Not as he did it with me. “It happened very quickly, but I wasn’t against it.”
Miss Crich smiled wistfully. “Sometimes I think I’ll never marry. Now the best prospect is off the market, I don’t fancy any of them any more.”
Richard moved around to the front of the sofa. “Somehow, Miss Crich, I don’t think you’re destined for old maidenhood. You’ll make some man’s life a delight and a misery and I’ll dance at your wedding.”
He held out his hand to me. I saw the warm look and felt the light pressure of his fingers. “Some people wish to meet you, my love.” I stood to join him, hardly noticing the brief silence as his use of the endearment sank in with the people within earshot. “I told you our privacy wouldn’t last long. Now the contessa knows our direction, the world will be at our door.”
“I thought you were at the Palazzo Barbarossa!” said the dark girl.
“Then you thought wrong,” he said. “They’re impostors. We’ll let them play their game, but they’ll be gone shortly. Don’t you think that’s rather an ostentatious place for my taste?”
“I wondered why no one could get in to see you,” said Miss Crich. “Are you going to punish them?”
His eyes gleamed. “A little. But I promised Rose I wouldn’t be too severe. She has a kind heart.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the tips of my fingers before he led me away. I didn’t look back.
He introduced me to several other people on the other side of the room who made kind comments and congratulated us, some in English, some in Italian, which, because of my music studies, I could understand tolerably well. I felt much happier here than I did at the Palazzo Barbarossa. I was beautifully gowned and surprised to find the confidence it gave to me. I had the full attention of the most desirable man in the room and people seemed genuinely pleased to see us, although I was not foolish enough to take them all at face value. Some stared after us as we left them, some smiled reminiscently and some must have forgotten us as soon as we left them.
Having done our duty, we returned to the younger set, where they still sat and gossiped. Richard found a chair for me before he went to find a drink for us. Freddy came and sat down by me. “Sensation.” he murmured. “This society is starved of it—they were looking for something like this.”
I spread my fan to hide our quiet conversation. “That we’ve come out of seclusion?”
He laughed. “That’s one thing. Your impostors are another—everybody wants to see them. I predict a very successful opening if they decide to open their house. But the way he looks at you, attends to you, nobody’s seen him like that before.”
I lowered my fan. “Gervase said something like that, but, you see, I’ve never known him any different. I wish I’d seen him before, so I could tell.”
“He was known as the Iceberg,” said Freddy, “and he encouraged it, because it brought them to him. Trying to thaw him out, you see.” I smiled, seeing very well. “Now they don’t know what to say.”
“Good.” Richard crossed the room to us. He stopped to talk to people who spoke to him but unerringly headed in our direction. He was completely in control here, in his world, his movements understated and graceful, his confidence ingrained in him.
“How did you get on tonight?” Freddy asked, as Richard came closer.
“We won,” I said, accepting the glass of wine my husband brought me with a smile. “Have you been practising?”
“All day,” said Freddy proudly.
“All day?” I returned archly. “You’re neglecting your friend.”
He pretended shock. “My lady!” But only succeeded in making me laugh.
Unfortunately Miss Crich, still seated in state on her sofa, overheard my last remark. “You’re here with somebody else, Freddy? Why didn’t you bring him?”
Richard looked at her, one eyebrow arched. “Her.”
Miss Crich flushed. “Oh.” She glanced at me. “But Lady Strang is allowed to know. I don’t think it’s fair. Married ladies know so much more than we spinsters, they have so much more freedom.” She pouted prettily.
“You should find a husband, Miss Crich,” Richard told her, smiling. “Then you would know all the secrets, too.”
“Does marriage suit you, Lady Strang? Is it better than the single state?”
“Vastly.” Without thinking I reached up my hand to him and by the time I realised what I had done and begun to withdraw it, he had taken it and softly kissed the palm. I hadn’t meant to draw him into intimacy in public. Miss Crich flushed and spread her fan. I was sorry I embarrassed her so I went to sit in the space next to her. “I wish you would show me how to do that,” I said, referring to the elegant gesture she had just made with her fan. “It looks very fine.”
She eyed me doubtfully but she did it again so I could copy her. I soon coaxed her out of her embarrassment, not least by showing her, as privately as I could, the gesture Richard had taught Miss Terry at Exeter Assembly Rooms. She gasped as I turned my back on the company and showed her. Freddy saw the gesture from where he stood talking to Richard and grinned. He had been there and witnessed the sensation a well brought up lady had caused, by asking him to go to bed with her in the full glare of the public eye.
It seemed the gesture was very well known. “It’s the one you’re always taught not to do,” Miss Crich explained. “When your older sister or your governess or whoever teaches you, that’s the one you’re taught to avoid. There are others, of course, but they’re more private. And she didn’t know?” She laughed and leaned closer. “You suit him. You make a striking couple, so you should be prepared to be stared at for some time to come.”
The orchestra had taken a break, but when they began to tune up again, the floor cleared and the country-dances began. Now the company had enjoyed some supper and liquid refreshment, they were ready for something more boisterous than the formal minuet. I was led out to every dance, first Richard, then Freddy, then one of the older gentlemen I had been introduced to earlier, then another younger man until I saw Richard sitting out this dance, watching me. I excused myself at the end and went over to him.
