by Diana Quincy
She grumbled in frustration. “I’ve always hated corsets.”
He smiled against her breasts. “It would take more than a bit of fabric to deter me.”
She caught her breath when he eased one breast out of the confines of her corset. He stopped and looked for a moment at the exquisite mound with its eager pink tip. “If I live one hundred years, I don’t believe I shall ever see anything so fine.”
He lowered his head to her breast, pressing worshipful kisses along the tender flesh, flicking teasing licks at its point. He lost himself in the taste of her womanly flesh, her breathy cries of arousal, and the heady scent of lavender.
A sudden awareness hit him. He stilled and straightened, the hairs on the back of his neck tingled. “Someone’s coming.”
Leaning against his strength, she listened for it too; the sounds of an approaching riding party, theirs in all likelihood. “We’re sheltered by the trees,” she whispered. “Perhaps they’ll ride by us.”
“No,” he said briskly, stooping to grab her discarded jacket. “They’ll see the horses. They probably already have and that’s what brought them here.”
“Laurie.” Panic crossed her flushed face. “He can’t see me like this.”
He stifled the urge to curse at the mention of her betrothed’s name. Instead, he helped her don the fitted jacket.
“Damnation,” she cried in frustration struggling with the jacket. “Why are these things so tight?”
He managed to get it on her. As she struggled to fasten it, he looked for the cravat. Spotting it nearby, he picked it up, shaking out the grass and leaves.
Feminine laughter trickled through the trees, followed by Miss Campbell’s voice. “Perhaps they’re hiding from us.” She came into view, but did not see them at first because she was looking behind her, calling back to whoever accompanied her. Then her foot stumbled over uneven ground, causing her to face forward to regain her step. She almost bumped into Rand before catching sight of him.
“Oh, there you are Lord Randolph,” she said with a beguiling smile.
Kitty must have moved because Miss Campbell looked in her direction. “Hello Kat,” she said breezily. But then she froze, the color bleeding out of her face, her eyes riveted on Kitty’s torn neckline. “What happened to you?” she whispered.
Clutching her torn blouse closed at her neck, Kitty stared back at Lexie, speechless, her lips apart. Pink stained her cheeks, her breathing coming hard.
Miss Campbell’s gaze darted between them, narrowing in on the mangled cravat lying useless in Rand’s hand. “You beast.” Horror washed across her features. “You attacked her.”
It took him a moment to process her words, to understand that she accused him of the most dishonorable offense possible. He saw immediately that Miss Campbell had also handed him a way to save Kitty from complete ruin, and so he seized it. “Yes. I have no excuse for my behavior.”
Miss Campbell’s eyes widened in shocked disbelief. “You cad,” she hissed at him. “Laurie will call you out.” She turned to call out to her companions.
Kitty came to life, leaping toward Miss Campbell and grabbing her arm to keep her from alerting the others. “No, Lexie, hush!”
“Everything will be well, dear.” She patted Kitty’s arm. “I’m going to summon Laurie.”
“No,” Kitty gasped, her eyes wild with panic. “You mustn’t.”
“No one will blame you, Kat. Least of all Laurie. Surely you know that.” She spoke in a soothing tone which boosted Rand’s estimation of the lady. Then her tone hardened. “But Lord Randolph is no gentleman. Laurie must be allowed to deal with him accordingly.”
Kitty’s fingers whitened as they clawed Miss Campbell’s arm. “No, Lexie. You don’t understand—”
“On the contrary, she understands all too well,” Rand broke in, desperate to keep her from saying anything that would further damage her reputation. “I am completely at fault.”
“You, sir, are no gentleman.” Miss Campbell shot him a poisonous look. “Laurie will see to it that you are never accepted in polite company after this.”
“Lexie, listen to me.” Kitty’s urgent grip tightened on Miss Campbell’s arm.
“Kat—” Rand said in warning tones.
She ignored him. “Rand didn’t do anything that I didn’t want.” She gave Miss Campbell a direct, determined look. “Do you understand what I am telling you?”
