by Pam Roller
Alex raised one brow. “When did she arrive?”
Katherine smiled at being found out. “She came home with me yesterday. She is in my old bedchamber, and I have given her freedom to select her own colors and decor. She will only be here until we can find other housing, unless...unless....”
The corners of Alex’s mouth curved up. He looked from Katherine to Elizabeth, and then to the servants, who busied themselves with pouring more coffee and taking up plates. Eventually his admiring gaze rested again on Katherine.
“You, who wanted no children because you feel you do not deserve them, have just gained two sons and a daughter. Have you forgiven yourself as well, then?”
“Yes,” she said, and reached for his hand. “I will be a good mother to them.”
“You will be a fine mother, my love.” He pushed back from the table and stood with a dramatic sigh. “My lonely castle,” he muttered good-naturedly, “shall eventually be overrun by little feet. But they had better stay out of my tidy study.” He bent down and kissed his wife.
****
“Isn’t he wonderful?” gushed Elizabeth several days later as they sat in the parlor. She smiled down at Lord Wiltshire’s rose-scented letter in her hand.
“Does Edward know?” Katherine asked.
“Edward? Oh. He is still my friend. Why do you ask?”
“He is courting you, isn’t he?” Then, Katherine waved a hand. “I am sorry. I am as nosy as Agnes, whom I hope never to see again.”
“Neither do I. Although I suppose if I marry Edward, Agnes will be my sister-in-law.”
“What do you want to do?” It seemed Elizabeth enjoyed having the attentions of two men.
“Elizabeth held the letter to her lips and then set it gently on the table beside her. “The baron seems so...full of life. I have never met anyone like him. Edward is nice, but he is just so cautious.”
“There is nothing wrong with cautious. Give him time.”
Alex entered the parlor. As always, his gaze sought out Katherine and took her in as if she were a cherished gift. “If you are speaking of cautious Edward, I am on my way to his house,” he said to Elizabeth. “Would you care to come along?”
“Oh...no, I do not think so,” said Elizabeth. “I will wait for Lord Wiltshire. He is paying a call to me this afternoon.”
The upward curve of Alex’s lips faltered. “He is intent on courting you, then.”
“Is that so wrong?”
“As we discussed, ’tis your decision. But I would like to know of his intentions. Have him talk to me.”
“I will let him know.” Elizabeth looked from him to Katherine. “I am glad to see you both so happy.”
“Thank you. I will give Edward your salutations, Elizabeth.”
Alex led Katherine out into the Hall and kissed her. “I will be back soon, my lovely lady.”
Going with him to confront Agnes was out of the question. This was something Alex had to do alone.
Katherine kissed Alex back, and gave his bottom a subtle pinch.
“Saucy minx,” Alex murmured in her ear. His hand slid up her waist to cup her breast. “Just you wait. I will lock you in my arms all night.”
“’Twas only four days ago that you were shot,” Katherine whispered back. “You are still weak as a babe.”
“Am I now?” With his good arm, he encircled her waist. He lifted her off her feet and held her snug against the wall, pressing himself against her and giving her a long, deep kiss until she burned with need.
When he released her, she clung to him until sensation returned to her legs.
“You are gaining strength,” she managed.
“Indeed.”
A final kiss, a touch of his fingers to her cheek, and he was gone.
****
Elizabeth could make her own decisions, Alex thought as he trotted Neos across the green fields. Yet Edward deserved to know what was happening. He probably didn’t even realize Elizabeth’s thoughts had turned to another man.
And Agnes—Alex gritted his teeth at what she had done—needed to be found a suitor and married off. He would have to trust Robert to ensure that his daughter stopped her meddling ways.
He reached the house and dismounted. His boot heels crunched on the pebbled path up to Robert’s door.
“God’s pointy toenails!” came a shrill voice above him.
Alex peered at an upstairs window. There, staring at him with both hands covering her mouth, stood Agnes.
One hour later, Alex left the house and set off over the hilly fields in the yellow-orange smolder of the setting sun.
