Eve privately doubted Hattie would be going to her wedding night a virgin. She was already living in Will’s house, which was scandalous enough, and Will had been widowed for nearly four years. Lust and desire would not keep them sleeping in separate beds.
Her and Adelaide’s visit to Rosemount Abbey was only a matter of days away. Given half a chance, while she was in residence, Eve would let Freddie have his way with her. She didn’t regret any of what had happened at Vauxhall Gardens. In fact, the sooner he had his hands on her naked body, the better. She yearned for long nights in his arms.
A long, slow breath did little to settle her aching hunger. With the Bachelor Board close to being Freddie’s, she would need to move forward with her plans to forge a permanent future with him. His declarations of love had her believing that a betrothal would be announced not long after she and her mother arrived at Rosemount Abbey.
The wedding at St Paul’s cathedral was a delight. Eve’s uncle Hugh, the Bishop of London, conducted a beautiful wedding service. All the Saunders and Radley women cried.
It was only as they were leaving St Paul’s that Eve caught sight of her cousin Lucy. She hurried over to speak with her.
“I didn’t know you were coming today. Mama said you were still in Scotland,” said Eve.
Lucy kissed her cheek. When she pulled away, Eve noticed the sparkle in her eye.
“We did head to Scotland after we returned from France, but Avery is keen to start working with Lord Langham on understanding how to run an estate,” said Lucy.
She was about to ask Lucy how things with Avery were going when her cousin’s new husband appear from out of the crowd of well-wishers. He slipped a hand around his wife’s waist and whispered something to her. Lucy’s eyes opened wide and she smiled.
Eve took a step back as Lucy looked her husband up and down with barely concealed lust. If she were to put words to what she was watching, she would say Lucy was stripping Avery naked with her eyes.
“Good morning, Cousin Eve. I hope you are well. Lovely day for a wedding,” said Avery.
Eve was momentarily lost for words. It felt like only yesterday that Avery and Lucy had stood in front of the Bishop and struggled to say the words to commit to their marriage, yet here they were acting like all the other love-struck newlyweds.
“Lucy, my love, I must go and speak with your father. I promise to come back as soon as I can,” said Avery. He nodded his farewell to Eve, and they watched as he headed off in the direction of the Duke of Strathmore.
Lucy laughed as a stunned Eve turned back to her. “Miracles do happen. Mind you, it took Will’s efforts with Avery in Paris, and some soul searching on both our parts to finally face the truth of our marriage. Oh, Eve, I could only wish that you marry a man half as magnificent as Avery. From the depths of despair, I found happiness beyond anything I could ever have imagined. You must get out and find yourself a husband.”
Eve took her cousin by the arm and pulled her over to one side of the front steps of the church. She pointed to where Freddie was standing alongside his mother. They were enjoying a friendly chat with Adelaide. “Mama and I are off to Rosemount Abbey the day after tomorrow. Lady Rosemount has invited us to visit,” she said.
Lucy leant toward her cousin and whispered, “And I take it your visit has absolutely nothing to do with that rather dashing young man who is standing in the midst of those ladies. Oh, Eve, do tell. Do you think he might be the one?”
Eve shrugged, adopting her best nonchalant attitude. She gave Lucy a sideways glance. “Who is to say? I love him, and he has told me the same. I am determined to know what is beyond those words. I know he feels passion and desire, he just needs to be brave enough to let me see the real him. Once that is accomplished then I will know that he is truly the one,” replied Eve.
Stolen kisses and the liberties she had allowed him at Vauxhall were enough for her to be confident when she returned to London after her visit to Rosemount Abbey she would be wearing a betrothal ring.
The smile disappeared from Lucy’s lips. A worried frown took its place. “Be absolutely sure of him before you allow yourself to be put in a position where marriage is the only possible outcome. Promise me, Eve, you won’t do anything rash like I did. Matters between Avery and I could so easily have gone the other way,” she replied.
