Libertine's Wife (3 page)

“
When Ravensford punishes
you for the rest of your life, tell me then it was worth it. The
man will destroy you, Arianne.”

“
The rumors of him are much
exaggerated,” Arianne countered with very little confidence. Just
thinking about her intended terrified her. Garret Spencer, the
Marquis of Ravensford, was just as intimidating as he was rumored
to be, maybe even more so.

Julian raised an incredulous eyebrow.
“Arianne, the rumors of the man are far kinder. His reputation is
the worst of them all! Now you’ve set yourself up to earn the man’s
spite. And for what, I ask? Some misplaced loyalty to a brother who
cares nothing for you?”

“
I won’t allow you to give
up all for me, Julian. I do this for you as well.” Arianne quaked
inside to be reminded of the scandalous stories swirling about the
marquis. Lord Ravensford was completely immoral. His illicit
exploits dotted the gossip pages weekly, outlining his tendency to
live his life as he saw fit. Determined not to marry, he flaunted
different mistresses for every season. He was a decadent womanizer
of the worst sort; the very last choice on any list for a husband.
His misadventures with the fairer sex became his moniker; his lack
of propriety and flaunting of convention, his creed.

“
Don’t use me as the excuse
you need.” Julian flung her a contemptuous frown. “You will pay for
what you do here, Arianne, mark my words.”

Arianne stiffened at his angry, bitter
predictions. He headed for the window. Her heart ached to see him
swing himself back out on the tree limb without a backward glance
at her. Before she shut the window, she met his wounded look with
one of her own.

“
You will never have cause
to regret this, Julian,” she assured him tearfully, “I do this
because I love you, please believe it.”

“
No, the regret will be all
yours, Arianne. You speak of love and would marry another? You have
already ruined us both.” Julian gave her one last look of despair
before inching down the tree without another word.

Arianne leaned heavily against the wall
after Julian left. She squeezed her eyes shut. The sting of his
words made her recoil from what she was doing. Fear filled her to
know he was right. Lord Ravensford was no fool. The notorious
nobleman would see right through her guise.

At thirty and two, Garret Spencer was
no simpleton. Eustace said the man was thought to be brilliant by
many of his peers, a true genius with investments and estate
management. He lived his life as he would from the time he
inherited his title. The man travelled extensively. She’d been
fascinated to hear the recollections of his recent visits to the
Orient and India. His musings had her enthralled.

The dissolute nobleman had little use
for a wife. He was rumored to have several illegitimate children
from former paramours. He fought many well-publicized duels over
the years, all over women, though none could claim he’d issued any
of the challenges. He had a short fuse; known to be mercurial in
temperament. It was said he engaged in brawls with the slightest
provocation.

The marquis was legendary among men
Julian’s age. They all applauded his daring, admiring Ravensford’s
iconic status within society. As wealthy as he was elusive, he met
Eustace by chance at the gaming tables one night. The marquis
invited Eustace to his home for a weekend visit after the pair
talked for a time.

Arianne recalled how the nobleman
dismissed her when they arrived at his manor on Grosvenor Square.
She remembered how stunned she was by the wealth and beauty of his
residence. He greeted them in the elaborate foyer soon after they
arrived.

Arianne gaped at him when she first saw
him, feeling like a ninny to have stared. He was as handsome as sin
with his dark auburn hair and finely-chiseled features. His
gentleman’s attire was perfectly suited to his powerful build,
tailored and dark, adding to his sinister image. He bent over her
hand, his lips barely touching her skin. His hot breath seemed to
scorch the back of her hand.

She was repelled by him at once,
snatching back her hand unconsciously. He seemed to know he
unnerved her. His long-lashed green eyes mocked her immediate
reaction to him. Then he appeared to not know she existed,
entertaining her brother while she was left to her own
devices.

The man seemed oblivious to the gossip
surrounding him. He reveled in his own skin. He was admirably
self-possessed, seething with an alluring appeal that drew her gaze
time and again that night at dinner. She pinched herself under the
table several times to quit gawking at him. She found his heady
aura of raw animal magnetism revolting, yet fascinating, at the
same time.

He was charming and charismatic at
dinner as he and Eustace spoke of matters over her head. The
marquis paid her no attention at all beyond being their gracious
host. He was polite and civil to her, obviously looking upon her as
a mere child. Eustace planned it well. The man hadn’t seen it
coming. And neither had she.

Eustace took her aside in the hallway
after dinner when she meant to retire, grabbing her arm forcefully.
Tears filled her eyes to recall his desperate words.

“
You will do this for me,
Arianne! There is no other way!” Eustace insisted, pushing her to
her room. “We haven’t any choice in it now. Quick! We haven’t a
moment to waste!”

“
What do you mean to do?”
she’d cried, pulling away, gazing at him in fear.

“
The only thing we have left
to us, little sister.” Eustace looked desperate at that moment. “If
we don’t get an offer for you from Ravensford; I shan’t survive the
week. My lenders know I’m in London. Why do you think we came?
They’ll not find me here.”

“
Bu-t-t…how-w-w…do…you mean
to go about it?” she’d stammered, shuddering to think of marrying a
man like the marquis.

Eustace gazed at her with a
look of pleading in his blue gaze. “You must be compromised by him,
little sister. It’s the only way. Ravensford would never offer for
you otherwise. Without his wealth, we are done.”

“
No! No! You cannot mean to
do this, Eustace!” She shook her head in denial, eyes widened with
alarm. The startling means he would use became glaringly obvious to
her. Revulsion swept over her to be used in such a way.

