Well, she possessed some inkling about how they felt now.
She wasn’t a slave, but she had lost her newfound independence by being forced to wed Tanner. No longer could she come and go as she liked without reporting to him. And the arrogant man had the nerve to prohibit her from strolling by herself. “Too dangerous to be out alone, Diana,” he had cautioned whenever she mentioned leaving the house. So Curtis was enlisted to bring the carriage around and take her wherever she wanted to go. Diana guessed Curtis always told him where that was.
The cold wind stung her eyes and she returned to the carriage. “Where to, ma’am?” Curtis inquired kindly.
Diana wasn’t certain. She didn’t know too many people in Charlestown any longer, and she hesitated going back to the townhouse. Tanner was gone so often. Not that she cared, but the time seemed to drag without someone to talk to or fight with. Suddenly she remembered Marisa Delaune, her young cousin who she hadn’t seen since before Kingsley joined the army. Marisa’s mother, Frances, was Diana’s mother’s only sister. She’d been remiss in visiting them, but with all of the commotion concerning David and Anne and Tanner, she hadn’t given the Delaunes a thought. She gave Curtis her aunt’s address and smiled to think what an enjoyable afternoon she’d pass with her aunt and cousin.
Marisa was more lovely and sweet than Diana remembered, immediately embracing her when a servant announced her presence. “It’s been much too long since we’ve seen one another,” Marisa gushed. “You’ve been secluded on that plantation and I’ve been here in town with mama. You must join us for dinner. Please say you will, Diana.”
Diana laughed. “I’d love to stay, but I notice that you have guests.” Strains of animated conversation drifted from the parlor into the foyer where they stood.
Marisa wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Lady Gabriella Fox is staying with us over the holidays while her husband is fighting for the British. You remember her, don’t you?”
Clutching her muff, Diana nodded. How could she forget Gabriella Fox? The woman’s insatiable carnal appetite had been thrown up to her by Kingsley more than once. Gabriella, it had been rumored, would have married Kingsley except that he’d decided he wanted Diana as his wife. Marrying a wealthy man shortly after Kingsley married Diana hadn’t stopped her from seeking out Kingsley every time she and Fox attended a ball at Briarhaven. Whenever Gabriella was in residence, Kingsley never bothered Diana. Diana had decided this was fine with her, but each time Kingsley returned to her bed, he’d tell her what he and Gabriella had done and what a ninny she’d married. Then he would comment on the lush fullness of Gabriella’s breasts, her voluptuous body and perfect tongue, which knew how to drive a man to ecstasy.
Diana hated Gabriella Fox, not for those stolen minutes with Kingsley but for the hours afterward when she had to emulate Gabriella’s performance.
“I’ll visit with you and Aunt Frances another time,” Diana said.
“Indeed not! I won’t have you leaving because of that — that — trollop. You’re family, and besides, all of the guests are acquaintances…” Marisa’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “… of Gabriella’s and will soon depart. They were invited just for tea. Come into the parlor and greet mother, Diana. She’ll be thrilled to see you again.”
Following her dark-haired cousin, Diana saw that Marisa, who was five years younger than she, had grown into a beautiful young woman.
They entered the parlor and Diana immediately saw her aunt sitting on the divan. Laughing and talking at once, the two embraced, oblivious of the men who gathered round a sloe-eyed Gabriella. “It’s been so long,” Frances told Diana as she patted her niece’s hand maternally. “What are you doing in Charlestown, dear? Do you plan to stay for a while?”
Diana hesitated, not certain whether she should tell Frances and Marisa about her marriage. She decided not to say anything for the present. There were too many people in the room. Instead she gave a slight smile. “I don’t know how long my stay shall be.” This was true. Tanner might send her packing to Briarhaven if he decided he wasn’t pleased with his new wife. Oh, she hoped so!
Diana wore a lilac day dress, trimmed in green at the tight-fitting waist and long sleeves. She felt dowdy and plain when Gabriella, who wore a stunning gold silk gown, excused herself from a British officer and walked over to where Diana sat. The vibrant gold matched her hair, and her ruby red lips formed into a parody of a smile before dutifully pecking Diana’s cheek.
