Rogue for a Night (2 page)

     “I thought to do the same, not that Stone gave me much choice when he took off at a full run on his horse when he saw Jane’s carriage on the drive.”

     Lucinda laughed. “Stone. I always forget you call him that. It reminds me of a different time.”

     He shook his head. “It’s an old habit.”

     She smiled again and released his hands, but the heat in his belly remained.

     “I must admit, I am surprised you remember me,” Rage admitted. “We haven’t seen each other since…”

     Lucinda filled in the hesitation with a smile. “Since Jane and Nicholas’s wedding nearly a year ago. But you are a very memorable man, Mr. Riley.”

     Rage arched a brow. Her words, which could easily have a double meaning, did nothing to reduce that persistent heat initially caused by her touch. It seemed she recognized that, too, and dark pink color flushed her cheeks.

     “I-I mean-” she stammered.

     Rage lifted a hand. “I understand, my lady.” She looked ready to turn away in her embarrassment and Rage searched for a topic that would keep her with him a moment longer. “Are your children with you?”

     He had found the correct topic for she turned back toward him with a wide and true smile. “No, Lord and Lady Bledsoe asked to take them for a few weeks while I visited with Nicholas and Jane.”

     Rage blinked. “So… you are alone for the duration of your time here?”

     “I am.”

     “And how long will you stay?” he pressed.

     “Three weeks and then it is back to London and my real life,” she said and there was a flicker of something in her stare. A darker emotion he couldn’t place, but he didn’t like it. He had witnessed Lucinda’s mourning, albeit from afar, and this expression reminded him of those terrible days. He wanted to take it away. To push the weight of it from her shoulders forever.

     Which was a foolish notion that he shook away.

     “Then we will see much of each other,” Rage said. “I will be here for the duration of your stay.”

     Lucinda stared at him for a moment that seemed to stretch forever, though Rage was certain the true length of it was less than a blink of an eye. Then she smiled. “I-I look forward to that.”

     “As do I.”

     Lucinda’s full lips parted as she looked up at him, her gaze steady on his in a way that most ladies never stared. She might have been preparing to say something, but Rage never found out. Jane and Stone exited the parlor at that moment and the spell that had suddenly spun up between them faded as Lucinda stepped back and turned to face their friends.

     “Rage!” Jane said with a welcoming smile. “I had forgotten you were joining us.”

She took his hands briefly, just as Lucinda had, but there was no heat that burned in his belly at her touch. And when she released him, no disappointment filled him.

“Yes, Lady Stoneworth and I were just speaking about her visit,” Rage said with another brief glance at Lucinda. She stiffened at the use of her old title.

Stone smiled at his sister-in-law. “We are very happy to have her here.”

Lucinda glanced at him and the stiffness of her countenance increased a touch. “Thank you. Now I am a little tired. Would you mind if I retired to my chamber for a short time to freshen up and gather myself?”

“Of course not,” Jane said with a wave of her hand. She caught the eye of a nearby maid and motioned the girl over. “Ingrid will take you up.”

Lucinda nodded her thanks. “I will see you all shortly, then.” She turned slightly and smiled once more at Rage. “Good afternoon Mr. Riley.”

“Good afternoon, my lady,” he said softly.

She moved toward the stairs and Rage should have stopped watching her. But he couldn’t. He kept his gaze on her all the way up the stairs until she turned and disappeared up the hallway.

Chapter Two

     Lucinda leaned back against the door in her chamber and drew in a sharp breath. Her hands were shaking and her cheeks burned thanks to the unexpected encounter in the foyer with Rage…
Mr. Riley
. It was peculiar to feel so discombobulated thanks to him. After all, she had met him several times before, even when she was still married and never felt so…
odd
. Intrigued, certainly, for he was not like any man in her social circle, even her brother-in-law who had fought in the underground just like his friend.

     Rage was tall and seemed impossibly broad and strong, even when dressed in the trappings of a gentleman. His dark brown hair was close-cropped and his eyes were ridiculously pale blue against his tanned skin. He was an animal parading as a man, a wolf who had somehow lost his pack. He always had been.

