The Duke's Bride (24 page)

He cleared his throat and turned a smiling gaze back
to the crazed lady. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

Jane lifted her gaze to the crystal chandelier above the
dining table. The light shimmered off the pale yellow walls, providing a
festive glow. But she did not feel like celebrating anything this evening. A
sinking feeling gripped her stomach. Would she be able to tell Roderick about
their child? Or would he find out before the night was done?

The conversation in the room had reached a noise level
that was making her deaf. She glanced at Roderick sitting beside Lady Trayton,
and her nerves began to unravel. Was he enjoying the lady’s company? Or was he
trying to find Lord Garette’s killer?

Frustrated and still a bit shaken over the night’s
happenings, Jane picked at her food. A few hours ago, a young lord had died. Yes,
Lord Garette had not been a pleasant man. But murder? It chilled her to the
bone.

She glanced about the room. How could people eat and
drink to their hearts’ content when a man was dead?

It was a fickle crowd, she thought glumly. The guests
seemed to be against her one minute, and her best friend the next. Oh, how she
wanted to go home and be with her baby.

She lifted her chin and nodded to the king when he
spoke to her. But in truth, she had no idea what he had said.

Beside her, Agatha cleared her throat. Though Jane
still loved Agatha, she was deeply hurt by her actions, and at the moment, Jane
did now know how much more drama she could handle in one night.

Agatha clasped Jane’s hand beneath the table. “You do
forgive me, don’t you, dear?”

Jane felt a lump in her throat when she saw the tears
glittering in the lady’s eyes. Yet how could Agatha have invited her to
Hemmingly without mentioning anything about the altered marriage license?

“I cannot believe you did what you did,” Jane said a
bit more harshly than she wanted. But her entire world seemed to be caving in. “I
loved you like my own mother, and after all I went through with the baby, you
never told me the truth. The entire mess could have affected my health.”

Agatha’s face turned white with regret. “I thought it
would make Roderick realize what he was missing. I did not expect the situation
to last more than a day. And later, there were, uh, reasons I did not tell you.
After the baby, well, I was called to London.”

Jane frowned in exasperation. She was a changed woman
now. Whether it was Agatha or Roderick, the two people she held dearest to her
heart, she could not let them think they could make decisions affecting her
life without her consent. She had hidden behind their strength after her
parents had died, but no more.

“Do not dance about the subject,” she said firmly.
“You could have told me.”

Agatha’s eyes began to fill with tears. “I will not
play the devil’s advocate. But I think you might be more understanding if you thought
about your own reasons for not telling Roderick about the baby.”

Jane’s cheeks pinkened. Was keeping the truth from
Roderick the same as Agatha’s ploy about the marriage license? She had to
admit, the two of them had withheld vital information to protect someone they
loved. But Jane realized her situation was not premeditated. Agatha’s was.
Losing the previous babies had caused the rift between Jane and Roderick. Her
reasons to use Mrs. Hobbs, as well as a doctor, had added complications to her
marriage. But Agatha, on the other hand, had deliberately altered the date on
the marriage license.

Jane hated to be firm with the older lady, but things
needed to change. “It was not the same,” Jane said tightly. “I cannot let you
make these decisions for me. And as you can see, I will not let Roderick make
decisions for me either. I am a different person now.” Yet Jane wondered if
Roderick would ever see to her way of thinking.

Agatha’s forehead creased. “You are right. But I did
have good intentions. I believed Roderick would return from France straight
away. Actually, I thought he would change his ways before he left for France. I
had no idea this would last so long. But when Roderick did not return for
months, I believe if I told you the truth, you would banish me from seeing the
baby. However, when you had the baby, I knew I had to tell you. But well, I
just could not face you after what I had done. I was sick with remorse.”

The lady let out a light sob, dabbing a napkin to her
eyes. “I hid in London until Roderick returned.”

Jane clasped the lady’s hand in a firm hold. “You must
promise me that you will never interfere in anyone’s life like this again. It is
not right, and you know it.”

Agatha looked at the king and pressed her lips
together. “What about—”

“Promise me,” Jane demanded.

Agatha sighed. “Oh, very well. But I told you I did it
for your own good.
And
that stubborn husband of yours. I did not like his
behavior, and I was going to set him straight.”

Jane patted Agatha’s hand. “That’s that then.”

“I am sorry, dearest,” Agatha said in a trembling
voice. “You will still let me see the baby, will you not?”

Jane rolled her eyes. “If I tried to keep him from
you, you would probably figure out some way to worm into his life. I would
rather know what you were doing every minute with my son, than discover you
have been sneaking about with him, doing who knows what!”

Agatha chuckled, but she did not deny it. “Thank you,
dear. I do not deserve you.”

Jane grinned and cast a curious gaze down the table
where Lady Trayton’s bosom was almost hanging over Roderick’s plate of beef! His
eyes seemed to widen in appreciation, stirring Jane’s anger. “What a
nincompoop!”

Beside her, Agatha groaned in distress. “Oh, dear.”

Jane realized Agatha thought she was talking about her.
“Oh Agatha, it is not you. It’s Lady Trayton and my husband, who, by the way,
is a halfwit!”

Agatha tilted her head toward the couple. “Ah, I take
it you are trying to crack the lady’s façade, are you not? Rather advantageous
for you that the guests are engaged in lively discussions.”

“What?” Jane asked in surprise.

Agatha’s lips tipped into a knowing smile. “The better
to converse. Loud conversation always helps in times like these.”

“Times like these?” Jane repeated, her eyes narrowing.

 “Certainly,” Agatha said confidently. “You are
trying to find evidence that the lady murdered Lord Garette, and I applaud
you.”