“Diana, darling, how nice to see you’ve reentered the world of the living for the moment and left Briarhaven. But such a little homebody as yourself must be incredibly lost here in Charlestown. Your little heart must flutter from sheer anguish to be so far from the cows and pigs.”
Diana pasted an equally false smile on her own face. “I assure you, Gabriella, dear, that I can handle it.”
Gabriella opened her Chinese fan, her movements hasty and stiff. She slyly narrowed her eyes. “If I recall, you had a difficult time in handling, let’s say, the hard part of something.”
What a horrible, uncouth woman, Diana thought, struck by Gabriella’s audaciousness. A sick feeling clutched at Diana’s stomach as she grasped the true meaning behind Gabriella’s words. Frances and Marisa both wore puzzled expressions, but Diana knew that Kingsley must have confided to his erstwhile lover about her lack of response in bed. She swallowed her dismay, not bothering to give Gabriella the satisfaction of a response.
Gabriella fluttered her fan, a gleam of triumph in her eyes. “Oh, by the way, Diana, I must congratulate you on your marriage. Everyone is talking about the suddenness of it.”
“Marriage?” Frances and her daughter repeated at once.
“Yes,” Diana admitted, not able to hide the flush from her face. “I was married last week to Tanner Sheridan.”
“I always say it’s best to keep things in the family,” Gabriella continued with a wicked grin. “And, Diana, I shall be certain to tell Tanner when I meet him for an intimate, late-night supper tonight that I saw you today — and that you look well. Adieu, dear.” With that, Gabriella swept away to join the enclave of her fawning admirers.
“Diana, you should have told us about your marriage,” Frances whispered. “Aren’t you happy about it?”
“Certainly, I’m happy.” It was a lie, but there was no reason to distress her family. She attempted to smile but failed, feeling wretchedly chilled to know that Tanner was acquainted with Gabriella Fox.
“But the awful thing that Gabriella said about a late-night supper with your husband…” Marisa broke off at the chastising look Frances threw her way.
“I don’t believe a word of it,” protested Diana. “Gabriella’s lying and wants to upset me.” And she had.
~
“More brandy, darling?”
Tanner looked up from where he lounged on the elaborately carved settee in General Lord Rawdon’s private chambers. Gabriella stood over him, holding a crystal decanter filled with brandy and smiled enticingly. Her voluptuous, pale flesh beneath a pink bit of fluff and lace was enticing too, and left very little to Tanner’s fertile imagination. His loins fired at Gabriella’s blatant sensuality. It had been months since he’d been with a woman, the last time having been in New York when he’d walked out on a beguiling female spy named Annabelle who’d turned out to be conniving and heartless. But the half-clad beauty before him wasn’t particularly heartless or conniving, or for the most part, anything special. She was beautiful and eager for him, a potent aphrodisiac for a man who was married to a woman who couldn’t bear the sight of him.
Holding out his empty glass to her, Tanner watched Gabriella refill it. She placed the decanter on a small round table beside him, her movement causing the heady scent of her perfume to waft over him as she sat next to him. Pressing close, she artfully arranged herself in a pose that Tanner guessed was meant to arouse him with the view of her lovely exposed thigh. Shrugging, she allowed the gown to fall from her shoulders and reveal the milky white swell o
f her breasts. Tanner smiled at the contrivance but he didn’t mind. He liked the fact that a beautiful woman wanted to seduce him.
Gabriella batted her long, golden-tinged lashes at him and whispered huskily, “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes.” His answer was abrupt even to his own ears. He did not care for the sudden image he had of a dark-haired temptress in Gabriella’s place and he tried to drive it away.
Gabriella didn’t seem to notice as she planted warm kisses on the part of his chest revealed by his open shirt. “You’re certain that Rawdon won’t return tonight, Tanner?”
“He’s in Camden, so no one will bother us.”
