Price of Desire (5 page)

“His lordship’s chambers have no planned occupants
.
As they adjoin your own, you had expressed some desire to leave them empty, but with
no other space to be had . . .
”

Lady Burberry turned away, but not before Wulf saw her face freeze
.
Her shoulders drew back, tensed.

“No, absolutely not
.
That would be most improper.”

Wulf leaned towards her, lowering his voice, “And you would never be improper would you, my lady?”

She shot him a glare and turned back to the butler
.
God, she was glorious when angry
.
He steadied his breathing.

“Is there nowhere else
?
It would not be fitting, even for one night, to place him in the Master Chamber.
”
She drew a heavy breath and his eyes again were drawn to her full curves
.
“I suppose we could put Major Huntington in the Lavender Room and
bed Mr. Mitter down with . . .
”

The butler cleared his throat
.
“Actually, I do have one further suggestion
.
Lord Burberry’s chamber on this floor is still furnished with bedding
.
If Major Huntington does not mind being sur
rounded with books, then . . .
”

Wulf could see that she didn’t like this answer either as her lips drew thin.

“Yes, I suppose that will have to do
.
Have the fire lit
.
I am afraid the room will be quite cold and perhaps damp
.
Not welcoming at all.”

Wulf could not miss the full implication of her words, but of course he had never expected a welcome
–
would not have come at all if he could have seen an easy way to avoid it.

“I am
sure the room will be more than
satisfactory, my lady.”

Rose nodded and
turned back to her butler
.
“Oh, and Matson, be sure to place the key to the inner stair at my bedside
.
We wouldn’t want to risk someone turning it . . . by mistake, now would we?”

Wulf wasn’t sure what stair she meant, but the insinuation was impossible to miss
.
Matson, well trained as he was, gave not the slightest betrayal that there was anything odd in his mistress’s words
.
He departed to follow her command.

As soon as the servants were gone
, she pivoted toward
s him
.
Her hair flew about
in fiery splendor as she spun
.
His fingers clenched, resisting the urge to touch.

“And now, Major Huntington, perhaps you would finally explain your presence here.” The ice queen returned
.
“As you may have inferred, I am expecting a large number of guests and need my rest so that I may undertake the duties of a hostess with the care that is my wont
.
You are, to be candid, an unwanted and undesired complication.

“At our last meeting you stated clearly that you considered me a strumpet and whore
.
I hope you will understand if I find it difficult to maintain a polite façade in your presence.”

She was beautiful, her cheeks so flushed, almos
t as if she’d just been . .
.
h
is body tightened
.
Damn
.
He must keep his mind from the gutter
.
He wanted no part of her – never again
.

“I don’t believe I used either of those words
.
You always were the one with – an extended vocabulary
.
I merely stated that you were a deceitful vixen who’d relished cuckolding your husband and something about betraying one of England’s greatest heroes
.
I am foggy on the exact wording – but, whore, no
.
I don’t recall that you required payment
.
However, neither do I recall a denial on your part.
”
He didn’t even look at her as he spoke
.
He would dismiss her from his mind
.
“Now, perhaps we could adjourn to the study and I could have a brandy as we discuss the matter
.
Lord Burberry kept an excellent stock, if memory serves
.
And I do remember the occasion most vividly
.
We can discuss my undesirability there.”

“I think not.
”
She had paled slightly at his words, but her eyes sparked and he could read a diatribe in those three short words
.
“I will say again, we have nothing to discuss
.
You have made your opinions clear and I feel no further need to discuss them with a bore who didn’t feel the need to listen the first time
.
Now, the hour is late and I am to bed
.
Why are you here?”

But, whose bed
?
He almost spoke the words aloud
.
“As I am not an
invited
guest, I am not covered by your duties as a hostess, then?”

“Why are you here?”

He had done all he could to avoid this m
ission, but loyalty to his step
father had won
.
He assumed a more civil tone
.

“Well, actually I
was
invited, and by your own hand, I believe
.
I am here to select some books for my stepfather, Lord William Chesterdown
.
Mr. Blaine, your late husband’s solicitor, explained the situation, surely?”

The remainder of the flush that had so colored her cheeks fled in an instant
.
She closed her eyes once, pressing them tight, and again her chest filled and held with a single, full breath.

When she exhaled, slowly, he could feel the warmth of her breath surround him in the softest of caresses
.
He tried not to remember how hot that breath could be, how quickly it had stirred him
.
He knew the truth about her now.

“Yes, I do remember, now.
”
She spoke softly, as if to herself
.
“Mr. Blaine did explain that Lord William Chesterdown was sending a representative to make selections from the books Burberry had bequeathed him
.
It is true I was expecting this representative
.
I had forgotten the connection between yourself and Lord William.”

