A Ring of Midnight Orchids: Flowers of the Aristocracy (Untamed Regency Book 3)

by Jackie Williams

  “Are you well, Lord Caruthers?”

  Lucas almost dropped his glass of ale in surprise as the woman of his imagination materialized before his very eyes. Liquid slopped over the top of the glass and he rose quickly, avoiding drips on his breeches.

  “Angel! What are you doing down here? James told me he had ordered your meal to be taken to your room.” He beckoned to another serving girl to come and wipe the table.

  Angelique glanced over her shoulder a little crease forming between her brows.

  “Angel?” She repeated before eyes suddenly widened as she realized that he meant her.

  Lucas bowed over her hand, covering the flush he knew to be on his cheeks.

  “I mean Miss Lancer, of course. I assumed you were taking your meal in your room. Was it not to your satisfaction.” He covered his indiscretion and changed the subject quickly.

  She moved around the table and sank into the chair opposite his own.

  “I do not know. My dinner hadn’t yet been served, but after hearing the clock chime eight, my curiosity overcame my nerves. I couldn’t possibly remain in my room when there were so many interesting sounds coming from down here.” She glanced about the taproom, her huge blue eyes taking in the crowds and the general ambience.

  Lucas followed her gaze and glowered at several men who appeared to be fascinated by his companion. They went back to their conversations, but Lucas continued to stare about. Common men drinking in small groups, their raucous laughter or robust language filling the air.

  “I am not at all sure that this is a suitable place for you to eat. James will find out what has happened to your dinner and I will escort you back to your room.”

  Angelique’s perfectly formed lips gave a small pout before setting into a stubborn line. Her chin tilted.

  “No. You are not my brother. You have no power over me. I will not be dismissed like a child. I do not want to eat in solitude. I prefer to take my meal here. With you.” Her eyes challenged him.

  Good lord! She was magnificent! He stared at her for a few seconds then sat quickly when he realized that she was not about to return upstairs.

  “As you wish, though I am not sure that I approve. Pierce will be shocked when I tell him.” He almost groaned at himself. He sounded like a miserable father scolding his wayward offspring.

  The serving girl came back to the table and frowned curiously at Angelique.

  “You should have mentioned that your wife was coming down. I would have set her a place. Shall I bring your wife’s dinner to the table with yours, my Lord, instead of sending it to her room?” She aimed her question at Lucas who nodded quickly without correcting her assumption.

  “Please, and also a bottle of your best red wine too.” He couldn’t wait to be rid of the inquisitive woman.

  Angelique stared at the woman’s swaying bottom as she left to bring their meal.

  “Why did you not explain that we are not married?” Her gaze came back to Lucas.

  He stared at her, astounded by her question.

  “And have your reputation ruined? I think not. Surely you know that an unmarried woman does not sit and eat alone with a man who is not her husband.”

  She gave a small shrug.

  “We are hardly alone. There must be at least twenty other people around us,” she whispered as she leaned forwards across the table.

  Lucas refused to let his eyes travel below her chin. If he did, he might as well give up all thoughts of a comfortable dinner time.

  “My point exactly. If they thought we were unmarried there might be suspicions cast over your position.”

  She blinked, her long lashes fluttering innocently.

  “But they will now expect you to come to my room later.” Shock hushed her tones further as she cast her eyes about the room again.

  Lucas let the delightful thought trail lazily through his mind. His bargain with himself slipped as his gaze dropped to her décolletage and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the memory of the near transparent underwear that she might be wearing. A small cough brought him to his senses and he leaned back as the serving woman lay cutlery and glasses before them. The innkeeper poured the wine.

  “Your dinner will be served in just a moment. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Lucas shook his head and picked up his glass as the innkeeper disappeared behind his bar. He sipped the wine while he gathered his thoughts.

  “I’ll let you leave before me. No one has to know that we have separate rooms upstairs.” He watched the pulse beating fast at the base of her slender throat and ignored the almost overwhelming desire to press his lips against it.

