His Wicked Lady (17 page)

“Surely, you weren’t waiting just for us,”
Lord Dunnaby said.

“It wouldn’t be a dinner party without you,
Robert.”

In the same manner Warren had greeted Regan,
he made a show of bowing before Miss Carlisle. Regan glanced at
Lady Iris, wondering if he’d extended a similar greeting to her. In
the short time Regan and Malcolm had been here, he hadn’t given so
much as a glance in her direction. For all appearances, however, it
didn’t seem Lady Iris noticed. Either she didn’t notice or she was
pretending it didn’t bother her. Regan couldn’t tell which was the
truth.

Lady Iris glanced her way, and Regan smiled.
Lady Iris returned the sentiment. Yes, Lady Iris wasn’t really so
bad to look at. All she had to do was make an effort to attract
gentlemen.

“Come,” Warren called out. “I have one of the
best cooks in London, and there will be something for
everyone.”

During the course of the meal, Regan had to
admit Warren was right. The food was some of the best she’d ever
tasted, and she had to stop herself from eating too much, lest she
get ill.

The conversation around the table, however,
left much to be desired. It seemed to revolve around money. Lady
Iris joined in from time to time, though most of her comments
seemed to go unnoticed.

Regan bit her tongue, so she wouldn’t say
anything that might upset Malcolm. Warren would do well to at least
feign interest in the lady he’d escorted to dinner. Regan glanced
at Miss Carlisle, and Miss Carlisle rolled her eyes, a silent
message the dinner was boring her to tears. In return, Regan made a
motion of slitting her throat, which resulted in a giggle that the
lady quickly coughed away before anyone noticed it.

Regan already liked Miss Carlisle, and she
didn’t even know her, but she sensed a kindred spirit in the room
and was grateful for it. Danette was always too serious. It’d be
nice to know another lady who didn’t mind a little fun from time to
time.

“I believe we’ve exhausted all the items on
the menu,” Warren said at the end of the meal. “Ladies, we don’t
want to bore you. We’ll adjourn to the den while you enjoy
yourselves in the drawing room.”

If Regan was going to enjoy herself, she’d be
with Malcolm trying to seduce him. But, since she had promised to
be good, she followed the other ladies to the drawing room then
closed the doors.

“My goodness,” Miss Carlisle said as she
plopped in a chair, “I thought that meal would never end.”

“I believe it was a form of subtle torture,”
Regan agreed. “I don’t know about you two, but I wouldn’t mind some
sherry after all that nonsense.” She went over to the decanter and
opened it to sniff the contents. “Or maybe some brandy. Anyone care
for a glass?”

“Yes,” Miss Carlisle said. “Though I might be
better served to get some green tea. I’m ready to fall asleep after
that boring talk. Do those gentlemen think of nothing but
money?”

“Sadly, I don’t think so.” Regan poured them
both a glass then glanced at Lady Iris. “Would you like some
brandy?”

“I better not,” Lady Iris replied, adjusting
the skirt of her gown. “My father would not approve.”

“He doesn’t have to know,” Regan assured her.
“And I can fill it up just a little bit.”

“I’m quite all right as I am,” Lady Iris
said. “Besides, I rather enjoyed their discussion.”

“You did?” Miss Carlisle asked.

Lady Iris nodded. “Money is far easier to
understand than gentlemen are.”

“Gentlemen aren’t that difficult,” Regan
said, handing Miss Carlisle a glass of brandy. “These ones are
peculiar. They love money way too much.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Miss Carlisle giggled. “My
name is Madeline.”

“Mine’s Regan.” She took a sip of her drink
then looked at Lady Iris. “Gentlemen aren’t hard to keep happy,
really. As long as you respect them and are a willing bed partner,
they are satisfied.” Then with a smirk, she added, “At least, with
most gentlemen. With this lot, I think you’d have to throw money at
them to get their attention.”

Madeline almost spit out the brandy she’d
been drinking. She quickly swallowed it and laughed. “What a
refreshing sense of humor you have. So many ladies are terribly
serious. You’d think they never had a moment’s enjoyment in their
entire lives.”

“I have a friend like that,” Regan confided.
“Don’t get me wrong. She’s a lovely person. I adore her. But she
would not be happy with this conversation. She’d most likely leave
the room, albeit discreetly, to avoid hearing anything else.”

