Seduced by a Marquis (Regency Unlaced 8)

by Carole Mortimer

  “There is absolutely no possibility that Bella is with child,” he dismissed. “We have simply decided to marry and do not wish to wait.”

  A scowl darkened his brother’s brow. “There has to be more to this story than that.”

  “If there is, then it is none of your affair.”

  “You are my brother, damn it!”

  Lysander’s mouth twisted into a smile. “But I am no longer your little brother. I am a grown man of two and thirty, and capable of making my own decisions.”

  “Are you doing this because of Tia?” Sebastian breathed his frustration. “Because she married me and not you?”

  Lysander turned to where Bella stood, white-faced and silent as she listened to the brothers’ heated exchange. “Would you care to go and join Esther in packing your bags in readiness for going to my parents’ home?” he suggested mildly. “I do not believe you need to be a witness to the rest of this conversation.”

  Bella had been first mortified at the arrival of the Duke of Stowmont before then listening curiously to their conversation. Now she was inwardly consumed with an agony of torment at the thought of marrying a man who was clearly in love with someone else.

  From the duke’s remarks, she realized Lysander had been—still was?—in love with Horatia Chelford, now the Duchess of Stowmont. But Sebastian, not Lysander, had been the brother to win her heart and marry her.

  No wonder Lysander had no care for whom he married when he was already in love with a woman he could never have. He now merely wished for a wife who would give him the sons necessary to inherit his title and, in time, that of his father.

  She drew herself up proudly as she nodded to both men. “Gentlemen.”

  Lysander waited only long enough for Bella to step out into the hallway and close the door behind her before turning and punching Sebastian directly on his aristocratic nose.

  Chapter 7

  “Lysander is going to look so handsome in his wedding finery tomorrow.” Esther smiled her approval as the two sisters rode together in the park, followed by the two young men Lysander had hired to be her own and Esther’s personal grooms and who would accompany them when they moved to Trent House after the wedding.

  Bella had the final fitting for her wedding gown later today, but she had wished to escape the confines of the house for a few hours first. It seemed a very long time since she had enjoyed the simple pleasure of riding Giselle.

  The Duke and Duchess of Landingham had been kindness itself to both her and Esther during their stay with them this past week. But they were still Lysander’s parents, and Bella felt slightly uncomfortable in their presence. She was sure she was not at all what they might have wished for as their son’s future wife.

  She did not attempt to correct her sister now in her opinion of Lysander, mainly because she agreed with Esther. He would undoubtedly look very handsome in his perfectly tailored clothes newly bought for tomorrow’s wedding.

  Her own wedding gown was a concoction of cream satin and lace, with a matching bonnet, which the Duchess of Landingham, Lysander’s mother, had helped her to choose. Or Angelique, as the older woman had insisted Bella call her from the moment the sisters had arrived at the duchess’s home a week ago.

  Bella knew her sister’s crush on Lysander had only deepened during that time. Lysander had called once a day to ensure Bella was fully informed of the arrangements for their hasty wedding, courtesy of the Prince Regent, who had indeed granted the petition the Duke of Landingham had made on behalf of his son for a special marriage license.

  “As the Duke of Stowmont is to stand up with Lysander in church tomorrow, I do so hope his two black eyes are not as noticeable.” Esther sighed at this possible blemish on her hero’s wedding day.

  It really was not funny that Lysander had obviously hit his brother once Bella had left the library that day a week ago. And yet she could not help but smile now at the memory of seeing the duke’s black eyes when he called on his mother and stepfather the following day, his duchess at his side. The two brothers had been frosty toward each other, although Tia Falkner’s warmth and genuine happiness for the forthcoming marriage made up for that.

  Even knowing of Lysander’s love for the other woman, it was impossible not to like the young and practical Duchess of Stowmont. It was also obvious that Tia Falkner was with child; she literally seemed to glow from the inside out.

  The duke obviously adored her, and she adored him in return.

  No matter what Lysander might have felt, or still felt for his sister-in-law, the emotion had obviously never been reciprocated.

  Lysander…

  Bella sighed softly as she thought of her bridegroom. The two of them spoke only of the wedding during Lysander’s visits. Nor were they ever alone again once she and Esther had taken up residence at Landingham House. Angelique took her role as chaperone very seriously. Lysander was allowed to place a formal kiss upon the back of Bella’s hand at the end of each visit, and that was all.

  Maybe if they had been able to talk, to spend a little time alone together, Bella would not have this constant knot of tension in her stomach at her inner conviction this marriage was a mistake. As usual, it had prevented her from eating any breakfast this morning and was making her feel more and more nauseous as the wedding drew near. No doubt her wedding gown would have to be altered today, as she had lost weight between her first and last fittings.

  Traditionally, it should have been Arthur giving Bella away tomorrow, but circumstances meant it was to be Lysander’s father instead. The Duke of Landingham was a tall, silver-haired gentleman, with kind blue eyes, who bore a striking facial resemblance to the son he had known existed for only a matter of months.

  Angelique had not said so much as a word to Bella regarding her son’s choice of wife or the haste of their wedding.

