Amber (Jewel Trilogy, Book 3)

by Royal, Lauren

  Amy looked curious, but Kendra wasn't about to admit she thought of Trick as the amber highwayman. How had Colin known? Had she said something inadvertently? She was usually careful about such things.

  "I cannot believe the lengths your husband will go to in planning his practical jokes." She reluctantly held out her arm. "It is beautiful."

  After Amy fastened the clasp, Kendra turned her wrist, watching the diamonds catch the light. Surely the bracelet wasn't really Trick's, which meant she could make her brothers let her keep it after this farce of a wedding was called off. For putting her through this, they owed her that much.

  It would remind her of the amber man, of the passion she'd felt ever so briefly in his arms. It would remind her not to settle for less—not to let her brothers pressure her into a loveless marriage, no matter how hard they tried.

  She touched the amber pensively—warm, it somehow seemed—and drifted over to her dressing table. Watching herself in the mirror, she settled a gossamer lace veil over her hair and drew it down, tucking the ends into the sides of her neckline to secure it.

  Her brothers wanted her to play the part of a blushing bride, and a blushing bride they'd get. She leaned closer. Pale, too. Which was ridiculous—this was but a game.

  "No, poppet," Amy said, reattaching one of the tabs on Caithren's stomacher where Jewel's pudgy fingers had managed to unfasten it.

  Kendra turned to the door. "Shall we get this little drama over with?"

  CHAPTER NINE

  "Nervous, man?"

  "Hell, no." Trick shot Ford a smile—a confident one, he hoped. The shakiness in his legs must be a symptom of last night's overindulgence. He clenched his fists to keep his hands from giving him away, then shoved them into the pockets of his midnight blue velvet surcoat.

  More fitted than the current style, he'd last worn the suit a few years ago in Paris, for one of those blasted social occasions his father insisted he attend to further the "business." A time in his life that Trick would rather not remember, but he had only one other formal suit at his home in the countryside, and he'd be damned if he'd wed in his highwayman clothes.

  His gaze swept over the groomed lawn of Cainewood Castle's quadrangle, then darted away when he spotted the parson, hands clasped behind his back. He seemed a kind enough sort, but the sight of him made Trick's stomach lurch. He looked back to Ford...but, nay, he'd as soon not look at Ford, either. Kendra's twin and most certainly the man who knew her best.

  Instead he focused on the ancient keep, the worn stone a comforting reminder of the strength of Kendra's line. Four hundred years the Chases had lived here, save during the Commonwealth. Unlike himself, Kendra knew who she was and what she had come from.

  Aye, their children would surely benefit from that sort of security. Lord knew he had nothing of the kind to offer. He'd always thought of himself as a mongrel.

  A mangy one.

  Distracted by the bang of a thick oak door, he turned to see Kendra descending Cainewood's front steps.

  A vision in a sky-blue gown, she glided his way. The shimmering silk overskirt opened down the front to reveal an underskirt of costly silver tissue—he knew the expense, having bolts of the very fabric stacked in his London warehouse. The sleeves were double-puffed with a spill of silver lace at the wrists, which had made its way from Italy, if he didn't miss his guess.

  Swathed within the lace, her hands looked small. In fact, everything about her looked small. He hadn't noticed that before.

  He hadn't had time to notice much of anything, he told himself, watching the blush creep up from her low, scooped neckline. He met her eyes. A pretty shade of light green, they looked nervous and wary, but as they locked with his, a hint of interest—and maybe desire?—seemed to kindle in their depths.

  Answering warmth stole up his neck, and he knew he was turning a dusky red. Deliberately looking away, Kendra walked toward the family's small private chapel, Jason and Colin at her sides. Their wives trailed behind, a tiny, pink-dressed girl holding their hands, tripping along and giggling between them.

  In no time at all, Trick found himself mounting the chapel's stone steps. Inside, sunshine streamed through brilliant-colored windows to cast the sanctuary in rainbow hues. Squaring his shoulders, he went to face the parson. Jason and Colin kissed their sister before Ford walked her to join Trick at the altar, delivering her into his care with a kiss and a hug and something whispered into her ear that Trick wished he could hear.

