Duchess by Deception

by Marie Force

  Why did she have to be different from every other woman she knew? Why couldn’t a home of her own and a husband and children be enough for her? She blamed the six-hundred books in the Hampshire library for opening the world to her. Now she wanted to see the pyramids in Egypt and the Parthenon in Greece and the Coliseum in Rome. It wasn’t enough just to read about exotic places and people and food. She wanted to see and taste and smell. She wanted to live.

  Would Jack understand that? Would he consider leaving his home and the duke to whom he was so loyal to go off with her? Catherine chuckled softly to herself. She’d known him two days and was already picturing them standing before the pyramids together. While she knew it was foolish to imagine such things, it had been so long since she’d had a foolish romantic thought that she chose to fully indulge in the fantasy.

  In Egypt, they would ride camels and shop in the markets and eat couscous. They would stay in an elegant hotel and make love in the afternoon when it was too hot to be outdoors. Giddy with dreams, Catherine stretched her arms over her head and wallowed in the magic. He would kiss her and touch her and slide his manhood into her. Lost in the fantasy, she let her legs fall open and raised her hips to receive him. She released a ragged breath and closed her eyes, picturing how he would look propped over her, his handsome face tight with tension and strain as he made tender love to her.

  The vision was so real that Catherine was certain if she opened her eyes he would be there, hovering above her, seeking entry to her most private place. Just thinking of him and how his naked skin would feel against hers started that odd throbbing between her legs, causing her to shiver and tremble. Reluctant to leave her dream, Catherine sighed and sunk deeper into the pillows. If she kept her eyes closed, she could spend the night in Egypt, lying in Jack’s arms, drunk on love and adventure.

  Her dream was so much better than the reality of that boorish Lord Lindsey finding her and dragging her off to whatever he had in mind for her. Trembling for different reasons, she closed her eyes tighter and refused to allow the nightmare to invade her dream. Jack would keep Lindsey away from her. He would protect her from the fiend.

  Then they would go to Egypt.

  * * *

  Derek dismissed the groom and rubbed down Hercules himself. After filling the stall with fresh hay and refreshing the horse’s feed bucket and water, Derek rubbed his nose and kissed him good night.

  Hercules nickered in response, drawing a smile from his master.

  Thinking about Catherine and what she’d shared with him, Derek walked across the yard to the kitchen door. Inside he wasn’t surprised to find his cousin Simon helping himself to what he considered a “snack.” The heaping ham sandwich on two slabs of thick bread would’ve been a meal for a normal man.

  “Hey, old sod,” Simon said, his mouth bulging. “What’s had you out so late, or should I ask who?”

  “I’m sure you already know perfectly well where I have been.”

  “For the first time in my life, I find myself anticipating my father’s return. I expect the explosions will be quite spectacular.”

  “I would tell you to go straight to the devil, but I fear you would actually enjoy the trip.”

  “I’m wounded by your low opinion of me.”

  Derek laughed. “You can’t fool me. I believe you are complimented by my low opinion of you.”

  Simon grunted out a laugh. “You know me too well, cousin.”

  Whereas Derek was tall and dark and muscular, Simon was fair and blond and lanky, with dimples the ladies positively swooned over. His lackadaisical approach to life made him one of Derek’s preferred companions, but he wasn’t the first person Derek turned to in times of need. Which made what he was about to ask of his cousin so hard to fathom.

  Catherine’s safety was at stake, and there was no one else he could ask. Hoping his cousin would rise to the occasion, Derek turned to him. “I need you to do something for me.”

  “As much as I adore lying to my father, I fear I don’t have the stomach for it these days. He’s so bloody concerned about your impending birthday that I refuse to engage in baiting him. It always comes back to bite me in the arse.”

  “It’s not that.” Derek leaned into the wooden counter and gripped the edge until his knuckles turned white. “Have you met Lord Lindsey?”

  Simon scowled. “I’m sorry to say I have had the displeasure.”

  “Catherine is betrothed to him.”

  Simon froze mid-bite. “You cannot be serious.”

  “I’m afraid I am quite serious.”

  “I just lost my appetite.” With a quarter of his sandwich remaining, Simon pushed away the plate. “What is it you want me to do?”

  “Go to London. Do some sniffing around. Use that formidable charm of yours to ingratiate yourself with the ton and find out what you can about the Earl of Brisbane’s missing daughter. Catherine believes they are looking for her but are keeping her ‘disappearance’ quiet to protect her reputation. I need to know what they’re doing to find her and how close they are.”

  Simon sat back and studied his cousin. “And what’s in this for you?”

  “I promised to keep her safe. Lindsey all but attacked her, and she believes he would have raped her had she not kicked him in a most sensitive place.”

  Simon winced and crossed his legs. “Ouch.”

  “So he is scorned and angry. She is very much afraid of him.”

  “Pardon me for saying so, Derek, but I have never seen you so interested in the plight of a woman.”

  “I would provide aid and shelter to any woman under similar circumstances.”

  “If Lindsey discovers you have been harboring his fiancée, it could cause you condemnation in the House of Lords, not to mention a potential lawsuit.”

  “That is the very least of my concerns.”

