A Question of Trust

by Angeline Fortin

  Eve and Kitty traded a look that shared an entire conversation in itself. Naturally, Kitty would share her troubles with their two dearest friends who would be able to hold her confidence. This outing would be the perfect chance to do so, since Kitty was reluctant to confess her humiliations with Richard and the children in the room. Eve gave Abby and Moira a little smile. “No, I think just Kitty tomorrow.”

  “You will join us for my dinner party the night after though, won’t you Eve?” Abby returned, tamping down her curiosity for the time being. “You did promise!”

  “I wouldn’t dare miss it.”

  “And Kitty as well? Say you’ll come! Some more of Richard’s brothers and his sister are finally coming back to town for a bit. You’ll want to meet them,” lured Abby.

  Eve reached over and patted her hand. “Just close family, Kitty, and a good time to catch up with everyone.”

  “Very well then, I’ll be there,” she conceded.

  “Brilliant! Merrill has asked you for his dinner partner. He’ll be pleased to know he won’t be sitting alone. I’d be interested in knowing how you met,” Richard added with a laugh.

  “Kitty certainly doesn’t need to go so far to find a dinner partner,” Eve stated with clear disapproval. “She can partner James or Connor even. Don’t let that man become a nuisance, Kat. You must inform him straight away that you are unavailable for his little scheme.”

  “Actually, I already have.”

  “Really?” Eve’s brow puckered in surprise. “And he still wants to partner you?”

  Kitty pursed her lips and responded dryly. “Could be that I am simply excellent company.”

  “Cheers!” Richard murmured in approval at her dry wit.

  “Well, just don’t let him get any ideas,” Eve conceded. “His tenacity can begin to wear after a very short while.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Chapter 11

  “When I think something nice is going to happen

  I seem to fly right up on the wings of anticipation;

  and then the first thing I realize I drop down to earth with a thud.

  But really, Marilla, the flying part IS glorious as long as it lasts…

  it’s like soaring through a sunset.

  I think it almost pays for the thud.”

  L.M. Montgomery, from Anne of Avonlea

  “I was beginning to think I would have to ride alone this morning, after all,” Jack said teasingly the next morning when Kitty walked Angel through the rear gates of the townhouse and onto the park road. Though his words were casual, Kitty thought she detected a trace of testiness lingering beneath his light words.

  “My apologies,” she tossed out, determined to have a pleasant ride. “Hannah insisted I take my breakfast with her this morning and would not take no for an answer. Have you been waiting long?”

  He had been, though he refused to admit it. He had awoken this morning eager to face the day, eager to see her smile more than he cared to contemplate. But just seeing her walk toward him as if she hadn’t a care in the world, as if she didn’t share this puzzling, urgent need to see him again, had put his temper into a spin. Shaking it off, now that she was present with a breathtaking smile upon her face, he continued, “I thought we might ride over to the Queen’s Park where we might have a bit more of a run and perhaps ride through the Princess Street Garden as well.”

  “Sounds lovely,” she agreed, thinking it was odd that all the parks were named for royalty, unlike the Central Park in New York which she thought more aptly named for its location.

  “Who is Hannah?” Jack asked a few minutes later, as they rode down the Prince’s Street toward the park.

  “My daughter,” Kitty told him as they moved side by side. “She’s just four and believes that everyone’s actions should revolve around her needs and wants. I feel I quite spoil her. Would you like to meet her sometime?”

  He hadn’t known she had children, but Jack shrugged. “Why not? I like children well enough, so long as they refrain from spewing their bodily excretions on me.” Though the words were an extension of his natural playful cynicism, the look on her face told him Kitty had not taken them at all in the spirit they were given.

  Kitty scowled at him, remembering all the times Freddie would push Hannah away from him or slap her aside if she got him dirty. The previous summer at Newport had been the worst, when gentlemen would don their white linen suits against the summer heat while children naturally found their way to the nearest dirt pile. She shook the memories away but wondered if Jack would react the same way if grubby hands grabbed onto him. No, her heart denied, but her mind told her she knew better than anyone how deceiving a man’s public persona might be. “Never mind, then. I wouldn’t want you to risk your pristine appearance.”

