She had to make a concerted effort to tamp down that old bedazzlement he could still make her feel. “What are you doing here?”
“You two left the house before I finished dressing,” Rupert scolded in an offhand manner.
Her eyes flared. “You intended to join us? Then why didn’t you say so?”
“I was going to make it a surprise, but I should have known that my cousin would be out the door the very moment you were both ready.”
Her mind still a little hazy from the anger Elizabeth had provoked, Rebecca couldn’t begin to guess at Rupert’s motive. “But why come a’tall? Amanda only needed one chaperone.”
“Because I thought you might appreciate a little company. Having escorted Mandy before m’self to these affairs, I know that the young bucks don’t give her a moment of peace. She doesn’t mind, of course, but that leaves her chaperones alone to twiddle their thumbs.”
Being nice? Rescuing her? Did he really think she’d believe that?
“It didn’t occur to you that I might spend the evening dancing as well?” she said.
“You’re married now, so, no, that didn’t occur to me a’tall.”
She choked back a laugh. Marriage was supposed to be no fun in his eyes? Now why didn’t that surprise her?
But he hadn’t finished and added, “I pictured you bored to tears, stuck in the back of the room with the matrons and mamas. But since you’ve mentioned dancing, I recall that you’re rather good at it.”
He didn’t ask if she wanted to. With him. As he finished that remark, he was already twirling her onto the dance floor. By dint of will, Rebecca held herself stiffly. Why was he really doing this? God, it would be so easy to relax into him…no!
“How could you make love to Elizabeth?!”
“Who?”
She’d no sooner blurted out that accusation than she was appalled and filled to the brim with embarrassment and regret that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. But his “who” sent her back over the edge of fury. “What do you mean, who? You just saw me talking to her!”
“If anyone was with you when I arrived, I’m afraid I didn’t notice. My eyes were only on you.”
She blushed. She didn’t believe a word of it, yet she still blushed! “Elizabeth Marly,” she reminded him.
“Good God, yes, how could I forget her? Such an obnoxious little chit. And that’s quite a far-fetched conclusion you’ve drawn, m’dear.”
“No conclusion a’tall, the words came from her own mouth just moments ago.”
He cocked a brow at her. “Well, if that’s true, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. Fascinating how some women will tarnish their own reputation just to claim an intimacy with me. Out of jealousy or just for bragging rights.” He shrugged. “I’ve never quite understood motives like that. But it isn’t necessary to consummate what is implied, you know. I learned that long ago.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“That with Beth it was nothing more than flirting and implying that I wanted to bed her, then avoiding actually doing so.”
“So she wasn’t a target on your conquest list, you merely let her think she was? Does that amuse you?”
“Now you’re taking offense on her behalf when you don’t like her any more than I do?” He chuckled over that. “There was a good reason at the time. It’s no longer important. But you know you’re sounding like a jealous wife? Are you jealous, luv? I find that rather amusing, all things considered.”
“Don’t start laughing too soon, because I’m nothing of the sort.”
“No?”
He was still grinning, prompting her to snap, “Your unexpected presence here smacks of jealousy as well, as in checking up on your wife, but you don’t hear me accusing you of it.”
“I believe you just did.”
His amusement was irritating her. When it was at her expense, it usually did. Yet her anger was gone. It wasn’t that she wanted to believe him, it was that she knew Elizabeth was adept at lying. If her emotions weren’t so tumultuous, Rebecca would never have believed her old antagonist to begin with. And why the deuce did she even care?
He twirled her around a few more times before he said offhandedly, “Aren’t you tired of fighting yet? I’m beginning to find it quite tedious m’self. I’ve even given you the benefit of the doubt—”
“Don’t do me any favor.”
He cocked his head to the side because she’d turned away to mumble that. “Are you challenging me to make you sweet and lovable again? I believe you are!”
Her eyes flew back to his, but she couldn’t do anything more than sputter over that absurdity. His pale eyes were twinkling, holding back laughter no doubt. What the devil was he doing! He couldn’t be serious. Yet he rubbed his cheek against hers right there on the dance floor!
“What—?”
She should never have turned in toward that unexpected caress. Was she destined to bump lips with him by accident? She drew back instantly while she had the presence of mind to do so. But he didn’t. In fact, he moved in closer, his mouth actually pursuing hers until there was nothing accidental about it! She stumbled as her senses whirled. That just encouraged him to hold her closer and kiss her more deeply. She was fast approaching the point of not caring!
Desperately, she tore her mouth away to gasp out, “You’re going to cause a scandal!”
“I do believe it would be worth it,” he said softly by her ear. “But it’s only a minor infraction and quite overlooked, since everyone here knows we’re married.”
“No, they don’t. I didn’t have it announced.”
He stopped abruptly. Several other couples even bumped into them. “Why not?”
She looked away from his frown, which made her feel distinctly uneasy. How to explain her earlier hesitancy without him seeing it for what it was, a full-blown panic? But he didn’t wait for her answer.
