Jack gave her a pained look. ‘Thank you for a possibility I had not yet considered. And please remove the look of hope from your face. Consider that Spayne might be punished as well for his part in it.’
‘That would be a shame,’ Thea agreed. The man, for all his faults, was being kind to her, which was more than could be said for his brother.
‘He is more than a little barmy for getting himself into such a predicament. But he did not seek this wild hare of an idea to harm you or anyone else,’ Jack reminded her. ‘He approaches his difficulties with his brother in the same haphazard way he deals with his finances. I have done what I can to set those right. His situation is not irreparable. Had we enough time and no interference, I would have the coffers full again in a year or two. But with his brother’s continual meddling, it will be quite impossible.’
‘He allows you to handle his money?’ If possible, this was even stranger than that the man had lied about his own son. It appeared he had turned the running of a sizeable estate over to a stranger.
Jack guessed her thoughts and responded with a mocking tug on his forelock. ‘While I may not be educated in a manner that you respect, your ladyship, I know how many beans make five. And that is more than can be said for Spayne, who cannot seem to grasp that a small economy like eating a mutton dinner instead of beef saves enough to fix a tenant’s roof. He does not think further than the moment ahead. In short, he needs a keeper and the job has fallen to me.’
‘He must be a fool, indeed, to trust an itinerant player who deserved to be hanged as a thief,’ Thea said.
‘Or perhaps I am just a man who is grateful that I have a chance to help my rescuer,’ Jack corrected, all trace of mirth gone from his face. ‘You may think what you like of me, but I would caution you not to take my admission just now as an invitation to show Spayne anything less than the total respect he deserves. I might also remind you that your own father is no wiser, for he spent all he had on some Indian novelty to make him potent.’
Thea fell silent.
‘And as for my career? You have no right to look down your nose at me, considering the identity of your mother.’
‘Mother was an actress,’ Thea admitted, ‘but that was many years ago. Now she uses those talents to navigate in society. Her play-acting goes no further than that, because it is improper to be so false.’
‘You had no desire to follow in her footsteps?’ Jack asked, interested.
‘Certainly not. I am my father’s child as well, and my grandfather’s. I was properly schooled to take my place in society. My understanding of the rules and boundaries of my place is excellent.’
‘Which was why you married me,’ he said, with a grin.
‘I married Kenton,’ she reminded him, shaking her head. ‘They were very clear at school of how things were supposed to be. I knew how to address everyone, from the king to the lowliest servant. I knew who I was not to speak to or acknowledge at all.’ She gave him a pointed look.
‘If you believed all they told you, you’d be forced to cut your own mother,’ Jack reminded her. ‘And Spayne should be hanged for being a molly. But the same people would allow de Warde to pass amongst them unpunished.’
Thea remembered the acute embarrassment she’d felt as her school friends had talked of their noble families and she’d remained silent, afraid of what they might say if they knew the truth of hers. They would not have given the time of day to Jack Briggs. Yet any one of them would have married Spayne’s heir, or even Spayne, if the opportunity had presented itself. The rules had all made sense, until she had tried to put her training into effect. ‘Nothing is as it seems and no one is as they appear to be. You are not Lord Kenton. The earl has been lying about his entire life. De Warde lied to my father. In turn, my father lied to my mother and me, until we had no money at all on which to manage. Nothing I knew was true.’ Except me, she reminded herself. I know who I am—and that must not change.
‘It is a rude awakening for you.’ He patted her hand. ‘But I will help you. It will be clearer after you’ve had a good night’s rest in a real bed.’ He gave her a gentle, encouraging smile. ‘I doubt you slept well last night and I did not make it easy for you.’ He stood up from the table and walked to her side, offering his hand. ‘I am sorry for that. Despite how it may seem, I mean you no harm.’
Hesitantly, she put her hand in his. He was right. She was tired, which explained her current confusion.
