In the Wake of the Wind (35 page)

“Nonsense, child. It is about time that you paid me a visit.” She turned and held her hands out to
Serafina.
“And you, of course, are Aiden’s new wife. This is a happy occasion indeed.”

“How—how do you do, your grace,”
Serafina
stammered, dropping a wobbly curtsy, panic written all over her face. Aiden wished there was something he could do to reassure her, but she was on her own now, as she would be for much of the week.

“My dear child, what a pretty thing you are,” the dowager duchess said, catching Serafina’s hands up and regarding her with pleasure. “Raphael had told me so, of course, but I’m delighted to see for myself at last. You’re a true beauty, just like your mother.”

So, Aiden thought.
Rafe
had been going on about Serafina’s beauty, had he? He couldn’t say he liked the idea. Actually, he didn’t like it at all.

But
Serafina
was oblivious of the black direction of his thoughts. “You knew my mother?” she asked with real pleasure.

“I did indeed, and although I didn’t know her very well, I remember her most affectionately. We were all saddened by her untimely death.”

Aiden had always been exceedingly fond of the duchess, but he liked her more than ever for making an effort to put
Serafina
at ease. He couldn’t help feeling a stab of guilt that he’d never even bothered to ask about Serafina’s mother.

He realized that there were a great many things he hadn’t asked
Serafina
about her life, taking her years with Elspeth for granted, as if there had been nothing before them, even though he was aware that her father had died when she was only nine.

It occurred to him that maybe he hadn’t wanted to know about her early life, that because he had never cared to look back on his own childhood, he had ignored Serafina’s. And yet she had suffered too, losing a mother and then her father only a few years later. He felt ashamed of himself for assuming he was the only one who had experienced a crushing loss, and he hadn’t even known his mother, who had died only minutes after he’d drawn his first breath. His loss seemed insignificant in the face of the grief
Serafina
must have experienced.

“Thank you,”
Serafina
said. “It’s very kind of you to say so.”

“Not at all,” the duchess replied. “It’s the absolute truth. You must have been very young when your mother died, so perhaps you don’t remember her well.”

“I was five,”
Serafina
said, smiling shyly. “But I do remember her. She used to sing me to sleep. She had a beautiful voice.”

“She did, my dear, I remember that now! She used to sing at the pianoforte after dinner. A voice like an angel, everyone said.”

“And
Serafina
has inherited it,” Aiden said, thinking back to the night he’d heard her sing up in the meadow, the unearthly beauty of her voice, rising to the heavens and taking his heart with it. He pushed the image away, for it brought back far too many disturbing memories.

“Serafina
formed a choir for the Dundle church as it happens. You must come and hear us the next time you’re at Southwell.”

“A choir? What a marvelous idea—I’ve always found the Dundle services dull, and some music will improve them greatly. Aiden, you have brought Townsend a fine bride.”

“I’m delighted that you approve,” he said, ridiculously pleased.

“Naturally I approve, dear boy. Now, if I could only find someone as charming and clever for my eldest son, I’d be the happiest of women.”

“I thank you for your concern, Mama, but I think I’ll choose my own wife,” Raphael said dryly.

“Then I wish you’d get on with it, darling, for I’m out of patience,” the duchess replied just as dryly, fixing Raphael with a stem eye. ‘You should take a page from your cousin’s book, for I’ll be long in my grave at the rate you’re going about the matter.”

Aiden grinned. This was a conversation that had been going on for years and wouldn’t end until the day that Raphael found himself at the altar, not a day Aiden anticipated any time in the near future. Raphael was as dead set against marriage as Aiden had always been and was determined to avoid its clutches for as long as possible. He doubted the duchess would have satisfaction for a good long time to come.

“I feel sure Raphael will marry as soon as he finds the right woman,” Charlotte said quietly, her gaze cast down at her hands. “It takes time to find a woman properly suited to be a duchess. There is breeding to be considered, the correct upbringing, and of course Raphael will need a wife with a level head who knows how to manage his households.”

