The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda (24 page)

William frowned and the young woman instantly returned her attention to her plate. “She’s had a relapse.” Silence followed while knives and forks scraped loudly against the plates. Picking up his glass of wine, William glanced around at his guests and expelled a deep sigh. “Forgive me. I’m being a terrible host.”

“We completely understand,” Miss Cleaver remarked. “Considering your wife’s ailment, it’s only natural for you to be worried about her. But at least you have your brother and Lady Steepleton to turn to for help. I assume they’ve seen to her?”

“I did indeed visit with Lady Summersby right before dinner,” Mary said from the other end of the table. “She’s much better now and resting.”

“What a relief,” Andrew said, glaring across at William. “Perhaps we may have the pleasure of her company again tomorrow then.”

“I believe so,” Mary said.

“And from what I gather,” William remarked with as much indifference as he could muster while he took a sip of his wine, “she insists on going ahead with the scavenger hunt she had planned, which I dare say will entertain you all to no end.”

The four young debutantes immediately squealed with delight and clapped their hands together, which was of course to be expected. Regarding his friends, he couldn’t help an inward smile at the sight of their morose expressions.

“I hope we’re not all expected to participate,” Charles said with a frown.

“I can’t say,” William replied, adding just a touch of sarcasm to his words, “but considering how
persuasive
my wife can be when she sets her mind to something, I do believe you’ll have a hard time refusing her if she insists.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
O
NE

L
ucy woke the following morning to gray clouds hanging heavily in the darkened sky overhead. With her face still snug against her fluffy pillow, she turned onto her back and reached across for William, only to find an empty space; he’d apparently already risen. Stretching her arms before sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she reflected on the day that lay ahead—of its importance.

She’d remained in her room the previous evening with the door lock firmly in place, but William had joined her as soon as he’d finished his dinner and had told her about the conversation he’d had with his friends. Hopefully his display of anger and mistrust for her would put the assassin at ease enough for them to carry out their plan undeterred.

Pulling the curtains aside, she stared out at the dreary scenery of the garden below. The bright colors of the previous days had faded to tones of gray. With a heavy sigh, she reached for the pendant about her neck and enfolded it in her fingers. She then closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Today she would find him, face him, and move on with her life. She would be free from his torment, and she would finally find peace—or so she hoped.

A knock sounded, and Lucy blinked. Stepping toward the door, she quietly asked whom it was before admitting her maid.

Together they picked out one of her long-sleeved day dresses—a cream-colored creation, dotted by a pattern of tiny rose buds, and with a square neckline trimmed with a thin piece of lace. It was simple but pretty, and according to Lucy’s own opinion, suited her quite well.

By the time she made her way downstairs for breakfast, the clouds had ruptured, giving way to a steady downpour that, while being good for the garden, meant that the scavenger hunt she had planned would have to be limited to the house alone.

Reaching the door to the dining room, she stopped momentarily and drew a deep breath. Her stomach had begun to twist and turn into a tight knot, while her heart, which had been perfectly calm only a second ago, was now fluttering quite erratically. Somehow, she had to overcome this bout of nervousness. She had to face her guests without looking like a scared little girl whose only desire was to run away and hide. No, she was strong, she reminded herself, and she’d been through a lot already. Today she would have William by her side, and together they would get through this.

With renewed determination, she stepped inside the dining room and attempted a smile. “Good morning,” she said, addressing those present—a cheerful assembly that comprised all the women (with the exception of Constance) and Lord Fairfield, who added a touch of male presence from behind his crackling newspaper.

Lady Lindhurst shot her a smile. “Good morning, Lucy. You look well rested and so much better. Indeed, there’s a touch of color to your cheeks today. It suits you.”

Lucy thanked the viscountess as she took the empty seat beside her and waited for the attending maid to bring her a cup of tea. “As your hostess, it just won’t do for me to remain in bed, especially not when I have such a splendid activity planned for you all today.”