  Kendra shook her head and rolled her eyes as she pulled away.

  Every inch of Trick was aware of her proximity. Just standing beside her, his body heated. Her fiery hair was covered by a fine lace veil that framed her face, the ends tucked into her neckline. Trick reached for her hand, feeling it cold and clammy in his.

  "Wait," he said, and pulled her to the side of the sanctuary, ignoring the questioning looks on her siblings' faces.

  "You don't have to go through with this," he told her in a whisper.

  She looked even more at a loss than before. "I...I don't think—"

  "I'll be asked to take my vows first. When the time comes, if you wish to call this off, just shake your head no and I won't say 'I will.'"

  Lifting her hand, he ran his fingers over the bracelet's amber stones, feeling slightly disoriented at the sight of the family heirloom on her wrist. It made this all seem so real, yet unreal at the same time.

  He looked up. "I don't expect they can actually force us to marry," he added, thinking of Colin's sword and hoping he was right.

  She peeked around at her brothers, then lifted her chin. "If you're willing, then I am, too."

  He had his reasons to be willing...he just wondered what hers were. What was wrong with her, then, that she thought she couldn't do better than a robber for a husband? He wasn't really one, of course, but he was aware she didn't know that—doubly aware, since her brothers had made a point of keeping his identity from her, to the extent of asking this afternoon if it would be acceptable for his title to be left out of the proceedings.

  She had a problem with dukes, they'd said, and since he didn't care for the title either, he hardly thought it mattered. Married was married.

  "Very well, then." He nodded, and they returned to the altar.

  The clergyman began the ceremony, and Kendra kept looking around, as though she expected something unforeseen to happen. Not that Trick could blame her. He found this more than a little disconcerting himself.

  The preliminaries went entirely too quickly. Nobody showed just cause why they could not be lawfully joined together, and before Trick knew it, the parson was reciting the vows.

  "Patrick Iain Caldwell, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"

  Trick slanted Kendra a glance, but she didn't shake her head. "I will," he said, and his heart flip-flopped with the enormity of the step he was taking, but also with a sudden realization.

  His arms itched to hold her; his mouth ached to take hers. And thanks to her scheming brothers, she had no idea he was a duke.

  Whatever her reasons, she wasn't marrying him for his title or his money. She didn't know he had either. She wasn't marrying the Duke of Amberley—she was marrying Trick Caldwell.

  Despite the bizarre circumstances, the thought lit a hidden place in his heart.

  A few more words, a simple gold band slid onto Kendra's finger, and Trick's arms slipped around her waist, just as they had yesterday. He bent his head toward hers, toward those soft lips that had been tempting him since he'd first laid eyes on her.

  As his mouth met hers, she melted against him, her lavender scent surrounding him like a cloud. Every bit as responsive as he'd hoped, she kissed him back, untutored but amazingly eager. And so far as she knew, she was kissing plain Trick Caldwell.

&nbs
p; When her brothers cleared their throats, he reluctantly pulled away. He couldn't wait to see what pleasures lay in store when he brought her to the cottage tonight.

  She wouldn't discover until tomorrow that she was a duchess.

  CHAPTER TEN

  An impromptu wedding feast was set out on the mahogany table in Cainewood's dining room. Kendra sat beside her new husband, her head still spinning with disbelief.

  She'd been shocked speechless when the priest concluded the ceremony, shook hands all around, and walked through the front door of the chapel, all without her brothers bursting into laughter. Just yesterday she'd been an innocent girl, fantasizing about a man she barely knew, and now it looked like tonight she'd be his woman, body and soul.

  But this couldn't be what it looked like.

  Apparently the script called for the farce to go on a little longer. Yet she was willing to wager that before night fell, her brothers would be sending her up to her old bedchamber, congratulating themselves on the success of their practical joke.

  "Aren't you going to cut the cake, Kendra?"

