A Duchess Enraged (20 page)

"Louisa has
nothing to do with this!" shouted Adam. "This is about us, and our
marriage."

"On the
contrary, this has everything to do with that vulgar, encroaching woman,"
snapped Allegra. "I won't allow you to blame this on me, when it is
entirely your fault." She blinked her eyes against the onset of more
tears. She had been right to fear their return to London. Adam had ceased to be
her loving husband, and was now once again under the thrall of Lady Manning.
Everything had fallen apart, just as she had feared. She set her shoulders and
marched towards the door, determined to get away from this horrible
confrontation.

"Where the hell
do you think you're going?" growled Adam. Despite himself, his eyes
lingered on the gentle lines of her slender waist, the curve of her hips, the
proud way she held her shoulders and he cursed under his breath.

"I'm going
driving in the park, as I had planned earlier," answered Allegra. "I won't
allow you to bully me in this way, nor make me a prisoner. If you think you'll
be rid of me soon, leaving the field open for Lady Manning, think again, Adam.
I'm going to fight you tooth and nail."

"You haven't the
discipline to fight me," taunted Adam. "You can't control yourself,
and all too soon I'll find you in another man's arms again. But next time I'll
have witnesses."

"You're
hateful." Allegra paused in the doorway, her back to her husband, trying
to calm the rapid beating of her heart. How had so much happened in just one
short day?

"And you're a
wanton." Adam's words were like a sword to Allegra's heart. She turned on
her heel and ran from the room.

Adam stared after her
moodily, frustration flowing through his veins. She was impossible, if not
absolutely insane. She seemed to feel that her behavior was his fault, that he
shared some blame for her shameless behavior. And still, despite everything, he
wanted her, more than he had ever wanted a woman before. How could he continue
to desire a woman, his wife, who shared her favors with others, who would
betray him with someone like Gresham? She deserved to be punished, to be sent
away, to be disgraced. But instead, she was threatening him, swearing that she
would fight him every step of the way. It made no sense at all. And his
reaction to her made even less sense. Why did he continue to care about her,
while Louisa, who was so faithful to him, seemed bland and unsatisfying? He
frowned. He would simply have to get Allegra out of his system. She had
entrapped him, bewitched him with her exquisite beauty. He would have to escape
that trap, and show her that she had no power over him. He strode out of the
room and down the stairs, slamming the door of the house behind him. Allegra
would see that he could do quite well without her.

Dodge, Parry, Thrust

Caroline returned to
her home in Brook Street immediately upon leaving Gravesmere House, her
expression concerned as she attempted to tease out what had happened between
her brother and his wife. That something was not right was clear, but it was
equally obvious that each held the other completely to blame. It seemed more
than likely to Caroline that someone other than the duke and duchess was
pulling the strings that made the two dance.

She entered her house
with a brisk step and informed her butler that she would not be at home to any
visitors other than Lord Gresham. Then, since she was not the kind of woman to
waste a moment, she repaired to the library and settled at her desk to catch up
on her correspondence. Two hours later, Caroline's pen was still traveling
rapidly and smoothly over her paper, and a sheaf of pages lay at her ladyship's
elbow, testimony to her industry. The door opened and her butler announced Lord
Gresham.

She looked up from
her work, a hint of surprise in her wide green eyes, but she stood and greeted
his lordship with an easy smile. "Good afternoon, my lord. How kind of you
to remember that I requested your visit."

Tristan smiled, his
darkly handsome face reflecting sardonic amusement. "I rather thought it
was in the nature of a command, my lady. I was far too frightened not to
comply."

"Nonsense. Men
like you are frightened of nothing, or at least so you believe." Caroline
came out from behind her desk and gracefully indicated a chair. "Please be
seated, my lord."

Tristan bowed and sat
down, watching as Caroline settled gracefully into a chair across from him. The
room and its furnishings were very like their mistress, he thought; beautiful
and tasteful, yet lacking the frivolity that made would make them highly
fashionable. He had encountered Lady Eskmaine in the past, before he had left
for his sojourn on the Continent, but they were not well acquainted.

When Caroline had
been introduced to society Tristan had been sowing his wild oats, his interest
occupied not by the genteel assemblies and entertainments enjoyed by a young
lady, but rather with the gambling dens and other amusements afforded by
London's less discreet establishments. She had married Lord Eskmaine while
still very young, and joined the world of titled matrons whose paths seldom
crossed with the notorious rake Tristan had become.

But Gresham
remembered her well for her beauty and composure. When she had first come out
she had been much remarked upon for her appearance. She was tall for a woman,
but very graceful, her golden hair and green eyes offset by high cheekbones.
The intervening years had not marred her loveliness, and she was, to Tristan's
practiced eye, even more attractive than she had been as a girl, the slight
fullness that the years had added to her figure only making her more enticing.

