The Reluctant Suitor (30 page)

very, very soon, or else see his infatuation with the beauty brought to a frustrating end by Lord Gyles’s acceptance of Riordan’s petition of marriage.

He could only presume the diminutive slip of femininity who hurried along beside Adriana was her sister, Melora. He hadn’t gotten that close a look at the petite blonde when he had delivered Adriana back to her father’s stoop. In truth, he had been too intent upon watching the irate brunette to pay close attention to anyone else. At present, the two were absorbed in their own vivacious chatter and seemed totally unaware that he was even within the area as they came up the cobbled street.

Excusing himself momentarily from Felicity, he approached the pair until he was nigh upon them, whereupon he stepped into their path. The two came to a startled halt, their mouths flying open in astonishment. Melora emitted something that sounded like a fearful whine as her gaze swept quickly upward. After passing the broad shoulders, she was forced to crane her neck far back to see beyond that point. About that time was when she decided she had seen enough to convince her that they were confronting a living, breathing Goliath. With a muffled groan, she whirled promptly about and launched herself in the opposite direction, leaving her younger sister the task of dealing with this huge monster.

Immediately, Adriana reached out to catch Melora’s arm and valiantly dragged her fainthearted sibling back to her side as she squelched that one’s mewling alarm with a muted, but firm, “Shush!”

Forcing a smile even as she struggled to subdue a blush stirred forth by memories of the man’s intrusion into her bath and his more recent nerve to invite her into his bed, Adriana lifted her gaze to meet the translucent eyes now gleaming back at her. She certainly hoped it wouldn’t take forever for her to forget his slow, exacting perusal in the bathing chamber, his shocking, manly display there, or his bold solicitation in his carriage, but the way things were going, she could foresee herself being plagued by recurring reenactments of those moments until she was nigh eighty . . . if she lived that long.

She feigned a cheeriness she didn’t necessarily feel, for as yet the man had not responded to her parents’

note suggesting several possible times for his visit to Wakefield Manor, which seemed to indicate his disinterest in complying with the terms of the contract. “Why, Lord Randwulf, we meet again.”

“Good morning, ladies,” Colton greeted, sweeping off his top hat with flamboyant gallantry.

Adriana almost expected his teeth to sparkle with the same devilish twinkle she now saw shining in those gray eyes. Though unspoken, the message conveyed by those shining orbs awakened within her a strange excitement that could be felt all the way down to her nipples. It gave her little ease to realize the man probably knew better than her own mother what she looked like entirely naked.

Clandestinely admiring everything her eyes touched, she briefly scanned his long, muscular frame. From his frock coat to the narrow, pin-striped trousers, his garments were so meticulously tailored she had serious cause to wonder if she had ever seen the Prince Regent as well garbed. But then, when a man had been gifted with a tall, broad-shouldered, lean-waisted, narrow-hipped form the like of Colton Wyndham’s, clothes were merely an adjunct to his exceptional appearance. It was probably just as well for the ladies at court that His Highness’s face and physique fell far short of such manly magnificence.

Felicity hurriedly joined them, not wishing to lose her tenuous grasp on the marquess, for she hadn’t forgotten the attention he had liberally bestowed on the brunette during their visit to Randwulf Manor. “

Why, Lady Adriana, how pleasant it is to see you again. His lordship and I were just strolling along, enjoying this fine day, when we happened to notice you.”

Whatever elation had briefly surged within Adriana’s heart when she had recognized Colton mattered not a wit to her after realizing he had been escorting Felicity about town. Indeed, such momentary delight might as well have been dust from a thousand years past.

“Good day, Miss Felicity,” Adriana greeted, hoping her words didn’t seem as stiff as her smile.

Sweeping an elegantly gloved hand about to indicate her sibling, she strove hard to convey a suitable graciousness. “I don’t believe you’ve yet been given an opportunity to meet my sister. Please allow me the pleasure of introducing you.”