For a moment Miss Campbell stood there staring. “No, it cannot be,” she finally said.
“I welcomed Lord Randolph’s attentions,” Kitty said in a firm voice. “You cannot sully his name over this.”
She shook her head in patent disbelief. “But you are betrothed to Laurie.”
Kitty held her gaze. “I would not lie about something such as this.”
The confused look on Miss Campbell’s face twisted into overt disgust. “Why would you do it?” She shrugged Kitty’s hand off her arm in a violent motion. “Was one man not enough for the Great Incomparable? Must you have all of the Season’s most eligible bachelors paying you court?”
Kitty paled, swallowing hard. “I have no excuse.”
Fire blazed in Miss Campbell’s eyes. “I’ll tell everyone. You’ll be ruined.” She turned to go. “We’ll see if Laurie still wants you after this.”
Rand stepped in front of her. “Perhaps you’d like to reconsider.”
“Get out of my way.”
“Think, Miss Campbell,” he urged. “Are you certain Sinclair will cast her aside? If he does not, where will that leave you?”
The girl’s voice trembled with anger. “I will not allow the two of you to cuckold Laurie.” She glared at Kitty. “Everyone knows he is marrying her for love.”
Kitty appeared stricken. “Yes,” she whispered. “I do believe he is.”
“And you would dishonor him,” she said in a scathing tone.
Rand cleared his throat. “Miss Campbell, you mistake this situation.”
She looked pointedly at the cravat in his hand. “Do I?”
“You do. It is not well-known, but Lady Katherine and I enjoyed a brief flirtation before I purchased my commission.” He moved toward Kitty and casually handed her the cravat. She took it, her eyes never wavering from his face. “When I returned after years abroad, I still thought to make her my countess.”
Miss Campbell stared at him. “You intend to marry Kat?”
He dipped his chin in acknowledgement. “As an earl, I will naturally require a hostess.”
Miss Campbell shot a look at Kitty, who stood watching with a slightly dazed look on her face. “You are going to cry off with Laurie to marry the earl?”
Rand answered before Kitty could. “We gave in to our mutual curiosity today and immediately realized what occurred between us years ago was a youthful infatuation that is best left in the past.”
“I don’t take your meaning.” Miss Campbell shifted an uncertain looked between the two of them. “You don’t want Kat? Every gentleman is smitten with her.”
Excellent. He had her wavering now. “Not I. At least not in that way.” His gut churned as he forced out the lie. “We’ve found that our feelings for each other are no longer engaged.”
Miss Campbell tilted her head in thought. “So she is not going to marry you.”
“Lady Katherine and I realize the regard we share is friendship rather than any deeper affection.”
“So you don’t want her,” she repeated slowly, her incredulity plain.
Rand’s stomach curled at the thought of giving this insipid girl false hope, but he would do anything to secure Kitty’s future happiness. “Correct. I must look elsewhere for my countess.”
She took the bait. If the sudden interest that flashed in her eyes was any indication. “And Kat is still going to marry Laurie.”
“Most assuredly,” he answered.
Rand could see Miss Campbell’s mind working and realized he had underestimated her. She was no fool; the tittering miss routine was perhaps the person
a she assumed because she thought it would land her a husband. Yet her hidden canniness just might end up securing her an earl. Once she thought on it, Miss Campbell would comprehend that revealing his and Kitty’s indiscretion would force a marriage between them, obliterating her own chance of becoming his countess.
He offered her his arm. “Now, shall we forget this unfortunate incident and rejoin the others?”
Miss Campbell took his arm with a pleased smile. “Of course.” She glanced back at Kitty. “I suppose no real harm was done.”
If only that were true. As he escorted Miss Campbell into the clearing, her hand tightened on his arm, and he had the sinking feeling he’d just fallen into an iron trap of his own making.
Chapter Ten
Fury rendered Kat speechless. Seeing Rand flirt with Lexie for the remainder of that day and then again two evenings later at Lady Clover’s musicale left her so heated she was liable to self-combust at any moment.