She seemed to study the wall behind him for a moment, and he thought her expression betrayed a real regret
.

“You really must forgive me, Major Huntington
.
In the thick of making preparations for my guests, I must have overlooked the date of your arrival
.
That – at least – was most unforgivable of me.”

Lady Burberry refused to meet his eyes as she spoke, and Wulf could see what the precise apology cost her as her pallor lengthened like a shadow upon her
.

“No forgiveness is necessary – for your forgetfulness.
”
Two could play with words
.
“I should have written myself, to explain the situation.”

He should not have said anything
.
At his words her gaze sprang up and the fire returned
.

“And why didn’t you?”

How did he answer that
?
Even he was not sure of the answer
.
He should never have given in to Lord William’s request
.
He could have manufactured some excuse
.
This was the last place he should have allowed himself to come
.
There was nothing to be gained – and more tortured pieces of his soul to lose
.
Only, he had sworn not to let Lord William down and no woman would ever again cause him to shirk honor and duty.

At his silence Rose continued
.
“So you decided to return
.
Do you remember being here before
?
Do you remember standing in Burb
erry’s study, drinking his well-
remembered brandy, and without a word spoken between us
,
accusing me of untold crimes
.
And then at his funeral, when I was already dying inside, you attacked me with further accusations
.
How did you expect me to react
?
What can you possibly want from me
?
Why are you really here
?
What further vengeance can you seek?
”
Her voice broke
.
“No, do not answer
.
The hour is late and nothing you can say will be satisfactory.”

Wulf shrugged
.
Who was she to question him
?
She was the betrayer
.
She had stolen his pride, his honor, and sent him back to hell
.
Yes, he had been foolish
.
He should have known better, but that did not excuse what she had done
.
And if the rumors about the child were true, then she had stolen an even greater treasure from him
.
What right did she have to tell him to be quiet
?
He turned back towards her
.
No, he would not be silent.

The patter of shoes harkened the butler’s return
.

He met her gaze as the servant entered
.
He spoke each word slowly, letting her read their untruth in his eyes
.
“Again, my Lady Burberry, I apologize
.
I should not have been so sure the missives telling of my arrival were clear
.
And, it is I who has arrived at such an unsuitable an hour
.
I am sure if I had arrived in the afternoon my reception would have been far different.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.
”
She murmured the words so quietly that he wasn’t sure they did not exist only in his mind
.
She then turned to her butler
.
“Is the chamber in readiness?”

“It will be a few moments, my lady
.
The maids are working now
.
I came to have the gentleman’s trunks collected.”

Eyeing the growing collection of servants moving to gather his bags, she smiled up at Wulf with the fixed smile of every society hostess
.
Yes, ladies were always polite before the help
.
“Let me show you Burberry’s study
–
I am sure you’re eager to revisit it
–
and pour you that brandy after all
.
I really must beg leave, but it is far past my normal hour of repose, and if I do not retire now I will not be at my best in the morning.”

“You should breakfast in your room, and not show your face
until
lunch
.
I am sure that your servants are more than able to prepare for guests even in your absence.”

“That has never been my way, and I promised Anna, m
y daughter, that I would . . .
”

A knife stabbed into his heart at her words
.
The daughter
.
This would be the chance for him to learn the truth, to find out just how deceptive
the lady was
.
If the child were
his, the whole game would change.

Lady Burberry did not continue the thought, for she, too, caught the tension of the moment
.
A spider, a black widow, encased in her own web.

“Yes, let me fetch you that brandy.
”
Not by the slightest quaver in her voice did she betray the thoughts he knew must be flowing through her mind, as they swirled through his own.

“Yes, I could use a drink to restore myself.
”
Or to at least blur the memories that rose from that storm of thoughts.

Lady Burberry led him down the hall and into the small, masculine room that her husband had chosen to make his own
.
A footman followed with his trunk
.
The scent of cigars and brandy still permeated the study reminding Wulf vividly of Admiral Lord Burberry, surely as good and wise a man as had ever been born
.
What had such a man ever done to deserve this Salome as a wife
?
Wulf’s own bitterness burned i
n the pit of his stomach with a
fierce
r
warmth than any strong spirit would light
.
He would never forget sitting in this very room and being introduced to Rose by . . . her husband
.
He knew he bore some responsibility for what had happened between them that day
.
He’d asked her no questions
.
He’d acted more like a lusty boy, than a man who’d often stared death in the eye
.
Perhaps that had been the issue – having seen so many men die, how could he resist the ripe vision of life she’d offered as she knelt among the brambles?