Her brother pushed her
towards the stairs then, unrelenting. “Get to your room and await
me. Get into your bed unclothed. Do it now! We haven’t a moment to
lose before his servants take note. You will do this for me,
Arianne, or I will surely die. What becomes of you then? Think,
will you? The men I owe money to would only come after you. You
have no choice in this as I don’t. ”

Arianne did as he asked, feeling soiled
already as she made ready for bed. She slid under the sheets naked
and shaking in outrage to know how wrong it was what they were
doing, believing she did it to save her brother’s life.

Then, the other reasons came to mind.
Those matters mocked her hesitation, reminding her she had little
choice in going along with Eustace. It was for that alone she lay
there, compromising more than just the marquis. In those moments,
she gave up every bit of her conscience, telling herself she had no
choice.

The two men retired to the marquis’s
study to engage in cards and drinks after dinner. Before long,
Ravensford succumbed to the effects of the drug Eustace
administered to his wine. With the help of two brawny servants they
brought along with them, Eustace placed a disrobed Ravensford in
her bed.

Arianne remembered how she lay in
mortified shame in her bed that night. She lay nude and trembling
next to the inert marquis, her eyes filled with self-loathing,
wishing there was some other way. Eustace cut his palm and smeared
blood upon the sheets before he left. He’d winked down at her as
though it was some grand prank they played.

“
In the morning all of our
problems will be over, little sister,” he said with a gleam in his
eye.

He left her alone with the drugged man
who snored at her side. Sleep eluded her for some time. She was
uncomfortable to lie next to a strange man. She imagined his shock
and anger on the morrow.

Morning came, and with it, the savage
curses from Ravensford. He woke at her side, startling her from
sleep. He stared at her in stunned anger. Eustace arrived at her
room on cue, glaring down at the man, demanding he do his duty to
his sister. In those moments, Arianne kept silent. The desire to
expose their duplicity nearly choked her.

The marquis jumped out of her bed and
yanked on his clothes. She cowered in mortification under the
sheets, recalling a glimpse of his well-turned backside before he
jerked up his breeches. He accompanied her brother down to his
study. Before he left, his furious glare pinned her under the sheet
she clutched to her throat.

While she dressed to join them below,
Ravensford agreed to Eustace’s demands for money. Her brother
threatened him with charges. Threats of legal action must have wore
down the man’s denials he never touched her. It was handled much
too quickly for her to believe the marquis resigned himself to his
fate.

Eustace handled all the financial
particulars. While the men argued within the study, she shivered on
a bench outside the door, wishing for it to be over. But it wasn’t
over. She had to give her accounting of the night
before.

Garret Spencer seemed bored during her
tale of his lecherous behavior the night before, almost amused to
hear her describe how he’d entered her room and forced himself on
her. He laughed outright during the telling. She ignored him and
repeated what her brother demanded she say, hating herself for such
blatant lies.

After Eustace’s indignant rant, the
marquis eyed her with an intense scrutiny she found disconcerting.
He appeared to be waiting for her to let him off the hook; admit he
hadn’t forced himself on her. She maintained her lies and said
nothing, avoiding his eyes, shrinking under the fury that emanated
from him.

She shuddered to recall the way he
looked at her. For the first time since meeting, he gazed at her
with real interest. In that moment, she knew Eustace erred in
choosing this man for his schemes. Arianne felt like she traded
every bit of her soul, staring into those heartless green orbs,
knowing she deserved whatever punishment he met out.

Arianne thought of Garret Spencer’s
piercing eyes as they followed her while their bags were being
loaded onto the coach later that day to leave. His look promised
she would pay for trapping him.

In one week’s time, she would be
married to the man she deceived. She covered her mouth to think of
how her lies condemned him. It was likely no worse a crime than the
man had been accused of before. But just this once, for the first
time in his self-indulged life, the man was innocent.

~ ~ ~

A week later, Dunne Manor was in an
uproar, with servants running about in an effort to make all ready.
They’d been up since the wee hours preparing for a wedding. The
modest interior of the manor was dusted and polished in
readiness.

The wedding proved to be a somber
affair, despite the festive decorations strewn about. It was only
attended only by Sir Eustace Dunne and the preacher’s wife, Anna
Wilkes. The small salon was arranged for the hasty nuptials. The
furnishings were pushed aside within. A special license was sought
by Ravensford the week before.

The Marquis of Ravensford arrived in
his gleaming, crested coach early that morning, furious and
tight-lipped. He stepped down in the small, circular courtyard
looking about in contempt. The man was resplendent and impeccable
in his stylish gentlemen’s attire. His powerful form moved with the
grace of a mountain cat as he stalked into the house.

He seemed to overpower the shabby
interior with his commanding presence. The black looks he sent the
servants had them scurrying to get out of his way. His disparaging
glance around the modest house concluded the reasons he was set
upon in an instant, noting the interior’s disrepair.

Arianne fought her unease during the
brief ceremony. The imposing form of the marquis stood next to her.
He was hardly touching her, but caused her to tremble throughout.
His anger seemed to permeate from him. He stared down at her
without expression during Reverend Wilkes’ short sermon. His long,
capable fingers slid the gold band upon her finger. He dropped her
hand in distaste after the vows were said. He further abstained
from the kiss at the end, walking away from her, making her breathe
a sigh of relief.

Eustace beamed in pleasure when all was
done. He rushed forward to embrace his sister in a ridiculous
display of joy. The congratulations died on his lips. Lord
Ravensford glared him into silence. His furious gaze wiped the
smile from her brother’s face.

Eustace wasted little time in
hightailing it out of the salon to his rooms. The preacher and his
wife took their leave after simple refreshments were
served.

Arianne felt awkward once alone with
the man. Her new husband stood at the window with his rigid back to
her, staring out over the small, overgrown gardens beyond. Eustace
wasted little time in abandoning her to face the man’s wrath. Her
brother was fairly rubbing his hands together to know he succeeded
in his clever ploy to extort the man.