  She gave a short nod and sipped at her own wine, her dainty nose wrinkling as she swallowed.

  “Oh! It is so strange a flavour,” she exclaimed. “I never expected wine to taste so odd.”

  “You have never tasted wine before?” He couldn’t keep the surprise from his tones.

  “Never.” She sipped again and smiled this time. “I think I like it.” She took a longer gulp.

  Lucas took a mouthful from his own glass and let the rich flavour run over his tongue.

  “It’s better than the average wine served in a tavern, but not as good a vintage as some I stock at home.”

  She tilted her head.

  “And where is your home, Lord Caruthers. I don’t believe we spoke about it on the journey. Pierce has often mentioned going to your apartments, but he never said exactly where they were.”

  “I have a townhouse off Hanover Square. It is convenient for most of my friends and my club.” He stopped as the innkeeper’s wife appeared with their meal. The woman lay the near overflowing plates of food in front of them and sucked the over-spilt gravy from her thumb before she spoke.

  “Beef and ale pie, roasted potatoes, carrots, and gravy.” She stated the obvious. “I’ll bring the apple crumble when you have finished this, your Lordship.”

  Angelique hid her smile behind her hand as she stared down at the enormous plateful of food. The piecrust looked to be almost half an inch thick and the gravy brimmed at the edges of the plates.

  “Good heavens! Does she really expect me to eat all of this and then have pudding too?”

  Lucas tucked his serviette into his cravat and picked up his fork.

  “It’s a generous serving to be sure. Best see what we can make of it.” He dug into the pie.

  Angelique lifted the edge of the pastry and peered beneath. Her eyes widened.

  “Mmm...It smells delicious, but there is more meat in this slice of pie than I am used to eating in a month.” She cut a morsel and put it into her mouth, closing her eyes and moaning gently as she tasted the rich flavours.

  Lucas stopped chewing and stared at the vision in front of him. He quickly swallowed his own mouthful.

  “Don’t tell me that you have never had steak and ale pie before either.”

  She opened her eyes and shook her head as she scooped up another mouthful. Several more moments passed by before she spoke again.

  “Harold has a preference for pork. Well, I think that he has a preference for it. He does seem to have it rather a lot. Roast pork, braised pork, pork with apples, pork with onions, even pork pie! It was the same when we at Landsdowne. Father always ate pork too. Mother and I were allowed a chop on Sunday’s, but I found it rather tough and bland. I hoped Harold would leave our cook behind, but she came along to London with us. Perhaps it is the only thing she knows how to prepare.” She let out a small laugh and picked up her glass to finish off the wine.

  Lucas put his fork down again and poured them both another.

  “You only had a pork chop on Sundays? What did you have the rest of the time? Chicken, venison?” He couldn’t quite gather what she was saying.

  Angelique attacked the pie once again before responding.

  “Boiled potatoes, vegetable broth, bread and cheese, occasionally an egg dish. Father didn’t believe in wasting money on feeding mother and I meat
when were perfectly well nourished on vegetables from the kitchen garden.”

  Lucas’ gaze slid over her slender body and he wondered if his hands wouldn’t span her tiny waist. She wasn’t skin and bone, but there was certainly no extra flesh from what he could see. He suddenly felt sick at the reasons why her figure was so slim.

  “And you have only increased your meat intake since coming to London with your brother?” Not that simply meat constituted a good diet, or that only vegetables meant a bad one, but to not be given a choice in the matter? He didn’t know whether he wanted her to answer him truthfully, but to his horror, she nodded.

  “Harold has his faults, but he is far more generous than father. I can have pork whenever I like. The trouble is that I don’t really like it. This is so tender and flavourful, it is heavenly in comparison.” She dipped a roast potato in the rich gravy and popped it in her mouth before taking another long gulp from the wineglass.

  Lucas looked back down at his own meal. Anger such as he had never felt before coursed through every fibre of his being. How could she remain so happy, so positive in the face of such deprivation? His normally gargantuan appetite left him. He pushed his plate away.

