Landry had found Guy in the library. ‘Ah, here you are, Greylake. So tell me, why have you really come here tonight?’
‘To take Beth Tremoille away from you,’ was the blunt response.
‘Tremoille?’
‘That’s her real name. Mannacott is the name of the blacksmith with whom she lived for a year in Gloucester.’ Guy knew there was little point in concealing this scandalous fact, because Beth’s liaison with Jake Mannacott was bound to come out sooner or later, especially as Jane Welland almost certainly knew of it and would use it to heap public scorn on the new Lady Valmer. The newspapers would be delighted, and soon the juicy titbit would be circulating throughout society.
Landry stared at him. ‘A blacksmith? That’s a lie, Greylake!’
‘It’s the truth.’
Landry flushed. ‘I want you to leave.’
‘No, you don’t, because you want to know more. Sit down, dear fellow, for we may as well be comfortable.’ Resuming his seat at the desk, Guy waved Landry to a chair, subtly reversing the role of host and guest.
‘I’ll stand,’ Landry replied. ‘Well, proceed with your poison.’
‘We don’t like each other, Haldane, and nothing will change that, but if you really do love Beth, then believe me, I am sorry for what I do tonight.’
‘I’m all gratitude.’
‘I’m sure.’ Leaning back, Guy related an edited version of his pursuit of Beth, for he wasn’t about to confide his reason for needing her, or the crimes of which she might conceivably be accused. ‘Beth won’t marry you now,’ he finished, ‘she doesn’t dare to, being mistress of Greylake is a more palatable prospect than—’ He stopped prudently.
Landry’s face had grown more and more pale, and now he leapt to his feet. ‘Than what? Are you threatening her? I’ll defend her against you, Greylake!’
‘How noble, but it won’t come to that. She will marry me. Mark my words, before the hour is out, she will return your ring.’
‘Why do you want her? Do you love her?’
‘Love?’ Guy chuckled. ‘And what, pray, has that to do with it? You may be propelled by such a debilitating condition, but common sense has charge of me.’
Landry was almost beside himself with anguish. ‘I’ll wipe that smug smile from your face, Greylake!’ he cried, beginning to step around the desk with his fist raised.
Guy rose. ‘I’d think twice if I were you, Haldane, because I’m well able to take care of myself. And if you really do want there to be talk, you’ll succeed if we emerge with cuts and bruises and Beth still returns your ring. Listen to me, now, here, where we are private, for I swear I’m quite prepared to carry on this conversation in the middle of the ballroom, with all of Devon and Somerset bearing witness.’
Landry halted, deterred by the quiet menace with which the words were uttered.
Guy smiled. ‘Ever the dashing cavalier, eh, Haldane? How did you ever believe yourself worthy of Beth?’
‘Have you ever lain with her?’ Landry demanded, and then became triumphantly scornful when Guy didn’t answer. ‘I see not. Well, when you dip your proud wick in her sweet body, just remember that I was there before you!’
‘Haldane, when that choice moment arrives, you’ll be the last thing on my mind.’
‘I’ve had her time and time again.’
‘What a braggart you are, and so ungallant to boast at the expense of a lady. Well, it makes no difference to me. I want Beth for reasons other than love and desire.’
‘I pity her,’ Landry breathed.
‘Then don’t.’
‘One day I will destroy you, Greylake.’
Guy smiled. ‘Even insects can dream.’
Landry turned on his heel and marched from the library, slamming the door. Once outside he paused, his mind in turmoil. Beth. Oh, Beth. His heart felt as if it were splitting in two, its life force draining away. She was everything to him, everything, but he knew he’d lost her. The betrothal ball had become a farewell ball, and he had to swallow the bitter pill of knowing his most loathed enemy had taken her.
In the library Guy poured another glass of cognac, and then went to stand by the misted window, looking out at the lamps glittering in the park. There was a lacquered screen behind him, so that anyone entering the library would not know he was there. His thoughts were of Beth, and the regaining his childhood home.
On leaving the library, Landry, still smarting from his interview with Guy, looked for Beth, in order to demand an explanation face-to-face. But she had yet to return from the lodge, and then he was confronted by an inebriated and truculent Sir Daniel, who was determined to persuade him not to ban stag hunting from Haldane land.
Landry was still being thus lambasted when Beth slipped back into the ballroom, meaning to find Harriet first. She found her dancing a cotillion with John, and waited until the dance was at an end before drawing her discreetly aside. ‘Harriet, I must speak with you,’ she said quietly.