"I'm sure you're
wondering why I wished to speak to you," she said, her gaze resting on him
coolly. If she guessed at his thoughts, she gave no sign of it.

"When a lady as
lovely as you calls, Lady Eskmaine, a gentleman does not question his
luck," responded Tristan gallantly.

Caroline raised her
eyebrows as she suppressed a smile. "What a pretty compliment. But if you
are going to continue to speak in that ridiculous manner, we shall get
nowhere."

An answering smile
sprang to Tristan's lips. "Where do you wish to go, my lady?"

Caroline refused to
take the bait. "I wish to get to the bottom of a matter that has been
troubling me. To be precise, I want to know what your interest is in my
sister-in-law, the Duchess of Gravesmere." Caroline looked directly at
him, her eyes steady.

"That is plain
speaking indeed. But why would you think I have any interest at all in the
Duchess of Gravesmere?" Tristan leaned back casually against the gray silk
of the chair. "I pay court to countless women; it is the way of the world.
Your brother's wife is one among many."

"So I would have
thought. Your proclivities are too well known, Lord Gresham, for me to pretend
to be unaware of them. But your attentions to Allegra seem to be quite
particular and are causing considerable comment."

Tristan shrugged.
"She's very lovely. Half the men in London think themselves in love with
her and sing her praises. I fail to see why you have singled me out."

"I have singled
you out because you have made yourself singular, my lord. The affecting scene I
witnessed earlier today in the morning room at Gravesmere House was hardly the
behavior of a man who is paying fashionable court to a woman. And so, I must
repeat, what is your interest in Allegra?"

"And why would
the Countess of Eskmaine care? Your questions, it seems to me, would be better
coming from the lady's husband."

"Oh, my brother
is quite certain as to what your intentions are, my lord," Caroline
assured him. "And they annoy him considerably. I am giving you the chance
to tell me that your attentions to Allegra are innocent, and that you are
prepared to leave her in peace."

"The duchess
doesn't seem to object to my presence," countered Tristan. "I can
think of no reason why I should give you such a promise."

Caroline sighed.
"I see you are determined to be obstructive, which only strengthens my
belief that you are up to something. Tell me, Lord Gresham, why is Allegra
important to you? Your taste doesn't usually run to young women barely out of
the schoolroom, nor to new brides. Why make an exception now?"

"What if I told
you I was in love with your sister-in-law?" Tristan watched her intently,
looking for some hint of emotion other than detached amusement. But her
beautiful face gave nothing away.

"Then I would
laugh at you, my lord." Caroline folded her hands in her lap. "The
idea is patently ridiculous. You love no one but yourself."

A surge of annoyance
washed through Tristan at the thought that she felt free to judge him in this
way, but further
aggravated
by an
internal sense that she was quite correct in her assessment, he hastily
squashed it. If he allowed Caroline to irritate him, he might easily say
something he would later regret. "That is a rather strong opinion,
considering the few times we have encountered one another. Although I've spent
little time considering the matter, I believe I'm quite capable of loving
another."

Caroline waved his
words away with a quick gesture. "That has nothing to do with this mater.
Neither your emotions, nor your capacity to experience them, are of interest to
me, Lord Gresham. As I'm sure you're aware of the difficult state of my brother's
marriage, and as you are unwilling to be truthful with me about your
motivations, I will simply ask you to please stay away from Allegra. You will
bring her nothing but misery, and if you do care for her, you won't wish
that."

"On the
contrary, I believe I could broaden her horizons considerably. Her husband
hardly seems to make her happy." Tristan had recovered his sense of
balance, and watched with a hint of admiration as only the tiniest glimpse of
annoyance appeared on Caroline's face at his words.

"Certainly you
could bring her pleasure for a day, or a week, or a month," agreed
Caroline promptly. "But my brother could make her happy for her entire
life. Why shatter her future in the way you seem to have planned?"

"I've found that
nothing lasts forever, dear Countess." Tristan's heavy eyelids shielded
his thoughts from her searching gaze. "The women I've known in the past
have little to complain about. Whatever comes of my friendship with the Duchess
of Gravesmere, she will be well-satisfied."

Caroline gave an
unladylike snort. "How very pleased you are with yourself. I suppose that
Mrs. Blackburn and Lady Musgrove have nothing but praise for you? Don't be
ridiculous. I have no wish to see Allegra relegated to your pile of
cast-offs."

Tristan's face
darkened at her mention of two of his former mistresses. Both were now
separated from their husbands, one exiled to the Continent, the other living in
seclusion in the country. "You seem to know a great deal about me, Lady
Eskmaine."

