Masque of Enchantment

by Charlene Cross

  Alissa laughed, lightly. “Eudora, you are truly wicked.”

  “Me?” she questioned, her laughter blending with Alissa’s. “Whatever makes you think that?”

  Supper that night was to be a formal affair to celebrate Eudora’s arrival and Megan’s recovery. With the older woman’s help, Alissa composed three notes, requesting that the men join the ladies in the downstairs sitting room at seven sharp. Unknown to the men, however, the women planned to delay their entrance.

  Her luxurious hair intricately styled, Alissa wore her blue silk gown, Jared’s favorite, with her sapphire brooch and matching earrings as the only embellishments. “How do I look?” she whispered as the three paused in the foyer at ten past seven.

  “You’ll knock the stockings off him,” Eudora replied, then smoothed the gold silk skirt of her gown and straightened her shoulders, her head angling, regally. “I believe you said there was a duke on the premises. Shall we see if we can find him and finagle an introduction?”

  Alissa’s musical laughter erupted. “I’m certain when he sees you, he’ll be most anxious to acquaint himself. In other words, Eudora, you’ll knock the stockings off him.”

  “I never doubted I would,” she said, smiling, a knowing twinkle in her eyes. Then she bent to the little girl who’d stolen her heart the moment they’d met. “Megan, dearest, it’s time for our grand entry. Shall we allow Alissa to go first?”

  Megan gave a quick nod of consent, and Alissa smoothed her own skirt, then walked the few paces to the door. As the panel swung wide, Jared paused in mid-sentence, then shoved himself to attention, his arm dropping from the mantel where it had leaned casually. His breath caught in his chest.

  Beautiful, he thought as his heart made an odd trip over itself several times. Strangely, he felt as though he were suffering the pangs of a schoolboy’s crush. “Ladies,” he greeted them with a nod, never taking his eyes from his wife. “It is our pleasure to have you join us.”

  “Thank you, my lord,” Alissa said, a captivating smile crossing her soft lips.

  His gaze latching on to it, Jared sucked in his breath; fire scorched his veins, yet he managed to swallow his groan of longing. Dragging his eyes from his wife, he looked to Eudora as she passed through the doorway. “Mrs. Binning-ton, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

  Just having noticed the statuesque beauty, the Duke of Claremore suddenly propelled himself to his feet, and Jared wondered if a spring had popped through the cushion where the man sat. Then, noting the interested sparkle in his father’s eye, Jared swallowed a chuckle. “Father, I’d like to introduce Mrs. Eudora Binnington of London.” He observed his father’s disappointment on hearing the conventional title, proclaiming her married. Taking pity on him, Jared added, “Mrs. Binnington is a widow.” The duke’s smile brightened. “And this is my father, Edward Braxton, the Duke of Claremore.”

  Eudora inclined her head slightly as she slipped into a small curtsy. “Your Grace.”

  “Mrs. Binnington, it is my pleasure.”

  “You may call me Eudora, Your Grace.”

  “And I am Edward,” he said, quickly cutting through all the formalities that went with his title, raising a startled brow from his son. “May I offer you a sherry, or some wine?” the duke asked, leading Eudora to the settee, seating her next to his former position.

  “Thank you, Edward. I would enjoy a sip of something, but I shall allow you to choose.”

  As Alissa watched her friend at work, she bit her lower lip to keep from laughing aloud. She wondered what the duke might say when he discovered Eudora had been an actress, as well. Then she felt her husband’s hand at her arm. Glancing up, she smiled. Again, Jared’s breath caught. “I’d prefer a glass of wine, my lord, if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “I’d gladly give you whatever your heart desires,” he whispered as he led her to a chair, his appreciative gaze upon her.

  Seeing the heat in his eyes, Alissa nearly missed a step, and as she glanced at him through her lowered lashes, she wondered if his profession was true. Everything, she decided, except his heart.

  With Alissa seated, Jared walked back to Megan and squatted. “It’s good to see my princess all bright and well again.” He folded her into his arms for a hug, then rising, led her to another chair. “What would you like in way of refreshment, sweet?”

