A Taste of Temptation

by Amelia Grey

  The gathering was small. Not so much because the wedding was hasty, but because Olivia had not wanted dozens of people she didn’t know attending what she considered a very private affair. Aunt Agatha and Aunt Claudette had reluctantly whittled the guest list to under fifty. They both had smiled at her when she insisted that Mrs. Farebrother’s name be stricken from their list.

  The only person Olivia had personally added to the guests was Lady Lynette Knightington. The duke’s daughter had been a welcome friend to her since their first meeting. It also seemed to Olivia that Lynette was the only young lady who wasn’t unhappy with her for taking the last of the Terrible Threesome earls off the marriage mart and in such an egregious way.

  She tried not to let it bother her that young ladies who’d been so pleasant before the announcement of her marriage to Lord Dugdale were suddenly treating her as an interloper. Her aunt insisted that was all part of Society’s game and that it would change once the nuptials had been completed. What the ladies didn’t know was that Olivia would gladly give him back to them if she could.

  As soon as the receiving line ended, the musicians started playing a slow waltz. Andrew took her hand and led her to the center of the parlor and then into the first steps of the dance. She and her new husband danced just as quietly and skillfully as they had all week.

  After the dance, Olivia met Andrew’s two best friends and their wives: Lord Chatwin, who insisted she call him John, and his wife, Catherine, and Lord Dunraven, better known as Chandler, and his wife Millicent. Both ladies were lovely and polite. At different times they each said they would have her over for tea soon.

  Although nothing improper had been said by either lady, Olivia was sure they knew that this marriage was taking place solely to save her reputation. Surely Andrew’s friends had expected him to select his own bride and not be trapped into a forced marriage.

  After several more tedious introductions to members of the ton, Olivia excused herself and went in search of the friendlier Lady Lynette.

  She found the tall, buxom young lady in the dining room filling a plate with food. Olivia just watched Lynette for a few moments. She hadn’t forgotten how Lynette had looked when she was with the Marquis of Musgrove Glenn. It was clear to Olivia that Lynette had deep unrequited feelings for the man. Aunt Agatha had said the marquis was looking for a wife who would take on the responsibility of caring for his children.

  Lynette would be the perfect lady for him.

  Olivia walked up to Lynette and said, “Thank you for coming today. It meant a lot to me to see a friendly face in this crowd.”

  “Oh, Olivia, I wouldn’t have missed it. I canceled my other plans. I was delighted to be included in this happy occasion. You make a lovely bride. Perfectly lovely.”

  Olivia gave her a resigned smile. “I wish it were a happy occasion. You of all people know this is not a love match.”

  “That doesn’t mean that it won’t be some day.” Lynette smiled and added an apricot tart to her plate and then said, “Are you ready to dine?”

  Just looking at the food made Olivia’s stomach quake.

  “No, not yet.”

  “Do you mind sitting with me while I eat?”

  “Of course not. That’s why I came in search of you.” The last thing she wanted to do was make conversation with people she didn’t know, and her aunt was busy talking to the minister.

  They walked over to a small table in a corner of the room and took their seats.

  Lynette cut into the slice of ham and said, “This may not be a love match, but that is no reason to be unhappy. You just married the most eligible man in all of London. Women of all ages have tried to catch him for years.”

  “It’s too bad one of them didn’t catch him before I ended up in his bedchamber.”

  “Don’t sound so serious. I have a feeling you two will suit in a matter of time. He’s handsome and you are beautiful. Neither of you have wed before. You both are from excellent families. You’re both strong-minded. I don’t see how you can keep from being happy.”

  Olivia laughed lightly as she looked into Lynette’s beautiful green eyes. She realized now that she was getting to know the duke’s daughter that she didn’t even notice the red birthmark on her cheek, and others must feel the same way. Still, she wondered if Lynette had ever tried to fade it or hide it.

  “I wish everyone felt the way you do. I fear I won’t be as welcomed by Andrew’s friends Lady Dunraven and Lady Chatwin as if he’d chosen his own bride.”

  Lynette’s forkful of ham stopped halfway to her mouth. “You think that only because you don’t know the history. There was a long time that Lord Dugdale did not like Catherine, Lady Chatwin. I believe they had words more than once.”

  “Really?” That seemed unbelievable. “Is this true?”

  “Yes. But Catherine recently told me they settled their differences. And I’m glad they did. I know Millicent and Catherine very well. They are lovely ladies with their own stories to tell about how they each captured their Terrible Threesome husband. You ladies will have much to talk about when you get together.”

  “I don’t doubt they are lovely. Perhaps it’s just me, but I get the feeling that everyone is looking at me as if I stole something.”

  Lynette laughed softly. “You did, Olivia, but someone was bound to trap Lord Dugdale—I mean, take him off the market—sooner or later. But now that I think about it, I’m not sure Lord Dugdale ever would have willingly given up his freedom. There was a time he needed to make a financial match in the worst way, yet he didn’t. Of course that issue has been settled now. He’s quite prosperous once again.”

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know much about it except he discovered his estate manager was stealing from him.”

  “How horrible.”