  Angelique’s fork stopped several inches from her mouth.

  “Is it not to your liking, Lord Caruthers. Perhaps you could ask for something else.”

  “The meal is fine but for some reason I m no longer famished.” He hadn’t meant to sound so terse. He tried to smile, but thought it was probably more of a grimace.

  She tilted her head and regarded the portion on her fork.

  “Perhaps it is the pastry. It is very thick and exceedingly filling. I can only manage one more mouthful myself.” She took her last bite before laying down her fork and dabbing her lips with her serviette.

  Lucas drank again before beckoning over the serving girl and asking that she removed their plates.

  “But you’ve barely touched it.” She exclaimed as she stared at the plates of food. “Cook’ll go mad if you are complaining about ‘is pie. This is a good establishment. He only buys the best ingredients.”

  Lucas shook his head.

  “We are not complaining. The meal was excellent but we find ourselves over tired from our journey and cannot eat any more.”

  The woman licked her lips hungrily.

  “Seems a shame to waste it. My Alf loves a bit of steak and ale pie, but it’s too expensive for the likes of us to have often.”

  Lucas waved his hand.

  “The meal has been paid for. Feel free to take it home. As you said, we have barely touched it.”

  The woman grinned delightedly and hurried away with her treat.

  Angelique twirled her newly empty glass in her fingers and yawned.

  “You are right. Travelling has made me tired.” She giggled suddenly. “It is a wonder since I barely moved all day.”

  Lucas stared at her as she rose to unsteady feet. Had she finished her second glass of wine while he spoke to the serving woman? On a virtually empty stomach and having never sampled wine in her life before?

  It seemed that she had. She took one step and wobbled, her whole body bending to the side. He leapt from his chair and ran around the table, catching her as she fell, and clasping her to his chest.

  A laugh went up from someone close by. ‘The toff’s drunk. The wine ‘as gone straight to her ‘ead.’ The man shouted around the bar.

  Lucas quelled the laughter with a glare before looking back down at the woman plastered to his front. Sparkling eyes looked back up at him and Lucas felt his insides lurch alarmingly. She was totally drunk, and utterly beautiful.

  She blinked slowly as she lifted her hand to his face and ran a gentle fingertip along the length of his nose. She stopped at the lump where her brother had broken it.

  “It su, suits you. You would have been too perfect before.” Her words were slightly slurred.

  Lucas let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding.

  “I don’t think I have ever been described as perfect. I think this must be the wine speaking, not you.” He attempted to steady her as he turned them towards the stairs, but she suddenly giggled again as her knees sagged.

  “Oh! The ground is moving!” She exclaimed the second before he scooped her into his arms and, amid laughter and knowing glances from the other customers, he strode from the room.

  Chapter Four

  An Uncomfortable Awakening

  A drum beat loudly inside her head. How it came to be inside her, she had no idea, but it was there being struck with painful regularity and Angelique thought that if it carried on much longer, her skull might crack.

  An indignant huff at her side had her opening one eye, and then closing it quickly as sunlight blinded her.

  “Oh, close the drapes, Mary. I need to sleep off this headache.” She flung her hand up over her eyes when the brightness caused her to see blue dots on the inside of her eyelids.

  Mary ignored her plea.

  “Entirely your own fault. Whatever made you think that you could drink half a bottle of red wine without suffering any after effects!”

  Angelique braved the light again and squinted about the room. Mary had laid a new travelling dress over the back of the chair, and there were two trunks standing by the door.

  “Harold drinks a bottle of wine every dinner time, but I have never heard him complain of anything like this first thing in the morning.” She pressed her fingertips to her temples, massaging gently in the hope of relieving some of the pressure.

  Mary tutted as she bustled briskly about the room.

  “Morning? It has gone twelve, I’ll have you know. Lord Caruthers has been waiting for hours already and if you don’t rise soon we’ll need to stop again before reaching Perrydale.” She handed Angelique a glass. “Take this. You’ll probably need it after drinking all that Claret.”

