Silent Revenge (17 page)

“Yes, my lady.”

Martha opened the door and left Jessica alone with her thoughts. She took a deep breath and stood, then smoothed the gathers of her green-and-white striped day dress, taking special care to tuck under the worn edges on the cuffs of her sleeves. How she wished she’d put on her navy gown, but it was too late now.

After she washed the charcoal smudges from her fingers, she patted the chignon at the back of her neck to make sure most of her hair was still in place. Only a few uncontrollable wisps outlined her face, but there was nothing she could do about that now. With a nervousness that surprised her, she walked down the stairs until she reached the study.

The door was open. Her husband stood with his back to her, his arms braced on either side of the large mullioned window. Thick, dark hair fell in deep waves just below the top of his collar at the back.

Jessica knew what it felt like to rake her fingers through his hair and push it back from his face. She also knew when he turned around there would be one errant lock that rested on his furrowed brow.

He wore no jacket. Nothing but a snow-white, loose-fitting lawn shirt that contrasted sharply with his bronzed skin, and black breeches that hugged his muscled thighs much too tightly by far. Dear God. She knew the disturbing feel of his taut, muscled flesh. An uncomfortable heat warmed her cheeks.

She hadn’t moved a muscle, but as if he sensed her presence, he turned. Their gazes locked.

His face was close shaven, displaying his handsome features just as she remembered them. His skin still seemed slightly pale, and the haunted look in his eyes gave her cause for concern, but that same familiar air of command she’d struggled against since she’d first met him was as strong as ever.

Despite her promise to remain relaxed and poised, she fidgeted nervously. She thought she’d rehearsed the way she would act and the words she would speak when they had their first conversation, but she wasn’t prepared for the expression on his face or the look in his eyes. All her well-laid plans few out the window and were replaced with a gust of warm spring air.

With a forceful show of control, she cleared her throat. “You wanted to see me?”

He didn’t take his eyes from her, and the evaluative look on his face studied her with more intensity than she could hold up under. He braced his hands behind his back, focusing his dark gaze on her, and she did not have to wonder what he thought. It was obvious from the look he gave her faded gown and disheveled hair. Her plain, high-necked day dress, noticeably out of fashion and frayed around the cuffs, suddenly seemed even worse for wear.

“Won’t you sit down,” he said, pointing to a chair facing the large oak desk where he’d met her that first night.

He took a step toward her but stopped when she pulled back. This was the room where she’d first met him, where she’d kissed him that first time.

Her cheeks grew hot when she remembered how he’d taken her in his arms and kissed her at this very spot. A wave of heat burned a path through her body. When she looked back at him, she knew from the deeper frown on his face he remembered it, too. She couldn’t sit there. She slowly walked to another chair on the other side of the desk and sat. He smiled, then walked around the desk and sat down.

“I must first apologize for neglecting you so,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I regret you have had to accustom yourself to your new home alone, but my absence was unavoidable.”

“It’s not necessary for you to explain your whereabouts to me.”

His eyebrows shot upward in an accusatory arch. “Just as you thought it was not necessary to explain your whereabouts to me the other night?”

She lifted her chin in defiance. “I did not think you would care.”

The look on his face didn’t hide his bewilderment. “You didn’t think I would care that you were out, alone, after midnight?”

“There was no reason why I thought you might.” Jessica lifted her shoulders and sat straighter.

“I see.”

She cleared her throat. “It’s no secret that we have entered into a marriage of convenience. We are both mature adults and know to expect nothing idealistic from our union. Your comings and goings are totally unrelated to me, as mine are totally unrelated to you. I therefore think it’s best to take care of all the unpleasant details right now.”

“And what details would those be, wife?”

“Schedules. Routines. Habits. Small details so we can best share the same house without inconveniencing each other in the extreme.”

His lips thinned. “Are you suggesting we make a schedule to avoid each other?”

“I’m only suggesting that we do whatever is necessary to complicate our lives as little as possible.” She looked at his tightly clenched fists resting on top of the desk and the firm set of his jaw, and couldn’t help the feeling of dread that washed over her. “Does this upset you? I thought you would approve of my idea.”

“Approve? Why would you think I would approve?”

“Because you’ve made it perfectly clear that you do not wish to have an association with me. We are both used to living our separate lives, and I see no reason to let anything change just because we are man and wife. Our marriage is, after all, little more than a business agreement.”

He slid his chair back with a surprising amount of force and shot to his feet. He placed his hands palm-down on the top of the desk. “It may be nothing more than a business arrangement to you,” he said, leaning forward, “but taking you for my wife was no little matter where I was concerned. We may never learn to care for each other in an intimate way, but you are the Countess of Northcote, and…”

He pushed himself away from her and paced before the window. She didn’t know what he was saying.

“…Do you understand?” he finished.

Her cheeks burned. “Excuse me, my lord, but unless you face me when you speak, I don’t know what you’re saying.”

He closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “Forgive me,” he said, facing her once more. “It will take me time to remember.”

He swallowed and began again. “I suggest we give our marriage a few days before we start making rules, wife. Perhaps we’ll find we’re perfectly suited to living together without any preconceived restrictions.”

Her gaze fell to the floor, and when she looked up he was before her.

“Martha tells me you’ve missed your noon meal. What were you doing that occupied so much of your time that you forgot to eat?”

She swallowed hard. “I…I was…looking at material for a new gown.”

His gaze few to her frayed collar and cuffs. “Good. From the looks of what I’ve seen of your gowns thus far, you are in dire need of a new wardrobe.”

