by Jane Lark
Her smile broadened. It increased her beauty by degrees, a beauty he’d thought beyond improvement.
Her fingers tugged, reminding him to let go.
“We are ready then?” Sparks chimed. “Shall we head off? Vi?”
Still suffering from distraction over the woman whose fingers closed about his elbow, Robert was vaguely aware of Lady Rimes crossing to Sparks’s side.
Jane leaned closer. “Is everything well, Robert? You are not angry?” That shifted him from his reverie.
“Angry?” he answered quietly. “Why on earth would I be angry? You look superb.”
“I was afraid you would disapprove.”
They stepped out into the air of a warm summer evening, and above them, the orange rays of sunset gilded wispy clouds across the sky.
He looked at her again and saw bronze highlight her dark hair, but her smile had gone, and her lower lip was caught between her teeth. Her eyes were on their friends a few steps ahead. It was touching to know she cared what he thought.
“Whether you wear blacks or not is none of my concern, nor anyone else’s, Jane.”
With both hands wrapped about his elbow and emotion in her voice, she said, “Thank you, Robert. I admit, I am nervous about other people’s response. It is far too early to be appropriate, but I refuse to live a lie any more.” She smiled again, her bright gaze meeting his.
Emotion caught in his chest like a stitch. “I refuse to live a lie anymore.” What did that mean? Had he been wrong about her affection for the former Duke? An even bigger question stirred his heart at the thought her decision may be due to their renewed friendship.
Robert looked at Sparks handing Lady Rimes into his carriage. He’d brought an open-topped barouche as the night was fine.
Jane’s fingers left Robert’s arm and instead took Sparks’s hand. He helped her climb up, and Robert saw a dainty flash of ankle and her emerald slippers.
When Sparks nodded, Robert climbed in and sat beside Jane.
Likewise, Geoff occupied the seat by Lady Rimes. He immediately took her hand and hid the gesture beneath her skirt.
“Jane has been in high spirits all afternoon since she returned from your ride, Lord Barrington.” Lady Rimes opened the conversation with a sincerity that surprised Robert. He turned to view her expression. It seemed genuine. It set him off balance. Good Lord, what had he done to gain the approval of Violet Rimes? The woman had turned her back on him for years.
Jane’s fingers covered his hand, which rested palm down on his thigh.
Of course, she had been petitioning on his behalf.
He looked at her. “It is, indeed, a pleasure to see you smiling, Jane. So, what is it you are in fits over? Do not tell me the waterfall? It’s tawdry. You’ll be disappointed, I’m afraid.”
“Do not listen to him,” Geoff cut across his words. “Most of the women love it, if only on the first occasion, but once seen, both spectacle and enthusiasm become a little tainted, I admit.”
“Or the entertainments?” Robert quipped, slipping into the general banter he and Geoff often shared. “Now there is a spectacle, if you are into the bizarre.” He laughed. Geoff did, too.
“Well, I have never been there,” Jane inserted, her voice challenging, yet amused and introspective. “And I admit to a curious interest in the bizarre. It may be to my taste. And I cannot wait to see the waterfall and the fireworks. I’ve read of Vauxhall. I’ve longed to go, and I shall not have it ruined by your jaded opinions just because you’ve both been so many times you are bored of it.”
Geoff laughed. “Have no fear, Your Grace, I’ll ensure I appear enthused by every moment.”
Jane looked at Robert, and their gazes clashed in what felt like a deep connection. “I’ll have no need to pretend. With you as my companion, I shall be in wonder all over again.”
Her cheeks coloured, and she looked away, but not before he’d seen her smile lift.
Surely this was more than friendship, no matter what she’d said.
“And I say pah to the both of you.” Lady Rimes leaned forward and tapped Jane’s knee with her closed fan. “Ignore them, my dear. I love it always, just as much as on my first occasion. It is such a vibrant place, so full of life—”
“And dark pathways,” Robert interjected, throwing Lady Rimes a wicked smile.
“Robert,” Jane chastised.