  Not understanding what had garnered such brusque mockery, Jack pulled his mount to a halt and held out a hand to her pleadingly. “Kitty, I was merely teasing, as I tend to. ’Tis how I am, but I like children very much. All of Abby’s, and Evelyn’s little Lord Shaftesbury. I would be honored to meet your daughter.”

  “It might be better if you didn’t,” she hedged, setting Jack’s teeth on edge.

  “Let me meet her,” he insisted, wondering why such a small thing now seemed like some mountainous hurdle he had to overcome.

  Kitty shrugged as if she hadn’t a care. “Very well.” But she would be watching him nonetheless. “You can come up for a moment when we finish our ride.”

  Her tone showed a caution still prompting Jack to wonder what worries she had. But reaching the eastern end of the park, she kicked her mount into a light canter and he set his qualms aside and raced to keep up. She had an excellent seat, he noted as he followed along behind her. Her posture was erect and her hands light on the reigns. In truth, she made the challenge of the sidesaddle look effortless as she urged the Frisian into a gallop across the open stretch of lawn that extended up the center of the park. It didn’t take long for her dark looks to melt away as they rode and by the time they pulled up at the far end of the tract, her eyes were bright and excited, once more rousing his passions as easily as the sun bursting from a cloudy sky.

  “You ride well,” he complimented honestly, pushing his arousal aside with no little effort. It wouldn’t do to rush things along with a woman like Kitty.

  “I love to ride!” she beamed with a sunny smile. “I haven’t been able to ride too much in years but when Evie and I were girls we used to dash all about Newport every summer. Sometimes we would race right along the cliffs and terrorize our mother to no end.”

  “Evelyn has mentioned your home there before.” Jack recalled her vivid descriptions and the look in her eye when she spoke of the place. It had been one of the few times the light in her eyes could compare to Kitty’s. “It must be a magical place to garner such love. I would like to see it someday.”

  Feeling Jack was just being trite, Kitty merely answered, “Of course. When you are next in America you should just drop by.”

  Haddington wondered if his sincerity was such a rusty tool so long disused that one might not recognize it from him anymore. She had thought his interest in her child and home were mere platitudes while, in truth, he discovered to his own surprise that he spoke honestly when he expressed his interest. For some reason he wanted to know the things that were dear to her. A thought he didn’t care to dwell upon.

  “You ride very nicely, as well,” she complimented, while taking in his bottle green riding jacket and buff pants. He looked gorgeous, of course, though he was once again hatless and his cravat was only loosely knotted, allowing his collar to be opened a button at the top. He cared not at all for an elegance of appearance, but merely dressed for comfort. More likely he knew such dishevel was more appealing to a woman than any heavily starched shirtfront might ever be. Indeed, he probably did it by design.

  He had also chosen to leave off the pomade today that had slicked back his hair the previous morning, but Kitty found the un
fashionable tousle suited him better. Not only was it lighter in color without the oily paste, but it tempted Kitty to sink her fingers into the thick mass and pull him close to her. The compulsion brought her thoughts to an abrupt halt as she stared at him with budding awareness.

  Seeing the look that stole across her features, and the flare of her eyes, Jack had to wonder where her thoughts had wandered, for surely she was not thinking about their ride any longer. Instead, her eyes had taken on a glint of distinctly sensual heat. Jack shook his head ruefully, certain his wishful thinking was allowing him to see what he wanted. He was a master seducer, to be certain, but even he was man enough to admit that seduction of a married lass took time.

  Of course, she had left her husband, he reconsidered thoughtfully. Might be he should revamp his seduction to emulate what he might normally engage in to woo a widow. Surely, if her husband had brought Kitty to such a drastic step as divorce, it had been some time since she had been physically satisfied, if indeed she ever had been. Her needs might currently be more on par with those of a lonely widow, thus requiring the path of seduction to be a little bolder, more sensual. It bore consideration.

