Price of Desire (9 page)

“Can’t abide the creatures, always screaming at ungodly hours
.
I’ve a maid to wake me, don’t need a bird
.
They do make a nice plume, though
.
I had the most wonderful bonnet when I was a girl, four plumes straight up behind
.
Lovely thing
,
it was.
”
She looked expectantly at Rose.

“Let me just show you the way to your room, Lady Smythe-Burke
.
I’ll make sure you’re settled in properly.
”
Rose gasped as she hurried to catch Lady Smythe-Burke
,
who was still heading down the wrong hall.

Rose had just caught her and was endeavoring to turn her in the right direction, back towards the stairs, when a door at the end of the hall swung open and a familiar silhouette stepped out, the harsh planes of his face outlined in the morning light.

Blast that man
.
He’d kept her from sleeping most of the night
.
She’d taken a breakfast tray in her room to avoid him, and still the minute she dropped her guard . .
.

“M
ajor
Huntington, I didn’t invite you.
”
Lady Smyth
e
-Burke barked the words.

Wulf bowed his head in courtesy
.
“My dear Lady Smyth
e
-Burke, I was not aware you were my hostess
.
Forgive my rudeness.”

“What’s he doing here
?
I didn’t put him on the list
.
He may fill out his jacket nicely, but he doesn’t meet your criteria
.
Not at all.
”
Mrs. Smyth-Burke turned to Rose.

Rose was still forming a reply when Wulf spoke again
.
His tone
was
every bit as flat as the previous evening
.
“I am afraid I am more of a forgotten duty than a guest, my lady
.
I am here on a matter of personal business
.
Unfortunately, my arrival has put Lady Burberry out of sorts.”

“Not at all, M
ajor
Huntington
.
What sort of hostess would I be if I couldn’t handle one more . . . guest, unexpected or not
.
And as you took such pains to explain to me last night, you were expected.
”
Rose tried not to bite out the words
.
She would remain as cool as he
.
She flushed under his steady gaze
,
as it swept her, leaving a trail of shivers in its wake.

“Will you be joining the party then, M
ajor
Huntington
?
Are you here because of the
wagers
?
It will make the numbers uneven, but who would complain about one more gentleman?
”
Lady Smyth
e
-Burke eyed them both with speculation.

“I had not planned to, but if invited it would of course be unchivalrous to refuse
.
And I am afraid I don’t know of any
wagers
.
”
He met Lady Smythe-Burke’s gaze and then the two of them turned to focus on Rose.

She swallowed once before answering, her stomach knotting
.
How had this come about
?
“I also am unaware of any wager, but of course your presence is desired
,
M
ajor
Huntington
.
I am sure you’ll add much to my humble party.”

“As long as I am . . . desired, I would be most pleased to join you and your other guests.
”

His eyes, as bold as hands, swept over her again, and she knew her flush had deepened
.
Only when he looked at her this way, as if he would lick her like an ice, did his eyes flash with life
.
Was that why she
react
ed
like this to him, as if flames licked up from her very toes
?
No other man had this effect
, melting
her to the core
.

His pupils darkened as he continued, “Although I fear I didn’t come with proper wardrobe for any formal occasion.”

“We’re in the country
.
I am sure that none of my guests will be sticklers for formality.
”
Why did he keep staring at her
?
If only he would look away she’d have the chance to regain some of her composure.

“I can vouch for that
,
” Lady Smythe-Burke hooted
.
“If I say you’re acceptable, then you’re acceptable
.
The only one who might object would be Sir Barton
,
and that puppy won’t dare
to
disagree with me.”

Rose wasn’t sure how she felt having one of her prospective suitors described as a puppy
.
Sir Barton was on the far side of forty and surely not a puppy
.
If he was still so unformed and eager
,
then he was not what she sought
.

“If you’re sure, then I will of course join you
.
But, now I must attend the business that brings me here
.
I believe Mr. Mitter is already in the library
.
If you’ll excuse me, ladies.
”

A great breath escaped Rose as Wulf turned and continued down the hall
.
Shoulders
that
she had not realized
had grown
tense relaxed.

“M
ajor
Huntington, indeed,” Lady Smythe-Burke s
ai
d
.
“He does promise to be an interesting addition
.
Surprised
Westlake
didn’t mention he was in the neighborhood
.
They were inseparable as boys
.
Wasn’t sure at first what you were thinking inviting him
.
He’s hardly manageable
.
Not at all the sort of man who’d leave a woman to her own devices
.
But, I see your plan now.”

