Frustrated by the mouthful of muslin, the baby released her to try again. His lunges grew more desperate with every attempt.
“Here. You take him.” She tried to force him back into Ned's arms.
He could see she was flustered.
“Oh, no.” Ned couldn't keep himself from reveling in her distress. Her voice was all atremble. “I wouldn't dream of taking him from you. You are doing so marvelously.”
Completely scarlet now, Christina looked up to retort. But she stopped when her eyes met his.
Ned had not sensed his own tension climbing until the shock of her challenging gaze sent a jolt shooting right through him. Exhilaration tingled beneath his flesh, in a way he had not known in years.
And something else he noticed.
Her long, flaxen hair still had the silky shine and the soft, light texture he remembered. Heightened color had brushed her cheeks, giving them the delicate tint of a rose. And, all at once, Christina looked more fragile than he had thought her.
Her breathing had quickened. Her breast rose and fell against the baby's clinging body.
Who would have thought that a woman could look so ripe with a baby at her breast?
The air between them grew taut as Ned caught a whiff of her perfume. He knew he should pull away, but the devil inside him had been too delighted to see her discomposed. She had made him feel like an ass more than once in the short period he had known her. In the park and again today, entirely unprovoked, she had beaten him at his own game.
Christina was adept at teasing. But for all her grown-up airs, and the tantalizing figure she could not hide, she was still an innocent. Her blush had told him.
He could not resist, just this once, using his advantage.
He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Perhaps there is something you could do to help the baby,” he said.
* * * *
A shuddering warmth stole through Christina's body, as his words evoked a shocking image. Still ... there was no condescension in Ned's eyes now.
Robert Edward gave a frustrated wail.
Christina ignored Ned's nearness in her pity for baby. She hugged him closely to her neck, burying her face near his. “It's all right, little one. Poor baby, please don't cry."
“Give me your hand."
“What?” Christina looked up to find that Ned had moved nearer.
“I said ... give me your hand.” His command slid over her in a low, stirring voice. He took another step closer, so near his breath stirred her hair.
In a daze, Christina extended one hand...
Ned took her palm between his. He held her first finger close to his lips. “The baby wants something to suckle,” he said in that same deep murmur. “You can help him, if you will."
“Don't be” —she gasped, then stammered—"d-don't be ridiculous.” Her voice ended on a squawk.
For Ned had taken her finger into his mouth. His lips moved slowly over it, making it moist.
Christina's knees went weak.
Before she could protest, he released that finger and whispered, “See?” Then he grasped another and held it out before Robert Edward's mouth.
Fooled by the touch against his lips, the little marquess latched onto her finger like a vise. Christina choked on a rapid intake of breath. She had never felt such strength.
Then she heard Ned chuckle, and his amusement called forth a surge of rage that threatened to choke her. She opened her mouth to shriek—
“Time for nursies, is't?” Dobbs's voice broke in, making them jump and spin towards the door.
She must have entered the room under cover of the baby's cries, for even Ned had failed to notice her presence.
“Tha should've rung for me, your lordship, like tha always does,” Dobbs scolded. “I'm long past done wif m’ tea."
Christina caught Ned's disconcerted expression and shot him a look of satisfied vengeance.
Dobbs came to take the baby from her arms. “Tha mustn't try to calm him thysel', your ladyship,” she said with a hearty laugh. “It's me he's wantin', and what I've got.”
“Shame on you, Dobbs.” Ned cocked a teasing eyebrow Christina's way. “You will shock the Lady Christina if you mention such an indelicate subject."
The buxom nurse covered her uneven teeth and fell into a giggling curtsy. “Eh, forgive me, milady. I'm naught but a country girl, for all that."
Christina raised her nose into the air. “It is of no consequence whatsoever,” she said, grateful that the baby's cries had stopped.
One whiff of his nurse, and he had let go of Christina's finger, which had not fooled him for long.
