Going Rogue (Ribbons and Rogues Book 1)

by Jefferson, Jessica

  Ophelia shrugged. “Lord Sutherland.”

  “L—Lord Sutherland,” Meredith repeated. Her head was reeling, spinning from the unexpected news. She hadn’t seen it coming.

  Alex’s nostrils flared. “When? When did the bastard do it?”

  “Alex!” the girls admonished.

  “Pardon my temper, my parents are Scots after all,” she said.

  Ophelia shook her head. “I’m flattered that you’d be so protective, but it’s quite all right. I believe it was all a part of his plan for the future.”

  Meredith grabbed at the bed linens. “He proposed?”

  “Not as much proposed as tried to seduce me.”

  Alex started to get up from the bed. “Just wait till I get my hands on that sot!”

  Meredith reached over and touched her friend’s leg. “Alex,” she gently scolded. “What has gotten into you?”

  Alex was seething. She was always so calm and collected, who knew the old girl had it in her? Meredith would have been impressed if her heart wasn’t in the process of shattering into a thousand pieces.

  Meredith listened as Ophelia relayed the story. Derek had found her in the hothouse and proceeded to seduce her. He’d removed his jacket and waistcoat and pranced around showing off his well-defined physique. He’d spoken with subtle innuendo—and apparently some not-so-subtle innuendo as well. The Earls’ behavior was just so blatantly inappropriate, Ophelia would have been ruined just the same as if she’d been caught with her gown around her ankles.

  Suddenly, Meredith could remain quiet no longer. “Ophelia, there’s something I need to tell you right away.”

  Ophelia took a seat in the chair across from the bed. “But I haven’t finished the story.”

  Meredith shook her head. “I’m afraid it simply cannot wait any longer. I’ve already waited too long as it is.”

  “What is it?” Ophelia asked, her expression now one of worry.

  Meredith cleared her throat, as if preparing for some sort of public oration. “You see, I haven’t been entirely forthcoming about a certain subject.”

  “Get on with it,” Alex was practically foaming at the mouth with anticipation.

  Ophelia raised one eyebrow. “Is this about Lord Sutherland,” she said, more than a statement than a question.

  Meredith’s mouth fell agape.

  “I knew it,” Alex shouted. “Oh, finally! I thought you’d never admit to it.”

  Meredith’s hand flew to her chest, her heart thumping wildly inside it. “But how did you know?” Granted, they were bright girls, but she apparently had no idea just how astute they actually were. Or perhaps how obvious she’d really been.

  Ophelia was first to speak. “I asked him to kiss me so that I could prove to him that I was not the one he really wanted to pursue. He’s clearly been distracted by something—someone else.”

  “The better question would be—how could we not?” Alex answered. “It all became so obvious. The way you two acted toward each other, the way you kept pushing in the other direction. And there was that story yesterday. It was so clear to everyone but you . . .”

  “I never meant to push the two of you apart for myself,” Meredith quickly explained to Ophelia. “If I had truly believed you two were right for each other, I would have kindly stepped aside and never said another word about it. I know I have my faults, but I would never do something like that.”

  Ophelia nodded. “You knew I didn’t love him. And that he didn’t love me. You were just trying to protect me. I understand that.”

  “And you’re not sore at me?” Meredith asked. “For not telling you?”

  “She’s not, but I am,” Alex said crossly. She looked quite angry now, her perfect milky complexion marred by red blotches. It was her telltale sign of frustration or embarrassment, weaknesses she rarely showed. “I shouldn’t have had to figure it all out on my own—you should have been the one to tell me.”

  Meredith nodded. “I should have. I should have done a great many things differently. And I’m sorry. I don’t know how to make anything right.”

  Ophelia reached for her hand. “I think this is an excellent start.”

  Alex nodded. “Are you going to talk to Lord Sutherland?”

  Meredith withdrew her hand and tucked it into her lap. “I don’t think I can. Too much has happened between us now and I’m afraid he’ll never trust me again. Besides, I have my future to think about and I have no time to waste pouting about what could have been. I need to focus on what shall be more than anything.”

  “Like marrying my brother?” Ophelia deduced easily enough.

  She watched the two other women exchange glances.

  “Would you object?” Meredith asked, seeking some sort of approval. She knew in her heart of hearts that she’d never feel for him what she felt for Derek, but that ship had sailed.

  “Of course not,” Ophelia said. “I would love to have you as a sister. And Garrett is a good man. But you’d never truly be happy with him. I don’t think you should give up on Lord Sutherland.”

  Meredith shrugged her shoulder. “Like I told you, it’s in the past. I have a healthy respect for your brother and I adore your family. What more could a girl ask for?”