  Robert hopped to his feet. “A lemonade, I’ll wager.”

  As Robert made his way to the sideboard for Megan’s lemonade, Alissa watched him, carefully. From the moment she’d entered the room, she’d felt his gaze upon her. Yet, viewing him, she found nothing in his demeanor to indicate the ill will she’d felt coming from him. Realizing she was still jumpy from her earlier mishap in the garden, she decided that perhaps she’d been mistaken and brushed aside her uneasy feelings.

  “I’d like to propose a toast,” Robert said, when all the drinks were handed out, his eyes settling on Alissa. “A healthy and prosperous life to us all.”

  It was not an unusual toast, she acknowledged, after sipping her wine. But, just the same, when he’d made it, she’d felt a strange chill race along her spine. Again she dismissed her anxiety, attributing it to a bad case of nerves.

  “That brooch?” Edward asked with odd curiosity, drawing Alissa’s attention. “Where did you get it?”

  “It was my mother’s, Your Grace. I inherited it when she died.”

  Edward frowned. “And who was your mother?”

  “Rachel Ashford. She, too, was an actress.”

  He made no further comment and turned his attention back to Eudora.

  As the night progressed, Alissa paid close attention to being her “charming self” as her friend had suggested. Each time her laughter rang out, sounding like a crystal bell to Jared’s ears, an untamed longing shot through his famished body. Her engaging smile mesmerized him. Her soft voice bewitched him. Her graceful movements lured him, until he felt certain he’d go insane with desire.

  Having turned on the sum total of his own charm, he couldn’t quite fathom why it had no effect on her. She listened attentively to his conversation, laughed at his witticisms, and returned his devastating smile with one of her own. But whenever he’d thought himself to be making progress, she’d retreat ever so slightly. No one else seemed to have noticed her withdrawal. No one, except him.

  After retiring to the sitting room again, Jared leaned his elbow against the mantel and sipped his after-dinner brandy, his eyes intent on his wife. At his wits’ end, he found himself tempted to slam the glass down, scoop her up in his arms, and quit the room for his own. Propriety disallowed such action, however, so he remained impassive and suffered in silence.

  “It’s growing late,” Alissa said finally. “Although it’s hard to leave good company, I think Megan and I should retire.”

  “I’ll see you both upstairs,” Jared said, her words barely having left her mouth. His unfinished brandy settled on the mantel. “Mrs. Binnington … gentlemen … please feel free to visit as long as you wish. I’ll see you on the morrow.”

  Alissa looked to Eudora and saw her reassuring nod. Jared’s hand at her elbow, he guided her from the room. With his bedtime story finished and Megan asleep, they stepped into the hallway, the door closing quietly. “You look beautiful tonight, Alissa,” he said, leaning a hand against the frame of her own door, again turning on his charm. “More beautiful than I ever remember.”

  She smiled. “Thank you, my lord.” Then as his head lowered toward hers, she slipped inside her room.

  Jared’s head snapped back as the panel shut in his face. Frowning, he stared at the wood a moment, then pushed from the jamb, turned on his heel, and strode to his own room. Stripped of his clothing, he lay upon his bed, making a thorough mental search, cataloging the night’s happenings. What would it take to bring her back into his arms? he wondered, knowing he’d already used every irresistible influence he possessed. Nothing worked!

  Completely baffled, he rubbed his hand over his f
ace, punched his pillow, and settled deeper under the sheet for another night in his lonely bed. What in damnation did she want from him! he grumbled silently, rolling to his side. Gowns? Jewels?

  But he’d already tried that route by presenting her with a satin ball gown, direct from Paris; a velvet, mink-lined cape; and a diamond bracelet, all in the past week, only to find she still wore the dresses she’d purchased before their marriage, plus her own jewelry, his wedding gift being the one exception. The false charges had already been rescinded against her, so he couldn’t tempt her with that promise. And he’d accorded her a leg up in society by sharing his name and title with her. Obviously, she was unimpressed with either. So, what in blazes could he possibly give her that he hadn’t already!

