Lessons from a Scandalous Bride (10 page)

Chapter Thirteen

F
ollowing dinner that evening, Cleo tucked herself away in the back of the drawing room as Libba banged away on the pianoforte. Abiding one of her stepfather’s drunken rampages would prove more enjoyable than such a racket. From the painful fidgeting of the others, she knew she wasn’t the only one suffering.

Logan maintained a perfectly neutral expression, staring at Libba with polite interest. The man belonged on stage.

“Let’s take a walk,” Thrumgoodie suggested, struggling up from his chair. “Can only abide so much of that claptrap for one evening.”

She blinked at the unusual request. The man wasn’t one for casual strolls. For obvious reasons. They tired him greatly. Still, she quickly rose and accepted his arm, although she was more or less the one to guide him toward the balcony doors.

A glance over her shoulder revealed Logan still gazing faithfully upon Libba. Perhaps he’d finally listened to her and accepted that she would never return his interest. A heaviness settled deep in her chest and she hastily looked away from him—only to clash gazes with Hamilton standing near the fireplace.

He glared at her from across the room, his stare flickering from her to his uncle and back again. It didn’t take a grand intellect to understand that her presence here upset him. She resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him.

She turned her attention away, quite happy to forget both Hamilton and Logan. She needn’t let them cast a pall over her evening.

The French doors were partially cracked to allow some air to flow inside the stuffy room.

“A moment alone, at last,” Thrumgoodie sighed into the night as they cleared the threshold. “Libba was given all the best instructors, but I’m afraid some people are simply not born musicians.”

She slowed her steps to match his dragging pace.

“It’s a lovely night,” she agreed. “Even with a nip to the air, it’s far finer than the city. You can see the stars here.”

Thrumgoodie patted her hand as they neared the stone balustrade. “This fine evening is only matched by you, my pet. Such a delightful companion to an old goat like myself.”

“You mustn’t call yourself such things,” she protested with a smile, feeling strangely nervous. Odd that. They’d been alone before. And it’s not that she feared he would behave inappropriately. The man could barely walk unassisted. He wasn’t likely to pounce on her.

Several moments passed. Neither said anything as they absorbed the night humming all around them. A faint hint of rain rode the air and she wished it away, not looking forward to the prospect of staying indoors all day tomorrow with everyone. She’d go mad trapped in close confines with Libba, Hamilton, and Thrumgoodie. To say nothing of Logan and his effect on her.

She glanced toward the open doors behind them. Dull light glowed through the sheer curtains. Voices carried on the air over the discordant notes of Libba’s playing, and she thought she detected Logan’s deep voice among the others. Shaking her head, she chastised herself for such straying thoughts. She couldn’t afford to care about him.

She forced her attention back to Thrumgoodie, realizing he was speaking.

“ . . . it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I’ve grown fond of your company over the last few months. You’ve been a bright light into my fading days.”

She tensed and straightened, pulling back her shoulders. This was it.

The moment she’d been waiting for.

She focused on his face, but a movement over his shoulder attracted her notice. She peered, squinting, but could only make out a shadowed figure there.

“You’re far finer than I deserve. I realize you could have any of the young bucks about Town. And yet, I cannot resist stealing you for myself. I would be honored to call you my own, Miss Hadley.”

The shadow just beyond his shoulder took shape then, moving slightly closer to the light spilling out from the drawing room.

Cast in shadow, Logan’s face was even more inscrutable than usual. Only his eyes gleamed like twin torches of light.

“Cleo, my pet. Did you hear me? I’m asking you to be my wife.” He released a chuckle that sounded like a coughing duck. “Have I overwhelmed you, my dear?”

She shook her head before recovering her voice. “You’ve knocked me speechless, my lord.”

Again, that dying, hacking laugh.

And still Logan’s shadow watched, unmoving from a distance. Did he think she would not? She had told him. She had warned him.

Still, she had not imagined it would be this hard. Especially with her stepfather’s words hanging over her head. Nor had she imagined she would have a witness—especially not in the form of McKinney.

She moistened her lips. “I’m flattered and humbled by your offer.”

Blast him. She could feel the censure radiating off him. She’d done nothing—was about to do nothing for which she should feel any shame. Remember Bess. Think of the others.

She released a gust of air, unaware she’d been holding it inside. “I’d be delighted to marry you.”

Even though the shadow did not move, she felt as though he had. Something passed over him—through him. A reaction of some kind. A ripple of emotion that reached out to wrap around her. Or perhaps she just imagined it.

Perhaps the reaction was simply hers alone.