Aiden’s heart broke for his sister, who’d been so cruelly cheated by fate. She would have made some man a fine wife and yet she never complained, always thinking first of the happiness of the people she loved.

Her presence here today was the perfect example of her devotion, for he knew how difficult she found facing the outside world in her condition. And yet she was willing to do so because he’d asked, just as she’d gone out of her way to befriend
Serafina
for the same reason. And now here she was, selflessly promoting Rafe’s marriage, even though Aiden suspected she would have a hard time seeing her dear friend take a wife and fill his house with children she could never have.

“I’m sure
Rafe
will get around to doing his duty eventually,” he said tactfully. “But being
Rafe,
I suspect he’ll tell us nothing until the very last moment, so I suggest we change the topic of conversation.”

“I couldn’t agree more—let’s leave the dreary subject of my marriage alone,” Raphael said firmly. “In any case, we have more important business to get on with. Why don’t you tell everyone what you’ve planned for the week?” He led his mother to a chair and planted her in it.

Successfully distracted, the duchess began to outline the round of activities she’d organized. “I thought it was best to start by paying calls, for in that manner I can introduce
Serafina
and Charlotte with a minimum of fuss and speculation. The week will culminate with the ball I’ve organized here to formally present Aiden’s sister and wife. Word is already racing about town and naturally the invitations are coveted, so we will have a large turnout, but before the ball we will attend Lady Dudley’s rout, Sir George and Lady Hopley’s musical evening…”

Aiden listened to the tediously long list with one ear, but he couldn’t help watching
Serafina
out of the comer of his eye.

She sat on the sofa, her hands in her lap, her expression faraway. But instead of the faraway appearance she usually assumed when she was daydreaming, her eyes looked clouded, troubled, and he could only imagine that she was still in a state of dread over the coming week.

Something tugged painfully at his heart, and he had to stifle a strong impulse to go to her and take her in his arms, kiss away her fears, tell her she would enchant society exactly as she’d enchanted him.

He glanced over at Raphael, only to find that his cousin wasn’t listening either—instead, he too watched
Serafina,
a slight frown creasing his forehead. But it wasn’t a frown of disapproval. Aiden knew all of his cousin’s facial expressions, as subtle as they were. There was concern on his face, and what Aiden might almost misconstrue as real affection in his eyes.

He shook himself out of that thought, since he knew perfectly well that
Rafe
and
Serafina
were only barely acquainted. And yet … and yet there had been his behavior after her fall, his real alarm for
Serafina
that Aiden had attributed to the same reason for his own terrified reaction—a long-ago accident that had ended in disaster.

But that same sense of unease pricked at him now as it had then, that there was more to their relationship than either had told him about, and he didn’t like the idea that they were keeping something from him. He didn’t like it at all, any more than he liked the idea that
Rafe
admired Serafina’s beauty.

Aiden’s mouth tightened into a hard line, a dark suspicion forming in the back of his mind, too ridiculous to entertain, and yet it wouldn’t go away.

Don’t, Raphael,
she’d said. When he, Aiden, had been kissing her. Her confusion immediately afterward. The look on Rafe’s face now. Serafina’s recent unhappiness. Her sudden change of heart to allow him to make love to her. And it had been surprisingly easy to take her virginity after all her protestations about fearing the act. Then there had been her fainting spell the next day.

He passed a hand over his face. It wasn’t possible. It just wasn’t possible. He refused to entertain the notion that the two of them had betrayed him during the time that he’d been away.
Rafe
would never do such a thing. Nor would
Serafina,
sweet, open, honest
Serafina. Serafina
who said that vows meant more to her than anything.

And yet there was her recent distance toward him, her dread of their London stay in Raphael’s house, a dread she’d never actually voiced but which was as clear as day to him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering what Plum had said about
Serafina
disappearing every afternoon on her horse, a horse
Rafe
had given to her. And Serafina’s evasiveness when he’d asked her about how she’d spent that time.

