“Because he refused to have any advantage over Ponsley.”
“Bloody honor and men,” Bea muttered.
“He’ll be fine, Bea. I trust the doctor to make your brother as good as new.”
“He had better, or I’ll have his head right after I take yours for sheer stupidity.” Bea clucked her tongue to spur her horse to a trot, leaving him behind and to his own thoughts.
After Tristan was settled and he knew his friend was on the mend, he had every intention of riding back out to his estate and, more important, to Jessica. She’d insist on seeing Tristan straightaway, and he had no intention of keeping her in the dark on his condition. While the bullet had only grazed him, Tristan still faced the risk of infection from the wound. He clucked his tongue to encourage his horse to a faster pace. Gusto complied and trotted on the heels of Bea’s horse the rest of the way to Hailey Court. Hayden was desperate to see his friend well and in good hands so he could head back to Jessica.
Chapter 24
On second thought, could it be that the duke has taken the dowager countess to his estate so as to not tie himself to a woman of her reputation indefinitely? Perhaps his purpose is merely to make a mistress of her. A justifiable ending to her reign in society if I do say so myself.
Mayfair Chronicles, September 1846
Jessica awoke with Hayden’s warmth sliding into bed next to her. With one arm wrapped around her waist, he pulled her close. She stretched her arms out, her back arching as she yawned sleepily. Missing him desperately, she’d dreamed of him every night pulling her into his arms for almost a week, just as he was doing now.
“I missed you,” she said, her voice still groggy.
He nibbled at her neck, her chin, and finally kissed her mouth. “And I missed you more than you can imagine.”
She cracked her eyes open. It was still dark outside, which meant they didn’t have to get out of bed any time soon. “This has to be the most pleasant way to wake up.”
“It’s too late in the evening to even consider wakefulness.” He kissed her eyelids and the tip of her nose before pressing his mouth to hers.
“Yes, but that means you’ve been up all day and riding late into the night. Why would you take that chance? I’d have been beside myself had anything happened to you.”
“I missed you dearly.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “And when I can think of nothing but you and us together again it makes me act irrationally.”
Her room was too dark to really see Hayden. She’d found this room connected to the master bedchamber, and while she’d snuck into his room the first few nights so she could smell the scent of him as she fell asleep, she’d finally resolved to sleep in this bed so the servants didn’t question whether she was the new mistress of the house or Hayden’s mistress of the night.
“What time is it?”
“One in the morning.”
She pushed him up, trying to sit, worried suddenly what the outcome of the duel might be. “Has something happened to Tristan to bring you home at this hour of the night?”
“I like it when you call it home.” His tone grew somber. “The doctor assured me Tristan would be fine. They will need to watch for infection, ensure that there’s no poisoning from the bullet that grazed his side.”
Eyes wide, her hands shot up to cover her sound of shock. She kicked the blankets down to slide out of the bed and light a candle on the bedside table. She couldn’t remain idle when her friend had been injured. “We need to be there for him.”
Hayden pulled her back down next to him. “His wife is all a-tither. And they don’t want the children to know what happened, so he will remain in bed until we’ve un-missed each other.”
She nibbled at her lower lip. “Ronnie will know something isn’t right.” Tristan’s daughter was a bright girl, and she’d know the moment she saw her father that something was amiss. There was no doubt in Jessica’s mind about that.
Hayden had been prepared for the direction of her thoughts, for he replied, “The children think he took a fall from his horse on an early-morning exercise. A fallen log mixed with too much fog was the reasoning we came up with, since he knows his lands blindfolded.”
Her hands curled into fists. “I am going to kill Ponsley myself.”
“You’ll do no such thing. Their issues are resolved—for the time being. I’m sure it’ll be a long road before he and his daughter sort out their differences.”
“Well, I can’t sit here knowing Tristan is injured. I need to see how he fares with my own eyes.”
“We can head out to his estate first thing in the morning if that gets you back in this bed.”
“What if he has blood poisoning by then?”
Hayden tried to grab her arm, but she evaded him. He let out a frustrated growl as he reached for her again, this time catching his mark.
“Trust his wife to look after him. They are happy to spend this time together without anyone intruding.”
“Tristan needs his friends, too.”
Hayden sighed as he pulled her back onto the bed. “I’ll agree on going under the condition that you give me the morning … though I’d like some of the afternoon, too. I was gone longer than I anticipated and I’ve longed to be in bed next to you since our first night apart. Let me hold you in my arms for a while.”
She sat next to him on the bed. “Our friend has been shot and you expect me to wait it out?”
He rolled to his side and gathered Jessica close so she couldn’t escape a second time. That was exactly what he expected. If he thought Tristan’s situation dire, he’d have wakened her and a team of riders to head back to Tristan’s estate. But that was not the case.
To her, he said, “That is exactly what I expect from you right now. Tristan came out to enjoy some solitude in the country as he acquainted himself with his new wife. A woman who probably knows the full depth of your machinations for her ruin.”