  But she had spoken frankly to Bella about her own romance three and thirty years ago with the then-married Duke of Landingham, which had resulted in Lysander’s birth.

  It was truly a love story. A duke married to an invalid wife he could not desert or divorce. The widowed Angelique’s sacrifice when she ended the affair, without telling her lover of her pregnancy. Her years spent in the country bringing up her two young sons. The death of the duke’s wife just a year ago. Angelique’s decision three months ago to tell the childless duke he had a son.

  It was at this point Angelique became misty eyed as she explained when the two met again, Landingham had confessed to still being in love with her. As Angelique’s love for him had never died either, the two of them had married within days of this happy reunion. The duke had also instantly recognized Lysander as his son and heir.

  Bella could only imagine the shock that must have been to Lysander.

  She had noted that relations between father and son were still a little strained. Mostly on Lysander’s part, it was to be admitted. Not surprisingly. It would take time for the two gentlemen to build up a relationship. Hopefully, Bella might be able to help with that after she and Lysander were married—

  Oh dear God, I am to be married tomorrow…

  Bella’s stomach gave another sickening lurch at the thought that by this time tomorrow, she would be Lysander’s wife. That in the evening, she was to accompany him back to Trent House after the wedding breakfast at Landingham House, and become his wife in every sense of the word. Esther was to remain with the Duke and Duchess of Landingham for another week, to give Bella and Lysander time alone as a newly married couple.

  Bella would have preferred—

  She gave a gasp as the grooms began to shout and she turned in time to see a riderless horse bolt out from the cluster of trees to the left of them. It was heading straight toward where the two women had now pulled on the reins and halted their own mounts.

  Bella barely had time to register the more frantic shouts of the grooms, to see the expression of fear on Esther face, before both their horses reared up in fright.

  The last thing Bella remembered wa
s seeing her sister being thrown through the air at the same time she was dislodged from Giselle’s back.

  “Where is Miss Reynolds?” Lysander demanded of the butler the moment he was admitted into Landingham House.

  “Upstairs in the blue bedchamber, my lord. The doctor is with…” The butler ceased talking as he realized he was speaking to himself and Lysander was already taking the stairs two at a time in order to reach the first floor as quickly as possible.

  The note Lysander had received from his mother a short time ago had stated there had been an accident in the park while Bella and Esther were out riding, but had given no further details. His mother had not said how the accident had happened or how badly Bella had been hurt.

  The fact the doctor was with her now said she had been hurt.

  Lysander intended talking to the grooms who had accompanied the sisters, as soon as he had seen and reassured himself Bella was not seriously hurt.

  Arthur Reynolds had been surprisingly quiet this past week, but Lysander would not put it past the other man to seek some sort of retribution upon Bella for having successfully evaded his brutal clutches. The other man would know of their wedding tomorrow, the announcement having appeared in this morning’s newspapers.

  Lysander came to an abrupt halt in the doorway of the blue bedchamber when he saw it was a pale-faced Esther lying beneath the bedcovers, with Bella hovering beside the bed as the doctor examined the almost unconscious young girl.

  Bella looked equally as pale as her sister as she turned to look at him. “Lysander…” She held her hand out to him imploringly.

  An appeal Lysander immediately responded to. He stepped forward as if compelled to do so, crossing the room quickly to grasp Bella’s hand in his much larger one. Her fingers felt icy cold, no doubt from the shock of the accident and her sister’s injury rather than a lack of warmth in the bedchamber. A fire burned cheerily in the hearth. “What happened?” he murmured as the doctor continued his examination.

  “A riderless horse ran into our path, throwing both Esther and me from our mounts.”

  Lysander gave an angry snort. “Where is this horse now?”

  “You would have to ask the grooms who accompanied us,” Bella dismissed distractedly. “I was only winded, but once I was recovered enough to move, I was too concerned with taking care of Esther.”

  Lysander stared down at the white-faced girl he had become fond of these past few days. “Is she seriously hurt?”

  “I believe her right arm may be broken.” She frowned as her sister gave a pained groan when the doctor attempted to move that arm, the pain so severe she had not even managed to rouse herself to greet her hero.

  Someone would pay for this, Lysander decided grimly. The horse might not have had a rider when it ran in front of Bella and Esther, but it had to belong to someone. Whoever that owner was could have killed either of the two young women, possibly both.

  And perhaps that had been the intention.

  Whoever was responsible for that horse had been negligent at the least and murderous at the worst.

  The urgency Lysander felt to see and speak with Arthur Reynolds grew stronger. “There’s someone I must talk to, but I will come back in an hour, two at most.” He released Bella’s hand.

  She looked at him with dark and bewildered eyes. “But… Of course.” She seemed to gather a quiet dignity about her. “It was good of you to come at all.”

  Lysander scowled his displeasure at the politeness of her dismissal. “You and Esther are my family now. Of course I came.”

  Bella believed they had become Lysander’s responsibility rather than his family. One that was proving to be onerous at that. Certainly, she had brought her own share of trouble with her when Lysander decided to rescue her from Arthur. Not the least of them being their wedding tomorrow!

