Jasper stumbled after her, but just as he managed to manoeuvre to the door through the dark, the voices from the room next door escalated and he could hear what they were saying. His body stilled as he listened.
“You can’t do that!” The loud voice was muffled from the door but Jasper could still hear it plain as day.
“I have to. Can you think of any other way?” The other voice rose in anger and Jasper realised he’d heard the voice before, but he still couldn’t quite place it.
“There is always another way. You can’t go through with what you are planning. You know it’s not right. I raised you better than that. You know he would never give up if you took her away, you know that. You’ll get in too deep, I can see it and you will be forced into doing something unforgivable. Mark my words, no good can come of this.”
“What he did is unforgivable! There’s no other way, old man. This will work, I know it. She doesn’t matter. No one will miss her.”
“You do this and the damage will be irreparable. I will never acknowledge you again. You will be cut off from this family, do you hear me?”
The two men were yelling at each other now. The names of the men were on the tip of Jasper’s tongue; their faces swam just out of reach in his mind. Who were they?
“Ha! I’m already cut off. You did that last year, you can’t do it twice. This is your fault too; it would never have happened if you’d forced them together sooner, like you should have. They should have been married in her first season. I wouldn’t be in this mess if I had that money. And now look. We will never get any decent kind of offer; she is practically on the shelf!”
The names came to him at last. It was the Lords Alderton and Wester. But what on earth were they talking about? Obviously Lady Anne and him, but was that all? Who wouldn’t be missed? Lady Anne certainly would be. She was known in too many circles and had social commitments almost every day. Who then? Who wouldn’t be missed?
The breath left Jasper’s lungs and his heart seized in his chest. Grace’s face floated into his mind and his stomach dropped into his knees, making it difficult to remain upright. Oh God, Grace. Jasper didn’t bother trying to slip out the door quietly but careened from the room, knocking over several items on his way. Where had she gone?
Chapter Sixteen
Grace leaned against her door and shut it with a soft click. She let out the breath she’d been holding as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and washed down her cheeks. She was sick of crying.
She’d spent the better part of the last hour trying to find her way back to her room. Following Jasper through the secret passageways had been fun, especially since they were trying to escape Lord Wester. It was something of an adventure. However, trying to find her way back through the maze of passageways and stairway in the dark by herself was not enjoyable at all. When she finally made it back through the portrait, Victoria stopped her from sneaking up to her room undetected.
She’d told Victoria she and Jasper were looking around the ‘passageways’ and had got separated. Victoria seemed happy, happier than usual this evening. She said the musical had gone really well. And all the guests went home happy.
“Really, after the song I sang? I thought I’d just created even more scandal for your family.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Grace. There is scandal and then there is scandal. That song was the best thing that could’ve happened to my musical. Everyone will be talking about it for days if not weeks. It guarantees invitations to all the important gatherings. It was wonderful.” Victoria clasped her hands together in glee, “You, my dear, will be the belle of every ball, or what have you.”
“Oh Victoria, I really messed it up this time,” she confided in her friend.
“No, no, you were wonderful, were you not listening?”
“I don’t mean the song, Victoria, I mean Jasper. I asked him about Anne. I thought there was something odd going on. Why didn’t you tell me?” But she didn’t let Victoria answer. “I’m afraid I made him feel more awful than he already did. I have single-handedly managed to visit scandal on not one, not two but four families. He blames himself and in my attempt to try to get him to see it’s my fault entirely, I now think he blames himself even more.”
“Grace.” Victoria grabbed her hand and gently pulled her into the drawing room and closed the door behind them. “Lady Anne is a wonderful woman. But she would’ve made Jasper miserable. He knows it. I even think Lady Anne knows it. Why do you think he followed you into the alcove when he never let anyone lead him anywhere? You, Grace, were not the only one in that alcove, so you are not the only one to blame for any scandal that is getting gossiped about. He was fully aware of the consequences when he kissed you. He only feels bad now because of Lady Anne and her family. He wanted to be free of them; we all know that he didn’t want to marry her. Going with you was the perfect way to get out of making the biggest mistake of his life. He only now feels guilty because he thinks he should.”
“But if he didn’t want to marry her, why does he want to marry me? It’s not as though I’m a great catch. I have no money and if it wasn’t for you and your generosity I wouldn’t even have a place to stay.”
“Grace, he loves you, don’t you see that? He has loved you since he found you all alone in that ballroom.” Victoria sighed. “I just don’t know if he knows it yet. He won’t let you go, ever. He has been looking for something, someone, marvellous all his life and now he has found you.”
Her head was spinning from all the things that had happened today and she couldn’t decide which one upset her the most. First there was meeting that creepy man, Lord Wester. How Anne could be his sister was beyond her. Then there was that stupid song. What on earth possessed her to sing that? Then those passageways and the lovemaking and subsequent fight with Jasper. She sure knew how to destroy a perfectly good day, didn’t she? It all started with Lord Wester; if she’d known he’d be so vile, she wouldn’t have had Victoria invite him.
