"Thank you, Laddock," she said as he bowed and departed.
Since their arrival at Lynkellyn House, Lucia's guests had heard of thumps, bumps, and shouts from the floor below. As Lucia handed the first cup of tea around, she flinched at an incredibly loud thud. A high-pitched squeal and mournful lamentations over an injured toe followed and a door slammed. An inquiring voice was raised and answered, then footsteps pounded on the stairs.
A few seconds later, the duke entered the room and the sun streaming through the sparkling windows turned his coppery curls to fire. "Ma chérie!" he said to Lucia. "How the devil am I to concentrate with all this noise! Je te supplie." Suddenly becoming aware of a wider audience, he bowed to the visitors. "My apologies! I was not aware that anyone had called or I would have been here earlier to welcome you."
"You said you did not wish to be disturbed, Robin," Lucia reminded him.
"So I did! Nonetheless, I'm ready for a little diversion." Taking Amaryllis's hand, Robin smiled at her, much to Sir William's consternation. "Ryl," he grinned, "I hear you are my champion."
"I believe in you, Robin. I always have."
"I thank you, Cousin." When Amberley kissed Amaryllis's hand, only Tracy's firm hold on Sir William's arm prevented him from lunging forward in righteous fury to protect his lady. As it was, Blayne sat rigidly in his chair, fuming and wishing for his horsewhip.
Robin's gaze shifted to the countess and Tracy visibly stiffened. Lynkellyn bowed formally, saying, "I am honored to meet you again, my lady."
A little daunted in spite of her obvious safety, Valeria glanced at her husband, then nodded slightly to her host. "Thank you, Your Grace," was all she could manage.
He next bowed to Tracy and Sir William. They inclined their heads curtly and he passed on without comment to Lord Bellefield.
"Your Grace," his lordship said with a bow and an affable grin, "I fear you will think I intrude, but I had to be sure." his voice trailed off, then he said more certainly, "and it is you, isn't it?"
"Why did you come here, Tony?" Robin's voice was low. "Don't you realize an association with me could ruin you? I lied to you in America! I'm a dishonored man! An adventurer! I want you to cut my acquaintance before our friendship stains your good name."
"Cut your acquaintance? Nonsense, man! A comrade-in- arms! Saved my life! Besides, you owe me some explanations. Shall we cry friends?"
The duke grinned as he clasped Bellefield's hand. "I couldn't ask for a better, Tony! My friends, rare though they are, call me Robin these days."
Having served everyone else tea while Robin was greeting his guests, Lucia handed him a cup as he sank down on the sofa beside her. Tony was on his right and the two men began to rehash old times.
Amaryllis devoured Robin with her eyes. It had been so long since she'd seen him, so many years of fighting and arguing for him, of weeping, worrying, and praying for him. Now he sat across from her; elegant, smiling, yet so very distant. The mocking drawl and the cruel hardness in his eyes were new and they made her shudder. Her once laughing, loving cousin had become a forbidding stranger.
The duchess smiled at her guests as she gave a vague, evasive answer to yet another question concerning her marriage. Ryl watched as Lucia looked nervously at Robin before speaking and wondered if perhaps the tales were true and Robin had been -- unkind -- to his bride.
"I am going to my modiste's tomorrow. Would you care to accompany me, Lucia?" Ryl asked impulsively, ignoring Tracy's frown. Lucia's eyes widened and she glanced furtively at the duke. Lynkellyn was deep in conversation with Lord Bellefield, apparently oblivious to all else.
Lucia hesitated. "I -- I will have to ask Robin. He -- always likes to know where I am."
"But, surely, if Lady Malkent agrees to accompany us, His Grace will consider you safe," Amaryllis said, casting a pleading glance at Valeria. "And, of course, we shall have a footman. His Grace certainly could not object, then?"
His attention suddenly caught, Robin turned to Lucia. "Are you plotting something, ma chérie?"
"Lady Malkent and I would like to take Lucia shopping with us tomorrow," Amaryllis said. "We will do everything possible to insure her safety."
Robin's eyes shifted from Amaryllis's eager face to Lucia's anxious one and, although his lips smiled, his eyes hardened to stony ice. "Contemplating an escape -- from the house, ma douce?" Suspicion hissed in his steely voice.
