Wedding Night With the Earl (11 page)

If he found himself caught in a parson’s mousetrap, it was he who had set the trap. What would he do if the duke insisted her reputation had been ruined and demanded Adam marry her? He couldn’t. He could never marry again.

Prodded by the silence that seemed to be stretching, Adam said, “Your Grace, I can explain.”

“Then you’d best get to it quickly,” the duke said.

“Let me handle this, my lord,” Miss Wright whispered so no one but Adam would hear. “I know my uncles well.”

“You are not the one he wants to hear from right now,” Adam said just as softly.

“Be that as it may, I will speak first,” she insisted, and then looked over at her uncle and said, “Uncle Quillsbury, there is no reason for you to be so serious sounding or for anyone to be alarmed.”

“Really, my dear?” he said sternly, stepping down onto the stoop. “If that is the case, would you mind telling me why Lord Greyhawke is cradling you in his arms as if he were about to ravish you?”

Oh, yes. He knew.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. I know it appears that way to you, but it isn’t what it seems. Surely you know that if the earl was going to accost a young lady, it wouldn’t be on her front lawn beneath a glaring porch lamp with five carriage drivers across the street looking on.”

Adam glanced down at Miss Wright again and was very tempted to smile. He couldn’t believe she’d just said he wouldn’t do exactly what he’d just done. And she’d sounded damned convincing, too. She had courage in spades. He would grant her that.

“I thought it would be quite clear that I had fallen,” Miss Wright continued. “Lord Greyhawke was on his way to his carriage and saw me sitting on the ground. He picked me up and was bringing me inside when you opened the door.”

Adam watched both her uncles’ expressions instantly turn from anger to concern.

“Then by all the saints why are you standing out there in the cold with her, Lord Greyhawke? Bring her inside. The rest of you gentlemen step aside and let him pass. Better yet, go on home. There’s nothing for you to do here other than gawk and be in the way.”

“You amaze me, Miss Wright. Where did you learn to be so evasive?” Adam whispered as he tightened his hold on her and headed toward the door.

“Was I?” she responded.

“The best I’ve come across.” His foot landed on the first step. “For a moment you even had me believing I hadn’t kissed you.”

Miss Wright chuckled softly and slipped her arms around his neck. He was glad she wasn’t concerned about the predicament they were in, but he sure as hell was.

Adam bounded up the three steps with her. He didn’t make eye contact with any of the onlookers as they parted at the doorway and allowed him entrance, but the mumbled murmurings he heard as soon as his back was to them worried Adam. Suddenly he had the feeling that not one of the three gentlemen had believed Miss Wright’s story, even if it appeared, for the time being, that her uncles had.

Lord Willard’s long strides led the way down the corridor to the drawing room. From behind him, Adam heard the duke calling for his sister, Lady Leola, to come belowstairs.

Adam entered the drawing room and gently set Miss Wright on the wide-striped settee. He felt the tingling warmth of her gentle arms slide from around his neck and down his arms. Once again, he wanted to feel her soft, pliant lips beneath his.

A shiver of desire shuddered through him, and Adam was reminded that he wanted her. His every response to her all evening had surprised him.

Lord Willard quickly brushed him aside and knelt in front of her while the duke settled his tall, lanky frame beside her on the small sofa.

“Where are you hurt, my dear?” His Grace asked.

Miss Wright smiled lovingly and shook her head. “I’m not hurt, Uncles,” she assured them. “Please don’t worry. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden, I was feeling quite breathless and light-headed. I was unsure of my footing, lost my balance, and fell. As simple as that. The ground was quite soft, so there is no need for concern.”

Light-headed? Unsure of herself? Off balance and breathless?

Had his kisses made her feel that way?

No, Adam thought. He didn’t want to think about that possibility, and he certainly didn’t want to think about the way her touch and her kisses made him feel, either. That was heading into dangerous territory he didn’t want to venture into.

“What’s wrong?” Lady Leola exclaimed as she came rushing into the room, belting her flowing brown velvet robe tightly about her waist. A long, thin length of braided gray hair hung past her shoulders. Her concerned gaze darted from Adam to her brothers, then back to Miss Wright.