“William mentioned something last night about a scavenger hunt,” Alexandra said from across the table as she buttered a piece of bread. Looking up, she offered Lucy a thoughtful stare. “Seems like a good choice with the weather being as dismal as it is.”

“I love those!” Lady Amanda remarked with more enthusiasm than Lucy would have expected from a woman so shy. She was sitting quite secluded at the far end of the table with a couple of seats placed between herself and the next person and seemed instantly flustered as everyone turned to face her, for she stirred her tea with increasing rapidity, as if the motion would create a whirlpool large enough to swallow her up.

When she unexpectedly continued to speak, she did so with a timid voice and without raising her gaze from the movement of her spoon. “I enjoyed a very lovely scavenger hunt during the Christmas holidays when my family and I were invited to attend a house party at the Earl of Birdbrook’s estate. It was such fun.”

“It’s always been my understanding,” Lord Fairfield remarked from behind his newspaper, “that these sorts of things are especially designed as an excuse for couples to sneak off and steal kisses with one another in hidden corners.”

A gasp arose from all the debutantes, while Miss Scott underlined their shared astonishment with an “Oh my!”

Lucy, on the other hand, felt her cheeks grow hot as she recalled having done that very thing with her husband in the garden, not to mention so much more by the lake only yesterday. She took a bite of her bread to mask her discomposure before saying, “Then it is fortunate that our scavenger hunt shall take place during the day when there are few dark corners to be found.”

Alexandra chuckled, and Lucy looked across at her to find her eyes bubbling with mirth. “A private room would serve just as nicely, you know.”

“Alexandra, that is quite enough,” Lady Lindhurst remarked, her eyebrows arching in a rather intimidating fashion. “You will not put any unsavory ideas into these young ladies’ heads.”

“My apologies,” Alexandra said as she trained her features into something of a more serious nature. She then turned her attention to the debutantes, who seemed to be following the whole exchange with very keen interest. “No sneaking off to steal kisses in private rooms or corners—understood?”

They all nodded.

Lady Lindhurst gave an exasperated sigh. “You couldn’t possibly have bated them any better than you just did, Alexandra.”

“And I assure you that if there’s to be any kissing in dark corners, I’ll be most happy to oblige,” Lord Fairfield said, lowering his paper just enough to serve them all a cheeky smile as he waggled his eyebrows.

A chorus of giggles erupted from the debutantes, to which Lady Lindhurst responded with a very disapproving shake of her head. “There will be no kissing by you or any of the other gentlemen present, Lord Fairfield. I am supposed to be chaperoning these young ladies, along with Lady Ridgewood. We all know that a kiss can lead to so much more.” She served Alexandra a pointed stare. “And I for one have no desire to explain anything to these young ladies’ mamas. I won’t have them ruined. Do I make myself clear?”

Everyone nodded, aware of the authoritative tone behind the viscountess’ words.

There was silence for some time after, and Lucy found herself searching for something to say, but her thoughts on the matter ended at the sound of another voice. “Have you written the clues yet?” The question came from Miss Scott, who’d leaned forward in her seat in order for her to look directly at Lucy, since Lady Hyacinth was sitting between them.

“Not yet,” Lucy said with a slight shake of her head as she bit into a piece of toast with a slice of cheese on it.

“I’d be happy to offer my assistance,” Lord Fairfield said, lowering his newspaper once more and meeting her gaze. He smiled, and his whole face emanated a kindness that most men tended to keep well hidden beneath a mask of gravity.

“That is very kind of you,” she told him, “but I’ve already asked William to help, and he has…agreed.” She hesitated before saying the final word, hoping it would reinforce the story of their strained relationship.

It must have worked, for a frown settled upon Lord Fairfield’s brow, and he opened his mouth as if to speak but must have changed his mind, for he simply smiled instead and said, “Very well then,” before returning his attention to whatever riveting piece of information it was that he was reading about.