  His love, Alissa thought as she stared at the star-studded sky through darkened windowpanes. That’s all she wanted from him. True, he seemed willing to give her everything … except his heart. She wondered if she should accept his protection, his name and title, his generous gifts, and settle for those alone. But she couldn’t. She wanted none of it without his love. On a sigh, she turned and slipped into her lonely bed, praying that Jared would let loose the strictures that bound his heart.

  Jared sat reclining in his office. After more than a week of Alissa’s remaining just beyond of his grasp, he felt himself on the verge of complete madness. Unknowingly, she’d teased him, taunted him, until he’d felt certain the primitive side of him would erupt, and he’d drag her, yelling and screaming, possibly clawing at him like an angry cat, up to his room, where he’d dump her on his bed and make wild, passionate love. …

  Love. The magic word rebounded through his head and jerked him upright. Suddenly it all came crashing down around him. That’s all she’d ever wanted from him! But was he capable of sharing such an emotion? Did he even know its true meaning?

  His usual cynical thoughts on the subject worked themselves to the forefront of his mind. He’d thought himself in love once, but Celeste had managed to destroy all his feelings and, in the process, had left him jaded. Then, as he compared the two women—his first wife against the second—he discovered there was no similarity at all.

  Never had one woman evoked so much emotion in a man as did Alissa in him. She had the power to bring his temper to a roiling boil, yet he would rapidly cool it, fearing to let it loose should he hurt her tender heart. His jealousy had raged when she’d innocently mentioned another man’s name, but he’d tamped it down, somehow knowing she’d never debase their vows. In her guileless way, she made him laugh, genuinely so. Her captivating smile melted his soul, while her artless touch inflamed his body, his untamed desires nearly consuming him. Indeed, she was like no other woman he’d ever known. If it were not so, then why had he been at his wits’ end all these agonizing days since their estrangement, trying to discover the secret to bring her back into his arms?

  In truth, he’d forced her to marry him, using Megan’s welfare as an excuse. He’d deceived her about Rothhamford’s confession, fearing she’d ask for an annulment. Had tried desperately to persuade her to come to him again after she’d overheard the heated exchange between his father and himself, only to botch it all. Why …?

  Because, you idiot, you love her!

  Jared felt a swelling in his chest; the heavy weight he’d carried all these years had been lifted. A shout of laughter rang though the room, joy filled his heart, and he leapt from his chair. He actually loved her. Alissa, heart of my heart, I love you.

  Determined to find her and tell her so, he strode toward the door, a wondrous smile lighting his face.

  Alissa rounded the foot of the staircase, clutching a sealed note in her hand, and quickly made her way toward the kitchens in search of Mary. When she reached Jared’s office door, her heart skipped several times, a nervous reaction. Swiftly she scurried past on silent feet, then curved around the corner and breathed a bit easier.

  Jared flung the door wide to see the tail of his wife’s lavender skirt disappear toward the kitchens. With a wide grin on his face, he stalked her, in hopes of catching her in a darkened corner, where he’d profess his undying love, take her into his arms, and kiss her until she went limp.

  When he hit the back hallway, he found not a trace of her. Yet, the element of surprise was all-important to him, so on quiet feet, he rushed to the kitchen doorway and stopped short. He pressed himself back into the shadows when he heard his wife’s voice; his lighthearted smile vanished, instantly.

  “When you reach Falcon’s Gate, Mary, please give this to the Earl of Huntsford. No one else must see it … understand?”

  “Yes, mum. I’m to give it only to the earl.”

  “That’s correct. Now go.”

  Tucking the note into her apron pocket, Mary bobbed a curtsy and headed toward the back entry. Alissa waited but a moment, then turned and dashed to the back staircase.

  Jared’s angry strides carried him across the tiled floor only a second after Alissa had disappeared. Catching the closing door with his hand, he jerked it from Mary’s grasp. “You have something in your pocket I want. Hand it over.”

  Wide-eyed, the quaking servant girl stared up at the master of Hawkstone. “B-but—”

  His hard gaze bored into her. “Now, Mary.” Nervously, she slipped the note from its hiding place and, with shaky fingers, placed it onto his outstretched palm. “You may go now. But if you breathe a word of this to anyone here or at Falcon’s Gate, you’ll immediately be dismissed from my employ, and you’ll not find work in this district again. Is that understood?”

