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Kincaid stood in the open doorway, contemplating how to approach the duke. He’d kicked himself all afternoon for his failure. The fault lay with him, as much as he wished to place the blame on others. No one had forced him to drink into the early morning hours while playing cards. Even if he did win a bundle, it’d ended up costing him more than he wanted to admit. Not only financially but emotionally, too. He risked losing Jacqueline before he’d even won her love.
Kincaid hesitated. “Colebourne, may I have a word?”
Colebourne looked up from the papers on his desk, narrowing his gaze at the viscount. “You lost your chance when you failed to present yourself for our meeting.”
Kincaid nodded. “I understand. At this time, I only wish to offer my apologies for my inconsideration. I hope in time I can redeem myself in your eyes and regain the respect I lost.”
Colebourne harrumphed. “I do not give second chances.”
“I hope to change your mind.” Kincaid stood firm with false confidence. However, he refused to let the duke see otherwise.
“There is nothing to change. Your absence proved how unreliable of a partner you would be in a business venture. Even though you have repaid your debt with your loyal service over the years, I rarely go against my decisions once I make them.”
“You stand correct. Also, I will continue to repay my debt of gratitude I owe you for coming to my aid. However, I am not trying to redeem myself for a business partnership.”
Colebourne looked confused. “Why else would you seek my forgiveness?”
Kincaid’s smile grew smugger. “Not why. But whom.”
“Whom?”
Kincaid straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “I wish for your blessing to wed Lady Jacqueline.”
Colebourne laughed. “If I will not support your financial venture, why would I allow you to pursue my niece?”
“Because no other gentleman will love her as I do. I may not have the fortune your other wards have married into, but I love Jacqueline with all my heart and I will devote my life to her happiness. And I know for a fact that is your greatest wish for her.”
Colebourne leaned back into his chair, scrutinizing Kincaid. “What the others lacked in confidence, you hold in spades. I will give you that, Kincaid. However, I cannot condone a courtship between the two of you with the status of your finances in the dire straits they are. Jacqueline, above all, deserves the same standing as her sisters and cousin. And you, Lord Kincaid, cannot provide her with what she needs the most.”
Kincaid’s eye gave a slight twitch, the only sign displaying how Colebourne’s comments grated on his nerves. However, he refused to rise to the duke’s bait. Let him believe he held no other avenues to pursue. Colebourne wasn’t the only peer he’d approached to discuss his business venture with. He just happened to be the first. Kincaid felt he owed the duke the first opportunity to accept. As for Colebourne refusing him a chance to court Jacqueline, the threat was pure rubbish.
He realized the duke’s matchmaking games during the house party he attended before the start of the season. Since then, he had taken a front-row seat, watching him manipulate one gentleman after another into marrying his wards. First Sinclair, then Worthington, followed by Ralston. Then, to get his son out of his betrothal agreement, he played his matchmaking games on his own nephew, Duncan Forrester. Each courtship filled with scandal. Even his own affair with Jacqueline was truly scandalous.
Kincaid recognized the signs of Colebourne’s manipulations. Over the years, the duke had controlled him at every opportunity that presented itself. And Kincaid had done the duke’s bidding. If not, Colebourne would have revealed the threat of his ultimate demise and ruined Kincaid.
However, he was confident Colebourne wouldn’t expose the damaging evidence of Kincaid’s shame. Even though the duke refused his offer for Jacqueline, he was underhandedly playing matchmaker with them. Kincaid only needed to play along, too.
“And if I can prove otherwise?” Kincaid asked.
“Then I will grant you permission to marry Jacqueline. But only if Jacqueline agrees,” Colebourne conceded.
Kincaid nodded in agreement and turned to leave. He made it as far as the door when Colebourne made his next move.
“I have invited Lord Falcone to the hunt. He showed Jacqueline interest during the season and has requested to become better acquainted with her on his visit. I granted him permission.”
Kincaid gripped the door handle. He didn’t turn around. “And has Jacqueline shown the same interest in Lord Falcone?”