‘With your help, I will make things better for you and your family, and for Spayne as well. And you will never again have to endure the advances of Mr de Warde.’
That would be no small thing, for she had seen the look in his eyes when he talked to her, and known there was something much darker on de Warde’s mind than a simple business transaction. ‘How can you be sure?’ she whispered.
‘Because if he tries anything, I will take care of him.’ Jack flexed his arm and she saw the muscles tighten beneath his coat sleeve. Perhaps stage fencing and mock fighting were not as impressive as a true duel, but they had not left him a weakling. She remembered the way his arms had felt when they’d danced, before she’d known the truth about him, and the easy way he handled even the most spirited horse in Hyde Park. The thought of intimacy with powerful Kenton had left her breathless with excitement. Jack Briggs might not have the title, but his body was the same one that had held her. The knowledge that he would use his strength in defence of her was strangely appealing.
She reached out and touched his arm. It was the first tenderness she’d shown him since their wedding breakfast and it made him smile. He pulled her to her feet and into his arms, just as he had in the weeks before their marriage. For a moment, she closed her eyes and pretended that he was still Kenton and could take all her problems away.
His head was near her ear, his voice barely a whisper. ‘Whatever happens, and whatever I might call upon you to do, you must not worry. You will be safe.’
Without thinking, she dropped her head so that it rested against the front of his coat. ‘That would be nice.’
He was stroking her hair and she allowed it. It was an innocent gesture, no different than comforting a child. But then he touched her chin with the tip of a finger and tipped her face up to look at his and the smile on his face was something much different. He closed his eyes, leaned forwards and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss so chaste as to be almost brotherly.
But it did not feel innocent to her. It felt like the first kiss of a long evening and a reason to set aside all the rules and follow where ever the night led. When he withdrew, the warmth, the tingling and the sweetness of his lips stayed with her.
And then he changed. The light in his eyes died and he spoke with a casual tone that told her this was of no importance to him. ‘There, there. Feeling better?’
‘Yes. I think I am.’ She was better than better. Not as good as she would have been, if the kiss had been longer, but that would have been most unwise and he was right to end it.
He slipped an arm about her shoulders, gathering her closer in a way that should feel fatherly and unthreatening, but even at this brief contact her body was beginning to respond. Her knees felt watery. Her heart beat faster. Her body felt hot and constricted by her gown.
Then he turned her body, kissed her lightly on the forehead and released her. ‘Sleep well, Thea. We will talk again in the morning.’
‘Goodnight, Jack.’
Then he was gone through the connecting door to his suite. And she was alone.
* * *
What the devil had that been about?
Jack passed through his own rooms and kept walking out into the hall, down the main stairs and towards the brandy decanter waiting in Spayne’s library. As Kenton, he could have rung for a servant and had a glass brought to his room. But right now, it seemed important to put as much physical space as possible between himself and Lady Kenton.
Or else to close the distance completely. He still was not sure what he wanted. She’d
been sleepy and willing in his arms with a bed scant feet away. As on the night of their marriage, she’d been wearing some ridiculously frilly dressing gown that had given little more than an illusion of decency. And he had not even bothered to take a decent look. He had done the gentlemanly thing and gazed into her eyes.
When in thirty years had he ever been so foolish? Common sense told him that weakness was to be exploited. He was only playing a part. If he did it well, then he would be rewarded by a night or two with a woman, who, if not the very image of perfection, was a blood relation to it.
But Kenton looked away, damn him. The man was a paragon. And he was praying on Jack’s nerves. It was good that the role would be ending soon. If Jack stayed too long in it, he might make a permanent and rather foolish change of character, like that thoroughly depressing fellow he’d known who could not seem to play anything but Hamlet.
But rather than mooning about, talking to skulls, Jack’d be trapped as a gentleman. It would be almost as suicidal. He would be the sort of fellow who would not press the advantage when the lovely Cyn was at her most vulnerable. He would tell himself that a simple kiss would be enough. His soul would sigh over it, as it had tonight.