“What?” I demanded, without preamble.
He stood and gave me his seat. “Where’s the lady who sat out every dance at the local assemblies? I said you would do well, didn’t I? And you need no help from me.”
He handed me his glass and I drank from it gratefully. “I wouldn’t be here without you.”
“True enough. But you’re liked and admired for your own sake, not for mine.”
Then, to my great surprise, the orchestra struck up for a minuet. Richard smiled and held his hand out to me. “The contessa is a romantic lady. You know the married couple is supposed to dance a minuet on their own on their wedding day? Well she has asked that we do it here. I promise I won’t talk to you. I’ll let you mind your steps.”
I was trembling as he led me out, but I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself before we began. I got through it. I remembered the poses Freddy had struck when he had danced with Richard. I imitated some of them and remembered to hold my head correctly and not look at my feet.
We danced alone and I was glad most of the company was at least mellowed by drink, as they seemed indulgent enough. There was hearty applause at the end.
As Richard led me back to my place, I saw the contessa brush away a tear, but then she was Italian and the Italians were said to be a sentimental race.
She came over to us. “You were perfect.”
Richard bowed and I inclined my head in thanks. “You have made my evening a great success,” she went on. “I shall write to your mother tomorrow, Richard, and say so.”
“You’re too kind.” I spread my fan to cover my blushes.
“Well done.” Richard murmured, so only I could hear and then people swamped us with their congratulations.
Freddy came and claimed me for the next country-dance, but as we walked on to the floor, he asked me if I wouldn’t rather go and find a drink with hi
m. I found I would far rather do that.
He watched me seriously, a thing I found he rarely did, as he handed me a glass. “You know what he’s done, don’t you?”
“I can guess some of it. He’s not hiding anything, is he?”
Freddy smiled. “More than that.” Gently he twirled his glass around in his fingers. “He’s nailed his colours to the mast. Quite deliberately. When he danced with you he let them all see how much he cares for you. Oh, not by mooning or staring at you like a lovesick swain, nothing like that. Just by the perfect care he took to show you off to your advantage, not to his, by his tenderness to you and by the lack of any flirting.”
To my shame, I hadn’t realised just how much Richard had done by demonstrating that our marriage wasn’t the convenient arrangement his mother wanted the world to think. “So I have to make sure he is never let down, never made foolish. I can do that. I care too, you know.”
His dark eyes were bright. “That, my dear, is obvious to anyone who can see. But you don’t sigh over him any more than he does over you, so it’s hard to say how.”
“Perhaps we really were made for each other. But don’t forget, Freddy, we’re on our bride-trip and we’re allowed a little leeway until we get used to each other. It may not always be like this.”
He sighed. “I suppose so. You remind me of all the women I’ve passed by and all the ones I’ve missed.”
I laughed. “Freddy, you’re getting maudlin. You have a perfectly good mistress waiting for you and you might think of home soon. Take me back if you please.”
He smiled and offered his arm. He took me to where we had sat before. Richard was dancing with the dark-haired girl, but they soon joined us once more. “I think our work here is done,” he commented, smiling.
“Freddy is getting maudlin,” I told him. “I’ve sent him home.”
“To his nice warm bed?”
“To his nice warm mistress.”
“Freddy always goes through the weeping stage when he drinks enough.” We watched the dancers and the company. I tried to remember some of the people, some of the clothes and Richard was content to stand by my side, lost in his own thoughts. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long and I was borne off once more, but when I returned, I asked him if it was time to go.
“I think we might take our leave.” We went to find our hostess.
Chapter Fourteen
FOR THE FIRST TIME since my arrival in Venice we went to bed and didn’t make love. I was so tired that when I climbed into bed, I fell asleep almost immediately.
When I woke in the morning and turned over, I found the place next to me empty. A moment’s panic followed before I realised the indentation on the pillow and the rumpled sheets indicated he’d been there. I lay back, smiling and marvelling that I could feel so lost without my bedfellow of barely a week.
Richard returned from the dressing room and, throwing his robe over a chair, came back to bed and took me in his arms, wishing me good morning.
I returned his kiss. “Good morning. Will you always want to share a bed with me?”
He frowned and drew back, looking down at me. “Why? Would you rather have a room and a bed of your own?”
“No, no, no! If it was my decision, I’d burn every other bed, so you had no choice but to spend every night with me.” He smiled delightfully and kissed me again for that. “But when I woke up and you weren’t there I felt bereft. I fell asleep last night before you came to bed.”
“I know,” he said ruefully. “You look adorable when you’re asleep, I couldn’t have woken you.”
I sighed happily. “You see, if I knew you were coming to my bed every night, I would be so happy.”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
I hesitated. “Well—you know. Illness and pregnancy and that kind of thing.”
“If you’re ill, I won’t leave you. If you’re with child, then I’ll order a bigger bed. As for ‘you know’—I am familiar with women’s problems—” he laughed when I blushed, “—and we’ll manage. Happy?”
I smiled and snuggled into his warmth. “More than that. Thank you so much for last night, Richard. I know how much it must have cost you.”
