by Gayle Eden
Still, it made her wonder why he wed her. He was notorious in every way, but there were many black marks against her when it came to choice as bride for an earl, despite her good bloodlines.
Wetting her lips, she stared at him and asked quietly, “Why did you answer my mother’s letter?”
His brow quirked. “Because—it was time to get a wife. One of good bloodlines.” as if reading her next question, he added, “Whatever trouble occurred after your father died, one cannot quarrel with your breeding and bloodlines, they were impeccable.”
“I was married before—for a year.”
“Yes.” He stared at her. “I know everything about you, Alina.”
A shiver went down her back at the way he said it, but she rasped, “That doesn’t bother you?”
“Why should it?” He shrugged. “Did you love him?”
“No.” She winced and then looked away. “Not like…I should have. No. He was… an escape.”
“Then why should I care that you were wed?”
She glanced back at him. “Most men would.”
He arose and surveyed her up and down, this time with a more satisfied expression at what she had been transformed into. When he met her gaze again, Trevon uttered bluntly, “Everything you desire, is yours, Madam. Whatever your pleasure. Except me.” His gaze was ruthlessly direct. “That, you will have to come, and ask for.”
Before she could blush, ask for clarification on what that meant, he arose and strode toward the door. He paused and turned, saying in parting, “Our lives will be full in London, or elsewhere. We will be welcomed, entertained at the best hells and theaters, the grandest homes, where lords and ladies supplant their boredom with gambling for high stakes. These people are sophisticated. There is a certain fascination among their sort, with anything or anyone who is dangerous. I have every confidence you will hold your own.” His gaze raked her. “On a personal side, if you need pleasuring sexually—that falls under my intents towards you. So, if you have an itch—do not make me kill some sonofabitch by flirting. I require your complete loyalty.”
Stunned, at both his offer, the way he put it, well—at the way he put everything out there, Alina blinked. “Is it possible, pleasure, without…intercourse?”
His lashes lowered half-mast. “Yes.”
She felt herself flushing because despite the transformation, the beautiful clothing, she was feeling quite gauche. “I beg your pardon, my lord. I am not usually ignorant of things—I could not be with the life we lived. But I… I apparently missed something along the way.” She shrugged.
He raised those lashes, his gaze inscrutable “I’ll make sure your education is improved on that score, my lady.” Trevon leaned his shoulders back against the facing a moment as if debating mentally before he said, “There is an… energy, a certain sexual thrill— money, champagne, risk, high stakes, are part of the lifestyle. In some hells, the erotic is indulged in—open for any to see.”
“I see.” She could guess what he meant and truly wondered how she would react. Alina reminded herself that he wanted her sophisticated and worldly….
His smile was not quite a smile. It did not reach his eyes. “Many are mistaken that high society lives under the same rules, as they lay down for others. That is a façade. There is envy, greed, vice, jealousy, indulgence to the extreme. While I make no apology for the life that has earned me a well-known rep—there is no mistaking what belongs to me. There’s also no doubt—I do not tolerate betrayal on any score.”
Alina thought of the times she and Audra had sat reading the papers and hearing of his duels—not a year that went by without some shocking bit of ruthlessness attributed to him. Having the life she did once her father died, she oft wondered what motivated someone rich and titled—and she now added handsome in a harsh, dark, somewhat objective way—to call a man out and risk death…or cause it?
But presently regarding him, listening to him, she was not about to ask.
She discerned he was a man who had contempt for so-called polite society. One who was aloof, hard and bitter—arrogant—with reason, she supposed.
She understood somewhat, why he spent a fortune on her, and took such care with how she looked. The sexual rules of the relationship still somewhat puzzled Alina, but she was wise enough to see the contrast, the generosity, in what he had offered her, given her, compared to being a breath away from poverty—or imprisonment.