Thrumgoodie grasped her hand and pressed cold, dry lips to the back of it. Her flesh puckered with goose bumps at the contact. “You’ve made me the very happiest of men. I cannot wait to proclaim from the rooftops that you’ve agreed to be mine.”

A lump clogged her throat. She looked down at the earl’s genuinely delighted face. He gazed at her expectantly and she realized she needed to say something. “Nor can I,” she murmured, disconcerted at the total emptiness she felt at finally reaching this moment.

Shouldn’t she feel something? Triumph at the very least? Possibly relief? She’d have marriage, security, limitless funds to rescue her siblings from Roger. They’d never have to know wretched poverty again.

Nothing. She reached inside herself and poked around, prodded carefully in all the places that should feel.

And still nothing. She felt only a yawning void inside.

Lifting her gaze from Thrumgoodie, she searched for Logan’s shadowy figure. Only he was gone.

His shadow no longer watched her, assessing in silence. He was gone. Her gaze scanned the parted French doors, searching for a glimpse of him. Her emptiness only seemed to stretch wider, yawn all the deeper until breathing suddenly became difficult, impossible with her too-tight chest.

And that wasn’t right. This sensation wasn’t part of the plan. Not part of the plan at all.

“Come, my pet. Let’s share the news with everyone.”

Thrumgoodie clutched her hand and leaned against her side as they made their way back into the drawing room.

Libba was rising from her seat before the pianoforte, her face flushed from her energetic play.

The earl waved an arm unsteadily in the air. “Attention, everyone!”

All heads swung in their direction. Cleo searched the half dozen faces present, seeking only one. Even Hamilton’s intent stare meant nothing. The anger glittering in his gaze did not even rattle her. She sought only for a glimpse of Logan, wondering where he had gone.

“The lovely Miss Hadley has obliged to make me the happiest of men by becoming my wife.”

A smattering of applause broke out through the room. Several mocking glances were exchanged between guests, no doubt forming their own snide opinions on the matter of her marriage to Thrumgoodie. Libba clapped fiercely, the only one who seemed genuinely pleased. Hamilton glowered at her, and a shiver skated down her spine. She looked away, unable to bear the hostility of his gaze.

Again, she scanned the room, needing, irrationally, to see his face. Even as logic insinuated itself, reminding her that she’d brought this about, that she’d chosen Thrumgoodie . . . it failed to matter. She needed to see Logan with the same compulsion of one who couldn’t look away from a terrible accident. She had to see . . . had to know . . .

She shook her head and turned her attention to the well-wishers surrounding her. Libba was at the forefront of the group, chattering on about the church and dress patterns and the wedding breakfast. The words were dizzying, the velocity carrying all the speed of gunfire.

Hamilton seized her hand and leaned close. Pressing his cheek to hers, he spoke into her ear, his voice low and furious, “Congratulations . . . cousin.”

This latter word was uttered with such venom that she suddenly couldn’t stomach his touch. She wrenched her hand free and took a step back. He stared at her with such open enmity that she glanced around, certain everyone else could see it, too.

Only no one looked at him. Everyone focused either on her or the earl, exclaiming their well wishes.

Hamilton drifted away, fading to the back of the group, but his stare remained fixated on her, a scalding imprint that she couldn’t ignore no matter how hard she tried.

S
he’d actually done it.

He hadn’t thought she would. When it came right down to it, he’d assumed she wouldn’t be able to actually agree. Not when she kissed him the way she had. Not when her eyes looked at him with his own hunger echoed in their depths.

Cleopatra Hadley and old Thrumgoodie did not make sense on any level. She and Logan made sense. At least that was what he had fooled himself into believing.

He paced his bedchamber, telling himself he might as well fetch his mount and leave. He nodded once, hard and decisive. In his present mood, that was precisely what he intended to do. He had no intention of marrying Libba, so remaining here was only a waste of time for both of them. He owed no one an explanation. They could wonder all they liked about what happened to him come morning.

She would know, of course.

Striding to his wardrobe, he grabbed his satchel and began tossing his garments inside. Damn if he was going to stay another moment and witness the farce of Cleo and Thrumgoodie celebrating their betrothal.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

He whipped around, spotting the slip of paper the moment it slid beneath his door.

He tossed down the shirt he held and strode toward the door. Grasping the latch, he yanked the door open and peered out into the shadowed corridor. No one. Nothing save flickering shadows.

Bending down, he snatched up the small slip of paper in one motion. The neatly worded scrawl stared up at him, the message brief, but to the point.

Meet me in my room.

C.