He kissed my hair gently. “Strangely enough it cost me very little. I thought I could never show my feelings for you in public, but it wasn’t difficult at all. Of course,” he went on and he caressed me in the most distracting manner, “we can never fall out of love now. Imagine the gossip then.”
“There’s no danger of that. Not on my part, anyway.”
“You’re so sure?”
I didn’t need to hesitate. “I’m very sure. I love you, Richard. I’ll love you to the day I die.” That was all I had to tell him and by doing so I’d made myself completely vulnerable to him. I didn’t care.
I couldn’t talk then, as he kissed me until I was breathless and moved his body over mine to love me. I welcomed him, loved him in return and wondered if I’d ever get used to this, praying that I wouldn’t. Every time surprised and shocked me with its intensity, increased my need for him. I touched his back and felt him respond. He lifted his head and laughed lovingly at me, coming back down to kiss me again as we both found ecstasy at the same time, breaking away as breathing suddenly became more difficult.
We lay wrapped up in each other as we regained our breath. Then he moved to take me in his arms again. A knock sounded on the door.
“What is it?” Richard called out, as steadily as he could, but I felt his heart racing.
“A visitor, my lord,” Carier called.
“We’re not at home.”
I was caught in a fit of the giggles then, for whoever the visitor was they must have heard us. He pushed my head down to his shoulder to muffle the sound. “Abominable woman!”
Carier was still there. “I beg your pardon, my lord, but you might want to see this gentleman. It’s—”
“Gervase!” Richard sat up and stared at me, wide-eyed with shock. “Tell him we’ll be out shortly.”
He gazed steadily down at me, bewilderment clouding his clear blue eyes. “How could I not know? I always know when Gervase is near. It’s one of the pleasures—or curses—of being a twin. It must be you!”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve taken all my thoughts. When we make love, everything else goes away for a while. It means the link I have with you is every bit as strong as the one Gervase and I were born with. It had never occurred to me before; Gervase has never surprised me like that. We always know when the other is in pain, or in need of help, or nearby.”
“A strange link.”
He smiled wryly. “Not one either of us looks for.” He kissed me one more time and then flung the sheets back. “Would you like to stay here, or dress properly?”
I shook my head. “I’d like to meet him with you, unless you’d prefer to see him on your own.”
“No. Come with me.” We got out of bed and he helped me on with my robe before he donned his own. I tried to smooth my hair with my hands and, laughing at me, he fetched my brush and brushed it for me, pulling it back over my shoulders afterwards. Hand in hand, we made our way to the drawing room, preceded by Carier, who opened the door for us.
As always, a slight shock went through me when confronted by Gervase Kerre. He was so like Richard I had never understood why I didn’t feel the same way about him. He differed only in his complexion, darker and rougher from his years in the tropics and his personal style, which was more casual than my husband’s. He wore his golden hair long, tied back, instead of cropping it and wearing wigs and his style of dress was less formal, although the quality remained.
He stood by the window staring at the lovely vision of the Grand Canal, but he turned when we came in. His chest moved as he took a deep breath. I hung back to let Richard greet his brother first. They embraced and then I went forward and hugged him too.
“Have you eaten?” I asked.
Gervase shook his head, so I turned and went out to see to it
, thinking they might like a moment alone with each other.
When I returned, they were seated, Gervase on one of the chairs and Richard on a sofa, so I went and sat by my husband and took his hand. “Breakfast will be in the dining room as soon as they can arrange it. Have you only just arrived, Gervase?”
He smiled. “I got here last night but it was late, so I put up at an inn.”
“You’d better stay here for the time being,” Richard told him. “It would ruin our plans if we were to be seen out at the same time.”
Gervase stared enquiringly at his brother. “Here? You’ve found some mischief here?”
Richard laughed. “It found us. Someone rescued Rose on the road when she suffered an accident. They said their name was Ravens and then later told her they were travelling incognito. Guess what name they used?”
Gervase looked at him sharply. “You’re not serious!”
“Oh but I am.” Richard proceeded to bring his brother up to date.
At the end of his narrative, Gervase whistled. “You have been busy!” He laughed softly, an echo of Richard’s rich laugh, but with a quality of his own. “And I thought I’d been industrious.”
Richard was at once alert, his face sinking into seriousness. “Have you had any luck? Any news for us?”
“Oh yes.” Gervase picked up a slim folder from a table by his side. He opened it, revealing several sheets of closely written paper. “One of Skerrit’s gamekeepers saw the man who shot at you and chased him for several miles, but he got away. He recognised him.”
“A local man?” I asked. I hated to think anyone who had known me would have undertaken to kill us.
Gervase shook his head. “No. The gamekeeper had worked elsewhere in the country. He’s registered with Thompson’s.”
Richard held up his hand. “Shawcross, was it?”
Gervase smiled. “It was. Your memory for your employees is phenomenal, Richard. I envy you.” He glanced at the paper. “When he was a footman, Shawcross worked in London. Do you remember his situation?”
Richard nodded. “He stole from his employers, but he did us a signal service by doing it, so when he was caught, I looked after him.”
Venice Page 18
