Unconventional Suitors 01 - Her Unconventional Suitor (21 page)

“I am truly delighted to hear of your relief, madam. Now you can come back to London and enjoy the remainder of the season,” he urged.

“I may be quick to forgive you for your part in Benedict’s scandal, but I must admit I am still quite upset at all of you, and I refuse to come back unless my son is finished with this nonsense for good.”

“He is,” Griffin was quick to assure her. “And you will be delighted to learn that he is engaged to Lady Gillian, the Duke of Chesley’s eldest daughter.” He added that last bit in hopes of distracting her from her anger.

Griffin watched Lady Danford intently, hoping to see her excitement at his announcement. He was equally confused and shocked as he watched her pull back her hand and throw the poor, mangled teacake at his chest. Her aim was slightly off, and it hit his shoulder with a thud, the sticky icing smearing all the way down the length of his jacket as it bounced downward and landed in an unceremonious heap in his lap. “What was that for?” he asked, as he reached for a linen napkin to use to attempt to clean himself of the crumbly cake.

Lady Danford shrugged, trying her hardest to keep a smile from breaking out across her face. “I just couldn’t resist,” she let out a little laugh. “Besides, you shouldn’t have told me about my son’s engagement,. You should have let him offer the announcement himself. Consider it your punishment for that and for all the distress you have caused me as of late.”

Griffin gave up on cleaning his jacket. Throwing the napkin down on the table and leaning back in his chair he said, “Punishment by teacake; a man could devise means to get away with a lot of shenanigans if he knew that were the worst punishment he would face.”

Lady Danford laughed, “Trust me, Lord Straton, that is not the worst punishment a woman can inflict, but I hope you learn to behave yourself so that you never have to find out how painful a woman’s wrath can truly be.”

“Worse than a ruined dress jacket?” he asked sardonically.

“Much, much worse.”

“Well then, I hope to never cross you, or any woman for that matter, ever again. For I’d hate to see what could be worse than flying teacakes and ruined clothing.”
Lady Danford laughed as she rose from the settee. “Now do please try to make yourself presentable while I go instruct my maid to pack my trunks. I need to return to London posthaste to congratulate that vexing son of mine and meet my future daughter-in-law, and I insist you take me there as soon as I am ready.”

“Only if you promise not to bring any teacakes a long,” he said with mirth and watched as she retreated from the room looking better than she had when he first arrived, though she made him no such promise.

Griffin went back to wiping away at his jacket. He was just relieved that the dowager countess was appeased by his explanation and could continue on in delightful oblivion. Now, hopefully, life could go back to the mundane monotony it had been before, prior to Benedict’s arrival back in England, though something told him that wasn’t to be the case.

“I’m not in the mood to go to the ball,” Gillian admitted sadly as she sat at her dressing table while Sarah twisted her hair into an elaborate style.

“I know that you are missing Lord Danford,” Aunt Miranda said as she came into the room and stood behind Gillian, “but sitting at home moping, as you have been doing these last two days, is not going to make him come home any sooner.”

Gillian sighed. “I know that, but I am not in the mood to dance with other gentlemen and pretend to be merry when I am not. Oh Aunt Miranda, where do you think he has gone?”

Her aunt laughed. “As I said before, I am not certain. I know no more than you yourself do. But he promised to return soon, so let’s be on our way and try to forget about his absence for one evening. Do you think you can manage?”

“Not likely,” Gillian said with a forlorn look on her face.

“No, I didn’t think so.”

Gillian’s emotions felt flat as she entered the crowded ballroom. She held no excitement at the prospect of dancing with men who were not Lord Danford. Not only was she wildly curious as to why he had left so swiftly and with barely any excuse at all, she missed him terribly and felt incomplete without him by her side.

Besides, in his absence she had come to the realization that she loved the earl and she could hardly contain her desire to let him know. She loved his confidence and his desire and passion for life. She would never forget the time he described his visit to the Pantheon to her, for it would forever be ingrained in her memory. She could tell then that he tried hard to conceal his adventurous spirit that was being tampered by his return to society. She desperately hoped that she could help him unleash that part of him once more for she longed to experience a lifetime of endless adventures with him.