Had
Serafina
given herself to her husband only to be sure he wouldn’t question the paternity of a child she produced in eight or nine months’ time? Maybe the fall she’d taken hadn’t been an accident after all, but a deliberate attempt to rid herself of a child fathered by her lover. No. He wouldn’t believe it. Not of his wife. Not of his closest friend on earth.

Aiden’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. Coincidence. That was all it was. That was what it
had
to be.

But he resolved to keep a very close eye on them both
.

S
erafina clenched her teeth against a renewed attack of nerves as Janie dressed her for the ball. She might have found going about in society a marginally less grueling experience than she’d originally anticipated, but tonight was another matter entirely.

Janie adjusted the slip of pale green satin, then arranged the white lace robe over it, lovingly fingering the edging of pearls and bouquets of silk wildflowers. “Oh, my lady,” she breathed, standing back and gazing at
Serafina
in admiration. “You look like a princess, you do.”

“I don’t know about that,”
Serafina
said, as Janie fetched the wreath of roses and placed it on her coiled hair. “I’m sure princesses look a great deal more poised. I honestly haven’t minded the social calls and I actually enjoyed the musical evening, but I feel like a lamb going to the slaughter tonight. Oh, Janie, what happens if I make a complete fool of myself in front of four hundred people?”

“I don’t know why you’d think that,” Janie replied. “You just wait till his lordship sees you. He probably won’t leave your side all evening, he’ll be so besotted.”

Serafina
very much doubted that optimistic statement. She was sure that Aiden would be too busy with their guests to give her much thought. Maybe that was just as well, for it was important that she continue giving the impression of being gay and carefree, happy in her marriage, and it was a hard facade to keep up when she was in Aiden’s presence, misery constantly gnawing at her. The distance between them had only increased, the air fraught with tension whenever they were alone.

Oh, Aiden was attentive enough in public, but he kept well away from her in private, even going so far as to sleep in the bedroom next door, his excuse being that she needed her sleep owing to the late nights and constant activities.

But she knew the truth of the matter. And so did Aiden, as much as he pretended that there was nothing amiss between them. He was in his world now and had no more use for her. Aiden, who was always surrounded by women—old women, young women, beautiful women, sophisticated women, all competing for one of his dazzling smiles, a few minutes of conversation.

Aiden took the attention in his stride as if he hardly noticed. He made introductions, squired
Serafina
around by the arm, behaving like the perfect husband, making small talk to her. All a sham, a horrible sham. They never laughed together anymore. Aiden never once cast her that intimate glance of amusement that she so loved, as if they shared a private joke.

Instead he watched her constantly, his gaze cool and assessing, as if he expected her to trip up at any moment and embarrass him. She tried to pretend she didn’t notice, but she could hardly help feeling his eyes on her back as she moved about a room. Once those eyes had been kind. Once they had held affection. Even passion. And now they held nothing at all.

She’d had two days of true happiness with him. Two days that would have to do for the rest of her life. He had brought her joy. And he had taken it away again.

Serafina
sank onto the chair in front of the dressing table, resting her cheek on her fist. She was constantly surrounded by people all the time, but she’d never felt so alone.

A light tap came at the door and Janie opened it, slipping out as Aiden came in, a square box in his hand.

Serafina’s head shot up and she stood, grasping the edge of the table for support. “Aiden … what are you doing here?” He looked unbearably handsome in his black silk coat, black knee breeches and white stockings, the brilliant blue of his eyes made only more startling by the absence of color in his dress. She had an irrational hope that he would take her in his arms, hold her close and reassure her, tell her he did still care about her, if only a little.

But instead he stopped in the middle of the room. “You look—you look particularly beautiful this evening,” he said, clearing his throat.

She glanced away. “Thank you,” she murmured, wishing he wouldn’t bother to prevaricate. She knew exactly what he thought of her. “I imagine it must be the ball dress. But then you chose it, so I can’t be surprised you’re pleased.”