Dobbs fumbled with her smock.
Determined not to let herself be flustered again, Christina fought the urge to flee. But her pulse still raced under Ned's regard.
“Lord Windermere was having his little joke,” she said loftily. “It is a most deplorable tendency of his."
“Tha’ doesn’ have to tell me naught about his lordship, milady.” Dobbs's wink gave Christina the impression that she was all too familiar with Ned.
For some reason, this suggestion nettled her as nothing else had done. When next she spoke, her tone dripped with scorn.
“Ned?” She glanced meaningfully towards the door. “Would you care to leave or do you intend to watch?"
Instead of the guilty start she'd hoped to provoke, she was treated to a wicked smile.
“Although the prospect sounds most enticing, I fear I ought to shove off. Your servant, Lady Chris."
He bowed in his ironic fashion, then, as he stepped past her, he called his goodbyes to Little Ned. But the baby was already engaged in his dinner. His noisy slurps could be heard over the pulse in Christina's ears.
“I have to hurry home,” Ned told her with a wink. “I've got to decide which of my jackets would best be worn to Almack's. The hostesses there are extremely particular, you know."
Chapter Four
After this unsettling encounter, Christina would have been happy for an hour of reflection in which to plan her revenge on Ned.
But it was not to be. Not long after she had sought her room, the message was carried to her on a salver that another gentleman caller awaited her below. Remembering the man she had met in the park, Christina hastened to freshen her face and went to greet Lord Levington in the drawing room.
There she found him, sitting with Louisa, who had returned from her afternoon outing. Louisa had obviously been entertaining the baron with anecdotes about her charitable societies. As Christina passed through the door, she heard her sister-in-law inviting him to subscribe to an almshouse for wayward females.
Lord Levington had not answered when, perceiving Christina, he leapt to his feet with a look of unbridled relief. With a pinched face, which was at odds with his smooth deportment, he hastily explained that he had come to inquire whether her misadventure of the previous day had caused her any lingering distress.
Christina made him a curtsy and thanked him prettily again for having come to her assistance. She assured him she was very well.
“Distress?” Her curiosity aroused, Louisa looked up from her embroidery. “Was there a mishap in the park?"
Choosing her words with care, Christina gave an abbreviated version of her ride, leaving out the part in which she had sprung Ned's horses. Aware of his potential use to her, she gave Lord Levington more credit for her rescue than he deserved.
Louisa's reaction was overwhelming.
“How very romantic!” she exclaimed, looking back and forth between them with delight. “Just like the stories of knights and fair damsels in distress. I cannot wait to tell Robert all about it."
“Are you perfectly certain that would be wise?” Christina tried to say this tactfully, but Louisa's enthusiasm had taken her aback. “I would not want him to think that Lord Windermere was in any way responsible. Not when they are such good friends."
And not when it had been her fault, and her fault only. And Robert was sure to blame Ned.
Louisa seemed confused by her caution. The baron was trying to maintain an expression of polite disinterest, but Christina had noted the sudden glint in his eyes when he'd heard Louisa's speech.
There could be only one reason for Levington to care whether Louisa related her mishap to Robert or not. And that was if he had a reason for wishing to impress the Duke of Broughton.
Christina had been raised the daughter of a duke. She knew how many people made their livings off the favors a duke could bestow. She wondered what exactly Lord Levington desired and had a sinking feeling she already knew.
But time would soon illuminate this question for her. His lordship's attentions to herself were undoubtedly the key.
He seemed very eager to know how soon he might be honored with the pleasure of soliciting her hand for a dance at an upcoming assembly. Louisa eagerly informed him of the voucher Christina had just been sent for Almack's.
“Shall we see you there tomorrow night?” she asked him with a beatific smile.
“I shall make a point of going.” Lord Levington allowed his gaze to rest significantly on Christina.