“Oh, Auntie, I wish they hadn’t called for you to come down. It wasn’t necessary. I am fine.”

“But what’s happened?” She knelt in front of her niece and beside Lord Willard and took both of Miss Wright’s hands in hers.

Adam was a little amazed that Miss Wright’s uncles and aunt were so concerned about her fall. Most guardians would have been more concerned that she was in his arms. Adam found that odd.

“I was outside exactly where you left me and I fell. Lord Greyhawke saw me, picked me up, and brought me inside.”

Miss Wright certainly had a way with words. Everything she said was true. It just wasn’t the whole truth. Somehow she had managed to give only the bare bones of what had happened between the two of them without sharing the wealth of passions and feelings that had passed between them.

Lady Leola looked up at Adam with questioning eyes before returning her attention back to Miss Wright. “You fell outside? You poor dear. Where is your cane?”

Adam wondered how Miss Katherine Wright became as strong as she was considering how her aunt and uncles coddled her. It was clear to him she hadn’t been harmed by the fall.

“I must have dropped it.” She looked around her and then up at Adam. “I don’t see it anywhere, so I guess it’s still outside.”

“I’ll get it, Lady Leola,” Adam said, “while you see if she’s injured.” He glanced at Miss Wright. She glanced at him, and suddenly he had the feeling a bond had been forged between them that he was going to have a devil of a time trying to shake. He then turned and headed for the front of the house.

Adam stepped outside and inhaled the cold air into his lungs. His first thought was that he shouldn’t have kissed her. His second was that he shouldn’t have kissed her so deeply, so hungrily. And his third thought was why were her uncles more worried about the fall than the possibility that she’d been ravished by a man some called the beast?

It was inevitable he would kiss Miss Wright when he walked out the door and saw her standing on the lawn in front of him. He knew it right then. It was as if she were a gift wrapped with a soft, satin ribbon and ready for him to open and uncover the secrets of the kiss he was anxious to give and she was ready to receive.

If it had been the first time they’d met that evening, or maybe even the second, then perhaps he could have been strong enough to deny himself the pleasure of kissing her in the moonlight. But it was impossible when it was their third meeting, they were alone, and he’d wanted so desperately to do it. Fate had smiled upon him and granted him such an easy opportunity that he couldn’t ignore it.

He walked over to where Miss Wright’s cane was lying and picked it up. He looked it over. There were no intricate markings, paintings, or mother-of-pearl inlays on the shaft. No fancy silver or ivory handle at the top and no brass or waxed tip on the bottom. Nothing to make it stand out or say it belonged to the niece of a wealthy duke. It was a simple wooden cane with a well-worn handle.

She was probably right, though, Adam thought. He really should have kissed her softly the first time, as she’d expected. It was her first kiss, after all. But she’d already bewitched him with her clever wit and wistful expressions. He already knew he wanted to kiss her tempting lips before his hand grazed hers under the dinner plate and surprised them both. Once he knew he was going to kiss her, consequences didn’t seem to matter. And the instant his lips claimed hers, he hadn’t wanted to control his hunger for her. It had been too long since he’d savored such sweetness.

While he held her so close, it had taken every ounce of his power to keep from molding her incredibly soft body against the demanding hardness beneath his trousers. He truly hadn’t expected desire to flame so quickly between them.

But now that he’d had his taste of her, he must stay away from her. For his good as well as hers. Miss Katherine Wright was the first lady he’d actually wanted to kiss since long before Annie’s death. That made her a danger to his newly garnered yet tenuous peace of mind.

It didn’t seem fair that he’d desired her the moment he saw her. Miss Wright wasn’t a young lady he could trifle with. She had hurts that very possibly ran as deep as his. The thought of that tightened his chest. He couldn’t let her think that he might be available to ask the duke for her hand. That life was closed for him forever. He couldn’t put another woman through the pain that Annie had gone through.

And had he really offered to teach her to dance? Why in hell’s name had he said that? He knew. She’d looked wounded. He knew what it felt like to be wounded, and he wanted to help heal her. But why would he think he could do that when he was riddled with scars that wouldn’t heal?

