Sebastian’s smile was swift. “I’ve come to have a conversation with my mother.”
Trepidation rushed through her from the top of her head to her toes in her slippers, but she didn’t have time to revel in it because he took her arm and said, “Won’t you join me?”
Chapter 17
It was not at all surprising to find his mother in a card room, her husband nowhere in sight as her hand lay terribly familiar on the shoulder of a baron who held a hand of cards and a cigar.
“Viscountess,” Sebastian said, stopping opposite his mother, the gaming table between them.
She looked up in surprise, her eyes flashing in the murky light of the cigar-smoke-filled room.
“Sebastian,” she said, his name cool and clipped. “How lovely to see you.”
“I wish I could say the same of seeing you, but I’m afraid not.”
The conversation stilled at the table, and Louisa tensed against his side.
He hadn’t missed how his gut had clenched at the sight of her tonight. Spending a night without her was pure torture, and he swore never to do it again. Never would he allow his past to separate him from her. She was his future, and he was going to damn well ensure she would always be there.
“I’m sorry?” his mother said, tilting her head innocently.
“I know what really happened to my father.”
If the room had stilled before, it went absolutely silent then.
Louisa sucked in a breath beside him, and he felt more than saw her head turn, surveying the room. It needn’t matter how many people heard him. With any luck, it would spread through the ball in its entirety before the night was through.
His mother’s hand slipped from the baron’s shoulder.
“Sebastian, I don’t understand what you’re doing. You can’t mean to have a private conversation here.” She gestured grandly to the room about her.
“I find private conversations with you tend to end in lies. I thought a public one would be a nice change of discourse.”
There were several startled gasps around them, and Louisa’s fingers dug into his arm.
“I spoke to your lady’s maid today, Mother. If you should like to retain any amount of dignity, I shall allow you to speak the truth now. If you do not, I shall be forced to call you out for the liar you are.”
His mother’s eyes narrowed, and she came out from around the table to face him.
“How dare you.” She hissed the words as if speaking softly would keep everyone from hearing her.
But even he could see that no one was about to miss a single word she spoke. Hands of cards hung suspended and forgotten in players’ hands. Cigars smoldered in ashtrays. Drinks remained halfway to the guests’ lips. All attention was on Viscountess Raynham and her son, the Beastly Duke.
He only hoped everyone had a good seat to the show.
“How dare I?” he asked. “I should ask the same of you. It’s rather bold to suggest your husband has committed suicide in order to protect your lover who killed him.”
The room erupted in a soft boil of whispers and exclamations.
“Sebastian!” She spat out his name as if the single word could stop him.
“There are witnesses to your machinations, Viscountess. It would do you well not to deny it.”
She looked about her, her cold eyes scanning the room as if searching for an ally. But Sebastian knew the ton better than anyone. He knew they were only here for a good spectacle, and they were ready to believe anything, just like they believed him when he’d created the Beastly Duke.
Finally, she returned her gaze to him. “You don’t know what I endured that night.”
“You don’t know what I’ve endured in a lifetime as your son.” He could feel the tension in the crowd around him growing with every word he spoke. “Now would you like to tell these good people how you covered up the murder of your husband so your lover would not see justice?”
A gentleman to his left stood, and Sebastian recognized Baron Whitchurch, a magistrate from Hampshire.
“I suppose your lover had his own pistol that night. Did you use Father’s dueling pistol as a decoy then?”
His mother’s eyes flicked to the magistrate and back, her nostrils flaring but no defense coming to her lips.
“I’m still not clear on why you did it,” he went on. “Was it to save your lover or the reputation of the title? I fear it’s the second. Am I correct?”
Her nostrils flared again. “Sebastian, I demand you stop this at once. You’ve not been yourself since you married this harlot, and I—”
“You will do well, madam, to watch your words.”
All eyes turned to the steely voice and the gentleman it belonged to in the doorway of the card room.
Andrew Darby, the Duke of Ravenwood, stood there, flanked by his sister, the Duchess of Margate, and his brother-in-law, the Duke of Ashbourne. It was a formidable sight, and one Sebastian had never seen.