His call only lasted a very few minutes, but Christina found herself becoming anxious for him to go. She knew him now for a fortune-hunter. Young as she was, she'd had experience of his kind before. There was an unmistakable gleam of affection in a greedy man's eyes, and it could not be mistaken for a reflection of the woman upon whom he gazed.
“Well,” Louisa said, once he was gone, “what a charming gentleman! So polite and attentive. I think he looked quite smitten with you, Christina dear."
“Did he? I scarcely noticed, but we have not been acquainted for long. I daresay he was just being polite, as you said."
Louisa smiled at her. “You must find me very obtuse, my love. I said he was polite, but I did not mean to imply that his attentions to you were merely charming manners. However, if you do not wish to discuss your admirers with me, I shall refrain from pressing you."
Her speech was uttered with such a remarkable lack of offense that Christina knew her sister-in-law was not angry. She would have chastised herself for having sounded so distant, but the truth was she did not wish for Louisa to make more of Lord Levington's attentions than she herself wished them to be.
“Not at all,” she said, giving Louisa her most generous smile. “I simply do not care to encourage an interest I cannot reciprocate."
“No?” Louisa raised her brows. “Well, I shall not push you then, dear, if you cannot find Lord Levington attractive. But it does seem a shame. Especially after such a promising beginning.”
Her next smile was full of mischief. “Although I will admit I was a bit put off by his use of so much pomade. There is something so unromantic about a man whose hair appears as if he spent more minutes over it than the lady he is trying to impress. Do you not agree? And I say this, Beau Brummell or no Beau Brummell."
She stood. “But of course, I should never have mentioned such a detraction if he had appealed to you in the least. Whom you choose to favor or not shall be your own decision.” She gave Christina a sympathetic smile.
Turning to go, Louisa excused herself on the grounds that she'd like to visit the nursery before dinner. “For I haven't seen my darling baby all afternoon.” She was walking towards the door, when she paused and threw back over her shoulder, “I do not suppose you have seen Ned, today?"
“Ned?” Christina started, as a memory of their last encounter made heat flood her face. “Whenever would I have seen Lord Windermere?"
“Oh, he often comes by to see the baby,” Louisa lightly replied. “Never tell him I know, but he frequently sneaks up to the nursery to spend a private moment with Robert Edward. I find the habit so endearing, don't you?"
“Absolutely adorable,” Christina said wryly, as her sister-in-law exited the room.
So, Louisa knew all about Ned's visits to her baby, and she approved. The thought of how mortified Ned would be if he knew he'd been discovered made Christina eager to inform him, until she reflected that Ned would undoubtedly put a stop to his visits if the truth were out. He would have too much regard for his roguish reputation to continue in such a contradictory behavior.
A sense of just how cruel such an act on her part would be made Christina realize she never would use this piece of information against him. And, besides, she could think of no good reason why she should make Ned feel uncomfortable about coming to this house. Robert and Louisa were his dearest friends, after all, and she would not deprive him of their company.
She would simply have to think of some other way to torment him, next time she saw him.
* * * *
In the morning, Louisa received a note from Ned informing her that Lady Jersey would be gravely disappointed if he did not accompany them to Almack's that evening. Louisa waited until just before Ned's arrival to tell Robert of the addition to their party.
“Windermere?” Robert's voice had risen an octave, so he cleared his throat before saying, “You cannot mean that he will go Almack's with us?"
“I think it was he. I cannot remember numbering another Ned amongst our acquaintance,” Louisa replied innocently, as she applied a dusting of powder to her nose.
“Louisa, you are doing it again. You are purposely misunderstanding me when I am being very serious. What will people say if we appear at Almack's with Ned in tow?"
“My darling, you mustn't talk of Ned as if he were a barge."
Robert spoke in a threatening tone, “Louisa ...."
Unable to distract him, she sighed. “Yes, my dearest, what?"
“You know I cannot countenance even the appearance of Ned's dangling after my sister."