Oh dear, he’d blown the image of a paragon Jane had tried painting.
But Lady Rimes was made of sterner stuff. She shot him an answering smile, lifted Geoff’s clasped hand from beneath her skirt, and set it on her thigh. “The walks, decorated in lantern light, are indeed very romantic, my Lord. Perhaps that is what you lack. To appreciate the beauty of Vauxhall, Lord Barrington, you need romance. You see, my dear friend Jane is a romantic at heart. Can you not tell? Hence, she is drawn to it, as am I.”
So, Jane had not succeeded in overriding her friend’s low opinion of him, just in making her play nice and offer only polite insults and mute warnings instead of open hostility.
Very well, he’d bite. “Of course, Lady Rimes, you would only be in a position to comment upon the level of my quixotic aspirations if you knew me at all, which, of course, you do not. In that case, you may withhold your judgement until you do.” He met the blue-eyed blonde’s gaze. For a moment, she stared at him, and he knew she was trying to establish what he was thinking. She gave up and looked away.
No doubt she wished to know his intentions towards Jane. Well, perhaps she should be more concerned about whether her friend would hurt him. After all, he was still walking about with his bloody heart on his sleeve, like an utter idiot, while the woman for whom he’d spent years pining just wished to be his friend.
Jane’s fingers still covered his, and he turned his hand and held them possessively.
“So, what is on our list of things to see and do then, Jane? As it is your first time, you must have the prerogative and direct us all,” Violet continued, brushing aside his hostility.
Jane looked at him, her eyes wide.
It reminded him of how she’d looked at him years ago. He’d thought her in thrall of him then. She’d looked at him as though he was master of the world and had the power to order everything as he wished.
“I would like to walk about the paths both before the sun sets and after, and I want to see the tightrope walker,” she hesitated, longing shining in her eyes. “And dance. Most of all, I wish to dance.”
He was in awe of her, and a spasm wrenched his heart. He swallowed against the lump in his throat and countered, “You can dance any evening.”
“I know, but it has been so long.” Her eyes looked suddenly uncertain, as though she feared he’d deny her. Of course, he would not. Whatever she wished, he’d do. She’d cast off her blacks, but she had a new shadow — him.
“Then you’ll dance,” he whispered, squeezing her fingers gently. When her gaze left his, he turned to find Lady Rimes and Geoff watching him with speculation. He shrugged in a defiant gesture and looked past them at the street. “It is a beautiful night for it anyway.” His voice refused their conjecture, deliberately impersonal.
“It is indeed.” Lady Rimes took up the theme.
“A night for revelry.” Geoff sent a smile to Jane.
Jane sighed. “Yes, I am so tired of being wrapped in propriety. I am quite of a mind to break some rules.”
Glancing at her, Robert saw her eyes sparkle. His blood heated. If she was in a mood for naughtiness, he knew just how to feed her hunger. Violet had said Jane was a romantic at heart. Well, a walk along the softly lit avenues would get the woman in the mood for him to steal a kiss or two. “And I shall be exceedingly happy to break them with you.” He sent her the smile which had brought numerous women across the world to his bed.
“You have no need to be obtuse, Barrington,” Lady Rimes threw at him, chastening his attempt to seduce her friend.
“I am not being in the least obtuse, my Lady, merely acting supplica
nt at Jane’s altar.” The back of Jane’s hand stroked his thigh. He knew she did it to ask him not to argue, but it did nothing to cool his ardour.
“You are too smooth by half, my Lord,” Violet swept back.
“Now, now, you two, play nicely,” Geoff challenged good-humouredly.
Robert laughed then quipped, “I will if she will.”
“On my part, Lord Barrington, I am still withholding judgement.” The woman cast him a mocking smile.
“If we are to attempt neutral ground, Lady Rimes, perhaps you should call me Robert.”
In answer she leaned forward, holding out her hand. “Very well, let us shake hands, Robert.”
“Lady Rimes.” He set his voice to charm, took her offered fingers, leaned forward, and kissed them.