Jessica’s cheeks burned even warmer as she worried her lower lip.

“I stopped by your rooms on my way down but you were not there. I thought perhaps you had gone out.”

She shook her head. “I do not go out in the daytime.”

“So I seem to remember.” He clasped his hands behind his back and lifted his shoulders. “Then it’s time we change that habit. I will give you time to eat a light lunch, and after you change into something more suitable, we will go for a ride.”

“A ride?”

“Yes. A ride in the park. In a carriage. The two of us.”

Something frightening and uncontrollable flashed like a brilliant light behind her eyes. She knew it was raw fear. She shook her head, then lifted her chin defiantly. “No. I prefer to stay here.”

Jessica clasped onto a fold of her green-and-white skirt and twisted. “If you’d like to go for a ride, I’ll tell Hodgekiss to have the carriage sent round—”

“You misunderstand me. I wish for both of us to go for a ride together.”

She did not lower her gaze. “I’m sorry, my lord, but I’m not accustomed to going out in the afternoon.”

“Then it’s a custom we will have to change.” He jabbed his hands in the pockets of his breeches, displaying a growing irritation she couldn’t miss.

Jessica took a step closer and held her ground. “No. I do not go out in public. Besides, we cannot go for a ride now. It’s the peak hour for all of society to be out. There is no telling who we will meet.”

A wide grin of satisfaction covered his face. “I know exactly who we will meet. The cream of society’s elite, some of her most influential members. It’s time they were introduced to the Countess of Northcote.”

“I cannot!”

He leaned closer toward her. “You will. You cannot hide away forever, wife. You are now the Countess of Northcote, and I have decided it’s time you played the role.”

“But society will find out I’m deaf.”

Simon frowned. “Why do you insist on making your deafness such an issue?” he said, glaring at her.

“Because it is.”

“Only to you.”

Jessica slapped her fist against her thigh and let her words carry the fury she felt. “You will wish you had not desired to put me on display once society discovers my deafness. There will be no end to your regret when I am shunned and you are ridiculed for marrying someone who will never hear the sound of your voice.”

He brushed her fears away with a wave of his hand. “They will not find out yet. You are much too clever.”

“And you are much too foolish.”

He bowed in acquiescence and opened his face to a wide grin. “Foolish to a fault, my lady. I have a wife I swore I would never have. It’s only fitting that you take a ride you swore you would never take.”

He stepped around his desk and held out his hand to lead her from the room. She ignored his offered arm and walked ahead on her own. When she reached the doorway, she turned to face him. “You will not always have your way, my lord,” she warned, trying to control the fear threatening to suffocate her. “The day will come when you will wish you had listened to my words.”

“I consider myself duly warned, my lady.”

She turned away from him, unable to battle his fierce opposition any longer.

When they reached the dining room, he gave Sanjay more orders. “Have Mrs. Graves prepare a cold platter, then have Mrs. Franklin pick out something festive for the mistress to wear.”

“Yes, master,” Sanjay answered with a broad grin on his face. “Right away, master.”

He waited until they were alone, then turned and touched a hand to her chin. “Trust me, Jessica. I’ve taken a vow to protect you, and I swear you will always be safe with me.”

Jessica was so frightened she could not find any relief in his words. “You will fare no better than I the day society finds out that you’ve married a deaf woman. You’ll be ridiculed and taunted and—”

He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. “Stop it. You think I care one bloody whit what society thinks of me? It’s you who should be concerned, wife. Society thinks you have married a murderer.”

She held his gaze. “Society is always eager to believe the worst.”

“And you don’t?” He held up his hand to halt her answer. “Never mind,” he interrupted before she could say more. He pulled out a chair from the table. “Sit down. We will at least face the lions on a full stomach.”

Jessica sat at the table and took a swallow of the wine sitting at her plate. She could tell from his words he’d be damned if he’d let anything stop him from getting what he wanted. Including the fears he saw on her face. She knew she didn’t stand a chance. The knot inside her stomach twisted harder. Society at its best could destroy them both and not care a whit what they had done.

Though he’d sworn he would not let anything happen to her, even the ferocious Earl of Northcote would not be able to stop society once they turned against them.

Chapter 10

J
essica sat regal and straight on the seat of the open carriage, holding her look of controlled resignation until she thought her face would break. Damn him. She’d taken every care to keep her deafness hidden from the
ton
, and in a few short minutes, the man she’d married for protection was going to ruin everything.

He beamed as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and Jessica inwardly fumed at the risk he was willing to take with her future.

She looked at the smile on his face and fought to control her temper. She wasn’t aware that he even knew how to smile. He’d certainly never shown her he could before. He’d done nothing but scowl and frown and glare at her from the minute she’d met him. Now he wore a heart-stopping grin as if it were a part of his true nature.

She stared at their liveried driver’s back rather than at the unending line of carriages and phaetons and landaus traveling over the smooth paths of Hyde Park. Didn’t he know they were bound to pass by someone who would want to stop to talk?

Icy fingers touched deep inside her.

She wanted to be away from here. She wanted to be where it was safe. “I was thinking, perhaps we should go back now. There is a bit of a chill in the air.”

His grin widened. “It’s a glorious spring day, my lady. Hardly cool enough for even a shawl.”

She looked up at him hopefully. “Perhaps tomorrow will be warmer?”

“Perhaps.” Without warning he reached for her hand and looped it through his arm, pulling her closer to him. “Until then, you will just have to rely on me to keep you warm.”