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t think that Lord Fairfield was the man with the mask, but she mustn’t take any chances. As it was, she and William were balancing a dangerously delicate line between a strained marriage and the united front that the situation called for. They had to appear to be at odds with each other while still seeming willing enough to stand together for the sake of their guests—not an easy feat to accomplish when one look from William was enough to make Lucy’s heart race with desire.

She took another bite of her toast, conscious that a conversation was taking place around her but too preoccupied with her own thoughts to pay much attention to it. Instead, she finished her tea, excused herself from the table, and headed toward the parlor. If they were going to have a successful scavenger hunt later in the day, it was about time that she started planning for it.

H
alf an hour later, she was still sitting at her escritoire, trying desperately hard to come up with some clues for the scavenger hunt, only to realize that doing so was definitely not her forte. She wanted the riddles to rhyme, but when she tried
painting
, all she could think of was
feinting
. It was no use. She desperately needed William’s help and had sent the butler to find him, but that was already fifteen minutes ago according to the clock on the mantle.

She was just about to put pen to paper in yet another attempt when a low voice coming from directly behind her caused her hand to still in midair. Her stomach flipped while a rush of heat flittered down her spine. It was William, and in the next instant she felt his firm hands upon her shoulders and his breath tickling the side of her neck.

“You mustn’t,” she muttered, scarcely able to breathe for the rush of sensations coursing through her body as he leaned closer still.

“The men are busy in the study with a game of cards, and I’ve taken the precaution of closing the door,” he whispered, his lips grazing her skin in a soft caress. But just as she thought she might melt beneath his touch, he moved away and came to stand beside her instead. “You’re right though. This is a bit too risky, and besides, I’m here to help you with the clues—not to have my way with you upon the floor. There’ll be lots of time for that later.” He gave her a wink and a cheeky smile before turning serious once more. “Mind if I take a look at what you’ve come up with?”

How he was able to sound so casual when the effect his words were having on her was enough to make her mouth go dry, her stomach to flutter, and her legs to turn weak…thank God she was sitting down. With a hard swallow, she made a stoic attempt to regain her composure so she could focus on the task at hand. She pushed the paper she’d been working on toward him while he pulled up a chair and sat.

Leaning forward, he read her meager attempts at riddles and frowned. “We need to ensure that we keep everyone downstairs for this, so that leaves us with a limited number of rooms.” He returned the paper to Lucy. “How about something like this:
Higher than the keys…Go and search among the trees
. And then we’ll place the next clue on the frame of one of the landscape paintings in the music room.”

Lucy had to concede that it was far better than what she’d come up with so far and was more than happy to let William compose the rest of the clues while she wrote them down. Besides, it was a task that would keep her mind away from William, his close proximity, and his oh so intoxicating scent of sandalwood. She drew a deep breath, deciding to concentrate on his voice instead.

A little less than an hour later, they both agreed that the clues they’d managed to prepare for the hunt would serve quite nicely in terms of keeping the guests occupied for a decent amount of time. Lucy turned to face William, only to find him studying her intensely.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked her. His voice was soft and quiet, but his eyes remained serious.

The nervousness she’d felt earlier surfaced, but she forced it back and managed a smile. “I believe so.”

He looked skeptical but finally nodded.

“Are
you
ready?” she then asked in return. “After all, it is one of your friends that—”

“Whoever this turns out to be, the man we seek is no friend of mine, and when we discover his identity, Lucy, he’ll be fortunate if he leaves this house alive.” His voice was fierce, but it filled her with courage, for there was strength and determination behind it—a promise that they would succeed. And then he reached out and pulled her toward him for a hard and passionate kiss that wiped all fear and misgivings from her mind. His forehead was pressed against hers when he spoke again, his breath warm against her cheek while his hand supported the back of her head. “You’re stronger than you think, Lucy, and we’re in this together. He cannot win.”