“I suppose I must let you call me Violet,” she said as he let them go.
“Violet,” he said.
Jane slid closer, implying she marked her territory no matter her claims to only want friendship, and her thigh pressed against the length of his as she gripped his arm. “Robert, tell me what was your favourite thing, when you first went?”
~
Glancing up at the canopy of green leaves, Jane’s gaze absorbed the perfect contrast of the orange sky above them. Vauxhall was as beautiful as she’d imagined, a Garden of Eden. She gripped Robert’s elbow and looked along the broad central avenue. Violet and Geoff were walking together ahead, and at the end of the promenade, she saw the terracing from which guests could view the entertainments. They passed another pathway stretching away from the main thoroughfare, and Jane saw a mock-ruined Roman temple in the distance. She tugged on Robert’s arm.
“May we walk that way? It is still an hour before we are due for supper. Violet! Geoff!” The couple, now a few paces ahead of them, stopped and looked back.
“Jane has a desire to explore some more!” Robert explained.
“Would you mind?” Jane added as she and Robert walked on and narrowed the distance between them.
Violet smiled. “Of course, we do not, Jane, but I have seen it all before. You and Robert go. We will secure the supper box.”
“If you truly do not mind?”
Violet tapped Jane’s arm with her closed fan. “Do not be silly. Why should we mind?”
Jane smiled in gratitude, and they agreed to meet in half an hour.
“Do we not sound like the perfect set?” Robert mocked as Violet and Geoff walked on.
Jane gave him a challenging look. “You can be a prig sometimes, my Lord.”
“And you should not worry about what she thinks.” Robert turned towards the side path.
She gripped his arm, looking forward. “She is my friend, and she’s taken me in as her guest. I think it only polite I do nothing to offend her. I am very aware she is unable to live life as she normally would with me in tow.”
“No, but if Violet invited you to stay, she can hardly complain.”
Jane looked up at him. “She did not ask me, Robert. Well, in an open invitation in Bath, perhaps. But I am afraid to admit, I did not even write. I just descended upon her. Do you think that is awful of me?”
His brown gaze bored into hers, and she smiled, wondering if she was a gullible fool to feel so happy in his company. “It seems, Jane, I cannot think you awful, no matter what you do. Come along. Let’s investigate this ruin.” He smiled, too, and a melting, quaking sensation settled in her stomach.
Her heart raced.
“It’s beautiful, do you not think so?” she commented as they reached the high columns and half-built walls. She let go of his arm, peeled off her gloves, and gripped them in one hand while the other lifted to trail her bare fingers over the rigid granite columns. It felt cool and smooth.
“From my jaded perspective, Jane, it is a waste of time and effort. Who would build something to make it look as though it has fallen down?”
“How can you say that?” She turned back to him, her fingers remaining on the stone, and faced that beguiling smile. Her insides became aspic. He looked very handsome in the orange hues of the setting sun. She turned back to the ruins and began weaving in and out of the columns which formed an arched colonnade, her fingers skimming over the stones. “Violet is right. You have not one romantic bone in your body. This is romantic.”
He laughed, still standing a few paces from the ruin. “This is a pile of old stones. Do not tell me Sutton built you one of these things. Follies are named as such for good reason. ”
She stopped and leaned her back against the stone, her hands against the cold granite. “Hector would have agreed with you, and he certainly never did anything just to please me.”
Her words seemed to surprise him, and his expression turned from humorous disinterest to one of question.
She never spoke of her marriage to anyone. She didn’t know why she’d said it. She pushed away from the column and started walking through the row of arches again. She’d always been too embarrassed to let anyone know what had happened. She’d thought people would think less of her “However, I admire follies. I think they are even more beautiful because beauty is their only intent. If I ever had an estate of my own, I would build a folly. I expect this is stunning when lit up after dark.” Her voice sounded whimsical.