"It will be quite -- safe, Robin." Lucia's teacup rattled as she set it down. "I shall be positively surrounded with people; Lady Blayne, Lady Malkent, our maids and footmen."
He held up his hand to halt her tumbling words. "très bien! You may go! But if anything -- untoward -- happens, you may be sure I shall be by your side in a flash, to protect you, naturellement." Robin's eyes challenged Lucia's and her proud, chin rose.
"You seem inordinately concerned about Her Grace's safety, Rogue," Tracy said.
Robin's gaze never wavered from his lady's face. "I have many enemies, my lord."
Laddock entered the salon with another calling card on his silver tray. He bowed, offering it to the duke. Robin glanced at the card and frowned. "By all means, show him in and let us be done with this circus," he muttered as genteel conversation flowed around him.
When Laddock announced Lord Mountheathe, that conversation died. Giles, a vision in a maroon coat, apricot smallclothes, and a beribboned, silver-grey wig some six inches high, minced into the room. He paused on the threshold, surveying the duke's stylish guests through a quizzing glass, then flourished a white lace handkerchief as he bowed. Rising, he clasped the scrap of lace to his nose and grimaced as if he'd just detected some foul odor in the air.
As Mountheathe sauntered into the room, Robin gritted his teeth. How he itched to knock that saintly smirk off the bastard's face!
Seeing the dangerous glint in Robin's eyes, Lucia hurried toward Giles. "It's a pleasure to see you again, my lord. Won't you have a seat?"
"Thank you," he drawled, still holding the handkerchief to his nose as he sat down.
"Would you care for tea?" Lucia asked. Not waiting for his answer, she handed him a steaming cup. He sniffed suspiciously at its contents..
Hoping to diffuse the tension that hung thickly in the air, Amaryllis smiled at Lucia. "This is a lovely room, Your Grace. I'm amazed at how fine you've made this house look in such a short time. When Giles and I were last here, the place was falling apart, was it not, my lord?
"Indeed, Cousin, but don't you think -- that is, does it not seem -- I mean, is the present decor not rather -- gaudy? Quite as if one were in a -- a bordello!" Giles's voice grew fainter as he finished his assessment and again brought his handkerchief delicately to his nose.
Mountheathe had stunned his audience into silence. Every lady in the room blushed scarlet. "I beg your pardon?" Lucia said incredulously.
"A bordello, my -- 'lady'. I'm certain you must be familiar with them." Giles lowered his scented square of lace to leer at the duchess. Lucia gasped in shock and indignation.
Robin stretched his legs, his eyes almost closed to hide the fury that was roiling within him. "How does a moral, upstanding man like yourself know so much about brothels, Giles? You told us you were above that sort of thing!" he drawled.
Giles reddened. "I have rescued several unfortunate females from such filthy holes. Employed them as chambermaids at Heathe Manor. Philanthropy is my life, Your Grace."
"Not much of a leap from making your bed to warming it, n'est-ce pas? Especially for an 'unfortunate female' of that stamp," Robin sneered.
"Gentlemen!" Sir William jumped to his feet. "There are ladies present!"
"I offer my apologies," Robin said with a respectful nod toward the women in the room.
"I also tender my apologies to the ladies." Giles rose to bow to Lady Blayne and Lady Malkent. Sitting, he sneered at Lucia. "A drab who grew up in the gutter can have no sensibilities to offend, so I see no need to excuse myself to your fortune-hunting little strumpet, Rogue.
"
Martial fire flashed in Lucia's eyes, but before she could speak, Robin sprang to his feet. "Nom de Dieu! 'Tis very brave how you attack women, Sir Poltroon! If you've something nasty to say, say it to me and have done!"
Giles leaped out of his seat as well. "You and your doxy won't get away with this farce for long. There are quite a few irregularities in your so-called marriage and I intend to expose them all!"
"I assume you have seen the legal papers, every one duly signed and sealed. My wedding contract is ironclad. I know nothing of your 'irregularities'!"
"A quarter before midnight is an odd time for a wedding," Giles fired at him.
"When lovers elope, they don't wait until a respectable hour to wed! We married as soon as we found a parson!"
"And you found one at just a quarter of an hour before your chance to claim Grandpapa's inheritance disappeared. Most convenient for you, Coz!" Mountheathe sneered. "It doesn't matter, however, because I shall still have Grandpapa's fortune in the end. You certainly don't believe your strumpet is going to risk her beauty to bear you a child, do you, Rogue? After all, how will she attract another protector once you've finished with her if she is a cow?"