She huffed out an annoyed breath. “I have to disagree with you on this. I heard that she went so far as to seek her ruin to avoid marrying Warren. I was simply assisting her in the end.”
“And where did you hear that rumor?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t quite hear it. I came to that conclusion on my own when Tristan came to see me before leaving for the countryside.”
“Interesting, but that still doesn’t negate the fact that they are honeymooning and we’ll give them the space they’ve requested. Besides, there are things we can do to amuse ourselves for the next few days once you turn off those worrying thoughts of yours.” He traced the outline of her breast before drawing her closer and kissing her shoulder.
Jessica didn’t fight him; how could she when she had missed him as much as she had? It wasn’t as though they’d never spent time apart before. In fact, they’d gone weeks without seeing each other when Hayden had to focus on his estate and his horses.
It was different now for so many reasons. First, she was staying in his home alone. The only things to pass the time had been long walks and rides over the vast lands surrounding the ducal home. Her maid had arrived only two days after her, which had been a blessing, for she didn’t feel comfortable befriending Hayden’s servants without him here.
She guessed that Hayden wouldn’t mind hiring on Louise, so she’d asked the young woman what her preference would be. Louise wanted to stay and had accompanied Jessica daily as she learned the house, the lands, and something of the people in the scattered villages.
Jessica brushed her hands through his hair and pulled him in for a kiss. “I’ll agree to the day, but after you’re rested I want to ride out to see our friend.”
“And what of us? Our marriage? The first banns were not read this past Sunday, and I can’t apologize enough for that.”
“Our marriage will happen soon enough.” She pressed her lips to his again. “And I don’t care about the banns. I’ve missed you so much this week that I realized we shouldn’t waste time in finalizing the paper portion of our future. L
et us marry by special license.”
He smiled against her lips and rolled her over onto her back. “We can be married in the morning.”
She traced the lines of his face, staring into his dark gaze. It was a tempting offer but not precisely what she had planned over the past few days. “I want our friends present to witness our union.”
“Then it can be done before the week is through. We’ll send a fast post to Leo tomorrow. He can be here in a few days with his new bride. We’ll have to marry at Tristan’s, as I doubt he’ll be up and about before the week finishes.”
She smiled. “I very much like that plan.”
“Good, because that’s all I’ve got,” he said as he bit gently down on her lip and stole many more kisses.
When he broke away she rolled on top of him. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
His hands skimmed over her hips and grasped her waist. His thumbs pressed against the undersides of her breasts. “What’s that?”
She leaned over him and nibbled at his earlobe before whispering, “I meant to say this before, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I hadn’t said it until you’d left. I love you, Hayden. I’ve always loved you as my friend, but now it’s grown into something so much more than that.”
His expression was carefully neutral as he thumbed her bottom lip. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ve longed to hear those words pass your lips.”
“That’s not the response I was expecting when I just confessed my true feelings to you.”
His smile was slow. Seductive in a sense.
“Don’t you recall me saying something similar?” he asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “I was in a state of shock by the confession.”
“It was no confession. It was right there for you to see all along.”
“I see it now.”
“Good, because I love you more than life itself, Jessica, and to have you as my wife will make me the happiest man alive.”
“And to have you as my husband will make me complete.” She kissed him full on the mouth, this time slipping her tongue erotically past his lips and tangling with his tongue before pulling away to demand, “Now make love to me.”
Hayden reversed their positions before she could demand anything else, his hardness pressing into her core and sending lightning bolts of pleasure through her body.
“Your wish is my command.”
He kissed her hard on the mouth, stealing her breath away. Her legs fell open around his hips, welcoming him closer to her body. She’d craved him so deeply that having him here finally in her arms again set her body instantly ablaze with desire.
With a deftness that shouldn’t surprise her, he reached between their bodies and pressed his thumb against her clitoris. She moaned into the next kiss, losing control of her body as she allowed Hayden to pleasure her. Though she didn’t remain idle for long, for she was desperate to have his body naked against hers, so she helped him remove his shirt and released the ties at the center of her night rail.
The motion of his hand never ceased, and before she could comprehend everything that had happened in so short a time he’d shucked his trousers, taken himself in hand, and thrust deep inside her.
“Hayden—” Her voice came out panting, needy.
He didn’t stop, only kissed her deeper, the plunge of his tongue matching the thrust of his body. She bit his lip to stall him as she felt the first wave of her orgasm hit.
Her body quivered as Hayden moved slowly inside her, licking gently at her arched neck as he cupped her breast lightly through the material stopping them from being completely flesh to flesh. She tried to prolong the finale, but her body had a mind of its own and flew right over the edge of sanity as her whole body trembled in pure pleasure. Hayden joined her in flying off the edge; this time, though, he didn’t pull out of her as he met his end.
Jessica held him tightly in her arms, never wanting to let go of him. As her body relaxed in his, drifting back to reality, she ran her hands through his sweat-damp hair and stared into his eyes.
“I think you missed me a great deal,” he said, his tone teasing as he pulled playfully at her lips with his own.
“I did. But you should be saying the same about yourself. You weren’t far behind me.”
