Invitation to Scandal (32 page)

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Authors: Bronwen Evans

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Historical, #General

BOOK: Invitation to Scandal
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Would he ever trust her? And if he couldn’t, what would that do to his love over time? She wouldn’t end up like her mother, married to a man who despised her. Rufus sat back and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not wrong, am I? You do love me. I know who you are, Miss Rheda Kerrich, and the Rhe I know and love would not have made love to me last night if she didn’t love me. She wouldn’t have rushed to save me at her own peril, and she would not be sitting here letting her world fall apart.” He leaned in until their noses almost touched. “Would she?”
She felt like screaming at him, ”When will you understand I have a plan?’
She saw a shade of uncertainty in Rufus’s eyes. His self-doubt tore at her heart, but she shook her head gravely. “Rufus, you once accused me of being selfish, and you were right. But watching you—seeing how you put everyone before yourself—made me realize that love means sacrifice—”
“Marrying you won’t be a sacrifice. Come here, sweetheart.” Rufus pulled her into his arms, and she was too weak-willed to resist. “Is this about your being a smuggler?”
“I know you’ve worked all your life to clear your father, and I destroyed that when you had to kill Christopher. I won’t see the chance to prove your father’s innocence taken away from you again.”
He crushed her against his chest. “You’re wrong. I’ve been so pigheaded. The past is for the dead. The future is for the living, and I want my future to be with you. I love you, Rheda. I love everything about you. Your spirit, your courage, and your selflessness. Nothing would make me prouder than having you by my side, as my wife, my lover, and my true partner.”
At her shocked silence he drew back, his mouth curving into a glorious smile. “If you are trying to be noble because of Christopher’s journals, the ones Lady Umbridge found, don’t be. They are in Stephen’s safekeeping. All of them.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “Meg was right. I’ve worried everyone for nothing.” She pushed at his chest. “However, I’m not sure you know me at all. How could you think I’d simply let Fleur win? I had a plan. A good plan. But you couldn’t trust me to sort her out on my own.”
He hugged her tightly. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I was goddamn worried about you. Samuel is still out there. All I wanted to do was find you to ensure you were safe.”
“Oh.”
Relief and longing warred in Rheda’s chest, but she forced them away. She stepped out of his hold. It was time for some straight talking. She had to ascertain if this was more than obligation on his part.
“Are you sure that you want to marry me? I know how important your family’s standing is. I can’t possibly be your countess. I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’ve never been to London. What if my past became known? What if the scandal with Prince Hammed arose? I’d shame the Strathmore name all over again. You’d be universally condemned for your whore of a wife.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that,” he said, anger scoring his words. “I was your first lover, and goddamnit I intend to be your last. If the past few weeks have taught me anything, it’s that the only opinions that should matter are those of my family and friends. You taught me that.”
He pulled her into a tight embrace. “I don’t give a damn what Society thinks anymore. You’ve opened my eyes to true honor. You gave up a real chance to be a darling of Society in order to keep Tumsbury Cliff safe for Daniel—”
“You’re wrong, I wasn’t selfless. I did it for me, too. I was so afraid of ending up like my mother. In love with a man who would never love her—”
“Well, you haven’t ended up like your mother. The man before you loves you more than life itself and always will.”
“That hardly makes me qualified to be a countess.”
“But your love is all I require. I’ve let Society dictate the man I have become, but I swear no more. Once we marry I intend to retire to my estate—with you—and breed racehorses. And my wife will breed the finest cavalry horses for the army.” He took her hand and placed an intimate kiss on her palm. “We’ll be so wrapped up in our family we won’t give a toss about Society.”
The turmoil in her heart still raged, but as she searched his face a flicker of hope began to burn.
“You’re sure you won’t care if my past raises its ugly head. If I marry you there is no guarantee someone—Lady Umbridge for instance—won’t take pleasure in disparaging me and therefore your family. What will your mother think?”
“My lovely, wonton, and reckless Rheda cannot be frightened of my mother? I would not have thought it,” he teased. “If you must know, Mother is here and she’s dying to meet the woman who saved her son’s life.” His voice softened, and the tender notes made her want to weep again. “My mother has only wanted me to be happy. That is what true love means, putting someone else’s happiness before your own and not caring about the consequences. And I won’t be happy, I won’t be whole, without you by my side.”
