by Lauren Smith
“I don’t think you could be shackled to anyone or anything, Audrey. That’s what I love about you.” And then he very gently kissed her, so softly that it felt like the most wonderful dream. When their lips finally parted, she stroked his chin.
“How is Cedric? He must be frantic.”
“He is. All of us are. The entire League rushed to your aid, Lady Society.”
“Oh dear… You didn’t tell them about that, did you?”
“I’m afraid the secret is out, though it wasn’t my doing.”
She sighed. “Are they furious with me?”
Jonathan chuckled. “Furious? No, but a few feathers were ruffled. Speaking of which, Charles demands to know how you learned about the swans.”
“The swans?” she asked.
“Yes. You made reference to the incident in your column long before general gossip made the rounds.”
“I was there, of course. Vauxhall is not exactly a private place. I hid on the back of the boat and followed him at a safe distance once he and his mistress went out onto the lake.”
“Good Lord, I suppose you’ve always been a spy in your own fashion. I daresay you had quite an eyeful.”
She smiled wickedly. “Oh, I did. And when I’m feeling better, I should very much like to try a few of the positions I saw. Minus the swans, of course.” She saw a deep blush radiate from Jonathan at that.
“Being married to you will never be dull, I expect.” He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss on the back of her knuckles.
“I would certainly hope not.” Audrey stretched a little to yawn, but she couldn’t hide the jolt of pain it caused.
“Rest, please,” said Jonathan. “I need you to get better.”
“Only if you stay with me.” She closed her eyes, exhaustion slowly carrying her back to the land of dreams.
“Of course,” said Jonathan. “I’ll never leave.”
Epilogue
Two months later.
Audrey’s coach stopped in front of St. George’s, and she held her breath. A flutter of nerves made her place one hand over her stomach. She’d kept her bodice loose and hadn’t worn any stays beneath her gown in order to give her room to breathe without her wound being rubbed too much. She wasn’t as fashionable looking as she’d hoped to be on her wedding day, but at least she was alive and finally marrying Jonathan.
“You ready?” Cedric asked as he helped her out of her coach.
“I am.” She held her hands and looked up into his face. “Are you?”
Her older brother smiled. “To let you grow up and be a wife and mother? Never, but I couldn’t give you away to a better man.” His voice grew rough with emotion. “If Mother and Father could see you now, they would be so proud of you.” His eyes misted as he cleared his throat.
“Now, don’t you start,” she said with a sniffle. “If Jonathan sees me crying, he will worry.”
Cedric nodded, trying to pull himself together as well.
“Then we’d best get you married before I make a damned fool of myself.” He laughed, wiping at his eyes.
Cedric opened the doors of the church, and they met the crowd that awaited them. Audrey beamed, feeling beautiful in her pale rose gown. There were pearls on the bodice, and Belgian lace trimmed her sleeves and the hem. It was simple but elegant, the best kind of gown, and one she would certainly wear again. Her stomach had managed to heal except for an angry red scar that was still tender, but she was able to wear a slightly closer fitted dress without too much pain now.
Her brother escorted her down the aisle, where Jonathan stood waiting nervously. Ever since their return from France, he’d been so open, so affectionate. It took nearly losing each other to find out how deep their love for one another actually ran.
They shared their vows to love and honor each other and were pronounced man and wife. Jonathan cupped her face, and despite—or perhaps because of—the scandalous whispers it would cause later, he placed a lingering kiss of honey and fire upon her lips for all to see.
“Would it be terribly rude to banish everyone so we might enjoy our wedding night early?” she asked when they broke apart.
“Terribly rude.” Jonathan winked. “But since when do either of us care about propriety? Say the word and I’ll have them banished.”
“Ahem,” Charles cut in from behind. “No one is to do any banishing until I have had a slice of wedding cake. That shall be my reward for sitting through yet another bloody wedding.”
“Soon it will be your turn,” Audrey informed him.
“Not likely,” Charles shot back, but she didn’t miss the glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“I’m certain Lady Society has much to say on the subject.” She bit her lip to keep from giggling at Charles’s horrified expression.
“Oh dear,” Jonathan muttered in amusement.
“Lady Society can mind her own business for once.” Charles huffed and walked off, his young valet, Linley, trotting after him. Audrey knew he wasn’t as angry as he was pretending to be. She grinned a little impishly.
“Oh no, are you smiling?” Jonathan asked.
She giggled, ignoring the twinge of pain in her stomach. “Perhaps.”
“You’re scheming already.”
“Darling, I’m always scheming.”
“You know what I mean. You have someone in mind for Charles. Another Lady Society matchmaking plot?”
“No, no. I don’t think there is much I can do for Charles, to be honest. He’s too closed. Too wary.”
Jonathan tucked Audrey’s arm in his, and they walked back down to find the coach that would take them to his—no, their—home for the wedding breakfast. “Then why are you smiling?”
“Because I believe sometimes matters simply take care of themselves. Sometimes from the most unlikely of places.”
“You sound like a blasted oracle.”
