“I need to ensure you are working diligently to see to her happiness. So there must be a cost to you if you fail.”
He heard the hesitancy in her voice, as though she feared she’d pushed him too far, had demanded too much. He wondered how it was that she failed to comprehend her worth, how badly he wanted her. She could have asked for his entire stable, and still, he would have said—
“I agree to your terms.”
Chapter 11
Sitting at the breakfast table the following morning, Tillie couldn’t believe he’d agreed to her outlandish terms. He was either very confident or very foolish. She knew the value of his mare. He wouldn’t part with it. He’d find a suitable match for Gina, even if he had to step into the role himself.
No, after being in his bed, she wouldn’t allow him to marry Gina. She could hardly fathom she was on the cusp of having an affair or how very much she was anticipating it. He’d had the right of it: she’d chosen the Nightingale Club because she had been willing to fall into bed with him.
Her reputation was ruined. No one here would ever marry her. When she returned to New York, it was quite possible someone there would be willing to take her to wife. But he never need know about her affair. And if she didn’t marry—shouldn’t a woman have some memories to carry with her as her hair turned silver? She suspected Rexton would give her memories to eclipse any others that might come along.
She looked up as Gina strolled into the room. “Good morning.”
Her sister smiled at her. “You look happy this morning.”
“I have some splendid news. Prepare your plate and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Setting aside the newspaper she’d not been reading because her attention kept drifting to Rexton, she waited on tenterhooks while Gina took various offerings from the sideboard before joining her at the table. A footman approached and poured her tea, then refilled Tillie’s cup. She added two lumps of sugar, stirred, and wondered how many lumps Rexton liked with his tea. How much would she learn about him during the coming nights?
“So what’s the news?” Gina asked.
“Lord Rexton will be taking you for a ride in the park this afternoon.” They’d worked out the details for the first outing before they parted ways last night. She’d been disappointed he hadn’t attempted to kiss her again, had acted as though he were barely interested in her. But then if he had kissed her, she didn’t know if she’d have been able to resist luring him into that bed. Why was it she was constantly thinking of his taking her?
“He’s going to start courting me again?” She shook her head. “Or pretending to as he was before?”
“It will be as it was before. Not a true courtship. He’s going to give you attention until you have a viable suitor, and is going to work diligently toward that end. I have no doubt you’ll be betrothed before Season’s end.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“I just am.”
Gina narrowed her eyes. “What have you done, Tillie?”
Worked to make amends. She’d spent so much of her youth thinking only about her own yearnings and desires. Now her sister was paying the price. But still she didn’t want Gina to know the true cost of what she’d arranged. “I met with him, spoke with him. We came to an understanding.”
“Which is?”
Gina, who always seemed so sweet and unassuming, could be doggedly determined when she set her mind to it. “I offered to put the arrangement he had with Uncle back into play.” Not entirely a lie, even if that wasn’t the final agreement.
Gina nibbled thoughtfully on the corner of her toast. “So you and I shall be going about with him again.”
“My absence will serve better. I don’t need to observe him with you as we now know his attentions were never true.”
“But other gentlemen’s might be. I still require your opinion.”
“I’ll observe when they call on you here.”
Gina skewed up her face into a very unattractive pout. “He likes you, you know. Something could come of that.”
He lusted after her. It was a very different thing. And something was going to come of that. She was rather ashamed by how much she was anticipating it. “I’ve alerted a groom to have your horse readied at two. He’ll also accompany you.”
“I still think you should be there as well.”
“It’s completely unnecessary.”
Unfortunately, the Marquess of Rexton did not agree.
He’d arrived early, so early that Gina was not yet ready. He had to have known she wouldn’t be. He’d then had the audacity to insist a servant fetch Tillie to keep him company while he waited in the parlor. She’d been a bit miffed by his high-handedness and had gone to join him simply to set him straight that they might be on the brink of having an affair, but he didn’t own her, she wasn’t going to come at his beck and call.
She’d arrived to discover keeping him company hadn’t been on his mind at all. But rather he’d anticipated that he’d have to convince her to join them.
She didn’t like at all that he’d made himself perfectly at home, had poured them each a glass of whisky, and now enjoyed his in a lazy manner, one shoulder pressed to the fireplace mantel, his gaze never leaving her as he swallowed the amber brew. And all she seemed capable of thinking was: I know what it tastes like on his tongue.
“My presence doesn’t encourage people to approach her,” she stated succinctly, her fingers tightening around her own glass, a defensive maneuver because they wanted to advance and brush from his brow some of the locks that were in danger of falling into his eyes.
“Is that what you want for her? Someone who is going to ostracize you?”
“This entire exercise has nothing at all to do with me and everything to do with Gina. We must do what is best for her.”
“Best for her is to display her loyalty to a family member whom Society shuns.”
“It links her with me. That has been the obstacle to her having a grand Season all along. People shall assume she will follow my path, that she wishes to marry for a title, will not honor her vows, and will find herself divorced and cast aside. It must be evident we are nothing alike.”