When she didn’t reply, he leaned closer, the earnestness in his eyes growing more intense. “I know I’m asking you to risk everything, to give yourself to me in marriage, but I promise on my father’s grave that I will love you, cherish you, and revere you until the day I die.” He bit his lip and dropped to one knee. “You’ve taken risks all your life. Will you take one more? Will you trust me with your heart, Rheda? Will you have the courage to love me back? Marry me.”
Risk? He thought being his wife was a risk to her? “Oh, Rufus, loving you, marrying you, is no risk. More than anything it would be my dream come true.”
With a raw sound, he rose to his feet and hauled her into his arms. His kiss was fierce, consuming. He twisted his hand in her hair and held her still as he plundered her mouth with relish.
He gazed over her shoulder to the bed. “I intend to lay you down, remove your clothes, worship every inch of your skin, and ensure that your brother is fully aware of what I do. I intend to make it so you can never leave me.”
Rheda cupped his face in her hands. “You don’t need to do that. I will gladly be your wife. I love you, Rufus. I love the man you are. I love that you love me and that you love your family above all else.”
“We’ll make a bigger family—together. Wild little hellion children who will challenge us every day.” He lifted her hands to kiss her fingertips ardently. “Say it again—tell me you love me.”
“I love you, Rufus. Now and forever. I only hope,” she murmured, “the price you pay for marrying me is not so high you live to regret it.”
“There is no price to pay. You’ve taught me that love is the only true measure of a man’s worth.” He laid her on the bed and kissed her sweetly. “I must be the richest man in the entire world, for I have found a love that surpasses anything I’ve known before.”
He stood up. “Excuse me for one moment.” He strode and opened the door to the bedchamber and murmured to someone waiting outside. On his way back to the bed he began removing his jacket, a half-smile playing on his lips. “I gave your brother the good news. I thought that when I ravish my wife to be, I’d like a bit of privacy. I want to pleasure you all the way down to your soul, siren, and I want you free to make as much noise as you like.”
“Promises, oh, promises,” she murmured, stretching seductively like the true siren she was.
His slow smile curved into a huge grin. When he had stripped down to his breeches, he called huskily, “Come and get me.” And he almost melted as he saw the brilliant sparkle of her emerald eyes and felt lust and love surge through him.
Rising to her knees, his siren, his heart, crawled to the edge of the bed. She ran a finger down his chest until it came to rest on the waistband of his trousers. “I’ll undress you, if you undress me.”
His grin widened.
Within minutes they were both naked and breathing heavily. He lowered her down onto the bed, her riotous curls cascading wildly around her naked breasts. He buried his head in the tresses and breathed deeply. Her fragrance was that of the rambling roses that grew along the cliff tops.
He finally lifted his head and swept his gaze over every tempting curve of her body. His hands and mouth burned with the need to touch her, claim her, mark her as his.
“Mine. My love. My wild and wicked siren.”
Her soft smile held an erotic allure. “You make me wild. Wild with want. Wild with love and desire.”
He flashed a roguish smile. “Then it’s my duty to help unleash all that wildness.”
“One kiss and I’m wild. Wild for you,” she responded, reaching up to slip her arms around his neck.
He leaned down and kissed one hardened nipple. “I intend to keep you permanently wild.”
His touch was a flame against her skin. Her limbs tightened, and she made no protest when his hands slowly stroked down her body. He watched her, totally absorbed in her reaction, a wicked sensuous smile lingering on his mouth.
He caressed her inner thighs until her skin erupted in a blaze of heat. Rufus lowered his head to kiss her, and she felt the wildness deep inside rise and take her over. He boldly possessed and claimed her mouth.
His tongue stroked the inside of her mouth while his questing fingers delved into the wet heart of her, and her world erupted into scalding white heat. His long, talented fingers surged deep within her, and his mouth captured the cries his ravishment drew from her. She was almost mindless in his loving. She clutched his thick, chestnut hair, her hips lifting in a silent plea for release.