He didn’t reply to that. “I have something for you. These belonged to my mother,” he said, his tone cool. “I managed to buy them back from the jeweler my father had sold them to. I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done this week for my family. It can’t have been an easy time for you, but you held your own.”

“I tried my best,” she said through the tightness in her throat. Didn’t he know she would do anything for him, anything at all, even now? “It is my family too.”

“Yes, of course,” he said. “Well, I think that all in all the week has been a big success. My father has been on perfect behavior, and he’s gone a long way toward changing people’s minds about him. But I’m most pleased about Charlotte, for she is a different woman altogether, full of animation and conversation and confidence.” He actually smiled.

“Yes,” Serafina
said, knowing the smile wasn’t meant for her. “Your sister has blossomed under the attention she’s received. Everyone has been most generous to her, and I think tonight will be her crowning moment, or so she’s said to me. You owe a great debt to Raphael and his mother for offering their hospitality and support.”

Aiden’s face froze. “I’m sure I do. You and
Rafe
certainly seem to have become fast friends.”

“I like your cousin. He is kind.”
Unlike you
, she thought bleakly. “And he is amusing.”

“Amusing?” Aiden said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t know how many people would describe Raphael as amusing. Most would say that he strikes the fear of God into them. But then you and he are on another footing altogether from everything I’ve observed. Positively cozy, I’d say.”

Serafina
blushed hotly, feeling ashamed all over again for having kept the truth from Aiden. But now was not the time to begin explaining. He already looked angry, and he’d probably only become even angrier if he knew her secret. Maybe she’d wait until they returned to Townsend and tell him about her lessons with Raphael then.

“I see that you don’t wish to discuss this particular topic,” he said, his eyes flashing not fire, but blue ice, and a chill of alarm ran down her spine.

“I—I think we’re expected downstairs,” she stammered, wondering if he already knew, if that was why he was regarding her so frostily.

“Very well,
Serafina.
But rest assured that I will take the matter up with you when we return to Townsend. You are rather transparent, my dear, no matter how clever you think you’ve been in keeping the truth from me.”

He tossed the box on the dressing table. “Here. You might as well wear these, since we’re keeping up pretenses so nicely.” He turned on his heel and strode across the room, jerking the door open.

“Aiden, wait—” But she was too late. The door slammed behind him. She reached for the velvet-covered box with shaking fingers and opened it. Inside lay a stunningly beautiful diamond and emerald necklace, matching earrings, and a square-cut emerald ring.

“Oh, Aiden,” she whispered on a shuddering breath, wishing he’d given them to her in kindness instead of as an empty, contemptuous gesture. But that was her fault too, for it was clear now that Aiden knew everything, and he was furious.

Serafina
put her head on her arms and cried as if her heart really might break.

Aiden kept one eye on
Serafina
as she dealt with the endless stream of introductions as people came swarming through the door. She kept a smile pinned on her face, murmuring all the right things, and he could find nothing to fault her for. Other than her treachery with Raphael, which she’d as good as admitted.

And for that he wanted to murder them both.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the next set of names being announced.

“Lord Segrave, Mrs. Robert Segrave…”

Aiden glanced down the receiving line, only to see the unwelcome person of Alice Segrave bearing down on them, followed by Edmund, who had the narrow face of a weasel and the same beady eyes. He stood behind his mother and regarded
Serafina
as if he’d come across something that smelled foul.

Aiden wanted to punch him.

“Why, dearest
Serafina,”
Alice cooed in saccharine tones, taking her hand. “What an age it has been. I simply must felicitate you on your marriage. What a lucky man Aubrey is, to be sure.” She fixed
Serafina
with a glacial smile, her eyes like twin daggers. “Luckier than my Edmund, who was the rightful heir to that fortune,” she spit out in a swift, vicious undertone, obviously meant for Serafina’s ears alone. “I hope you both choke on it, you hideous girl.”

