Lover Be Mine: A Legendary Lovers Novel (9 page)

“Does Sophie favor your courtship?”

Jack hesitated. “I have reason to believe she might
entertain my suit if it weren’t for her father’s objections.”

The elderly lady’s mouth turned down in a frown. “If this is some lark of yours, Lord
Jack …”

“I assure you, I am in earnest.”

“Why should I believe you—a hellion with a taste for the devil? For the past decade
you have left a string of broken hearts in your wake.”

“I have no intention of breaking your niece’s heart, madam,” Jack assured her.

“To my knowledge you have never been marriage-minded.”

He smiled. “Because I have never met the right match. Until Sophie, I have never met
the woman who could make me contemplate matrimony.” Which was certainly an understatement,
he reflected drolly.

“But surely you realize the obstacles you face? Oliver Fortin would never countenance
your courtship of his daughter, even if I would.”

Her tone had softened, and for the first time Jack felt himself winning the argument
for Mrs. Pennant’s approval. “I realize I cannot woo her openly, so I want to call
in reinforcements. I suggest that you also invite my cousin, Lady Skye Wilde, and
I will come along as her escort. It will provide a good excuse for my presence.”

Mrs. Pennant’s mouth pursed as she appeared to weigh his proposal. “What does your
cousin have to say about your plan?”

“I haven’t asked her yet, but I have no doubt she will comply. Skye and my sister
Katharine are great admirers of your niece and want to get to know her
better. In fact, they would be happy to introduce her to their genteel circles.”

“Their patronage would be beneficial for Sophie,” Mrs. Pennant said thoughtfully.
“Oliver would be a fool to shun it, although even that enticing advantage is unlikely
to sway him.”

“Which is another reason to invite me to Berkshire. It will give me a chance to persuade
her father as well. And if anyone can charm Fortin, Skye can. She can also keep Dunmore
occupied while I claim your niece’s time and attention.”

Mrs. Pennant seemed faintly impressed. “Apparently you have thought of everything.”

“Not by a long shot. I’ve had less than a day to plan.”

“It seems you are going to a great deal of trouble to pursue my niece.”

“True,” Jack agreed, amused at himself. He’d never gone to such lengths to court a
lady, or been forced to desperate measures merely to see one. But he wasn’t willing
to let this lady slip from his grasp without at least investigating their compatibility.
He could afford to invest a week or so of time and effort in exploring what might
have a momentous impact on his future.

“You will have to be clever,” Mrs. Pennant warned, “if you hope to evade her father’s
wrath. And claiming Sophie’s time will not be easy either, as she will be busy helping
me execute my duties toward my guests. I am much too old for all this fuss, and her
mother cares little for entertaining or mingling with the ton. Rebecca is not an invalid
precisely, but she customarily keeps to her rooms. That is another purpose of the
party, by the by—to allow Sophie to display her talents as a hostess to Dunmore.”

Jack nodded but was eager for a decision. “So may I have your answer, Mrs. Pennant?”

After a long moment, she responded. “I am inclined to agree to your proposition, my
lord. On the one hand, I want to promote Sophie’s prospects for an advantageous match.
As a commoner, she may never get another chance to land someone with so lofty a title
and fortune as Dunmore’s. Therefore, I am tolerating his suit. But I was forced by
my own family to marry for wealth, and I thoroughly detested it. I do not want Sophie
to be miserable as I was. In all honesty, I would very much like to foil her father’s
scheme to pair her with Dunmore.”

Before Jack could reply, she continued debating with herself aloud. “Naturally Oliver
will be furious at me for letting you within speaking distance of his daughter, but
he wants to keep in my good graces since I hold the purse strings.”

She returned her focus to Jack. “In my will, I made Sophie my sole heir and bypassed
her mother entirely because I didn’t want Oliver to see a penny of my wealth. But
I can threaten to cut Sophie out. He will not want to risk losing my fortune for her,
at least not until she is safely wed to the duke, so he won’t fight me outright on
this. But he would oppose you, even without the feud. Oliver Fortin is rather prudish,
very much the opposite of you notorious Wildes.”

Her sly humor suddenly returned. “I confess I should very much like to see you take
on Oliver. It should prove entertaining. And if nothing else, you will provide competition
for the duke. I want Sophie
to see you and Dunmore side by side, so she can realize what she will be missing if
she weds him. I guarantee she will prefer you to him.

“But still …” Her voice faded, and she looked as if she were vacillating again. Then
her gaze sharpened on Jack. “I hope I can trust you to put her happiness before your
own, my lord.”

“You can,” he responded honestly.

“Well, I warn you, if you hurt Sophie or drag her into a scandal, you will answer
to me, sir.”

“I promise to be on my best behavior.”

Mrs. Pennant gave a delicate harrumph. “That is not saying much. I knew your mother,
Lady Clara. You inherited her passionate nature, and I worry that you might go too
far with Sophie. Although she is mature for her age and has a good head on her shoulders,
she has been far more sheltered than your cousin or your sister. Sophie’s parents
delayed her debut while she was being groomed for the Marriage Mart, and she is rather
inexperienced when it comes to men in general. She is out of
your
league entirely.”

Jack returned her gaze solemnly. “I give you my word, I will not break her heart.
At week’s end, if there is no chance of mutual affection between us, I won’t continue
my courtship any further. And regardless, I will do my utmost to dissuade her from
marrying Dunmore.”

