Midnight Masqerade

by Shirlee Busbee

  She had been without shame last night, had eagerly acted the part of a wanton in her husband's arms, but she had awakened alone in her own bed and she wondered with growing dismay if she had dissatisfied Dominic in some way. Had she disgusted him by her abandoned ways? Was that the reason he had returned her to her bed?

  Nibbling her lower lip, she nervously paced the confines of her room, all the old mistrust and uncertainties suddenly rising up to dim her happy spirits. But though Melissa was conscious of the troubles that lay between them, she was curiously no longer willing to blindly believe that Dominic was the philandering husband he appeared.

  She had experienced no great insight during the night, but there was one particularly insistent notion in her brain that stubbornly refused to go away, no matter how silly it might seem to be. Dominic had been her only lover, and she had nothing else on which to base her belief, but she could not accept the idea that he could make such tender love to her, could hold her in his arms so tightly and kiss her so warmly, if he were having an affair with Deborah Bowden. If it was Deborah whom he wanted, why bother with her? Why seek her out and why deny that there was anything between Deborah and him? The law, Melissa acknowledged slowly, was all on his side-she was his wife, he legally had complete control of her life, was able to do as he pleased, so why the unnecessary pretense of wanting her?

  It simply didn't make sense. She had told him that they would each seek their own pleasures, and he had been infuriated-was it because he was not guilty of the sins she had laid at his door?

  Of course, there were Uncle Josh's comments ... and there was Latimer's letter to her.... And she couldn't forget the morning she had found Dominic with his arms about Deborah. . . . And then, she admitted with a sinking feeling, there had been his actions just the other night at their dinner party....

  Melissa shook her head angrily. No. She was not going to believe that he could be so dastardly as to make love to her when it was really another woman he wanted. Especially since he seemed so very honorable and noble in all other aspects.

  A frown creasing her forehead, she stared sightlessly off into space, common sense warring with the insistent dictates of her heart. Was his lovemaking last night really proof of anything? she finally asked herself listlessly. Wouldn't a practiced womanizer act just as he had? Wasn't it true that men felt things differently than women? That a man could make love to many women, driven by nothing more than common lust? While a woman ... A woman would give herself only to the man she loved.

  What a silly notion! Melissa thought irreverently. If a man can make love to many women without love, why should it be any different for a woman? It was an intriguing thought, but it didn't help resolve the conflict in her mind.

  Despite the misgivings that raged in her breast, Melissa stubbornly refused to return to her old belief that Dominic was a blackguard and a cheat. Except when it came to women, he had always acted in a considerate and generous manner, and though there were certain incidents that gave Melissa pause, she began to carefully examine the evidence against him.

  Josh. Her eyes narrowed, she thought about Uncle Josh's earlier statements about Dominic and dwelt quite a long time on the unsettling fact that Josh, who loved her and cared for her, had been perfectly happy, it seemed, to many her off to a young man he had freely stigmatized as a rake. Somehow that idea didn't ring as true as it once had to Melissa. Could Josh have painted Dominic far darker than he was in the hopes that she would become interested in him? It was more than possible, Melissa thought with a snort, remembering how eager Josh had been to get her married.

  Latimer. Melissa shrugged. Latimer's letter could be easily dismissed, and she had never placed much faith in his words anyway. He had proved himself everything that Dominic was not, and she was astute enough to realize that since he had failed in his objective to make her his mistress, spite alone might have motivated his ugly accusations. Might have.

  And as for Lady Bowden ... Melissa scowled fiercely. As for the brazen Lady Bowden, she had always been of the opinion that the older woman was a forward piece. Hadn't Deborah been fawning over first one eligible man and then another since she had first arrived in the neighborhood? Why, she had even cast eyes on Zachary and Zachary didn't seem to mind in the least if the besotted looks he sent her way were any indication! Granted, her overtures had not been as flagrant as they had been with Dominic, but still-!