Yet he did not allow her fulfillment. He brought her to the brink of climax and drew back, a teasing light in his eyes.
“Rufus ... ,” she begged. “Your siren may well be about to claw you.”
He lifted slightly off her, his muscled arms holding his weight above her as he bent to kiss and lick her sensitive breasts until she thought she’d lose her mind. “I’d enjoy you scoring my back, marking me as yours,” he whispered against her heated skin. He moved to his side.
Dazed by the erotic warmth in his voice, she gritted her teeth, savoring the way his hands drifted back up over her stomach, his fingers questing and shaping the sensitive mounds of her breasts. He rolled one peaked nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and she cried out.
Her hands gripped the sheets as his flaming tongue swirled over her breasts. The deliberate attack on her senses caused her to moan and arch up off the bed, opening her thighs wide so Rufus could position himself between them.
Rheda loved the feel of him against her—his rippled stomach, the sparse curls on his chest brushing her skin, and the rigid rod of his arousal, thick and pulsing between her thighs. She almost climaxed as he suddenly thrust home, shuddering as she fully absorbed his swollen length.
“There is nothing as thrilling as feeling you deep inside me,” she murmured, her voice choked with love. “God, I love you ...”
“As I love you, Rhe.” His gaze locked with hers, and he flashed a look so filled with love her heart almost burst from her chest. Then his grin turned cocky. “Let’s see exactly how wild I can make you.”
She shivered at the promise in his voice and in his touch. “Yes,” she panted. “Give me everything you’ve got to give.”
He drew back and surged inside her, impaling her with his thick, pulsing shaft. “Like this,” he said, and he took one of her peaked nipples deep into his mouth.
“Oh, yes, Rufus ...”
Rheda welcomed his growing fever and locked her legs around his hips, clinging to him, meeting him stroke for powerful stroke. She felt his composure fraying, and their joining turned frantic, the rhythm building to unleashed wildness.
His thrusts were relentless in his quest to pleasure her. Rheda held on, wanting them to explode together. Her fingernails scored his back where she clung tightly, her body tightened, and they climaxed in an explosion of convulsive pleasure, his harsh groans louder than her crooning cries.
She felt Rufus’s seed pulse deep within her before he collapsed spent and languid from the force of their fierce lovemaking.
“Was that wild enough for you, my love?” he panted.
“It will do for a start, my lord,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. With strength she didn’t know she possessed she rolled Rufus over until she lay on top of him, the delicious aftermath of love echoing in their racing heartbeats. “Once you’ve recovered I intend to thoroughly teach you about wildness.” She smiled and then ran her hand down over his chiseled chest and rippling stomach to lightly cup his flaccid member.
To her surprise she felt it stir to life.
“You’ve taught me so many things already, my beautiful, generous Rhe. Perhaps, for this next lesson, I’ll be a slow learner. After all, you have a lifetime in which to teach me. And I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy every lesson.”
As she bent and took his mouth in a searing kiss, she felt him harden between her thighs and realized he wouldn’t need any teaching. He was already wild enough for her.
Rufus, her perfect mate. Rufus, exactly the man she wanted.
And, she finally realized, the man she deserved.
Epilogue
 
R
heda made her way down the long corridor toward the top of the stairs. Even the shadows seemed to be judging her tonight. She drew a deep breath and prayed she would not fail. This was her first public appearance as Rufus’s wife.
They had married by special license in the chapel at Hastingleigh almost a month ago. Rufus’s mother, Susanne, and Lady Hale had seen to everything.
Rufus had refused to use the journals to expose Christopher’s treason to the world and vindicate his father. He could have done so and used Christopher’s guilt to elevate himself in the eyes of Society, but had chosen to spare Helen the pain he and his family had endured all his adulthood. His sacrifice only made Rheda love him more.
Of course Lord Ashford had been told the truth, and he did everything in his power to raise the Strathmore’s standing, even arranging for the Prince Regent to bestow an earldom upon Rufus for services to the Crown.
Rufus had received his new title from Prinny that morning. He was now the Earl of Hascombe, the name of his family’s estate near Cambridge. The title did not come with additional property or added wealth, neither of which Rufus needed, but it elevated Rufus and firmly restored him to his rightful place in Society. His mother and sister could stand with their heads high.
