Allegra fingers played listlessly with the strings of her reticule. "I suppose I should just get on with my life. It's just that I thought...that it seemed--" she broke off, unwilling to expose her folly.
"You thought that perhaps Gravesmere was coming to care for you?"
Allegra nodded. "You probably think I'm very foolish."
"Not foolish, no. Romantic, perhaps, and too sensitive for your own good, but not foolish. I only wish that you had such tender feelings for me."
Allegra turned pink under his direct gaze. Lord Gresham's admiration soothed her shattered pride. Here was a man who found her interesting and charming and desirable. She smiled at him tentatively. "It seems our parents were wrong when they thought Adam and I would make a match of it. I wish now that they had never brought us together."
"You know that you have only to speak one word and I'll take you away from here," said Tristan. "I would do anything for you, Your Grace."
"That isn't possible. I've done nothing wrong, and I won't allow Lady Manning to drive me away. But I thank you for thinking kindly of me."
Tristan leaned forward and gazed directly into her eyes. "He isn't worth a single one of your tears. I hope to convince you that I am the one who can truly make you happy."
Allegra sat back against the silken seat cushions, startled. "Lord Gresham, I appreciate your concern for me, but now is hardly the time to...to--"
"To declare myself to you?" Tristan took her hand in his. "Your Grace, my heart will always be yours. I know it is scandalous of me, but I wish to bring you happiness, to show you all the joys that you can know as a woman. Believe me, I won't rest until you are mine."
Allegra's eyes grew very wide. Previously Lord Gresham had spoken in general terms, of protecting her and comforting her, and she could put his words down to simple gallantry. But now he was making it plain that his interest went far deeper than mere flirtation.
"My lord, this conversation is becoming vastly improper," she protested.
"I know I should regret that, but I don't. It pains me to see you suffering so at the hands of your loutish husband. Please allow me to prove to you that not all men are so unappreciative. If you were mine I would stop at nothing to make you happy."
Allegra felt a moment of panic at Tristan's words. While she found him agreeable and amusing, her affections were in no way captured by the roguish baron. Indeed, she acknowledged miserably, her every thought was of Adam. It also worried her that Lord Gresham was no boy who could be easily used to make Adam jealous and then brushed off. She could tell by the look in his eye that he wanted far more from her than a pleasant flirtation. But then her sense of pride reasserted itself. If she involved herself with Tristan, Adam would be furious, far angrier than if he saw her with a callow youth. She could handle the baron, she told herself firmly. He was a gentleman, after all, and wouldn't push her too hard.
Calming herself with a deep breath, she summoned a bright smiled. "You're very kind, Lord Gresham. I'm touched by your concern."
"I feel a great deal more than just concern for you, Your Grace." Tristan watched her knowingly. He guessed at her thoughts quite accurately. She meant to use him to make her husband jealous, and then retreat again. For a moment he felt an unbidden pang of pity for her innocent assumption. All too soon she would be far too entangled with him to break away. He had no doubts as to his own powers of seduction and the inevitability of Allegra succumbing to him, whether from true desire or to hurt her husband, it mattered not at all. His eyes floated from her face to her body, admiring the curve or her waist, the flare of her hips under her skirt, picturing in the back of his mind the way she would look spread-eagled on his bed, her lips parted for his kiss. A predatory glint came into his eyes.
"My lord?" Allegra looked puzzled. "Is something wrong?"
Tristan gathered himself together. "Not at all. I was merely thinking of the future that we will share. I look forward to it."
Allegra flushed. "I've made you no promises, my lord."
"I don't need you to." Tristan's dark eyes gazed into her blue ones, and he saw far more there than she suspected. "I'm quite confident that we will eventually be together. It was meant to be, I'm sure.”