Allies.
Louisa’s hand tightened on his arm, and he looked down to her.
“You have me, too,” she whispered, and for a moment, he remembered that day so long ago when he’d asked her that fatal question, felt her hesitancy like a death blow. Hope surged through him, and he turned back to his mother.
“Your lover killed my father in a fit of rage, and you cried suicide to hide the scandal from the ton. Well, Viscountess, I am here to set the record straight. I’m not sure if I’ve made it clear or not, but I don’t give a damn about the title’s reputation and I don’t give a damn about you. It’s only luck that your lover is already dead, or I would seek a greater justice for my father.”
His mother’s cheeks flexed as he knew she was grinding her teeth.
“A greater justice? Just what exactly do you plan to do to me, Sebastian?”
His smile was genuine when he said, “I’ve already done it.” Here he let his gaze cast about the room, taking in the astonished faces, the sneers of distaste, the looks of hatred, before turning to his mother’s stricken face. “Your punishment is the worst I could think of.” He leaned in, so she wouldn’t miss his meaning when he said, “Public humiliation.”
He didn’t miss her sharp inhalation, didn’t miss the way her lips trembled, but he turned his back on all of it and escorted his bride from the room. Ravenwood and Ashbourne stepped to the side to allow them egress, but he didn’t miss the small smiles on either of their faces.
He heard the room erupt behind him. Chairs were pushed back, the sharp sound of glass breaking as drinks were abandoned. Soon he and Louisa were caught up in the exodus of ladies and gentlemen going to spread the gossip they’d just overheard.
His mother would be ruined utterly and completely before the night was over. He couldn’t help but smile as the beginning notes of a waltz reached his ears, and he wondered at his luck. He headed straight for the dance floor, a mumbling Louisa at his side.
“Sebastian. Umph. Where are we going? You just—”
He swung her into the waltz before she could ask another question.
“Have I told you yet how beautiful you look tonight?”
His question stopped her completely, and she shut her mouth with an audible snap. She peered up at him, and he could see the questions in her eyes. He would answer every one of them, but not here. He had someplace else in mind.
He twirled her about, his feet sure as he carried her through the dance.
“Do you know I can’t recall why I avoided balls and dancing?” He smiled down at his wife. “It’s quite lovely when you find the right partner.”
Her mouth fell open, and he loved every minute of it.
The song took an interminable time to end, but finally, the violins finished with an exaggerated flourish, and he could sweep them from the floor, pulling her in the direction of the terrace doors.
“Sebastian?” She said his name like a question, but his only response was to pull her through the open doors and into the cool air of the night.
/> He looked up, finding the full moon just as he’d expected it.
“Come on,” he said, pulling her in the direction of the stairs. “We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” She traipsed down the stairs beside him and soon they were lost in the hedges of the Kittridge gardens.
Only then did he turn back to her.
Moonlight flooded her face, lit her up like the ethereal Viking queen she was.
Everything within him settled, and he knew of only one thing to say.
“I first fell in love with you in the moonlight, and in the moonlight was where I wanted to tell you how much I love you.”
* * *
“Oh God, Sebastian, I’m so sorry.”
His face fell at her words, and she was so overcome she laughed, finally reaching up to cup his face, run her fingers through his hair the way she’d longed to since first seeing him that night.
“I finally pour my heart out to a woman, and she expresses her regrets,” he mumbled.
She laughed harder before finally pressing a kiss to his lips. She had meant it as a light thing, but soon his arms found their way around her, lifting her up to pull her more tightly against him.
She’d thought she might never feel this again, feel his body pressed against hers.
He broke the kiss, pressing his lips to her temple. “No, love, I am sorry. I should have told you sooner, as soon as I felt it. Only I was scared. I was so very scared that I…that I would—”
“End up like your father?”
He tilted her chin up, and she met his gaze.
“I went to Mrs. Shaw, Louisa. You didn’t tell me she and my father were lovers.”
Louisa frowned. “You cut me off if you recall.”
He kissed her again, kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her temples.
