Saved by a Rake (8 page)

Chapter
Twelve

Daniel handed Rebecca up into the carriage before walking to the front for one last look at the horses. He trusted his coachman
, but he wanted to get out of London as quickly as possible. He would feel much better once they were on the road and out of reach of the Bow Street runners.

He nodded at the coachman who sat beside Betty, Rebecca
’s maid. Rebecca had begged for Daniel to take on the young woman, explaining that she felt it unfair for Betty to be demoted for having only followed orders. Finding himself unable to deny Rebecca her wishes on anything pertaining to her treatment at the hands of the Earl of Newthorpe, Daniel had capitulated and brought the maid into his employ.

He walked to the back of the coach and looked at the young man in the livery of the servants of Drumbane.

“All right?” he asked in undertones so no one could hear.

“
Fine, my lord.” Daniel nodded slightly then turned to his new in-laws. Rebecca had already bid her parents farewell. He bowed deeply to the Earl and Countess of Chapelbrooke and promised to look after their daughter. Then he bounced into the carriage and dropped down beside Rebecca.

“
They will expect another kiss, my love,” he commented as the Chapelbrooke footman shut the door.

“
Then we must comply with convention.” She smiled at him as he moved closer to her and cupped her chin.

“
I think we must.” He was aware that his voice had dropped. Her nearness was sending desire coursing through him. As his lips briefly touched hers, the carriage jolted, pushing him closer to her. He caught her around the waist to ensure she did not bounce off the seat, then, without thinking, covered her mouth with his.

H
e noted a moment’s hesitation from her before she moved her lips and reached up to tangle her gloved fingers in his curls. Tentatively she touched her tongue against his, causing him to stifle a groan. He had been without a woman for over a month and now his pretty little wife had her arms around him, kissing him as if she had done it a thousand times. She was a quick learner as she explored his mouth with her tongue, pressing herself closer to him.

Devil take it. He had been struggling all day to stop himself becoming aroused. Her wedding gown had been low cut
, and her stays showed her breasts off perfectly. He had been distracted throughout the service and the wedding breakfast as images of disrobing her later had flitted through his mind. He wanted to see those breasts again.

He unfastened the three buttons on her pelisse, peeling the material away to her side
, then pulled out of the kiss and began to pepper light kisses along her jawline. God, he wanted her, and he was most definitely aroused now.

He kissed her neck and was about to place his hand over that beautiful inviting orb, when he sensed her tens
ing. He pulled away slowly, tugging the material of her pelisse back over her. When he looked into her eyes, they were bright with confusion, passion and fear, all clearly warring within her. He cursed himself for being too impatient. Then he cursed Newthorpe for what he had done and could not help thinking that death was too good for the blaggard.

“
No. That’s the only word you ever have to say and I will stop,” he said simply.

“
I am sorry, my lord. I just expected some time before… well I expected to wait until we were in the coaching inn tonight.”

“
Yes, of course. It was very impatient of me. I beg your forgiveness.”

Rebecca nodded and looked out the window.

The streets of London rushed by as they headed for the Great North Road. He studied the view out of the other window, and they sat in silence for a long time. Eventually Rebecca spoke in a small voice which sounded as if she was on the verge of tears.

“
I fear I will not make you a very good wife if a mere kiss frightens me.”

He turned and took her hand in his. He wanted her to be comfortable and not think he was going to pounce on her and ravish her at any given opportunity.

“I have no doubt that you will make a wonderful wife, Rebecca. You just need time and patience, and I have an abundance of both.”

She turned large, tear-filled eyes towards him.
“You should take a mistress as soon as we reach Scotland.”

He could not possibly have heard correctly. She was giving him permission to have a mistress? Surely not. But her mouth was set in a firm line as if she had made up her mind. A
stab of hurt hit him. She thought of him as a rake who would be unfaithful.

H
e pursed his lips and considered her. What should he do? He wanted to rail at her and tell her he had no intention of being unfaithful. He had taken vows only a few hours previously and yet now she was giving him permission to break them. But maybe the idea of him having a mistress brought her comfort. She was clearly terrified of intimacy between a husband and wife.

“
We shall discuss it once we reach Scotland, my lady. I have no wish to think beyond our present journey.”

“
Do you not see that I can only ever tolerate the marriage bed for the sake of giving you an heir,” she wailed, pulling her hand away from his. “He ruined me in more ways than you can ever know.”

“
You are only ruined if you allow him that power. A skilful lover could make you feel very different about certain aspects of a marriage.”

“
Well, I have heard enough tales to know that you are a skilful lover, Lord Ramsey. But I think you should save it for your mistresses.” Her tone was almost venomous but he ignored it, knowing that it was fear that drove her.

She turned her head to look out of the window again. He was at a complete loss. She thought him almost as bad as Newthorpe. Well, not quite but she did not think he would be faithful. A long silence stretched out between them as he considered what to say to her. Her back
was rigid, and she swiped at her cheek with one gloved hand.

“
What he did to you…”

“
What he did has destroyed me, and I am not sorry that he is dead. I wish I had been the one to kill him.”

“
Please, Rebecca…”

She burst into tears and
fished in her reticule for a handkerchief, he presumed. He held his out to her and with a large sob she accepted it. He untied her bonnet and threw it onto the seat opposite before gathering her in his arms.

