppose these might stretch and be tolerable.” He examined the highly polished boots, his frown not completely hiding the fact that he probably recognized their quality. “But I want my own clothes returned.”

  He glanced at Astra, and she nodded at the demand he directed to her.

  “I shall see to it.” Though they had agreed that she would continue to run the household, the intimacy of the exchange suddenly struck her as more than just part of their practical bargain. He was already depending on her.

  “Perhaps I wasn’t fair in asking for you to fit into my son’s wardrobe.” Lady Phillina sighed. “But thank you for accommodating an old woman’s wishes. Again, forgive my delay in welcoming you properly.”

  “Thank you”— James paused—“Aunt Phillina. I heard you haven’t been well.”

  Lady Phillina reached out her hand. “Please, come here, James. Let me have a better look at you.”

  He took Lady Phillina’s hand and dropped to one knee in front of her chair, bringing them both eye-to-eye.

  Lady Phillina grazed her fingertips over James’s cheek. “I am so glad you have come to carry on our legacy. To think I feared the Keanes had died out, except for my beautiful Lark of course. I thought I had nothing left to live for in this life. But now you are here.”

  “I hope I’m not going to be a disappointment. I don’t know much about being a baron.” The sincerity of his words struck Astra with a softening toward him that she hadn’t expected. He was showing himself to be vulnerable, which would not help him fit in. She would have to make sure she broke him of the habit of speaking his mind so openly, even if she found it terribly endearing.

  “We are all here to help you, Lord Keane. And you have already surpassed our expectations, has he not, Astra?” Her mother directed a knowing gaze to Astra, lingering long enough to evoke dread, before homing in again on James. “You will show the world that the Keanes are not dead and buried. And certainly not cursed.”

  Astra strode to her mother’s side and squeezed her arm in a silent warning to say no more. Her mother had mentioned this nonsense before, but Astra had ignored it, considering the source.

  “Lady Phillina should be happy to
know that many of those awful gossips forfeited a good deal of their fortunes since James’s safe arrival in England.” Her mother shook off Astra’s grip with a smug smile. She leaned on the back of Lady Phillina’s chair and gazed down at James. “I, on the other hand, made out like a highway robber. For those who wish to recoup their losses, Whites is already fielding wagers that James won’t last the year.”

  “Cursed? I don’t understand,” Lady Phillina said, though her face grew pale.

  “How could you wager on our misfortune, Mother?” Astra turned away, unable to watch her examine James like a prize bull at the Cornwall Royal Faire. “You, no doubt, are the one who started such rumors and the gaming to make yourself a more interesting house guest.”

  “Well, I didn’t bet against you, did I, darling?” Her mother winked at Astra, but was still leaning over, flashing much too much cleavage in James’s direction. Her mother’s famous figure was something Astra hadn’t inherited. And if she had, she hoped she would have been a thousand times more discreet.

  James stood. “So they think an American isn’t up to the task of being an English aristocrat?”

  “Heavens, no. They thought you wouldn’t live to inherit the title. It seems the Lords Keane inherited a significantly shortened life along with their barony,” her mother whispered theatrically.

  “How can you be so crass about circumstances that can only be described as tragic? I lost my husband, Mother, in case you have forgotten. And Lady Phillina, has mourned two sons, not to mention the man she loved.” Astra felt James’s curious gaze on her, but could not meet it. Her fate had also been altered by the deaths, and she sometimes wondered if she herself were cursed.

  “Please, Astra,” intervened Lady Phillina. “Do not argue with your mother. All that sorrow is in the past. We have James now, and I think all talk of wagers will end after our ball.”

  “We’re having a ball?” James strode toward Astra, and she could no longer avoid him. He held her gaze with a subtle threat that made her tingle all over.

  “Lady Phillina, we no longer have a townhouse in London, and I am sure all the fashionable accommodations are already leased,” Astra said gently, wondering if the older woman even recalled that the Keanes had been in self-imposed seclusion since their string of misfortunes.

  “This all sounds very expensive.” James went to his desk and flipped open the leather-bound ledger he had confronted her with the night before.

  “We shall hold our ball at Eastlan, of course,” declared Lady Phillina, “during Parliament’s Easter break. We must not delay in introducing James properly.”

  “We won’t be able to make arrangements in such short a time,” Astra argued calmly, counting the weeks in her head. “Easter week is in little more than a month, and we are hardly out of mourning.”

  “And what better way to welcome our friends and peers back into our lives,” Lady Phillina said, sounding almost giddy with the idea. “Lynette will help us, won’t you, dear? We should be in debt for the boon of your guidance.”

  “Nothing would please me more. And as it is, I am between engagements at the moment.” Her mother’s eagerness to stay in the country for longer than a fortnight boded ill for them all. The smile the two women exchanged worried Astra even more.

  “Oh, I must attend to my correspondence then.” Lady Phillina pushed herself to a standing position, grabbing Astra’s mother for balance. “Excuse me, James, for cutting our first visit short but I wish to make your party spectacular. I have much to do. Astra, be a dear and help me to my room?”

  “We’ve not a single moment to spare.” Her mother wrapped her arm around Lady Phillina’s shoulders. “Astra, you must stay and discuss particulars for the ball with James.” Her mother winked at Astra, and she prayed James had not noticed. “I shall have no problem escorting Lady Phillina back to her room. The little dear weighs less than a church mouse.”