“I wouldn’t give you cause to kill someone. I doubt very much that any amount of champagne could induce me into some…something illicit. I have been with only one man. The man I wed. He was not what one would deem…attentive. Not his fault, I am sure. Nevertheless, given my mother’s lifestyle…let us just say that I learned never to see a man as my solution. I wasn’t even aware that my mother had written to you.”
“Yet you agreed, to escape the goal—and that life, once more?”
She stared at him, unflinching. “No. my lord. I agreed, because whilst I may deserve to pay for my bad choices, I refused to see Audra’s future destroyed. Since you know of me, you likely know of her attempts to have some semblance of a respectable life. What no one but I, and now you, will know, is that Audra was taken advantage of in her first employment. It changed a once optimistic young woman, into one who is mistrusting of anyone—of life—. One who had no hope at all. I am not selfless in the extreme. I realized I could make the most of it myself. But had I not imagined the further damage mother would, and could do, to her—
“—I’ve nothing against someone, who makes the most of their opportunities, my lady,” he cut in coolly.
“Yes. Well. Despite how we appear from the outside, I am not a selfish and frivolous woman. I have no intention of becoming some—jade, who has affairs.” She realized he may be faithless and likely had a dozen mistresses, but added, “You are correct, my lord. I was raised to partake of certain societies, trained for them. Although most of that was never realized. Thanks to mother. I am not ignorant of how to conduct myself.”
“I already knew that, madam.”
She stared at him, taking in his greater height and darkness, the harsh unyielding face, and red-brown eyes. “Do you require my thanks, you have it, I—?”
“No. What I require—is your loyalty. Everything else will fall into place. “
She nodded.
He said after their gazes held for endless silent moments, “I will meet you below. Lady Audra and Maybry will be awaiting us. We dine out. Then to the theater.” He strode back to the wardrobe and took down a black silk, hooded mantle, which he handed to her, taking the wrap from her fingers with the other hand.
Standing there, close enough so she had to look up at him, and cold smell his heat and manly soap, she watched him say coolly, “As soon as we return to England we will go to my estates in Hampshire. By the time you appear on the London scene socially, you will have attended house parties, and met others in that society.” He slipped the mantle over her shoulders, his hands lingering and warm through the material. His gaze direct on her own. “You will have established your own rep—as my wife.”
“Yes. My lord.”
Rotherham released her shoulders and tilted up her chin with his fingers. “Do not get me wrong, Madam. I do not want an obedient and submissive lap dog. I require a sophisticated wife, who makes it plain that the only opinion she cares about—is mine.”
When he stepped away, Alina watched him walk to the door. She shook her head and sighed. She was not intimidated by society, not even a fast one, but she was by this intense and dangerous man who expected more unspoken things from her, she was sure, judging by that hard stare at her.
Chapter 2
“You look lovely,” Alina finally got the chance when they were at the theater, to lean over and whisper to her sister, behind her fan.
Audra smiled and raised her brows slightly. “I was at a loss and woefully ignorant of fashion. I had no idea what to choose. I suppose one should thank the Viscount for turning me from a
dumpy and plain woman, into this butterfly.”
Alina flickered a glance to the Viscount who was casually lounging behind Audra, and beside Trevon. He wore wine hued boots with white trousers and silk shirt, a brown coat with a nip waist to his thighs. He stood out amid the all black or more flamboyant jewel tones.
Glancing back to Audra, it was a delightful shock to see her twenty-year-old sister gowned and groomed so beautifully. No more braided bun. Audra’s caramel hair was drawn up and intractably weaved with white ribbon. Her gown was a deep moss and black, low cut, yet the stiff bodice holding her generous bosom. A band of black velvet under her breast left the gown to flow and against her curves. With jet beads in her ears and around her neck, she wore a black cape.
“You weren’t too uncomfortable, were you?” Alina seriously doubted the Viscount took the same liberties, her husband had. At least, she hoped not.
Audra grimaced. Her heart shaped face took on a slight flush. “A bit. But, there was no getting around that I could not make the choice myself. Yet what can one complain about—with such generosity? I thanked his Lordship.”