“No, I wasn’t, was I?”
He rolled off her, putting his front to her back. She tucked her buttocks tight against his pelvis, an area that showed no sign of being finished with her just yet.
“I think we need to undress you before we settle down into bed.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” She turned and looked at him over her shoulder, shimmying her body to lift the night rail above her thighs.
“Minx,” he said.
She smiled and gave him a sly wink as he helped her remove her nightclothes completely. They didn’t do all that much sleeping for the remainder of the night.
* * *
If there was one thing that Hayden could do, it was keep his word. They left his estate after luncheon to ride over to Hailey Court to see their friend. When they arrived, Tristan was sitting up in his bed, his wife next to him, with a chessboard between them on a small folding table.
When Tristan looked up there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes and then surprise. “Jez, Hayden. What are you doing here?”
“How could we not come? Once Hayden told me what happened, I had to see you were well with my own eyes,” Jessica said as she stepped over the threshold into the bedroom, a smile on her face.
Lady Castleigh stood from her chair, a welcoming smile on her own lips. “I didn’t know we would have guests. I’ll just slip out and have the kitchen prepare a light meal and tea. I insist you stay for dinner, since you’ve come all this way.” With that Lady Castleigh left.
Jessica sat on the edge of Tristan’s bed and took his hands. “You scared me half to death. When Hayden told me you were shot, I nearly lost all sense of reason and wanted to rush out here immediately.” She looked at Hayden, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “But he talked some sense into me, insisting that your wife was a darling woman who would take good care of you and I could see you with my own eyes after giving you a day of rest to heal up.”
“You needn’t have traveled all this way, Jez. I’ll be up and about by tomorrow at the latest. Charlotte keeps plying me with soup, insisting it will cure anything that might ail me.”
“I think I like her before even getting to know her.”
“And you should. She’s a darling. I believe I fell in love the moment you sent me in her direction.” Tristan smiled brightly at them both. Hayden sat in the chair Lady Castleigh had occupied before leaving them alone with their friend.
“It’s good to know my tricks can lead you down the right path every so often,” Jez said.
Tristan quirked one side of his mouth up in a grin. “If all it took to get you to join us in the country was me getting shot, perhaps I should have stepped out on the dueling field much earlier.”
“Don’t tease about something so dreadful. I was worried sick from the moment Hayden told me you were called out by that worm Ponsley. And besides, you’ll love the story I’m about to tell. I have no doubt it’ll cheer you instantly.”
Hayden cut in, “Did you want to tell him? Or did you want me to?”
Jessica smiled brightly at Hayden, ducking her head the moment her cheeks blushed. “I have this, Hayden. Besides, I’ve been dying to tell someone all week when you left me to fend for myself at your estate.”
That caught Tristan’s attention, for his brow furrowed as he asked, “You’ve been here a week already? Hayden, why didn’t you say anything?”
Hayden put up his hands. “Only at Jessica’s insistence.”
Hayden calling her by her true Christian name was Tristan’s first clue that not everything was as it always was between them, for he stared back and forth between the two of them.
“We’re to be married,” Jessica said before her friend could puzzle
out the mystery himself. Not that he’d ever guess that outcome.
His mouth fell open for a brief moment before he composed himself. “I thought you were acting oddly at the last ball we attended.”
Jessica could only smile at the reminder of that night.
“We want you to bear witness with Leo as we take our vows,” Hayden said. “I’ve already procured a special license so the local vicar can marry us.”
“Have you already told Leo?”
Jessica reached out to take Hayden’s hand, looking at him as she spoke. “We haven’t had the opportunity. But he should have received my note that you were to duel Ponsley, so I imagine he’ll arrive in mere days, as he was honeymooning in Scotland.”
“We’ve always done everything together,” Hayden said. “It should be no surprise to anyone that we’ve all married in the roots of scandal.”
Jessica looked at him and squeezed his hand. “It’ll be something to tell our children.”
Tristan laughed uproariously just as Lady Castleigh joined them again in his room. “Whatever have I missed?” When Tristan coughed from all the laughter and hunched forward with a groan of pain, his wife ran forward. “Tristan, you’re not to make any sudden movements, or you’ll tear the lovely doctor’s stitching.”
“But the moment calls for celebration. Bring us the decanter of brandy and we’ll all toast to the road ahead of us.”
Jessica stood from the bed and took Lady Castleigh’s arm. “I’ll explain everything if you’ll let me assist you in gathering the tumblers.”
The young woman was too baffled by the situation to argue, so she let Jessica lead her out of the room as the men continued with their laughter. It was good to hear Tristan’s laughter. Jessica had been terrified wondering what state she might find him in once they arrived. But he was indeed on the mend.
“I think it’s going to be a long night of celebration, Lady Castleigh.”
“So it seems,” she responded.
“I hope you have an iron stomach; you’ll need it to keep up with them.”
“I’m well versed in sipping spirits.”
Jessica patted the younger woman’s hand. “I think you’ll do just fine, Lady Castleigh.”
The Scandalous Duke Takes a Bride Page 29