  Startled, she looked to Amy. Her sister-in-law was grinning widely and holding out a knife. Dominating the center of the table, the bride cake was double frosted, sugar over almond icing. Despite her churning stomach, Kendra's mouth watered; she loved sweets.

  Very well, then. If her brothers wished to continue the charade, she'd play her part.

  Rising and taking the knife, she reached to cut the confection and felt Trick's hand envelop hers. She turned her head, raising astonished eyes to find him leaning over her, bracing himself with one hand on the table. "We've yet to feast, leannan." He nodded toward the servants still carrying in platters.

  "Ah, Trick," Jason said, a trace of laughter in his voice. "It's obvious you don't know your wife. She always eats dessert first."

  Colin nodded. "And she's taught Amy her unfortunate habit."

  "Cake!" baby Jewel crowed gleefully, banging her spoon on the table.

  "Second word she learned," Colin informed them dryly. "Right after Mama and before Papa."

  "We've other nasty habits, I'm afraid," Ford added with a snort. "Perhaps you moved too quickly in aligning yourself with the Chases, my friend."

  Beneath his tousled hair, Trick's eyes narrowed. "I moved too quickly?"

  His hand was still on Kendra's, and she stiffened at his words. He seemed to be taking this seriously. Could it be he wasn't in on the joke? Or...

  Could it be this was no joke?

  Suddenly unsure, she looked around the table at her brothers' faces. Their expressions told her nothing.

  When she saw Colin with Amy and Jewel, and Jason together with Cait, she couldn't help but wish for a family of her own like those her brothers were creating. A whole family, like the one she'd been cheated of growing up parentless during the Civil War and Commonwealth years. But a romantic marriage with any of the suitors her brothers had presented would be as likely as Zeus descending from the sky.

  This was her life they were toying with. She bit the inside of her cheek. Caithren caught her gaze and returned it with heart-wrenching sympathy.

  When Trick moved to pull back the knife, she held steady. He laughed suddenly, then shot her a broad, rakish smile. Noticing the tiny chip on his front tooth, she licked her lips, wishing her tongue were tasting that beautiful mouth instead. And she stopped breathing, shocked at her thoughts.

  She'd never put her tongue in a man's mouth—never even thought of such a thing. Wherever had that idea come from? Besides, he'd probably bite it off. If this was no joke, he was due a pound of Chase flesh, and she knew it.

  But instead of turning the knife on her, he slipped her a wink. "Come, we'll cut it together."

  The man was an enigma, to be sure. Kendra drew a calming breath as they sliced the cake, his hand warm over hers. She placed a piece on Amy's plate, then one on her own.

  All the while, Trick remained standing beside her. She could feel his gaze, feel him shifting, but before she had time to react, he'd reached and plucked the veil from her head.

  "What!" She turned and snatched it from his hands.

  "I wanted to see your...hair," he finished lamely, blinking at her in seeming bemusement. "What the hell did you do to it?"

  "Do to it?"

  "The..." He waved a finger, drawing spirals in the air. "The..."

  "Curls?" Kendra supplied helpfully. She couldn't help but grin at his expression. "Jane worked on it for an hour. Do you like it?"

  "No," he said flatly. "I liked it before." He leaned close, whispering to her alone. "Wild, streaming down your back."

  "Oh." She felt a blush heat her face. "After this, I'll take it down."

  "After this, I'll take it down."

  The wispy lace fluttered from her fingers to the soft blue Oriental carpet. Feeling more confused by the moment, she plopped back onto her chair.

  "Mmm...porcupine," Trick said, reseating himself with a satisfied smile. "At least I've married into a family that appreciates good food."

  The "porcupine" was actually a stuffed breast of veal, larded all over and studded with small strips of ham, bacon, and pickled cucumber. Trick smacked his lips and added a healthy portion to his already-loaded plate.

  "Leave room—we've surprise as well," Colin warned. Spearing a bite of cake, Kendra looked up as a servant set the dish called surprise on the table. A stuffed calf's head served up in its original shape, it had bunches of myrtle stuck into its eyes and looked very surprised indeed.