However the fight with Jasper wasn’t his doing…that was all hers. She couldn’t fathom being engaged to anyone as being considered dishonourable and she definitely couldn’t understand how it could bring dishonour to four different families. If the parents would just let their kids choose their own spouses none of this would have happened. She didn’t want to think about how none of this would have happened if she could’ve just kept her hands to herself.
She looked around the bedroom, taking in the four-poster bed, the window seats, the ornate dressing table and wardrobe. She had to get out of here! This place was doing her head in. She didn’t belong here. If she could only figure out how she’d got to this time to begin with then she should be able to figure out how to get back home. Home; where everything is how it should be. Where you don’t have to get engaged if you kiss a man, where you don’t bring dishonour upon four families with said kiss. Where your heart stays firmly in your own chest and strange men don’t curl your toes with just one look. Home, where she was all alone, where she had shut out everyone important, where her house greeted her, empty and quiet after every hard day of work. Home.
If she could find a way back she could get out of this place that made her feel too much. There must be something about the night of the ball that had something to do with her disappearance.
She was shaking out the contents of her reticule looking for a clue when the door burst open. Jasper stood in the doorway, his presence filling the room. The delicate bag slipped from her fingers as she took in his appearance. His hair was frazzled, his clothes askew and his breath puffed from his heaving chest.
She took a step towards him. “Are you all right?” she asked. He looked horrible. What the hell had happened to him?
He stepped into the room and knocked the door closed with his foot. “I am now,” he said as he gathered her into his arms and pressed her close to his body. She could feel him sniffing her hair and breathing in her scent as if trying to memorise it.
“Jasper? Are you a
ll right? What is going on?” She tried to pull back to look at him, but he wouldn’t loosen his grip for her to do so. His hands moulded her to his body. He ran his hands up and down her back, each time getting closer and closer to her bum.
“I thought they had taken you. I couldn’t find you anywhere. Thank goodness I ran into Victoria, she told me you were here.”
“Who is taking me? What are you talking about, Jasper?” Her words came out muffled. He held her so closely she couldn’t raise her head off his chest.
Jasper finally loosened his grip on her and let her take a step back but still kept his hands on her hips. “Those voices we heard? They belonged to Lord Alderton and Lord Wester. I couldn’t figure out what they were talking about at first, but I think Robin wants to get rid of you.”
“What?”
“He said that you wouldn’t be missed.”
“What are you talking about?” She couldn’t make sense of what he was saying.
“Listen.” He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. “Wester has spent all the money I would have given his family for marrying Lady Anne. He needs the money. His father wants nothing to do with any of his plans but he seems bound and determined to get his hands on my money. I’m not sure what he’s planning but when he said ‘she will not be missed’, the only person that I could think of is you. No one knows you, although that may be different after today, but Lady Anne would be missed so he couldn’t mean her.”
“Jasper, are you listening to yourself? Let me get this right, you heard half a conversation that may or may not be about Robin ‘getting rid’ of someone who may or may not be me. Is that right?”
“Yes.” He looked relieved she finally understood what he was saying.
“That doesn’t make any sense. You are overreacting; no one is going to ‘get rid’ of me.”
“You are wrong, Grace. You weren’t there, remember, you ran out. I heard him talking. He is desperate; he will stop at nothing to get his hands on some money. His debts must be huge. Too huge for him to even ask his father to pay, which is saying a lot. That boy does not care one iota about how his family is affected by his actions.” He shook her again and her teeth cracked together. “I will not let him take you, do you understand?”
“But…” Grace lifted her head to argue again, but before she could form a question his lips claimed hers in a demanding kiss, a kiss that she felt all the way to her toes. His hands cupped her bottom and pulled her closer still. She could feel his erection through the layers of clothing and she forgot what she was going to ask him. Heat pooled down deep inside her as their tongues mated. His hand caressed her breast and her nipple leapt to attention, begging to be touched. He did not disappoint.
He broke the kiss but before she could utter a protest he trailed hot wet kisses down her neck to her breasts pushing out the top of her dress. His tongue flicked across the exposed peaks. Her body responded, thrusting her breasts towards him; her hips jerked and a moan escaped her open lips. His other hand reached her mound. The heat of his palm warmed her to an inferno. Her hips jerked again and liquid heat rushed to her core. Her knees gave out completely when his mouth found her nipple and sucked her through the fabric of her dress.
“Jasper,” she breathed, begging him for more as she clung to his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you go,” he whispered as his arms tightened around her body, supporting her weight as he bent her backwards for better access to her breasts.