Her mind seemed a million miles away as she danced a country dance with Lord Gregory, all the while thinking of her short but eventful courtship with the unconventional Lord Danford. The dance seemed to go on forever, but it finally ended and Lord Gregory began to escort her back to her aunt’s side. She searched for her Aunt Miranda in the crowd and rose a curious brow when she noticed her conversing with a dashing looking gentleman.

As they approached, both her Aunt Miranda and the gentleman turned and Gillian gasped. That dashing gentleman was none other than Lord Danford. Her mouth hung agape as her eyes perused his entire person. His hair had been trimmed and styled fashionably, while across his broad shoulders stretched a dark dress coat that fit him not only properly, but splendidly. His snowy white cravat was tied expertly in the mathematical, enhancing his strong, tanned jaw. Her eyes dipped to his finely cut waist coat made of brocade before taking in his tan breeches, which she was disappointed to note, were not indecently tight, though the fit was undeniably fashionable. His overall appearance was simple yet elegant; Beau Brummel himself would be proud.

When her eyes returned to his face, he smiled, took her hand in his and kissed it. Gillian’s heart almost stopped as she continued to stare at the most handsome man in London, and he was all hers. “I missed you terribly, my lady.”

When Gillian failed to reply, Aunt Miranda interjected, “I can attest to the fact that she missed you dreadfully as well. I think she is rendered speechless by you catching her unaware this evening. We weren’t certain when to expect your return.”

Lord Danford laughed as he tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow. “Are you certain it’s not my vastly improved appearance that has gotten her all tongue tied?”

“It could be that,” Aunt Miranda said with a smile of her own.

When Gillian finally found her voice, she managed to ask, “Where have you been?”

Lord Danford patted her hand. “I will explain everything shortly. Come, stroll with me.”

Gillian let him lead her around the outskirts of the room before exiting and leading her to the library. She looked at him questioningly as he locked the door behind them. “Lord Danford, I do not think this is wise.”

He stalked to her and looked at her with a hunger that mirrored her own. “Are you afraid I will seduce you?” he asked, his voice thick with desire.

“I’m not afraid,” she said boldly.
Lord Danford put his hand behind her neck, cupping her head in his palm as he pulled her face to his. Just before his lips met hers he whispered, “I promise not to seduce you, at least entirely, until we are wed.”

Gillian wanted to call him a liar as his lips molded over hers, igniting a heated passion within her. Her hands went under his dress coat and around his waist where she began tugging at his shirtsleeves in an attempt to pull them free from his breeches.

Lord Danford pulled back suddenly, taking a step away from her as he began to right his clothing. “Now, now you little vixen, that is not why I brought you here.”

Gillian’s cheeks heated at his words, for she had been so caught up in the moment she hadn’t fully realized what she had been doing. “I do not think it wise for us to be alone, my lord.”

Lord Danford grabbed her hand and led her to the sofa. “You are correct, and I assure you that this will be the last time that we are before our wedding, but what I have to tell you tonight needed to be said in private.”

It amazed Gillian how quickly her emotions changed from passion to curiosity. “What is it, my lord?” she asked as she searched his smoky eyes for a clue.

“Let me preface what I am about to say with an apology.”

“An apology? Whatever did you do to warrant an apology?”

His gaze was riveted on her face as he admitted softly, “I have lied to you, Gillian, and I am very sorry for that.”

Gillian was confused. “But what could you have possibly lied to me about?”

“That’s a heavy question. Allow me to start at the beginning. Do you remember the night of the dinner party at Lord and Lady Cantrell’s?”

“Of course.”

“Do you remember how Lady Cantrell talked about the pranks that Lord Straton, Lord Dawkins, Mr. Graham and I would pull in our youth?”

Gillian smiled, “Yes, I remember very well.”

“Well as you can surmise, we have a long history of pulling pranks on each other. Our childhood pranks soon evolved into bets that were nearly impossible to resist. We began betting each other to do outlandish things in the name of entertainment and whoever was issued a wager was forced to comply.”

