The Duke's Divorce (The Reluctant Grooms Series Volume IV) (22 page)

“Ah, Cantin,” said a familiar voice.

Robert turned and found Lady Olivia. “Your
Ladyship, how lovely you look tonight.” Robert clasped her hand in
his and brought her gloved fingers to his lips.

“Such a charmer,” she said, a glint in her
eye. “I have just spoken to your wife, Cantin. Tell me, what are
you playing at now? Have you finally found your senses, or are you
using her for your gain in Parliament?”

Never one to beat around the bush, her
question nonetheless caught him off guard. “Dear Lady Olivia, I
know not of what you are talking.”

“Do not play coy with me, Cantin. I have
known you far too long. You have been fawning over Fiona all
evening. And as one is best friends with your mother, I know all
about the disastrous turn of events from the other evening. The
poor child is beside herself in the ladies, wondering what you are
up to.”

“What did she say?”

“It is not what she said, it is what she did
not say. I could read the look of confusion in her eye when I asked
if she was having a good time. In an obtuse manner she related the
ball was lovely, and the food glorious. I have spent quite a bit of
time with her, and for a gel who knows her mind very well, I found
Fiona’s reply exceedingly disconcerting.” She stared at him. “Or is
all this play-acting on your part to hide the fact you are jealous
of Greenleigh?”

“What?” Robert snorted, incredulous she could
have asked that. Jealous of Greenleigh? That was ludicrous!

“You heard me. Do you not remember the
request you made of me when you returned home from Scotland, to
find her a suitable husband? Well, I did. I found Greenleigh. And
he seems quite enamoured of your wife.” She thumped her cane on the
floor. “You cannot have it both ways, Cantin. You cannot continue
to keep the poor girl from her chance at happiness, even if it is
not with you, and you cannot keep her for yourself if you are not
going to give her the same happiness.”

Gads, the old stoat was insufferable! “I
shall have you know, Lady Olivia, I find Fiona has indeed come to
mean more to me than I originally intended, and tonight was my
first attempt at allowing her to see that.”

She thumped her cane on the floor again.
“Well, it is certainly about damn time, Cantin. Although a piece of
advice, do not take her to bed too soon. She is not ready.”

Good Lord, the woman was beyond the pale! Of
all the things to say. “Lady Olivia, what do you take me for, some
kind of libertine without a care for her feelings?”

“No, I take you for the randy buck that you
are, married to one of the most beautiful women in London. And I
noticed you could not keep your hands to yourself all evening. As a
matter of fact, my friends had a wager to see how soon Fiona would
find herself in the family way.” She chuckled. “I took the long
odds. However, that being said, for all her advanced years, she is
still a child. Allow her to find her own way to love you first,
Cantin. She’s half there already, just needs a bit more time, and a
bit more of this.” She waved her hand in a small circle.

Robert wanted to ask how she knew what Fiona
was feeling, but he didn’t dare. Lady Olivia wouldn’t tell him
anyway. “This?” he asked instead and waved his own hand.

“Yes, tonight, the intimacy, the gaiety, the
flattery. Women are not won over by loving their bodies, they are
won over by courting their minds. Appeal to her intelligence,
encourage her opinion, allow her to pursue her dreams. Entice her
mind, and she will follow with her body. Trust me on this, Cantin.
I know of what I speak. And if you do that, you two will find a
love and happiness most couples may only dream of.”

With that, she was gone, and Robert wondered
if the old coot was right. He’d always been very good at charming
women into bed. And out of it for that matter, but could he win
over his wife whom he had already treated despicably. Would she
trust that what he offered was real? Only time would tell.

*****

In the carriage on the way home, Robert
seemed subdued and Fiona knew the act he’d put on at Penny’s ball
was just for show. Well, if that was how he wanted to handle their
marriage, she could also play-act until the damned dinner party was
over, and then she would acquire her own annulment.

Arriving at Cantin House, Fiona bid her
mother-in-law good-night with a kiss on the cheek and the promise
to accompany her the next day to Lady Bellingham’s luncheon.

“I shall walk you up,” Robert said, and
startled both Fiona and his mother. Fiona noted the pensive look
Lady Joanna wore as they took the stairs.

