“Yes. It is for the best.” If Somerton’s plan worked, there would be no need for a forced wedding. Certainly, this was for the best. She pressed her lips together and hoped he wouldn’t notice the tears stinging her eyes.
“Come along, Blackburn. We don’t have much time.”
He stared at her a moment longer. Their gaze held and she felt as if he could read her soul.
“Very well,” he said tightly. He walked down the steps and stopped at the threshold. “But you should know that the only thing I’ve ever gambled on was you…and I lost.”
She clenched her fists so hard her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands. She had done the right thing. Now he wouldn’t be disgraced because of her again. He wouldn’t be forced to marry a woman who wasn’t good enough for him.
She walked to the window and watched as he and Somerton jumped on their horses and raced down the path away from the house. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Her heart ached with the pain of letting him go. She knew it was the right thing to do but the ache in her heart hurt so dreadfully.
But she knew she couldn’t have him. He deserved a far better person than her. Someone with no past.
She would only ever be his lover, never his wife.
Chapter 18
“I’m starting to wonder about you, Blackburn.” Somerton slowed his horse as they neared the main house.
“Oh?”
“You know as well as I that you just passed up the best chance of compromising her. And yet, you did nothing when I said she must stay in that house alone.” Somerton smiled in a knowing way at him.
Matthew glared over at him as they continued their slow canter toward the stables. “Being caught kissing a lady in the greenhouse is one thing. It is quite another to be discovered having seduced the lady in a deserted dowager house.”
Somerton appeared to consider his words. “I suppose you are correct. A kiss Selby might excuse. Not what you actually did back there.”
“You are making an assumption there.”
Somerton smirked. “Of course it was just an assumption. I’m quite certain you two could keep your hands off each other,” he added sarcastically. “There was absolutely no kissing or touching, right?”
There was no point in replying when everything he said would be a lie. Every time they kissed, it was amazing. And led to far more incredible things.
“It’s all for the best, Blackburn.”
“Why is that?” Matthew jumped down and grabbed the reins.
“Have you ever thought that maybe Jennette isn’t ready yet?” Somerton jumped off his horse, grabbed the reins, and started walking toward the stables.
“Ready for what?”
Somerton stopped and looked back at him. “Marriage.”
Matthew laughed. “She is five and twenty. Well past the age most women marry. She’d planned to marry John five years ago.”
Somerton shook his head. “She believes you are like your father and brother. Besides that mess, is she in love with you?”
“Good God, man. Why is that important?” And yet, as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. He remembered her statement about wanting a husband who loved her and would be faithful to her.
“It is important,” Somerton whispered harshly. “Very important to her.”
Matthew frowned as he glanced over at the faraway look in Somerton’s eyes. “Never knew you were such a romantic, Somerton.”
His blue eyes darkened. “I am not. But Jennette is and you should appreciate that.”
Was Somerton in love with her too? “I will remember your words.”
Somerton shook his head as he led his horse to the stable boy. “Why don’t you court her? Let her come to know you better. She will see that you’re not a gambler and wastrel.”
“I don’t have time for writing her love notes and sending her flowers. I have to be married before the year is out.”
“What are your plans once we return to town?”
“I don’t have an idea.” Somehow, Matthew had to break through the barriers that held her bound.
Matthew handed the reins to the stable boy and turned to walk in the house. They had already decided he must return with Somerton and claim they’d been riding for most of the afternoon. Somerton grabbed his elbow and led him toward the path away from the house.
“Have you ever considered just asking her if she would marry you?”
“Why are you so concerned about my relationship with Jennette?”
“I can only assume that means no,” Somerton replied with a shake of his head.
Matthew clenched his jaw until his teeth ached. “You are the one who just said she needed more time.”
“She might need more time. If you did seduce her, which by the way I would be surprised if you hadn’t, you should propose to her.” Somerton’s normal smirking smile was gone, replaced with a dark scowl.
“When did you become the upright member of the ton, espousing the values of the day? Last I’d heard, you were the one with the reputation of a rake. How many ladies have you seduced and then left without a by-your-leave?”
“I content myself with widows and whores who don’t want or care about marriage.”
Matthew stared at Somerton, noticing the slight blush that crossed his cheeks.
“Ask her to marry you,” Somerton demanded.
“And if she refuses my offer?”
“Then you better hope she is with child so she has no choice.”
Matthew frowned. He’d been foolish not to take any precautions with her. She could easily be with child—his child. And the thought sent a rush of warmth to his heart. Until he remembered her tendency toward stubbornness.
“I’m not entirely certain that would change her mind regarding marriage.”
Somerton chuckled softly. “Selby loves his sister, but he would never allow her to ride out a scandal when there is a child involved.”
“She doesn’t need his consent to marry. Nor does she need his approval to ride out a scandal. She has enough money to do as she pleases.”
“You’re right, of course,” Somerton commented. “But she cares deeply for her family’s name.”
Matthew stared at him. Did Somerton know more than he pretended? Matthew knew the importance of her family name but how did Somerton? Could he also have stumbled upon their secret somehow?