Robert had never been his good friend, but as neighbors, they respected one another. The anger in Robert’s eyes, after Alex had informed him of Agnes’ actions of late, assured him that she would no longer trouble his household.
But it was the information passed privately to Edward that made Alex question his own judgment. He’d never seen the young man’s eyes so bright with anger, nor the tension that made the cords stand out on his neck. Even Edward’s voice had a razor sharp edge to it when he’d thanked Alex and walked him to the door after Robert, rod in hand, had gone to find Agnes.
If Alex had ever seen murder in a man’s eyes, it was in Edward’s.
Chapter Thirty-three
One month later, on the day of the Allerton ball, Millie curled Katherine’s hair into delightful ringlets and clustered them on each side of her head with tiny green and white satin ribbons. The maid then shaped little curls across Katherine’s forehead.
“Lovely, m’lady!” Millie exclaimed, clapping her hands in glee. “Now, the dress.”
Carly, the copper-haired waif Katherine had found begging for food, jumped up from Alex’s big chair. “I will help.” Her eyes shone as she assisted Millie in holding the dress over Katherine’s head.
Light green satin slid coolly over Katherine’s arms and down her body. Slit-open sleeves revealed delicate gold lace that exposed the skin of her arms. The round, low cut bodice, worn off the shoulders, was perfect for the pearl necklace that Alex had given her as a wedding gift.
Millie fastened the stomacher and helped her don a pair of gold-heeled dancing slippers. Then, Katherine turned in a slow circle while Millie surveyed her work with a broad smile. “The dress sets off your hair. You will be the most beautiful lady at the Allerton’s Ball.”
“Yes,” Carly breathed. She hugged herself and twirled around the room, her spindly ankles showing beneath her dress.
“I want to go! I want to dance!”
Katherine laughed as she dabbed lavender scent behind her ears. “All in good time, dear heart.” She checked herself in the mirror one last time and said, “I’d better get downstairs before Lord Drayton wonders what has become of me.”
“He said earlier that we women have taken over his bedchamber,” Carly said. “But I know he wasn’t truly angry.”
The three headed toward the stairs. Glancing down at the gold lace exposing her exquisite underskirt, Katherine remembered last year’s spring parties held throughout London to start the Season. A new dress such as this would be made for her every few weeks, and her father spared no expense to please Ellis Potts.
Ellis. How long ago she’d thought she loved that wretch. What little she knew then about love.
The past weeks had shown her what true love meant. Contentment, happiness, pleasure—all wrapped up in the strong arms of a man who’d sworn off love but then opened his heart to her. Oh, how he had shown his love. For the first time since she could remember, Katherine freely expressed her desires and opinions, and Alex listened closely without chiding her for unfeminine candor.
They took long walks in the tidy garden, carriage rides in the country, and spent hours and hours in bed where he brought her to the pinnacle of passion over and over again.
Katherine pressed her arms to herself in a hug as she descended the steps to meet her husband in the parlor.
There he stood by the mantel, dressed in blac
k velvet breeches and long vest, lifting a glass of brandy to his lips. He lowered the glass when she walked in. Jaw slack, he stared for a moment, then sucked in a quick breath.
“Have you forgotten to breathe?” Katherine asked, a tender warmth filling her as she walked into his arms. She reached back and fingered the black satin ribbon that secured his golden hair.
“How beautiful you are,” Alex said. “And you smell so good. I want to have you in a field of lavender.” He kissed her, then brushed a thumb across her lips. “You are a prize to be cherished.”
“And you are my champion,” she said, and met his kiss.
“Eww. Woman spit.”
They turned to see Stephen, a comical grimace on his face, watching them near the door.
“You might like it someday,” Alex said to him.
“Never,” Stephen declared. He then ducked away from Carly, who had snuck up behind him and kissed him on his cheek. With shouts of disgust from Stephen and giggles from Carly, the two raced from the parlor, narrowly missing Elizabeth.