Loathing lit Robin's countenance as his hand clamped around a pistol in his pocket. Sensing impending disaster, Lucia leaped between the combatants and confronted Mountheathe. "You may believe what you choose, my lord, but I would have married my Robin gladly, rich or poor, noble or commoner, because I -- " Playing her part to the hilt, she lifted shining eyes to meet Robin's bemused gaze. "I love him more than anything in this world."
"Ma chérie!" He brought her hand to his lips, warm appreciation in his eyes. He pressed a second kiss on her blushing cheek, whispering in her ear, "Brava, ma petite!"
Giles laughed. "Love! A Whitechapel alley cat knows more about love than the pair of you do! This 'marriage' is nothing more than a blatant attempt to steal my inheritance. Everyone knows what you and your harlot are! Why don't you give it up, Rogue, and crawl back under your rock? Bah! I can no longer stomach such unsavory company. Bad 'cess to you, Rogue!" He strode from the room without a backward glance.
Tracy looked from Robin to Lucia in surprise, remembering his conversation with Robin at the Pelican three weeks before. Why were they suddenly claiming their marriage was a love- match? He resolved to call on Amberley and quiz him on the matter.
Lady Valeria rose, an embarrassed blush still tingeing her cheeks. The other callers followed suit, each thanking her grace with more civility than sincerity, for a lovely visit as they filed out.
When she and Robin were finally alone, Lucia sank into a chair, her legs suddenly too weak to hold her. "Vraiment, ma chérie," Robin smiled, "that went fairly well."
"It was an unmitigated disaster! All they wanted to talk about was our imaginary courtship and our sham of a marriage. Then, as if that were not enough, Lord Mountheathe appeared! I am loath to face any more of his insults and insinuations, Robin."
He sat beside her and took her hands in his. "This will all be over in a month or two, ma chérie, then we shall go up to Lynkellyn Castle and tranquility. My nearest neighbor is ten miles away. We shall be quite -- " he brought one of her hands to his lips "quite -- " then the other "alone." He gently kissed her sad little mouth. "In any case, I'm proud of you. 'Twas a fine performance you gave today. No one ever 'loved me more than anything in this world' before. I rather liked it."
Gazing into the warmth and approbation in his eyes, Lucia almost fancied she read affection in those grey depths. Her hungry heart yearned to reach out to him, but she knew that his affection, like everything else about him, was false.
She pulled her hands out of his and crossed to the window. "I was only play-acting, Your Grace. Nothing has changed between us. I am still your prisoner, still forced to bow to your will, and when we are alone, I shall not pretend otherwise."
***
After their wives bade them farewell in front of Lynkellyn House, Tracy and Sir William strolled back toward White's.
As the ladies waited for their carriages, Amaryllis said, "My lady! I would be honored if you would follow me to my house. I feel we have a great deal to discuss."
Valeria stared at her. "A great deal to discuss?"
Amaryllis moved closer. "We have to help Robin and his bride." Valeria continued to stare and Amaryllis conceded grudgingly, "Well, I think the duchess needs friends, anyway. She seemed rather -- frightened."
"I am willing to aid the duchess, but I'll not befriend that -- that wretched man!"
"Come back to my house and we can decide, over a dish of Bohea, how best to help Her Grace," Amaryllis coaxed.
Half an hour later, the two ladies sat in Amaryllis's drawing room, cups of steaming tea before them. "First, I would like to settle our old quarrel, my lady." Amaryllis faltered, unsure of her next words.
"I would hardly call your blatant championship of the man who abducted me a mere 'quarrel', madame. You have been calling me a liar for years!"
"I -- I know it must have seemed that way, my lady. However, it is not your veracity I question, but Lord Mountheathe's. Giles's story contains too many discrepancies for me to credit it. Besides, Robin is too honorable a man to commit such an act."
"Then how do you explain his abduction of that poor governess? I, for one, do not believe that Banbury story about an elopement the pair of them concocted this morning."
"I don't believe it either." Amaryllis chewed her lower lip. "Lucia was definitely afraid of Robin and there was something about him, a hardness, that was foreign to him before. It even frightened me a little. Perhaps his years abroad have changed him." She stared forlornly into her tea. "Robin used to be such delightful company! He was never like...the man I saw today. I don't know..."
