by Suzi Love
“How dare you speak of Lady Dorchester that way. She’s a lady of good breeding.”
“In my experience, good breeding doesn’t stop women being money grabbers or from exploiting men with their sexual charms. Quite the contrary.”
Max no longer cared if the man saw his fury. How dare the man threaten him? More and more, he saw Carina’s predictions coming true. He mightn’t be hen-pecked by his wife, but his in-laws could make life a living hell, for himself and for Alice, who wasn’t strong enough to stand up to them. For Alice’s sake, he needed to find neutral ground with these people as they’d be required to deal with them on a regular basis.
“How exactly do you see the Countess exploiting me?”
“Huh! She seduced you because she wishes to usurp Alice’s position and become your duchess instead.”
Max let out a guffaw of laughter. “I assure you that’s far from the truth. Lady Dorchester didn’t seduce me, nor does she wish for another marriage, to me or any other man. Though none of this is your concern, especially not who I choose to bed.”
“Damn you, Maximus. I’m making it my business. I’ll have your promise to stop consorting with the Countess, or I may withdraw from our arrangements. If my daughter cries off, she’ll be free of scandal and you’ll be blamed.”
“The difference is that I’m a wealthy and influential man. If your daughter withdraws, I can guarantee that before Christmas I’ll have chosen another chit from the endless line of debutantes eager to marry me. Can you say the same for Alice? Will she have gentlemen lining up to beg for her hand after she refuses a duke?”
“You’re despicable. You’d see Alice ruined?”
“Only if you leave me no choice. Now, I suggest you leave before I reconsider and break the betrothal myself. I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes when you inform your good lady that your daughter is back in the marriage mart. Humiliation will be hard to swallow, I’ll wager, for a woman as ambitious as your wife.”
Max pulled the bell pull and Benson instantly appeared, obviously having listened at the door. “His lordship is leaving.” After a moment’s thought he said, “And please have my horse brought around. I shall call on Lady Dorchester.”
Lord Johnston pointed his finger at Max. “You’ve not heard the last of this, not by a long way.”
Lord Johnston’s departure was hurried along by Benson, and Max poured himself another large glass of brandy. For a man of moderate habits, he’d begun drinking a lot recently. His preferred method of relaxation, taking Carina a dozen different ways at the cottage, was becoming harder and harder to arrange. He put his glass down, considered it for a moment, and then lifted it and defiantly drained the contents in one large gulp, despite there being no one present to witness his moment of rebellion.
He hiccoughed, shocking the footman holding open the front door, and then mounted up and set out for Woods House. At least, he hoped he was headed that way, but his head was a little woozy and he couldn’t concentrate. Probably the worst thing he could do was visit Carina, considering his conversation with Johnston, but none of his recent actions could be labelled wise.
When he reached Woods House, he slid from his horse, righted himself, and took a few minutes to reconsider his rash and brash actions. Throwing away his planned future with Alice for the sake of two weeks of snatched hours with Carina made no sense, despite being able to imagine how they’d spend those enjoyable hours. As usual, his body was hot and aching and his mind dwelt on their next meeting, when he’d impatiently strip the clothing from off her lush body and embed his shaft in her welcoming channel.
Blocking Johnston from his mind, he took the front steps two at a time and rapped loudly on the door. The moment the butler admitted him, he demanded that the Countess was called immediately. Carina heard the commotion in her hallway and popped her head out of the sitting room door, followed by her sisters and Gertie.
“Max, whatever is the matter?” Max lurched a little and she hurried forward to take his arm. “Are you ill? Come sit down.”
He leaned towards her and muttered, “I won’t tolerate it.”
Chapter Fourteen
Carina looked up at Max and breathed in alcoholic fumes. She pulled up short and he stumbled. “You’ve been drinking! Brandy, by the smell.”