“And what did he say?” Alina stared at her.
“He said, you are sister to a Countess. A lady of good bloodlines, yourself. Thus you should look the part.”
She shrugged. “When I saw you come down the stairs—I was awed. I vow, Alina, I always envied your good bones, and petite frame, but your hair, your wardrobe, it suits you. You look so—refined.”
“Thank you.” Alina laughed. However, for once, she did feel handsome instead of a waif in rags. It was a whole experience, the sense of pride instead of utter humiliation.
Alina turned to watch the play thankful that Audra was not overly upset. Having her own unknown path to tread with her husband, she needed her wits about her and she oft felt protective of Alina. As the oldest, she should have made a better match the first time. Better choices. It was one of the reasons she was determined to see advantages in the acceptance of marriage to this enigmatic man. She did not want Alina to suffer more than life with Mary had already brought her...
Later, as they dined in an elegant establishment, Alina observed the mean, eating, and speaking on general subjects. They spoke seldom actually, compared to most males. Nevertheless, she had a feeling they were longtime friends. Neither seemed to need to talk often, but at times exchanged a certain look that she understood was communication. Much the way she did with her sister.
The Viscount held her attention as he listened when Rotherham quietly asked Audra about her former employees. It made Alina’s stomach tense. She feared he was asking because of what she had told him. She could deduce he had shared that bit of confidence with the Viscount.
Audra’s voice became strained as she murmured before sipping her wine to cover her distress, “Lord Buckland, and his wife.”
She witnessed Rotherham raised brow to the Viscount—. Who nodded subtly, as his tawny eyes narrowed behind his own sip. As if thinking ahead.
Alina mused that Rane was perhaps younger by a year or two. He had strong bones, a rugged chin, but high cheekbones. His coloring was a tawny hue, compared to Rotherham’s more swarthy features. Where the earl’s were harsh and blade sharp, the Viscount was the more gracefully masculine counterpart. He was tall, but more of a lean muscled, broad shouldered, frame. There was watchfulness about him too— that made her think, a lion to Trevon’s hawk. Both lethal in their own way.
Refreshing in a private retiring room before they departed, Audra was apparently not thinking much of the question about her former employer. There were other mundane ones scattered throughout. She asked Alina, “Have you noticed they rarely speak of themselves? I have not met any man who does not go on and on about his horses, hounds—himself. ‘Tis disconcerting in a way, to feel that they, the both of them, are constantly thinking. Yet they make no more than polite conversation.”
Choosing her words carefully, Alina replied. “I have noticed it. They apparently trust few and it is apparent they are close.”
Audra let down her gown after fixing her garter. “Has he…do you…um…?”
“No. It is complicated. He has asked for nothing but my loyalty.”
Frowning a bit, Audra mused, “I suppose a man with his rep doesn’t gain that easily—loyalty. Envy mayhap, resentment, fears—which we know can make people turn on you, and use you. It makes some sense. Do you recall that we read he was attacked many times in London—”
“Um. I put that down to the amount of money he likely carries. Or kidnapping perhaps, attempting to extort. Perhaps danger from those who are indebted to him? Just as many, one supposes, from a string of duels.”
Audra nodded and reached push a wave back from Alina’s brow. She locked her gaze with serious hazel ones. “It is just as difficult for us to trust anyone who has been generous to us. Is it not? I have the least amount of it.”
Alina touched her face. “All he asks is loyalty. We have no reason to feel otherwise. It is the residue from Mother’s going from one thing to another that put us in danger or worse, wondering how she would use us next. Relax, my dear. Try to put that behind you. Just enjoy the freedom from those dark, tense, days.”
“I intend to try. I really am thankful.”
They exited and found the men were waiting with their wraps. Aware that Trevon’s hands lingered on her shoulders, Alina also noted that the Viscount took care not to touch Audra in any manner that could be construed as intimate to a traumatized girl. He did lean down and murmured smoothly, “Draw your hood up, my lady. ‘ Tis a windy night.”