She tried to move out of his grip but this time he held firm, knowing that she would accept his comfort, which she did, weeping as she buried her face in his coat.

As her sobs turned into sniffles, which turned into silence then light snuffles of sleep, he held her and wondered how he was going to help his beautiful young wife over her fear of physical love.

****

Rebecca woke with a jolt as the carriage began to slow and turn. Dusk was falling, and she shivered despite her pelisse. They were drawing into the yard of a large coaching inn. Ostlers hurried over and took hold of the front two horses.

“
How long did I sleep?”

“
A few hours. You even slept through our stop to change the horses.” He smiled at her, and she shook her head. She had been unkind to him when he had shown her nothing but respect.

“
I must apologise for my behaviour. It was unseemly.”

“
It was honest. I want you always to be honest with me, at least in private.”

She searched his eyes. Then said what was in her heart.
“I do not believe I can be a proper wife to you, Daniel. I want you to take a mistress when we reach Drumbane.”

He frowned and out of the corner of her eye she saw him clench his fist. But then he nodded curtly and disembarked. As he handed her down onto the cobbled yard, he looked at the footman and murmured,
“I will see you in the tap room later.”

“
Yes m’ lord.” The footman hurried away without turning around, and she watched him stride across the yard. He had an aristocratic air in the way he walked. A whinnying horse drew her attention away from the footman though as the coach lurched slightly.

“
Come, we must go inside,” said Daniel, placing her hand in his sleeve and leading her away. He arranged for the required number of rooms for them and their servants. Rebecca noticed that he only booked one for them.

She inhaled deeply at the thought of him in bed beside her. But she had known this would happen and she supposed that when travelling, the comfor
ts of a lady having her own bedchamber had to be foregone. By the time they made it upstairs, Betty was already there shaking out the dress she would wear down to dinner.

“
I will leave you to get dressed. I have booked a private parlour for our meal.”

He was not coming into the room with her. Thank God.

He bowed politely to her and closed the door behind him.

****

“I think you should wait for his lordship, my lady,” stated Betty boldly as Rebecca held open the door of her bedchamber and looked along the corridor.

“
Nonsense. It is only a small inn. I will be in his care before any harm can befall me.” Betty looked dubious but nodded at her mistress.

When Rebecca reached the bottom of the stairs, Daniel was nowhere to be seen.
His hearty chuckle rang out, and she followed the sound—into the tap room. A few of the patrons stopped talking and stared. She was about to turn on her heel when she spotted Daniel. But it was not Daniel that her gaze rested on. It was the man to whom he was talking—James, her brother, sitting in a Drumbane liveried uniform, a powdered wig on the table beside him and a tankard of ale in his hand.

She hurried over to the men as the tap room became silent and all the men followed her progress across the room.
Just before she arrived at the table, James looked up and nodded at Daniel, who turned around.

She simply
raised her brow as Daniel hurried to his feet.

“
We will speak later.”

James nodded and gave his sister an apologetic smile as Daniel hurried her out of the tap room and into a private parlour. For the next five minutes, neither spoke as servants bustled around laying food on the table, pouring wine and lighting candles.

“Thank you. We will pull the bell when we need something.” The servants bowed and left. As the door clicked shut, Rebecca raised her eyes to her husband.

“
I assume there is a reasonable explanation for my brother being dressed as your footman and being here. I assume he has been sitting on the back of our carriage all the way here.”

“
Yes. As you know, the Earl of Newthorpe died last night. It seems that Newthorpe did not die of natural causes. Newthorpe’s younger brother, and heir, believes he was killed. He has been questioning people around the gentlemen’s clubs. It is well known that Newthorpe and I had a boxing match. Unfortunately, James has been rather… vocal in denouncing Newthorpe. I believe he thinks he was justified and since I was going to marry you, you would be safe from scandal. However, young Newthorpe has decided that James is the prime suspect in the case. We decided it was better to get James out of London before the Bow Street Runners got him. It is purely a precautionary measure, but we thought it best to let the dust settle.”

“
Why could James not travel in our carriage with us?”

James chuckled.

“It would draw attention to us. We also did not want your mother to worry. He has left a note for her saying that he is at Anncote Park dealing with some farming issues.” Anncote Park was her brother’s estate in Lincolnshire. He would, of course inherit Chapelbrooke when their father died and his own heir would become master of Anncote Park one day.

“
Will he be travelling as a footman tomorrow?”

“
I do not know. We were not sure what was for the best. We think another day out of London and the Bow Street Runners will not be following, if indeed they were following in the first place.”

She considered everything that he told her as he began to place venison on her plate.

“Did he do it?”

Daniel blinked, then frowned.

“I did not ask.”

“
You did not think to ask if he committed the crime of which he is being accused?”

“
I did not want to know. It is his business.”

“
Not if he murdered a man.”

“
Even Newthorpe? If he murdered Newthorpe, then it was to avenge you and the blaggard deserved it.” She turned from him and stared into the flickering fire. Her mind could not deal with the concept of her brother murdering anyone, not even the earl.

“
I do not believe he did it though. Murder is not an honourable thing to do. And James is nothing if not honourable. He would have challenged the blaggard to a duel if he had wanted to kill him.”