  “Y-yes, s-sir,” she stammered, her knees vibrating in time with her words. “I-it’s me d-day off, s-sir—”

  “Then go about your business.” The door slammed after the frightened girl as she scurried down the path.

  Jared weighed the note in his hand, then angled himself through the room, heading for his office. Inside, he slammed the door and ripped through the seal. Anger filled him as he read the words.

  Ian—I send this to tell you it is not wise for us to meet as we have. Should Jared discover us, I fear the consequences. I will keep in touch through Mary. Ever, Alissa.

  After he’d read it twice, the note curled slowly in his tightening fist. “Fool!” he berated himself harshly, his recently opened heart snapping shut like a trap. “Damned fool!”

  “You seem upset.” Robert’s voice came from the corner; Jared’s gaze jerked toward him. “Is something amiss?” his cousin asked.

  His ire masked, Jared strode toward his desk. “What are you doing here?”

  “We had an appointment to review the cargo on your ships at nine … it’s ten past, now.”

  Jared settled into his chair, resting his elbow on its arm, and rubbed his fingers across his forehead. “I forgot.”

  “A lover’s spat?” Robert asked after eyeing Jared at length. “If you need a sounding board, perhaps—”

  “Fool!” Jared denounced himself again, only half-listening to Robert’s words.

  Furiously, he tossed the note onto his desk. It skittered across the surface to land on the carpet, and Robert stooped to retrieve it. As he glanced at the crimped paper, two words met his eye. Ian. Alissa. Seeing them, he placed the note on the center of Jared’s desk and said, “I’d hoped you wouldn’t discover the truth about them.”

  Cold eyes slowly climbed to Robert’s face. “You knew they were meeting and didn’t report it to me?”

  “Yes, I saw them in the glade by the cottage while out riding, several weeks past,” he confessed, carefully choosing his words. “I was surprised, then embarrassed by what I saw. I’d hoped—”

  “Hoped what!” Jared’s hand slammed onto the desk. “I want the truth—all of it! Now!”

  “Your wife and Sinclair—they kissed.”

  Jared rose, slowly stretching to his full height. The vehement look in his eyes caused Robert to pace back a step. “You’re sure of this?”

  “I do not lie. I saw them, I swear.”

 
; Through shuttered eyes, Jared studied his cousin, then he quit the room.

  Upstairs, Alissa tidied up the last scraps of stationery, placing the lot in the drawer. Relieved she’d caught Mary before the girl had left for Falcon’s Gate, she hoped Ian would understand her hastily scratched message. It was best they didn’t see each other, as Eudora had suggested. Yet she feared, if she didn’t show up at the glade, Ian might come searching for her, hence her note to him. Besides, there seemed little sense in the man wasting his time by making a daily trek to the stream when she could just as easily inform him not to come.

  Without warning the door crashed to the wall; a sudden cry escaped her lips as she spun toward the noise. Then, Jared was upon her in four long strides. Harsh hands grabbed her arms, jerking her against him. “I’ve one question,” he said, his voice cold, ominous. “Have you met with Sinclair since I forbade you to do so?”

  Alissa blinked, then began to struggle against him. “You’re hurting me.”

  He shook her. “Answer me!”

  Recognizing the volatile anger in his eyes for what it was, she nodded, then hurriedly said, “Only once.”

  “Has he ever, madam, felt the press of your lips?”

  Her eyes grew round; she blanched. It had been only a small peck, she thought, wondering how he could have possibly known of it. “No!” she cried, hoping to ward off a confrontation between Jared and Ian. “I never—”

  He shoved her away. “Madam, your eyes say otherwise.”

  As he strode toward the door, Alissa ran after him. “Jared”—she caught his arm—“where are you going?”

  “To search out your lover and dispense with him, once and for all.”

  “Please … don’t. I swear, nothing happened between us.” He seemed not to hear. “Jared,” she pleaded as she threw herself against him, her fingers twisting in his shirt. “I kissed him on the cheek … that’s all. He’s my friend. I tell you nothing happend … I love you!”