Lady Eugenia's Holiday (9 page)

Eugenia would make Edmund regret he had asked to
share her company. She would display her most atrocious, repelling behavior and
devise subsequent ways of causing him as much unhappiness as he had caused her.
In a day or two, he’d be racing to be rid of her.

She waited in the parlor. Her heart leaped when
Edmund appeared. And she hated to admit how very disappointed she had been in
herself.

White cuffs and collar along with a gold trimmed
waistcoat made a sharp contrast against the black stock and dark blue set of
his evening clothes.

Eugenia could not help but think how much Edmund
looked like Thomas. His dark hair, his dark eyes and, she’d almost forgotten,
his dark heart.

Her memories of Thomas were not all bad. At the end
he had treated her poorly. When she recalled their early days in Brighton, she
found the more intimate moments they shared were quite unforgettable and very
pleasant. He may have had faults, granted they were overwhelming in number, but
she could not deny how he had made her feel.

Eugenia did not know how she could even think about
such things now, except Edmund was so very attractive, so very … well, that was
beside the point. She could make such a cake of herself when a handsome
gentleman was about. For she knew he could not be trusted any more than his
brother.

Edmund offered her his arm to escort her to the
dining room. “How good of you to join me,” he said amiably as if she had done
so out of free will and not from a threat.

“You didn’t leave me much choice, did you?” She
placed her hand in his and tried to give him the meanest, hardest stare she
could manage.

He ignored the barb and led her to supper. “May I
compliment you on your choice of attire this evening? Fashionable, yet
comfortable.”

Eugenia could not tell if he was serious. He was
certainly going out of his way to not provoke her.

“I’m afraid I half expected you to want to go out
tonight.” He pulled her chair from the table to seat her.

“Go out? In public? With you?” She was appalled at
the very idea.

“I can see, my
dear, that
you have the presence of mind to not rush headlong into anything. It would be
expected of us, I suppose, as a newly married couple to spend a certain amount
of time alone.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Especially in the early days
of our marriage.”

Eugenia wrenched her hand from him, stepped back,
tripped on the leg of her chair, and landed on the seat with an undignified
plop. “The last thing I want is to be alone with you.”

“Well, I’m afraid it’s only the two of us sharing
this large house. It cannot be helped.” He sat at the head of the table, took
up his soup spoon, and began. “Hmmm, very good. You should try some.”

“I’m not hungry, thank you.” She pushed the bowl
aside and displayed her profile.

“As you wish, my pet.” Edmund continued with
supper. He did not allow her disinterest in food to deter him in the least.
That wretched man!

Eugenia sat there and watched him eat course after
course. She touched not a bite. How could he act so normal, so unconcerned,
when she felt so miserable and suffered?

After supper he escorted her to the library to sit
before the fire while he read poetry to her. It was a pastime Eugenia usually
enjoyed but it was not an activity she would wish to share with him.

Again she pulled her hand from his before he could
kiss it and without wishing him a good evening, she left for her rooms to
retire.

Edmund was taking advantage of what he had learned
about Eugenia when he was Franz. It was not at all proper. It simply was not
fair.

What an insufferable, dreadful man.

What was to become of her? Eugenia pulled off her
dress, all by herself, and hung it. She pulled her wrapper on over her chemise
and sat by the hearth in her room.

Trying ever so hard, Eugenia imagined she heard her
mama’s voice, seeking comfort in what she would say in this hour of misery.

Eugenia should have paid more attention to her
surroundings. For out of nowhere, or so she thought, came Edmund wrapped in a
dark blue dressing gown.

“Good evening, my sweet,” he said. He tightened the
sash around his waist.

Eugenia leaped up, rounding the settee to place it
between them. “How did you get in here?”

“We have adjoining rooms as all married couples do.”
He looked calm and quite smug about the entire thing.

“Adjoining rooms?” She scanned down the ornately
decorated walls, looking for a hidden doorway. Her eyes must have been as large
as saucers.

“Dear heart, I’m sure if you gave me a chance I
could convince you that you do, in fact, love me.”

“No, you could not be more wrong.” She sidestepped,
keeping him at the opposite end of the furniture, away from her. “I have no
wish to be convinced.”

“Please, Genie, just one kiss.” He dashed around
the foot of the settee.

“I do not want to kiss you.” She managed to dodge
him. “And do not call me Genie.”

“You never seemed reluctant to kiss me in the past.”
He smiled, reaching out for her arm. She darted away, moving out of his reach.

“Kiss you? I have never kissed you.” She felt
completely confident in her declaration.

When he was posing as Franz, his powdered wig
probably fit too tight. It must have affected his mind. It made him imagine
things. She always knew that Franz held her attentions much too close to his
heart. He must have had fantasies about her. Ones she did not care to think
about.