“Yes, you say that, Robert, but I do not agree. However, there can be no changing our plans for this evening at this late hour without offending Ned irreparably. What's done is done, and we must contrive to put the best possible face on the evening."
“I cannot understand how you could have gone against my wishes like this."
Robert's plaintive tone brought Louisa to her feet. Moving to stand in front of him, she patted his chest and adjusted the fold of his cravat.
“I did not invite him, dear. Sally Jersey took it into her head to suggest this arrangement, and since we would not wish to offend her, I could see no other choice. But we'll take care it does not happen again. I suppose a word in her ear will do the trick."
“Oh, perfect!” Robert said gloomily. “If she suggested such a thing, it can only be because she heard they drove in the park. She has probably been on the lookout for a match for Ned these many years and thinks she's found him one at last."
“Nonsense. Whomever a man Ned's age chooses to marry is no affair of hers."
“But she will make it her affair. All you women do."
“Robert!"
Robert refused to look sheepish when his wife was so clearly the guilty one. The stare he gave her told her so. Louisa just dimpled at him.
But, for once, her dimples failed to work their spell. Robert grew stiff, before soberly informing her that he would have to have a word with Ned, man to man. “I must warn him off before it is too late."
“Too late for what?"
Her question disconcerted him. “Why ... too late to change his course, I suppose. He must understand that I will never give my consent to a match with Christina."
“Oh.” As she released him, Louisa looked thoughtful. She turned away and went back to her dressing table as if she did not wish him to see her face.
Her unnatural silence brought him an unsettling feeling. He had the sense he was about to make a serious blunder, and that Louisa knew precisely what it was. Moreover, it seemed she felt guilty for not being honest enough to alert him now.
“What?” he finally asked. “Why shouldn't I speak to Ned?"
She had started at his first word, but she quickly recovered. “I was thinking of your friendship. That is all."
“No, I know there is something else. I know
you too well, Louisa."
She gave him a stricken look. “It is only that I was so very wrong about Christina and Ned. I do not think they suit at all, and I am so disappointed. From what I can gather, they took a positive aversion to each other on that drive I forced them to make. And, now, to make everything worse, Sally has made Ned furious by imposing upon him so."
“Yes?” Robert's lips turned up involuntarily at this welcome news, but he comforted his wife with a pat on her shoulder. “Never mind, my love. It will all be for the best. Your intentions were good, but it would never do."
“I suppose you're right.” She sighed, then added with a glimmer of hope, “However, if you did speak to Ned, it is possible you might be able to awaken his interest. You know how mischievous he can be when he wants to be contrary."
“So that's it, is it?” Robert gave a condescending laugh. “No, no, my dear. I'm afraid I am on to your tricks. I shall not speak to Ned at all. It will be much better all around if we allow matters to take their natural course."
Louisa meekly agreed, although a hint of guilt still lingered in her eyes as she watched her husband walk from the room. As soon as the door had closed behind him, she sighed.
“My poor, dearest love,” she said, looking after Robert with true regret. “You will get over it,” she promised. “And you will see. They will make the happiest couple."
* * * *
That night at nine o'clock, Ned presented himself in Grosvenor Square, in knee breeches, white cravat and detested chapeau bras, fully prepared to entertain Robert's displeasure, and armed with some serious considerations of his own.
He had been rather appalled with himself for using his superior experience in intimate matters to intimidate Christina. The justification he had used for his bad behavior, that she had goaded him to it, could not excuse it, and he was determined never to let her prompt him to such an improper act again.
That he had found his own pulse heightened by their intimacy had been sufficient warning. The answering glimmer in her eyes had sounded a muffled alarm. He could not let himself become attracted to an innocent girl, nor let her fancy herself attracted to him—especially Robert's sister whom, all but Louisa seemed agreed, would be ruined by any association with Ned. The fact that she played pranks like a rag-mannered brat did not make her the sort of creature who deserved being ostracized by the best of society.
A Pair of Rogues Page 6