Suddenly he was leading her off the dance floor. He began a social circuit around the room, missing no one who wasn’t currently dancing. From group to group he stopped to introduce Rebecca as his wife, the Marchioness of Rochwood. He did it curtly, as if he were completing a task assigned to him, which gave her the odd feeling that he was punishing her. She was mortified. Most of those people thought he was joking! They knew him. They knew his reputation. And he wasn’t behaving the least bit normally.
He even had an excuse to offer for why no one had heard even a hint about their marriage until now. “We’ve been secretly married for quite some time. We tried to hide it from her mum, who wanted better for her than me. But there’s no point in keeping it under wraps any longer, now she’s found us out.”
Rebecca could have played along, injected a bit of humor about her mother to support his story, but she was too shocked to get a single word out. When she actually ended up on the dance floor again with his hands more tightly clamped to her waist and hand, she stared up at him, bewildered.
“How could you do that?”
“You will not deny who I am, Becca. I have developed the most profound protectiveness for my child whom I acknowledge you might be carrying. So for now we’re married and I’d appreciate if you bloody well acted like it.”
She was getting even more confused by his behavior. “For the sake of appearances?”
He looked so deeply into her eyes she ended up holding her breath in suspense. Then he glanced away and told her what she wanted to hear: “Yes, for appearances.”
At least she thought that’s what she wanted to hear. However, perversely, her reaction was the exact opposite of what it should have been.
“But your habits undergo no change in this pretense? Or do you think anyone was fooled yesterday by your so-called ‘appointment’ last night? That is what you told your mother, correct? That you had an appointment?”
His eyes came back to hers. “Are we showing signs of jealousy again?”
“I’m asking a pertinent question,” she said stiffly. “If you think t
his pretense is going to only be one-sided, then it ends now.”
Incredibly, his humor returned abruptly, his grin quite wide. “Before you start turning green, I suppose I must admit that appointment wasn’t a good word for it, since it wasn’t a scheduled meeting. I merely went to see my solicitor, and, no, he doesn’t wear skirts.”
She ignored that ridiculous attempt at a joke. “At night?” she scoffed.
He sighed. “As a last resort, yes. I’d already gone to his office at normal hours. He tried to fob me off until next week, but my patience is at an all-time low. However, with five other clients there waiting for him, I decided to call on him later at his home at an hour I knew he would be there, to get my business taken care of.”
“What was so important—”
“Haven’t you reached the limit on your questions yet?”
Teasing at the moment was so inappropriate, her mouth dropped open incredulously. But that had just been teasing and he went on, “I was having my will changed to include my unborn child. It took longer than I expected because he tried to convince me to wait until the child was born, and I in turn convinced him why that wasn’t a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“In case something should happen to me in the interim.”
Fortunately, Amanda caught his attention just then as she danced by and waved, so he didn’t see Rebecca blanch. He might have felt the sudden moisture in her palm though, as she also broke out in a cold sweat. He’d given such a logical answer, yet hearing it she was overcome with fear—of losing him? Was she out of her mind?
Chapter Forty-six
IT COULD HAVE BEEN called the scam of the century, their pretense of a happy marriage, yet as several weeks passed and it continued with such perfection, Rebecca had to pinch herself to keep from believing it herself.
The Angel was being too good. From the night of the Withers’ ball, he had been attentive to her in the extreme. To make up for his behavior?
Rebecca couldn’t really guess and certainly wasn’t going to ask. But he danced with her again and again that night. He stayed by her side when she needed to rest. He even took them on the circuit again, but this time he left everyone laughing, herself included.
His good behavior continued at home, too, even when it was just the two of them in the company of Julie, who knew the real situation, or with Owen and Amanda, who didn’t.
But it was more than that. Even when they found themselves alone enough to exchange personal remarks, he didn’t reveal any of his earlier anger that had kept sparking her own. She began to think he’d actually been serious about not wanting to fight anymore. But for however long it was going to last, she took advantage of the peace and did nothing to roil the calm waters.
They were at dinner one night when Avery, Julie’s middle son, finally made an appearance. Rebecca noted that although the three brothers didn’t actually look alike other than having the same dark hair and blue eyes, they still had a distinct family resemblance.
“Sorry for such a long absence, Mother,” Avery said on his way to a chair, pausing only to drop a kiss of greeting on the top of Amanda’s head as he passed her. “I was at a house party in the country that lasted longer than I had anticipated. At the Millards’ estate, the one they have outside York. I believe you know them.”
“Indeed,” Julie replied with a raised brow. “Don’t they have a pretty young daughter not quite old enough yet for a come-out?”
Avery grinned bashfully. “She’ll be old enough by next summer.” His pale blue eyes then fell on Rebecca and stayed on her, though he was still speaking to his mother. “And who’s your beautiful guest? I do believe I should have rushed home sooner, after all.”
“Not on this account,” Julie said in a gruff scold that abruptly turned to a proud smile as she added, “Rebecca St. John, meet my second son, Avery.”
“St. John?” Avery said with some confusion. “A long-lost relative?”
“A new relative and a most delightful addition to the family. She married your brother.”
Avery’s eyes went incredulously to Owen, who started to blush. But Rupert was quick to say, “Not him, me, you ass.”