“When people get to know her, they will realize that.”
She didn’t know why the words hurt. Probably because it confirmed that he believed the truth of her scandal, that he didn’t know her at all, that he didn’t realize she had once been as innocent as Gina. But then she didn’t want him to know her. It would make things easier when their affair came to an end.
“Meanwhile,” he continued, “you underestimate the curiosity factor. People will want a closer look at you. They’ll approach.”
“They didn’t before.”
“They were too shocked. Or timid or wary. Their reasons don’t matter. I guarantee at least six approach today.”
She scoffed at his arrogance. “Not even one will speak with her.”
“Care to make a wager? If I’m correct, you’ll come to me tonight instead of tomorrow.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“What would you like?”
The first thing to flash through her mind involved his mouth doing wicked things to hers, but that would no doubt happen tomorrow night. She thought about asking to ride Fair Vixen. She could envision the joy that would surround her galloping over hills with that horse beneath her. But it seemed a trivial thing to bargain with when he had handed her the opportunity for power. “Tomorrow night when we are together, I will be in charge. You may only do as I command.”
The grin he bestowed on her was so wicked, so full of promise that for a moment she forgot how to breathe. “You want me to be your slave?”
Squaring her shoulders, she tossed back her head. She had fantasized about him too much, about what he might do to her. She didn’t want to be as disappointed as she’d been on her wedding night; she didn’t want him not to live up to her expectation. “Yes.”
“I’ll accept the wager.”
> She blinked in surprise at the notion he wasn’t put off by the possibility of her ordering him about. The confidence he possessed, the surety in himself to not be threatened by the prospect of not being in control made him all the more appealing.
“You overestimate the power of my presence in the park,” she told him.
“You underestimate the sway of my influence.”
“I suppose we shall see who is correct.”
“Indeed, we shall. Although I must confess you make me regret I shan’t lose this wager.”
“You are too arrogant by half.”
“You like that about me.”
Damned if she didn’t. His overconfidence was very different from Downie’s. Her former husband had been insufferable with his, but Rexton seemed to use his for teasing and occasional self-deprecation.
“Off with you now,” he ordered. “Ready yourself. The park awaits.”
While Rexton waited for her to prepare for their outing he stood at the window in the parlor, gazing out, and mulled over their latest wager. Although he was more than willing to play the part of slave, he preferred for them to be equals. Still he wondered at her request, what had prompted it, what her experience with Downie and the other gents might have entailed.
When both ladies finally joined him, he discovered he had eyes for only one. No matter how much he tried to appear neutral, he was drawn to her more strongly than he’d ever been to anyone else. With his own horse in tow, he escorted them out to the stables where their mares awaited.
A groom led Gina’s horse to some steps and assisted her. Rexton merely closed his hands possessively around Tillie’s waist, relishing its narrowness, imagining it in his hands with the cloth gone, and hoisted her into the saddle. He didn’t fail to notice the way her gloved hands had folded around his shoulders for support, the deep breath she’d taken that caused her breasts to skim along his chest. Damnation, if things at the park didn’t go as planned, if he lost this wager, he’d go insane with wanting before tomorrow night.
He was reluctant to release his hold on her, considered moving her to his horse, to have her nestled between his thighs, riding with him. He tried to convince himself that it was only the physical aspects of her that he yearned to explore but the truth of it was that she fascinated him in all ways. Her sister knew the truth of his courtship so he no longer had to solely engage with her, he didn’t have to flirt or feign interest. Certainly, he wasn’t going to be rude and ignore her, but the three of them could now have honest dialogues.
Still, riding between them, he waited until they neared the entrance to Hyde Park before asking, “So, Gina, what is it that you desire in a future husband?”
For some odd reason, she looked around him to her sister, waited several heartbeats as though seeking the answer, before turning her attention back to him. “I would like to marry into the aristocracy as it is a world with which I’m very comfortable. I prefer a husband who isn’t desperate for my money. What else should I want, Tillie?”
He didn’t think it was a good sign when a woman had to ask another what she sought in a husband.
“Kind. Generous. He should make you laugh.”
“So she should marry a jester?” he asked.
Tillie gave him an oh-you-silly-man look. “Don’t be daft. But they should have the same interests, the same outlook on the world. They should find joy in each other. Joy often leads to smiles and laughter. Surely you have known women who made you laugh.”
He considered. “My sister. A couple of friends.” But in truth, no one he’d ever bedded. Perhaps that was the reason the affairs had lasted such a short time. The sex had been good, but beyond the bed there had been little to recommend them. Conversations were brief, words seldom exchanged except for those designed to titillate.
“I think it would be splendid to be friends with my husband,” Gina said. “We’d enjoy each other’s company a bit more I think.”
“Were you and Downie friends?” he heard himself ask, hating the words even as they’d poured out of him. He didn’t want to bring up her former husband, certainly wasn’t jealous of the man who’d lost her, although he did find himself wondering if he’d have been able to hold on to her. He would have been kind and generous to her. Would he have made her laugh?