  Olivia had remembered reading something about his light pockets from old issues of Lord Truefitt’s column.

  Lynette laid down her fork as excitement flared in her eyes. “I have an absolutely perfect idea.”

  “What?”

  “There is another lady I would like you to meet, Lady Colebrooke. She has a reading group that meets every Tuesday afternoon. Would you like to join me next week?”

  “Do you think she would mind?”

  “I’m certain she won’t, but I will send her a note and ask if I may bring a guest.”

  Olivia’s heart seemed to swell with affection for this gracious lady in front of her. “Thank you, Lynette. It’s kind of you to want to include me. I think that would be lovely.”

  “I’ll be back in touch with you after I’ve arranged everything.”

  “Tell me,” Olivia said, completely changing the subject, “how long have you known the Marquis of Musgrove Glenn?”

  Lynette’s eyes softened and that thoughtful look settled in her eyes. She laid down her fork. “Since I attended my first coming-out party, and that would have been about twelve years ago.”

  “Was he married then?”

  “No. He was so handsome and dashing.” She stopped and smiled wistfully. “I thought of him as my Prince Charming.” Lynette seemed to catch herself reminiscing and cleared her throat. “He married his first wife later that same year.”

  “And his first wife died.”

  “Sadly, yes. Consumption. And his second wife passed on just over a year ago, leaving him with all those children to care for. It must be difficult for him. Most men just don’t know how to care for children even if they have the help of a governess and a nurse.”

  Olivia could see genuine pain in Lynette’s eyes for the marquis’s losses, for his children. Lynette had obviously loved him for a long time. How difficult it must be for her to witness him looking for yet another wife.

  “I believe that,” Olivia said, knowing her own father had no desire to have her in his life. “My own father certainly d
idn’t know how to deal with me. He asked Aunt Agatha to take care of me after my mother died.”

  “And where is your father now?”

  “Dead many years. My mother died before him. Aunt Agatha and I have managed quite well.”

  Lynette smiled. “I can see that.”

  “May I ask you a personal question?”

  “Of course.”

  “Have you ever tried to capture the attention of the Marquis of Musgrove Glenn?”

  Lynette’s green eyes rounded in surprise. “Me? No, of course not.”

  “Why not? You are a lovely woman and you’d make him the perfect wife.”

  There was sadness in Lynette eyes as she said, “He wouldn’t consider me. Both his wives were beautiful ladies. You are kind to say I’m lovely, but I knew after my first party that my birthmark made men shy away from me. Lord knows I would have had it removed if the many physicians I consulted would have attempted it.”

  Olivia remembered Lady Collingsworth mentioned a new apothecary who worked miracles. A thought crossed Olivia’s mind. She realized she was stepping over polite boundaries to bring it up, but she wanted to help Lynette.

  “I heard there is a new apothecary in town and that he does wonderful things to ladies’ faces with creams. Have you heard of him?”

  “No. Someone new? Years ago I exhausted the list of potions both trustworthy and bogus that promised to fade birthmarks. I finally gave up all hope and stopped torturing myself, but if there’s someone new… perhaps I should look into it.”

  “Would you like for me to go with you to see him?”

  Lynette put her hand up to her cheek and touched her birthmark. “Do you think he can do anything?”

  “I don’t know. The question is do you think it’s worth a try?”

  “Maybe I will. Just maybe I will.”

  Olivia watched Lynette closely. Another thought struck Olivia. She wondered if there was some way she could help the marquis see that Lynette would make him the perfect wife and mother for his children. Olivia had only danced with him one time, but perhaps there was something she could do. It would certainly give her more to think about other than herself and her new husband.

  As the afternoon faded to evening the wedding guests started departing until only a handful of people remained. Olivia hadn’t noticed that her aunt had slipped off to a far corner of the parlor and had become very quiet. Agatha had that dreamy look in her eyes that she got when she was thinking about Lord Pinkwater.

  Olivia walked over to her and took a seat in a chair beside her aunt.

  “Are you all right, Auntie?”

  Agatha looked into Olivia’s eyes. She patted Olivia’s hand and said, “Of course. I was just thinking that this house is now your home. I think you’re going to like it here.”

  Olivia looked around the expensively appointed room. “Yes,” she said with a sigh, not wanting to show her true feelings and upset her aunt. “Right now it feels a bit strange. I shall have to get used to it.”

  “It won’t take long. You know, Livy, now that most of the people have left and it’s a bit quieter, I feel his presence.”

  An uneasy feeling stole over Olivia. “Who, Auntie?” she asked, though she knew.

  “Lord Pinkwater.” Agatha’s eyes glowed peacefully. “He’s here. I know it, but he won’t make himself known to me because there are still too many people around.”

  Her aunt looked as sane as everyone else in the room but Olivia knew Agatha’s mind was troubled. She wanted to get her aunt off the subject of Lord Pinkwater as quickly as possible before someone overheard them.

  “Perhaps you are right, Auntie,” Olivia said. “Why don’t you come over tomorrow? You can feel free to roam about the house until he contacts you.”

  Agatha’s eyes widened and she sat back in her chair. “Oh, I couldn’t do that.”