Chapter 22
The Field Marshal and the Rake
Caroline tapped her fingers impatiently on her knee as she scanned the park. No one observing the serene expression on her face would guess that she had a purpose for being in the Park today, and that her impatience was growing. As a wealthy and beautiful young widow, she had a court of not inconsiderable proportions, despite the general belief that all the gentlemen of London were at the feet of the Duchess of Gravesmere. She proceeded through the park, greeting acquaintances with a nod and a smile, stopping for a comfortable chat with good friends, taking the occasional strolling gentleman into her carriage for a brief period. She spent half-an-hour quite enjoyably in this way, but always she was intent on her eventual goal. Eventually, the object of her interest appeared.
Lady Manning's carriage, carrying that lady and her friend, the Duke of Gravesmere, approached Caroline's on the track. The couple was deep in conversation, Louisa's eyes gazing up adoringly into his face, and Adam didn't notice his sister until the carriages were nearly abreast of one another. Caroline gave the pair a cold stare.
"Gravesmere," she said, quite loudly enough to be heard by anyone who cared to listen. "Whatever are you doing?"
Adam jumped perceptibly and turned quickly to see his sister, her posture alarmingly upright, gazing at him with raised eyebrows. He felt an instant pang of embarrassment that she should see him with Louisa.
"Caroline! What are you doing here?"
"I am driving in the park, Adam, as any fool can see. It's quite a habit of mine. I was unaware that it was a habit of yours, however."
"Dash it, Caroline, what are you about?" asked Adam testily. "I went for a stroll and came upon Lady Manning out for a drive. We were acquainted on the Continent and quite naturally she invited me to join her."
"Naturally," responded Caroline with great sarcasm. "Poppycock. Come and drive with me, Adam, or we shall have all London talking of your indiscretion. Not that they aren't already."
"There is no indiscretion in driving with a friend," protested Adam.
"It is indiscreet if you have already been making a spectacle of yourself with the friend. Besides, I wish for your company, though I am beginning to wonder why. Come join me."
Louisa, though infuriated by Caroline's high-handed tone, decided to seize the moment. She had never been this close to any member of Adam's family and wished to ingratiate herself with the Countess. If this woman was indeed working to thwart her plans, it was best to attempt to disarm her. She arranged her prettiest smile on her face.
"Your Grace, will you not introduce me to your sister?" she said in a gentle voice. "I have longed to meet her as you have told me so many kind things about her."
Adam stared at her in undisguised surprise, for he failed to remember saying anything about Caroline to Louisa, and any comments he might have made would have reflected not her kindness, but his lively awe of her. Caroline caught the look, and, hiding her amusement, gave Louisa Manning a haughty stare down her straight, well bred nose.
"You had best not introduce us, Gravesmere, for I certainly shall not speak to her," she said bluntly. "Come along, Adam, you have dallied away enough of the afternoon with your friend."
Adam hesitated, torn between the need to not be rude to his sister, particularly in a public spot, and his plan to put Allegra in her place. Caroline sat haughtily awaiting her brother, and Louisa deemed it best to present a meek front. Allegra had already seen them together, and thus her aim for the day had been achieved. And she had poured enough poisonous statements about Allegra into his ears in the past half hour that she thought not even Caroline would be able to soothe him.
"Go with her, Adam. I've many friends who will be glad to keep me company, and I know you would enjoy some time wi
th your sister. Don't worry about me."
Adam, privately relieved to escape Louisa's smothering company, kissed her hand and climbed down from her carriage and into Caroline's. It moved off, Caroline not even acknowledging Louisa with a nod. Louisa stared after them, her mouth set in a grim line. Adam's sister was overly proud and would need to be taken down a notch when she attained her rightful position as Duchess of Gravesmere. She prodded her coachman in the back with her parasol, indicating to him that he should move on, and soon found a handsome young man to ride with her. Louisa was perhaps not of the haut ton, but she was seldom without company.
"Caroline, how could you make such a scene?" asked Adam, frowning across the carriage at his sister. "That isn't like you!"
"Adam, how could you be such an idiot?" mimicked Caroline. "Unfortunately, it is very like you. Driving in the park with your mistress, of all things!"
"I told you, Caroline, I was walking and we encountered each other. There's nothing wrong with that."
"A chance encounter, you say? I don't believe it for a moment, and even if I did, it would still be very improper of you to accompany her. She is not only exceedingly vulgar, but your name is already linked to hers in a scandalous way. Why you must persevere in this silliness I cannot imagine."