Bitter fury coursed through him. She wanted to see him? Now? He growled low in his throat. What remained to be said? She’d made her choice. He’d watched as she said yes to another man. A veritable slap in the face after he’d bared his soul to her—confessing to want her as he’d never wanted another woman.

He crumpled the parchment into his fist and strode across the room. Flinging open the grate, he was on the verge of tossing it to the coals. With a grunt, he slammed the grate shut again, and walked a short, hard line back and forth across his chamber, stuffing the note into his pocket.

There was nothing left to say, and yet he couldn’t leave without seeing her one last time . . . without satisfying his curiosity and hearing what she had to say to him.

He’d see her. And then he’d go. He’d wasted enough time here already. He’d not waste another moment on a female that wanted nothing to do with him . . . who preferred a cold, empty future to the one they could have had together—one that would at least have been vital and alive. They would have had their share of fights, he was certain. But there would have been passion.

He returned to his satchel and finished packing absently, his thoughts elsewhere. When he left Scotland, he’d thought this matter of finding a wife would be a relatively easy feat. True, she needed to possess a dowry of means, but he’d been certain there were females enough to fit that requirement. He couldn’t have known that he’d fixate his desires on the one female who didn’t want him—who would prefer a man with one foot in the grave over him.

But after tonight that wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t matter. Because he was moving on.

He’d never see her again.

Chapter Fourteen

C
leo brushed her hair until her scalp tingled. Glaring at her reflection, she set her brush down with a sharp click.

Angling her head, she studied herself. “What’s wrong with you?” The fact that she was talking to herself didn’t daunt her in the least.

Shaking her head, she rose to her feet. Untying the sash of her night rail, she dropped it at the foot of her bed, an enormous beast that could have slept her and several of her half-siblings. The thought of her siblings fortified her, reminding her that she was on the right path. Even if her chest felt heavy and tight, this was what she needed to do.

A maid had already pulled back the coverlet. She climbed within and pulled the soft bedding up to her chin. Staring up at the canopy, her thoughts invariably drifted to Logan. She told herself she was only concerned. She had no wish to hurt his feelings. She told herself that was the only reason she worried. Not because she cared about him . . .

She’d been unable to escape for at least another hour after Thrumgoodie announced their engagement. She’d suffered a toast of champagne. Libba had insisted Hamilton’s servants fetch his finest champagne for the occasion. He’d looked none too happy about that, of course, but no one seemed to notice. Just as no one seemed aware that Logan was absent from the festivities. Even Libba was too caught up in the revelry to notice. And yet Cleo noticed.

It was just the beginning, she realized with a bitter swallow. There would be dinners and parties, and more toasts to endure. She hadn’t anticipated all of that. Hopefully, the earl could arrange a short engagement so as not to drag it out.

With a sigh, she turned onto her side, lifting up on an elbow to punch her pillow with decided vigor. Falling onto her back, she allowed doubt and regret to creep in.

What am I doing? I cannot do this
. Bitter emotion soured her stomach, and for a moment she feared she would be sick, the evening’s champagne acid in her stomach.

A soft knock at her door had her lurching upright. Frowning, she imagined Libba stood on the other side, too agitated from an evening of carousing to sleep yet. She was an easily excited creature even without adding spirits.

Flinging back her covers, Cleo marched toward the door and pulled it open with an admonition for Libba to march herself back to bed ready on her lips.

Only Libba did not stand there.

She gaped. Her head fell back to take him in. He wore only trousers and a shirt. No vest. No jacket. A pair of Hessians hugged his muscular legs up to the knees. The white lawn of his shirt contrasted sharply to the darker exposed flesh of his neck. Her throat felt suddenly dry, and she fought to swallow.

She wanted to demand an explanation for his presence outside her bedroom, but speech failed her. She’d thought so much of him tonight, wondering where he’d disappeared to during the impromptu celebration of her forthcoming marriage, wondering if she’d hurt him—hoping she hadn’t. She was unable to erase the memory of his shadow, standing witness as she accepted Thrumgoodie’s offer.

Without a word, he strode past her, his shoulder brushing her arm. She swallowed a hiss at the contact.

For a moment, she couldn’t move. Her head spun. Reeling and bewildered, she took a quick glance up and down the empty corridor. Satisfied no one had seen him enter her room, she closed the door, sealing them in as effectively as if they were in a tomb.

She knew she could demand he leave. She should. Nothing about this was proper or seemly. If he was discovered, she’d be ruined, all her hopes for her family lost.