The lofty Duke of Stirkton grinned at his audience with the mischievous air of an unapologetic schoolboy. Gertie, Georgie and Lucy gasped and then, in unison, smiled back at him. Carina stared at Max. He stood, grinning like an idiot, and listing from side to side like a ship in a storm, he couldn’t help herself. He looked so ridiculous, so unlike himself, and so damned adorable that she laughed.
Georgiana helped her steer him through the door, staring up at Max in adoration. Her sister’s severe case of puppy love would make their situation more complicated.
Sharper than she intended, Carina said, “Leave him, Georgie. I’ll attend to the Duke, who is clearly in his cups.”
Much to Carina’s surprise, Georgie didn’t budge. “I’m quite used to dealing with men who are under the weather.” Georgie smiled at Max. “And even half-shot, the Duke would never raise his fist at a woman.”
Georgie put her shoulder under Max’s arm and steered him to the settee, with Carina helping her in awe-struck silence. Lucy and Gertie watched with open-mouthed amazement and jumped when Georgie issued orders in a tone that brooked no arguments. “Ring for tea, Lucy, strong tea. Carina, stop fussing over the poor man and allow him breathing room.”
Carina stepped back. She had indeed been hovering, checking Max’s color and breathing. She flushed. Hovering indicated a deep caring, and though she didn’t love Max, she really didn’t, this implacable man would only have drunk to excess after a major catastrophe. And that calamity must concern them or he wouldn’t be here, staggering drunk and acting so strangely.
Lucy returned and stood side by side with Georgie, both watching his eyes close and flutter open several times, as if losing the battle against unseen weights pressing his lids down. Long dark lashes stood out against his skin, especially now he his face was a grayish green.
“He looks like an angel,” Lucy said, giving a long sigh.
Carina rolled her eyes. “Not you too? What’s wrong with all of you?” She glared at Gertie who was also smiling down at the sleeping duke. “Perhaps a fallen angel, considering how devilishly he acts.”
Gertie glance from Carina to Max. “Ah, but he’s your devil, Carina, because it’s you he sped to in his hour of need.”
“Rubbish. The Duke needs no one bar himself.”
Georgie shook her head. “He suffers greatly, the same as me. Maximus needs someone who can soothe his troubled soul and apparently that’s you, Carina, whether you like it or not.”
“Well, I don’t like it. We have an agreement, a business arrangement.”
“Not merely business,” Lucy said, “or you wouldn’t be so secretive.” She looked at Georgie and Gertie. “We’ve discussed you and Max.”
“You’ve discussed us?” She looked at Gertie. “Why?”
Gertie answered for them. “Because your feelings go deeper than you’re admitting, and your connection is stronger than you expected.”
Georgie nodded. “Your arrangement with Max has something to do with us, we know that, and something to do with Peter. And while we appreciate your sacrifice─”
“It’s not a sacrifice,” Carina said. “I want you to marry men who treat women honorably, and who’ll recognize that you’re both very special women.” She looked down at Max snoring softly on the settee. “I’ve been very happy with our arrangement. And when I know you’re both safe and settled, Gertie and I will begin our travels.”
All four women looked at man sprawled on their couch, as if he had every right to take over their room. Carina smiled because he did look angelic.
Gertie took Carina’s hand. “Will you be happy leaving behind those you love?” She motioned at the oblivious Duke. “Not just the girls.”
Gertie surreptitiously shook her head, so Carina knew she’d said nothing about the arrangement between herself and Max. Only Gertie knew the truth about Carina’s marriage and the three sales of her virginity, and her sisters didn’t need to know that plans for the fourth sale were only aborted due to the Earl’s demise.
“I...I’m not sure what you mean, “Carina stuttered.
Lucy groaned. “We’re not naïve, Carina. We recognize a man who desires a woman and, on that score, Max is easily read. He wants you so badly that perhaps he’ll break his engagement and marry you instead. That would solve our problems.”
“What problems?” Carina felt a trifle nonplussed at her sisters’ observations and couldn’t help but wonder if others had also noticed. Because, if so, they were in deep trouble.