Fiona climbed the steps without speaking. At
her door she turned to Robert and waited for whatever admonishment
he was sure to deliver. Perhaps she hadn’t curtsied correctly to
the Duke of Hemmings, or her flight from the supper table was too
quick. She waited expectantly for the reprimand.

Robert placed his hand on her throat, leaned
in and kissed her. The surprise of his lips on hers again stunned
her momentarily, until the hunger she felt for him overwhelmed all
thought and she kissed him back. Yes, she had to admit, dancing
with him might be heavenly, but kissing him was sublime. He placed
his other hand at her waist and inched his body closer. Primordial
heat came off him in waves. Fiona might not know the first thing
about making love to a man, but she had spent years in the fields
with her sheep and knew about animal lust. Robert exuded it.

She placed her hands on his chest and then
wound them around his back under his jacket. His taut muscles
shifted as he wrapped his arms around her. The desire to feel his
naked body against hers intensified as his lips razed her earlobe.
It was a good thing her back was to the door as her legs had gone
weak.

“Fiona,” he mumbled. “You have me
undone.”

He kissed her cheek, her throat, and her lips
again, and then he broke away. The smoldering look he gave her made
her gasp. He had never looked at her like that before. He stepped
back.

“Good-night, Fiona,” he said. “Sleep
well.”

Fiona watched him walk down the hall to his
own rooms. She opened her bedchamber door with trembling fingers
and wondered if she would ever sleep at all.

Despite the lack of sleep, and a pounding
headache, Robert was in a good mood as he descended the stairs to
breakfast. Last night had gone exceedingly well. Fiona, he was
sure, was puzzled over his attitude toward her and he liked it that
way. It would keep her off guard while he gained her trust, her
affection, and then her love. What had Lady Olivia implied – she
was half in love with him already? This was good, very good. It
shouldn’t take that much longer for her to fall completely, and
then he would be able to take her to bed.

Not that that was his priority, however,
watching her dancing with Greenleigh when he arrived at Penny and
Will’s ball had sent a wave of jealousy over him. Damn, Lady Olivia
was right. He could not bear to see another man’s hands on Fiona.
Her laughter with the Earl after their dance had strengthened it
ten-fold. How could he have possibly thought Greenleigh would make
her an excellent husband? Greenleigh was a dolt, and a bore.
However, Fiona had said he made her laugh. And Robert seized on the
opportunity as they stood with their friends.

He’d treated Fiona to all the charismatic
charm he could muster, which he had to admit wasn’t hard. Fiona was
delightful when they weren’t at each other’s throats, laughing and
smiling at the stories he’d told about him and his friends in their
younger years.

When talk became more serious, she impressed
his friends and their wives with her honest opinions. He’d known
she was intelligent, but her cleverness was something that
surprised him. He felt she was on a par with the other women his
friends had married and basked in the newfound pride he felt. Yes,
she would hold him in good stead as a duchess.

Flipping through the morning paper, he noted
there was no mention of his name or Fiona’s. Finally, the
gossipmongers had found someone else to hound. He prayed it would
remain thus.

Finished with breakfast, he went to his desk
and penned a note to Fiona. Would she care to go for a drive with
him this afternoon? He would take her during the fashionable hour
and show her off, show her a proper courtship. She hadn’t come down
to breakfast, and Robert surmised she slept in, so asked Edwards to
place it on her tray.

Robert set to work on his correspondence, a
smile on his face and a renewed sense of hope in his heart. His
life was becoming everything he’d always wanted to achieve.

*****

The luncheon at Lady Bellingham’s left Fiona
feeling more at ease with her place in Society. No longer treated
as a newcomer, she found her opinions regarded, and her questions
answered. She had certainly come a long way since Lady Joanna had
taken her on her first rounds to the ‘at-homes’ and Fiona was glad
she and Robert had finally managed to come to some sort of
understanding.

Although, what his kisses meant, she was
still unsure. He had every right to bed her. He was her husband. So
why hadn’t he last night? The thought of him in her bed frightened
her, but at the same time excited her. He was so handsome, and his
touch so gentle when he wasn’t angry. She had lain awake for quite
some time reveling in his kiss at her door, examining the motive
behind it, but finding nothing other than his need for her to play
the role of consummate duchess at his dinner party, she dismissed
it and finally fell asleep.

