The Accidental Countess (21 page)

“All these years I’ve been convinced that Pen would marry Julian and then, just like that, it’s over.” Cass shook her head. “I almost cannot believe it.”

“Believe it, because now you must explain to Captain Swift what happened. You cannot remain Patience Bunbury forever,” Lucy said.

“No, I cannot,” Cass agreed. But she could remain Patience Bunbury for one more night and that’s exactly what she intended to do. Tomorrow morning, first thing, she would tell Julian the truth, no matter the consequences, but tonight … Tonight she wanted to kiss him.

*   *   *

Dinner was torturous. Cass sat three seats down from Julian completely unable to talk to him and nearly obscured from seeing him. Lucy had said it would be better this way. “The less chance you have to speak, the better, until you’re ready to tell him.”

Cass had agreed but it didn’t make the three-hour meal any less excruciating. Not to mention, she had to sit there and endure her brother’s glower the entire time. Owen, her big, strong, handsome, blond brother, was looking at her with murder in his eyes. Garrett had sent Cass and Lucy a note earlier telling them that Owen had arrived. Garrett had managed to get him alone and explain the entire escapade, but Owen, apparently, had only tenuously agreed to go along with the scheme, and that only because Garrett had bet him to keep his mouth shut over a hand of cards. Apparently, Upton had won.

Owen glowered at Cass the entire time. She could
feel
her brother’s judgment. Luckily, he was on his third glass of wine. Lucy was doing an excellent job of keeping him in liquor and the company of beautiful women—she and Jane—both of whom Owen could not resist.

After dinner was finished, there was the interminable wait while the men drank their port and the women gossiped in the drawing room. Finally,
finally,
the gentlemen joined them. Cass didn’t hesitate. She strolled up to Julian and whispered on the way out the door facing the opposite direction. “Meet me in the library.”

Garrett stopped her just before she made it to the door. “There’s something I must tell you. Get Lucy and meet me in the—”

“Sorry. I can’t talk now.”

Garrett’s eyes were wide. “It’s important, Cass.”

“I’ll find you first thing in the morning.” She slipped out of his grip and into the hallway before he had a chance to say another word.

Cass hurried down the corridor and gently pushed open the door to the library, only to find Jane. Jane had obviously sneaked out of the drawing room again to read.

“Oh, Janie, you’re going to have to leave,” Cass said. “Julian will be here any moment.”

“Sorry?” Jane glanced up from her book. “I was here first. Besides, I’m hiding from Upton. The less I see of him, the better. I’m not allowed to be rude to him, and it’s sure to be the death of me.”

Cass laughed. “Be that as it may, I’ve chosen this location as the rendezvous point for my assignation. You must leave. Please, for my sake?”

Jane rolled her eyes but quickly gathered her things and smiled at her friend as she passed by her on her way out the door. “You owe me a favor.”

“Fine. Fine. Just walk faster, please. But not too fast, Garrett was in the corridor.”

“Be careful, Cass.” Jane’s words had an ominous ring.

Cass swallowed and turned around. She pinched her cheeks to bring color to them and twirled her pink skirts and smoothed out the fabric. She touched her hand to her coiffure. Oh, where was a looking glass when one needed it?

It was funny how she felt no more guilt. Knowing that Pen had ended her engagement to Julian, being certain they both were happily done with their arrangement, it made Cass feel deliciously free. They’d both agreed and neither of them was unhappy with the outcome. Cass couldn’t have asked for a better turn of events. Well, perhaps if Julian didn’t fancy another lady, that would be the most ideal situation, but now that she no longer felt any guilt over damaging her cousin’s engagement, she was free. Free to do exactly as she pleased. And even more free tonight because she was able to do it as Patience Bunbury. The last two times Cass had asked Julian to kiss her, he’d refused. Tonight, there would be no reason to refuse. She would have her first kiss. There would be time for recriminations and confessions in the morning. Tonight. Tonight there would be only pleasure.

*   *   *

Julian waited a respectable twenty minutes before slipping out of the drawing room and making his way to the library. He opened the door and took in Patience Bunbury’s beauty. It felt like a bayonet to the chest. She was pretty, so pretty and sweet.