“How accommodating of him.” Gabriella made a purring sound and swirled her tongue in lazy circles on the taut expanse of bronzed flesh. Pushing aside Tanner’s linen shirt, her hands trailed wantonly in the wake of her tongue. “You’re so handsome and strong, Tanner,” she whispered hotly against him. “I want you, ache for you. Do you remember how it was between us years ago, that spring night I attended the ball at Briarhaven?”
Tanner closed his eyes and moaned. He really didn’t remember too well. Apparently it was during a ball or some festive occasion when Gabriella had snuck away from the main house to join him in a tryst, one of the many ladies who sought out Harlan Sheridan’s bastard son for pleasure. He grunted his response because at the moment it felt wonderful to be touched and kissed, to feel a woman’s soft body against him, to ignite beneath fiery fingers. He was in a rapturous void, growing harder and larger as Gabriella’s practiced hands opened his breeches to stroke the hot length of him. Grabbing a thick handful of Gabriella’s hair, he imagined the curls were brown … and did the unforgivable by moaning aloud another woman’s name.
The stroking stilled, the hands instantly departed, and a high-pitched cry reverberated in the room. “You called me your wife’s name!” Gabriella instantly rose from the settee and Tanner opened his eyes, his desire waning. The woman who stood so angrily before him certainly wasn’t brown-haired and blue-eyed. “How dare you insult me like this,” she ended on a high note.
“Did I? Forgive me.” Tanner sheepishly sat up and began to button his shirt, suddenly weary and wanting to go home. To what he wasn’t certain, for no doubt a cold reception awaited him there, but this late supper was a dreadful mistake. He didn’t really like Gabriella, finding her to be too conceited and much too sexually aggressive. Sometimes he liked the woman to take the lead, but this night he’d wanted a more leisurely lovemaking session. This clearly wasn’t what Gabriella had in mind, but he was expert enough to know that he would eventually have taken control and slowed the pace, allowing both of them to enjoy each other’s body. No matter now, he’d spoiled everything by calling Diana’s name. He felt unnerved to know that he couldn’t put Diana’s face and form from his mind when another woman pleasured him. What was happening to him?
Gabriella paced, the gown swirling around her. “I’ve never been so insulted in my life. And to think I gave up an evening with a British major. Well, no more bedazzled married men for me.” She twisted around and faced him. “What do you see in such a mousy woman? I never understood why Kingsley married her or how he endured bedding such a frigid bitch all of those years. He told me she hated lovemaking and acted like she was doing him a favor by opening her legs for him. All she ever did was lie there like a martyr, thrown to the lions.”
Tanner finished pulling on his boots, his discomfiture vanishing. “Kingsley told you that about Diana?”
“I certainly didn’t make it up. ‘Detested the entire act’ were his very words. Really, I’m at a loss…”
“Don’t fret over it, Gabriella,” Tanner snapped as he grabbed his jacket. “Why don’t you send for your major? It’s a pity to waste such lavish accommodations.”
“I’ll do that!” she shouted, and he had no doubts that she would.
~
The clock in the foyer chimed twelve times. Diana had been in the tub for over an hour, not aware that the time had passed so quickly. She’d arrived home earlier after spending a nice time with Frances and Marisa catching up on family gossip. When the three of them sat down to dinner, Diana’s happy mood fled. Gabriella appeared to wish them a festive holiday. The smiling harpy told Diana she’d be passing a wonderful time with Tanner and that Diana shouldn’t wait up for his return home.
“Disgusting tart!” Diana muttered and venomously plopped her washrag into the cool tub water in an attempt to drive the sordid image of Tanner and Gabriella from her mind. What must they be doing at that moment? she wondered, and detested herself for even thinking about them, for caring what Tanner did and with whom he did it. She didn’t care, didn’t care at all, she reminded herself. She was Tanner’s wife in name only, nothing else. She must stop thinking about Tanner and Gabriella, so she started to hum a silly tune her father had taught her years ago.