However, with his invitation of a ride in the
Park this afternoon, she debated briefly on the idea he could
actually be on the verge of liking her. It was a sad fact to admit
that her husband’s new attentions meant nothing to him other than
as a means to an end. He needed the legislation passed and she was
to help him achieve that goal.

Nevertheless, she looked forward to the
outing. Since the incident at the docks, Fiona had stopped taking
her morning walks with Merry, and all her daytime activities
revolved around Eammon and the carriage. Perhaps she could persuade
Robert to walk with her for a bit.

At four o’clock on the dot, Robert brought
the cabriolet around and Edwards helped her into it. The top down,
Fiona was concerned Robert would drive too fast and upset her new
hat. Lady Joanna had insisted upon the silly creation when shopping
for gowns, and Fiona had never thought she would wear it in the
whole of her life.

As she sat in the carriage, and adjusted her
skirts, Robert stared at her for more than a few moments. “Is
something amiss, my lord?”

“What is that perched on the top of your
head?”

Something in his tone made her suspect he was
trying not to laugh. “I hear it is the latest style, my lord,”
Fiona said. “Your mother insisted upon it for our outing. Said I
would not wish anyone to think the new Duchess of Cantin does not
know fashion.”

“I think my mother does not know fashion.
Take it off, it looks ridiculous.”

Fiona gladly reached up, undid the pins, and
placed the frightful thing in her lap.

“How can anyone think having purple birds on
their head is fashionable,” Robert asked as he flicked the
reins.

They took off at a modest pace, and entering
the Park, Fiona gaped at the crowds of people walking, riding, and
coaching.

“Why are there so many people here?” Fiona
asked. “Do they not have anything to occupy their time?”

“’Tis the fashionable hour, my dear. Anyone
who wishes to be seen is here. I should have taken you as soon as
we returned to Town, but alas, ‘tis only now I see the error of my
ways.”

Fiona glanced at him, then kept her eyes on
the track. Horses of all shapes and sizes pulled equipages of all
manner of description. It reminded Fiona of a ball. All they needed
was music to make the atmosphere complete.

“Why do people feel the need to be seen? Are
the balls and parties not enough?”

“My dear, this is London. ‘Tis what we do.
And not everyone is invited to balls and parties, particularly
those with less than stellar reputations. This is the place where
they congregate before heading off to whatever entertainments they
find for the evening.”

“They seem like fish swimming upstream,”
Fiona pointed out. “All moving in the same direction, none with a
thought of their own.”

“Perhaps they are, however, if we all did not
go the same course, we would be crashing into one another, do you
not think?” His voice held a note of bemusement.

“Yes, I suppose you are right.” It all seemed
like too much nonsense to her. Why would this be considered a posh
activity? It served no purpose, other than to exercise the horses,
and on her morning walks with Merry, she had seen all manner of
beasts getting their daily constitutional.

She noticed Robert nodding to almost everyone
they passed.

“Do you know all those whom you
acknowledge?”

“Yes, for the most part. And those I do not,
know me, or at least wish they did.” He smiled at her.

“You are very self-assured, my lord.”

“I am my father’s son, Fiona, raised to be
the Duke of Cantin. With that come certain responsibilities to my
family, my tenants, and to a lesser extent, the people of Society.
I did not gain the Regent’s ear or my place in Parliament by being
less than what my father expected of me. I work hard to make good
legislation, to allow the lower classes to have decent working
conditions, to pass bills that make sense for future generations.
If I were not the only son, I would have gone off to fight for our
country, to make a name for myself in that way, the same as William
did.”

“You would not,” Fiona said.

“Yes, Fiona, I would,” he replied sincerely.
“We have the greatest Monarchy in the world, and when that is
threatened I believe we should all do our part to defend it. I
honor Will’s service, and wish I could have been there with him and
Davingdale. Alas, I had to remain and do my part from home. I only
pray that all I achieve in my lifetime is not wasted.”