‘Is something wrong?’ Harriet looked anxiously at her.
‘That depends upon one’s point of view.’
‘How mysterious.’ An uncertain smile played on Harriet’s lips.
‘We’ll go to the library, it’s private there.’
‘Beth, what on earth can you tell me there that can’t be said here?’
‘You have a very closely guarded secret that is secret no more.’
Harriet blanched, and without another word walked toward the library which was empty. Or so they both thought. Harriet turned as Beth closed the door. Her eyes were tormented, and her nasturtium tissue gown shimmered in the mixed light of fire and candles. ‘Carrie has told you?’
Beth nodded. ‘Yes, and she was right to do so.’
‘It wasn’t her secret to tell.’
‘You know that’s not true, Harriet. She’s dying, and according to Doctor Carter may not even see the dawn.’
Harriet leaned weak hands on the desk. ‘Oh, no, poor Carrie.’
‘Landry is Katie’s father, Harriet, but I now know that you, not Carrie, are her mother. It is up to you and Landry to do what is right.’
‘But this ball celebrates your betrothal to him.’ Harriet turned away agitatedly. ‘Oh, it will all come out now, and I will be seen for the fallen creature I have always secretly been. What will Father say? And John! Oh, no, what of John?’
‘If you and Landry marry, what will it matter if there’s talk? As for John, well, sadly, he’ll be a casualty.’
‘He doesn’t deserve this, for he at least is innocent of blame.’ Tears shone in Harriet’s eyes. ‘You may find scandal easy to live with, Beth, but it frightens me. And you love Landry, so how can you urge this upon him?’
‘No, Harriet, I don’t love him.’
Harriet was shocked. ‘Then why…?’ She pointed at Beth’s ring.
‘I would have returned it to Landry tonight even had I not learned the truth about you. No, Harriet, don’t disbelieve me, or think I’m trying to make things easier for you. My betrothal to Landry is no more, because I am going to marry Sir Guy Valmer.’
Harriet looked at her, as if at a fiend incarnate. ‘You’re what?’ she repeated faintly. ‘But why? What’s Sir Guy to you? How do you know him? What’s this about?’
‘I know nothing of his reasons, except that passion and devotion don’t figure on his side. My motives are … such that I cannot refuse him.’
‘You don’t mean to tell me everything? Aren’t we friends enough for that.’
‘There are things that must remain between Sir Guy and me.’
Harriet searched her face. ‘You’ve loved him all along, haven’t you? Since before you even came here.’
For Beth, the question sailed uncomfortably close to home. ‘Of course not,’ she replied, a denial that might convince others, but never herself.
‘Does – does Landry know all this?’
‘Not yet. I mean to tell him next. Harriet, what I feel for Landry doesn’t compare in any way with your deep love for him. You and he should be together, for your sake, and Katie’s.’
‘You have already accepted Sir Guy?’
‘Not yet.’
Harriet still searched her face. ‘You seem so calm.’
‘I’m not really.’ Beth was nervous about her new situation, and at the same time the erotic wanton in her was unbearably excited. She wanted Guy, even on these terms, and yet anger and resentment burned within her that he could and would manipulate her. At this moment she was his puppet, but a puppet that was flesh and blood, and aroused by the prospect of being his wife. She was a paradox, loving and deploring him at the same time. She met Harriet’s eyes. ‘This isn’t about me, but about you and Landry. I was going to tell him of these developments, but maybe, because of Katie, it would be better coming from you.’
‘Either way it will be cruel for him.’
‘He should not have done what he did with you. The past catches up with us all, including me.’ Beth went to hug her. ‘Go to him now, Harriet.’
‘Can’t we go together?’
Beth shook her head. ‘I’d rather tell Sir Guy of my decision.’
‘Very well. But Landry doesn’t have to marry me, you know, nor will he want to.’
‘Nevertheless, he will.’
Harriet went reluctantly to the door and, as it closed softly, Beth leaned her hands on the desk, her head bowed. But she turned with a dismayed gasp as she heard Guy’s soft tread from behind the screen. ‘You!’
‘I fear so. I did not hide deliberately, but was caught unawares when you and Miss Bellamy came in. And once you started talking—’
‘— you kept quiet in order to eavesdrop!’