  That was not what Olivia had expected her to say. “Why not? You just said this is my home now. You can come and search every corner in every room until your heart is content.”

  “Yes, I understand that, my dear, but I couldn’t possibly do it tomorrow. It’s bad enough that you aren’t going away on a proper wedding journey. No, you must have at least a week, maybe two, alone with your husband before I make a visit.”

  “That’s ridiculous, Auntie.”

  “Not as far as I’m concerned. I won’t allow myself to interfere in your lives so soon.”

  “Auntie, you could never get in the way. I love you. I’ll miss you. I want you to visit often.”

  “And so I shall, but until then you must promise you will let me know if Lord Pinkwater makes himself known to you.”

  Her aged eyes still held that wistful, faraway look in them. How sad that Agatha had spent her whole life pining for a man who never loved her. And now Olivia was facing the same fate except for the fact that she was married where her aunt had remained a spinster.

  It was Olivia’s turn to pat her aunt’s hand. Given her aunt’s current state of mind, Olivia wanted to make sure she saw her every day.

  “Of course I will let you know if Lord Pinkwater appears.”

  “Good. You know I’m only ten minutes away. You’ll see me often. And don’t fret. You will adjust and adapt to married life. Young ladies always do.”

  “I will do my best to be a loving wife to Lord Dugdale.”

  “I’m not worried about either of you where this marriage is concerned. Say what you will, but you two are not indifferent to each other. I saw the looks on both your faces that night we were standing in the receiving line outside his house. There was a fascination between the two of you and it will only get stronger. Now walk with me to get my cloak. I’m ready to go home.”

  A few minutes later Olivia and Andrew stood at the front door and waved good-bye to his aunt, the last of the wedding guests to leave. When he shut the door, he turned to Olivia and just looked at her for a moment. She watched his gaze linger on her face, slide down the column of her neck, graze over her breasts, and drift back up to her eyes.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” he said.

  Just like that? Let’s go upstairs? Where were the wedding night things she’d dreamed of—sweet words, touching, kissing? Where was the romance? Was getting her upstairs in bed the only thing he had on his mind?

  Of course.

  He had no soft, loving feelings for her. She was not the bride of his choosing. But still… she had expected a little more consideration from him than the command to go upstairs.

  But if that wasn’t to be, she’d manage. She had married him because her aunt insisted she must. She had already vowed to make the best of this marriage.

  She tried to slow her breathing. It was fine to let her aunt see her weakness, but she’d never let Andrew see that she was a wee bit frightened. She was a grown, married woman, and wives slept with their husbands. There was nothing to be alarmed about.

  She inhaled softly and said, “All right,” and then she started up the stairs.

  Olivia heard his footfalls on the treads behind her, and her breaths grew shorter, deeper, and more ragged with each step. She wasn’t as brave as she wanted to be. She’d do her best not to let Lord Dugdale know her insides were trembling like an autumn leaf in an early snowstorm.

  When she made it to the top of the stairs the corridor seemed too long and too dimly lit and her legs too weak to carry her to the end. Putting one foot in front of the other, she managed to walk all the way down and stop in front of Andrew’s chamber, the now infamous room she had foolishly entered just over a week ago.

  Olivia stood there, trying to calm her racing heartbeat, and waited for him to say something, to open the door, to do whatever husbands do. He remained quietly behind her for a moment. She felt his heat, heard his light breathing, and smelled the musky mint of his shaving soap as it wafted past her.

 
Suddenly, for reasons she didn’t understand, her skin tingled with anticipation. She didn’t understand how she could be frightened and excited at the same time.

  His hand slid around from behind her and he opened the bedroom door. Light spilled into the room.

  Olivia took a deep, silent breath and stepped inside his chamber. It was just as she remembered: expensive, dark red fabrics, large masculine furniture, and dreamy lighting from the lamp on his dressing table casting shadows across the walls.

  She walked immediately to the far end of the bed and turned to face him.

  Andrew shut the door behind them and stopped a few feet away from her. He stared at her rather oddly as if he were surprised or maybe confused. She wondered what he saw when he looked at her; a frightened young lady, an annoyed miss, or a woman waiting to be shown the secrets of the marriage bed?

  She put her hands behind her back to help steady her and leaned against the drapery-covered bedpost. She was grateful for something to support her weight other than her wobbly legs and wooden feet.

  Without saying anything he took off his black evening coat and threw it across the bed. With one pull of the bow his neckcloth came unraveled. He unwound it from around his neck and tossed it and his collar on top of the coat. Next he unbuttoned his brocade waistcoat and shrugged out of it and then sent it the way of his other clothing.

  Olivia felt her eyes getting bigger with each article of clothing he tossed aside; still he said nothing as he undressed and stared at her.

  In one fluid motion he ripped the tail of his white shirt out of his black trousers and pulled it over his head and threw it onto the bed. Olivia didn’t want to look at him but she couldn’t force her eyes away.

  The soft, amber lamplight made his skin appear a rich golden color. His chest was wide, his shoulders broad and thick with muscles rippling beneath firm skin. His trousers rode low on his narrow waist, fitted his slim hips, and showed the flat firm muscles of his stomach.