Eve waved her cousin’s concerns away. She was sure in the knowledge Freddie wanted her. Men like Freddie wanted fresh and frisky wives. If his heart wasn’t hers already, it would be by the time they were wed. She had plans in place to make the most of her stay at the abbey. Plans that included long walks with Freddie far from the main house and, if she was lucky, a convenient wood or two to get lost in.
She took Lucy’s hand and placed it on her arm.
“Come on, Lucy. Today is not the day to discuss my forthcoming wedding. We must go and find Will and Hattie. You should see the lacework on her dress. It is absolutely divine.”
Chapter Eighteen
Freddie sat through Will and Hattie’s wedding feeling like the Sword of Damocles was hanging over his head. How soon would it be before Adelaide Saunders and his mother had him measured up for a wedding suit?
Lady Rosemount had arrived in London for the wedding and then returned home as soon as the service was over. Her appearance at Will and Hattie’s wedding was not just to wish the bride and groom well. He had watched with interest as his mother had worked her way through the assembled guests, dropping small hints here and there about the next wedding that would be held at St Paul’s.
It had been his mother’s idea to invite Eve and Adelaide to Rosemount Abbey. The theory was, it would give Eve and himself time to decide if they were suited. The reality was, as far as his mother and likely future mother-in-law were concerned, the only thing left to decide was the color of flowers for the church.
Finally, he consoled himself with the idea if he did end up marrying Eve it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. His mother approved of her. She had been a great sport when it came to the Bachelor Board challenges, and likely deserved her place by his side as he reaped the rewards of his new position.
She was a hot-blooded girl who would satisfy him in bed. She was well-read and well-bred. Eve Saunders would do him just fine for a wife. When his thoughts turned momentarily to the question of whether he was actually in love with her, he frowned. Love wasn’t something he had really considered. He was prepared to accept he had developed warm feelings for her. He had even told her he loved her. Where the truth lay was something he had not fully explored.
What was love anyway? Real men didn’t feel all the soppy emotions that women and small children did. Men were providers. With his membership of the Bachelor Board all but secure, he was well on his way to being the sort of man a wife would want. Fine food on the table in exchange for a lusty sex life was a solid bargain for marriage.
He had it all figured out.
He shook the thoughts from his mind. This morning he had other matters to attend to in town. The foremost being to receive the last of the Bachelor Board challenges. He had established a commanding lead, so much so it had long ago stopped being a real race. Nonetheless, he had to finish the game and be declared the victor.
After bidding Eve, a hasty farewell at the wedding breakfast, Freddie headed over to Barton Street. He bounded up the steps of the office and strode confidently into the room set aside for the House of Commons cadets.
As expected, Godwin was not present at this hour of the morning. Osmont had introduced him to the delights of the opium dens in the East End and Godwin was more than likely still lying in a drug-induced haze in some lodging house. A naked prostitute no doubt slept beside him.
As for Trenton Embry, most days he didn’t bother even coming to the office. His interest in the Bachelor Board challenges had never got past tepid. His absence was barely noted.
The only person who was present was Osmont Firebrace.
“Ah, Rosemount, at least one of you can live the life
of a libertine and make it into the office the next morning,” he said.
Freddie walked over to the sideboard, which was laden as usual with pastries and a pot of hot coffee. He picked up a cup and poured himself a brew, then settled comfortably in one of the office armchairs, quietly imagining himself as a king on a throne.
“Yes, well, enjoy my company while you can. I won’t be here tomorrow or the next week. I am off home to Rosemount Abbey,” he said.
Osmont snorted in obvious disgust. Only mama’s boys went home to the family estate. True men stayed in London where the action was centered.
“What about the challenge?” replied Osmont.
Freddie sipped at his coffee. “Well, I was thinking since I am so far ahead of the others and you were going to call the result in a matter of days, perhaps we should announce now. Godwin appears to have finally given up and conceded defeat,” he replied.