She couldn’t stop laughing at the mystified expression on her husband’s face.
My husband. She’d waited so long to really use those words. Jonathan grasped her waist gently and set her in the carriage. It was thankfully a warm day for mid-November, but she couldn’t resist pressing against Jonathan, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side.
“Better?” he asked.
Audrey pressed her cheek against his shoulder and nodded. “Much better.”
When they reached his home, she looked at it with new eyes, the eyes of a wife.
“I bought this for you, you know,” he said, blushing again. “Everything I’ve added, the furnishings, the decorations…it was all with you in mind.”
“But… How could you know we’d end up together? You bought this right after Cedric and Anne were married, months ago.”
“I knew I wanted you from the moment I met you, and I had convinced myself that having a proper home was a requirement before I could propose. We can change anything you like. It’s your home now, after all.”
Audrey was speechless as he helped her down from the carriage and escorted her inside. The servants were waiting in the foyer to greet them. Even her cats were there, Mittens and Archimedes. Mittens was rubbing her cheek against the boot of a footman, and Archimedes was perched on the banister, his black tail swishing, watching everyone. To her surprise, the decor suited her quite well, not at all the home of a bachelor that now required a woman’s touch. It already felt like home.
“The wedding breakfast is all prepared,” the housekeeper informed them. “Will the guests be arriving shortly?”
“Thank you, yes, they will.” Jonathan escorted Audrey to the large dining room where they could admire the feast setting.
Had it really been a month ago that she’d said goodbye to Gillian as her lady’s maid when she’d finally married Lord Pembroke? Now Audrey was here at her own feast with her own husband, starting a new life.
She clutched at Jonathan, who pulled her close. “What’s the matter?”
“I just cannot believe we are marri
ed.”
“Tell me you have no regrets.” The concern in his eyes was so touching. There would forever be a part of him that struggled to feel worthy of what life had seen fit to give him. Her heart squeezed tight with love. Their lips met in the sort of kiss that came with years of longing for something and finally having it within one’s grasp. They’d both yearned for this, their hearts heavy with a quiet, desperate ache. Now there was only love, only joy.
“Regret marrying a man like you?” She rose up on her toes to kiss him again. “Never.”
Hugo stood in the wings of St. George’s, unseen as the wedding guests departed one by one. Rage filled him like a slow poison, blackening his soul.
She was supposed to be imprisoned, along with Avery. Sheffield had sent word that the two had been captured by French soldiers in Calais. The mission had hinged on either Avery or Audrey being taken in for trial alive. The chaos that would have followed would have resonated all the way to the royal court. Enough for the revolutionaries to play their hand early, or at least expose themselves.
And it had all been ruined. Oh, there had been a scandal, word of captured spies escaping, even an outrageous claim of an English cavalry charge by some of the soldiers. But instead of various nobles pointing fingers at one another in Paris, a diplomatic row was currently being dealt with here instead, facing a unified French front. Instead of stemming a revolution, his resources were being used to prevent a war. No doubt the French would leverage this for a better trade deal at some point. All because the League had meddled and Audrey had escaped.
There they were, laughing, smiling. Audrey had even married one of those damn Rogues. His focus settled on Charles and the young man who was his constant shadow.
This is all upon your head, Lonsdale. I will rain down vengeance upon you for the sins you have committed. You should’ve died in the river, but because you didn’t, they will all pay for your crimes.
Charles laughed at something Ashton said, and the men and women around them were grinning.
The fools. He had played his games, most of which had not turned out the way he’d hoped. But that was all they were, until now. Games. Games could be won or lost with no real consequence. The game, however, was now over.
You took Peter’s life and my father’s. Now I will take yours, using the hand of the one you trust most.
From his vantage point he saw Tom Linley look around the church, as if expecting to find him. Hugo smiled.
“Soon,” he said, and then he slipped out a side door and blended into the crowds on the street.
It was a wedding breakfast to remember. Audrey painted every moment in her mind so she would never forget. Everyone she loved attended—the rogues from the League, her sister and little Evan, Emily, Anne, even Gillian and James. Everything she had fought so hard for had finally come true, and she still couldn’t believe it.
“Audrey, you look so happy,” Gillian whispered with a contented smile as they stood in a corner of the room, watching the guests eat and talk.
“I am,” she admitted. “Marvelously so. Can you believe it, Gilly? We’re both married to the men we love.”
Her former maid nodded, her eyes beginning to glisten. “Sometimes I wake up in the night and for a moment I forget that I am not at the Sheridan home. Then I feel James beside me and…” She paused. “I sometimes start to cry. It upsets James, but I tell him each time that they’re tears of joy.”
Audrey was starting to fight off her own tears. “I know exactly what you mean. I had given up hope so many times, and now I feel like such a fool. Did you know that he loved me from the start?”
Her maid grinned. “Everyone did. It was as clear as a summer sky. But I suppose even Lady Society can’t see into everyone’s heart.”