  She knew she wanted more, but didn’t dare ask for it. She needed to marry and Mr. Garrett Marshall was her best prospect. She felt relief having confessed her past to her friends, but knew better than to try and take it with her into a marriage.

  “Promise me one thing,” Alex said. “If the opportunity should present itself, you’ll be just as forthcoming with Lord Sutherland as you’ve been with us.”

  Meredith nodded, doubting such a chance would present itself ever again.

  Chapter 27

  “Time for the scavenger hunt,” Ophelia announced the very next morning.

  Meredith forced a smile, while Alex didn’t even bother to feign politeness.

  “It’s barely noon and Ophelia Marshall is delusional if she thinks I’m going to go traipsing about out of doors without first enjoying a pot of chocolate and a warm bath,” Alex complained.

  Meredith nudged her in the side, reminding her to keep her voice down. Alex’s mood hadn’t improved much since the evening before, though it was difficult to tell if she was still brooding or just feeling the adverse effects of having to wake up before noon.

  To be honest, Meredith was barely up for it. It had already been a long day, and it had barely started. She hadn’t been out to the country in years and had forgotten just how soon morning seemed to come.

  “Scavenger hunt?” Meredith repeated.

  “Did I miss the moment when we arrived at the children’s birthday party?” Alex sneered.

  Ophelia set her hands on her hips. “I just thought it would be a fun game we could all play together. Besides, a bit of fresh air would do us all some good.”

  “Wonderful,” Alex said flatly. “More fresh air.”

  Ophelia handed them both a piece of foolscap with a list of items printed on it.

  “This is quite the list. I don’t recognize some of the items. Are they all things we can find out of doors, in nature?” Meredith asked, scanning the list.

  Alex shivered. “Ugh . . . nature.”

  Ophelia nodded. “I promise. Every item is readily available somewhere on the property.”

  Meredith feigned a smile. She’d gone to sleep the night before with a certain familiar ache deep in her chest. She’d never spoken about Derek before to anyone else, and had woken up with a sense of regret at disclosing something so deeply personal.

  It had been her experience, that mornings were particularly contrite. And all too often, the rising sun was accompanied by a sense of remorse for her actions the night before. And there was always something to regret�
��too much champagne, too much dancing, and now, too much talking.

  “You don’t expect me to find all this on my own, do you?” Alex asked, folding her arms over her chest.

  Ophelia shook her head. “I believe the intention was that we would all be divided into teams.”

  “Sounds fair enough,” Meredith commented, not caring much either way.

  “Then I would like to choose the teams,” Alex insisted.

  Meredith’s brows shot up her forehead, shocked by her friend’s enthusiasm. Alex had never been much for group activities before . . . or any activity, really.

  “I don’t see why not.” Ophelia remarked, appearing to be a bit surprised as well.

  Alex smiled, obviously pleased at having gotten her way.

  The men soon joined them on the patio, along with Lord and Lady Marshall. Garrett’s eyes swept over the length of her, causing Meredith to blush with embarrassment at such a flagrant display of appraisal. She recognized the look in his eyes, the dark quality his face took on every time he looked her way. It was lust. With Garrett, it made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, not desired as it had with Derek. But something far more ominous.

  “Did I hear something about teams?” Garrett asked.

  “Are we playing a game then?” Lord MacCalistair’s mood was jovial as usual.

  “A treasure hunt of sorts,” Lady Marshall answered. “In honor of our esteemed guest, Lord Sutherland.”

  Meredith could practically taste the bile rising in the back of her throat. If she didn’t know any better, she’d suspect Lady Marshall was trying to land Derek for herself, and not her daughter.

  Derek bowed. “You are too good to me, Lady Marshall.” He took her hand and kissed it, sending the woman into a hysterical fit of giggles.

  Meredith looked away, unable to take anymore.

  “There’ll be two teams.” Alex took Meredith by the elbow. “The first will comprise of Miss Castle, Miss Marshall, Lord Sutherland, and myself.”

  Meredith tried to restrain herself from punching Alex’s arm. The treasure hunt would have provided the perfect opportunity to get her almost-Viscount alone. The potential for inappropriate, and quite possibly compromising, situations were endless with a game like this. She could twist her ankle and he would have to carry her back to the house, or she could faint from the heat and he’d have little choice but to stay by her side till she felt like walking again. What was the sow thinking, robbing her of such a momentous opportunity?

  “Lord and Lady Marshall, Lord MacCalistair, and Mr. Marshall shall make up the other team.”

  Derek stepped forward. “Couldn’t we just divide up into four equal teams? There are eight of us, after all.”

  “For once, I agree with Sutherland,” Garrett appeared less than thrilled by the current arrangement. “And it looks like we’re a bit heavy with men on our team. I’d hate to have an unfair advantage. Maybe I should be on your team, and Ophelia could take my place?”