“Captain Swift,” she said, turning to face him, her cheeks bright pink.

“Miss Bunbury.” He inclined his head toward her.

“Would you … would you like to sit?” She gestured to the leather sofa.

Julian made his way over to the sofa and sat next to her. “Dinner was … interesting,” he began.

She pushed a blond curl behind her ear. Fetching, that. Quite.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice the way Owen Monroe was staring at you all evening?”

Miss Bunbury’s eyes widened. “What? Owen? I mean, his lordship?”

“Yes. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you. I confess I considered calling him out.”

“Oh, no, no, no. You are mistaken. He didn’t—”

Julian slid closer. “I know what I saw. And I must admit, it made me jealous as hell.”

A little smile popped to her lips. “It did?”

“Yes, and you know what else?”

“What else?”

“I talked to Penelope again earlier. We ended our agreement. Apparently, she left before dinner.”

“Was she … upset?”

“You didn’t see her?”

Miss Bunbury didn’t look at him. “No,” she murmured.

“Once we got that nonsense out of the way about her pretending to be you, she wasn’t a bit upset. She told me she’d been planning to end things with me herself.” Julian laughed.

Miss Bunbury smiled again. “That’s surprising.” She seemed shy tonight, reticent. Why wouldn’t she look at him?

He slid closer to her on the sofa. Their thighs touched, only the fabric of their clothing separated them. “Miss Bunbury?”

“Y … es?”

“I no longer have an arrangement of any sort with Miss Monroe.”

“You do not?”

“No, I do not.”

“Did she … give you an explanation for why she’d pretended to be … me?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“She did but it doesn’t matter. She obviously didn’t know I’d already met you. Though why she would think I hadn’t when I’ve been at a house party with you all week … I must admit I briefly believed she’d taken complete leave of her senses.”

Miss Bunbury closed her eyes and nodded.

“I would like very much to kiss you now,” Julian said.

A small gasp escaped her lips. “Me?”

“Patience,” he breathed. Julian stared at her beautiful face. He did want to kiss her. Cassandra wasn’t here, after all, and Cassandra was in love with another man. Patience was here and lovely and wanted him. He could tell by the way she looked at him, the way she touched him, the way she tipped back her head and closed her eyes, waiting for his kiss.

Julian lowered his mouth to hers. The feel of her sweet, soft lips under his made him gasp into her mouth. It was better than he’d expected. Much better.

He pulled her close, her bodice pressed against his chest. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, lust flooding through his veins, making his cock hard.

Patience kissed him back with a fervor and energy that enveloped him. She made little moaning noises in the back of her throat and she rocked against him.

His mouth slanted over hers, hot, hard, demanding. He couldn’t get enough, didn’t want to stop. She was gorgeous.

Only she wasn’t … Cassandra.

Reality slammed into his gut. He pulled his mouth away and pressed his forehead to hers, breathing heavily. No. No.
Stop thinking about Cassie
.
This isn’t the time. She loves another man
.

He clenched his jaw. What the hell was he doing, thinking about Cassie at a moment like this? He pulled Patience against him and kissed her again. Would Cass smell like this? Look like this? Be this irresistible?

He pulled his mouth away from Patience’s once more, holding her by the shoulders. Damn it to hell, he couldn’t get Cassie out of his mind. He shook his head as if that might serve to dislodge her. It didn’t.

Miss Bunbury stared up at him with wide blue eyes … eyes that looked very much like his memory of Cassandra’s eyes. He shook himself again. Now he was truly going mad, wanting Cassie so much that he was seeing her in a completely different woman. It wasn’t just wrong. It was sick, and completely unfair to Patience.

She blinked up at him, looking entirely confused. Damn it. That was his fault. He hated himself for what he was about to say.

“I’m sorry, Miss Bunbury…” And then, “Patience. I thought I could do this but I cannot.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I understand, Captain,” she murmured.

Julian felt like a complete arse. He was a complete arse. What sort of man kissed a nice young lady like Patience Bunbury and then stopped? She didn’t deserve this. She’d already been jilted by her intended last summer. Now she had to endure Julian’s ungentlemanly behavior, as well. He wouldn’t blame her if she hated him forever.