  Rather pleased at the direction of her deductions, Melissa smiled faintly. Of course, she hadn't proved anything conclusive; she had merely looked at things from a different perspective. And some things that should have occurred to her sooner slowly unraveled in her brain.

  There had never been any question that Zachary had been impressed and drawn immediately to Dominic, and that should have made her think a little more deeply about Dominic's supposedly flawed personality. Wouldn't Zachary have noticed something and warned her? Josh's ready acceptance of Dominic into the family was suspicious too, especially if he really believed that Dominic was just a blackguard. Wasn't it far more likely that he would have kept his new nephew-in-law at arm's length?

  Melissa's lips pursed, and she decided that one of the very first things she was going to do this afternoon was ride over and have a rather pointed conversation with her uncle. Josh might bluster and shout, but in the end she knew he would confess, if he had concocted that story about Dominic.

  Talking to Royce, too, might be a good idea. Royce would know if Dominic were indeed a callous womanizer. A wide, pleased smile suddenly spread across Melissa's face. Of course! She should have paid more attention to Royce's actions during this whole affair. Josh might have been willing to sanction a marriage to an unscrupulous rake to gain control of Sally's fortune, but Royce, who knew Dominic intimately, would never have allowed her to be married to a man he thought unworthy under any circumstances!

  Extraordinarily pleased with the train of her thoughts, Melissa fairly danced out of her bedchamber. There was a great deal she intended to find out today. And if she was right ... She shivered with something near to ecstasy as she considered what her future might be.

  Melissa had not been the only one to do some serious thinking this morning, nor was she the only one to come to certain encouraging conclusions. Dominic had awakened at the first light of dawn and had spent an excessive amount of time staring idiotically down into Melissa's sleeping countenance.

  With greedy satisfaction his eyes drank in each lovely feature, from the wildly tousled honey-brown curls to the pink sole of one slim foot that peeked out from the tangled linen sheets. He decided that he had never seen a more beautiful sight and that having Melissa in his bed was a habit he was definitely going to enjoy cultivating.

  His eyes trapped by the sweet curve of her mouth, he couldn't control the impulse to taste that honeyed warmth once more, and his head dipped and he gently pressed his lips to hers. She stirred in her sleep, a little frown marring the serenity of her features. Seeing her reaction, he smiled faintly. After last night and the hours he had kept her awake, he wasn't at all surprised that she slept so deeply or that his kiss didn't bring her eagerly awake.

  Knowing that he was not going to be able to simply lie there beside her and that if he didn't get away soon from the seductive warmth of her body, he was going to wake her and prove that he was an absolutely insatiable animal where she was concerned, Dominic reluctantly got out of bed. For a moment he toyed with having his bath in her room but decided against it and very gently lifted her from his bed and carried her into the other room, placing her once more in her own bed.

  Back in his own room, despite the earliness of the hour, he rang for Bartholomew and wasn't in the least surprised when his bedroom door opened almost instantly.

  Bartholomew's sallow features perfectly devoid of expression, he asked quietly, "Would you prefer your coffee before you bathe or afterward, master?"

  His manner carefree and jaunty for the first time in several weeks, Dominic grinned at his manservant and
demanded, "Does nothing I do catch you off guard? I would have thought that my summons would find you in bed at this hour of the morning."

  Bartholomew sent him a reproving glance that was at variance with the twinkle in the knowing brown eyes. "I wouldn't be fulfilling my duties properly if I wasn't capable of anticipating your most likely wants, sir."

  "Oh, God! You're beginning to sound depressingly like your Uncle Litchefield," Dominic said with a mock groan.

  Bartholomew, with a disgustingly superior smile on his face, bowed and murmured, "That is high praise indeed, sir. You overwhelm me with your compliments."

  Laughing at his valet, Dominic said lightly, "Enough! Now go see about my bath and bring the coffee back with you."

