HIS HEART INFUSED with hope, Jack arrived home to discover he would not have to make the rounds of the clubs, searching out Dorrie’s James. As he walked in, the butler informed him that Lord Winston awaited him in the study.
His sister’s ardent suitor speedily confirmed he had come on precisely the errand Jack suspected. After agreeing to have their solicitors hammer out the details of the settlements and sharing a celebratory glass of port, Jack sent the young man off to find Dorrie.
Smiling, Jack warmed the glass in his hands. First Belle’s agreement to consider his suit, then Winston coming up to scratch. It apparently being an auspicious day for matrimony, perhaps he should begin the siege to conquer the last bastion that would likely oppose his own.
Time to seek out Mama.
First, he’d weaken her defenses with a barrage of good news about Lord Winston’s proposal. Then he’d lob the bombshell about his own plans.
The housekeeper told him Lady Anne was in the back parlor, going over the day’s menus. She looked up when he entered, fixing on him eyes as dark as his own, then smiled a welcome as he crossed the room to plant a kiss atop her glossy chestnut curls.
“I missed you at breakfast, Jack. You must have had an appointment very early. Something to do with that business that took you from town so unexpectedly?”
“Yes, although more of that later. First, I must tell you I’ve just approved James Winston’s suit. He’s gone to propose to Dorrie.”
“Wonderful!” mother exclaimed. “He is an excellent young man, do you not think, Jack? I believe he and Dorrie shall make a very happy match of it.”
Jack agreed, then let his mother run on for a few minutes expounding with delight on the character of her prospective son-in-law and the tasks to be accomplished in preparing for the wedding.
When at last her observations slowed, he said, “I believe they will be happy. Certainly they both seem set on the match. As it happens, I am set on one of my own.”
That volley effectively silenced all her chatter about wedding details. “You sly thing!” she exclaimed. “You developed a tendre for some young lady right under my nose, and I never noticed?”
“It didn’t precisely happen under your nose.”
Her smile of delight faded a bit. “Someone you met outside of London? Oh, not some Parisian lady, I do pray! Come now, don’t make me guess! Who is she?”
“Someone of whom, initially, you may not approve, although I hope to convince you otherwise. A wonderful, intelligent lady. The ton knows her as Lady Belle.”
Shock flared in her eyes before she gave him a reproving look. “Jack, if you mean that as a jest, I do not find it funny.”
“Nor do I, Mama. I’m entirely serious.”
He heard her tiny gasp of dismay when she realized he meant exactly what he’d said. She remained silent a long time—probably searching for diplomatic words in which to inform her only son he’d run mad.
“When you returned to us after your accident,” she began at last, “I suspected you had conceived a…a tendre for the woman. But the sort of passion she inspires, intensified I do not doubt by the rivalry among the men over who will next possess her—”
“Stop, Mama!” Jack interrupted, his tone harsher than he’d intended. “Never speak of her in such terms.”
Her mouth still open after being halted in midspeech, his mother stared at him. “You truly are in thrall to her,” she said a moment later. “Oh, Jack, my darling son, I do not mean to disparage her attractions. Only please, for my sake, do not rush into something you would then have a lifetime to regret!”
“I appreciate that you did not immediately point out the disadvantages attaching to such a match for you and Dorrie. And they are many. But before you convict me of having lost my wits, my sense of what is due the family, and my honor, will you hear what I have to say?”
“Of course.”
In a few succinct sentences, he conveyed to her all he had learned about the death of Belle’s parents, Bellingham’s deception and her subsequent life. “She is not some urchin off the streets who used her wits and beauty to claw herself to a select position among the muslin company, Mama. But a lady born and raised. What if it had been Dorrie stranded alone, frightened, destitute in some rural inn far from home?”
His mother shuddered. “I don’t wish to consider it.”