  Alex vehemently shook her head. “Four teams would make things far too confusing. And as for your concern with gender, it is a simple treasure hunt and I’m sure the need for brute strength or whatever else it is you think you could provide will hardly be necessary.” She clapped her hands together, signaling the troops. “Two teams it is! Let’s get this game going, shall we?”

  Meredith caught a glimpse of Derek bumping into Garrett’s shoulder on his way to join their team. Garrett looked as if he was about to say something, then quickly turned away, ignoring the insult. He’d know better than to say something and risk causing a scene. The tension between the two men was palpable, each one making little effort to conceal his animosity toward the other.

  The low rumbling of thunder sounded in the far-off distance.

  Lady Marshall peered out under the shade of her hand. “It looks as if it might rain. Perhaps we can delay this for a bit longer until we know what the weather has in store?”

  Ophelia stooped down to study a gathering of small flowers not too far from where they were all standing. “I agree with Mama. We should put this off for a later time. I’d hate for us to get too far away from the house when the storm hits.”

  “Listen to you all,” Alex scolded. “How can you be so sure it’s going to actually rain? It’s summer—there’s always a bit of thunder somewhere.”

  Ophelia held up a scarlet bloom from the bunch she’d been examining. “This is a red pimpernel. It only closes when the weather’s about to take a turn for the worse. The humidity is what triggers it.”

  “But it’s a flower,” Alex protested. “Surely you can’t tell all that by a simple plant?”

  Meredith looked out into the dark clouds threatening the horizon. “Alex, although I’m quite impressed by your sudden enthusiasm for something you’d generally despise, I have to side with Ophelia on this one.”

  “Perhaps the flower’s made a mistake?”

  Meredith shook her head. “The plant may be wrong, but your hair never lies—it’s more accurate than any weather glass could ever be. You’re starting to frizz, Alex, and we both know that’s a primary indicator of rain.”

  Ophelia crinkled up her nose.

  Meredith shrugged. “What? So, you have your scientific methods and I have mine.”

  Alex touched her loose curls that were turning progressively kinkier by the moment. “My hair is just fine. Now, let’s gather up the teams and get this over with so if it does rain, we’ll be done in plenty of time.”

  There was no use in arguing. Lady Alexandra always got her way, and nothing they could say would dissuade her otherwise.

  Meredith and her team meandered through the Marshall’s property with little luck finding the objects named on the list.

  “Up there,” Ophelia pointed. “It’s the gardener’s cottage. We should find some of these items there.”

  Meredith grimaced. “I’d hate to disturb your poor gardener.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not really being used right now. It fell into some disrepair, something with the roof, so he’s been staying near the stables until it’s fixed.”

  “Perhaps we can stop and have a bite to eat?” Alex suggested.

  Derek patted the satchel he’d been charged with carrying. “I wouldn’t mind stopping either.”

  The group settled a few yards over from the cottage and Derek set out the blanket Cook had packed for them.

  “Men always seem to have such voracious appetites,” Ophelia mentioned, setting out a wedge of cheese.

  Derek looked over at Meredith. “And some women . . .”

  She perked up at the comment, it’s blatantly sensual overtone was not lost on her. “Are you insinuating something, Lord Sutherland?”

  He chuckled, his blue eyes dancing wickedly. “I’m not insinuating anything, Miss Castle. I’m blatantly accusing. You forget—I’ve seen what you can do with bread pudding.”

  Meredith pressed her lips together, still annoyed, but relieved his remarks were innocent in nature and weren’t in direct reference to their moments alone together. “It’s not polite to insult a woman by speaking about her appetite in front of others . . . or at all for that matter.”

  He rested back on his elbows, stretching his long, lean body across the blanket. His jacket was pulled taut across his wide shoulders, his chest testing the give of his waistcoat.

  The man may have been a complete cad, but there was no denying he was a terribly attractive cad.

  “It wasn’t an insult,” he replied with a lazy smile. “I’ve always enjoyed seeing a woman with an appetite.”

  Meredith sat on the opposite corner, Alex and Ophelia providing buffers between them. “I’m surprised you even remembered.” She was slightly taken aback by the brief moment of civility. “Your cook’s bread pudding was always my favorite.�
�

  He was beaming now, lost was that practiced grin he was always sporting, and in its place, a genuine smile. She couldn’t help but wonder where the infamous Lord Sutherland had taken off too since the man sitting before her more closely resembled the Derek Weston she used to know.

  “You two must have been close.” Ophelia cut off two pieces of cheese and handed one over to Derek.

  Derek shifted his gaze away from Meredith and looked at Ophelia. “We were.”