“She does not need to.” Colebourne’s message rang clear.
Kincaid opened the door and strode down the hallway. And he swore he heard Colebourne’s cackle following him on his heels.
~~~~~
“LADIES, WHEN THE GENTLEMEN finish their brandy, we shall divide into groups and play a game of charades,” Lady Forrester announced.
“Oh, I do hope I get placed with Lord Kincaid. He is most divine,” Lady Noel gushed.
Her sister, Eden, rolled her eyes. “You think every gentleman in England is most divine.”
Noel laughed. “Well, they are. But Lord Kincaid most especially, with his ocean-filled eyes and wavy blond hair. Please excuse me, ladies. I want to plead my case to Lady Forrester to place me on his team. Wish me luck.”
Eden waited for her sister to cross the room before she soothed her friend. “Pay Noel no mind. She holds no interest in Lord Kincaid other than to practice her flirtation skills.”
Jacqueline had stiffened when Noel tittered on about Kincaid. She swung her head toward Eden, pretending indifference at the mention of the viscount. “Why would I mind?”
Eden tilted her head with an expression of you do not fool me for a second. “Perhaps because your interest lies with the handsome lord.”
“Nonsense. Your sister is more than welcome to the viscount.”
“My sister is an incorrigible flirt, and Lord Kincaid is the only available male who is not family for her to entertain herself with. And you are the one who speaks nonsense.”
Jacqueline pinched her lips and turned her head to the side, watching the other ladies talk amongst themselves. Noel’s carefree attitude drew forth laughter from her sisters and Gemma. Had she ever been lighthearted and enjoyed herself without restrictions? With each passing year, her status as a lady past the debutante stage hindered her actions into behaving more like a lady on the shelf. Except for the stolen moments with Kincaid that brought forth a lightness in her soul she hadn’t felt since she was a young girl.
“Jacqueline?”
“Mmm.”
“Please forgive me for overstepping the bounds of our friendship,” Eden apologized.
Jacqueline attempted a smile. “You haven’t.”
“I only thought we had grown closer over the past few months. I did not mean to upset you.”
Jacqueline grabbed Eden’s hand. “I am not upset. You are correct about Lord Kincaid. As much as I keep trying to deny how much he means to me, my heart refuses to listen.”
Eden frowned. “Why fight your destiny?”
Jacqueline’s only answer was a shrug. How could she answer her friend when she was clueless to the answer herself?
“Well, if you want my opinion.”
A smile lit Jacqueline’s face. “Do I have a choice?”
Eden laughed. “No.”
“Then share your wisdom with me, my friend.”
“I believe you should give Lord Kincaid a chance. Embrace your secret courtship and see where it leads. You might discover his love is the answer your heart yearns for.”
“Very sound advice.”
Eden nodded toward the door. “Perhaps you will follow it this evening.”
Kincaid trailed into the drawing room behind the other gentlemen.
“Perhaps,” Jacqueline murmured.
When her gaze connected with his, Kincaid collided into Gray and Worth, who had stopped when Aunt Susanna stepped in front of them. He recovered his balance but appeared ruffled by his misstep. Usually, Kincaid was an unflappable fellow, always in control. However, on this visit, he was anything but. His behavior was off-center and unpredictable. From late-night gambling and drinking to sleeping in late, missing appointments, and flustered mannerisms. Jacqueline was curious to know the reasons for his unusual behavior.
Her mere glance turned him into a bumbling fool who tripped over his own two feet. Kincaid spent another dinner enduring her silent treatment while she flirted with Worth. The desire in her gaze contradicted her words from this afternoon and the distance she kept between them. Jacqueline Holbrooke perplexed him with her mixed signals. He tried to show how indifferent he was to her rejection, but it took every ounce of his control not to scamper over to her like a lovesick pup.
“Pay attention, Kincaid,” Gray muttered.
“You gentlemen will remain in the drawing room for the evening. Colebourne has asked for entertainments after dinner and we are playing charades,” Lady Forrester ordered.