“We were nothing,” she said quietly, before applying her crop to her horse’s flank and trotting ahead.
He was about to urge his horse forward when Gina said, “She doesn’t like to discuss him. You’d be better served not to ask her questions about Downie.”
He glanced over at her. “You’ve discussed him with her?”
“Discussed is a bit of a stretch. I’ve managed to glean a little information. She’s far too secretive for her own good. But then I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve been terribly hurt. You tend to build walls.”
Then she, too, was racing off to catch up with her sister. He was torn. He didn’t want to know about her life with Downie—and yet he did. He also realized he was an absolute cad, grateful she had implied Downie had never made her laugh. If he had to tickle her from head to toe, her joyful giggles were going to be ringing in his ears when all was said and done.
He urged his horse into a trot. The ladies had slowed so it didn’t take long to catch up. As he neared he determined they were engaged in serious conversation—but it came to an abrupt halt when he was within hearing distance, leaving him with the distinct impression he’d been their subject. He didn’t much like that he found himself hoping at least one of them had been espousing upon his good qualities—whether it was Tillie striving to justify why she’d turned once again to him to assist with securing a proper husband for Gina or Gina seeking to convince Tillie that she’d be a fortunate woman indeed if Rexton gave her his attentions.
On the other hand, he was rather certain Tillie hadn’t shared with her sister the precise terms of their arrangement. Any decent woman would find it horrifying. He was rather gratified Tillie couldn’t be described as decent.
“Ladies,” he announced as he pulled up on Tillie’s left side, deciding not to separate the sisters. “We must stay together if you wish for my influence to have any bearing.”
Tillie gave him a hard-edged glare. “You should be on the other side of Gina, so it is clear where your interest lies.”
“My pretended interest. Let’s be clear when it’s only the three of us.”
“But it is not only the three of us. The park is bursting at the seams with visitors this day. They need to see you showering Gina with attention.”
“And they will once our visitors are on their way.”
A faint crease appeared between her brows. “Visitors?”
“My influence alone is not enough to awaken widespread interest in Gina. We must rely on others. Halt your horses, ladies.” He was surprised they did so quickly, without argument. If he was discovering anything at all about American women, it was that they didn’t like to be ordered about.
He grinned at his sister and her husband as they approached on matching bays. The Duchess of Lovingdon had a style about her that extended to the animals in her life. Everything matched. “What a surprise running into you here!” he exclaimed.
Grace scowled at him, no doubt because he’d joined them for breakfast that morning and asked her for the favor she was now delivering. With a warm smile, she turned her attention to Tillie. “Lady Landsdowne, it’s been a while. If I may say, you’re looking well.”
She seemed surprised by the kindness in his sister’s voice. “Thank you, Your Grace. I’m pleased to say I’m doing quite well. I hope the same may be said of you.”
“Quite well indeed. The duke wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“You’re very fortunate.”
“As I’m well aware.” Grace turned to Gina. “Miss Hammersley, I do hope you enjoyed yourself at our ball the other evening.”
“It was a magnificent affair, and one I shall always remember with fondness, as I became acqua
inted with your brother there.”
“Don’t let my brother fool you, Miss Hammersley. He is a scoundrel.”
“I believe you’re confusing me with your husband,” Rexton said.
Grace smiled, a bit of wickedness in her eyes. “Scoundrels have their uses.”
“Once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel,” the duke said. “But then we do make life interesting for the ladies, don’t we, Rex?”
“Indeed.” And he planned to make life very interesting for Tillie later tonight.
“Hate to chat and dash,” Lovingdon said, “but we’re expected elsewhere. It was a pleasure to cross paths with you ladies.”
“We must get together for tea sometime,” Grace said. “There is a lovely new establishment called The Royal Tea Palace where my friends and I take tea on occasion. You must join us some afternoon.”
“We’d be delighted,” Gina chirped. “I’ve heard the place is exceptional.”
“I find it so. I shall see about sending an invitation around in the near future, shall I?”
“That would be lovely.”
“Good day to you then.”
He waited until the duke and duchess were beyond hearing before leaning toward Tillie and whispering, “Two down, four to go.”
The scoundrel! The rogue, the rake, the . . . cheater!
“Family does not count,” Tillie informed him with every bit of haughtiness she could muster.
He grinned as though she were a simpleton. “Our wager had no conditions on it, other than six people would approach us. The Duke and Duchess of Lovingdon will have been noticed, stopping to speak with you. They did have another engagement. We almost missed them because of your dillydallying earlier.”
She wanted to reach out and tweak his nose, then wrap her hand around his neck and bring him in for a kiss. She had little doubt he was going to win the wager, that four more people would be giving them attention before their time in the park was done. “I do not dillydally.”
A ridiculous thing to say when she had indeed taken her sweet time, taking pleasure in making him wait—as a sort of punishment for insisting she accompany them.
An Affair with a Notorious Heiress Page 17