  “I intend to be plump and glowing with health by the time of our ball.” Lady Phillina waved goodbye over her shoulder.

  Her mother escaped with Lady Phillina before Astra could object. James closed the door behind them, then turned and stared expectantly at Astra. “Ready to earn your keep?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Excuse me?” Astra stared longingly at the door blocked by James’s bulk.

  “I’ll agree to the ball only because it seems like the most direct way to be accepted as the new baron, but you need to persuade Lady Phillina to keep the guest list to a minimum. I’d prefer to put any extra money I can scrape together into our sheep herd rather than feed a bunch of bloated aristocrats.”

  “Many peers choose to stay in London until the fall. Hopefully our attendance will consist mainly of the local gentry.” Or so Astra prayed, but some scandalmongers might make the long trip to Cornwall out of morbid curiosity. None of the Keanes had been seen in Town since Trent’s grizzly death. Thankfully, the tiger’s cage had been removed and a large bank of roses now grew in its place. Astra strode across the room. “You must know it’s not proper for me to be alone with you.”

  James shrugged out of his coat, then peeled off the embroidered waistcoat. “What’s this about a curse?” James sat down on the chair Lady Phillina had vacated and pulled off his boots. “I thought bankruptcy was the extent of my problems.”

  “Eastlan is not cursed.” Astra hovered against the far wall. “What are you doing?”

  “Removing these boots. They are cutting off my circulation and giving me a pounding headache. Of course, Eastlan isn’t cursed, just mismanaged, but I should know what’s being said about us.” He reached for his neck cloth.

  “I beg you not to go any further. There is not an Us. There is a You and a Me. I know we have an agreement, but I am a lady and I expect you to respect my delicate position.”

  “Delicate?” He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back in the chair. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me undressed before.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Astra’s heart leapt to her throat and she prayed she misunderstood. How could he think, let alone say such a thing?

  The direct stare with which she had found camaraderie in only moments ago, cut through her, unmasked her. Surely, he could not know what she had witnessed and now remain so casually unaffected. No, he must mean when they interrupted his confrontation with Mr. Rudd. Of course. She took a breath and relaxed once again, feeling a bit foolish she had jumped to the wrong conclusion at first.

  “I didn’t intend to barge in on you earlier. It won’t happen again,” Astra said as formally as possible.

  “Forget I said anything. I’m used to a ship full of men and not accustomed to prancing around in coat and neck cloth all blasted day. My good manners are rusty.” He slipped his fingers in the loosened cloth and tugged, but did not take further steps to remove it. “Would you please see if you can get my clothes back from Rudd? The thief cleaned out my trunk.” He returned to his desk, ignoring her as he studied papers spread across its mahogany surface.

  “I shall speak to Mr. Rudd, but I want your word that you will not hamper Lady Phillina’s plans for the ball. And please take care with whom you discuss finances. It will not help you if those around you think you are a pauper.”

  “Anything else?” James studied her with a tight jaw and a hard glint.

  “I thought you wished to be accepted as the Baron of St. Keynes? You do know there is a village attached to your title? Your barony is from feudal times, my lord. And though your ancestors changed the spelling of their surname over the years, the village still looks to you as their lord. Don’t disappoint them.” She had to gain some sense of decorum with him for her own sanity. And he needed to take her advice and not be so defensive.

  “I do wish to be accepted and I will be. Did you not hear my Auntie Phillina? I am the spitting image of a Keane.”

  Astra stiffened. “There is more to your position than filling out the clothes, my lord.”

  “Ah yes, a curse, I believe.
Why do you look so distressed? I’m quite a lucky bastard. When you think about it, I survived the war only to end up an English baron.”

  “And for that to happen four men died in short order, including your father. I hope you do not intend to go back on our truce because you think Lady Phillina will take your side. I can assure you she will not.” Astra didn’t understand his manner in the least.

  “I can see your mother-in-law is quite taken with you. You might have Lady Phillina fooled but not me.” He winked at her and Astra went cold. What had he discovered? Astra had been hiding so many secrets for so long, she could only imagine what this intruder knew, or at least thought he knew.

  “I have never tried to fool Lady Phillina in any matter whatsoever. We share a genuine regard.” Astra’s words could not be more truthful. It was what Lady Phillina overlooked in favor of genuine regard that tormented Astra.

  “Are your cheeks flushed, Astra?” James laughed. “I think I’ve discovered a ripple in your placid exterior.”

  “I shall not be threatened by your innuendos. Obviously, you are holding some secret knowledge, real or imagined, against my character. I demand that you reveal yourself this instant.” Astra’s heart pounded. She must know what he had discovered and more importantly what he intended to do with the information.

  “Interesting choice of words, but I think you’re right. We shouldn’t keep secrets from each other, seeing as we are both depending on the other.” James strode to the door of his bedroom. “Shall we?”

  He was trying to unnerve her, but she would not cower. Not now, perhaps not ever again. She had been given the chance to participate in her own life instead of being locked behind closed doors and she would not scamper away like a frightened virgin.

  She militantly stomped into the bedroom.