  Having bathed and eaten, and fortified by several cups of strong dark coffee, Dominic decided that an early morning ride would not come amiss. Whistling cheerfully, he wandered down the stairs and out of the house. His step as light as his spirits, he made his way to the stables and after rousing out a sleepy-eyed groom, a few minutes later he rode away, his destination unknown.

  It was a fine morning, the blistering, debilitating heat of August having faded to the far more pleasant warmth of September. This early in the day, the humidity was not as powerful either, and Dominic's horse, a rather flashy dark brown gelding with three white socks and a large white star in the middle of his handsome face, tended to cavort and prance, as if signaling his pleasure in the motning.

  Since he had no particular destination in mind, Dominic let the horse explore at will, his own thoughts dwelling blissfully on the events of last night. A silly little smile on his face, he finally admitted to himself that marriageto the right woman, of course-had much to recommend it. And infuriating though she might be, as incomprehensible as her actions might appear to him, he conceded that Melissa was the right woman for him.

  It wasn't, he mused slowly as his horse danced under his slack grip of the reins, just the rightness of having Melissa in his bed either. They had spent quite a lot of time together since they had married, and reviewing those past weeks, weeks when he had been denied any sort of intimate contact with her at all, he was amazed to discover that he had actually enjoyed that time with her. Naturally, be added hastily, it would have been much more enjoyable if he could have partaken of the delights he had known last night, but even without the pleasures of the flesh to cloud the issue, he had found the early days of his marriage most delightful. At least, he clarified with a scowl, u had been delightful when he hadn't been thinking of the underhanded way Melissa had trapped him into marriage or been considering her a greedy little hussy.

  His scowl deepened and, almost irritably, he jerked the horse away from a particularly succulent clump of grass that grew near the narrow, winding path. Oblivious to the angled undergrowth of the tall, slim beech trees, the fra grant yellow jasmine and trailing trumpet vines, as well as the deeply green magnolia trees and the towering oaks that grew in wild abandon, he continued on his way, his thoughts focusing on Melissa's seemingly contradictory behavior.

  During the time that they had been married, he could not think of one instance when she had displayed any signs of avarice or taken a marked interest in his money. Granted, he had lavished expensive gifts and luxurious items on her, but he had always had the distinct impression that she had been slightly uncomfortable and uneasy with his generosity. Of course, that could all be an act on her part, he thought reluctantly, but ...

  A bit angry at the unwelcome direction of his musings but unable to stop their flow, he tried to view the past few weeks and the occurrences that had led to their marriage dispassionately. It was difficult for him to do because his emotions kept getting in the way, but finally, after a long struggle with himself, some interesting ideas began to emerge from his muddled thinking. Ideas that he should have considered long before now.

  Dominic had always had the reputation of being a shrewd and perspicacious young man, and understandably, he had been quite proud of that fact. Even as a very young man he had been able to easily see beyond the charm and ingratiating manner of those who would trick and cheat him; able to spot at once insincerity cloaked by simulated artlessness, deceitfulness gowned by clever guilelessness. His ability to view the antics of others with a sometimes friendly, sometimes coolly detached interest had been a great boon to him, and he had grown used to thinking himself infallible when it came to understanding his fellow man. The only time his instincts had failed him had been during his brief infatuation with Deborah.

  He hadn't been able to see beyond her pretty face and beguiling smiles then, so why did he think that he was reacting any differently with Melissa? Did he have a blind side when it came to his relationship with women? Royce had taken Deborah's measure at once, but he had not. Was he one of those poor fools always being duped by a woman whose conniving ways were perfectly obvious to everyone but himself?

  His mouth twisted disgustedly. It was possible, but he did not believe that his instincts had let him down that badly-twice!

  Look at Morgan. Stephanie had befuddled him, but then he'd had the good luck to find Leonie.

  Perhaps, Dominic thought with a small smile, he would be as lucky. Perhaps he was being as blind about Melissa as Morgan had been about Leonie.