“I’m so sorry for that. I’m sorry for my temper. I’m sorry for my insecurities. I swear to you I will never run away from you like that again.”
She held onto him, holding his chin in place to meet his gaze.
“Do you promise me that, Your Grace? Do you swear to stay and speak to me about the things that scare you?”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I do. I swear I do.”
Her smile grew slowly as she leaned in to kiss him. “Then I love you, too, you beast.”
He growled as he kissed her. He picked her up and found the nearest bench on which to sit, cradling her in his lap. He savored the taste of her, plundered her mouth, trailed blazing nibbles down the line of her jaw. His hand found her breast, kneading it through the thin fabric of her bodice. She sighed, leaning into him.
“We can’t possibly do this here,” she whispered.
“I can recall another moonlit night when we did this very thing,” he whispered back.
She sat up in his arms, her eyes wide. They studied each other before bursting into a snickered laugh at the memory.
She ran a hand down the side of his face, played with the fringes of his hair.
“That seems so very long ago,” she said, transfixed by the way he looked with his hair loose and pomade-free. She stilled as she remembered something else. “Sebastian, you were right.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Was that in question?”
She kissed him playfully before pulling away. “You were right about my mother. I didn’t bring the illness into the house. It was the scullery maid.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if knowing the truth makes it better or worse. I feel so helpless knowing what really happened.”
He cradled her face in his palm. “Louisa, you cannot blame yourself for events of the past just as I cannot use them as an excuse to hide from things. We both must move forward and forge the lives we want.”
She studied his face, this face that was so dear to her now, so open when it had once been closed, so loving when it had once been so reserved. She kissed him softly, exploring every facet, every valley, and every crest.
Slowly she pulled away. “If we are to look to the future, I should like to start on another room in the house.”
“Which room would that be?” he mumbled against her lips.
She pulled back to smile broadly. “The nursery.”
His eyes widened, but before he could say anything, she captured his mouth in a kiss full of the love she couldn’t wait to share with him for all the rest of their lives.
Ready For More?
Dear Reader,
Were you as surprised by the sudden appearance of Viv’s estranged husband as I was? Don’t miss Viv and Ryder’s story in the next book in The Unwanted Duke Series -
The Duke and the Siren
Coming February 2021
Join my Readers Club so you are the first to know when it’s available for pre-order: https://jessieclever.com/newsletter/
Jessie’s Readers Club
I really do love connecting with readers. Remember I was a reader before I was a writer, and I want to talk about all the wonderful historical romances you’ve been reading. Join my Readers Club to get in on the conversation and be the first to know about new releases: https://jessieclever.com/newsletter/
Above all else, I thank you for spending time with my characters and my stories. I am beyond blessed to live in a time when I can share my stories with amazing readers like you. Because of you, I live my dream everyday. I cannot thank you enough.
Here’s to more love, because after all…
Love is the greatest adventure.
Cheers,
Jessie
Also by Jessie Clever
The Unwanted Dukes
The Duke and the Wallflower
The Duke and the Lady
The Spy Series
Inevitably a Duchess: A Spy Series Prequel Novella
To Have and To Spy: A Spy Series Prequel Short Story
Son of a Duke: Book One
For Love of the Earl: Book Two
A Countess Most Daring: Book Three
To Save a Viscount: Book Four
The Spy Series Short Stories
To Be a Spy
To Be a Duke
To Be a Lady
To Be a Debutante
Shadowing London
Once Upon a Page
Once Upon a Vow
Once Upon Her Honor
Franconia Notch
When She Knows
When She Falls
When She Dares
Other Books by Jessie
Shake Down Your Ashes
Learn more about Jessie and her books at jessieclever.com.
About the Author
Jessie decided to be a writer because the job of Indiana Jones was already filled.
Taking her history degree dangerously, Jessie tells the stories of courageous heroines, the men who dared to love them, and the world that tried to defeat them.
Jessie makes her home in the great state of New Hampshire where she lives with her husband and two very opinionated Basset hounds. For more, visit her website at jessieclever.com.
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