Tonight’s ball at Lanwades House, the Strathmore’s London home in Mayfair, might not have yet commenced, but already it was the talk of the season. The unexpected rise of the Strathmore name, coupled with his marriage to an unknown baron’s sister, meant the cream of London Society would be here tonight, no doubt to appease their curiosity and—more stomach-churning in Rheda’s mind—to judge.
Her nerves buzzed like dragonflies—dragonflies with large wings and fiery breath.
Madeline, Rufus’s sister, appeared beside her. “Nervous?”
“I feel sick to my stomach.”
Maddy, as she had asked Rheda to call her, laughed. At nineteen, Maddy was more excited about tonight’s events than scared. There was no mistaking Maddy as Rufus’s sister. She was stunningly beautiful, like her brother, with the same glowing auburn hair, and warm and inviting chocolate-colored eyes.
“Me, too. It is my first proper ball and my first introduction to Society.” Maddy gave her a small smile. “Let’s slay them together. We Strathmore women must stick together.”
Rheda laughed and hugged her new sister. The girl’s smile lit up her face, and Rheda knew Maddy would be the one slaying hearts tonight.
“You make it sound as if we are about to do battle.”
“We are.” Maddy laughed.
They made their way together to the entrance of the ballroom. The women spied Rufus at the bottom of the stairs, and Rheda’s breath caught in her throat. He looked so handsome. His formal attire hugged his wide shoulders and emphasized his lean waist and narrow hips. A stiff white cravat gleamed at his throat, making the black-on-white look less severe. His chestnut hair glinted in the candlelight, and his chiseled face drew her longing gaze. But it was the fiery approval and possessive love she saw shinning within his eyes that made her heart flip.
Maddy took her arm and nodded at Rufus. “You at least have your knight to defend you.”
Rheda felt herself quake. She was to descend the stairs alone, all eyes on her. Rufus sent her a quelling look that gave her courage and calmed her. She had run a smuggling ring for many years, dodging Revenue men and worse. She was not about to let a room full of Society matriarchs intimidate her.
She raised her head, and, keeping her eye on Rufus waiting for her proudly at the bottom of the stairs, she began her descent.
“Isn’t my wife the most radiant woman you’ve ever seen?” were the soft words that greeted her as she safely reached the bottom.
“Second most radiant,” said a now familiar voice at her husband’s side. Anthony Craven, the Earl of Wickham, gazed with adoration at his wife, Lady Melissa, who stood proudly beside him.
Melissa flushed and came forward to tuck her arm through Rheda’s. She began drawing her away from the two men, who proudly watched like the love-struck husbands they were.
“I hope you are not going to hover all night, dear husband. This is my first engagement since the birth of our son, Harry, and I mean to enjoy it.” Melissa blew Anthony a kiss. “Shoo. I have important ladies to introduce Rheda to.”
For a moment panic assailed her, until she felt the firm squeeze of her arm and Melissa whisper, “I know what it’s like to be the talk of the
ton
. Come, let me introduce you to Lady Horsham. Once we have that formidable lady’s support, you will have arrived. No one will dare spread any gossip.”
Rheda smiled at her new friend. She still missed Meg but understood why Meg did not wish to leave Deal.
She was thankful that Melissa and Anthony had welcomed her enthusiastically into their lives. Melissa had even asked her to be Harry’s godmother when Anthony asked Rufus to be godfather. “Thank you for being here. Your support means the world to me. Knowing Rufus’s friends accept me is all I really need.”
Melissa stopped and pressed a kiss to Rheda’s cheek. “Not accept—love. A woman who has won Rufus Knight’s heart wins ours, too.” She laughed gaily. “I have a terrible soft spot for Rufus. He did help save me after all. I’m so very happy he found the perfect woman.”
Rheda looked back through the crowd at her dashing husband and saw his eyes were still upon her. She didn’t think she could get any happier.
Melissa followed her gaze and smiled at Anthony. “Come. Stop gawking. The two of them are much too pleased with themselves as it is. Anthony especially so, now he has his son.”