Jane’s fork clanked against her plate. They had not
told Agatha a thing. “Is there anything you don’t know?”

Agatha shrugged. “Actually, no.”

Roderick could feel Jane’s glare from the other side
of the room. But he was not about to stop his interrogation. He believed Lady Trayton
more dangerous than then they had first thought. If he was correct, the lady
had killed her husband and Lord Garette.

He had to wonder if she had murdered other men as
well. And what about women? He was half listening to the lady beside him as he
glanced at Jane.

Confound it. He could have a serial killer on his
hands.

 “I must say, your decision to accept the baby as
yours was quite a surprise to me. Goodness, you are the duke, after all. The
boy would be your heir.”

Roderick’s fork halted midway to his mouth. Lady Trayton’s
words finally penetrated his brain. Was he saying Jane had a baby? What lies
was this lady spreading?

 “Heir?” he asked confused.

Her eyes widened with glee. “Ah, so you have not
accepted the boy as your own. Well, I cannot blame you. I suppose husbands
always wonder. I have a child myself. A son.”

He kept staring at her.
An heir? Baby? What the
devil?

The lady’s cheeks turned a deep red when she caught
the skeptical look on his face. “It was the earl’s,” she replied emphatically.
“Truly. I had the boy a year after we married.”

Roderick arched his right brow. “I am not questioning
your son’s bloodline, madam.” But the thought of the child belonging to her
late husband was rather doubtful, he thought.

She laughed nervously. “My son is now the Earl of Trayton.
He is quite a handsome child.”

“He must look much like his mama.”

She fluttered a hand over her chest, clearly pleased
with his flattering remark. “He is a good boy. Has my eyes.”

“And the other baby?” he asked, peering over the rim
of his wineglass, acting as if he not a care in the world.

“Oh, I forgot,” she replied in her sweetest voice. “You
have yet to see the child. Heard from the king the babe was born in the
country. All of it in secret, mind you.” The lady let out a wicked laugh. “Most
likely because the duchess assumed you and she were not married. I fear, you
did not take that jest too lightly.”

She sighed, taking a peek at Jane, then shifting a
possessive glance back to him. “La, I do not know why I am telling you this.
You went to France knowing everything. It must have been quite a relief getting
away from her. But I am surprised you did not consider how much the captain would
encourage her. Or the other way around. Society does not look upon that very
lightly. Must be discreet at all times.”

Her leg brushed against his, and he almost jumped from
his seat.

“Yes, indeed,” he drawled, trying to contain his
emotions. “Discreet is most important.”

Discreet, Roderick thought angrily
Thunderation! He
went to France knowing nothing!

He took a sip of his wine, sending a hard gaze toward
Jane. She was in deep conversation with Agatha.

Lady Trayton laughed, bringing him back to their
conversation. “Well, at least she was discreet about the baby,” she continued.
“No one in the
ton
heard anything about him. The duchess kept it rather
hush-hush.”

Roderick’s lips thinned.

“Yet I admit, I am on pins and needles, Roderick. I
may call you Roderick, may I not?” She touched his arm. “Is the child yours or
the captain’s? I can keep a secret.”

Keep a secret?
Roderick want to
laugh out loud. That was an outright lie.

 “Well,” the lady sighed, realizing he was not
about to speak. “If I had not come to this weekend party, I would not have
known anything. The king told me all. We have become quite close.”

Roderick had nothing to say. He was at a complete loss.
He dropped one of his hands beneath the table and clenched his fist. Confound
it all! So, the king knew about the baby? He felt as if someone had kicked him
in the stomach. Jane’s baby? It was inconceivable. Had she adopted some child, declaring
it was his? Was any of this information true?

Lady Trayton kept talking. “I am beginning to
understand.” One of her fingers trailed along his leg. “You did not want to
claim another man’s child when you thought you were married, yet you were in a
difficult position. But later, when you thought you were single, it was not at
all the thing.”

His head swung to hers, his eyes blazing. “I think
that is quite enough.”

The lady’s cheeks flamed. She was obviously shocked by
his sharp retort.

Roderick’s mind swirled with questions. A baby? Was
that why Jane had looked so beautiful? Her body had seemed more curvy. More
womanly. Was she a mother? And worse, was she the mother of another man’s
child?

He shot a withering gaze toward the captain. The man
glanced up in question.

“They say the babe was a bit early,” Lady Trayton
continued in a low voice. 

Roderick’s head jerked her way. She seemed to have
recovered quite nicely from his harsh reply. Good grief! He suddenly realized
she thought his words had been directed toward the footman whom she was now
telling not to bring the raspberry tarts around again because the duke had
quite enough to eat. Roderick regarded the lady in utter astonishment.

The lady flipped her hands helplessly in the air. “That’s
how it usually goes. My dear Peter was four weeks early.”

Early? Jane’s babe was early?
He
tried counting the months. He looked at the captain who was sat beside Vexfield’s
daughter.

“Did they say much about Lord Garette?” the lady
asked, changing the direction of her conversation.

Roderick wanted to take the captain by the collar and
shake him senseless. “What was that?” he asked sharply, putting down his fork.

“I said, did Lord Vexfield mention anything else about
Lord Garette?” She batted her eyes at him and smiled sweetly.

He stared at her, his mind going a hundred different
directions.

She chuckled, taking his mute attention as a
compliment. “You know, Roderick, we could do well together. I can see your mind
spinning. You already have a plan for the captain and your wife.”

“Do you think so?” His words were clipped as he
stabbed the leftover beef on his plate.
Did she know his plan was to plow
the captain in the jaw?