“Then what am I to do?” he whispered and halted his stride.
“Offer for her.”
Offer for her. Yet, the idea of her refusing him brought back too many memories of rejection by his own parents. He was the second son. As long as David had remained healthy, there had been no reason to pay any attention to him. Matthew gave himself a mental shake. None of that mattered anymore.
“I shall take your words under consideration,” Matthew replied.
“Do more than that—propose to her.”
“Let’s get inside and make sure we greet Lady Aston in our riding clothes,” Matthew said, eager to change the subject. At this point, his life was spiraling out of control.
They walked around to the front of the house and the butler opened the door to allow them entrance.
“Good afternoon, my lords.”
“Good afternoon, Hanover,” they both said in overly loud voices.
Hearing the sound of feminine voices coming from the front salon, they walked deliberately toward the noise. Matthew tried to distinguish the voices until he made out Lady Aston’s overbearing tone.
“She has been gone all day. I believe a few of us should ride out to make certain she is all right. Even worse, Lord Blackburn has gone missing, too.”
The volume of chatter increased again. Matthew hurried his stride until he reached the salon.
“Did someone call my name?” he asked, standing at the threshold with Somerton by his side.
“Lord Blackburn?” Lady Aston’s face blanched. “No one had seen you in several hours, we thought…”
“Lord Somerton and
I were riding.”
“Oh,” she whispered. A slow blush crept across her cheeks.
“Did I hear you say something about Lady Jennette gone missing?” Somerton asked.
“Um, yes.”
“Then we need to search for her,” Matthew said. “She might have taken a fall.” He looked over at Somerton. “Find Selby.”
Lady Aston spoke up. “He and Lady Selby rode into town for a few items.”
Damn. Having Selby with them would have been for the best. He glanced over at Lady Aston as his hands fisted tight. He had no doubt that she had planned the scheme and most likely locked them both in the room.
Lady Aston looked down at her hands. “Perhaps we should search the dowager house first. I asked her to look over the place and make recommendations on refurbishing it.”
“Of course,” Somerton replied with a twitch to his lips. “Will you be joining us?”
Lady Aston straightened in her seat. “I shall at that. I will change into my riding habit and join you at the stables.”
“We will be eagerly awaiting your presence,” Matthew said.
As the minutes ticked by, Jennette wondered when someone would arrive to set her free. The long afternoon rays of the sun were shortening quickly. Soon it would be dark and the thought of staying here all night made her tremble. With no fireplace to warm the room and no candles to light it, the hours until dawn would seem endless.
She should have insisted that Matthew take her with him. They could have contrived some story that people would believe. Standing, she rubbed her behind. The hard-wood chair she’d been sitting in for the past hour had made her sore. She glanced out the window and saw a group of riders heading toward the dowager house.
“Thank God!”
To make the scene even more realistic, she opened the window and yelled out, “Help! I’m locked in the attic!”
She watched as Matthew and Somerton reined in their horses and pointed to her position at the window. Lady Aston looked up and her mouth gaped.
“We’re coming, Lady Jennette,” Somerton shouted in return.
Listening closely, she heard the group dismount and enter the first floor. She couldn’t leave anything to chance. This scene had to be believed.
“I’m up in the attic,” she yelled again from the door.
“Upstairs,” she heard Matthew say.
“I believe there is a key in the bedroom,” Lady Aston said.
Of course, the bitch knew the exact location of the key. Finally, the lock clicked and the door rattled open. Matthew, Somerton, Lady Aston, and another woman crowded into the room. Jennette backed up the stairs, as Lady Aston glared at her.
“Who is here with you?” she demanded.
“What do you mean? There is no one here. I came up here to sketch the attic rooms and I heard someone lock the door. I banged on the door and then looked out the window but I have no idea who it might have been.” Jennette walked up the steps into the attic room to retrieve her pad and lead.
Lady Aston followed her. With eyes like a hawk, she scanned the room, looked under the bed and even in the small linen-press. Thankfully, Jennette had aired out the room of the musky scent of their lovemaking and remade the bed.
“What is she doing?” Jennette asked in an innocent tone. “She is the one who asked me to come here.”
“Exactly,” Matthew replied. “So it begs the question, why would she assume a man would be here with you?”
Lady Aston shot him a quelling glare. “I rode by earlier and there were two horses out in front.”
“Yes, my lady.” Jennette hoped her cheeks appeared red as if in embarrassment. “Before the door locked on me, I was up here and another couple went to one of the bedrooms downstairs and…well…I don’t believe they knew I was up here.”
Lady Aston pursed her lips. “And exactly who was down there?”
“I cannot say for certain.” Jennette stared at the ground, praying she portrayed the appropriate amount of innocence.
“I think you know who was here.” Lady Aston stood in front of her and glared. “I believe you are hiding something.”
“Lady Jennette, perhaps if you know who was here, you should tell her,” Matthew said softly.
Jennette stared at Matthew and Somerton and shook her head slowly.