They turned and continued across the large ballroom toward Lady Horsham. Rheda patted her stomach. Son. How she’d love to have Rufus’s child.
“If Rufus is anything like Anthony, I’m sure you’ll be with child soon.”
It was with a blush staining her cheeks that Lady Rheda Strathmore was introduced to Lady Horsham.
 
She’d survived. Several hours later Rheda had finally begun to relax.
She smiled when she spotted Daniel across the room, dancing with a duke’s daughter. He’d taken to London Society like a duck to a pond. He had them all utterly charmed. The handsome baron, who no one had heard of, had many of the mothers with unwed daughters in a swoon.
She glanced across at her husband. One more thing to thank Rufus for. And Stephen. The two men had worked tirelessly to hide any evidence of her former career as Dark Shadow. Yet still the terror of being exposed haunted her.
She could still hurt Rufus and his family. Knowing her past, knowing what exposure would cost those she loved, she found it difficult to relax in such company.
Everything went swimmingly until she turned to find Lady Umbridge’s hostile gaze and cold smile focused her way.
The woman made a beeline for Rheda, obviously intent on causing trouble. Her skin prickled and went ice cold. This was precisely what she dreaded: a person who had the ability to expose her past and hurt all the work Rufus had done for his family.
“Lady Strathmore,” Lady Umbridge said with poisonous sweetness. “So nice to see you again. You must have enjoyed meeting Prinny today. After all, I know you have an intimate fondness for princes.”
Rheda’s face flooded with heat, her mouth dried, and she felt as though she would be sick.
Struggling to respond, Rheda sensed a change behind her. Her husband suddenly appeared at one elbow, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Maddy materialized on the other side.
“My wife knows how to mix well in all company, even with those not worthy enough to be in the same room.” The direction of his harsh gaze and his cool words left the other guests in no doubt as to his meaning.
Before Lady Umbridge could utter a retort, Rufus leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “I have
all
of Christopher’s journals. There is an interesting chapter on your visit to Hastingleigh many years ago as a young bride, and your abortive attempt to seduce my father. Apparently you made quite a spectacle of yourself chasing after a happily married man. I suggest you leave this ball, and if I ever hear any lies concerning my wife and a certain Turkish prince I will take pleasure in publishing your sordid tales to the world.”
For the space of three heartbeats Lady Umbridge stood white-lipped, shaking with what could have been fear or fury. Then she turned in a swish of skirts and headed toward the exit.
“Nicely handled, Brother,” Maddy whispered, rising on tiptoes to press a kiss to her brother’s cheek before disappearing back into the crowd.
Rheda gazed up, her love shining from her eyes focused totally on the man she’d had the good sense to marry. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for risking loving me.”
He brushed her mouth tenderly with his lips. “No. Thank you. There is no reward without risk, and the prize of your love is greater and more desirable than I ever could have imagined.”
The orchestra struck up a waltz, and Rufus drew her into his arms. “Now, the new Earl of Hascombe intends to dance with his wife to show the world she belongs to him.”
 
Samuel kept to the shadows of the ballroom, careful to keep his expression bland and drawing limited attention to himself.
He longed to destroy the man who’d taken his master from him.
At first he’d wanted to enact his revenge against Rufus’s lover, in the same way Rufus had killed Christopher. Samuel would rip Rheda from his arms and cause Rufus to suffer her loss for all eternity.
But death for Rheda was too merciful. She had played an equal part in Christopher’s demise and the destruction of Samuel’s world. She should suffer as deeply as her husband. He could think of nothing better than forcing Rheda to watch her husband live the rest of his life consumed by guilt and grief.
It wasn’t until he’d followed the couple back to Hascombe, the Strathmore estate, that his plan for revenge formed and crystallized.
Now with heightened anticipation he watched the young, dark-haired beauty rise on tiptoe, kiss her brother’s cheek, and, with a gay laugh, flounce away to join her friends.
Madeline. Rufus had a sister. A sister he protected with a ferocious and all-consuming fervor.
Madeline. A cold, cruel smile curved Samuel’s lips.
Revenge would never taste so sweet.

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