Instead she seethed, pretending to be engrossed in the music, even though she neither saw nor heard the performance. She was too busy casting surreptitious glances at Rand and Lexie, trying to keep her internal scowl from usurping the serene mask plastered on her face.
It wasn’t the most overt of flirtations, but Rand definitely made his interest clear; his hand at Lexie’s elbow, the way he inclined his head toward her with sincere interest whenever she uttered a word. As though Lexie ever had anything interesting to say. Lexie preened under the earl’s attentiveness in a manner that twisted Kat’s innards into painful knots.
Rand clearly preferred to countenance marriage to plain Lexie Campbell than to be forced into a scandalous match with her. Humph. So much for being the ton’s incomparable. It certainly didn’t land her anything she desired. Especially not Rand. He could barely stand to look at her since their indiscretion at the riding party.
Then there was Laurie’s puzzling behavior of late. He remained as present as always, escorting her everywhere, but his attentiveness seemed forced now, his manner more brittle beneath the genial facade. In the past, she’d longed for relief from the intensity of his unwavering regard, but now his distracted manner unnerved her. She missed the good-natured, dependable warmth she’d come to count on from him.
“Cozy little duo, wouldn’t you say?” She started at Toby’s voice. She’d been so lost in her own ruminations that she hadn’t heard her cousin slide into Bea’s empty seat next to her. “Where is Sinclair? And what happened to my sister? It appears everyone has abandoned ship.”
“Shhh.” Kat kept her eyes on the performance. “Laurie begged off. Bea pleaded a headache and excused herself,” she murmured, trying not to move her lips.
“This performance is headache inducing,” Toby whispered.
Suppressing a smile, Kat elbowed him. “People are looking at us.”
“Doubtful.” He pretended to give the performance his full attention. “They’re far more interested in Rand and Miss Campbell. One could suspect he’s courting the lady.”
A sick feeling stirred in her belly. “Perhaps he is.”
“She’s a departure from his usual type. He’s not the sort to attach to any one gel for long.”
His usual type. So he had a usual type. While she’d pined away for him for years, he’d been racing across the Continent planning battles and littering his path with discarded lovers. Polite applause erupted around her as the music came to an end. She clapped like an automaton and rose with Toby.
“Be a dear and do escort me to the carriage.” She was impatient to depart lest she witness more of Rand’s fawning over Lexie. There was only so much she could take.
Toby accompanied her outside. “I understand you visited the soldiers home again. Better be careful, cousin.” He handed her up into the carriage. “You wouldn’t want people to suspect the ton’s reigning princess cares for anything other than frocks and baubles.”
“Am I really so frivolous?”
“Far from it.” He leaned into the carriage with a conspiratorial expression on his face. “Even as you took the ton by storm, you never seemed to truly enjoy your popularity. I’ve always seen past your facade, Kat. Although, I confess I’ve never understood the need for it.” He stepped back and closed the door, leaving Kat alone in the dark. “Farewell. I am away for a month or so.”
“What?” She leaned her head out the window as the carriage began to pull away. “Where are you going?”
“Away. But you must give me your word not to tell anyone,” he called after the moving carriage. “Rand will know where I am should an emergency arise.”
…
Rand forced a thin smile and asked Miss Campbell to take a turn with him. She acquiesced with a triumphant flush of color in her face. Curious eyes followed their progress as he escorted her about the room.
“I trust you are well,” he said.
“Supremely well,” she answered quite matter-of-factly. “It was well done of you to ask me to take a turn. Tongues will certainly wag this evening.”
This new version of Miss Campbell certainly didn’t dissemble. “I’m gratified if my attentions have assisted in increasing your popularity.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “The attentions of an earl will do that, even if the maiden is a chatterbox who is plain of face.”
For the first time he paid attention to Miss Campbell’s looks. It had been hard for him to see any woman other than Kat. It was true that she was not particularly pretty, but neither was she unattractive. Her features were pleasant enough and her complexion a creamy white. And there was life in those deceptively plain brown eyes. “Hardly that.”