“Jane.” Robert caught her elbow, making her jump, then turned her to him, hiding them behind one of the broad columns so they would not be visible from the distant avenue. Her gaze met his. His brown eyes were intensely dark, his pupils distended. She couldn’t breathe. “I don’t understand you. Do you mourn Sutton or not? You send so many alternate signals. What am I to think? I cannot judge.”
She looked from his eyes to his lips. She wanted him, just as much as he obviously wanted her. Friends? She could not be just friends with this man any more than they had been just friends years ago.
“Jane.” His voice was husky and full of restrained emotion as his head bent. Then his lips touched hers. Her arms reached about his neck, and she kissed him back, her gloves dropping to the ground. His hair was soft and thick, and he cupped her bottom through her gown. Her body arched against him, and she felt the evidence of his arousal.
“Oh God, Jane, don’t,” he spoke into her mouth then stole one more brief kiss before pulling away.
“Don’t what?” she whispered, resting her temple against his cheek and fighting to catch her breath and her sanity.
“Arch your body to mine like that. You drive me mad with want. If you still expect me to play your friend, I cannot do it, Jane.”
She looked up. He had such beautiful eyes. “You make me feel happy,” she answered, knowing her answer did not provide the response he sought. Her hands clasped his upper arms and pushed him back a little, setting a distance between them. Why was she so drawn to him? “But this is truly folly.”
“Folly?” he repeated, his eyes baring a depth she assumed was unreleased desire.
“We should get back.” She stepped aside, moving into the view of those promenading along the main avenue. For a moment he just stood there, watching her, half in shadow. “Robert?”
“Jane.” His voice was back to a mocking note. “All hot and cold again, are we not?” He bent to collect her gloves from the ground. When he left the colonnade, he passed them to her.
She took them, but could not meet his gaze. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Never mind it.” His voice was abrupt, as though he did not wish to hear her words. “So, tell me.” His tone changed completely. “Did Sutton treat you well?”
Jane deemed to answer solely because she wished to set their embrace aside, as it seemed he did, and slipping her gloves back on, very aware he watched her intently, she said, “If you really wish to know, which I am sure you do not, Hector paid me very little attention. My husband’s passions were for gloating and encouragement of envy. I was his showpiece.”
Jane gripped Robert’s arm once more, and together, they turned to stroll back towards the promenade. “He brought you to London, bu
t did not bring you here then?”
She’d no idea where this was going, but with her heart still racing and her blood as thick as honey in her veins, she was in no state to think her way out of the conversation. “No. I mean, no, he never brought me to London, let alone to a place he would have considered purely licentious like Vauxhall. This is the first time I have visited the capital.”
“But surely he attended Parliament?” Robert’s voice was high-pitched with astonishment.
“I believe so, but I think he avoided entertainment other than his club.”
“Then if he liked to gloat, why on earth would he not bring his wife?”
After a few moments’ silence, she looked up at his perplexed expression. She had never understood why her husband had kept her virtually imprisoned. “I hardly know.” Her voice sounded a little choked. She did not wish Robert, of all people, to see her insecurity. She forced her lips into a smile and shrugged.
“I could make a guess,” he quipped in return, smiling too.
“Do tell.” She waited, pretending not to care. She did. She desperately wished to understand Hector’s cruelty, if you could call isolation cruelty. It had felt like it to a seventeen-year-old girl.
“A diamond like you, Jane, it’s obvious. He didn’t want to let you out in front of London’s bucks. He probably feared you’d stray.”
She’d stopped walking without even realising it.
He turned to face her, his brown eyes full of concern. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” She closed her eyes and shook her head, wondering if Robert had guessed right to some degree.
Hector had liked control, and he’d allowed his friends to taunt her, but that was under his watchful supervision. If she’d met someone else beyond his power, maybe he thought she could have slipped his leash.
She swallowed back against the lump lodged in her throat and set a smile back on her lips. “I should think it was more because he liked to come across as holier than thou. I would have spoiled his town image. In the House of Lords, he liked to be envied for his politics and power, not his wife. Come along.” With that, she walked on, dismissing the subject, and turned her eyes back to the avenue ahead.