She wasn’t sure why she was letting any of this happen. Only that she felt compelled—like some other force was guiding her to behave against her will. Against all reasoning. She was willingly betrothed to another man—the precise man she wanted for a husband. The man she’d set out to land for herself.

And yet the precise man she did not want, she had just permitted inside her bedchamber. There had to be a cell in Bedlam for people like her.

He prowled a small circle before stopping in the center of the room. Facing her, his arms hung at his sides, hands clenched in tight fists.

Tension swam on the air, so tangible she could touch it.

She’d never seen him look like this before. The flesh surrounding his eyes seemed tighter. A tiny tic worked madly at the corner of the right eye. His chest rose and fell, lifting against his white shirt.

She couldn’t stand to look at the accusation in his face. She looked away, and her gaze fastened on the exposed stretch of his throat, on the skin there that looked so warm and inviting.

“You did it,” he murmured.

He might as well have yelled the words. She jumped at the whisper. She breathed in and out before answering, “I said I would.”

“Yes.” He nodded, moving slowly, advancing on her. “You did.”

No censure. Not even anger. Just that tension about him. A coil ready to spring. A lion about to pounce.

Ironic considering she moved first, coming at him in a gliding step.

And that’s all he needed to act.

He met her, enveloping her in his arms and lifting her off her feet. His mouth swooped over hers. Her hands slid up to cup his face, holding, reveling in the rasp of his bristly cheeks. His tongue was in her mouth, mating fiercely with her own. His hands clutched her back, the strong dig of his fingers rough and thrilling.

They clung to each other with equal fervor, their lips locked in a devouring kiss that went on and on. His hands slid down, cupped her bottom through the thin fabric of her nightgown. She gasped as he lifted her easily, guiding her legs around him.

Everything about this should have horrified her, but she could only feel. Only taste. She had thought she’d never see him again. That he was lost to her. Nothing could make her break away right now.

Her world jarred slightly with his every step. Soon she was descending back onto the bed, all his splendid weight falling atop her, directly between her splayed thighs. Her nightgown slipped and cool air drifted over her exposed legs.

He released her lips and dragged his hot mouth down her throat just as his hand slid along her rib cage. He nipped her throat and then kissed the bruised flesh, laving with his tongue. She moaned, arching under him, sensation flooding her.

She didn’t know it could be like this. His hand closed over her breast and she gasped, seized with a want so deep that she forgot everything. Who she was . . . what she’d always wanted for herself. For her family. For once the visage of her stepfather didn’t intrude. The only thing she wanted right now was this. Him.

His hand kneaded her breast until she was panting and writhing beneath him. When his lips closed over the hard tip, sucking through the thin fabric of her gown, she arched her back with a sharp cry as hot sensation rippled through her.

His mouth pulled at her, taking her deep. The wet fabric of her gown only served to chafe her overly sensitized nipple. She weaved her fingers through his hair, holding him to her with hungry desperation, determined that he give more. She wanted her nightgown gone—his clothes to melt away. She yearned to feel his skin, to experience the hardness of his body against hers . . . his flesh to her flesh . . .

She was lost. Oblivious to reason. To the world around her.

To the click of the opening door . . .

S
he was heat imploding in his arms. Logan was overwhelmed with the taste and feel of her. He hadn’t come here for this. At least not consciously. She’d agreed to marry another man. As far as he was concerned, she was beyond his reach. She’d seen to that. It infuriated him, but there was nothing to do about it now short of abducting her.

And yet here he was. Here they were. Lost together. With each other.

He heard the gasp. It registered dully, sinking into his awareness slowly. He lifted his head from her delectable breast and blinked as if waking from a dream.

Instantly, the trio standing in the threshold took shape. His gut clenched at the sight of Libba, her expression one of horror and disbelief. Thrumgoodie stood there, too, looking more ashen than usual, clutching his nephew’s arm as though it were the only thing keeping him from collapsing.

Logan sat up quickly and stood back from the bed, reaching down to cover Cleo’s legs with her nightgown. A hasty assessment told him there was little he could do to help her appearance. She looked like a woman thoroughly ravished.

Her dark hair floated like a nimbus around the wanton curve of her body. Her clouded gaze seemed unable to focus. She propped herself on her elbows and stared up at him beneath heavy lids.

“Cleo,” he whispered harshly, gazing intently at her flushed face. She looked appealing as hell, and he cursed the crowd of intruders.

Of course, better that they arrived when they did. He winced at the idea of them arriving five minutes later. Given more time, he had a fairly good idea of the scene they would have witnessed. Now that would have been a scandal to live down.