Felicity cheerily complied, delighted to include another name in her repertoire of aristocrats. Even so, she found it difficult to ignore the stark difference between the pair. “My goodness, I’d never have known the two of you were even related, much less sisters. You’re as different as night and day.”

Although Adriana laughed, it sounded false even in her own ears. There were definitely times when she felt like the black sheep of the family. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. I’m night . . . and my sister is day.”

“Oh, I hope my comment didn’t offend you, my lady,” Felicity replied, trying desperately to make amends. “I certainly never meant to imply that either of you suffered any lack of beauty. On the contrary, you are both quite lovely.”

Colton had trouble curtailing a grin as he witnessed this innocuous confrontation, but when he found himself the recipient of an icy glance from the winsome brunette, he grew a bit perplexed until it suddenly dawned on him what she might be thinking now that the blonde had joined them. Felicity’s statement
had
seemed to suggest they had been out and about together.

“Never fear, Miss Felicity,” Adriana assured the woman, managing a rather crisp, albeit pleasant smile. “

That remark has been made so often in reference to our dissimilarity that my sisters and I have come to expect it. The simple fact is that my two siblings resemble my mother, and I, my father.”

Stepping forward, Colton took her sister’s dainty hand within his. “May I say, Lady Melora, that you’re just as winsome as you were prior to my departure some years back.”

“And you’re just as gracious as your father before you, Lord Colton,” Melora laughingly replied, craning her neck far back in order to meet his gaze. “But please, forego the formality. Our families have been friends far too long for us to adhere to such rigidity. I give you leave to call me by nothing more than my given name.”

“Thank you, Melora, and please do the same.” At her consenting nod, he cast a devilish grin toward Adriana, who directed her gaze in the opposite direction, deliberately snubbing him.

In an equally affable tone, Colton continued addressing the elder of the two. “I had the good fortune of meeting your intended, Major Sir Harold Manchester, during our encampment near Waterloo. He said at the time that you were reluctant to marry him for fear of being made a widow. Though merely a bachelor myself, I can understand how, when close bonds are formed in betrothals and marriages, they can reap enormous grief when the death of a loved one severs them. Although one hopes to find the same abiding affection that your parents and, until recently, my own enjoyed throughout their marital unions, I fear ‘tis not always the case. You and Sir Harold are to be envied for having discovered such sweet accord before your wedding.”

“We do feel immeasurably blessed,” the petite blonde murmured, amazed that a worldly bachelor could understand the reasoning behind their decision to delay the wedding.

Melora cast a sidelong glance at her sister, clearly conveying the fact that she considered herself the victor in an earlier argument in which they had become embroiled. Being the recipient of that lofty look, Adriana yearned to chide her kin for being so gullible, yet with Colton and Felicity there to witness her testy response, she didn’t dare. Melora had snidely accused her of feigning a bland disinterest in his lordship merely to veil the shame she’d likely suffer if he refused to ask for her hand at the end of their

courtship. Obviously, after hearing the man voice insights into rationale she deemed private, Melora was willing to reject claims that he was insensitive to matters that women held dear.

Dismissing Melora with all the dignity she could muster, Adriana directed her consideration to Colton’s altered appearance. “I see you’ve dispensed with your military trappings since last we met and have acquired more dapper attire, my lord. Your tailor must relish the opportunity to clothe not only a hero of the war but a man who does immense credit to everything he wears. Garbed in such stylish apparel, you’

ll soon be the envy of every roué from Bath to London. Indeed, I wouldn’t doubt that you’d put Beau Brummell to task to equal such finery.”

Colton didn’t know just how to accept the lady’s statement. He had seen far too many overdressed roués to have any desire to emulate them. As for Beau Brummell, the man had fallen out of favor with the nobility and, as it had recently been rumored, was heavily in debt and not nearly as stylish as he had once been. “I revere your words since they come from a lady who is herself exceptionally well garbed. You alone have seen me at my worst and must therefore appreciate what fine clothes can do for a man.” His eyes glowed insinuatingly above a bold grin, pointedly reminding her that she had seen him without a stitch. “As for my London tailor, Mr. Gaines, he became well acquainted with my clothing needs early on in my career as an officer. His talent has endured throughout the years, and when I brought him from London, he and his assistants immediately set about to furnish me with a whole new wardrobe.