“I assure you I have,” he replied grimly. “And I cannot find it in my heart to condemn Belle for what happened afterward. Her real name is Constance, Mama—and ‘steadfast’ she was. Despite the appalling situation in which she found herself, she stayed true to the values of her youth, endured years of isolation and shame to protect her sister—Dorrie’s friend, Catherine. I believe she has been punished enough for a disaster not of her making.”
After giving his mother another moment to ponder all he’d said, he continued, “Since Belle is probably correct in assuming that marrying her will mean we will both be cut by society, I shall not pursue her until Dorrie is safely leg-shackled. I don’t want to spoil the end of her Season or her wedding with scandal. Then, however, if I can persuade Belle to have me, I mean to marry her. Would you accept her as the choice of my heart?”
He knew his mother to be honest and fair, a lady who appreciated but did not boast about or overvalue the high estate to which she’d been born. Even so, requesting that she approve Belle, a woman whom Lady Anne’s friends and peers would probably always associate with sophisticated vice, was asking a great deal.
“What happened to her was despicable,” she said after pondering for a few minutes. “For all my privileged position, I know the evils of which the world—and men—are capable. We women have so little power or control over our lives, I would be a traitor to my sex if I were to condemn Belle for what befell her when she was young and defenseless. If she truly is who you claim her to be and not some vile adventuress, I will accept her.”
Jack exhaled a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mama. Your blessing is all I seek. You mustn’t think that, once I convince her to marry me, I shall expect you to include us in your social gatherings. My only regret in loving Belle is knowing our marriage shall very likely cause you and Dorrie embarrassment, regardless of how much we distance ourselves from you.”
Lady Anne sniffed. “If it comes to that, the happiness I have in the company of my son and the woman he loves will be more than sufficient compensation for any decrease in invitations to balls and parties—which are generally a dead bore anyway. But it may not have to come to that. Lady Belle is actually Catherine’s elder sister?”
“Yes.”
“Germayne…” his mother said. “The family name is unfamiliar. Do you know to whom they may be related?”
“Both Belle and Catherine said their father was a younger son of a younger son. And they indicated the cousins who took Catherine in were distant relations.”
“I shall have to make some discreet inquiries of Lady Abrams. You know how much ton families are interconnected. ’Tis likely the Germaynes are related to someone more noble and influential, however remotely. Perhaps I shall be able to garner more support for your lady than you think.”
“Your blessing is all that matters to me.”
His mother smiled. “You shall always have that. Now, I shall send you off to exert your persuasive powers. I’m anxious to meet the lady who has stolen my son’s heart—and soon, not some months hence, after Dorrie’s wedding.”
“I shall do my best, Mama. And thank you.”
He bent to kiss her cheek. His confidence and enthusiasm soaring at her approval and with the knowledge that, in claiming the woman he loved, he would not have to sacrifice the family he loved as well, he walked out.
Now to convince that lady to let him claim her.
SEVERAL DAYS LATER, Belle gazed out the window as her carriage turned into the drive at Bellehaven. Despite her confused and restless state, she felt her spirits lift with the sense of belonging that had filled her from the first day she’d viewed the property that was now her home.
Jack’s unexpected proposal had left her so unsettled she’d decided to return to the country immediately. Pausing only long enough to pen him a note informing him of her departure, she’d packed a few necessities and been on the road by the afternoon after his morning call.
Though the long journey without Mae’s company left her plenty of time for reflection, she’d not managed to sort out her turmoil of emotions. Elation that he truly loved her and awe at his proposal warred with the old anger at having been stripped of the position in life that would have made her an acceptable bride for him. Despair at having to live the rest of her days without him mocked the tenuous but unquenchable hope that somehow, he might find a way for them to be together. Beneath all was an exasperation with her wild swings of mood and the muddle into which they’d cast her normal clear thinking.
Doubting both her judgment and her ability to resist seeing Jack or trying to contact her sister had made leaving London doubly urgent, for if Jack missed her half as much as she missed him, the temptation to call on her again—and for her to receive him—would be nearly overwhelming. Better, safer for herself and her sister, that she be here at Bellehaven, where she had the house, garden and farms to tend, work that would prevent her from drifting aimlessly from room to room, as she had much of her time in London, half listening for the knock on the door that would signal a visitor’s arrival.