“Very well, then. Ring the bell to summon my butler. I will send Sophie to meet you
in the blue parlor downstairs so that you may reveal your plan to court her. I have
tried more than once to talk her out of wedding Dunmore, but my efforts were futile.
I earnestly hope you can succeed where I failed.”

Jack felt a surge of satisfaction at winning the first skirmish, but he didn’t expect
Sophie to fall in line with his plans as easily and so braced himself for a protest.

His breath caught a little when she appeared at the parlor door a short while later.
Desire came rushing back to tighten his loins and thrum in his blood. She looked incredibly
lovely in a morning gown of pale green muslin, her dark hair spilling down around
her shoulders in a riot of curls. He could envision those long, silky coils wrapped
around him as their bodies writhed together. At the erotic image, hunger knifed through
Jack, sharp and insistent.

Her deep blue eyes held an unmistakable flash of pleasure at seeing him, as well as
wariness and a hint of suspicion. “My Aunt Eunice says you wrangled an invitation
from her to join her house party along with your cousin, Lady Skye. Yesterday you
claimed you were not set on stirring up mischief, but why else would you insist on
attending if not to make trouble for me?”

“Because I mean to court you. I have your aunt’s blessing, by the way.”

Sophie’s brow creased. “You actually cajoled my aunt into aiding your courtship? I
am all astonishment. What did you do, cast a spell on her?”

“I did my best to enchant her.”

She laughed unwillingly, then shook her head in exasperation. “You are truly unbelievable.
I always heard you were a bold rogue, and now this.…”

“I told you, I don’t intend to skulk in the shadows,” Jack contended as he moved to
stand before her.

“Well, you cannot court me in public. My father would be livid. And in any case, you
don’t want to marry me.”

“Actually, I believe I might.”

She looked startled. Her lush mouth parted as she stared up at him in shock.

In truth, Jack had surprised himself by joining the lists for her hand. His reasons
for pursuing Sophie were innate and intuitive rather than overtly comprehensible,
but it felt right.

“You have a vexing habit of rendering me speechless,” she muttered after a moment.
“I still think you are up to no good.”

“I assure you my motives are entirely pure,” Jack retorted. “I wouldn’t think of wooing
you if you actually loved Dunmore. It wouldn’t be honorable.”

“Oh, now you are concerned with honor?”

He grinned. “Occasionally the concept crosses my mind.”

He took a step closer to Sophie. “Can you deny wanting to know if we are a match?”

Her lengthy hesitation spoke volumes. “No … but my father would never permit me to
marry you.”

The prospect of betraying her parents troubled her greatly, Jack knew. “Then I will
have to woo your father as well as you. Attending your aunt’s gathering will give
me time to soften his animosity. And who knows? Perhaps we can even find a way to
end the squabble between our families.”

Sophie frowned. “It is hardly a squabble. I told you how much the title means to him.”

“So you did,” Jack said more soberly.

“Then why won’t you abandon this futile quest?”

Reaching up, he pressed his fingers to her lips. “Because the stakes are too high.
I am asking you to trust me, Sophie.… Will you do that much?”

The look that crossed her lovely features was one of hope, of wistful yearning. Then
as she gazed up at him, sexual awareness suddenly joined the other expressive emotions
in her beautiful eyes.

As his thumb stroked her lower lip, Sophie went still. Jack stepped even closer, breathing
in her sweet scent, feeling the heat of arousal rising inside him. She could feel
it too, he knew.

Desire shimmered between them, alive and palpable. And yet there was more to it than
simple physical hunger. It was as if a powerful rush of need linked them together.
A bond, a connection, of tenderness, of intimacy.

A visible shiver ran down her spine, and Sophie shut her eyes for a moment, as if
fighting herself.

Jack was fighting against the same craving. He badly wanted to take her in his arms
and kiss her final resistance away. Even so, this was not the time or place. He would
have his chance in two more days, he promised himself.

Reluctantly, he exhaled the breath that had caught in his lungs and lowered his hand
from her mouth. “I will see you on Tuesday at your aunt’s country home in Berkshire.
For now I must have a word with Skye and arrange for my cousin Traherne to handle
some of my affairs while I am away.”

Then Jack stepped back and turned away, taking a measure of comfort in the disappointment
he’d seen in Sophie’s eyes.

It had become a Wilde family tradition to gather for Sunday dinner as often as possible,
a custom initially started the summer following the tragic loss of their parents.
Lord Cornelius had hoped to drum civilized manners into the five hooligan youngsters,
and they had complied in order to please their long-suffering, much-loved uncle. Over
the years, however, the dinners had evolved into a way to remain involved in one anothers’
lives.

At the end of that long-ago summer, the cousins had gone their separate ways—Ash and
Quinn to university, the girls to a boarding academy, while then-seventeen-year-old
Jack had remained behind at Beauvoir with Uncle Cornelius for another year. But the
bonds of love and family had never been broken, as Jack thought they might be. In
fact, their ties had actually been made stronger, for their separation had only made
them cherish one another more.

Normally Jack relished their clan gatherings—except when he was the prime focus of
attention, as he knew he would be now. Thus, he’d delayed arriving at the Beaufort
mansion in Grosvenor Square until the last minute. When he finally sauntered into
the drawing room, he found three Wilde ladies assembled there, sipping sherry, along
with his elderly, bespectacled uncle.