Georgie stared at her as if she was slow-witted. “If you married Max, Lucy and I can live with you permanently, or at least until Lucy finds a suitable husband. We can’t let Peter marry her off at too young an age, as he did to us. Like you, Carina, I’ve no wish to marry again, but Peter will insist upon it, and very soon.”
Carina was touched and yet saddened. “Georgie, not all men are evil.”
Georgie looked at Max and smiled. “He’d be kind to you.”
Carina rubbed a hand across her aching head. “What you’re suggesting is impossible. Have you forgotten that he’s already betrothed, and to a lady who is our friend?” She looked at their smiling faces. “The Duke harbors deep feelings for Alice."
“No, I don’t!” They jumped at the loud masculine voice. They’d almost forgotten that the man under discussion was right in front of them.
He pulled himself into a sitting position and grabbed his head with both hands.
“Damnation,” he said with a growl. “My head feels as if it’s going to explode. What on earth happened?”
Carina glared at the other, until Gertie took the hint and shooed her sisters out of the room. Alone with Max, Carina walked to the tray of china and spoons, and took her time pouring a cup of strong tea. His hands shook as he accepted the cup and saucer from her, so she kept her hands in place over his until he had a tighter grip.
“Drink your tea. Cook added some of her special brew to stop your headache. What in heaven’s name were you thinking? You rode here drunk. It’s a miracle you didn’t fall off in the street and get run over by a wagon or a carriage.”
Max sipped his tea and grimaced, but she didn’t care that it tasted foul. Swallowing it would be his penance for acting so rashly and endangering his life.
“My apologies to all of you.” Max glanced at the door, which had correctly been left slightly ajar by Gertie.
Carina groaned, before marching to the door and pulling it wide so that the three women, pressed to the other side, almost tumbled to the floor. “Could you please give us a little privacy?” Three heads nodded before Carina shut the door and turned the key.
“I apologize, Carina. I rarely have more than a glass or two and I’ve never been foxed in the middle of the day. Nevertheless, you’re wrong.”
“About what?”
“About Lady Johnston. Alice. There are no deep feelings of any sort of romantic nonsense between us, and you know that. We’ve all grown up with arranged marriages and we know they’re not conceived in the heat of passion, but by intelligent men who have the best interests of both parties at heart.”
“Huh! Your grandfather had no heart and he didn’t care about Alice’s best interests. Or yours, for that matter.”
“Aside from all that, I took umbrage at Johnston’s audacity. He dared lecture me, in my own home, about when, where and with whom I may spend my time.”
Carina gasped. “Johnston was talking about me? Us?”
“He knows nothing specific, though he’s had me followed to the cottage.” He snorted. “He’ll allow me to keep a mistress later on, but for now I must dance attendance upon Alice.”
“Oh, good Lord. I knew no good would come of our arrangement. If word spreads that you and I are...” She waved a hand.
“Carrying on a liaison? Don’t fret because I set him straight. I told Johnston to stay out of my affairs. I’ll see whomever I please, and neither he nor his demanding wife has any say in my life.”
“What have you done? I’ll be ruined again, and when I was making progress with my sisters. You must pacify Johnston and tell him whatever he needs to hear.”
“You’re not listening. I’ll treat my fiancée as I have been, with care and respect. But I’ve made it clear to Alice what I want in a wife. Someone to organize my households and to raise our children.”
“What of love?”
“I’m surprised that you, of all people, believe in love. I heard you tell your sisters─“
“You were awake?”
“I heard you deny there’s anything between us, but you’re wrong.”
Max stood quickly, ignoring the shooting pain in his head and took Carina by the arms, upsetting her balance so she tumbled against him. His lips came down on hers, hard and possessive. He took and took until she linked her hands behind his head.
She groaned against his lips, “Why is this happening? Why do I lose control with you?”
“I don’t know why, only that I feel the same when I’m with you.” He kissed her again and again, until she sagged at the knees, but even then he didn’t let her go. “You’re mine until I say we’re finished and I don’t care what Johnston says.”