"You had best come to realize that I intend to make Lady Manning my Duchess, Caroline," said Adam. "We have been speaking of our plans this past day."
Caroline folded her hands in her lap and attempted to keep from laughing. It seemed Louisa had been very busy. "Really, Adam? Whatever shall you do with the perfectly adequate duchess you have now?"
"I'll divorce her," said Adam petulantly.
"With what cause? You have no evidence that Allegra has been indiscreet with another gentleman, and I don't believe you will find any. The marriage has been consummated, as any number of servants at Gravesmere can attest to, and so annulment is not an option. I think that perhaps Lady Manning will have to cease her scheming and be content to remain your mistress, a circumstance for which I can only be most grateful, she should be too, if she can keep you."
Adam stirred restlessly, his questions about Louisa reinforced by Caroline's attitude. But he stubbornly dug in his heels. His family had chosen Allegra for him, and she had been a total disaster. He would not allow them to dissuade him.
"Louisa loves me and is loyal to me. She deserves my loyalty in return, as odd as that might seem to you, Caroline. I know full well that you aren't romantic."
"No, I'm not romantic at all," agreed Caroline. "A fortunate thing, as it enables me to see that Louisa Manning isn't either. She's a very clever woman, and so of course she isn't in love with you. Surely you know of her past?"
"Louisa has explained it all to me, and I know that she has been vilely slandered."
"Slandered?" echoed Caroline. "Goodness Adam, she is a tradesman's daughter who married an impecunious baronet old enough to be her grandfather in order to gain his title. After his death she squandered what little was left of his money on clothes and jewels and ended up under the protection of a series of gentlemen. Her reputation was so besmirched that she had to flee to the Continent, where she found you ripe for the picking. What is there to explain about that?"
Adam swallowed. He owed Louisa his support, he reminded himself. She had stood by him in difficult circumstances. "If you were to become better acquainted with Louisa, I am sure you would understand that she is an extraordinary woman, Caroline. You will have to accept her eventually."
"I have no doubt she is extraordinary, but I doubt I use the word in the same way you do. As for accepting her--no such thing! If you think Mama or I or anyone in Society will embrace her, then you are a great ninny. Poor breeding can perhaps be forgiven, if there is great beauty or intelligence or wealth behind it, but indiscreet behavior in combination with vulgarity is something else altogether! Why, she would be cut at every turn if you were so foolish as to bring her into Society."
Adam frowned. His sister made Louisa appear tawdry, and his earlier doubts flooded into his mind. He wished fervently that he still felt about Louisa the way he had only a few weeks before.
"Then we will remain in retirement," he countered. "I have had more than enough of Society these past weeks, with Allegra's beaux traipsing in and out of my house."
"What an excellent idea," said Caroline approvingly. "Louisa Manning strikes me as exactly the sort of woman who would wish to avoid entertainments at all cost and would prefer to live in quiet seclusion."
Adam looked away. "She may not prefer it," he admitted. "But she would do it for me."
"She would do anything at all that you wanted until that ring was placed on her finger," agreed Caroline. "Then she would doubtless try to force you to introduce her to Society. What a sight that would be!"
"You don't understand my feelings for Louisa," said Adam wearily. If the truth was known, neither did he, he thought.
"You're right about that. I certainly don't. As a matter of fact, I half suspect that you are persisting in your liaison with her simply to annoy your wife. How you can prefer that conniving female to sweet Allegra I simply cannot understand."
"Allegra is everything Louisa is not. She is stubborn and willful and capricious," burst out Adam hotly.
"And lovely and charming and well-bred and beautiful and amusing and any number of other virtues," replied Caroline. "Really, for all that, can't you support a bit of stubbornness?"
"You will not convince me to accept her, nor will I give up Louisa," said Adam sullenly, folding his arms and inspecting the back of the coachman.
