The Duke's Bride (11 page)

Roderick growled something about unruly brothers when
the footman opened the front door and the doctor stepped into the hall.

“Morning, Hillside,” Roderick said, surprised to see
the older man. “Someone ill?”

The man smiled a greeting. “No, Your Grace. I have
come to see your wife.”

Roderick frowned. “The duchess left for the Pump Room.
Did she know you were calling?”

The doctor glanced at Clayton, then shifted a hesitant
look toward Roderick. “She is, uh, rather delicate now after all that has
happened. I admit, Your Grace, though you have seen me a few times in prior
weeks, this is the first time I have been able to have more than a word of
greeting with you.”

Roderick kept staring at the man. Alarm skittered down
his spine. Did his wife have some fatal disease she had not told him about? He
had seen the doctor visiting the house when they first had first come to Bath,
but he had thought that just a precaution after Jane’s loss. But now, he
wondered.

“She is in good health, is she not?”

The doctor peered at him with a cautious expression.
“I would say so. But just to be sure, I come now and then. After her previous
losses…well…one never knows.”

Grief flooded Roderick’s heart. The man was talking
about the babies they had lost. Was the doctor accusing him of putting Jane in
danger?

“Well, well,” Roderick said, clearing his throat,
feeling the guilt building up inside him, knowing Jane could be with child now.
“After all that has happened, I am glad the duchess is taking her health
seriously. If there is anything I can do, please let me know.”

The doctor wiped his gray brow and seemed to sag in
relief. “Goodness, I have to admit, Your Grace, I was afraid she had not told
you. I am happy to say she is doing quite well. However, as long as nothing
happens, she will be fine. But then again, the Lord does work in mysterious
ways, does he not?”

An icy finger of dread slid down Roderick’s back. The
doctor was confirming his very thoughts. Jane would be healthy as long as she
did not try to have any more children. 

“I will do everything in my power to see she stays
well,” Roderick said, feeling Clayton’s gaze upon him. He had no wish to
include his brother in this private conversation.

The doctor turned to leave. “Her body will take some
time to adjust. But if I were you, I would not say a thing about it. She may
eat strange things too. Women are quite unpredictable in these situations.”

Roderick watched the door close. The doctor’s comments
only made him more determined to stay away from his wife.

Concerned, Clayton turned to him. “Jane is well, is
she not?”

“He just said she was in fine health,” Roderick
snapped, walking toward the door as the footman opened it again. “Are you going
with me to the Pump Room, or not?”

Clayton stopped in the hall and glared at him. “Whoa!
Who the devil stuck a needle—”

Roderick took a step outside, swore, and slammed the
door in his brother’s face.

R
oderick strode past the door of the Pump Room,
his gaze traveling over the crowd. About thirty feet away, his eyes focused on
his sweet wife laughing with some man who was kissing her hand. Laughing, by Jove!
He had thought she had been heartbroken over the gossips as well as their fight
this morning.

To his left, a small string quartet played a light
concerto. The notes floated above the noisy crowd, adding to the mayhem.
Confound it! He had no idea why people would want to join in this chaos for a
glass of the water.

He eyed the tall man still holding Jane’s hand. The
man was acting as if she were the most divine creature on earth.

“The man’s a deuced nuisance,” he growled. “I shall call
him out.”

 “What the devil are you talking about?” Clayton asked,
grabbing Roderick’s jacket, dragging him back. “You may be some pompous duke,
but you cannot just march in there as if you were the Noah parting the Red
Sea.”

“That was Moses, you idiot,” Roderick snapped. He
continued to glare at the couple and bit back an oath. He barely paid attention
to the crowd chatting about the newest London fashion or the latest
on-dit
.
And at the moment, he cared not a whit if they were speaking about last night’s
card game and Garette’s drunken behavior. It was his wife whom he wanted to
see, not Society.

Chuckling, Clayton’s eyes swept over the room. He lifted
an imperious brow toward Roderick who was passed a glass of the waters from one
of the servants. “I fail to see a dastardly villain prowling the vicinity,
Your
Grace. Oh, but wait! Perhaps it is Mr. Picklehammer come to call you out. I
hear he hissed at you last night.”

Roderick downed the cool liquid in one long swallow,
then shoved the empty glass into Clayton’s hands. “Sarcasm is not what I need
right now. And as to Gabby’s cat, I think the odious creature should be drowned
in the Thames.”

Clayton laughed out loud. “You do not. I saw you
feeding the scraggly thing a bowl of cream outside Gabby’s door this morning.”

Roderick pressed his lips together when the man beside
Jane turned. That beaming bright smile and those broad shoulders belonged only
to one man. He sucked in his breath.

