His Wicked Secret (The League of Rogues Book 8)

by Lauren Smith

  When she had taken him into her mouth so unexpectedly, he half believed he had perished in that bed and a choir of angels were singing him to heaven. If she was inexperienced now, he was afraid to imagine how deadly she would be with a bit of practice.

  Jonathan set the razor down on the cloth by the basin and eyed the clothes his valet had laid out on the bed. A burgundy waistcoat shot through with gold thread and a pair of buckskin trousers and black boots. A fine choice. Audrey would approve of this. It was not dandy in any way, but Audrey liked his tasteful yet unassuming wardrobe.

  By the time he left his chambers, he knew most of the house would be finished with breakfast and off enjoying other activities. He expected the room to be empty, but he found James and Charles at the table, also enjoying a late start to the day. Four sideboards contained dishes of food for the extra guests. He prepared a plate of food and joined them, sitting beside Charles across from James.

  Jonathan enjoyed having an opportunity to admire the dining room of Lucien’s ancestral home while he ate. It was perhaps a bit severe for his taste, in its Roman style with marmoreal pilasters, but it was lovely nonetheless. Charles caught him studying the elaborate gilded wainscoting.

  “Stunning, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I really hadn’t had time to appreciate the lifestyle of a gentleman until now. There’s been so much to see since Godric gave me part of the Essex estate to manage. Then I had to set up a townhouse in London, of course. I feel it’s all been a bit of a blur, and this is the first time I’m able to stop and breathe.”

  “All those preparations are for your sprite, eh?”

  Jonathan glanced down at his plate, but he couldn’t resist smiling.

  “Making progress?” Charles clapped in approval before he reached for a Morning Post paper that had been abandoned by one of the other guests.

  Jonathan finished off his toast and eggs. “I believe so.”

  “Who’s the sprite, if you don’t mind me asking?” James asked.

  Charles shared a look with Jonathan before Jonathan chose to answer. “Miss Sheridan. I’m doing my best to court her, but the lady does not make it easy.”

  “Miss Sheridan? I daresay you must have your hands full with her. I can sympathize. Miss Beaumont is simply wonderful, but she will not let me court her, at least not past this week. I cannot fathom why. That lady is full of secrets.” James’s sigh made Charles burst out laughing.

  “Oh, look at the pair of you. Moping about because the ladies you desire aren’t easily seduced. Life must be so hard! Why don’t we go fishing and allow the ladies have a bit of time alone? Perhaps then they will have to admit they missed your pining presence.”

  James smiled wryly. “He may be right. What you say, St. Laurent?”

  Jonathan couldn’t recall the last time he’d gone fishing, and it did sound rather pleasant.

  “All right.”

  “Then let’s make it sporting, shall we?” Charles said with a smile. “Ten pounds to the man who brings the largest fish in during the first hour?”

  They finished their meal and left the dining room. Charles had a footman run off to have the groundskeeper ready a boat and prepare fishing poles and bait.

  Without warning, Charles pulled Jonathan and James into an empty drawing room.

  “Oh Lord.”

  “What is it?” asked Jonathan. Charles nodded his head to the crack he’d left in the doorway. A group of young men passed by their hidden location. Jonathan recognized the men, many of whom were fairly dandified.

  “Bloody lapdogs,” Charles snapped.

  Jonathan snorted. He and Godric had never cared for those sort of men either. They were the type of men hostesses would invite whom Godric referred to as non-sporting gentlemen. They kept the ladies amused during house parties, but they were a bore to men like him.

  “That one there.” Charles pointed out a handsome young man to Jonathan. Oliver Bedford, if he wasn’t mistaken. “I had to suffer through him and Miss Sharpe warbling through some awful duet this morning before breakfast. I told Horatia that the sounds they made were so dreadful it almost put me off my breakfast.”

  “Surely Mr. Bedford isn’t all that bad,” James noted. “If he was distracting ladies like Miss Sharpe, that is quite good.” There was a rumor that Miss Sharpe had set her cap for James, so it was no surprise he was relieved that another man could catch her interest.