His words sent ice through her veins and she pushed away from him and stumbled out of his arms. She wasn’t thinking clearly, how could she with blood rushing in her ears? “I don’t belong to you.” She needed to distance herself from him. Her body was still calling out for his touch but she couldn’t afford the temptation. She couldn’t afford to fall in love with him. She was leaving. The heat from his body disappeared as she moved away, leaving her chilled to the bone. She stood shivering alone in the centre of the room.
“What are you talking about, Grace? All I said was I wasn’t going to let you fall. I would hate to see you hit your pretty little head and maybe knock some sense into it.” He sucked air in through his teeth trying to refrain from letting lose his frustration. He couldn’t help but advance towards her, his hands clenching at his sides as if they already held her neck. “One minute you are begging for more and the next you are pushing me away. How am I supposed to react, Grace? You are confusing to no end.” He reached the spot where she was standing and he stood before her unsure what to do next. “You know I want you. Feel how much I want you, Grace.” Jasper grabbed her hand and placed it onto his erection; his penis jumped at the touch of her hand. “I know you want me too.” He reached out and flicked her nipple. A moan escaped from her lips. “See? We are right for each other. You must know that. Don’t you know that, Grace?”
“No.” She stepped back out of reach. “No, Jasper, I can’t do this.” She played her trump card. “We aren’t yet married.”
A dreadful profanity forced its way past his lips; he didn’t care if he offended her. But he couldn’t ruin her more than she already was. If she turned up pregnant before they were married and if something happened to him…She was right, damn it, they couldn’t go through with it. He turned and walked out her door before another word was spoken.
Grace watched the door shut behind him. It wasn’t until he’d left the room that she felt she could breathe again. She filled her lungs with a shaky breath. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t have feelings like this. She wouldn’t allow it. She felt safe when he was around. She felt loved.
She told herself it was only because they we are stuck together and were planning this infernal wedding that might never happen. She might be home long before she had to say I do. She didn’t want to think about how time was running out and it was only a matter of weeks before the wedding. And she definitely didn’t want to think about leaving the man she was starting to love. She didn’t want to stay but she certainly didn’t want to go either. Life was too confusing for her now. She needed sleep.
She undressed and climbed into bed, pulling the covers all the way up to her chin. She slept fitfully, dreaming of car crashes on icy roads and the death of ones she loved.
Jasper spent the night in Neal’s study with a bottle of brandy after stationing one of the footmen at Grace’s door for the night. No one was allowed in, including himself. No matter how much he drank, Jasper couldn’t seem to get drunk. He couldn’t get the memory of Grace off his hands or her taste off his lips. He was going to have to drink the whole damn bottle. He got up and swayed over to the decanter to refill his glass.
“I thought I heard some fumbling around down here.” Neal entered the room and poured himself a drink from the half-filled decanter before lounging in his favourite chair. “Now, tell me dear brother, why are you down here drinking my good brandy and why is there a footman sitting outside my wife’s guest’s door? Is there something going on in my house I need to know about?”
Jasper studied his brother-in-law for a long time before answering. “Are you a spy?”
“That was not exactly the information I was looking for, Jasper, but no I am not…not any more anyway.”
“Huh, I always wondered.” He took another long drink from his glass. “Grace and I were exploring your secret passages this afternoon. We ended up…somewhere. It was dark and we couldn’t see much…”
“I can see where this is going and I don’t think I want to know the details. Actually, I’m surprised you would offer them to me.”
“What I was going to say was, we couldn’t see much and as we were fumbling out of a dark room we heard voices on the other side of the door. At first we couldn’t hear what they were saying but after Grace left the voices started yelling and I was able to make out most of the conversation. I of course, did not hear all that was said so there may be more than what I heard. They were talking of a kidnapping. One was saying not to go through with it but the other was saying
it was the only solution to the problem and it was the only way to restore their good name. It was Lord Alderton and his son, Lord Wester. Wester wants to kidnap Grace.”
“What?” Neal’s hand jerked in surprise, knocking his glass to the floor. Amber liquid flowed over his new Persian rug which had just arrived last week; shards of crystal lodged themselves into his stockinged feet. “Why in heaven’s name would he want to kidnap Grace?”
Jasper observed the tiny streaks of blood escaping from Neal’s socks mixing with the brandy on the floor. “He wants me to marry his sister so he can get his hands on my money. Rumour around town is he’s spent up large in anticipation of our wedding and now with Lady Anne and me not getting married, he is in the mire, to say the least.”
“But kidnap Miss Lancaster? How does he think that is going to help? He must know you would never give up trying to find her and as long as she was alive you would never marry Lady Anne.” Neal bent over to start pulling the crystal from his socks.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. I think he means to kill her, Neal.”
“Get me something to put this in would you?” Neal held up a piece of glass and motioned to the side board where the decanter and glasses sat.
Jasper rose and passed an empty glass to his brother-in-law. “I don’t imagine he anticipated I would overhear his plans either. I expect he would make it look as though Grace had run away. Who knows, if I didn’t hear him, he may have pulled it off. God help me if it is the other alternative.”
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