“You most certainly did! It’s not something I’m apt
to forget!” He smiled a greedy smile and moved toward her. “Actually, we have
partaken in that delight more than several times.”

“I’m sure you are quite mistaken.” She made another
escape around the end of the settee. Eugenia did not know why he continued to
press the issue but she knew for certain that she had never, ever kissed Franz.

“In Brighton, the Old Castle Inn at the gazebo. I
had only meant to kiss you lightly on the cheek. But you looked so beautiful,
staring up into my eyes. Waiting, wanting more. I…I’m afraid I simply couldn’t
help myself.” He closed his eyes and smiled.

His expression was quite sickening. How could he
describe the actions of his brother? Edmund must have seen them together that
night. How else could he have known?

“I would warrant to say you enjoyed it every bit as
much as I, dear heart.”

“You posed as Rothford?” Eugenia was uncertain
whether she felt more shocked or outraged.

“I need not pose. I am Rothford.” He stood
straight, declaring it with pride.

“Well, you weren’t Rothford then!” She recalled how
odd it was that he had returned and his behavior had been more amorous than
only moments before when he had said his first good-bye. The reason for the
change in Rothford’s nature, if he were telling her the truth, dawned on her. “You
pretended to be your brother Thomas?”

“How else was I to discover where he had gone? Only
you knew. And it appeared you were more than willing to disclose the
information.” He took up her hand and stepped closer. “I thank you for your
cooperation.”

“You purposely tricked me into telling you.”
Eugenia could only stare at him.

“There was no deception. I had to find out where he
was going. I did it to save a life. You knew what Thomas had planned. It was my
responsibility to stop him.”

“How dare you trick
me!
How
dare you take advantage of
me!
” She stamped her foot
in anger and wished she had stomped on his. “How dare you exploit my affections
for your
brother!
My feelings are … private.”

“You had no real affection for my brother.”

Eugenia pulled her hand from his and dashed to the
farthest distance she could manage around the settee.

“The point is I am the one you have tender feelings
for, not Thomas. It always has been.” He inched slowly in her direction. “I am
the one who cultivated your affections.”

“You are wrong. You do not have any idea what
you’re saying.” With all the circling around the furniture, events were
becoming a muddle in her mind. Eugenia soon had problems deciphering who was
who, when.

“The night of the masquerade, the first one we
attended, it was I who spotted you from across the room. It was there I
approached you for a dance.” Touching his hand to his chest, he indicated
himself. “At the time I had no idea he was in Brighton. I wanted to dance with
you for selfish reasons. As Franz I found you utterly charming but only as my
true self could I approach you in an acceptable manner.”

“You were the man behind the mask?” Eugenia wanted
to believe he was relating another encounter he’d seen her share with his
brother and weaving it into a tale where he substituted himself for his
brother. But she could not stop her gaze from gravitating to his hand. She
needed to see if he wore it … the same … the gold signet ring.

It glimmered in the firelight and was exactly the
one Thomas had worn. Well, perhaps not the exact one. She realized Thomas’ went
down with him into the water.

“The
Penshursts
were kind
enough to sponsor me … Franz … home to England. I returned hoping to find
Thomas and reclaim my title. Not until the evening of the masquerade did I
learn of his presence.” Edmund chuckled with delight. “I had no idea you would
be such a relentless pursuer and chase after my brother.”

“If he was not truly interested in me ….” Eugenia
could have sworn he had adored her. Well, there were times when he seemed to
care for her then there were times when he ignored her. “Why in heaven’s name
would he play along?”

“Thomas took his role of duke seriously. Excuse my
expression, but Thomas would not be caught dead in a mask. He was too proud of
his identity to hide, even for a single dance. He wanted everyone to know who
he was.”

All this was confusing to Eugenia. What exactly did
Edmund mean by all this?

“My brother is … was the type of person who loved,
no thrived, on attention. You provided him with that attention. Positive
attention and much, much more. You are the type of wife he thought he deserved,
an earl’s daughter, and he did very little to win you.” Edmund headed to his
right. “In that way you were quite irresistible to him. Had he ever kissed you,
he would have known what a truly wonderful, captivating woman you are.”

“He had most certainly kissed me!” Eugenia
professed, again switching direction to avoid his capture.

“I think not, dear heart,” Edmund uttered with
certainty, fueling her anger. “He might have married and done what was expected
of him to carry on the family line. He’s always one to uphold his duty. He
wasn’t a ladies’ man. Money and power were more to his liking.”

“No, no, you’re all wrong about him. You’re quite
wrong,” she said, certain he had no notion of his brother’s likes or dislikes.

Edmund had to be wrong.

“We shared a most delightful tryst.” Eugenia knew,
without a doubt, she and Rothford shared the room with no one. “He crept out of
Claremont Castle to meet me at Brookhaven in the middle of the night. He kissed
me ever so passionately and he had the good sense to restrain himself. But I
could tell he wanted to continue.”