He pursed his lips slightly. ‘The more you said, the more awkward it became to make my presence known. Haldane’s lamentable lack of honour is hardly my concern.’
‘Who are you to speak of honour? You’re blackmailing me into marriage.’
‘And who are you to complain?’
She coloured and turned the conversation elsewhere. ‘Well, you already know that I will marry you, although why on earth you want me I can’t imagine.’
‘You’ll learn in due course, and when you’re Lady Valmer, provided you conduct yourself as I wish, we’ll get on famously. Please, no blacksmiths, cordwainers or such.’
Now her face was fiery. ‘I’m sure that even you would bed with a washerwoman if your belly was empty and there was no roof over your head.’
‘What an interesting thought.’
‘Ponder upon it when next you feel compelled to ridicule me.’
‘Ridicule you? Maybe I am guilty of that, but my purpose is to make you realize that from now on you will never need to descend into such degradation. You were far too good for Mannacott.’
‘And too good for Landry? Presumably I’m far too good for anyone except you?’
‘Of course.’ He smiled.
That smile almost undid her, and she looked away, afraid that her innermost thoughts might be revealed to him. She didn’t want him to know how much she hungered for him, because that would put her even more in his power. ‘What is to happen next?’
‘We quit this place without further ado.’
Her gaze flew to meet his again. ‘Now? But there is Landry, and—’
‘Haldane already knows; we had a verbal set-to in here a little while ago. I think he really does love you, Beth, but he’s spineless. Oh, and in case you did not know, in the past he’s had a considerable weakness for drinking and gambling. He was quite dissolute in fact, which is certainly at odds with the angelic front he puts on now. He has overcome his vices in recent years, but it won’t last. Now then, I’ve waited some considerable time to capture you, so this is not haste, merely a determination to conclude matters satisfactorily. You and I will travel to Porworthy tonight, and Greylake in the morning. Once there, we will be married as soon as it can be arranged. I intend you to be Lady Valmer before Christmas.’
And do you also intend me to be in your bed? The thought was there and she could do nothing about it. Looking at him now, hearing him now, it didn’t matter how cold and aloof he was, or that their marriage would be simply one of convenience – his convenience. What mattered was that she would be his wife. For better, for worse.…
She held his gaze. ‘And will you be my husband, sir? Or merely my lord and master?’
‘No man could be your lord and master, Beth. Catching you has been like pursuing a dream.’ She bowed her head, thinking of what Jake had said. ‘Beth?’
‘It’s nothing. You just reminded me of someone.’
‘I hardly dare ask who.’
‘More mockery? Well, how many whores have you bedded?’ she demanded defensively.
‘Oh, the usual full complement,’ he replied with a glimmer of amusement, ‘because such things are expected of gentlemen. Hugely unfair, I know, but there it is.’ He paused. ‘Are you ready to leave? Together, through the ballroom?’
Her nerve wavered. ‘Can’t we simply slip away and spare Landry’s feelings?’
‘Did he spare your feelings tonight? No, when I asked you to dance, he displayed his inherent pettiness. That is the measure of him, Beth. He’s the sort of man who seduces a vicar’s innocent daughter, gets her with child, and then turns his back.’
‘He didn’t know she had his child.’
‘No? Didn’t he have a tiny suspicion? Surely he knows how babies are made? And what was he thinking, idly bedding a young woman of Harriet’s quality?’
Hadn’t she thought virtually the same? But still she issued a sharp retort. ‘Such acid must surely eat through you, Sir Guy.’
‘Enough of this charming banter. I wish to leave Holy Haldane’s domain and breathe fresh air again. I’ve taken a room at the Bell and Fox, and—’ He broke off hastily. ‘Oh, don’t fear my unwelcome attentions tonight, for I will secure another room, or sleep on a settle. Your bed is your own. For the time being.’ He came around the table and offered her his arm.
Slowly and with great trepidation, she accepted it. For a moment his hand enclosed hers. ‘One day you will see this as providence,’ he murmured, ‘because you know deep down that Haldane isn’t for you.’
‘Perhaps I know that you aren’t, either.’ Such bravado, when her silly heart fluttered and her legs had become jelly.
‘It’s all immaterial anyway, because this is to be a mariage de convenance. Neither of us gives a fig about the other, but in public we will pretend we do.’
You might not give a fig, but I do. Oh, how I do. I love you, Guy, and want you to want me. He began to walk toward the door, but she held back. ‘You may have the nerve to walk brazenly through the ballroom, but I don’t.’