  Simon raised an eyebrow, apparently surprised by Derek’s lack of concern for the potential scandal. “You find this woman appealing?”

  “Enormously.”

  “That,” Simon said, laughing, “is surely a first, and potentially just in the nick of time to save us both, no?”

  “Indeed. So you will help me?”

  Simon gave him a curious look that had Derek wondering what his cousin could be thinking.

  “You never ask anything of me, you know.”

  “I am aware of that, and I wouldn’t ask now except that I don’t dare leave her unprotected—”

  “Of course I will help you, Derek. I am honored that you would trust me with such an important errand.”

  “I shall be eternally grateful for any information you are able to uncover. I probably don’t have to tell you that time is of the essence.”

  “I understand. I will be off in the morning and will return immediately with anything that will help your cause.”

  “Thank you.” They shook hands.

  “It is high time you realized you don’t have to carry your heavy burden alone. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You need only to ask.”

  Touched by his cousin’s allegiance, Derek said, “Of course by helping me, you also may be protecting yourself from a fate worse than death.”

  “Thought hadn’t crossed my mind, old chap.”

  Derek laughed. “Of course it hadn’t.” Long after Simon left the room, Derek stood there marveling over the amazing man his cousin kept hidden behind that lackadaisical façade. He finished the last of Simon’s sandwich and then went to find one of the grooms to send him after Catherine’s horse.

  Chapter Eight

  After seeing Simon off, Derek spent the morning reviewing tenant farm reports and considering several new investment opportunities. His practice was to read over the proposals and then set them aside for a few days until one or two nagged at him with their potential. In the years since he’d reached his majority and taken control of his holdings, Derek’s investments had nearly tripled his already sizable fortune.

  In fact, he would daresay he’d become one
of the wealthiest men in all of England, not that adding to his fortune really mattered to him. Investing was all about the excitement of risk and the potential for tremendous benefit—along with spectacular failure. However, he hadn’t experienced much of the latter, thanks to what some referred to as a golden touch, or as Simon liked to put it, a golden gut. Whatever you called it, it rarely led him astray.

  Lately, he’d ventured into more esoteric areas by funding Sir Walter Green’s expedition to Africa to dig for ancient civilizations. While a find would yield Derek no significant return on his sizable investment, the publicity and ensuing books would bring him much acclaim for his forward-thinking approach to investing. Besides, the expedition interested him, and he had the money to pursue a few interests even if he didn’t have the luxury of accepting Sir Walter’s very tempting invitation to join the dig.

  Derek’s uncle Anthony, who’d been furious over his interest in the Wright brothers and their “flying deathtrap,” called the investment “another foolish waste of good money.” Derek had long ago stopped letting his uncle’s strong opinions influence his investment decisions. If he was to remain tethered to the land and his many obligations, then he intended to live vicariously through others who were doing the living and exploring.

  At midday, he stood up from his chair and stretched. The remainder of this day was not about work, however, but about courtship, and his heart skipped with excitement. He had spent considerable time in his library, choosing volumes he thought she might enjoy to help pass the time during her recuperation. Amelia had packed a luncheon that, judging from the aromas wafting from the bags he’d strapped to Hercules’s saddle, promised to be sumptuous.

  Tying Sunny’s lead to Hercules’s saddle, Derek directed Hercules toward the cottage. After an all-but-sleepless night spent remembering the sweetness of her kisses, Derek couldn’t wait to see Catherine again. As he approached the cabin, he slowed the horses, not wanting to seem too eager. His stomach fluttered with nerves and excitement and desire. In all his life, Derek Eagan, the Duke of Westwood, had never experienced all three of those emotions at the same time.

  When he arrived in the yard, he waved to the footman he’d assigned to watch over her and signaled him to be off. The man scampered onto one of the stable horses and left the yard, tipping his hat at Derek as he went past.

  Catherine must have heard the stampede of horse hooves because the door flew open, and there she was, wearing an ill-fitting pale green day dress and a welcoming smile. Her curls fell to her waist, a curtain of spun gold made more brilliant by the sunlight when she stepped outside to greet him. He loved that she had left her hair down rather than containing it the way fashionable women always did.

  She let out a happy cry at the sight of Sunny and ran to her, hugging the horse as she wept with joy. “Thank you so much for finding her for me, Mr. Bancroft. I missed her terribly.”

  Sunny whinnied with pleasure at being reunited with Catherine.

  Derek swung down from Hercules and secured both horses. “She seems to have missed you just as much.”

  “Did you sleep well?” she asked, looking up at him with those spectacular navy-blue eyes that caused his belly to flutter in awareness and his cock to harden.

  Clearing his throat, he shook his head.

  Alarm transformed her pretty face. “Why not?”

  “Thoughts of a beautiful young lady invaded my sleep, making it impossible to do anything but think of her.”

  Catherine’s pretty mouth twisted into a coy smile as she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm to lead him inside.

  “Wait,” he said, stopping her. “I come bearing gifts.”

  “Oh! I love gifts!”

  “I figured you might.” He untied the bags from his saddle and offered her his arm again. “That is a pretty dress, but it fits you rather poorly. Do I need to have words with the village seamstress?”