Mindful of Egremont’s warning, she had left Watson to watch over Mae, carrying with her instead two of Jackman’s former soldiers. Though she doubted she would need protecting, their presence would satisfy Egremont’s concern for her safety.
She’d also brought Jem. Supervising the boy, whose high spirits were matched only by a near-complete lack of moral scruples, had been exhausting poor Lawton. Catapulted into the unfamiliar world of the English countryside, perhaps Jem would be less inclined to wander about exercising his skills at petty thievery. The soldiers could earn their keep instilling a bit of discipline in him while they assisted the grooms in continuing his training with the horses.
To her relief, unlike the town-bred Mae, the town-bred youth had found everything about their journey and the scenery through which they traveled interesting. John Coachman had been mercifully patient, answering the rapid battery of questions Jem continually fired from his position on the bench beside him.
As if her thoughts had conjured him, Jem startled her by appearing outside her window, dangling by one arm from his perch on the box. “Would that big mansion up on the hill there be ourn?” he asked.
“It is,” she confirmed with a smile. “But please, Jem, get back up on the seat! I don’t want to end our journey by having you trampled under the carriage wheels.”
His low whistle reached her ears as he obligingly clambered back up. “Cor!” she heard him exclaim to the coachman. “Jem be coming up in the world now!”
Chuckling, she settled back in her seat, glad she’d decided to bring the boy along. His fresh viewpoint and the mischief he would certainly kick up might distract and entertain her, keep her from dwelling on the uncertainties that continued to plague her.
THREE DAYS LATER, trapped indoors by a heavy rain, Belle found herself pacing the parlor. Her household chores were already done, her account books up to date, and neither the novel she’d begun nor the desultory game of billiards she’d attempted could hold her interest. Despite arguing to herself that such a thing was ridiculous, she couldn’t shake this restless sense of expectancy.
Why could she just not accept that, despite his vows to the contrary, Jack would not be coming after her? She’d all but guaranteed such an outcome by demanding he cease pursuing her unless his family agreed to a relationship between them. Which, no matter how well settled marriage might make his sister, they probably would not.
His mother was an earl’s daughter—and therefore most unlikely to accept having her family name besmirched by the infamy of her son’s marriage to a well-known courtesan, however genteel her origins.
Besides, Jack might think now that he preferred her company to retaining the position he occupied among the ton, but later, once the heat of passion cooled, would he regret his bargain? He was too honorable ever to disavow her if they wed, no matter how dissatisfied he might become with his self-inflicted banishment. The only heartache worse than living without him would be to live with him and watch the man she loved become a silent, stoic stranger, forever regretting the folly that had prompted him to make her his wife.
Even imagining it made her shudder.
A knock sounded at the door and Jem bounded in. “There be a gent to see ye—not the captain,” he added, quelling the automatic leap of her pulse.
Before she could tell Jem to admit the visitor, the door opened again. There on the threshold, his gray eyes sweeping her with a glance, stood Lord Rupert.
He made her a bow. “I thought to spare you the trouble, if you had any inclination to deny me. You may go, boy,” he added, with a wave at Jem.
Jem drew his scrawny body up to full height. “I go when the lady says go.”
Rupert frowned, clearly displeased. “How dare you address me in such a tone—” he began, advancing on the boy.
Worried Rupert might cuff Jem for not according him the deference he expected, Belle said hastily, “You needn’t wait. Lord Rupert will not be long.”
With more bravery than sense, Jem stood his ground. “All right, Miss Belle. But he looks like a rum one to me. I’ll be right outside, iff’n you needs anything.” Passing close by Rupert, as if daring the baron to take a swipe at him, Jem proceeded to the door.
“Leave him, Rupert,” Belle said in an urgent undertone as the baron turned toward the boy, lifting one hand.