His fingers twined firmly with hers. ‘Oh, yes, you do, Beth, you have the nerve for anything, as you’ve shown in all our previous encounters. We’re both capable of facing down the Devil himself, so West Country society will be simple. Besides, they’ll imagine that I have a prior claim to you.’
‘And provided I’m a meek, obedient lapdog, all will be well?’
‘Meek and obedient? You?’ He laughed.
‘Sir Guy, are you familiar with the local saying that those who dance at midwinter will need many lights to see their way? Well, you and I danced tonight.’
‘I can afford all the candles in England, so our darkness with be well lit.’
She fell into silence as he opened the library door and they stepped through into the antechamber that led to the ballroom. Another waltz was in progress, but the moment they appeared – the future Mrs Haldane arm-in-arm with Sir Guy Valmer, his fingers linked lovingly with hers – the assembly’s elegance and dignity dissolved into an utter shambles. Beth recalled Mrs Cobbett’s doubts about tonight. Had the housekeeper foreseen tonight’s tumultuous events? She felt as if she and Guy trod a brightly illuminated stage, before a darkened auditorium where every seat was taken, every aisle crowded. She would better have worn scarlet tonight….
‘Smile, Beth,’ Guy prompted, ‘for I will not have it thought that you are being made to marry me.’
‘Heaven forfend,’ was the brave riposte she knew must set the scene for the ensuing acts. She must be cool and remote, she thought, smiling obediently for the benefit of those who’d gathered at Haldane Hall to celebrate her betrothal to Landry, only to see her depart on the arm of the man he loathed most. She must also be cool and remote with Guy, a goal not easily accomplished when his hand moved over hers in as loving a manner as could be imagined. Even this false caress affected her, exposing as it did how much joy he could impart to her … had he been so disposed. She shivered secretly as shameless sensations invaded places they shouldn’t. Her body and senses quickened; her imagination taunted her with thoughts of exquisite carnal joy … but such desires were fanciful, because Sir Guy Valmer didn’t want her in that way. His affection and physical adoration could make her the happiest of creatures, but neither would be forthcoming. To him she was as much a matter of business as the purchase of Lancelot, and she wished she knew his motives; unless … could it be connected with her father’s missing will? Yes, of course! Why hadn’t she thought of it before?
Tears sprang to her eyes. How cruel life as Lady Valmer was going to be. She would be the wife of the only man she would ever love so intensely, but in the face of his coldness would have to salvage her pride and self-respect by pretending indifference. Tormented, she hardly knew that her fingers wove between his, or that he glanced at her in surprise, as did the rest of the ballroom, around which a torrent of whispering now began to pour. Society was affronted by what conclusion it drew, and she knew she was branded. The rumours of the summer and autumn pierced the thin veneer that had hitherto cloaked this evening, and local society decided once and for all that Miss Mannacott of the Dower House had never been anything but a scheming, ambitious whore, who, having snapped up the considerable prize of Landry Haldane, was now setting him aside in favour of one far greater.
Guests moved silently aside, as they had on Guy’s arrival, and as he and Beth mounted the ballroom steps, a babble of conversation broke out behind them. Somehow Beth managed to hold her head up as they entered the vestibule, where bemused footmen rushed to obey when Guy requested their outdoor clothes and that his carriage be brought to the main entrance. The mantle’s fur lining felt cold against Beth’s too-hot skin, as did the muff into the pristine white depths of which she plunged her hands. She hardly knew as she and Guy approached the outer doors, nor did she feel the chill of the snow-filled night as he assisted her down toward the waiting carriage. Snowflakes brushed her face, and clung to Guy’s dark coat. The atmosphere of Christmas was all around, and she was sure that a trick of the wind carried the sound of carols from Haldane church.
But then she saw Landry and Harriet ascending toward them. Both couples halted awkwardly. Harriet had been crying, and Landry, who avoided Beth’s gaze, looked as if he’d been struck by lightning, but Harriet’s hand was on his sleeve, and his hand was over it, just as Guy’s was over Beth’s. ‘Every hand tells a story,’ Guy murmured to Beth as he made her continue the descent.