“Or else what would happen?” Gillian asked with interest.

“You would be labeled a coward.”

“Heaven forbid!” She exclaimed mockingly as her hand went to her breast dramatically.

Lord Danford chuckled, “To arrogant youth, that is a fate worse than death, I can assure you. Not only was our honor at stake, on occasion we would also blackmail one another into compliance. Anyway, almost immediately after I returned to London, my friends issued a wager challenging me to woo any lady of their choosing to fall in love with me and agree to become my wife.”

A sinking suspicion formed in Gillian’s belly but she tampered it down, listening intently as he continued.

“There was however a twist, I would have to be disguised as an unfashionable half-wit as I attempted the feat.”

It took a moment for his admission to sink in, but when it did, Gillian was furious. “You are meaning to tell me that this entire time you have been merely disguising as a fool?” Her eyes roved once more over his new, expertly cut clothing.

“Yes,” he admitted truthfully, simply. “But I promise you that was the only thing I lied about, I never once lied about my feelings towards you, not once.”

Gillian reeled back in shock as his words hit her like a slap to the face. She didn’t know why she hadn’t realized it before. “I was the lady they chose for you to woo? Your interest in me was nothing more than a desire to win a challenge issued by your crackbrained friends!”

Lord Danford attempted to pull her into his arms but she broke free from his grasp. “Do not touch me.”

“Gillian, please let me finish. There is more.”

She looked at him, her lower lip trembling. “I’m not sure I can handle hearing the rest. I do not wish to hear how I have been the source of your entertainment for the last several weeks.”

Lord Danford tilted her chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him as he said earnestly, “Please, hear me out.” Gillian responded by sitting in silence, her eyes averted, though he kept his hand on her face, forcing it to remain up.

“First off, let me assure you that I would never have agreed to the bet had Lord Straton not leveraged something of far greater importance to me than my honor. He threatened to tell my mother about my father’s affair and the resulting bastard child if I did not comply. So you see, I only went along with the preposterous plan to save my mother from finding out the truth, a truth that would have left her devastated and would have forever tainted her memory of my father. I did not wish to defile her loving memories of her relationship with my father in such a way.”

Gillian wasn’t sure what to think. When the resulting silence threatened to drive her to madness, she finally blurted out the thought that was most prevalent in her mind, “Some friend Lord Straton is to threaten you with such a scandal. What a horrid man.”

“Yes, I thought so as well. But Griffin came to me when I found out the truth, and he promised me that he had never meant to tell my mother my father’s secret whether I lost the bet or not. He only threatened me that he would do it to get me to comply to the terms of the wager.”

“What do you mean, when you learned the truth?”

Benedict leaned back against the sofa, propping one foot on his thigh as his hands went behind his head. “Gillian, I never anticipated for things to get so complicated. That first night I met you, at the Trenton Ball, was the night my friends chose you as the intended target—I had to attempt to make you my bride. They thought it would be impossible for me to woo a diamond of the first water. I myself was just relieved that they had chosen a beautiful lady for me to court.”

“How very shallow of you,” she snapped.

“I know, for I should have known above anyone the value of character over appearances. But before you get all disappointed in me, you should realize that I was complimenting you. Gillian, the minute I laid my eyes on you I thought you the most beautiful woman in the world, and as I got to know who you were on the inside, I realized that your beauty was far more than just an outward thing. I fell in love with you not simply because you are breathtaking, but because of what’s here,” he placed one of his magnificent hands on her chest above her heart and her breath hitched.

“Gillian, I love you and that is why I do not want there to be any secrets between us. I was elated the night your father gave me his permission to wed you and could not wait to share the good news with you—”

“But then you disappeared,” she accused. “You never even came back inside to tell me that you had found Anthony or that we could be wed.”

Lord Danford searched her face and she could sense a trepidation in him that she hadn’t noticed before. “My love, I do not delight in what I have to tell you next, but it needs to be said. Before I tell you, however, I need you to give me your word that you will never reveal the information I share with you to another living soul. And once we have finished discussing it this night, you need to vow never to speak of it again. Do you understand?”