She hobbled in smiling, her slight body hidden beneath layers of blue and silver that brought out the shining gray of her eyes and ash blond of her hair.
Alex set down his glass and held out an arm for each. “Shall we depart?”
****
Lord and Lady Allerton’s grand home, one hour’s carriage ride from Drayton Castle, dazzled with neatly trimmed knot gardens that expanded the length of the drive and were interspersed by decorative pools and spring flowers.
Alex turned to Elizabeth when their carriage, in line with at least twenty others, halted in front of the mansion. “Wiltshire and Edward will both be here, Bethie. And they’ll expect a decision from you.”
Elizabeth plucked at the silver ribbons ornamenting her gown. “I know,” she whispered. “I know.”
Inside, it wasn’t the echoing din of many voices or the brilliantly colored clothing of the guests that struck Katherine, but rather the sharp contrast of the Allerton’s brightly lit home with their dark castle. Instead of dark planked floors and gray stone walls, their home gleamed with ivory colored paneling and polished green marble floor tiles that echoed the heels of the strolling merrymakers. Overhead, a silver chandelier holding dozens of blazing white candles hung between twin white curved staircases that led up to grand parlor. Right at the center of the balustrade between the two sets of stairs stood an impeccably dressed man and woman greeting their guests.
Having grown accustomed—nay, tolerant—toward her window-covered home, Katherine thought the sun reflecting on the walls seemed almost too bright. She paused, however, looking wistfully at all the drapes pulled back from the windows. Alex followed her gaze. Without a word, she continued on toward the stairway, knowing that to ask her husband to open the drapes in their home might be akin to tormenting him. Would he never end his aversion to windows?
Alex gave introductions to Lord and Lady Allerton, whose quick scrutiny of Katherine seemed filled with approval.
“Lady Drayton, ’tis nice to see you,” Lord Allerton boomed as he kissed her hand. “How sad that you lost your family in the Plague and the fire. I knew your father well.”
Katherine stiffened and gave a sidelong glance toward Alex. But by Lord Allerton’s warm smile and Lady Allerton’s sympathetic eyes, it was obvious that they knew nothing of her father’s treachery. She relaxed. “Thank you for your condolences.”
“Indeed,” said Lady Allerton. “I am so glad you could come.” She gave Alex’s arm an affectionate pat. “’Tis good to see you so happy, Lord Drayton. You two have found new life in each other, it seems. And you look superbly happy. What brought you together?”
“My father,” Katherine said simply.
After greetings to Elizabeth, the Allertons turned to meet their next guests, and the three moved along the balustrade toward the parlor. Katherine paused after a moment, patted Elizabeth’s shoulder, and pointed toward the door. “Elizabeth, there is Edward just arrived. He is splendid in his yellow vest and breeches, don’t you think?”
Elizabeth’s gaze wandered toward the grand white entrance doors. “Yes...splendid.”
“Why don’t we wait for him here, and then we can all go into the parlor together?” Katherine suggested.
“Oh. I do not think....” Elizabeth turned away and continued her awkward limp toward the parlor.
Alex and Katherine watched Edward move toward one of the curved stairways with his family.
“See the scowl on his face,” said Katherine. “He seems so very angry. You never did tell me how he reacted to the news of Lord Wiltshire.”
“Like that,” Alex said, gesturing toward him. “Bloodthirsty.”
“I do hope he doesn’t try anything. He is not a fighter.”
Alex’s hand slid lightly up Katherine’s back. “Edward has more sense than that. Still, ‘twill be interesting to see what comes of this night. My shy cousin is unused to two men wanting her.”
Katherine looked past Edward, then smiled up at Alex. “And are you used to two women wanting you?”
He smiled. “I do not understand.”
She pointed to where Agnes, stunning in pink and purple satin, floated regally up the steps behind her brother. Agnes had paused and stared at Alex with wide eyes outlined in dark pencil. Her gaze then moved to Katherine.