Considering how many uniforms Mr. Gaines has made for me over the years, he was overjoyed at the opportunity to finally outfit me with all the paraphernalia of a gentleman. I’m afraid, however, that I’ve worn a uniform so long that I feel rather ostentatious in civilian attire. Nevertheless, ‘twill be something I’ll have to get used to. In a way, it’s like having to learn to dress myself all over again. As much as I’ve practiced, I fear the cravat is beyond my present capability.”

In spite of her limited encounters with naked men, Adriana was wont to think by the seemingly insatiable tendency of her thoughts to dwell on details of the marquess’s muscular torso that his reference to “his worst” was hardly that. In fact, she couldn’t imagine anything about him that could be considered even remotely flawed . . . except, of course, his brazenness. As for his complaints about the cravat, she failed to find any defect there either. “Well, honestly, my lord, if you didn’t do the honors, then I must lend praise to either Mr. Gaines or Harrison’s abilities, for your cravat seems deftly executed.”

“Your kindness is exceeded only by your grace and beauty, Lady Adriana,” he answered, inclining his head in a shallow bow.

However unintentional or minor his slight toward the other two ladies may have been, Felicity took umbrage at the fact that he had praised neither her clothing nor her looks. In sharp contrast, he seemed eager to voice his admiration of Lady Adriana. Indeed, the lighthearted tête-à-tête the pair exchanged seemed to monopolize the couple’s attention.

Felicity cut her eyes toward the brunette, curious to know why the man seemed so taken with her. Hadn’

t her own father told her that she was far more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen? If that was true, then why wasn’t she the principal recipient of Lord Colton’s admiration?

Considering the costly garments Lady Adriana wore, Felicity was put to confusion. The black lambskin cape, the deeply hued burgundy taffeta gown with its iridescent sheen, and the black-plumed, saucy bonnet of the same burgundy hue were altogether exquisite, but wasn’t her own gown just as appealing?

Of course, one had to consider that it wasn’t her ladyship’s looks or attire that really interested the marquess as much as her family’s wealth. With the Suttons’ affluence, the lady could afford to array herself in finespun gold . . . as well as to buy herself a nobleman whose tailors kept him heavily in debt.

Felicity sidled nearer the marquess, hoping to remind him of her presence. Even then, her attempt to

claim his attention from the other came to naught, for he gave every indication that he had dismissed everyone else from mind as he questioned her ladyship about several young children only the two of them seemed to know anything about, concluding with an inquiry, “Have you looked in on them since their mother’s funeral?”

“Yesterday afternoon, as a matter of fact,” Adriana replied, for once allowing a genuine smile to curve her lips. “Mrs. Abernathy said she heard them giggling and cavorting outside for the first time since we took them there. Poor little cherubs, they were just skin and bones and, as you well know, in serious need of a bath—” Halting abruptly, Adriana almost cringed as she awaited Colton’s reaction to her slip.

She wanted to bite off her tongue right then and there for its tendency to clatter on foolishly without the aid of her wits. Why in the world did she have to mention the word
bath
?

The gray eyes glimmered tantalizingly. “ ‘Tis hard to imagine anyone foregoing the pleasure of a bath, my lady, but I suppose the Jennings children were never able to enjoy even a satisfying meal, much less a lengthy soak in a tub.”

Adriana tried her best to grit out a smile in spite of the glowing blush on her cheeks. Her
lengthy soak
had allowed him an advantage no other man had ever had over her. Whatever modesty she had carefully preserved until that day in time now did her little good in his presence. He knew exactly what she looked like bereft of all the costly clothes she had come to enjoy wearing. Were she eventually to marry another man, she had no doubt that this man’s intrusion into her bath would haunt her throughout her marital union.