  At the end of the park, they turned to the north, walking their horses side by side as each shot wondering glances at the other from the corners of their eyes. Jack couldn’t help but admire her as she rode. Her habit was one of Eve’s that he recognized, a grass green velvet that matched her eyes and hugged her breasts under the cascade of ivory lace, which might have fluttered freely if not for the painted enamel broach pinning it down. Her little top hat was of the same green, with a small pleated fan of bright ribbon tucked into the ivory satin band. She looked like springtime, with her vivacity sparkling as brightly as the colors she wore.

  Haddington’s lips twisted in self-disgust. Bloody hell, but he was in danger of waxing poetic in her presence!

  “Good morning, Lady Glenrothes!”

  Whirling about, Jack recognized the fellow who called out to them and cursed under his breath. Reginald Wallis was the worst gossip in Town. The dandy toadied to every nobleman, trying to ingratiate himself with a loftier crowd, but Haddington found his petty tittle-tattle nothing but annoying. The rat was sure to wonder at Haddington’s marked attention to Edinburgh’s newest resident though, and given Jack’s somewhat notorious reputation, mark her as his next target. Wallis would be correct, of course, but the earl hated being part of the gossip mills. Nothing had been worse for him than when word of his search for a wife had gotten out. He had felt as if a target had been painted on his back!

  Kitty started to raise a hand in greeting as she assumed Eve might, but Jack pulled her hand down and urged her to turn away from the man before they might meet up with one another. Puzzled, Kitty kicked her mount into a trot and followed Jack away but curiosity got the better of her. “Who was that, Jack? If it was an acquaintance of Eve’s, it behooves me to greet him as she might.”

  Jack merely shook his head and slowed to a walk as they moved out of the park. “Believe me, you did. A cut direct is always the best response for that one. Wallis is the biggest gossip in town. Bugger me! If you are hiding your presence in town, he’ll assume you’re Evelyn, won’t he? It will be bandied all about by this afternoon that the countess was riding out with me while her husband is out of town.”

  Kitty watched Jack’s mouth set in a thin line of disgust. It seemed the thought of rumor about his friend’s wife disturbed him, this man who seemed to care for so little. “You like her, don’t you?”

  Haddington grunted in that mystical male language that could mean so many things.

  “You do! Admit it!” She grinned broadly at him. For all the failure of his courtship with her sister, it seemed that Jack had actually come to care for Eve after a fashion. However, her thoughts took an abruptly negative turn. What if it was more than that? What if Jack had truly been engaged by her sister and had been left heartbroken when Eve had wed Glenrothes? What if Kitty were just a substitution for the woman he really wanted? Kitty frowned at the thought. She had come to truly like Jack over the past few days. Liked his wit and eternal humor. Liked how he made her feel like an attractive woman once more, but what if it wasn’t for her at all? Kitty’s heart twisted. She didn’t want to be a second option in friendship or anything else. She swallowed deeply.

  Chapter 12

  “Do you love her?”

  “What!?” Jack’s head snapped around and he stared at her incredulously as the question sunk in. “Hell, no! Good God, Kitty!” The earl rolled his eyes before having the good grace to look abashed. “I apologize for my language, but you quite turned my stomach at the very thought! Don’t get me wrong. You are right, of course, I confess I do like your sister after a fashion. She has made my closest friend disgustingly blissful, but I would never have been happy with her as my wife. We just rub each other wrong. No, I don’t love her.”

  “Oh.” Kitty blushed disconcertedly at his unabashed earnestness. “I just thought…”

  “Please don’t.” Haddington still looked a bit green around the gills.

  His appalled reaction was a genuine one, Kitty thought. He might consider Eve a friend nowadays, but he didn’t care for her deeply as Kitty feared he might. She didn’t want to examine why but the assurance lifted her spirits and she couldn’t help but tease. “What? Please don’t think?”

  Jack met her wide, open smile with one of his own. “If that’s the direction your thoughts take you, you might be better off refraining from serious contemplation, yes.”

  Kitty laughed and nudged him playfully with her boot. “I will try to refrain.”