"You've hardly
been circumspect in your proceedings," Caroline pointed out. "Don't
flatter yourself by thinking I've made inquiries. All the world knows what you
do."

"Then you hardly
need to bring me here to find out what I'm up to. Surely anyone on the street
could tell you?" Tristan sneered slightly.

Caroline shook her
head. "I see you're unwilling to help me. I'm sorry for that. Thank you
for coming, Lord Gresham. Good day." She stood and extended her hand in a
friendly fashion, and Tristan came to his feet, momentarily startled.

"What, giving up
so easily?" he taunted her, taking her hand in his warm grasp.

Caroline blinked
innocently. "Certainly not. But I'll obviously obtain no information from
you. Luckily, there are other ways to sort these things out." She removed
her hand delicately from his clasp and walked to her desk, picking up the sheaf
of correspondence that lay there. "And you are perhaps not as hard to
interpret as you seem to think, Lord Gresham. Since poor Allegra cannot
possibly have done anything to offend you, and while she is lovely I don't
believe for a moment that you honestly care for her, then the object of your
scheme must be to hurt my brother."

"Why would I
wish to do that?"

"I have no idea.
But I believe I can find out. As I said before, your past is an open book. It
won't be hard to discover what motivates you." Caroline tapped the letters
on the desk, lining them up neatly.

"What makes you
think anything but my desire for a beautiful woman inspires me?"

Caroline laughed.
"There are dozens of beautiful women you could have for the asking.
Despite her youth and inexperience, Allegra is a woman of honor. Coaxing her
into your snare will take a considerable amount of patience and ingenuity. You
wouldn't waste your time without reason."

Tristan smiled
politely. Under his annoyance he felt a rising respect for Caroline. She was
acute and guessed his motivations far better than he would have thought she
could. "I'm afraid you are searching for something that isn't there, my
lady. Perhaps I'm merely stirred by a challenge."

"Perhaps. I can
imagine your pride would be involved by now as well as whatever perverse desire
for revenge motivates you." Caroline placed both hands on the desk and
looked him directly in the eye. Green clashed with gray as Tristan glared back
at her. "I suggest you retire from the lists now, my lord. You don't wish
to tangle with the Gravesmeres."

Tristan felt a spark
of something besides anger as he looked into Caroline's serious face. It was a
charming contrast, he thought momentarily, her directness and intelligence
combined with her beauty. He allowed his eyes to slide from her face to her
slender neck and the white skin above the modest neckline of her dress. A
wicked and entirely charming smile suddenly lit his face, driving away his usual
look of cynicism.

"I think perhaps
I'd like very much to tangle with at least one, my lady. I had no idea all the
women of your family were so fascinating."

"Don't try to
flatter me, Lord Gresham," answered Caroline coolly. "It won't do you
any good."

"But I wasn't
flattering you. I was speaking the truth." Tristan took a step closer to
the desk and raised her hand, carrying it to his lips with a graceful gesture.
"If you think to discourage me, ma'am, I must tell you that I'm only more
intrigued. Perhaps you're right and Allegra is not the woman I should be
pursuing."

Caroline snatched her
hand away. "If you mean to imply that you now mean to pursue me, I beg of
you not to waste your time. I'm not at all the sort of woman to take your
fancy."

"On the contrary,
I find you both lovely and intriguing," said Lord Gresham.

"Well,
unfortunately for you, I have all my wits about me and am not easily charmed by
handsome rakes. I beg of you, Lord Gresham, don't make a fool of yourself.
Thank you again for coming to see me. I'm sure we shall meet again from time to
time."

Lord Gresham bowed.
"It was fascinating crossing swords with you, my lady. I hope that our
next encounter will be as enjoyable."

He turned and left
the room. Caroline gazed after him, the worry she had not allowed Tristan to
see now reflected in her eyes. A worthy adversary, she thought. What a pity
that a man so obviously intelligent had chosen to waste his life. Then she
shook her head and turned back to her desk. If Lord Gresham was not going to
cooperate, she had a considerable amount of work to do.

Tristan paused
outside Caroline's house for a moment, reflecting on their conversation. Until
this moment he had thought that his conquest of Allegra would be a simple
matter. But now it was clear that Lady Eskmaine had more than an inkling of
what he was up to, and she was plainly not the sort of woman to be easily
dissuaded once she had made a decision. He frowned. A pity that her reputation
was so impeccable; he would like very much to have the opportunity to discover
more about her. But she was not only a pillar of rectitude; she was clearly
wary of him and far too intelligent to succumb to his charm. And if that was
the case, he would need help with his plans. He turned his steps towards Half
Moon Street, his mind working as he went.