Rubbish. As though a passionless peck meant anything. It was no different than those he’d given to dozens of actresses in the final scene of the insipid comedies that amused the masses.
But this kiss had tried to change him. As he’d taken it, he had been worrying that she would never allow even this small liberty. They had been close to real intimacy on their wedding night, bare hours away. But the affection of their engagement proved both brief and ephemeral. At the time, he had not taken it seriously. And then he had lost it all in an instant. Should it come again, he would remember to appreciate it.
After tonight, he could imagine that there would be more. And he had a very good imagination. He was seeing not a brief passion, but a lasting and sincere affinity. It was almost as bad as his delusion that Spayne was anything like a real father.
He must remember the hollow sound the gallows steps had made as he’d climbed them. That had been the last real sound he’d heard, before this farce had began. And he would not come to that place again. At the first sign of trouble, he would run and leave the girl and the earl to fend for themselves.
Reassured and returned to himself, he continued down the hall and pushed through the doors of the library, relieved that it was dark and quiet. He went to the brandy decanter and poured a stiff drink, tossed it back and had another. Far smarter for him to enjoy Spayne’s liquor, and Kenton’s house, his clothes and, if the chance came again, his woman. He would hold the pleasures close, but keep the genuine feelings as far away as was possible.
‘Trouble with your wife?’ The voice behind him came as a surprise. Apparently he had not bothered to check the shadows to be sure that he was free of company. Spayne was reclining on a sofa by the fire.
And worse, the man was meddling with his mind. Their arrangement gave him no right to, and Jack had been foolish to encourage any closeness between them. ‘What makes it your business?’
‘Nothing, I suppose.’ Spayne yawned and sat up. ‘But when a man is given to bolting brandy at this hour, it is often the result of a woman.’
‘You are lucky not to bother with them,’ Jack said bitterly.
‘Men are no better when they decide to be difficult,’ Spayne said, holding out his glass to be refilled. ‘But tell me what you are making of the lovely Cynthia.’
‘I can make nothing of her at all,’ Jack grumbled. ‘The woman is a mystery. Soft as a kitten one moment and ice cold the next.’
‘And you are attracted to her.’ The earl gave a nod of approval.
‘What sane man would not be?’ Jack said a little defensively. ‘You saw her. I know she is not your type, of course.’
‘I have preferences,’ the earl corrected, ‘but I am not blind. Nor am I dead to all feeling. I did manage to have a son.’ He thought for a moment. ‘One son that I am sure of. I was young once and got up to as much trouble as I could find before becoming set in my ways. But enough of me. We are speaking of you and Thea. She is a beautiful girl.’
‘As sweet as an unplucked berry,’ Jack agreed.
‘It is no surprise that you fancy her. But it is more than that, isn’t it?’
Jack grunted in disgust.
‘You like her.’ The earl smiled again. ‘That is hardly surprising as well. She is a most pleasant girl.’
‘Pleasant?’ Jack erupted and snorted again. ‘Clearly you have forgotten whatever you once knew about women. She is bigoted and shallow. Worse yet, she is proud of these qualities. She is one of the most disagreeable females I have ever met.’
‘I have not forgotten all that much. She is contrary. Those are often the sort that are the most desirable,’ the earl said with confidence. ‘You like her, and you want her.’
‘I want the girl I thought she was,’ Jack allowed. ‘All sweetness, like a honey pot. But while the body is all honey, the tongue is like being stung by the bees.’
‘Too much honey becomes cloying. But I’ve found that an occasional bee sting can be a godsend,’ the earl commented, flexing his fingers. ‘It gets the blood flowing in the veins and feeling back into the extremities.’
Jack narrowed his eyes. ‘I have no trouble with feeling in my extremities, I assure you. I can get that from any woman. And I would be far smarter should I seek the tingling with a professional and not that harpy that I have married.’
‘Harpy? Surely that is too strong a word.’
