A Scandalous Charade (4 page)

“Someday, Jules, you’ll find the perfect man. One who cares about you, not your money. When he tells you that you’re the most amazing and beautiful woman in the whole world, he’ll mean it.”

Forcing a smile to her lips, Juliet nodded indulgently. “I’m certain you’re right, sweetheart.” Though she was certain of no such thing.

***

Edmund lay in his bed looking up at the dark canopy above, while thoughts of Juliet flittered about in his mind. She was the most amazing and beautiful woman in the whole world. Surely someone else saw it. All the men in London couldn’t be blind.

He’d make a note to ask his Uncle Fin about what to do. Because more than anything, he wanted Juliet to be happy. She deserved nothing less. Georgie was convinced that the men always visiting Juliet truly liked her, and Juliet was equally convinced they only liked her fortune. How to tell which one of them was right?

Edmund would have to take a more active role, pay a bit more attention to her suitors. He was the Duke of Prestwick, after all.

***

Luke had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning thinking about Lady Juliet, and the erotic images of her that floated in and out of his mind were mesmerizing indeed. She was simply fascinating, and it had been a long time since someone or something had fascinated him.

Most of his life he’d dedicated himself to wine, women, and song, without a thought to much of anything else, though in the last few years he’d become quite successful at playing with his investments. If he’d known sooner the sort of trouble Haywood was in, he would have advised his friend differently—but there wasn’t time for that anymore. Will needed to marry and he needed to marry well. But he would never convince Juliet in that regard. So that would leave Luke free to further his own acquaintance with the delightful girl. She did appear to be the perfect distraction to counter his ennui.

Usually, he dallied with married women who were unhappy with their lot in life or high-priced whores who excelled in their trade. Occasionally, he spent time with a merry widow or two, though they tended to be needy. But never, well not since Lydia, did he play with young misses—for they were truly the most dangerous of all creatures.

However in this case, Juliet had an aversion to marriage that appeared to match his own. It spoke well for her that she recognized the failings of the institution at the tender age of twenty. This must be why he found her so intriguing—and deliciously tempting.  

The lady had such a fiery spirit, she would make a truly delectable conquest. However she was an innocent miss, and he needed to figure out the best way—no, the perfect way—to capture her. After all, it seemed like such a waste for a creature as luscious and spirited as Lady Juliet to miss out on the magic of life, simply because she chose not to marry.

Actually, now that he thought about it, by seducing her, he was doing her a favor. Broadening her horizons. Opening her eyes to a new world. He grinned at the thought.

Ideas of how to proceed began to rattle around in his head. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, though she did seem to appreciate blunt honesty. He’d keep that in mind.

But first he needed more information about the girl. Haywood was the obvious candidate for such, but, well, that would be awkward since he hadn’t yet convinced the young baron to give up on Juliet. He most certainly needed to do so as soon as possible. Besides, Will was mainly enamored by Juliet’s fortune, and Luke didn’t care a whit about any of that. So, if not Will, then who?

The answer came to him in a flash—Caroline!  Of course!

Luke smiled wickedly to himself. He could get all the information he needed from his sister, but he’d have to tread lightly. If Caroline had even the teeniest inkling of what he was truly after, she’d strangle him on the spot. But he could manipulate her into getting what he needed. After all, he’d had years of practice.

***

Luke grinned as he quietly entered his sister’s white parlor unannounced. Caroline, Viscountess Staveley, sat with her slippered feet tucked up under her, reading what could only be described as a trashy novel. Her golden brown curls were loosely pulled back from her face, and her pretty brow was furrowed. Apparently things weren’t going well for the characters in her book. “Trouble in paradise?” he asked in a loud, booming voice.

Caroline shot off the ground nearly a mile and landed back on her gold-and-white settee, with a look of annoyance in her hazel eyes.

“Lucas! You despicable scoundrel,” she soundly chastised him, as she scrambled to her feet and dropped the book to the settee. “What are you doing here? Staveley won’t be happy if he learns you’ve visited while he’s gone.”