She and Gillian laughed together, the sound warming her in a way she would never forget. Gillian squeezed her in an embrace and then went to rescue her husband from Charles, who was trying to swindle him out of an extra slice of cake.
“You know… Now that you’re married, you ought to watch your figure, old boy,” Charles nodded at James’s trim waist. “Wouldn’t want Gilly to think you’re getting soft, would you now?”
“I beg your pardon?” James sputtered.
“Oh yes. You’d best hand me that slice, so you aren’t tempted. There’s a good man.” Charles deftly stole the cake and ducked under a footman holding a tray of biscuits as the two nearly collided, then vanished into the hall. Audrey saw him present his brooding servant Tom with the slice. The young man forced a smile as he took the cake, and Charles slapped him on the back.
Audrey’s eyes narrowed as she studied Tom’s behavior. There was something going on with him, possibly more than she’d suspected earlier.
The question was, was there cause for alarm?
Long after the guests had left and the St. Laurent household had settled down, Audrey took Jonathan’s hand and led him to his bedchamber.
He opened the door and scooped her into his arms.
She laughed and curled her arms around his neck. “Careful! What are you doing?”
“It may not be the official threshold, but I still wanted to carry you over it to our bed.” He strode over to his bed and set her down with care.
“I’m not fragile,” she reminded him, then winced. “Well, not usually.”
“I know. But you are precious to me, and I want to treat you as I would anything I value more than my own life.”
Audrey giggled. “Oh dear. If you act like this when I am with child—”
“You will tolerate it.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Because I won’t be able to help but treat you without the utmost care.”
Audrey ignored this and started working on the buttons of his waistcoat. He struggled out of his coat as she reached for his trousers.
“Lie back and let me savor this,” he suggested.
She lay back, her heart pounding as she removed her slippers and stockings and slid her gown up to pool at her hips. He kissed his way up her thighs, and she moaned and closed her eyes when his mouth reached her mound. The climax that followed was intense, and she sighed in an abundance of pleasure as he covered her body with his and entered her. She removed his shirt, and her legs curled around his waist, tugging his trousers down farther as he rode her.
“Jonathan,” she whispered his name.
“Yes?” He clasped her hands in his and pinned them against the bedding, their bodies fused together.
“Don’t stop that thing…the thing you’re doing with your hips…” She moaned as he circled his hips deeper and new waves of pleasure built.
“Your wish…is my command.” His mouth took hers, their lips dancing fiercely against each other. They soon came together, sharing the same breath, and the beating of their hearts became one steady drum.
“How did I ever become so lucky to make you mine?” Jonathan asked with a boyish smile. He rolled their bodies so that they faced each other side by side, their limbs still entwined.
Audrey trailed a fingertip down his cheek. “You saw me. That very first day we met I could tell that you didn’t look at a lady, a sister of a viscount, or even money. You saw only a woman.”
“That’s true,” he admitted. “The most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But it only got better as I came to know you.” He brushed his thumbs over her lips. “And I have a feeling that spending the rest of my life as husband to Lady Society will never be dull.”
“It had better not be.” She grinned at him and kissed him once more. “I am quite a troublemaker, aren’t I?”
“Trouble indeed,” he agreed. “And worth it, my darling. Worth it all.”
Thank you so much for reading His Wicked Secret! But wait!
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If you like what you’ve read, feel free to explore another delicious and romantic series: Sins and Scandals!
Feel free to fall in love with Leo, the british Earl and the half gypsy woman from his childhood, Ivy as they rekindle their romance! Turn the page to read the first 3 chapters of An Earl By Any Other Name! Come on, you know you want to turn that page…
An Earl By Any Other Name
Chapter 1
England, October 1911
“You know what they say about the old boy…” Lord Caruthers murmured as Leopold Graham stepped into the main reading room of Brooks’s Club on St. James’s Street. The words stopped Leo cold.
“No…what do they say?” another man whispered, his face half hidden behind a newspaper. The two men were sitting close to a fireplace beside the door. They were both older, with graying hair and extended waistlines that showed their well-off lifestyles. Leo scowled at them, but deep inside he was afraid of their whispers.
“Kept an Italian opera singer in a cozy little love nest in Mayfair. Can you believe it?” Caruthers chuckled. “Damned if I’m not jealous of old Hampton for carrying on like that with a wife and son at home. Quite a bold move to bring down scandal like that so publically.”
“Wait…” The other man gasped, his paper rattling in his hands with excitement as he leaned closer to Caruthers. “The old fellow who died in his mistress’s bed? I heard about that!” The older gentlemen were leaning close to each other, gossiping like a pair of old ladies, using their newspapers much the way women would use fans.
“Yes! The late Lord Hampton…Had to carry him out of that woman’s house. She didn’t even care about him. I heard she was determined to keep the home. Messy business leaving that to the son to deal with. Even now that the family is out of their year of mourning, everyone hasn’t forgotten old Hampton’s sins.” Caruthers sniffed pompously. “I wouldn’t let my son be seen at dinner with that family, not with that sort of talk still hanging about.”