“Perhaps she can’t afford being caught in a
scandal,” Iris said. “My father would be appalled if he knew I was
listening to this.”

“My apologies,” Regan replied. “I didn’t mean
to upset you.”

“Oh, I don’t mind listening,” Iris quickly
assured her. “I just meant he wouldn’t like knowing I did. I’m
curious about gentlemen. It’s hard to even know what to say to get
their interest.”

“Sometimes the best thing you can do is show
instead of talk.” When Iris’ eyebrows furrowed, Regan continued,
“Bending in a certain way to allow them a peak at your breasts, for
example, is an excellent way to get their attention. There are
dresses that allow for some room at the top, if you know what I
mean.”

“What about witty conversation?” Iris
asked.

“Yes, that will work, too, once you get him
to notice you.”

“How do you know so much about gentlemen?”
Madeline asked.

Regan glanced at her. “My first husband was
very open about the kinds of things that attract gentlemen. He
wasn’t nearly the mystery my current husband is. With him, I need
my brother-in-law’s help. As you gathered, Malcolm’s obsessed with
money. He cares little for the things normal gentlemen do.”

Iris leaned toward her in interest. “You two
seem to get along well. What did you do to get him to think so well
of you?”

Regan shot her a wry smile. “I don’t know how
well he actually thinks of me, but our relationship has greatly
improved from the day we married. I had to act like I adored
everything he said about his investment plans.”

Iris frowned. “You lied?”

“I wouldn’t say lie. I went along with
whatever he said and acted as if it was the most interesting thing
I’d ever heard. My brother-in-law was the one who gave me that
idea, and it worked. I have a suspicion our particular gentlemen
like to think they’re more important than anyone else in London.
You wouldn’t believe how much Malcolm talked about coming here
tonight. All he could keep saying was how influential Warren is and
how important he was because he got invited to this dinner party
when so many others didn’t, but honestly, Warren isn’t nearly as
interesting as Malcolm would make you believe.”

Madeline chuckled. “You’re terribly wicked,
Regan.” After she took a sip of her brandy, she added, “I enjoy it
immensely.”

“
I kind of like Lord
Steinbeck,” Iris said, fiddling with the skirt of her
gown.

“Oh, he’s awful,” Regan replied, surprised
Iris would think such a thing. “He’s worse than the other two. At
least Madeline’s gentleman had the sense to compliment her on her
gown and put his hand on the small of her back, both of which
indicates his interest in her. I hate to say it, Iris, but Warren
is all wrong for you. He’s insensitive and rude. Five times you
brought up a good point about investments during our meal, and five
times he ignored you. It was Roger or Malcolm who acknowledged what
you said. If I were you, I’d never talk to Warren again.”

Iris’ face fell. “So he has no interest in
me? Not even a little?”

“I’m afraid not.” Regan sighed and turned to
her. As much as it would hurt Iris to hear the truth, someone had
to do it to save her a lifetime of misery with him. “You can do
better than him. My first husband wasn’t impressed with him. He’s
much too full of his self-importance. You don’t need someone like
that. From the short time I’ve known you, I can tell you’re a sweet
and lovely lady. You deserve someone who can appreciate you.”

“I don’t understand,” Iris replied. “Why did
he ask me to come here if he had no interest in me?”

“Your father. Warren thinks very highly of
him. Sometimes it’s the connections a lady has that wins a
gentleman’s affections more than the lady herself.” To help lessen
the blow, Regan added, “That is why you should be with someone who
can see you for who you are.”

“But I don’t know anyone else, and this is my
second Season.”

“You could always have a marriage arranged
for you. There are three ladies who interview ladies and gentlemen,
and then they match up the ones best suited for each other.”

Iris seemed to consider the option but then
shook her head. “I can’t. My father is very particular about who I
marry. He wants the match to be a good one.”

“I understand, but if you ever change your
mind, let me know. I’ll be more than happy to introduce you to
them.”

The doors opened, and Regan quickly took her
and Madeline’s glasses and hid them under the table. It wouldn’t do
to let the gentlemen see them drinking something as strong as
brandy.

The three gentlemen came into the room,
congratulating themselves on their latest investment.