Gray and Worth groaned their disappointment, but Kincaid was more than thrilled at the chance of spending time in Jacqueline’s company. When Lady Forrester winked at him, he knew the lady planned to partner him with Jacqueline. Why else would she be so adamant about them staying? The evening took a turn for the better. Kincaid nodded his acceptance and strode over to talk with Ralston before the games began.
~~~~~
COLEBOURNE SAUNTERED over next to Susanna. “The boy is beyond smitten.”
Susanna’s eyes twinkled. “Did you see how he stumbled when Jacqueline set her gaze on him?”
“Ahh, I love when they fall in the name of love. Do you have them partnered together?”
“Yes. However, Lady Noel has requested to be in Lord Kincaid’s group.”
Colebourne glanced shrewdly at Jacqueline, Kincaid, and Lady Noel. “And Jacqueline continued with her silent treatment toward Kincaid during dinner. You need to make a switch. Place Lady Noel and Kincaid in the same group, and we shall see how Jacqueline reacts to their partnership.”
Susanna tsked. “So devious, Colebourne.”
Colebourne winked. “One must be in this matchmaking madness.”
~~~~~
KINCAID DIDN’T KNOW how he ended up partnered with Lady Noel during the game of charades. While she was charming, her endless excitable chatter made the evening drag on without an end in sight. His assumption of becoming paired with Jacqueline had been wrong. Lady Forrester had fooled him with her wink.
His gaze drifted across the room once again to stare at Jacqueline. Before it landed on her, he encountered Colebourne’s arrogant smirk. The duke wouldn’t make Kincaid’s pursuit of Jacqueline easy. No. His goal was to make Kincaid prove himself worthy of Jacqueline’s love. A task Kincaid planned to succeed at.
“Is this not the most enjoyable pastime?” Lady Noel asked.
Kincaid gave her a patient smile. It wasn’t the poor girl’s fault for his foul mood. It was Colebourne’s. Even though she stared at him with adoring eyes, he only treated her as one would a younger sister. It was moments like these he was thankful he had none.
“Yes, and you play the game brilliantly.”
Lady Noel blushed at his compliment. “My family plays charades every chance we get for entertainment.”
“That explains how apt you are at guessing the clues. I am most impressed.”
Noel’s blush darkened. She bent her head and looked at him coyly from between her lashes. “Thank you, Lord Kincaid.”
He wanted to groan at her obvious display of flirtation. It wasn’t his intention to encourage the miss. He only wished to keep the atmosphere pleasant and to pass the evening as swiftly as possible. Then he could steal a moment alone with Jacqueline. He wished to smooth over his blunt behavior from their walk in the garden and hoped she’d forgiven him. While he meant every word, he hadn’t meant to speak so harshly to her. However, his frustration kept mounting day by day. At every turn, an obstacle stood in the way of achieving his dreams.
Kincaid shifted his attention away from Noel to seek Jacqueline again. This time, he found her gaze fastened on him. Her eyes narrowed and her lips puckered as if she’d sucked on a sour lemon. She kept glancing back and forth between him and Noel.
Is my angel jealous?
He decided to put his theory to the test. Kincaid leaned as close as possible to Lady Noel, where no one could question his impropriety, and whispered in her ear.
Lady Noel’s eyes widened at his suggestion. “Yes. I would love to!”
She drew everyone’s attention to them. To Jacqueline, it would appear as if he’d asked to spend time with Lady Noel, but he’d actually asked the lady to perform the next charade. He gave Noel a charming smile and leaned back in the chair. When he glanced back at Jacqueline, he arched his brow and gave her a nod.
Soon she unraveled, proving his point. Jealousy rolled off the love of his life as he regarded another lady with his charm. From across the room, he watched her grit her teeth and clench her hands. Smoothing things over with Jacqueline wouldn’t happen this evening, but it was worth it to see her reaction.
As much as she denied her feelings toward him, her jealousy proved otherwise.