Perhaps he should just lay all the blame for the ending to the evening on Bray and Harrison. He probably never would have approached Miss Wright tonight if they had not just told him both their wives were in the family way.

Both?

At the same time?

To have favored him in his youth, fate certainly had a cruel hand when dealing with Adam now.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for them; he was. But he didn’t plan to be in London when their time was due. He had punished himself for Annie’s death for two years. There was no need to continue.

Adam looked up at the bright night sky and remembered how beautiful Miss Wright was in the moonlight. He’d have to be satisfied with the fact that he was the first one to kiss her, the first to create desire in her for the touch of a man. And as for his own lusty desires, perhaps it was time he started looking for a mistress.

“Lord Greyhawke.”

Swinging around, Adam saw Lord Willard standing in the open doorway. Shadowed by the glow of the harsh lamplight, for a moment his slim, erect figure seemed menacing. But then, that feeling might have washed over Adam because he had a guilty conscience. He didn’t regret having kissed the duke’s niece. How could he feel remorse for something that had given him the most pleasurable feeling he’d had in years? He did regret she’d been caught in his arms. He didn’t want to bring any shame or blemish to her reputation.

“Did you find the cane?” Lord Willard asked.

Adam glanced down at the walking stick in his hand. “Yes,” he answered, and strode up the steps.

“Thank you for coming to Katherine’s rescue for us, Lord Greyhawke. The crisis is over. We’ll see to Katherine from here.” Lord Willard held out his hand.

Adam’s gaze studied the older man’s eyes as he talked. He didn’t see any anger, wariness, or even suspicion that what Katherine said might not be true. That surprised him.

He nodded once and gave Miss Wright’s uncle the cane. “Is she going to be all right?”

He put his hand to his ear and said, “What?”

“Is she going to be all right?” Adam said more loudly, overpronouncing his words for Lord Willard.

“We believe so but will know more in the morning.”

“Would you like me to come back inside and carry her to her room for you?”

Lord Willard’s shoulders flew back and he puffed out his chest. “That won’t be necessary, my lord. Good night.”

With that, Lord Willard closed the door, leaving Adam to turn on his heels and start toward his carriage. He stopped at the gate and picked up the hat he’d thrown down earlier. He replayed in his mind how quickly Miss Wright had fallen when he’d stood her on her feet. It was as if her legs had given way beneath her.

But why?

What was wrong with Miss Wright?

“No,” he whispered firmly to himself, and settled his hat on his head.

It was none of his business what was wrong with her. In fact, the less he knew about her, the less he saw of her, the better off he was going to be. And she didn’t want him to know more about her anyway. It was best he stay away from her.

Adam opened the gate and strode across the street toward his carriage. A part of him knew that would be hard. But another part of him knew that all he had to do was think of Annie and how she’d suffered because of him. That would give him all the strength he needed to deny his interest in Miss Wright.

He might not like it, but there was no use in making a bed he would never sleep in.

Chapter 12

Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak.

—As You Like It,
act 3, scene 2

A noise disturbed Katherine’s slumber. Her lids fluttered open. A slice of bright light roused her further. She rolled over and saw her aunt Leola drawing open the blue velvet draperies, a duty usually reserved for Katherine’s maid. Beautiful early spring sunshine flooded the room as her aunt tied the panels back with matching fringed sashes.

Katherine stretched and yawned before sitting up in bed and stuffing pillows behind her back for support as she did so. She supposed there were worse things than having a hip that constantly ached and a knee that wouldn’t bend correctly. Such as the embarrassment of falling down on her rump in front of Lord Greyhawke. However, she got over that easily enough when the earl had lifted her into his strong arms. She had a fairly good notion that was the reason Auntie Lee was the one waking her rather than her maid.

“Good morning, Auntie.”

“Oh, I do like the sound of the uplifting phrase
good morning,
” Auntie Lee said, turning to greet Katherine with a cheerful voice. “I hope it is a good one for you. How’s my favorite niece feeling today? Are you sore or in any pain?”

“Not at all,” Katherine said confidently, and started weaving her long auburn hair into a hastily made braid. “I feel wonderful today. And how about you?”