“God, Patience … Miss Bunbury. I’m a complete scoundrel. I truly didn’t intend to lead you on or to hurt you. Do you have a brother? A father? I’m certain one of them will want to call me out.”

Her voice was small. “Please, Captain Swift, no more apologies. You’ve nothing to apologize to me for. Please, just go.”

Julian bowed his head, then nodded.

He glanced up at her again and rubbed his thumb against her high cheekbone, wiping away one delicate tear. “Damn me to hell. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

And that was true, but it didn’t matter.

He stood and made his way to the door, then he turned back to Miss Bunbury. “I’m sorry.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Cass took her time dressing the next morning. She sent back every gown her maid presented to her. The gowns didn’t matter, any one of them would have been fine. The truth was that she didn’t want to face Julian. And each thing she accomplished to get ready to go downstairs and see him would bring her that much closer to her moment of reckoning. A moment she dreaded.

It was time. Finally time to face the truth and take the consequences. She knew that. It was over.

First, however, she had to find Garrett. He’d had something to tell her last night. She’d been rude to him, rushing off like that. If she’d known what was going to happen, she wouldn’t have rushed. Would have lingered, actually. Oh, it had been a disaster. She’d tried to find Garrett after the debacle in the library but he was nowhere to be found and neither was Lucy. Instead, she’d gone up to bed and thought about how detestable she was. How much Julian was going to despise her once she told him the truth. Eventually, she’d fallen into an exhausted slumber, one that left her fitful and dreaming about Julian berating her for lying to him and marrying another woman. Her worst nightmare. It was all about to come true and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She could only delay the inevitable.

She stared at her pale reflection in the looking glass. Julian had told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world last night. Hadn’t that once been her dream? But he hadn’t said those words to
her.
No, Patience Bunbury was the most beautiful woman in the world, Patience Bunbury, the woman who didn’t exist. The reflection disgusted her. How could such a simple pretty face mask such ugliness and lies? She scrubbed her hands savagely across her face as if she could wipe away her looks, replace them with the mask of ugliness she knew she deserved after what she’d done. Julian was honorable and noble right up to the end. He’d been the one to stop, not her. Oh, no. She might have gone on kissing him all night, the lying little hoyden that she was.

She’d cried last night in front of him. That was poorly done also. But she hadn’t been crying for the reason he thought. He probably believed she was sad because Patience had developed a
tendre
for him. But the truth was she’d been crying because she knew he couldn’t kiss Patience because he still loved someone else, someone who was not Patience, and not Cass, someone whose eyes she wanted to scratch out.

Regardless, she must stop being a coward. She had to face Julian today. First, she’d find Garrett and see what was so urgent. Then, she’d find Julian. She would find him and finally tell him the truth. It was time. No matter what. No more hiding. No more lies.

Her maid returned with one more gown, a simple white one. “This one, miss?”

White, the symbol of purity, light, innocence, hardly a color she should wear today, sinner that she was. But if she was going to battle that devil who liked to pop up on her shoulder, she would need all the reinforcement she could get. “Yes, that one will be fine, Maria. I’m sorry I’ve been such a bother this morning.”

She stared back at her reflection in the looking glass once more. Patience? Cass? Whoever she was. It was finally time to face the truth.

*   *   *

Cass had just started down the stairway when a large commotion in the foyer caught her attention. There appeared to be a great many people there, all of them raising their voices.

She hurried down far enough to see the occupants of the space and caught her breath. She braced a hand against the bannister to steady herself. There, in the foyer with Lucy, Jane, Garrett, and a half-dozen servants, stood her parents. Owen wasn’t there. And neither was Julian, thank God. But … She leaned down to get a closer look.

Penelope was with them.

Cass’s heart thumped. Danger. That’s what this was.
Danger, danger, danger.
Every nerve in her body screamed at her to flee. Instead, she remained rooted to the spot, her shaking hand frozen to the bannister.

“I demand to see my daughter,” her mother, Lady Moreland, said.