  Catherine laughed at his scowl. “Oh no, she was most lovely and accommodating. Mrs. Langingham asked that she bring me several day dresses to wear while my new clothing is being made.”

  “In that case, I shall not chastise her, but rather hope that she works quickly to provide you with something that . . .”

  “Better showcases my attributes?” Catherine asked with a saucy grin.

  “From your mouth to God’s ears.”

  “Why Jack Bancroft, that is a highly improper thought for a gentleman to entertain, let alone express to the lady he is courting.”

  He put his bags on the kitchen table and turned to find her right behind him.

  Seeming to have a mind of their own, his arms encircled her narrow waist and brought her in close to him. “I find that most of my thoughts where you are concerned are highly improper.”

  Her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat and her lips parted in anticipation.

  Derek zeroed in on that pretty mouth. “I told myself I wouldn’t kiss you the minute I arrived.”

  “Whyever not?”

  “I wish to court you properly, the way a lady deserves to be courted.”

  Her arms wound around his neck, and her fingers sifted through his hair, sending a thrill straight to his cock. “If you were courting me properly, we’d have a chaperone, and your arms would most certainly not be around me just now.”

  Spurred by her encouragement, he drew her in closer to him. “We would cause a scandal,” he whispered, bending his head to touch his lips to hers.

  “Mmm,” she whispered in reply, her eyes closing, “I so adore a good scandal.”

  He took her mouth then, intending to be gentle, until she tightened the fingers in his hair and thrust her tongue into his mouth. Derek’s groan rumbled through him and echoed into her. His hands traveled from her back to her taut bottom, which he cupped to bring her in tighter against his arousal.

  “Oh,” she said, breathlessly, when they came up for air, “this is highly improper.”

  “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, fearing her reply.

  “Absolutely not. Please do not stop.”

  “Catherine—” Whatever he was about to say was stolen when she initiated another torrid kiss. If he were thinking clearly, he’d have been surprised by such a passionate lady. The ladies he had known in his life tended to be tentative and prim when it came to kissing. He’d never yet met one who willingly used her tongue—at least he hadn’t until now—and the impact all but knocked him off his feet. Emboldened by her response, he ran his hands over her ribs, stopping just below the swell of full breasts.

  Needing to breathe, he tore his lips free and trailed kisses over her jaw and neck.

  “Jack,” she whispered, her tone urgent.

  “Yes, my love?”

  “Touch me.” Her entire body vibrated beneath his hands. “Please touch me.”

  “I told myself I wouldn’t rush this, that I would court you properly and marry you before I took anything more from you.”

  She drew in a ragged, deep breath, placed her hands over his on her ribs, and urged them up to cover her breasts.

  With his hands full of plump, fleshy mounds, Derek’s cock surged painfully. In all his many trysts with Kitty, he had never experienced this kind of wild desire. He ran his thumbs over the hardened tips, and Catherine’s legs seemed to collapse beneath her. Derek scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom, stopping short when he realized he was about to make love to her in his grandmother’s bed. Pushing that unsettling thought from his mind, he rather hoped she would approve. She had wanted so badly for him to find his own true love, and he had ample reason to believe he had finally done just that.

  Catherine clung to him, her arms wrapped tight around his neck, her face resting against his chest.

  He laid her gently on the bed, hovering above her. “We will be married right away.”

  “Yes,” she said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Yes, Jack, we will be married.”

  Every time she called him Jack a knife twisted in Derek’s gu
t, setting off warning bells in his conscience. The gut he trusted and followed so diligently when investing didn’t like this deception. It didn’t like it one bit.

  “And you are certain that this is what you want? To be married to me? To lay with me now the way a woman lays with a man?”

  “I have never been more certain of anything in my life. When you touch me, my entire body becomes inflamed.”

  Her words were almost as seductive as her actions. When she tugged him down for another sensuous kiss, Derek abandoned any thought of waiting. He simply had to have her—in his bed, in his heart and in his life. He had known almost immediately that she would be different, that she would change everything. To resist her now would be foolish. Only she could fill the gaping emptiness inside him.

  Hopefully, once she learned the truth about him, she would understand that he had hidden his identity to protect her from Lord Lindsey and to give them a chance to find out what they might have together. If she knew who he really was, she certainly wouldn’t be unbuttoning his shirt and setting his entire body on fire with the brush of her fingers against his skin. She wouldn’t have told him her secrets or trusted him with her fears. Had she learned his identity, she would have fled Westwood Hall and perhaps run right into the arms of her unscrupulous fiancé.

  Perhaps he had been wrong to deceive her. Perhaps he would pay mightily for that deception when she learned the truth. But as she pressed delicate kisses to his neck and chest, he told himself it was a deception he didn’t regret, for he had never experienced anything that could compare to the thrill of lying atop Catherine’s lushness.

  His lips found the curve of her neck, and he summoned the gentleness he would need for her.

  She combed her fingers through his hair, firing his desires to a fever pitch. “Are you very experienced at this?” she asked shyly.

  Startled by the question, he raised his head to find her eyes. “I have been with women, though not many.”