Carina pulled away. “But he will be your father- in-law. It’s too dangerous to meet anymore, except in public.”
“Forget Johnston, and Alice. Come to Brent Street tonight.”
“I can’t. Alice will be humiliated if she learns about your cottage, especially if she discovers that I’m going there with you.”
“Alice will be glad of my arrangements after she has born my child. For a titled lady, sex is messy and unwelcome.”
Her hand connected with his face—whack—and he rubbed at the spot.
“So what does that make me, Max? I’ve enjoyed having sex with you for two weeks. Does that make me ill bred?” He frowned, searching for the right response. “Deep down,” she said, “you consider me no better than your other whores.”
He flinched. “I told Johnston never to call you that again, or I’d call him out, and I won’t let you refer to yourself that way either.”
“Why not? I became your whore at seventeen, and I’ll end that way. Isn’t that what you wanted; that you’d be my first and last lover.”
“That changed.”
“Nothing has changed. I’m a woman bought and sold to men, by men. But you’re wrong about one thing. You’ll not be my last lover. I’ve acquired a taste for sex and I’ll not give it up. So when you’re on top of Alice, I’ll be under another man and putting into practice all you’ve taught me.”
“What do you want me to say? Yes, I loathe the thought of another man touching you. So much so that when you meet me tonight I’ll prove it to you.”
“No. I’m canceling our agreement regarding my sisters and, in turn, I’m free from my obligations to you.”
“You need me to find those men.”
“I’ll find them by myself. Good day, Your Grace.”
“I’m not giving up so easily. Alice and I will call for you this evening for the Longstaff ball as arranged, and for Alice’s sake, we’ll treat each other pleasantly.”
“I’ve no desire to upset Alice, but be warned. Even my sisters have noticed our attraction, so we must be careful. No touching, not even my hand.”
Max wasn’t happy but he finally agreed. However, as they walked towards the door he made her a vow that both thrilled and terrified her.
“I will have you again, Carina. Do not doubt that you will be mine.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dancers whir
led past Carina where she’d hidden in the shadows of the potted palms in yet another ballroom. Georgie looked serene in the arms of a distinguished looking gentleman, a compatriot of the Duke’s that he’d introduced to them the previous evening.
Their week had been crammed with so many social occasions, Carina’s head was spinning. She was exhausted from keeping track of her sisters and their suitors, being nice to Alice, and yet avoiding Max. She rubbed at her head to ease the constant nag of a headache but, as she had reassured Gertie, the season was winding down and soon they could retire to the country, or accept invitations to house parties.
Max had kept his vow and not touched her, even for a waltz. Yet his gaze followed her everywhere, and far too often, to go unremarked. Each time she danced, waves of anger were directed at her and her partner, and if she ventured outside onto a terrace, he’d appear within minutes. Though he kept his distance, he watched her like a hawk until her nerves frayed, she couldn’t sleep and acquaintances commented on her pallor and lack of focus. She yearned for the privacy of her bed where she could shed another bout of lonely tears.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she jumped when she heard her name.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Alice whispered. “But I don’t know what to do. Please, I need your help.”
“Alice, your family and your fiancée will be looking for you. Perhaps you should return to your mother.”
“I don’t want to be near my mother. She smothers me.”
Carina sympathized, because few people would be strong enough to defy Alice’s mother. She sighed. “How can I be of help?” Though they weren’t far apart in ages, Carina felt old compared to Alice’s virtuousness.
“I need some advice from someone who knows the Duke and understands.”
“What do I understand?”
“You know, how large and frightening he can be.”
Carina looked at Alice’s fraught expression. The girl’s demeanor changed from subservient to quivering in Max’s presence, but Carina had been too preoccupied with her own problems to pay much attention. Which was inexcusable, considering that Alice had been a good friend to her sisters. For that reason alone, the unfortunate girl deserved her full attention. Though, in truth, having a torrid affair with Alice’s betrothed meant Carina owed her more, much more.