“Come now, my lord,” she said. “I know you are putting up a pretense of a flirtation with me to save Kat’s reputation.”
The woman continued to surprise him. “Why play the mindless chatterbox, Miss Campbell, when you are nothing of the sort?”
“According to my mother, it is what gentlemen expect of a wife.”
Her mother was an idiot. “I much prefer this version of you.”
Her straightforward gaze caught his. “Enough to make me your countess?”
He suppressed the urge to laugh at her gumption, yet he admired her for it. “I fear you would be much disappointed. I’m not the sort to give my heart to anyone.”
“That suits me. I am not interested in your heart, just your title.”
He smiled, surprised to find himself intrigued by the conversation. “I see.”
“And if you wish to keep your Amazon that is nothing to me.”
“I confess, Miss Campbell, that you have shocked me.”
“I would make you a good countess,” she said. “I have always enjoyed excellent health. My mother bore six children, four of them sons.”
“You do seem eminently qualified for the role,” he said mildly, noting the calculating gleam in her eye.
“I’ve been trained to run a large household, to manage servants and the accounts. I shan’t let anyone cheat you.”
At least the old mausoleum would never be quiet with Miss Campbell ordering servants about while playing at being his countess. Good God, was he actually considering it? “I see I have much to think on.” He paused. “And if I were to decline your generous offer?”
For once she seemed at a loss for words. “I haven’t decided.” The expression on her face hardened. “But I am weary of Kat reigning over all of us as though she were the Queen of England.”
“I took the two of you for friends.”
“We both know she isn’t perfect and I think maybe Laurie should know it as well, before he binds himself to an inconstant woman for life.”
“You would take pleasure in hurting Kat.”
“Someone needs to knock her down a peg or two. We came out during the same Season and she’s ruled all of this time. It is tiresome to see how all of the gentlemen flock to her.”
Miss Campbell’s jealousy was certainly understandable. She was a colorless shadow next to Kitty’s vital beau
ty. If marrying her would ensure Kat’s future happiness, he would gladly do it. He and Miss Campbell might actually deserve each other. After a few more minutes, Rand escaped Miss Campbell by heading to the cards room, where he found his brothers, except for Will, assembled at a table.
“Why if it isn’t the estimable Earl of Randolph,” said Basil, the youngest of the five brothers. “I’m surprised you’ve time for a round of cards.”
Rand took a seat between Cam and Sebastian. “And why is that?”
“I’d have thought you’d be far too engaged entertaining Miss Campbell,” Basil said with a smirk as he dealt the cards.
Cam sipped his drink. “I confess it surprises me to see you paying court in that direction.”
“It should not surprise you in the least.” Rand reached for a cheroot, already beginning to regret joining the game.
Blue eyes twinkling, Basil leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You do realize that as an earl and a war hero, you could aim much higher than Miss Campbell? Hell, I’m a youngest son in possession of neither a title nor a fortune, and I could do better.”
“Perhaps your real attentions are focused elsewhere.” Sebastian’s unwavering dark gaze accentuated his dusky good looks. “If so, you should not delay.”
“I should not waste time?” Rand lit his cheroot and took a long inhale. “This advice from the man who left his bride untouched for the better part of seven years.”
“She was a child bride and ours was an arranged match,” Sebastian said.
Basil grinned. “And once she was of age she traveled across the Continent to escape you.”
Sebastian played a card. “But I ultimately succeeded in tempting Bella to my bed.” His probing gaze returned to Rand. “You should not waste time pursuing the woman you desire.”
Basil reached for his drink. “Sebastian has the right of it. With your title, you could lure the toast of the ton.” His expression turned contemplative. “As a matter of fact, I do seem to recall you carrying a torch for Nugent’s daughter, and she is the reigning incomparable.”
Rand didn’t look up from his cards. “She is also very much betrothed.”
