Ann Lethbridge - Regency Society

‘I may go up in a day or so. I should probably get this business of the ruby over as soon as possible, Roxanne. I will arrange for an agent in London to handle the affair. We do not need to be involved ourselves.’

‘Yes, of course,’ she said, conscious of a feeling of disappointment. No longer angry, Luke was being considerate and generous once more, but he had given her no reason to think that the feelings that had boiled over on the night of the ball had been anything more than an impulse he had since regretted. ‘It must be just as you wish.’

‘Must it?’ Luke’s gaze narrowed, becoming brooding and thoughtful. ‘I wonder what you would say if I told you what I wish for, Roxanne?’ She raised her brows and he shook his head, laughing ruefully. ‘If only I knew, my dear. I fear I am an impossible fellow and I dare say you are wishing you had never come to my aid that day in the woods.’

‘No,’ Roxanne said. ‘I have never wished that, nor shall I. You may have regrets, Luke, but I regret nothing.’

With that she walked away, leaving him to stare after her and wonder what was in her mind.

‘Ah, you look better, sir,’ Luke said as he saw his grandfather sitting propped up in bed reading the latest newssheet from London. ‘I wanted to see how you were. I have some business to attend in London, but did not wish to leave until you were over the worst.’

‘Running off before the wedding?’ The earl looked at him over the small round glasses that he wore perched on the end of his nose for reading. ‘Do you think that entirely fair on Roxanne?’

‘Roxanne will not mind. She does not expect me to dance attendance on her all the time, sir.’

‘No, of course not. She made a bargain with you and she’ll stick to it, because she is honest and decent—but there’s no cause for you to treat her as if she were a doormat.’

‘I cannot think I have done so,’ Luke replied, stung by the accusation. ‘Roxanne has not complained to me—has she said something to you?’

‘She would not complain, but I’ve had the truth out of her. She told me after that fellow attacked Mr Higgins. The gel doesn’t know who she is or where she came from before Sofia found her. She’s afraid she stole that wretched ruby, but I don’t believe she’s a thief.’

‘Roxanne told you all this?’ Luke frowned, his mouth thinning. ‘Did she tell you everything?’

‘About the bargain you made to give me something to please me in my last days?’ The earl’s gaze narrowed. ‘I’d guessed some of it and I made her tell me the rest. Did you imagine I should be fooled, Luke? You haven’t been behaving like a man who has fallen head over heels. She’s a better actress than you—though I’m not so sure she’s acting now. She’s a tender-hearted woman, Luke—and I don’t want to see her hurt.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘If you’re doing this for my sake, perhaps you shouldn’t,’ the earl said. ‘I know I’ve pushed you towards marriage, but that girl means something to me. If you don’t love her, let her go and stop this masquerade before it’s too late. I’ll do something for her myself. Indeed, she is welcome to stay with me for the rest of my days if she chooses. You can go back to the life you enjoy. I know now that I was wrong to demand so much of you, Luke. It isn’t right to force you into marriage for my sake. I don’t want either of you to ruin your life for me. That gel cares about us both and I won’t see her hurt. If you marry her, make it a proper marriage and forget this foolish bargain.’

‘I think marriage to Roxanne would suit me well enough. It is no different to many marriages made for position or money. I doubt I shall ever fall in love or want to settle for domesticity. I’m a loner like my father. It wouldn’t be fair to make any woman love me, because I should hurt her.’

‘Your father may not have been what you think him,’ the earl said and sighed heavily. ‘This marriage and an heir before I die would make me happy, Luke—but I’ve been selfish too often in the past. I want both of you to be happy and I’m releasing you from your promise. If you marry her, let it be because it’s what you want.’

‘Thank you, sir.’ Luke inclined his head stiffly. ‘I shall leave you to rest. You may be certain that I shall give this some thought.’

Luke left his grandfather’s bedchamber, striding along the hall and down the stairs. He could feel the anger building inside him. Why hadn’t Roxanne told him that the earl knew everything? Why had she allowed him to think that she was still going through the motions of a make-believe marriage?

She was in a plot with his grandfather to trap him into making this a proper marriage. Once his ring was on her finger there would be no going back. Luke could divorce her, but the scandal would be horrendous and he would never be able to face it. Hurting Roxanne would be like inflicting pain on himself. He’d meant it to be a simple arrangement with no ties on either side, but Roxanne had broken the terms of their agreement.

He felt resentful and bitter, because she had taken his grandfather’s side against him. He could imagine them smiling over their plot, reeling him in like a fish on a line. How dare she talk about him behind his back?

Luke knew that he was the one who had swept her off on a tide of passion on the night of the ball, but he was struggling to keep his head above water and only by transferring the blame could he justify his own reactions. He’d meant it to be the way it was when he took a mistress, passion and pleasure but no emotional entanglement. Roxanne had declared her love in the heat of desire and it had sent him running in a panic.

He couldn’t handle love. Luke’s mouth was dry and his stomach was tying itself in knots. Love hurt too much. It was a black choking sensation that made small boys weep in the darkness and cry out for the mother they had lost. He wasn’t in love with Roxanne. He couldn’t love anyone. He was like his father. She had lied to him by keeping it secret that the earl knew of their bargain.

Roxanne was in her favourite parlour. She was matching silks against a piece of embroidery she’d found somewhere, a look of such perfect content on her face that his fury broke loose in a torrent of bitter words.

‘How dare you lie to me?’ he demanded without preamble, ignoring the look of shock on her face. ‘Have you been plotting together—you and Grandfather? Did you laugh at how easy I was to fool?’

‘I have no idea what you mean? Why should I wish to lie to you—or to make a fool of you?’

She rose slowly to her feet, looking as if he’d struck her. It was the way his mother had looked at his father so many times and it made Luke feel guilty. He struck out blindly, because he could not stand to feel her pain.

‘You did not tell me that you had confessed everything to him.’

Roxanne’s cheeks burned. ‘Grandfather made me promise I would not tell you he knew. I could not keep it from him because he guessed a part of the whole and was angry. I thought he would send me away and I did not wish to leave.’

‘It suits you to live here as a grand lady, I suppose,’ Luke thundered, his expression one of fury and disgust. ‘You’ve been fooling us both, haven’t you? Laughing at us all the time. Who are you really? An adventuress out for what you can get? I fell right into your little trap, didn’t I? You played me so well, pretending to be reluctant and making me persuade you into marriage and giving me an heir. You must have been laughing at my gullibility all the time.’

Roxanne was deadly white. He saw her hands shaking and knew that she was fighting her desire to weep, but his anger was so intense that he could not control it.