"Well, I do," Valeria said. "Tracy accepts Lord Mountheathe's story and my husband has no reason to lie."
"You will certainly want to befriend the governess, though?" Amaryllis urged, banking her impatience. She needed the countess's assistance if her plot to storm Society on Robin's behalf was to succeed. "This morning you practically offered her a home if she wanted to leave the duke."
Valeria arched a brow. "Exactly what do you mean by 'befriend'?"
"Well, if you and I sponsored her, introduced her into the ton. But, of course, Robin would have to be included in any plans we made for his wife."
"They say the duchess is not received in her own family. Her uncle is the Earl of Cothcourt, you know. If the earl will have nothing to do with her, I'm not sure that we should, either."
Amaryllis bristled. "If you did not want to lend her countenance, why did you call on her today?"
Valeria shrugged. "She is my husband's kin. I was prepared to offer my aid to her should it seem the proper thing, but if helping her means disgracing the Wallenham name or benefiting Robert Amberley, then I cannot agree to it!"
"You are willing to accept Giles's word regarding Robin, then!"
"He is my husband's friend," Valeria said uneasily.
"Do you like him?"
Lady Malkent rested her slim white hands in her lap. "No," she said. "He makes me nervous. He appears to be a fine, upstanding gentleman, innocent of vice, but his eyes, his voice, his very presence is somehow...lascivious. He never misses an opportunity to touch me... my hand, my shoulder, my hair... but always in the guise of a compliment or a gallantry. Afterward, I sense that he has taken a liberty, but I cannot quite say what he has done or how he has done it. I feel humiliated and I can do nothing about it. How I wish he and Tracy were not friends!" Valeria sipped tea from a cup that shook a little.
"If we promote the Amberleys in Society, perhaps Giles will cut his connection with the earl," Amaryllis said.
"I'm afraid!" Valeria admitted. "Robin is quite terrifying, isn't he? I must agree that I don't remember him being so intimidating, so imposing, in the old days! Besides, the beau monde will be scandalized if I -- we befriend him!"
"I care nothing for the ton
's opinion. I am going to sponsor my cousin and his wife in Society. My efforts will mean so much more if you support them!"
Valeria sighed heavily, striving to come to a decision. "Very well. I suppose I'd already begun to accept them when I called at Lynkellyn House this morning. I had best leap in with both feet, though, before I lose my courage." She stared into her tea for a moment, thinking. At last, she raised her head. "I know! Let us give a welcoming ball at Malkent House in Their Graces' honor!"
"A splendid idea!" Amaryllis said. She refilled Valeria's cup and they began to discuss all the arrangements attendant upon the proposed entertainment.
Chapter 11:
In Which Her Grace Smiles Upon Her Family and His Grace Uncovers a Secret
As luncheon ended, the soft tread of the servants' feet whispered in the thick tension as they departed the dining room. At one end of the long table, Lucia finished her custard, studiously avoiding her husband's stony gaze. At the other end, Robin brooded into his wine, scowling at her. At last he drained the goblet and slammed it down, his voice low and intense as he spoke. "Damnation, Lucia! Must you meet all my overtures of friendship with insults and barbs? I know that our marriage began badly and I am at fault for that, but we can salvage something, can't we? We can be friends!"
"Perhaps! If you take away your guards and allow me a little freedom," she said.
"Freedom! Freedom so you can buy passage on the first ship out of England!"
"I have given you my word that I will not leave."
Robin laughed, a short, joyless bark. "I'm supposed to trust you, enfin!"
"I always try to behave honorably, Your Grace." Lucia pushed her dish away.
"Oh, I know all about your honor, madame!" Robin sneered. "You were the epitome of honor, were you not, when you held up my coach the day I left Vienna!" She looked up in guilty surprise. "Yes, I finally recognized you! Highway robbery! A damnably stupid thing to do!"
"I don't believe you, of all people, can call me to account for my past." Lucia's eyes flashed with indignation. "I am tired of this game. I loath both you and your cousin, barbarians that you are, and I despise my life as your dishonored duchess, compelled into your lies and into your bed. Although I cannot escape from your public farce, Your Grace, I shall no longer countenance your private embraces!"
The Rogue's Revenge Page 14