  That novel idea brought him to an abrupt standstill, his hand jerking his wandering horse to a most unexpected stop. What if he had been wrong about Melissa? What if she hadn't married him simply for money? What if there had been a perfectly legitimate reason for her having been in his room that night?

  At the moment, he could think of no excuse strong enough to put her at the inn that night other than the desire to trap a rich husband, but for the sake of argument, he would go on the assumption that she had been there for an innocent reason. And if that were the case, then she had been as trapped as he had been. . . . He frowned. But if she was innocent, why had she agreed to the marriage? Surely she could have explained everything to her uncle. And though the situation had been deplorable, if her reasons for being there were valid, surely Josh would not have insisted upon the marriage. And if she really had been opposed to the marriage, as she had pretended at first, why had she finally capitulated if it hadn't been an act in the first place?

  Not at all satisfied with his speculations, Dominic turned his attention to the people around Melissa and their opinion of her. It was at that point that his theorizing became remarkably similar to Melissa's, if he had but known it. For Dominic, his conclusions were far easier to come by, is he wasn't laboring under the impression that his spouse was a creature of indiscriminate morals. He only had to wade through his own notions of why Melissa had acted as she had; there had been no Josh Manchester to fill his bead with lies, no Latimer to add to the lies and no cling ing former lover, a la Lady Bowden, to give proof to the lies.

  Since he had known Royce the longest and trusted his opinion implicitly, it was only natural that Dominic consider his friend's estimation of Melissa. His gray eyes narrowed in concentration, he thought back over the various statements that Royce had made about Melissa, and something that should have been obvious to him before suddenly struck Dominic. Royce had wanted him to marry Melissa! Had in fact been quite pleased with the way things had turned out. A wry grin on his face, he realized that Royce had subtly abetted Josh when that gentleman had been singing Melissa's praises to the skies. And if Melissa were a conniving and unscrupulous little jade, would one of his best friends be in favor of his marriage to that same creature? Absolutely not! he thought with a widening smile. If Royce had the least suspicions about Melissa, had thought her anything less than a perfectly acceptable bride, Dominic had no doubt that his friend would have warned him. It had been apparent too, now that he thought of it, that Royce had a deep fondness for his cousin. Royce had spoken of her gallantry and beauty and, Dominic remembered, had had a dangerous expression on his face when he had first come upon Dominic and Melissa in bed. It became blindingly obvious to Dominic that Royce held her in
the highest regard, ready to do battle even with a good friend to save her honor. It seemed extremely unlikely that the sort of woman he had envisioned Melissa to be would provoke that sort of reaction from cynical Royce.

  Feeling very satisfied with himself, Dominic eventually turned his horse around and headed back to the cottage. He didn't possess one shred of proof to bolster his growing conviction that he had misjudged his young bride badly, but he was oddly pleased with his deductions and he had made an important decision.

  There was only one person who could answer the questions that still troubled him, and that was Melissa herself. Before the day was very much older, he was going to have a fairly blunt conversation with his wife, and she was going to explain exactly why she had been at the inn then and why she had finally agreed to marry him! It suddenly dawned on him that he wanted to do nothing to disrupt the gentle feelings Melissa had aroused within him, and he came to the conclusion that although he was burning with impatience to hear her answers, today might be too soon. He would simply look over the lay of the land and choose the right time to demand his answers . . . but it would be soon. Very soon. A sensuous smile flitted across his face. And after she had prettily explained everything to his satisfaction, he was going to take her to bed and experience again all the joy he had felt last night in her arms.

  Guiding his horse down the lane that led to the cottage, his brain filled with erotic images, Dominic was jolted from his pleasant pastime by the sight of a tall, longlegged black stallion tied to the hitching post near the side of the house. He would have known that particular horse anywhere, and he spurred his own horse forward, eager to greet this unexpected but most welcome guest.