He glanced swiftly at their audience and then back at Cleo again. She murmured his name, extending her arms in invitation. Her fingers touched his neck. He grabbed her wrists to stop her from going any further. “Cleo,” he said more sharply. “We’re not alone.”

That did the trick.

Her eyes widened, and he knew in that precise moment full comprehension had hit. She stiffened and scrambled off the bed, dropping to her feet a good distance from him. She clutched the modest neckline of her nightgown to her throat, which only managed to pull the fabric tighter against her breasts.

Her lucid gaze scanned the room, stopping on the crowd gathered near the door. Since he’d last looked, the trio had grown in number. Where three had stood, now seven hovered. Four of Hamilton’s guests—more witnesses.

Hellfire. He couldn’t care less about himself or his reputation. But Cleo . . . she’d never survive this. It quickly became apparent to him that her betrothal to Thrumgoodie had come to a swift end. Normally, this would have pleased him, but not at this cost. People could be cruel, and he’d not have her suffer the viperous tongues of the
ton
once this night became public knowledge. Which would take no less than twenty-four hours. From the gleam in the eyes of Hamilton’s guests, they’d likely be on their way to Town tomorrow to share this juiciest tidbit.

Libba gained her voice. She couldn’t stop squawking and sputtering, hurling words he would never have suspected she even knew, and her venom wasn’t reserved all for him.

“You devious little witch! How dare you? After everything I’ve done for you? I should never have taken you under my wing! To think I protected you from all the wolves of the
ton
that wanted to gobble a little nobody—a bastard—like you up!” Libba motioned to Thrumgoodie. “I even pushed you at my grandfather, although it’s obvious you only want his title!”

Cleo’s face only burned brighter.

“See, uncle. I warned you,” Hamilton patted Thrumgoodie’s arm as though to console him.

Logan snorted, stifling the urge to plant his fist in the man’s face. The fact that the three of them had strolled into Cleo’s chamber seemed a little too convenient. It would never have occurred to Thrumgoodie or Libba to burst unannounced into Cleo’s room in the middle of the night. Logan knew who was behind this.

Hamilton shook his head as though aggrieved, but Logan read the triumph in his gaze. “What can you expect from someone of such low birth? Better you learn now before you married the harlot.”

Cleo flinched. Logan couldn’t stand it another moment. Not the slurs, not the wounded look in her eyes. He strode forward and knocked Hamilton off his feet with one punch.

Hamilton howled and clutched his nose. “Out! Out!” he screeched. “Leave my house and take your whore with you!”

Logan saw red. Bending down, he hauled the worthless excuse for a man to his feet.

Libba grabbed his arm. “Stop! You beast! Unhand him, you savage!”

Logan shook her off him with great restraint.

Then he felt Cleo’s touch on his arm. He looked down at her. “Enough,” she murmured. He stilled.

Libba looked between the two of them, the hate in her gaze only intensifying. “Yes, listen to your little harlot.”

A flicker of emotion passed over Cleo’s face but she didn’t acknowledge the insult.

“Oh, a very affecting display,” Libba continued. “You’re such a marvelous hero!” He winced at the sudden shrillness to her voice.

He released Hamilton and glared at the girl whom he had, for so brief a moment, considered marrying. What a nightmare that would have been.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded, thrusting her chin out in a pugnacious angle. “Are you going to strike me, too?”

Suddenly, Cleo spoke, addressing everyone. “I’m sorry you all had to witness such a spectacle.”

Logan gazed at her. He wasn’t sorry. None of them had any business storming her room in the middle of the night.

She continued, “It wasn’t my intention . . .” Her voice cracked, and she shot him a glance. Some of the spark returned to her eyes, and he surmised that she had just reached the same conclusion he had. “What are you all doing in my bedchamber?” Her indignant gaze swept over everyone.

“Good question,” he murmured, swinging his gaze toward Hamilton.

The triumph in Hamilton’s eyes only glowed brighter. “That’s right,” he announced with a haughty shake of his head. “I’ve seen you staring after each other like two hungry dogs. I knew you were lovers and sought to prove it.”

“We’re not lovers,” Cleo hissed with a stamp of her foot. “This was a mistake.”

“Oh, it was a mistake indeed,” Libba declared. “One that you shall never live down. I don’t care if your sister’s a princess or your father’s as rich as Croesus. Nothing will see you out of this mess. All will shun you. I shall see to it!”

Something indecipherable passed over Cleo’s face, and then, in a blink, it was gone. She was all coolness, immune to Libba and anything or anyone else. Inhaling, she turned to the group, her words calm and even. “I’ll leave in the morning.”