Osmont looked at him from over the rim of his reading glasses. Freddie sensed he was being scrutinized, something he found unsettling when it came to his boss. There was always an undercurrent of sex when Osmont looked him up and down.
“Tell me. Why are you going home? Your father is not ill, and even if he was you have an older brother to inherit the title.”
Freddie tried to ignore the callous remark about his father. Much as his father was a stickler for protocol and behavior, he still loved his sire. Lord Rosemount was a good man. He was true to his wife and he had been even-handed in the raising of his two sons. Freddie knew he had been gifted a good family upbringing.
“I have been courting a young lady, and she is coming to Rosemount Abbey with her mother to meet my family. My mother has arranged it,” he replied.
Osmont took his black notebook from out of his coat pocket and unfastened the string. He flipped through a few pages, then paused at one and quietly read it.
Freddie had finished his coffee by the time Osmont finally closed the book and retied the string.
“There is one final challenge for you. Successfully complete it and you will be admitted to full membership of the Bachelor Board. I cannot begin to tell you the powerful friends and wealth you will find at your disposal. The real power brokers of London will be revealed to you. A new uncharted world where you will be among firsts. No one will ever again see you as merely a second son,” said Osmont. He headed back into his office and closed the door. Several minutes later he returned, a letter folded up and sealed in his hand.
“Here is the last of the challenges. Now, there are strict instructions which you are to follow to the letter. Break them, and your membership will be forfeit.” Osmont handed Freddie the letter.
Freddie would have broken the seal if Osmont had not stopped him. He took a slow, deep breath to calm the nervous excitement which coursed through his veins. He was so close to success, he could taste it.
“You must wait until the third day after you have arrived home at Rosemount Abbey before you open the letter. In the meantime, you can spend your time sampling the delights of your lady friend. Though, if my reading of you is correct, I am certain you have already had your hand up her skirts. From what I have seen of her, she would be the type to suck your cock dry if it meant getting you before a priest.” The sneer he loaded into the final of his remarks was enough that Freddie should have taken Osmont to task for the sake of Eve’s honor.
He couldn’t exactly call him a liar though. If they hadn’t been disturbed at Vauxhall Gardens, Eve would have let him bring her to climax. He longed to hear her soft sighs at her moment of crisis. He enjoyed lustful dreams of her most nights. His body ached for the touch of her naked body beneath him.
“How will you know I have completed the last of the challenges?” he asked.
Osmont straightened the lapel of his coat and nodded sagely. He bowed low, which caused a chill of premonition in Freddie’s mind. What exactly was written in the letter? What if, after all he had achieved, he still fell at the final hurdle?
“When next you and I see one another, young Rosemount, we both shall know.”
Chapter Nineteen
“I wish you every success on your journey and I hope to be sharing your good news upon your return,” said Caroline.
Eve looked up from her travel trunk. She rose and approached her sister, taking her by the hand. “Thank you. I know I have been horrid to you lately, but I promise when I come back everything will change,” said Eve.
She felt a prick of guilt over her sister’s good wishes. It would hurt Caroline to know Eve had initially pursued Freddie out of spite over her own popularity.
One day, when they were both long settled in their own marriages, she would confess her guilty secret to her sister. Today, however, was the day to seize her future.
A tearful Caroline hugged her.
“You had better get your cloak. Mama has already said goodbye to Papa three times.”
Freddie left London the day before Eve and Adelaide. His mother was insistent on him being home and settled before his prospective new bride arrived.
With Lady Rosemount having returned home in the Strathmore travel coach straight after Will and Hattie’s wedding, Freddie was left to take the main public coach to Peterborough. There he was met by one of his father’s grooms who brought a spare horse.
The ride back home through the countryside was invigorating. The feeling of wind in his hair and the thud of the horse’s hooves on the country lanes had the blood in his body pumping. Reaching the top of a rise a half mile from his home, he reined the horse in and sat for a moment looking down on his family estate.