  “See that you do!” Jack watched Kitty throw back her head and laugh. The sun’s rays kissed her face, lighting it as if the angels blessed her. She was such a lighthearted lass, her playful spirit and humor a perfect companion to his own. “I like you though, Kitty Hayes.”

  Kitty’s smile faded as she took in his suddenly solemn countenance. He looked as if he were surprised by the words that seemed to give him pause. Nevertheless, his sincerity was evident for the first time since she had met him. “I like you too, Jack Merrill.”

  His eyes flared with enough male satisfaction Kitty couldn’t resist adding, “Don’t tell Eve I said so though. I’m not sure she has given over any of her dislike of you!”

  “While I am sure she has!”

  A companionable silence encompassed them, washing away an almost awkward moment. Kitty wasn’t certain Jack had meant to confess even a small liking for her and she sensed that it was a rare thing for him to feel that way. Everything she knew about him from Abby’s letters spoke to his long held opinions of women as mere objects. Shaking her head, she focused on her surroundings as they took a turn around Moray Place, where Jack pointed out Richard and Abby’s townhouse in the lovely circular neighborhood, before heading south to Princess Street. It wasn’t far from there to the Princess Street Gardens.

  Kitty’s breath caught when they broke through the trees to find a large fountain in the center of the colorful garden, back-dropped by an impressive castle set upon the hill in the distance. “Oh, how lovely!” she sighed, before asking, “Is that Edinburgh Castle?”

  “Indeed it is,” Jack replied, watching her face light up and her eyes sparkle with renewed interest. “You know, they give tours each afternoon. It would be my pleasure to escort you.”

  “That would be wonderful, but I am supposed to be staying out of sight for the time being,” Kitty flashed him a smile. “Thank you for the invitation, though. It’s very kind of you to try to entertain me.”

  “Perhaps I do it because you so entertain me,” he challenged with a roguish grin.

  “Oh Jack!” she laughed as they rode back toward Glenrothes’ monstrous townhouse. “I’m so glad I could be of service!”

  When they returned to Carlton Terrace, Jack dismounted and reached up to help her down from her mount with a classic tool of seduction. He clasped his big hands around her, letting her feel t
he strength of them as they nearly encircled her tiny waist and slid her slowly down the length of him until her eyes caught and held his.

  Unable to step away, Kitty could only stare up at him, trying to ignore the frisson of heat that blossomed between them at that slight contact, yet knowing somehow she wanted to explore the promises his eyes held. His hands slid up her arms and neck before framing her face in his palms, his thumbs brushing her cheeks before one moved to caress her bottom lip. She couldn’t help but tremble at his intimate touch but knew it wasn’t fear that shook her, but anticipation. He was going to kiss her, she could see it in his eyes, as the golden eyes that had been so bright with amusement moments before now melted with heat.

  “Are you going to kiss me, Jack?” she whispered so softly that for a moment she wasn’t sure he had heard her.

  Jack stared down into eyes as bright as springtime grass, noting the heat and awareness in them. His seduction was moving forward better than he might have hoped and he felt the urge to press on, to physically arouse her until she gave in, begging him to take her as his mistress. Though he had only known Kitty Hayes for three short days, Jack wanted her with the ferocity of a lifetime of yearning, a desire he felt was quite unmatched when compared to his previous conquests. He could have her too. Despite such short acquaintance, he knew with an instinct born of experience that Kitty wanted him as well.

  So what was holding him back from pushing on, he asked himself. Clearly, she wanted his kiss. Jack stroked his thumb across her silky soft cheeks once again, tempted beyond belief to take her and make her his own. Then, in an epiphany, it came to him. He knew what was different now, what held him back from Kitty Hayes. A fission of apprehension struck him.

  For this time, the seducer had become the seduced.

  Feeling a bit thunderstruck, Haddington took a step back. A scowl creased his forehead as the reality of the moment settled upon him. This was definitely unfamiliar territory for the earl, who had always held himself apart from his lovers, had kept his mind and heart free of entanglements while controlling the relationships he chose to involve himself in. He was the one in charge. The dominant one, who said when it began and when it ended. Suddenly he felt as if he had no control whatsoever. As if his lust were dominating him.