Walking behind them on Rotherham’s arm, Alina observed him assisting Audra into the coach; he nodded to a young maid waiting inside before joining her. It lessened some of Alina’s tension to observe the viscount being protective of her. There had been little to none of that, nor any security in Audra’s young life. Even less nurturing.
In the other coach with her own hood up, she relaxed against the seat and eyed Rotherham under her brows as he relaxed with elbow on the open window. Street lamps struck his austere face. It shone at times on the coal black of his mane. When he turned his head, catching her staring, light fixed in the deep red of his sherry eyes.
Feeling a flush cover her skin, Alina glanced away. Nonetheless, she had that certain sense that he could read everything about her. It made her all the more aware, she knew him much, much, less intimately. No wonder he grew rich at the gambling tables. He knew how to gain the upper hand, keep one off balance. He was adept at observing and keeping a distance at the same time….
* * * *
For the remainder of their stay, still awaiting the delivery of carriage coats, hats, half boots, gowns and riding habits, Alina went out on her husband’s arm— sometimes with Audra and the Viscount; others Maybry escorted Audra to another play or ball. Twice that she knew of, he went with her sister to buy books, and tour the street shops. Audra had told her that his lordship gave her an allowance and that he encouraged her to spend it on her own entertainment.
Alina loved books as much as Audra, but she realized how important it was for Audra to grow used to her status, and the fashionable lifestyle.in some way; she knew that both men realized that Audra was a beauty in her own right. She was well-read despite her mean background. There was effort, by both men, to draw her out of the self-protective shell.
Alina, in a sleeveless silver taffeta gown, black velvet pumps, wearing diamonds one night—another, draped in rich purple velvet, with crisscrossed bodice, a cut away over skirt in webby gold, with topaz pins in her hair and around her throat—was growing used to that look of approval on Rotherham’s face when he laid her wrap over her shoulders. She was becoming less stunned at the transformation as the maid helped her dress and apply the subtle final changes. Alina saw herself in the mirrors as she had imagined long, long, years ago. She supposed that transferred into the confidence she had walking into a room full of richly dressed people, for she oft surprised herself when the night
ended with how well she did pull off her role as Countess.
On one particular night, they were headed to a local mansion, where many of the royals' and nobles rubbed elbows and gambled; Alina exited the bathing chamber and dropped her robe, to smooth on her lotions and perfume. Next sitting down, to draw on the white lace-edged stockings. She had secured them mid –thigh, with garters, having tiny velvet bows, before the maid came in and fit her arms through a chemisette of sheer pink lace. It was a short garment, which her skin and dusky nipples showed through. There were only five latches from under her breast to her lower stomach—its length falling just above the stockings.
Alina slipped her feet into decorated pumps of white velvet.
Watching the maid fetch the ivory and pink satin gown from the wardrobe, she didn’t notice that Rotherham had entered until she moved from the chair to don the gown. Having caught him out the corner of her eye, Alina’s heart thudded, even whilst telling herself he seen her down to the skin. She grasped why he choose and designed the styles of her lingerie—the feminine under things were delicate and virginal, yet in a sensual way. The chemisette had been altered from a long one with a satin lining under the lace per his request, and the sheerness and shorter design was provocative in every way.
She swiftly scanned him in formal black and white. He wore no cravat. However, the ruffled white shirt needed nothing more. He held a brandy in his long fingers, as he sat casually on the chair arm.
“Madam?”
At the maid’s voice, Alina jerked her gaze away from his thighs and stepped into the cool satin gown, standing still as the maid latched the front to the knee. From there, a panel of silk was tied in small bows. The gown fit her lithe frame like a glove, cupping her hips and buttocks, her small breasts—which they also pushed up, thanks to discreet padding beneath. The thin straps edged her shoulders and there were ice pink gloves she pulled on, before she moving to don her jewelry.
“I’ll see to it, Jeannie,” Rotherham spoke to the maid.