Caroline sighed. "Well Adam, I did not take you up with me in order to quarrel with you. So perhaps we had best part for now. But I hope you will reconsider your actions, which are far too rash. Indeed, I see someone I need to talk to. Would you mind giving up your place?"
"Not at all," Adam said sincerely.
Caroline signaled to her coachman to pull up to a nearby carriage, and Adam's face darkened when he recognized the equipage and its occupants. Allegra and Lord Gresham were engaged in intimate conversation, and he felt a surge of fury shoot through him at the sight of his wife's little white hand held in Tristan's large brown one. "What the hell are you up to Caroline?" he demanded.
"Nothing at all. I merely wish to speak to an old friend.” she turned away from Adam, “Lord Gresham! The very man I was searching for!" she called, and hid a smile when he jumped and turned, his dark face reflecting his discomposure.
"Lady Eskmaine. What a surprise," he responded, cautiously.
"Why should it be a surprise? We're quite old friends aren't we? And good afternoon, Allegra dear. You look quite stunning this afternoon, but then, you always do. You don't mind giving up your companion to me, do you? Indeed, I'll trade you. You may have my passenger to keep you company."
Allegra blinked at her sister-in-law, startled by the interruption. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved to have her tete-a-tete with Tristan ended. She shot Adam a quick glance and saw that a look of cold anger blanketed his face. She gave him a glowing smile so that he wouldn't think she was in the least affected by his sudden appearance. But her blood was pounding in her veins at his nearness and the prospect that she might momentarily be alone with him. Why did she have to respond to him in this way, when she felt only the mildest affection for Tristan, who so obviously loved her?
"What the hell do you want with Gresham?" Adam ground out, glaring at his rival. The man still held onto Allegra's hand, and Adam was startled by the violent thoughts that flooded his head. No matter how this tangle ended, he knew that someday he and the baron would fight this out.
"Why, Lord Gresham and I are well-acquainted. He called on me earlier this afternoon, and we had the most fascinating conversation. I'm agog to continue it. Come, Adam, don't be rude. Give up your seat to Lord Gresham. Unless you don't wish to accompany me, sir?"
Tristan stirred himself when Caroline turned wide, innocent eyes on him, having be
en momentarily paralyzed by his admiration of her tactics. She clearly meant to seize the bull by the horns in this matter, something he had not suspected. He smiled slowly. There was no way he could refuse her invitation without seeming churlish, and in one fell swoop she had not only taken him away from Allegra, but also thrown Adam and Allegra together.
"How can I refuse such an invitation?" he responded. "It will be my pleasure. If you'll excuse me, Your Grace?"
Allegra murmured something polite, and watched as Lord Gresham climbed down from his carriage and approached Caroline's. Adam had turned to her sister and seemed to be muttering to her under his breath, for Caroline responded with a laugh.
"Don't be nonsensical, Adam. As much as I've enjoyed your company, I think you should accompany your wife home now. I'm sure Lord Gresham will be only too happy to see to my entertainment. Will you not?"
The last question was directed to Tristan, who bowed. "With pleasure, ma'am."
"There, you see? Now, thank you again for driving with me, Adam."
Adam glared at her, but had no option but to climb down from the carriage. He stepped aside to allow Tristan to clamber in, just barely restraining the desire to smash the other man in the face. Caroline smiled widely at him.
"Now, go with Allegra, Adam. It does my heart good to see a young couple together."
Under his sister's watchful eye, Adam swung up into Allegra's carriage and seated himself opposite her. She was gazing down at her reticule as though fascinated by it, and didn't greet him. Caroline didn't seem to notice the tension in the air.
"There. I will see both of you soon. And now, we had best move on as my carriage is blocking the track. Good afternoon to you both." She signaled her coachman, who pulled away, leaving Allegra and Adam alone together.
A silence fell over them, as each strove to appear unconcerned. Allegra fought to control her heartbeat, which she felt Adam could surely hear, while Adam struggled with the need to pluck her off the opposite seat and take her there on the floor of the carriage, in full view of the assembled ton. Had it only been two days since he had been with her? It seemed like weeks, even months, and his night with Louisa hadn't quenched his desire for his wife.
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