It was good to be home.
Below him, at the top of another small rise sat Rosemount Abbey. The main house dated from the mid-sixteenth-century. The first Viscount Rosemount had been one of Queen Elizabeth’s favourite courtiers.
Over the ensuing centuries the house had been extended and elaborate gardens created around three sides. While the Rosemount family had only risen to the rank of viscount over the years, they had been astute enough in their business dealings to be near the top of the list of wealthiest families in England.
London was full of life and distraction but here, in the Northamptonshire countryside, he could breath. The fields before him were full of sheep, covered in their coats of wool for the oncoming winter. Beyond them were the red coats of his father’s prized herd of Sussex cattle.
The main fields closest to the long, stone stables were reserved for the highly prized horses of the Rosemount breeding program. Every nobleman in England owned at least one horse from the Rosemount stables.
He sat back in the saddle and thought of the unopened letter sitting in the pocket of his coat. Membership of the Bachelor Board would afford him the opportunity to carve out his own piece of England for himself and his heirs.
His son would not be merely the cousin of the future Viscount Rosemount. He would hold his own place in society, his father’s new wealth behind him.
He spurred his horse on. Two more days and he could open the letter and find out the very last challenge. With Eve by his side, he would successfully complete it and head back to London ready to claim his future. Frederick Rosemount was ready to take his place as a first among equals in the rarefied air of English high society.
Eve climbed down from the travel coach, laughing with joy as she saw Freddie approaching from the stables. He hurried to meet her.
“I am so sorry I am not properly dressed to greet you. I only got word your coach was arriving as it reached the top of the drive,” he said.
The drive was long, some two thirds of a mile from the main Peterborough road. Eve had struggled to stay in her seat when they had finally turned off the main road and she’d caught sight of the house.
Her gaze now was fixed firmly on Freddie’s open-necked shirt, and she was too busy thinking wicked thoughts of what he could to do to her to be concerned about his lack of suitable attire. He had awoken a near constant, sexual hunger within her, and keeping to society
’s social expectations was becoming increasingly difficult whenever he was near. She hoped he had already chosen some perfect private places for them to finish the business they started at Vauxhall.
“Lady Adelaide Saunders. Miss Saunders. How wonderful for you to visit with us.”
Eve turned at the sound of her mother’s formal title and saw Lord and Lady Rosemount coming toward them. Eve dipped into a respectful curtsey. Adelaide would be expecting the utmost of impeccable behavior this week. Eve intended to be the perfect, innocent daughter around her mother and the viscount and viscountess. It was Freddie she intended to practice being disgraceful with during their stay. Practice that she intended would make her perfect material for his wife.
A second couple emerged from the house. The man, who Eve assumed was Freddie’s older brother, Thomas, was carrying a young boy. The woman beside him held a baby in her arms.
“Welcome, I’m Thomas Rosemount, and this is my wife, Cecily. This curly haired rascal is James, my heir, and the baby is Jonathan,” said Thomas.
“Yes, I had to convince them not to call the baby Frederick. One Freddie in the family is quite enough,” added Freddie, with a smile. A polite laugh rippled through the gathering.
They climbed the steps into the main house, while the household servants unloaded Adelaide and Eve’s trunks from the coach.
Eve glanced around as they entered the main foyer. A magnificent marble staircase hugged the wall to the left of the entrance. It rose several floors into the air. When she looked up, she quickly understood the need for the staircase to have been built to one side.
A huge white dome dominated the roof of the entrance. Her mouth dropped open as she stood under the center of it.
“It is rather magnificent, isn’t it? Mind you, it costs a fortune to have it cleaned and repainted every few years,” said Freddie.
Eve caught the look of disapproval from Lady Rosemount. Freddie had mentioned money which was considered crass to discuss in mixed public. The Rude Rules may have finally come to an end, but it was clear some aspects of the game had now become habit.
Lord of Mischief Page 9