  “I saw her eyeing you at dinner last night,” said Charles. “You’d best watch yourself. Most ladies on the marriage mart play by society rules, but not that one. She looked ready to truss you up and cart you back to London like a prize boar.”

  James rubbed his temples wearily. “I know. I do not wish my title gone by any means, but there are days I would do just about anything to be a simple gentleman with a modest fortune.”

  “You say that,” Jonathan muttered, “but it’s not so easy for us gentlemen to compete with earls.” He could not forget Audrey’s easy friendship with James, or how it made him see red when she had embraced the man so warmly the evening before.

  “You two are fine pair of wet hens,” Charles snapped. “Quick, let’s get to the lake before those dandies spot us. I love discussing the cut and color of a good waistcoat as much as any man, but those fools belabor the point so much that any amusement I might find in the conversation dies a slow and painful death.”

  Jonathan led the way down to the small lake that abutted the Rochester estate, and he embraced the warm sunlight upon his face. A day in a boat would be quite relaxing, and he greatly needed that given how arduous wooing Audrey was proving to be. Though admittedly, now that the efforts were bearing fruit it all seemed worthwhile.

  A groundskeeper was waiting on the deck for them, but Jonathan stumbled to a halt when he realized the man was not alone. Audrey and Gillian were already there, holding fishing poles of their own. Audrey glanced over her shoulder and saw him. Her cheeks flushed before she turned back to the groundskeeper as though she hadn’t seen him.

  Charles and James both ran into Jonathan’s back in an abrupt halt.

  “Bloody hell, man, what—?” Charles began, but he cursed when he caught sight of who stood on the dock.

  “It could be worse,” James offered. “The dandies could be here instead. I dare say this will be far better company.”

  “Valid point, Pembroke.” Charles squared his shoulders. “Come on, gents, we best face this like good men.” Charles took the lead and marched them imperiously down the dock.

  “Audrey, what a lovely surprise. And Miss Beaumont.” Charles inclined his head to Gillian, who blushed.

  “How splendid! Did you come to watch us fish? I’m sure you will have a lovely view from the dock.” Audrey’s tone was all innocence. What a delightful ruse. She was cunning, he knew that, and he adored her for it.

  “Certainly not,” Charles replied without hesitation. “We’re taking the boats, and you, my dear ladies, may watch us fish.”

  James’s gaze turned somewhat reproachful. “Charles, if the ladies were here first…”

  “We were,” Audrey agreed, a cheeky gleam in her brown eyes.

  Jonathan couldn’t take his eyes off his little sprite. She wore a day gown of white-and-pink striped muslin with little black boots that peeped out from underneath her skirts. The cool weather was favorable to such a gown, and the way the sunlight illuminated her breasts, which were pushed up to an advantageous display, soon made him harden. He silently cursed and moved behind Charles to hide his condition. A dark curl escaped the elaborate bonnet Audrey wore, and when she turned his way he caught a glint of mischief in her brown eyes. All he could think about was how she looked when she’d been between his thighs and when she’d…

  All those times I teased Godric about how much time he and Emily spent locked away in their chambers. Now I completely understand.

  He’d only had a small taste of what it meant to be with Audrey, and it wasn’t enough. It might never be enough. His hunger
for her went beyond those of his body’s needs, but it didn’t mean that when she looked at him with that wicked little smile he could forget how much he wanted her back in his bed beneath him.

  “Well,” the groundskeeper interjected, “I was just informing the ladies that I have two boats and enough bait and poles for two fishing parties.”

  “Gillian and I will take one boat,” Audrey announced.

  “And I shall come with you,” James volunteered.

  “Oh no. Three is far too many for one boat. I will go with Charles, in the second boat,” Audrey said.

  “You will go with me,” Jonathan interrupted.

  Charles took a pole and stepped away from the group. “I believe I will feel crowded regardless of which boat I am on. No, I will content myself here on the dock while you all drift off.” He eased down onto his backside by the end of the dock, then removed his boots and stockings and dipped his feet into the water.