Well, well,” Clayton said, gazing in Jane’s direction.
“You cannot be upset that it is James. He is trustworthy. Besides, he took Garette
down a notch last night. Saw it myself. Quick with that knife, I daresay. If
you think—”

“The man just kissed her hand,” Roderick bit out,
interrupting his brother. “And he held it too blasted long!”

Clayton lifted on the toes of his Hessians and stared
across the room. “She’s moving now. Can’t see her. But devil take it, it’s about
time some man made her feel like a beautiful woman and kissed her. Her husband
certainly doesn’t.”

Roderick barely held back from boxing his brother’s
ears. “You have three seconds to apologize.”

Clayton glowered back. “I will not apologize. You
treat Jane like a child. She’s a lovely woman. Every lady wants a man to pay
attention to her, especially if that man is her husband.”

Roderick thought about last night. He could still recall
the rosewater from her bath. The sweet perfume she had worn at the ball. The softness
of her skin. He frowned, recalling the lemon cake crumbs on her nightstand. She
had put on weight since losing the baby and was trying to hide it from him. He
would have to put a stop to her suffering at once. But he still didn’t like the
attention the captain was giving to her.

He tried to take in a deep, calming breath. “She’s my
wife, Clay. No man should be kissing her, hand or not.”

“Oh, for the love of the king. I’m guessing the man only
kissed her fingertips. No harm in that.”

“And if some man kissed Briana’s hand, you would be
fine with that?”

Clayton pursed his lips. “Well, no. Not unless the man
was the king. Well, I take that back. Not unless the man was eighty-years-old.”

“Then, how the devil can you stand there and tell me
the captain’s attention is quite all right?”

Clayton smiled. “Let me see. Briana is my wife, and I
treat her like my wife. Does that give you an idea? Or should I go into the
details.”

Roderick muttered a curse. “I don’t need details.”

Roderick didn’t give Clayton another glance before he
took off in the direction of his wife. He heels clapped hard against the floor
and he avoided people wanting to speak to him. Jane’s light laugh sounded like
bells from heaven. What man could resist that, he thought grimly. He
immediately caught sight of the captain’s emerald eyes sparkling with happiness
as the tall man stared at Jane.

“Argyle, a word with you, if you please.”

Jane’s smile turned upside down the second she heard
her husband’s curt command. She had no idea he was coming to the Pump Room
today. He barely glanced at her, but his steely expression sent chills down her
spine.

She opened her mouth and closed it. The sudden notion
that Roderick was jealous made her heart skip. He must still like her. But goodness,
she didn’t need another scene.

After this morning, she had wanted to box his ears. If
only he would listen to her. He needed to know about the baby, and she
certainly didn’t want to be angry with him before he left for France. He must
have noticed her increased size last night. Was he hiding the fact that he knew
about the child all along?

“Roderick, dear,” she said in a silky voice. “The
captain and I were just talking about Brighton. It was lovely the last time we
visited. In fact, if I could have a word with you—”

“Not now.”

She noticed the captain caught the hardness in Roderick’s
words and stiffened his stance. Frowning, she exchanged a bewildered look
between the two men. This would only increase the gossip, something she thought
she could curb by showing up today. Though she wanted to hold her head high and
show Society she was not afraid to face the world head on, this was more than
she could bear.

“Roderick,” she said, lowering her voice. “Please, you
are making a scene.”

Roderick didn’t flinch. “I would say it is you and
Captain Argyle who are making a scene.” He shifted a steely glare toward the
man in question. “And you, sir, I thought we had words last night. Obviously,
you have a hard time understanding a simple command.”

Jane blanched. She wanted Roderick to want her, but
not this way. He had never been like this. A little jealousy was one thing. But
this, well, this was outrageous. “Roderick, please. He is my friend.”

“There is no need for that,” the captain snapped,
looking at Jane. “I do not need anyone defending me.”

Goodness, they were like two bulls in a pen. “I would
like to sit down,” she said abruptly, trying to think of something to keep them
from punching each other. “In fact, gentlemen, I am feeling a bit warm and
might faint if you do not take care and find me a chair.”

Roderick grabbed one elbow while the captain grabbed the
other. They just about lifted her off the ground and settled her on a seat in
the corner of the room.

“I hear the King may take the waters today,” she said,
trying to make small talk as a servant handed her some water. “They say he is
coming to town. Is that not correct, Roderick?”

Roderick glared at the captain. The iciness between
them sent a shiver of dread down Jane’s spine. She needed Mrs. Hobbs, but if
Roderick discovered the lady was a servant to Captain Argyle, he would forbid her
to see the lady. He might forbid it anyway, she thought. Roderick had already
told her she was not to even think of using Chinese medicine.