  Angelique sniffed the liquid before sipping the tart lemonade gratefully.

  “I swear I will never touch the evil stuff again. I don’t even recall walking back to my room.”

  Mary rolled her eyes.

  “That’s probably because you didn’t. You were drunk and passed out. Lord Caruthers carried you up after your legs gave way in the bar.”

  Angelique felt the heat rise in her cheeks as sudden flashes of memory came back to her. His beautiful blue eyes staring down at her, mesmerizing her. And something she had said about his crooked nose? She put the glass down and buried her aching head in her hands.

  “Oh no! What must he think of me?”

  Mary pressed her lips together in disapproval before speaking again.

  “Going by the smile on his face last night, and his whistling all along the corridor this morning, I should say that he thought quite highly of you. Shameful man! Taking advantage of a lady when she is incommoded. What will your fiancé think when he finds out?”

  Angelique lifted her head.

  “He took advantage of me? I don’t recall anything untoward happening. And Pierce will not find out a thing because I am swearing you to secrecy.”

  Mary placed her hands on her hips.

  “Well, of course nothing untoward happened. Lord Caruthers is clearly a gentleman, but having the temerity to hold another man’s fiancée that intimately isn’t my idea of propriety. And I will not be swearing to anything. Lying is no way to begin a marriage. Besides, I expect Lord Caruthers will tell him anyway what with having to deal with such disgraceful behaviour.” Her voice rose as she spoke.

  Angelique closed her eyes again and groaned.

  “Not so loudly, Mary, please. I feel as though I have a whole flock of woodpeckers sitting inside my head trying to find their way out.”

  Mary let out a sigh of defeat and poured another glass of the tonic.

  “Drink some more,” she encouraged. “Then I will help you bathe. We must be up and away. Your brother is bound to be on your trail right now and any confrontation will have more chance of a good outcome if he discove
rs you settled in some beautiful manor house rather than dishevelled in a roadside inn.”

  Angelique gasped at her maid’s words.

  “Harold! I had forgotten all about him. My goodness, Lord Caruthers will be nursing more than a crooked nose and sore knuckles if my brother discovers that he carried me to my room.” She swung her legs out of the bed and sat up, stopping quickly as she realized that she still wore her underwear from the night before.

  Mary made another disapproving sound.

  “If that was the worst thing that happened, I wouldn’t be worrying, but you were unable to stand by yourself. I had to take your dress off you while Lord Caruthers held you upright. I couldn’t call a maid to help me. The gossip and scandal would have been all over the neighbourhood within hours, and I couldn’t let him see any more of you either. You were no help with the rest of your things, seeing that you were already fast asleep by the time he carried you to your bed, so I had to leave you in them.”

  Angelique didn’t know that her face could become any warmer.

  “Are you telling me that Lord Caruthers saw me in my under garments? He carried me to my bed?” She pressed her hands to her cheeks in dismay.

  Mary nodded.

  “He was quite the gentleman though. Blamed himself entirely for your condition. He has been back twice this morning to check up on you too. Quite concerned, he was, though that may only be because he will have to explain to his friend if you are ill when we arrive at Perrydale.”

  Angelique took a deep breath and stood slowly, testing her ability to stand alone. Her knees didn’t wobble and her head didn’t pound quite so hard. She smiled at her maid.

  “I think your tonic is working. And that’s a good thing if we are to leave soon. I cannot believe you allowed me to lie abed until this ridiculous hour.”

  Mary poured water into a bowl.

  “I didn’t. Don’t think I hold with drinking or its after effects. No, it was Lord Caruthers who insisted that I let you sleep in. I think he guessed that you might not feel your best.”

  Angelique pulled at her under garments and undressed quickly.

  “Oh, he did, did he? Well, I think it’s about time I proved that I am not quite so weak as he assumes.” She hurried to the bowl of water and splashed her face. She took but a few minutes to complete her ablutions before stepping into one of the new dresses that had been hanging in the wardrobe the day before. Mary helped her with the tiny buttons running down the back of the dress.