Staveley could go straight to hell, for all Luke cared. He wasn’t at all fond of his brother-in-law. The viscount was a stuffy, self-important prig in Luke’s opinion—his only redeeming quality was that he treated Caroline and their children well. “Well, honestly, Caro, don’t tell the stick. I certainly won’t be discussing it with him.”

Caroline frowned her response to that, and her golden brown curls bobbed as she shook her head with feigned annoyance. Then her pretty face lightened and she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Don’t say such awful things about David, darling, I do love him so.”

In Luke’s mind there wasn’t a more mismatched pair in his acquaintance. Caroline was warm and vivacious, generally the life of any party, and David was stiff, boring, and spent the majority of his time combing through old tomes, looking for only God knows what. In fact, Luke had waited until Staveley had already left for his club before knocking on his sister’s Curzon Street door. There was no point in running into the old curmudgeon. But since he hadn’t come to discuss his brother-in-law, Luke simply shrugged and hoped his sister would drop the subject all together. He had more important things to discuss.

Caroline pushed him into an over-stuffed chair by the grate and smiled deviously. “I’ve just had the best idea, Luke. Quite interesting, really.”

Interesting was generally a dangerous word where Caroline was concerned, so Luke looked at her skeptically. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“Well, I’ve been feeling so under the weather the last week—a terrible cold. First Rachel and now me. So I’ve had plenty of time to think, and—”

“You mean you’ve had plenty of time to plot something wicked.”

She narrowed her eyes on him just as she sneezed into a handkerchief. “As I’m not feeling up to arguing with you, I’ll just pretend you didn’t say that. Anyway, darling, do you remember Grace?”

Grace Benton was David’s youngest sister and an incorrigible flirt. The girl had thrown herself at Luke on more than one occasion. He couldn’t imagine where his sister was going with this line of questioning. “She’s fairly hard to forget.”

Then Caroline blushed, apparently remembering one of the earlier episodes between himself and the little tart. “Of course, I nearly forgot. But, darling, don’t you think she would make a splendid match for your friend Haywood?”

Not unless she’d somehow inherited the crown jewels. “Caroline, you know how I feel about matchmaking. Besides, Will has his eye on someone else at the moment.” At least until Luke could talk him out of it.

Caroline slumped back in her seat and pouted. “Drat. But you must admit they would make a striking pair.”

The easiest way to end this conversation was to simply agree with her, so he did with a nod of his head. “Yes, striking. But like I said, Will’s nearly spoken for.”

“Oh, very well.” Then Caroline sat up straight. “Well, darling, do tell me, what has brought you to my door so early in the day? I don’t know when I last saw you venture out during sunlight.”

He needed to proceed carefully or Caroline would see right through him. “I saw Lady Teynham and her sister last night…” His sister scowled at him, but Luke pressed on. “Anyway, I was hoping you could—”

“Lucas, you are such a lout!” Caroline snapped waspishly.

That might very well be true, but there was no way she could possibly know what he was after, so he narrowed his eyes on his sister. “I beg your pardon.”

“It wasn’t enough that you had to carry on some illicit affair with Louisa in front of all the world, but now you’ve got your eye on Georgie! I’m telling you, my dear brother, I won’t stand for it. At this rate I won’t have any friends left. Besides, Georgie is much more fragile than crazy Louisa. The last thing she needs is you in her life.”

Luke tried to keep from laughing. “For God’s sake, Caro, I’m not interested in Georgie.” Thank Lucifer his sister had jumped to the wrong conclusion. The distraction could serve to help him if he played his cards right.

Caroline pursed her lips, clearly agitated. “Well, why not? She’s simply lovely.”

For the love of God! He’d forgotten how tiresome his sister could be at times and he started to remember why it had been a while since his last visit to the Staveley household. “So, now you want me to carry on an illicit affair with Lady Teynham? Make up your mind, will you? You’re always so bloody difficult to talk to when you get like this.”