Which made Avery burst out laughing. “Nice try, old man, but I know a whopper when I hear it. The only way you will ever marry is if you get pushed through the trapdoor. You’ve said as much.”
Julie immediately threw a spoon at him. “What?” he gasped in surprise.
But Rupert had also left his chair to slap his younger brother on the back of his head, and that prompted an even louder “What? I was joking, but then you were joking, too. What the deuce is going on here?”
“Did it sound like I was joking?” Julie demanded with a quelling look.
“Well…no, you wouldn’t, would you,” Avery admitted, beginning to look a little queasy.
“Exactly,” Julie humphed.
Cringing and standing back up, Avery said, “Excuse me while I go dig this foot out of my mouth.”
“Sit down,” Rupert said on his way back to the head of the table, then to his mother, “You did send him word, right? He merely wasn’t in London to receive it?”
“Actually, I thought you would want that pleasure, so, no, I was able to resist doing so. Wasn’t easy though. I have been bursting at the seams, as it were.”
And Amanda, sitting beside Rebecca, said, “Don’t blush, Becky. The St. Johns are always like this. You’ll get used to it.”
Rebecca was only a little embarrassed, but she was amazed that Rupert had reacted so strongly to the word trap, since it was his opinion of marriage as well. But even in the face of a tasteless joke, he was behaving protectively, as a husband should.
“Well, let’s not make this mistake again,” Rupert said to Julie. “Make an announcement in the papers already, Mama. I know you’ve been bursting at those seams, too.”
Julie chuckled with a nod, but Amanda interjected. “Not really necessary at this point.”
“Course it is,” Julie disagreed.
To which Amanda persisted, “I’m guessing he didn’t tell you that he personally introduced Becky to every single person at the Withers’ ball the other night—as his wife? Believe me, Aunt Julie, their marriage is definitely making the rounds on the gossip mills.”
“In a good light, I hope?”
Amanda blinked. “Well, of course, why wouldn’t it be?” Then she said, guessing, “Oh, because they’re already expecting?”
“They are?” Avery choked out.
“Well, they didn’t just get married, you know,” Amanda replied to her cousin, then corrected herself, “No, you didn’t know, did you? Sorry. But they were hiding it from her mama,” Amanda explained, then laughed. “At least that’s what I heard at the ball. But the ‘expecting’ part wasn’t mentioned during the introductions. No reason to tell people what isn’t any of their business, after all.”
Julie was frowning at Rupert. Rupert failed to notice since he was giving his cousin a fond look. Rebecca was wishing she could crawl under the table, still not used to having her pregnancy discussed so openly.
Avery, glancing around the table at the wide range of expressions, sighed. “I think I’ll stay home the next time I get invited to the country. All the excitement seems to happen when I’m not around to enjoy it.”
Chapter Forty-seven
MORNING CALLERS BEGAN TO show up at Rupert’s home the week following the ball, with the pretense of visiting his mother. Julie wasn’t really in the habit of receiving this number of callers, yet Rupert had never seen his mother so accommodating. Her gruff, manly role had been shelved! She was now the doting mother-in-law and soon-to-be-doting grandmother, though she didn’t share that with her unexpected guests. She obviously wanted to, but she was waiting for his permission to do so, and he certainly wasn’t ready to give it.
Rebecca had no clue, thankfully, that at least half of the women who showed up at Rupert’s door that week were his former lovers. His mother had no clue
, either. But the ladies simply refused to believe that he’d married, despite the gossip attesting that the confirmation had come from him. They knew him, so it was logical to doubt a rumor like this. They wanted to see it firsthand and hear it from his mother.
Rupert had never been so glad that he’d finished with those women on good terms, was even friends with a few of them. Not one of them came by to stir up trouble. Oddly, the women he’d spent some time flirting with but hadn’t gotten around to pursuing any further were the ones who felt slighted. Some of them had proved vindictive. They weren’t young girls, though. Elizabeth Marly had been the only exception, but then she’d been business rather than pleasure.
Rebecca handled the company well. She was exceptionally good with people, articulate and amusing and not the least bit shy. His own family had taken to her well. He wasn’t sure that was a good thing, though he supposed it was better than their all condemning her for the trap she’d led him into and treating her like a pariah.
His anger was still present, he’d merely locked it up so tightly he tended to forget it was there. He’d locked it up for a good reason. He was protecting his baby. He didn’t want his anger to invite her own, which might affect the baby adversely.
His truce with her, though, was having unexpected results that put him in a different sort of quandary. She hadn’t been in his house for long, yet he seemed to be getting used to the idea that she was there to stay. It had snuck up on him and now wouldn’t go away. And he didn’t mind it! Which made no sense a’tall. She would be leaving, just as soon as her biggest lie came to light. But what if she didn’t? What if he kept her instead?
He couldn’t deny that if he had been looking for a wife, she would have made a prime candidate. She was delightfully pretty, exceptionally intelligent, and too witty by half. She could make him laugh even when he was furious with her! If he was going to be brutally honest, he admired too bloody many things about her. Even his attraction to her went a little too far. He shouldn’t still want a woman who’d brought about his downfall. Yet he did.
A Rogue of My Own Page 22