She looked back, and Harriet gave her a wan smile as she tried to suppress another sob; Landry proceeded stiffly toward the house. Beth wanted to call out and make him acknowledge her, but Guy sensed as much and forbade it. ‘Leave the churlish fellow to his sulks, my dear,’ he murmured. At the bottom she glanced back a final time, but Landry and Harriet had gone inside and the doors were closed again. Another chapter of her life had also closed, she thought. Guy paused by the open carriage door. ‘Forget him, Beth, for he really isn’t worth your regrets.’
‘At least there would have been warmth with him.’
‘You think me incapable of warmth?’ he asked.
‘I have no idea of what you are capable or incapable, Sir Guy. You present a mask to the world as you mock it. You are ice itself, sir.’
His grey eyes were unfathomable in the light of the carriage lamp, and she was so aware of him that desire seemed to have replaced the blood in her veins. Then he tossed his hat into the carriage and pulled her toward him. ‘I’m not ice, Beth, but you won’t believe that unless I demonstrate my skills,’ he breathed, lowering his lips to hers.
Time stood still as he kissed her. How often had she dreamed of this? How often had she craved this man? Her own resolution mocked her. Cool and remote, cool and remote.… But as his lips played with hers, and he gathered her body close, as if she were the most beloved thing in his world, it was impossible to abide by her promise. Her disloyal lips parted and softened as she returned the kiss with all the stifled passion she’d endured since meeting him. But this wasn’t the same as her savage surrender on the cliffs, this was timelessly exquisite, a kiss shared with the man she loved to distraction. She felt the moisture between her legs, and the rich flow of desire over her entire body. She dissolved against him, exulting in the way his embrace tightened so that he lifted her from her toes. Their lips moved together, their hearts beat together, and she felt the desire that swelled at his loins. She was in ecstasy, drawing his tongue into her mouth and pressing to him in a way so wanton and abandoned that he surely could be in no doubt of her feelings for him.
If her fervour startled him he gave no sign, but with her still in his arms he turned to press her back against the carriage. She kissed him again and again, running her fingers into his hair, that wonderful hair that so set him apart. If only she dared tell him of her love … but that would be to court his derision. He was simply proving a point now, and proved it only too well.
To save what was left of her self-respect, she had to pretend to be paying him in kind, so from somewhere she found the strength to draw back coolly. ‘You see? Two can play at that game, Sir Guy,’ she whispered.
His face was unfathomable. ‘It would seem they can, Beth. I bow to your superior acting talents, for to be sure you are very convincing.’
She was glad of the poor light, because she knew there were spots of guilty colour on her cheeks.
He turned to Dickon, waiting discreetly nearby. ‘The Dower House first, I think,’ he said, and then helped her into the carriage. Moments later they drove out of the Haldane Hall gates and then down the steep incline toward Lannermouth. Her senses were in chaos as she waited in the carriage at the Dower House, where Dickon loaded her waiting luggage into the boot. Mrs Cobbett and Molly waited nearby, clearly in some confusion, but then the housekeeper hurried to the carriage. ‘What’s to become of us, Miss Beth?’
Guy answered. ‘You will stay here as you are now.’
Mrs Cobbett looked at him nervously, but then became suddenly bold. ‘I knew there would be dark goings-on tonight, Sir Guy, but I did not imagine it would be this. Take care of her.’ The last words were an instruction, not a request.
Guy was amused. ‘And if I do not?’
The housekeeper raised her chin. ‘Dark goings-on require dark remedies.’
‘Am I being threatened with a wisewoman’s magic, perchance?’
Mrs Cobbett’s lips parted to respond, but Beth spoke quickly. ‘I’m quite all right, Mrs C. Please don’t worry, for Sir Guy’s motives are honourable. I’m to be Lady Valmer.’
The woman’s face changed. ‘Lady Valmer?’ she repeated in awe. ‘But—’
Guy cut her short. ‘The only other thing you need to know is that you and the other two servants will be as secure in my employ as you were before.’
The luggage had been loaded, and the carriage shook as Dickon resumed his place. Guy closed the door on Mrs Cobbett, and the team moved forward again. Soon they were toiling up Rendisbury Hill, but at the top Dickon urged the horses along the coast road. Snowflakes swirled, and the sea and great inland expanse of Exmoor were lost in the darkness.
Another new beginning stretched ahead for Beth Tremoille, this time as the titled mistress of the great estate of Greylake. Tears stung her eyes. Oh, why did it have to be this way? Everything would be so based on deception and pretence that surely there would never be a moment to tell him how much she loved him. She had so much to give this man. If only he wanted it.