Jack rubbed his brow. ‘Perhaps.’ He knew it was. She had been soft and sweet just now when he’d left her room. Why was it so difficult to give credit to the girl who was in as difficult a spot as he was? ‘She aggravates me. And there is nothing I can do about it.’
‘Nothing?’ The earl raised an eyebrow.
‘Nothing she will permit,’ Jack amended.
‘Then things have changed since I last knew a woman,’ the earl announced. ‘At that time, wives were not allowed to permit or refuse. They acquiesced.’ He gave Jack a sharp look. ‘Of course, a gentleman made sure they acquiesced graciously. He did not give them a reason for refusing.’
‘I?’ Jack gestured broadly to himself. ‘I gave her no reason to refuse me, other than that I am who I am. When she thought I was Kenton, she was as smooth as butter. It was only when she discovered my true past that she closed the bedroom door.’ Of course, he had been the one to close the door tonight, but details hardly mattered.
‘Can you honestly say that you’d have found her as appealing had she been a poor woman?’
‘Of course I would. As I said before, just look at her. I simply would not have married her. Before or after. We’d have had our fun and that would have been the end of it. But now?’
‘You are trapped together,’ the earl affirmed.
‘Until we can sort out the mess that you have made with de Warde.’ It was no mess of Jack’s and they had all best remember the fact. He could leave at any time. If he wished to, of course. But for some reason he was loathe to go.
‘And you cannot find a way to make the best of this? I would think, with your skills as an actor and your claims to romantic ability, you’d have made some progress by now.’
Jack stared at his make-believe father, wondering if he had understood correctly, for it almost sounded as if the man advocated seducing the lady. ‘That would hardly be proper.’
‘Pish,’ the earl said, dabbing at his nose with a handkerchief. ‘You are married, my boy.’
‘But am I? Really?’ Strangely, he had given no thought to the eyes of God and the law when getting involved in this scheme. But now that he was in the thick of it, the idea chafed at him.
‘What is marriage, really, but a commitment between two people?’
‘Two people who are using their true names to marry,’ Jack added. ‘As far as I know, she is married to Kenton. And at such time as that man comes
along, I will gladly give her up to him.’
Spayne laughed. ‘In the words of your favourite playwright, “What’s in a name?” You stood at an altar. I suspect God knew who you were when you said the vows.’
That was almost more disquieting to think about, for now Jack could imagine the Deity watching over and blessing and rendering irrevocable a commitment he had not meant to make. ‘Then he will see when I break them and leave her.’
‘As long as you stay, you are married. But when you stray?’ The earl shrugged again. ‘My brother has gone through the ceremony, of course. And some might call it more real than yours was. But you have not seen the way he treats his wife. The poor thing is little more than a cipher, trailing after him when he needs to seem respectable. But she is forgotten at home for the rest of the time, alone, childless and forced to turn a blind eye to his villainy.’
‘Childless,’ Jack said, as a wisp of an idea began to form in a dark corner of his brain. Then he focused on Spayne again. ‘You are right, in any case. Mrs De Warde is a fine example of what I would not wish on any woman.’ He brightened a little. ‘In comparison, Thea is lucky to have me.’ It was not as if he was some seducing rake, should he succeed with her. Her child would at least appear legitimate. It was more than his own father had left for him.
‘And it is not as if I will not take care of the girl and her offspring should anything unexpected occur,’ Spayne reminded him. ‘I should think, when she marries again after you are gone, that a maidenhead on a widow would be much harder to explain than the absence of one.’
‘I would probably be doing her a service by dispensing with it and saving her the awkward explanations, but, no. I cannot.’ And where had that last come from? Kenton, of course. Diddling with the pretty was exactly what Jack had planned to do when he had chosen her. And now he could not bring himself to do it. ‘Damn you, Spayne. I fear you have given me scruples.’
The earl laughed. ‘You speak of it as though it were a disease, my boy. As if I have given you measles along with a name.’
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