Bobbi Smith - Captive Pride

His movements tense, Matt got to his feet. Staring down at his older brother, he said only, “We shall see, Noah. We shall see.”

Leaving his half-full mug of ale on the table, he stalked from the room, disappearing up the stairs.

Noah stared after him for a long moment before snatching up the tankard and drinking down the remaining contents. The different liquor hit him hard, but caught up in emotional turmoil as he was, he barely noticed. Tossing a coin on the tabletop for Polly, he followed in Matt’s direction, seeking what he hoped would be serenity in his own chamber.

The rented room was cold and unwelcoming as Noah entered, and he remembered with regret the warmth and comfort of Kincade Hall. Suppressing the melancholy that threatened, he locked the door behind him and negligently began to discard his clothing. Clad only in breeches, he stretched out across the bed, resting a forearm heavily across his brow as he closed his eyes. His rest was short-lived, however, as the heavy fragrance of Eve’s perfume seemed to surround him even there in his own room. Getting up, Noah moved to the washstand to scrub away the sweet cloying essence.

Eve…He should have known better, but for some reason, at the time he had felt driven to accept her advances. Certainly she was a beautiful woman, but it was a cold beauty that had reminded him, once they’d left the ball, of Andrea Broadmoor. From the moment they’d gotten into her private carriage, Eve had made it plain to him that she wanted him, kissing him full and flaming on the mouth and practically climbing onto his lap in her passion. Noah had never refused an offer so boldly put, but when they reached her home and were alone in the dark seclusion of the house, he suddenly felt no desire for a consummation with her. That had been an awkward enough situation for him to deal with, but what had made it even worse was that he found himself continually comparing Eve to CC.

He gritted his teeth even now as he thought of CC. Cecelia Demorest was a paradox. She was outspoken in her dislike for English noblemen; she was completely opposed to her own father’s views on colonial relations; she’d masqueraded as a boy in her determination to help her secret cause; and she’d surrendered herself to him in hopes of maneuvering him into a more agreeable frame of mind toward her rebel group.

The realization that she had been untouched when he’d taken her struck a chord of emotion within him, and Noah frowned. How could it have been? Though she had denied during their argument that she and John Robinson were affianced, they had certainly seemed loverlike throughout the evening. Obviously, Noah realized now, he’d been wrong in that assumption, but why, if she cared so deeply for the other man, had she given her virginity to him?

Noah shook his head as if to clear it of unwelcome thoughts of CC, but it did no good as visions of the evening clouded his mind. Eve-blond and aggressive; CC-fiery but reluctant…Eve had known what she was about; CC had been untried.

Noah almost regretted that he had initiated her in such an abrupt manner. He forced himself to remember that CC had been the one using him and that she had not hesitated to return to her boyfriend as soon as she’d finished with him. Perhaps she was even with Robinson now… He pictured CC making love to the other man and knew a moment of unexpected fury.

Suddenly angry with himself for even thinking about the wench, Noah stalked to the bed and lay back down, seeking rest. The ale along with the champagne he’d imbibed all night had numbed his senses more than he’d been aware, and he soon succumbed to a blissful, dreamless sleep.

Eve tore the artificial bird from her hair and threw it angrily across the room. Damn! Her body had been on fire with need for Kincade and he had left her! Just like that! She muttered a curse that would have done many a man proud as she stomped to her dressing table and sat down.

Eve stared at her reflection, trying to understand what she’d done wrong, but none of it made sense. The possibility that Lord Kincade might not prefer women occurred to her, but she quickly discarded it. He had seemed most receptive to her in the beginning, and everything she had heard about him had emphasized that he was quite the playboy. She could only conclude, with some embarrassment, that she had come on too strongly for his tastes. Judging from his aloof demeanor once they’d reached the house, Eve supposed that he had to be the type of man who liked to be completely in charge of a relationship.

With a snort of irritation, Eve got up and wandered restlessly about her bedroom. She wanted Noah Kincade in a most desperate way. His kisses in the carriage had been nothing short of rapturous, and she could hardly wait to be with him again. Still, she realized now that she would have to be more subtle in her approach the next time. He might have been put off tonight by her aggressiveness, but with any luck, perhaps she hadn’t done any lasting damage. Brightening somewhat at the thought, she was almost smiling when Peggy knocked and entered the bedroom to help her undress.

“How did the evening go?” the maid asked cautiously. She had known that Lord Kincade had accompanied her mistress home, and she wondered why he was not there now.

“It was an absolutely marvelous ball,” Eve lied, not about to admit to a mere servant that things had not turned out exactly as she’d hoped.

“And Lord Kincade?” Peggy ventured as she helped Eve don her dressing gown once she had completely disrobed.

“Lord Kincade was perfect, Peggy. Just as I’d expected him to be,” she assured her as she returned to the dressing table to allow her to brush out her hair.

“He accompanied you home, didn’t he, ma’am?” She was accustomed to Lord Geoffrey spending the night and thought it unusual that Kincade hadn’t elected to remain. Surely her mistress hadn’t played coy…or had she?

“Yes…” She faked an ecstatic sigh as her thoughts turned sour. He’d accompanied her home, all right, and then had turned around and left!

“Will you be seeing him again?”

“I’m sure,” Eve answered deceptively. She didn’t doubt that she would see him again, but she had to wonder exactly when and where.

“I’m happy for you.” Peggy smiled enthusiastically. “He sounded absolutely divine when you spoke of him earlier, and now to know that the reality matches the dream…”

“The reality was better than the dream,” Eve’s answer this time was definite and honest. “I’m more determined than ever that he is the man for me.”

And indeed she was, for no man had ever treated her with such indifference. Kincade’s distant attitude had aroused her desire for him to a fever pitch. Eve would have him. It would only take her a little longer to figure out how to go about it. When at last Peggy had departed, Eve climbed into the vast emptiness of her bed and began to plot. Somehow, very soon, she was determined that she would be sharing its wide comfort with Kincade.

Geoffrey sat in the darkness of his own study, half-full tumbler of whiskey in hand. Jealousy was eating him alive as he stared unseeingly into the surrounding blackness. Eve was with Kincade… And knowing Eve as well as he did, he had no doubts that the other man was gracing her most comfortable bed. Infuriated and filled with more hatred than he’d ever felt in his life, Geoffrey threw the glass across the room, listening as it shattered against the opposite wall.

“Lord Radcliffe?” The door to the study opened, and a glow of golden light permeated the room as his butler entered carrying a lamp. “Is something wrong?”

“Most definitely, Bartley,” he told him rigidly.

“Can I be of service?”

“Not tonight, but by morning, I should think so.”