  “Er… Well…” Audrey glanced between Charles and Jonathan before sighing.

  “Come on. You can pout on the boat if you like.” Jonathan lifted her up by the waist from behind and set her down in the first boat. She wobbled for a second but regained her balance with surprising grace and settled onto the nearest plank seat. James and Gillian took the other boat, and the groundskeeper passed each party a small pail of fresh bait.

  Audrey folded her arms across her chest, her lips formed into a sultry frown as Jonathan rowed them out into the lake.

  “You look very fetching this morning,” he said once the boat was properly adrift.

  “Of course I do. This gown is very—oh! I’m angry with you.” She seemed to only just remember that and clamped her lips shut again.

  Jonathan let out a weary sigh. “And why are you angry?” he asked as he reached for her pole, intending to bait it for her.

  “Because Gillian and I were about to share battle stories, and you and your band of merry men ruined it.”

  “Battle stories?”

  “About lovemaking. One can’t do that if the very gentleman she slept with is sitting right next to her, now can she?”

  Jonathan nearly spilled the bucket of worms as her words sank in. “Now see here. We never…” Then he considered her words. “You mean Pembroke and Gillian…?”

  She nodded. “But you mustn’t tell James. He would be ever so embarrassed. And apparently it wasn’t the first time. That would be the night of the hellfire club.”

  He harrumphed. So Pembroke has managed to woo his lady. He gestured to her pole. “Do you want me to bait it for you?”

  “I can do that.” She pulled her pole out of reach and lifted her silver hook up.

  Jonathan sat back, watching her eye the worms with hesitancy. She reached down to pick up a juicy-looking little fellow. He studied her face and soon realized with surprise that it wasn’t disgust that made her hesitate, but the act of spearing him on the hook.

  “I’m terribly sorry,” she said as she placed the worm on her hook. Then she cast her line out expertly into the water. Jonathan’s mouth opened in shock.

  “What? Have you never seen a lady fish before?” Audrey asked.

  “Not with the ease you just did.”

  “It shouldn’t surprise you. You remember who my brother is. I am no stranger to riding, hunting, or fishing, but I do hate killing an innocent creature. It makes me sad, even to bait a hook.”

  “You’re too softhearted,” he replied in a quiet voice.

  She turned her hard brown eyes upon him. “Do I sense judgment for my feminine weakness?”

  “Far from it. Having a soft heart is a virtue, not a sin. And it’s not a trait restricted to females. Men can be that way as well, just as women can be as hard as any man. Venetia Sharpe, for example.”

  Audrey’s eyes sharpened. “Oh? How so?”

  Was that a hint of jealousy in her voice? Lord, he hoped so. “Well, she is quite aggressive when it comes to getting what she wants.” He set about baiting his own pole.

  “Aggressive toward you?” Her tone was entirely too nonchalant.

  “No, thank heavens. But she does have her eye on Pembroke.”

  “James? Oh dear, she’s quite wrong for him. Venetia is a decent woman, but she’s far too socially ambitious. James desires a quieter life and would be exhausted trying to keep up with someone like her. No, Gillian is perfect for him, assuming he can overlook her being a servant. She is the daughter of an earl, after all.”

  “An illegitimate one,” he added, curious to see how she would respond. He and Gillian were enough alike in their circumstances of birth that he felt Audrey’s reaction would be a good indicator of where he stood with her.

  “Does that matter if he loves her?” Audrey gave her pole an experimental tug before she tucked it into a special notch in the boat’s side, where it could sit without being held.

  He cast his lure out into the water and reeled it in a short ways before he set his pole in a notch as well. “You truly don’t think it matters?”

  Audrey reached up to her bonnet, untying the ribbons and removing it. Small pink and white ribbons were threaded through her hair, matching her outfit. The morning light made her hair shine. He immediately pictured the way it had looked spread out over the pillows as she lay next to him in bed.