     And yet today the slightest brush of his hand in hers had made her stomach do flips and she felt hot and strange. Perhaps this was a fever brought on by travel?

     A knock on the door behind her made her jump and she scurried away so she wouldn’t be caught lurking about the entrance, thinking odd thoughts about a man she hardly knew.

     “Come in.”

     Jane opened the door and peeked around the edge. “I know you wanted to rest, but may I join you for a moment?”

     Lucinda nodded with more gusto than was required. Her friend could surely help her take her mind off Mr. Riley. Or at least help her determine if she needed a doctor for her physical state.

     “Of course. Please join me.” She moved toward the bowl of fresh cool water on the dressing table. “Do you mind if I wash my face?”

     “No.” Jane sat down in one of the chairs by the fire.

Lucinda could feel her gaze on her back as she took a cloth from beside the basin and wetted it. She was a bit surprised when the water touching her skin didn’t sizzle, but took it as a good sign that she wasn’t about to burst into flame right there in the bedchamber.

“You seemed a little anxious downstairs,” Jane said when Lucinda had set the washcloth aside. “And I wondered if you were having second thoughts about staying here with us for a few weeks?”

Lucinda turned on her with a frown. “Why would you think that?”

Jane shifted. “I-I know it is uncomfortable for you to be around Nicholas because he and Anthony were twins. Seeing him with me must also be… odd. We do try to be discreet, I hope you know neither of us would ever cause you pain on purpose.”

Lucinda blinked at her friend. “Oh no, Jane. If I seemed out of humor, I promise you it wasn’t because of Nicholas, or anything you two did or didn’t do in my presence.” She moved to the sitting area and took a place across from Jane with a shake of her head. “You know, it
is
odd to be with Nicholas, I admit. Though they were twins, they were very different men, but sometimes Nicholas does turn his head just so or phrases something in a way that makes me catch my breath.”

Jane nodded. “I cannot imagine how difficult that must be.”

“I think there will always be some residual effect like that, but to be honest it has gotten easier over the past few months, especially. Watching you two together was very strange at first, but I think it has actually helped me. Nicholas and you are nothing like Anthony and I were, though both relationships were built on a solid foundation of love. It reminds me that Nicholas is not his brother. And with time marching on, the sting fades every time I see Nicholas.”

Jane almost went limp in the chair and the relief on her face was palpable. “I’m so glad. We both care for you deeply and neither one of us wants to see you pull away from our family because of-”

“I know,” Lucinda said and reached out to take her sister-in-law’s hand. “And slowly, but ever so certainly, I’m realizing I won’t have to. I promise you. They say time is the healer and that may not be completely true, but it does dull pain. It does smooth the edges of a sharp memory.”

Jane nodded and Lucinda could see she was thinking of the brother she had lost. Then her brow wrinkled. “But if it wasn’t Nicholas who caused your strange behavior, then why?”

Lucinda tensed. Was her reaction to Rage’s unexpected presence so obvious? She hadn’t realized she had betrayed herself so fully.

“Wait,” Jane said and her gaze met Lucinda’s. “You were talking to Rage. He didn’t say something that upset you, did he?”

“No!” Lucinda hastened to assure her. “Rage- Mr. Riley has never been anything but proper toward me.”

Except for those meaningful looks and the fact that his touch gave her shivers.

Jane nodded. “And he never would be. At least not purposefully.”

“Hmmm.” Lucinda looked at the edge of her sleeve as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. “It seems Nicholas trusts him greatly, not just as a friend, but by allowing him to handle some of his financial dealings.”

“Yes,” Jane said slowly, as if she were uncertain about the question. Then she tilted her head slightly. “Rage is a very good man, rough around the edges though he may be.”

Lucinda nodded. There was no reason for her to be interested in these things, but she was regardless.

And Jane must have sensed that, for she said, “You have been a widow for nearly two years, Lucinda. Have you ever thought that you might…”

“Might?” Lucinda asked when Jane hesitated.

“Perhaps develop an interest in another man.” Jane shifted uncomfortably.