“You’re quite right, I did not wish to stop. Again,
I had no intention of kissing you at first … but, my sweet, how could I resist
holding you in my arms? Stealing just one kiss? You were quite right to stop
us. Earl Coddington’s study was neither the time nor the place.”

“The study!” Unless he was present he could not
have possibly … She was such a
ninnyhammer
! “How could
you—Are you saying …”

“That too, was yours truly.” He bowed his head,
like an actor accepting gratitude for a well-received performance. “May I
remind you that it was you who came up with the story of Rothford retiring
early and riding across the field to sneak into the
manor.
That was not a tale of my invention.”

“How did you—” She stopped mid-question to ask
another. “And just what did you think you were doing sneaking around in the
study?”

“The same as you, I suspect … looking for a book to
help pass a sleepless night.” He shrugged. “I did not expect that I should have
seen anyone at that time of night so Franz, quite foolishly it seems, dispensed
with his wig.”

Eugenia drew in a long breath and closed her eyes
in disgust. How could she have admitted to Edmund how much she had enjoyed
being with Rothford. She had treasured those memories, but Eugenia never wanted
him to know of her feelings.

“We have always enjoyed each other’s company. Now
that we are man and wife, I do not see why anything should change between us.”

“You arrogant pig!” Eugenia swung at his cheek and
he caught her hand.

“This is a habit we will have to break, Liebling.”

“Do not call me that!” she scolded.

“Anything you say, my sweet.”

“Don’t call me that either.”

He pulled her into his arms and she felt it—the
intensity, the passion, it was there … between them.

This was too horrible!

It had been him, Edmund, all along. Eugenia thought
she was in love with the Duke of Rothford. As it turned out she was in love
with the little heel-clicking, German-spouting, Austrian musician.

How disappointing.

He leaned close and murmured something in German
into her ear. Of course Eugenia did not understand nor did she care to. Then
the door burst open.

“Thunderation! What the devil’s going on here?
Eugenia!”

“Papa!” Eugenia cried out, trying to push away from
Edmund and out of his clutches.

“We came as soon as we could!” Mama called from the
hallway, fast on Papa’s trail, to their daughter’s room.

“Don’t look, Margaret.” Papa tried to cover Mama’s
eyes with his hand but she somehow managed to avoid him and beheld Eugenia in
Edmund’s arms.

“She’s disgraced!” Mama staggered back. Papa helped
steady her in case she should swoon.

Edmund took his time releasing Eugenia. She stepped
away from him and pulled her loosened wrapper around her exposed shoulders.

“Did you invite your parents, Genie? I would have
preferred more formal surroundings for our first meeting,” Edmund said with a
grand smile and held his hand out to Papa. “You must be Lord Langford. Edmund
Mallick, Duke of Rothford.”

Papa glared at the proffered hand and ignored it.

“Your summons has come too late, Genie,” Mama
sobbed. Tears sprang from her eyes.

“Oh, no, Mama. You’ve come just in time.” Eugenia
rushed to her mother’s side.

“Have you forgotten, Liebling, we were amidst the
throes of passion when your parents interrupted.”

“No, no, you’re wrong. There were no throes, no
passion.” She shook her head. “Mama, please I want you to take me home with you.”

“My dear, you cannot have been more compromised.”
Her mother looked at her in that serious manner Eugenia always hated. The one
that always dashed her dreams and brought her back to the world she did not
wish to face.

Edmund smiled and straightened his dressing gown.

With a cry, Mama fainted. Papa and Eugenia led her
to the settee.

“I ought to thrash you on the spot!” Papa roared at
Edmund. Eugenia had never seen her father so angry.

“Thrashing your son-in-law is bad ton, my lord.”

“Son-in-law? Ah, yes.” After Papa took in Edmund’s
noble countenance, he swung his gaze in his daughter’s direction. “Eugenia,
correct me if I’m wrong. I thought you married a Thomas.”

“Well, you see it’s like this, Papa,” she started.
Mama opened her eyes and sat up just in time to hear the explanation. “Edmund’s
brother Thomas forced me to marry him. But now Thomas is dead and it seems the
marriage license is unclear on which Duke of Rothford I have wed, so now I’m
married to Edmund.” She looked into her father’s face, hoping just this once to
find understanding. “You will help me get out of this, won’t you, Papa?”

His face remained blank. When she had finished he
turned to Edmund and exclaimed, “Thank God you’re married then.” Papa sighed.
He took a seat next to Mama and rested his head on his hand.

“Oh, Papa, no!” Eugenia turned to Mama for
sympathy. “Please, Mama, say something.”

“Your father’s right, dear.”

“No. I don’t want to be married to Rothford,”
Eugenia cried, begging for their aid.

“Only moments ago were you not telling me how you
delighted in my embrace?” Edmund chimed in.