“You do?
”
Rose took the older woman’s arm and turned her back down the hall towards the stair, in the direction of the promised blue room
.
She counted each breath as she pretended composure.

“Why
,
yes
.
Competition
.
Nothing brings a man to the point faster than a little competition
.
Surprised I hadn’t thought of it myself
.
Only problem with manageable men is they need to be managed
.
I am so pleased you’ve taken that into consideration
.
With M
ajor
Huntington here to raise a few hackles I am sure you’ll have several proposals before the fortnight’s out
.
There is the wager, after all
.
”

“Really,
my lady
, it was not my intention to raise any hackles
.
M
ajor
Huntington is only here in response to a bequest in my husband’s will
.
I had not planned on hi
s
being part of the party.
And I still don’t know about this
wager
you keep
mentioning
.”

“Good story
.
Stick to it
.
Don’t want the competition to be too obvious
.
Might scare the lads away.”

They reached Mrs. Smythe-Burke’s room and Rose took her leave
.
She suppressed the desire to sigh with relief
.
This was not going at all as planned
.
She was supposed to be facing the process of choosing a husband with care and reason, not spinning like a child’s top out of control
.
What had happened to her well-
ordered life?

She gave one last glance around the hall to make sure
everything
was in order for the arriving guests
,
and then darted up the nursery stair
.
She normally spent full mornings with Anna
.
Today, she would have to squeeze in a few moments before the next carriage pulled up.

Wulf gazed around the library with a sense of disbelief
.
Books lay piled this way and that, some spread open, their spines pressed wide
.
This was not at all the well-ordered room he had encountered on his previous visit
.
It looked like a young child had run rampant
,
causing destruction at will.

“Frightful, simply frightful
.
If Mr. Blaine had explained the situation I would have found another position.
”
Mr. Mitter spoke from his spot in the corner
.
He stood still, his hands fluttering over a pile of books
.
“There is simply no order to them
.
How could any gentlem
a
n treat his treasures in such a fashion
?
It’s unbearable.”

“I don’t believe Lord Admiral Burberry would ever have allowed such disorder
.
He was a most scholarly man
.
Rather, I expect Lady Burberry allowed, perhaps even caused, this disorder to develop.”

“Yes, I am sure you are right, M
ajor
Huntington
.
That is the most likely explanation
.
The feminine mind is, I fear, not suited to order
.
I was wondering why a man of your stature would come on such a task.
”

Wulf moved to the desk
.
He’d sat
before
it once, waiting to join Burberry in his study
.
He shook off the thought
.
He could not let the memories of the past affect him now
.
“A man o
f my stature
?
I am not sure what you mean
.”

“You were at Waterloo
.
A hero to the core, I am sure
.
And then with your uncle the earl’s legacy a man of means, as well.”

“My legacy.
”
Wulf curled his fingers into a fist
.
He should have expected this.

“Yes, the estate, Holly House
.
Mr. Blaine explained that you had been left quite a handsome property.”

“I have not accepted it
.
It should remain with the remainder of my uncle’s properties, in trust for his son.”

“I don’t see why
.
His son, his heir is well provided for
.
The earldom is vast
.
The
earl
would never notice the difference.
”

“That does not matter
.
It would still be the honorable recourse.”

“Why
?
Your uncle wished you
to have the property
.
Think of
all you could do if you accep
ted
.
The freedom you would enjoy
.

Wulf’s mind filled a vision of the house, of the comfort and safety it had provided
.
If he accepted it could he recapture the wonder and hope that had
once filled him
?
Could he make a home
?
It was too late
.
“I once did my uncle a great disservice and then I refused to make amends
.
He should not have left me anything.”

“But apparently he deemed otherwise
.
S
urely you could not have done anything that –“

“Enough
.
My past is just that, mine
.
Forgive me if I am rude, but I do not wish to discuss this further
.
We have much work to do.
”
Wulf
drummed his
fingers on the well-
polished surface of the desk
.
It was oddly dust free considering
,
the shambles
in which they had found
the rest of the room
.
He picked up a fine edition of Shakespeare’s sonnets and
replaced
it on the shelf
.