“Yes, tell me,” Lady Aston demanded. She folded her arms over her chest waiting for an answer.
“The woman called him Robert,” Jennette said with an exaggerated sigh.
Lady Aston’s face paled. “Robert?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she whispered.
“Did you hear the woman’s name?”
Jennette nodded but hated to give out the poor servant’s name. She doubted the young girl knew just how much trouble she could get into when she let Lord Aston into her bed.
“Tell me her name, Lady Jennette,” Lady Aston demanded in an overly loud tone.
“Annie,” she replied.
“What were they doing down there?”
“Oh, ma’am. I cannot answer for certain,” Jennette said, looking away from the probing stare of Lady Aston.
“Try,” Lady Aston insisted.
“It sounded as if they were…”
“What?”
“Having sexual congress.”
“I’ll kill him,” Lady Aston whispered. She walked toward the window and muttered, “How did I miss them?”
“Perhaps one of them locked Lady Jennette in the room,” Somerton offered.
Lady Aston’s cheeks regained their color. “Of course. Probably that little strumpet, Annie. She will be off this estate by nightfall.”
“Lady Aston, what if I was wrong?” Jennette said. “Their voices were muffled and—”
“Do not try to save that whore’s job.”
“I believe we should depart before it gets dark,” Matthew said. “We have dinner to prepare for.”
“Yes, I need a bath after being in this dirty house all day,” Jennette commented in an attempt to be done with this mess.
“Indeed,” Lady Aston replied. She appeared very distracted after the announcement of her husband’s affair with a servant.
Jennette still felt dreadful for the girl, Annie. Perhaps she could find her a job. Victoria was always looking for someone to help with the orphans.
“Let’s be off,” Matthew said.
Lady Aston and her friend huffed off down the stairs. Jennette mouthed a thank-you to both Matthew and Somerton. If not for Somerton’s plan, she would be completely and irrevocably compromised. And while a part of her loved the idea, she knew it was wrong and not to be considered again.
As much as she hated the thought, she had to renew her plan to find Matthew a wife.
Time was running out.
Jennette walked down to dinner feeling miserable. She reviewed her list of potential brides for Matthew and found them all lacking. Each of the women would love the title Countess Blackburn, but none of them had the resourcefulness to know how to help him with his estates. Assuming any of their fathers would agree to a match, which at this point was a major flaw in the plan.
She frowned as she walked through the hallway. How could a woman with no experience deal with the everyday workings of multiple estates?
She slipped into the salon unnoticed and sat in a blue leather Hepplewhite chair. Matthew sat alone in a seat across the room. Others in the room still ignored him after Mrs. Marston’s outburst. Jennette longed to go to him, sit next to him, and talk to him more about his estates. But after her decision today, it made more sense to attempt to pay him no heed.
As if there were any possibility of that happening.
Even from this distance, his gaze burned her, scorched her, baring her soul for him to see. She squirmed in her seat under his constant stare. Moist heat slid through her folds as she crossed her legs.
“My, my, what a look on your face.”
Jennette blinked and looked up to see Somerton smiling down at her. He dropped to the
chair beside her.
“Whatever are you talking about, Somerton?”
Somerton chuckled softly. “It came to my attention today that you believe something about someone that isn’t quite the truth.”
“Oh? And who might that be?”
“I think you know to whom I am referring.” He leaned in closer to her and whispered, “I know that was you watching us as we departed Norton’s a few nights ago.”
Jennette breathed in deeply. “It could not possibly have been me. I would never go near a gaming hell.”
“And neither would the man with me. Blackburn isn’t a gambler.”
“And let me guess, neither are you?”
Jennette slid her glance to the man next to her. Somerton’s lips twitched as he sought a rejoinder.
“Actually, I am. I’m quite good at it, too, which is why I should know a gambler when I see one. And Blackburn isn’t one. He was assisting me that night.”
“Why are you so concerned with what I think about Blackburn?” she whispered back to him.
“Because unlike me, he is a good man.” Somerton rose and walked away before she could question him further.
Jennette glanced over at Matthew. Could she have been wrong about him? The fact remained that his father and brother had both been consummate gamblers. Most men had the fortitude to resist the temptations of a wager unless for sport, but Matthew’s relatives couldn’t seem to help themselves. Could he?
“Good evening, Lady Jennette.”
Jennette glanced up to see Baron Huntley standing over her. What did he want? “Good evening, Huntley.”
“Might I sit with you?” He inclined his head toward the empty seat next to her.
“Very well,” she answered when she preferred that he disappear.
“I heard about your dreadful experience at the dowager house this afternoon.”
Oh God, the gossip had started already.
“Rumor has it that Aston and a scullery maid were swiving right under your feet,” he leaned in and whispered. “That must have been dreadful.”
“Very,” she replied.
“Or was it?” he questioned in a low, seductive tone. “Did your mind wonder exactly what they were doing?”
“It was quite obvious what they were doing, Huntley. And I believe this conversation is completely inappropriate,” she said, slapping her fan on her palm.
Every Time We Kiss Page 19