  “Bella?”

  She looked at Lysander blankly.

  His eyes narrowed before he turned to the doctor. “How is she?”

  The other man glanced down at his now-unconscious patient. “I have administered a little ether so that Miss Reynolds sleeps through most of the pain as I set her arm and strap it up.”

  Lysander turned back to Bella. “Come out into the hallway with me for a moment.” He did not wait for her to answer but took a gentle hold of her arm and drew her out of the room beside him. “Are you really unharmed?” He placed his fingers beneath her chin so that he might study her face.

  Bella felt totally miserable, her own body feeling a mass of bruises now that the worst of the shock was starting to wear off. “Do you think it was Arthur?”

  “No, of course I— Perhaps,” he conceded as Bella looked at him with reproach.

  Her beautiful eyes filled with tears. “Why will he not leave us alone? I have done nothing to him, so why does he bedevil me like this?”

  “Sometimes there are no explanations, and people are just evil by nature.” Lysander smoothed the tears from her cheeks with the soft pads of his thumbs. “Do you feel well enough to go through with the wedding tomorrow?” Bella had possessed the look of a startled deer every time he had visited her this past few days.

  Her gaze grew wary. “Do you?”

  “Me?” He was taken aback by the question. He had never for a moment thought of canceling his wedding to Bella. There was no point in doing so when there was no other solution to the problem. “As I am not the one who has been involved in an accident, I am perfectly content with our future marriage.”

  Content.

  Was it wrong of Bella to wish her girlhood dreams might have come true, and she would marry a man who loved her rather than one who only wished to protect her and her sister?

  Yes, of course it was wrong. Lysander might be in love with another woman, but he was still giving up his freedom in order to marry and protect her. It was ungrateful of Bella to wish for anything more.

  She nodded. “I also am content to allow the wedding to go ahead.”

  He gave her an encouraging smile. “Then could you perhaps try to look a little happier about it? My mother has questioned me several times as to our…lack of eagerness to be alone and show any passion between us.”

  “But she is the one who has been so adamant the two of us should not be alone together before the wedding.”

  Lysander grimaced. “According to my mother, if we were eager to be together, we would have circumvented her in her role as chaperone.”

  Bella could quite easily imagine the forthright duchess saying exactly that. Although, Angelique had thankfully spared Bella the embarrassment of asking her that same question. Besides, experience had shown there was no lack of passion between her and Lysander, only the privacy in which to indulge it.

  She nodded. “I will try to appear more…eager.” Her cheeks warmed.

  Lysander studied her for several more seconds before enfolding her in his arms. “I believed it was you who had been injured, you know.”

  Bella could not resist snuggling closer to his warmth. She had felt so cold, inside as well as out, since the accident. Besides which, it allowed her to hear the steady and reassuring beat of Lysander’s heart. “I was so frightened when I saw that horse rushing toward us.” Her body began to shake at the memory. “So very frightened…” She did not finish the sentence. Did not speak what was in her heart. Which was I was frightened I might break my neck in the fall and never see you again.

  Until that moment in the park, she had not realized how important Lysander had become to her. Well, no, as her future husband, he was of course of immense importance to her. But until she had thought of never seeing Lysander again, Bella had not known how deeply her emotions had become engaged.

  They were to be married tomorrow, for every reason but love. She was marrying for the protection Lysander offered her. Lysander was marrying her because he could not have the woman he loved and Bella would do “as well as any other woman” in providing the Duke of Landingham heirs.

  This was not a love match, but a marriage
of convenience. To hope it could ever be anything more would lead to heartache.

  The ice returned to Bella’s veins, and she extricated herself from Lysander’s arms. “I must not keep you any longer from your previous engagement.”

  Lysander had long ago dismissed the anger and frustration which had taken possession of him the night Bella admitted to having previous lovers. Having watched her this past week, her gentleness and love for her sister, the respect and admiration she showed his mother, and the kind regard she had toward Landingham, how could he possibly continue to hold her accountable for something forced upon her by her brother?

  And yet this past week, it had seemed as if there were an ever-widening chasm stretching between him and Bella. “Which bedchamber is yours?”

  Bella frowned her puzzlement. “The one next to this one, but— Esther…” she protested as Lysander took a firm grasp of her hand and pulled her along with him down the hallway.

  “She is already asleep, so she will not know whether or not you are there as the doctor resets her arm,” Lysander dismissed.

  “But…”

  He ignored her halfhearted protest as he threw open the door to the bedchamber Bella said was hers, pulling her inside with him before closing the door.

  He would have known this was Bella’s room without being told, as he was instantly surrounded by the perfume which was distinctly her own and which had haunted him since the night they first met. Floral and spice. A heady and insidious aroma.

  Lysander took Bella in his arms once again and held her close against him, unashamedly making her aware of his cock engorging and growing longer and thicker. “My mother is perfectly correct in her statement regarding a lack of eagerness and warmth between us. As you are perfectly correct as to the reason for it. That is no longer true,” he murmured before his mouth claimed hers. “We are completely alone together now, Bella.”