  “You must think me some spoiled child, to assume I think that birth matters. I understand that you have a general mistrust of highborn ladies, but not all of us are heartless title seekers. Some of us…” She looked at him meaningfully. “Some of us would be quite content without a titled man as our lord and master. Some of us like quiet gentlemen who would treat us fairly and equally.” She said this with such a hopeful conviction that it made his heart ache.

  “And you are one of those women?”

  Audrey tilted her face back to let the light shine on her skin. “Yes, I am.”

  “There is nothing wrong with that.”

  She looked at him, as if it was his turn to be interrogated. “Do you think a woman should be her husband’s equal?”

  “Of course. If you ask me, only the rich can afford to pretend otherwise. I’ve worked alongside women who’ve worked as hard as if not harder than me. I think it’s a shame that the law doesn’t agree in such matters.”

  They sat there gazing at each other in the boat, and he knew she was seeing him the way he wanted her to, as the man who agreed with her on nearly every issue that truly mattered. Her lips parted and she wet her lips, and he started to lean in, ready to steal a kiss…

  The line on her pole suddenly jerked, and Audrey squealed, lunging for it. The boat rocked, and Jonathan caught Audrey around the waist so she didn’t fall headfirst into the lake. She reeled in the fish, which turned out to be a fine, fat carp.

  “Well done!” He helped her unhook the fish and put it into the basket in their boat. She beamed at him as she wiped her hands on a small cloth she’d brought and reached for another worm. Jonathan stayed close to her, his heart hammering. After everything that had happened between them, he was still nervous as ever to ask the one question that had been burning inside him.

  “Audrey…I need to speak with you”

  He’d only gotten that far when she threw herself at him and they both toppled to the bottom of the boat. She kissed him hard, her mouth locked on his, and he gripped her waist, kissing her back. He could always ask to marry her later. Surely there would be another good moment. But for now, he wanted to enjoy this.

  Audrey tugged at his trousers, but he gently stayed her hand. “Easy, my sweet. We aren’t in a place private enough for that.”

  “Oh? I thought you enjoyed a bit of risk. Emily told me”

  His eyes widened, and he pushed her up a bit. “What do you know about me and Emily?” He’d made the foolish mistake of helping Emily escape Godric’s estate before the two realized they were in love. He’d assumed, also foolishly, that Emily might have been interested in him, but he’d been wrong. It was still a source of embarrassment to hi
m, though they’d been able to laugh at it since.

  “She told me you were brazen enough to try to seduce her at an inn. I assumed you had a streak of voyeurism in you.”

  He groaned. “That was a different time. Besides, we were in a private room. I also didn’t care about her like I do you. It’s…it’s entirely different.”

  She went still above him. “You care about me?”

  He lifted one of her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Isn’t it obvious? I care for you far more than is wise.”

  She kissed him again, and this time he didn’t care if anyone was watching.

  16

  Charles baited his hook and cast it far out into the lake. Once his hook and lure sank below the water, he glanced around for the boats. The one carrying James and Gillian had drifted behind the sweeping protective curtain of an ancient willow tree close to the left side of the lake. The other, the one with Audrey and Jonathan, was drifting along in the middle of the lake. Audrey was reeling in a fish, and Jonathan rushed to help her. Moments later they fell deep into the boat and vanished from view.

  Charles sighed. “So much for spending time alone without the ladies.” He knew a black cloud had to be forming over his head when he idly wondered whether the dandies back inside the house would be preferable company.

  He was glad that both of his friends were well on their way to winning the hearts of their women, but it didn’t help his own situation. The sinking feeling that all of his friends were leaving him as they married was almost too much to bear. He stared at the rippling surface of the lake, watching the light play upon the water. Most days he didn’t think about the past, but whenever he was alone and it was quiet, the memories always crept back upon him. Memories that had left scars on his heart.

  The river Cam at Cambridge, while not a lake, was so glassy smooth and slow that punting boats coasted on its surface with ease. It reminded him of this very lake. He shivered. The memory of the lead weights wrapped around his ankles was something he could never forget. Charles closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He wasn’t sinking underwater. He was fine, just fine. Plenty of air to fill his lungs.