She pouted again and shot him a murderous look. “I want you to stay far away from Georgie, but I’d also like for you to agree with me that she is quite a pretty little thing.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I think I now pity Staveley for the first time. How does the man put up with you?”

Caroline folded her arms across her chest with the dramatic flair that she had mastered years earlier as a spoiled child. “It’s such a shame you don’t visit more often, Lucas. Now, if you’re not interested in Georgie what do you want?”

This was it. He just had to keep Caroline from figuring out the truth. He slid toward the edge of his seat with his shoulders slumped forward. “Haywood is courting Lady Juliet and he’s asked for my advice.”

Caroline’s arms fell into a more relaxed looking position and the devilish twinkle once again sparkled in her hazel eyes. “Oh, that is wonderful! Georgie will be so happy. She desperately wants Juliet to make a good match for herself. What is it you want to know, darling?”

“Well, what sort of things does she like? Roses? The opera? Anything you can offer will be of great help.”

In her matchmaking element, Caroline was unparalleled and there was nothing she liked better than interfering, er, helping two people come together. Looking heavenward, she tapped her finger against her chin in contemplation. Then her face lit up. “Orchids. Juliet has expensive tastes. Can Haywood afford her? I think I remember hearing that his father left the family near destitute, and…” Caroline leapt from her seat with a darkening scowl and thumped his chest. Hard. “You awful bastard! You truly are terrible. He’s after her money and you’re helping him! Out. Get out.” She pointed to the door.

But before Luke could even hope to respond to his sister, the parlor doors flew open and Caroline’s five-year-old daughter, Emma, raced inside, nearly hysterical with wild, brown curls in disarray and a smudge of some sort covering her skirts. Then the sobbing child threw herself against her mother’s legs in such a dramatic fashion that Luke knew exactly which parent’s traits his niece had inherited. “Mama, Adam has a sn-snake and he was ch-chasing me.”

Caroline wrapped her arms around her crying daughter and glared at Luke. “Brothers are awful creatures, aren’t they, darling? And unfortunately, they never get any better.”

Emma raised her little tear-stained face to look at her mother, and noticed Luke when he stood up a second later. “Uncle Luke!” Her bottom lip was trembling. “M—make Adam get rid of that awful thing.”

Luke met Caroline’s glare and then nodded to his niece. “Of course, sweetheart. Where is the blackguard?”

A few moments later, he found himself hunched over and peering into the frightened and beady little eyes of a tiny garter snake that his eight-year-old nephew was holding. Adam shuffled his feet anxiously and stared at Luke with an uneasy expression.

Small boys with snakes and little teary-eyed girls were domestic issues Luke was glad he didn’t have to face on a regular basis. “I’m afraid to ask just where you came across this little fellow,” he remarked as he took in Adam Benton’s disheveled appearance. The boy had mud caked on his knees and his hands were covered in dirt.

Luke couldn’t help but grin at that. The little snake couldn’t strangle a lady bug if it tried. “Well, I’m sure Strangles is a pleasant fellow, but not a proper pet for a dignified boy living in Mayfair. You’ll have to let him go.”

Adam frowned. “Everybody gets a pet but me.”

Luke hadn’t signed up for this, and he barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. Domestic issues weren’t his forte. He just wanted to be done with this entire situation as soon as possible. “I’m sure your mother will get you a proper pet if you ask her.” After all, Caroline spoiled her children completely rotten.

 But Adam just shook his head. “She says I can have a cat. I hate cats. Rachel and Emmie both have them and they’re no fun at all. They never come when you call them and they cough up hairballs. I wanted a dog, but Mama says I can’t have one.”

The poor boy looked so forlorn, and Luke suddenly remembered being a boy himself and how much he’d wanted a dog. His older brother Robert, who was already Earl of Masten by then, had believed Luke wasn’t mature enough to handle the responsibility and so he never got one. Now Luke realized with a frown, he was two-and-thirty and still dog-less. “That doesn’t sound like your mother at all.”