Katherine fought off a strange chill. She concentrated on the fact that although Agnes’ bodice, which exposed the tops of her nipples, was at the height of fashion, her dress would be more acceptable within the crowds at Whitehall Palace. However, she seemed to have taken great care with her appearance. Her yellow hair swept out from her head in curls and ribbons, and the white powder on her face accentuated her red painted lips and pink cheeks.
“Bah! I do not wish to see that woman.” Alex stationed Katherine’s hand on his forearm. “Come. We dance. If I remember how.”
With arched brows Katherine tugged her hand away, and observed his frown.
“What? You think I should I speak to her?”
“Gads, no. What I think is that you should not present our first dance to me thus, my lord. ’Tis a request you should make of your lady to dance, not a command.”
“Ah.” His expression relaxed into a smile. “There I go again. Allow me to get it right this time.”
He touched her bare shoulder, and it tingled with the gentle caress of his fingers. His hand stroked a sizzling path down her arm and over the exposed skin under the open slits of her sleeve before settling over her hand. This he lifted and brought to his lips. The breath caught in her throat, and for a moment it seemed everyone around them disappeared.
“Would you care to dance with me, my lady?”
Katherine took a forgotten breath. “I would be honored, my lord.”
****
Allerton liked white, Alex concluded as he surveyed the gleaming white walls, tiled floor, and heavily carved oak furniture of the magnificent parlor. He had forgotten the brightness of this place compared to his dark home.
Seeing all this light plucked at some strange ache within him. He had never spoken to Katherine about her pulling the drapes open in the parlor on the day he took her to the keep.
He knew she yearned for the sun to enter their home. Katherine’s hand, as always, left his arm warm. She smiled up at him, and within Alex welled a surge of love.
Laughter and perfumed body heat assailed them as they walked toward Elizabeth standing near the corner, her eyes on the people who danced the Saraband to the musicians’ harpsichord and violins.
He began to tell Elizabeth that they would be right back, but then the crowd parted for a second and he spotted Lord Wiltshire sitting on a chair across the room, a drink in one hand, his other waving in jerky movements. He seemed to be in hot debate with a man sitting across from him.
Elizabeth saw him now, too. Even over the music and hordes of guests, Alex heard her audible gasp of pleasure.
“Elizabeth, may I speak to you?” he said,
leaning close to her ear. She needed to be very careful right now with her display of emotions.
“Yes, of course,” Elizabeth replied, “but in a little while, if you do not mind. I see Lord Wiltshire—oh! He has just noticed me.” She waved gaily and smiled, and Alex watched as Wiltshire gave a satisfied return smile, nodded to the other man, and rose.
Wiltshire lumbered toward her in his outlandish red and orange breeches and vest. They met in the middle of the room and were swallowed up by the crowd.
Katherine’s hand tensed on his arm. “Edward just entered the parlor.”
Behind Edward—whose eyes darted around, no doubt, to find Elizabeth—Robert, Sarah, and Agnes looked around with wide smiles. Agnes eyes again met his before she averted her gaze.
He turned toward the dancers. “Come,” he said to Katherine. “Let us leave others to their own devices. A new dance begins.”
They took positions in the center of the room, ladies on one side, men on the other. The violins began, controlled and rhythmic, for the three short steps each line took toward the other. All dancers paused, bent slightly at the knees with toes turned out, and then straightened and continued on for four more steps until each man and woman stood directly in front of each other.
It had been years since he had performed the jigg, and Alex concentrated on the movement of his stiff hands and feet and noted Katherine’s poise and skill.
“Relax,” she whispered to him. She, like the other ladies, disappeared around the men’s backs and reappeared on the other side, arms out in front, hands moving gracefully as she took the first of three steps backward.
“I used to be good at this,” he whispered back as he stepped backward, damnably clumsy, and considered that his own arms resembled two rigid canes.
When the dance finally ended, they sat on one of the couches. Alex accepted two glasses of wine from a servant and gave one to Katherine. “To my beautiful wife,” he said, kissing her cheek. “I want you to keep that pearl necklace on later.”
Katherine touched the pearls. “You want me to wear it with my nightclothes?”