  The steam rose off it in tantalizing swirls...and it bellowed.

  Kendra screamed. A piece of cake went flying off Amy's fork, splattering on one of the diamond-paned leaded windows. Ford jumped up, his lattice-backed chair clunking to the floor behind him. Trick and Jason froze.

  When the calf bellowed again, Kendra rushed from her chair to take shelter in the door frame with Cait, both poised for flight. Stopping only to snatch up baby Jewel, Amy joined them. The women all clung together, staring. Squished between their bodies, Jewel let out a wail.

  The calf's head bellowed once more...

  No, it croaked.

  With a half-amused, half-disgusted groan, Trick dropped his fork, reached to pry the calf's mouth open wider, and lifted its heavy pink tongue. A toad hopped out and looked around, blinking its bulbous eyes, before it leapt off the table and headed toward the door.

  The women broke apart to let it pass between them. Amongst gales of laughter from the men, Kendra thwacked Colin on the head as she returned to her seat. "For the love of God! Have you no sense of propriety?"

  "A question of propriety from your lips, little sister?" Colin rubbed his head good-naturedly. "Was it not just yesterday we found you—"

  "Hush, Colin." Amy dumped their sobbing daughter on her husband's lap. "Here. You made her cry, she's yours." She seated herself and raised her fork, but not before sending him a tolerant smile.

  Jewel quieted when Colin bounced her on his knee. "Well, you've seen us at our worst now," he said to Trick around a mouthful of dressed artichoke bottoms. "Welcome to the family."

  Trick shrugged noncommittally. Watching him scan the group around the table, Kendra tried to imagine what he was thinking.

  It couldn't be good.

  It was time to bring this charade to an end. She turned to Jason. "How will you get along without me here to direct the household?"

  "We'll manage," her brother said blithely, wrapping an arm around his competent wife. His fingertips played idly in her dark-blond hair. "I set Jane to packing your things."

  Trick touched Kendra's hand. "Jane is your maid, I presume? She can follow tomorrow. You'll send her along, Cainewood?"

  "Certainly."

  "But—" Kendra started.

  "Tomorrow," Trick repeated, cutting her off. "You won't be needing her tonight."

  At the look in his eyes—the keen hunger—Kendra's spoon clattered to her plate. He was acting as though they were really married, talkin
g of maids and spending the night together.

  Did highwaymen even have servants? She certainly hadn't seen any at the cottage. Was she really married to this man? Fingering the bracelet around her wrist, she recalled what little she knew of him.

  It wasn't much, and it wasn't good.

  "But you're—" Something in his warm eyes made her falter. "—a highwayman," she finished weakly.

  Jason reached for the bread. "Yes, we need to talk about that."

  Trick tore his gaze from Kendra. "Aye?"

  "It has got to stop."

  Trick chewed thoughtfully, then sipped some wine. The silence stretched between him and Jason, almost as though it were a palpable barrier.

  "I mean it, Trick. You don't need the money."

  "Aye? You think not?" A corner of Trick's wide mouth turned up, and Kendra would swear he was about to start laughing.

  Did he really not need the money? Had he enough put aside, then? Could highway robbery be that lucrative?

  There was something missing here. But she couldn't seem to think straight in his presence; it had been that way since she'd first laid eyes on him. She felt all hot and bothered, and her brain refused to work.

  "Why do you do it?" Ford asked.

  With a shake of his head, Trick tossed the hair from his eyes and looked straight at her twin. "Maybe it's a pleasant amusement."

  "You're finished, Trick." Jason's voice brooked no nonsense. He set down his fork. "Find your pleasure somewhere else."

  The golden gaze settled on Kendra again and burned into hers. "Aye," Trick said slowly, softly. "That I will."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The sun was setting, painting the sky in muted tones as they made their way to Trick's home in the impressive two-seater caleche he'd driven to Cainewood. Borrowed, most likely, Kendra thought, along with the matched bay horses...at least she fervently hoped he hadn't stolen them.