Slowly Rupert lowered it. “As you wish—for the moment, Lady Belle.”
As soon as Jem closed the door, Rupert sniffed. “The low quality of the staff you employ amazes me. A tart like Mae as a dresser, a half-witted ex-boxer for a butler and now that—guttersnipe!” He shook his head disdainfully. “When I have the ordering of your household, the servants will be properly trained and know their places.”
Deciding not to dispute that point so as not to lengthen a visit she intended to be brief, Belle said, “I cannot imagine why you’ve called on me. I thought I had made my future plans perfectly clear.”
“I should have returned sooner, but you were naughty, popping off to London without a word, then running back here scarcely a day after I discovered you were in the City,” he reproved, reaching for her hand.
She drew it back. Neither did she offer him a chair.
A look that might have been anger flashed briefly in his eyes, but his tone remained pleasant. “As my last visit provided the impetus to end your little interlude with Carrington, I thought to give you time to get over your pique. I am still prepared to be generous, despite your temporary…defection to the captain.”
“Lord Rupert, I believe I have already, in quite plain terms, refused your—your obliging offer. I am sorry you force me to state the matter so baldly, but I am not interested in a relationship with you. I shall never be interested in a relationship with you. Now, I will thank you to leave and not call on me again.”
To her exasperation, he merely shook his head at her. “And I, my dear, am not interested in prolonging this tiresome game of advance and retreat. You have taunted me and tempted me and driven me mad with jealousy long enough. This time, I will not accept no as your answer.”
“You will not accept—!” she gasped. She’d known he was arrogantly certain of always getting his way, but this time his presumption was outside of enough. “Since we do not appear to be exchanging any meaningful conversation, I will thank you to leave now. Good day, my lord.”
Calmly Rupert crossed his arms. “I have no intention of leaving. Now—or ever.”
The first flickering of alarm went through her as she walked to the bellpull. “I regret to part on such a note, but if you will not go voluntarily, you leave me no choice but to have you forcibly removed.”
Rupert chuckled. “I didn’t doubt you would try. So I took the precaution of insuring you could not.”
The self-satisfied look in his eye intensified her unease, though she maintained a facade of calm as she tugged at the bell.
“Ring away, my dear, but no one will answer. Your household is in my keeping now. And so are you.”
His humorous expression vanished, replaced by an intent look that mirrored the heat gleaming in his eyes as he advanced on her. Her attention riveted on his face, she backed away, until her heel bumped the parlor wall.
With a wolfish smile, he put his hands on her shoulders. “Ah, my sweet, I’ve waited so long.”
“Let me go immed—” she got out before his mouth came down on hers.
Resisting the probing of his tongue against her firmly closed mouth, she struggled, but Rupert was surprisingly strong. She could neither break his grip nor twist free.
In desperation, she bit his lip.
She felt, rather than heard, his curse against her mouth. She had an instant to rejoice at the removal of his lips from hers before his hands tightened on her shoulders and he slammed her against the wall.
The force of the contact knocked her off balance and nearly robbed her of breath. His nails biting into her arms, Rupert caught her before she could fall and pinned her in place with his shoulders.
Fear and fury pounded through her to the beat of the ache in her head. She tried to focus her rattled brain, create a plan, while his harsh panting breaths filled her ears. Then she heard a scrabbling sound and he pressed the whole length of his body against her.
Through the thin muslin of her gown, she felt the thick heat of his erection throbbing against her belly and realized he must have unbuttoned his trouser flap.
“Like it rough?” he growled into her ear. “I knew you would. It’s going to be such a pleasure to oblige you.”
Keeping her immobile with the weight of his body, he forced one of her hands down and wrapped her fingers around his naked penis. Then, before she could think how to counter that, he smashed a fist into her cheekbone.
Pain exploded in her head, blinding her, ran shrieking through her body. For a moment she battled it, until a wave more powerful than her will submerged her and she went falling, falling backward into darkness.