Anxiety ripped through her. She had hoped that after
she informed Roderick about the baby, he would agree to let her keep seeing
Mrs. Hobbs. But now, because of his antagonism toward the captain, she realized
her plans were in jeopardy. Her baby might be in jeopardy as well. Well, she
would not stop her treatments. She needed the Chinese herbs. She needed Mrs.
Hobbs. And that meant she needed Captain Argyle in her circle of friends.

She clasped her glass tightly in her hands and peered
up at the men. “Look happy, the both of you, or I will scream.”

Roderick and the captain looked shocked.

“That’s correct, gentlemen,” she said, smiling. “You
had best get along in my presence. Because if you continue to act like quarrelsome
schoolboys, I
will
scream.”

“You would not dare,” Roderick said. But his words
were more of a command, setting Jane’s back up.

She cocked a challenging brow. “Oh, wouldn’t I?”

She opened her mouth, and Roderick clapped a hand over
her lips. “King George, Jane, control yourself. I will bow to your wishes. We
will not be in your presence then. I will take this matter outside.” His
piercing stare moved to the man hovering over them. “Argyle?”

The captain pulled at his jacket. “I have no problem with
that. Lead the way, Your Grace.”

Jane watched in disbelief as the two men left her side
and parted the crowds of the Pump Room. Men! They were acting like foolish
little boys! Well, she did not care what happened to them. Let them knock each
other senseless.

She pressed her lips together, too angry to even stare
at them anymore. She was slowly aware of the buzz moving about the room. People
were starting to stare at her as if she were a bug on their favorite piece of
pie. Perhaps they had finally heard the stories about Garette last night.
That’s why she wanted to prove to Society that she was not doing anything wrong
and being with the captain meant nothing to her. But Roderick had ruined it all.
The ninny!

Yet as words floated in and out of her ears, she had a
vague feeling the chatter had less to do about Lord Garette or the captain, and
more to do about her. Her stomach churned with unease. Something else was in
the air.

“Knew she wasn’t one of us.”

“Could never really believe it.”

 “The duke never loved her.”

“Strumpet!”

“A Jezebel!”

“Little more than an orphan when Stonebridge took her
in.”

“Took advantage of the situation.”

“Not one of us!”

“Was just looking for a title. Thought she caught the
duke.”

“A good laugh he has on her.”

“That’s why things were in such turmoil.”

Jane stood and brushed the imaginary lint off her
skirt. Heat rushed through her veins. First, it was the loss of the baby, and
now these vicious lies? She didn’t understand why things had taken such a brutal
turn. What rumor had someone started now? The malicious things people were
saying about her made her feel as if she were living in some nightmare. She was
the Duchess of Elbourne. How dare they treat her so? Roderick would not put up this!
She was carrying his baby. They would see.

“Duchess, what have you to say about the news?”

Jane turned her head to see Lady Horatio and Lady
Philomena blocking her way. Their delightful expressions made her stomach sink.
She had no idea what they were talking about.

“Jane, dearest,” Emily’s voice drifted to her ears. “There
you are. I have been looking all over for you. You do seem to get lost in the
crowd.”

Jane’s shoulders dropped in relief. She turned to her
friend. “Oh, Em. Forgive me. I have no idea why I keep losing you.” She let out
a light giggle, knowing the gossiping ladies were standing beside her, waiting
for something else to add to their pack of lies.

Emily looked a bit frantic. “Where is Roderick? I
thought I saw him.”

Jane clenched her gown with sweaty hands. Something
was dreadfully wrong. Emily was rarely out of sorts, and Horatio and Philomena
were now staring at them with mouths agape.

Jane bent towards Emily and whispered in her ear. “Roderick
is outside with Captain Argyle, and they were not being too friendly with each
other. Frankly, I do not care if they give each other black eyes.”

Emily frowned.

Lady Horatio lifted a brow.

Jane felt like sinking into the floor. She wished she
could eat her words. Had the lady overheard?

“Perhaps he is defending your honor?” Lady Horatio
added, obviously hoping for more details.

Jane pressed her lips together. She needed to leave.
The entire day was turning into a disaster.

“My dear lady,” Jane said in a haughty tone as she
faced Lady Horatio. “I have no idea what you are talking about? But perhaps if
you minded your own business, you might find that you have no need of the
waters at all. Healing might occur naturally if you kept your ears to yourself
and your mouth closed.”

Lady Horatio gasped in outrage.

Scowling, Emily took Jane by the elbow. “Dearest, we
must leave here at once,” she said in a low voice. “There is something I need
to tell you.”

“She doesn’t know,” Lady Philomena whispered, waving a
fan about her face. “Poor girl. Ruined now.”

Jane felt sick as she let Emily pull her along. “Why were
those ladies so cruel? I simply do not understand people like that. I admit, I
was a bit harsh with them, and I feel terrible, but truly, I felt provoked”