At last the water grew chilly and her flesh started to pucker. The candle had burned down to a nub. Diana hesitated ringing for Cammie, whom she had dismissed for the night. She could very well tend to herself, and she’d wished to take a leisurely bath without interruption from anyone, especially Tanner. Tonight was perfect for a long soak because the bounder wouldn’t be home at all. Gabriella had made that fact so perfectly clear that Diana grimaced as she reached for the towel and stepped out of the tub to dry off.
When she’d finished she reached for the thin gossamer nightrail that Cammie had placed in the bathing room. Diana had seen her when she brought the creamy colored creation into the room and nearly told her to bring one of the calico nightrails, which modestly covered all of her except for her head, hands, and feet. That was the sort of gown she usually slept in when Tanner shared the bed with her. She didn’t want the conceited man to see any extra bit of flesh and get the wrong idea.
But since Tanner wasn’t going to be home that night she hadn’t said anything. This was one night when it didn’t matter if she wore the nightrail. For days it’s sheer beauty had beckoned to her from the wardrobe and she’d ached to wear it. Now was her chance.
The gown flowed over her body in shimmering and undulating folds of silk and lace, as transparent as butterfly wings. Diana tied the white bow that rested beneath her breasts, astonished to find that it was the only tie on the gown and that it did very little to stop the front of the gown from parting and revealing her naked body. But a sense of daring filled her, and she silently chastised herself for being silly. No one was there to see her. She was free to wear whatever she liked without fear of Tanner’s dark gaze.
Though there wasn’t a mirror in the bathing room to examine her reflection, a giggle of approval escaped her. Diana pirouetted, her long dark hair cascading like a velvet waterfall around her shoulders. But when she turned to face the doorway the delighted excitement in her eyes died and her rosy flushed cheeks grew instantly pale. It was Tanner … leaning against the door of the bathing room, dressed in only his boots and breeches. His shirt was gone, and the powerful muscles on his chest resembled golden mounds in the dying candlelight. His thumbs were hitched in the belt loops of his pants. He appeared tall and strong, a massive presence filling the small bathing room. But it was the raw desire she saw in the black pits of his eyes that caused her to falter and clutch at the top of the gown.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she mumbled, feeling the heat return to stain her face.
“Not with all of the humming you were doing.”
“Forgive me if I bothered you.”
“I wasn’t bothered, Diana. Must you always take offense or become defensive with everything I say or do?”
“I hadn’t realized I did that. I’m sorry. I shall not try to be so touchy in the future.” She sounded cold to her own ears. Very proper, very prim.
Tanner sighed. “There you go again, and don’t dare tell me you’re sorry.”
“Well, if I’ve disturbed you I am. This is your house, after all.” Diana made a move forward but Tanner blo
cked her passage into the bedroom. She waited, her head barely reaching his shoulders. Her eyes skimmed the planes of his broad chest, fixing on the taut nipples at mouth level. She couldn’t stop staring at him, finding him to be the most perfectly handsome man. Her fingers burned to touch him and to discover if he was flesh and blood like other mortals. He looked so much like a statue most of the time.
They stood that way for what seemed like minutes, even if it was only seconds. She could feel his eyes upon her, feel the odd sensation rising in her chest and threatening to strangle her. As he touched her chin and lifted her face to peer into her eyes she let out a tense sigh. “This is your house, too,” he reminded her softly, “and I have to tell you that the gown suits you, Diana. You look beautiful. I’m pleased you’re availing yourself of the clothes in the wardrobe now.”
“Gown?” she repeated, as if in a hypnotic spell.
“Your nightrail. I’m glad you decided to wear it. It shows off your attributes. Dare I hope you wore it to please me?”
Anything to please you, her mind seemed to say. But suddenly his words sliced through her brain with the speed of a knife and the spell was broken. The gown! Instantly she pushed past him. Within less than a heartbeat she’d jumped into the bed and had pulled the quilt up to her neck.
Tanner was looking at her with his brows arched over those black eyes, which held little reflection. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m not decently dressed, you bounder! If you were a gentleman you’d realize that.”
Savage Deception (Liberty's Ladies) Page 11