“Mr. Raleigh won’t disappoint us,” Malcolm
said. “He’ll double, maybe triple, what we currently have.”

“No matter how many times you say that, I
never get tired of it,” Warren replied.

Regan glanced at Madeline, who stifled a
giggle.

Malcolm frowned at them. “What’s so
funny?”

“Oh, Lady Iris was just telling us an amusing
story,” Regan said as she and the other two ladies rose to their
feet. “She’s very witty. She had Miss Carlisle and me laughing the
whole time you were gone.”

“She did?” Warren asked, his expression
giving away his skepticism on the matter.

“Yes,” Regan told him. “She’s intelligent and
has a great sense of humor.” This she’d gathered from the short
time she’d known the lady. “I suspect she’ll make a gentleman a
very happy man.”

“Well, we’ll all be happy at the end of the
Season when Mr. Raleigh’s ship comes in,” Malcolm said.

“Indeed,” Robert agreed, his grin
widening.

Leave it to Malcolm to bring everything back
to money. Regan resisted the urge to shake her head. Instead, she
curtsied. “Thank you for a lovely evening. It’s been
memorable.”

“I’ll second that sentiment,” Madeline
added.

Catching the subtle joke in Madeline’s
statement, Regan winked at her. It wasn’t likely any of them would
forget how these gentlemen had droned on and on all evening about
their financial prowess. If nothing else could be said for her time
here, she had met two very lovely ladies who might one day be her
friends.

“I hope we’ll see each other again,” Regan
told Madeline and Iris before heading over to Malcolm.

“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Warren replied.

Surprised, Regan glanced at Warren. He
couldn’t think she meant she was looking forward to seeing him and
Robert again. While Robert was fine, Warren was absolutely
dreadful. But by the smug expression on Warren’s face, she knew,
without a doubt, he honestly thought she’d enjoyed listening to
him. The gentleman had an even bigger illusion of his importance
than Malcolm did.

After the gentlemen made another round of
congratulating each other, Malcolm led her out to the carriage. It
wasn’t until she was settled in her seat that she breathed a sigh
of relief. Thank goodness it was over. Had it not been for the
ladies, she didn’t think she would have survived the ordeal. She
must really care about Malcolm to go through all of this.

The footman shut the door, and soon, the
carriage was moving forward, taking her far from Warren.

“That was a splendid evening, don’t you
think?” Malcolm asked.

“I won’t soon forget it,” she replied.

“I must say I misjudged you, Regan.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. When we met, I thought you would be the
type to do and say inappropriate things just to get attention. But
you proved me wrong. I’m not saying you don’t have a wicked side to
you. There’s no denying you do. You did grab my hand and make me
dance with you, and then there were certain things you did when you
visited me shortly before we married.”

“What certain things do you mean?” she
interrupted.

“Well, you made it a point to gesture to your
body in a suggestive manner.”

Her eyebrows rose. So he had taken the moment
to take a good look at her. She hadn’t been sure since his
expression had been irritatingly stoic. Apparently, he did a good
job of hiding his feelings. But it was nice to know he had noticed,
and if he’d made it a point to bring it up, then a part of him had
enjoyed it, even if he couldn’t admit it.

With a coy grin, she said, “I suppose barging
into your bedchamber and having my way with you was wicked as
well.”

She thought he might insist it was,
especially given how much he’d protested her intrusion. Then there
was the next day when he’d made it a point to remind her he was
only interested in having children and that was it. But to her
surprise, he only shrugged as if to say he hadn’t considered it
that wicked after all. Well, who knew?

Perhaps he secretly wanted her to put her
mouth on the more interesting part of him after all. She had to
resist the urge to do it. She imagined it was a fantasy many
gentlemen entertained—receiving such pleasure while in a moving
carriage. She wouldn’t give into the temptation, though. Logan was
right. She’d be better off waiting until Malcolm came to her for
sensual play.

“Regardless of our beginning,” Malcolm said,
“it’s refreshing to know you are an excellent companion. I have no
hesitation letting you be in the same room as my esteemed
friends.”

Though under ordinary
circumstances she wouldn’t have considered that a compliment, she
reminded herself Malcolm was the one calling them
esteemed
, and that being
the case, he was paying her a high compliment.