Serafina’s mouth dropped open and shut again and she took a tiny step backward.

“Ah, Segrave and his charming mother, I see, always with something pleasant to say,” Aiden snapped in cold fury. No one would speak to his wife in such a manner, most certainly not those two, who had already done enough damage to her. “Would you like me to have them removed, my dear? I’m sure the duchess didn’t realize she’d mistakenly included vermin on the guest list.”

Edmund and his mother both turned bright red. “I—I beg your p-pardon?” Edmund spluttered. “How dare you, sir!”

“Oh, easily. I don’t take kindly to lies, slander, or defamation of character, an area in which you both seem to have considerable expertise. Nor will I stand by and listen to my wife insulted.
Serafina?”

She shook her head. “There’s no point in making a scene,” she said in a strangled voice as heads began to turn. “Let them pass.”

“Very well,” Aiden said. “I bow to my wife’s generosity. But be warned, both of you. Keep out of her way and out of mine, for I do not have such a generous nature as my wife, nor do I have an aversion toward creating a scene if the situation calls for one.”

Alice Segrave shot
Serafina
one last hateful look and swept away, her son following like a dog at her heel.

“Thank you,”
Serafina
said softly, her eyes filling with tears. “I never thought to see them again. How did you know?”

“Oh, I heard the first load of venom directly from Edmund’s mouth some time back before we were married. Tinkerby filled me in on the rest of their story, or what he knew of it. I’m sorry,
Serafina,
I had no idea they were on the guest list—I imagine the duchess thought she was doing the correct thing by inviting your relatives.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, looking down at the floor.

“It does matter, but it’s better not to dwell on their presence,” he replied. “It’s time to open the dancing, and as
Rafe
is the host and the ball is in honor of you, you’re going to have to lead off with him. I doubt that will be a hardship, though,” he added, the thought of Raphael touching his wife in any fashion infuriating him.

She caught her lip between her teeth. “Aiden—”

“Later,” he snapped. “I haven’t the patience now. Get on with it,
Serafina,
and it will behoove you to remember that not only are the eyes of society on you, but mine are as well.”

Serafina
lowered her gaze. “I will not let you down,” she mumbled.

Aiden snorted. “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

All the color drained from her face and she stared up at him. She looked as if he’d just struck her. And in a way he had.

“As you say, my lord,” she murmured. “But you cannot lay all the blame entirely on me, can you?”

Aiden just shook his head. “You do have an interesting way of looking at things,” he said, a bite in his words. He offered her his arm. “Allow your husband to lead you into the ballroom. At least it’s one service I can offer you that you’re not likely to refuse.”

She had no choice but to rest her hand in the crook of his elbow and walk by his side through the throng of guests who parted to let them pass. Raphael stood next to Charlotte on the edge of the dance floor, and Aiden strode directly to him.

“My wife,” he said curtly, handing
Serafina
over to Raphael. He abruptly turned on his heel and walked away, wanting nothing more to do with either of them.

Serafina
wanted to drop through the floor, she was so humiliated and upset by Aiden’s behavior. How could he be kind and protective of her one minute, saving her from the Segraves, and turn back into an icicle the next?

“Oh, dear.” Raphael glanced down at her, then looked after Aiden with a frown. “Did the two of you have a spat? Aiden appears a little unstrung.”

Serafina
drew him to one side. “Raphael—we need to talk privately.”

“This does sound serious. Well, we can’t talk now—the quadrille’s about to start. Why don’t you meet me later outside in the garden when we both have a moment? I’ll try to catch your eye.”

Serafina
nodded in relief. Raphael would know how to put things right. He always did.

She danced the quadrille with Raphael, relieved she remembered the steps he’d taught her. Next she waltzed with Aiden, but she took no pleasure in her very first dance with him, for he spoke not a word to her, his hand clamped on her back like a vise as he moved her in quick abrupt circles. She could feel the anger emanating from him and his controlled violence frightened her.