“No!” Lucinda said as she moved to her feet and paced away. “Yes. No.”

“Very certain of you,” Jane said with a gentle laugh.

Lucinda turned and shot her sister-in-law a look, though she was anything but angry. “There have been men who have expressed an interest in me, after my year of mourning ended, of course. But it is evident they were only interested in either my money or the standing my name and family connections could bring to them. With the girls being so young and with the pickings rather… slim, I haven’t thought about it.”

“But you haven’t ruled it out,” Jane offered.

A shrug was the only answer Lucinda could provide. She hadn’t spoken out loud of such an idea to anyone. At first to do so had seemed like a betrayal of Anthony’s memory. Now… well, now it had been so shocking for so long that she had a hard time not feeling like she was doing something wrong by even considering taking another man into her life. Or her bed.

She was struck by a sudden and strong image of Rage’s angled face moving down toward hers, his mouth claiming her with all the animal possession pent up within him. Shocked by her wayward thoughts, she immediately shook it away.

“Are you well?” Jane asked and got to her own feet. “You sucked in your breath very suddenly.”

Lucinda squeezed her eyes shut. Good Lord, whatever was happening with her, she had to remember herself.

“Jane, the idea of finding some kind of romance or… whatever it is that one would find with a man as a widow is a bewitching one to be sure. But it isn’t realistic. At this time in my life, my concentration must be entirely on my children. They are the most important thing in my life now.”

Jane nodded. “Of course. But-”

“But?”

“The children aren’t here now.” Jane shrugged lightly. “Anything you did while here in our company would have no effect on them.”

Lucinda swallowed hard. She had no idea how to respond to that statement. It seemed her sister-in-law was encouraging her to enter into an affair of some kind. Perhaps even with Rage Riley. And though the idea was utterly inappropriate, out of character and completely preposterous… it didn’t feel wrong. Not as it should.

“I have kept you too long,” Jane said softly. “I’ll leave you to your rest. I apologize if I’ve overstepped with any advice I may have given. It was kindly meant, I hope you know that.”

Lucinda nodded and smiled as Jane slipped to the door and out into the hallway. But when she was alone, the smile drifted away. She had claimed to want a time alone to rest herself, but it was more than clear now… this visit might be many things, but restful was not one of them. Not if Rage Riley was going to be there.

~~~

The cravat around Rage’s neck felt like a noose and it was growing tighter with every passing moment. That was always the way of these events. Stone invited him out of kindness, he supposed, though sometimes he wondered if it was just to have a partner in his own discomfort at being a “gentleman”. Tonight it had been a mere dinner party, attended by a scant handful of other couples from the shire. A dinner with too many forks, too many courses, too many polite questions about weather and crops and politics that did not interest Rage in the slightest.

But this night had one thing none of the other nights had. Lucinda.

Lucinda sitting down the table from him. Three spots exactly and across a narrow expanse of wood and china. Close enough that he occasionally heard the lilting tones of her voice when she murmured to the people around her. Or the melody of her laugh when she responded to something clever someone said. He’d even caught her glancing his way once, though her gaze had darted away just as quickly.

Now the intimate group had gathered in a parlor, sitting around tables to play whist or gathered in small clusters to continue their supper conversations. Rage stood in the corner of the room, arms folded, just waiting for it all to end so he could stop pretending he was comfortable.

“Mr. Riley?”

He stiffened and slowly turned to find Lucinda at his elbow. He had been trying very hard
not
to stare at her since the party had moved to the parlor. At supper he could disguise his regard by pretending to be engrossed in the stuffy conversation of the companion on his left, but in the parlor, prying eyes might notice if his gaze found Lucinda too often. That kind of gossip would only embarrass her and he refused to allow that.

And yet here she was.

“Good evening, my lady,” he said softly.

“Would you mind if I stand here with you for a few moments?” Lucinda asked with a sheepish smile. “I am having difficulty finding any good topics of conversation with anyone here and I’m starting to feel quite awkward in the attempt.”

“You, awkward?” Rage chuckled. “I hardly believe that is possible. There is no one with more grace that I have ever met in the
ton
or outside of it.”