Invitation to Passion (26 page)

“Do you think you had better go and find your husband before all of the guests decide to play find-the-lovers?”

She didn’t need anyone to go and find Richard for she knew exactly where he was. For the first time in her life, she hoped he was with Sarah. She hoped he was gaining all her secrets and that Sarah was letting down her guard and would somehow reveal the truth. They needed to find out who had killed Charles and soon too, before the whole of society thought they merely had a marriage of convenience.

“Would you like me to go and find him for you?” he whispered in her ear.

“No”, Madeline murmured. “Thank you, but there is no need to go looking for Richard. I’m quite sure I know where he is.”

She could see by the look on Christopher’s face that he couldn’t understand why she was taking this situation so calmly. “There is no point in making a scene. I will deal with my husband when we get home”.

He shrugged. “As you wish,” and then he offered her his arm. “Can I have the honor of this dance then?”

She looked around the room at all the faces staring at them and decided to put on a show. If word of this got back to Sarah it would only strengthen their cause and make her less suspicious of Richard. She nodded her head regally and took Christopher’s offered arm.

#

The action in the bedroom was building up like a geyser ready to blow.

Richard didn’t know how else to convince Sarah that his marriage to Madeline was not to his liking, except to show his enthusiasm for her seduction. There was no way he could make love to Sarah, and yet, by God, that that is what she was wanting, her nakedness and sultry caresses a clear indication no man could miss.

Sarah was beginning to sense his hesitation and that would not be good. He took her lips in a bruising kiss and walked her slowly towards the bed, lowering her down on to the silken sheets. He sat down on the end of the bed and pretended to be taking his boots off.
Think man, how to question her
? She came to sit beside him, her hands sliding round him and going to the placard of his trousers. This was quickly heading into the eye of the storm. Just then there came a knock at the door, a heavy, persistent knock.

Before either of them could reply, the door flew open and Anthony burst into the room, slamming the door behind him.

“I can’t believe you would do this to Maddy, brother. Especially as your wife is downstairs and the whole of the
ton
is watching this drama unfold.”

Sarah had pulled the sheet up over herself to hide her nakedness and she looked warily at Richard.

“This is none of your business, brother so why don’t you turn round and close the door after you when you leave?”

Anthony moved over to the bed and picked up Richard’s shirt and waistcoat and jacket and threw them at him.

“
No
. I’m taking you back downstairs and you are going to stop this silliness. I won’t let you disgrace this family or Madeline. Think of Rufus; he is your best friend and Madeline’s brother. What do you think he would do if he found out what you were doing up here?”

“I’m not concerned with what Rufus thinks; he is not my keeper. If not for his interference, I wouldn’t have had to marry Madeline in the first place.”

“If I have to drag you out of here naked and dress you myself, I will.” Anthony threw Sarah a look of disgust and addressed her. “Once I take Richard out of here, I suggest you get dressed and go home to my house. This is not to continue. You are not to have an affair with my brother.”

By this time Richard had his clothes back on, and Anthony was trying to tie his cravat for him.

Sarah finally roused herself to say, “You are not going to let your brother order you round like this, are you?”

“Perhaps it is for the best tonight. Anthony’s right, we risk the
ton’s
censure.” Richard said, “This is not the right time, nor place.”

“Well, when
is
the right time and place? I need you, Richard. I can’t go on without you, with the stress of Charles’s death and my pregnancy.
I need you!”
She crawled to the end of the bed and looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Let’s go to my house. It was only the kitchen that was destroyed. Why don’t we meet there,
please
? Even if it’s only to talk.”

He turned his back and gave Anthony a secret smile. “Why don’t you send me a note and I will meet you at your convenience.”

She nodded her head enthusiastically. “I’ll look forward to it.” She got out of bed with the sheet wrapped around her and approached him. She put her hand to his cheek and rose up on tiptoes and kissed his lips. “Soon, my love, soon we will be together. And nothing,” she scowled at Anthony, “and no one, will stop us.”

With that, Richard and his brother slipped out of the room and made their way back down the stairs, Richard completing his dress as they went.

“Thank God, you came,” Richard said to his twin. “I wasn’t sure how far I was going to have to go.”

“How far did you want to go?”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It was looking pretty cozy in there. Are you sure that you still don’t have any feelings for Sarah?”

“No. The one thing I do realize now is I do
not
have any feelings at all for Sarah anymore.”

“Good. However, I think she is now convinced you are unhappy in your marriage. It may make her open up if you hoodwink her by explaining how trapped you feel. You know what to say, and don’t forget to bemoan the fact there is no solution. She might offer up one. Next time, let’s do less kissing and more questioning.”

Richard laughed at his brother. “That was the idea. How is Madeline? I should collect her and take her home now. We have given the
ton
enough entertainment for one night, and if Sarah is the killer, then Maddy could be in danger.”

The two men entered the ballroom together and all heads swiveled their way. Richard looked round the room trying to find his wife. He found her deep in conversation with Mr. Hindsworth.

Their heads were close together as they earnestly conversed. The pair made a striking couple, both of them with dark hair and youthful looks, and Hindsworth had his hand on her arm, a signal of familiarity. Hindsworth glanced up and their eyes met in a stony glare. For one fleeting moment, Richard thought he saw something deeply disturbing within Hindsworth’s eyes, something that disturbed him greatly. It was a look of utter hatred. Perhaps it wasn’t such a coincidence after all that Hindsworth had been able to step in and save Madeline from Chesterton. Did Hindsworth have an interest in his wife? A wave of possessive jealous flared in Richard’s heart. And just
what
was Hindsworth’s interest in his wife?

Just then, Madeline raised her head and saw him. A look of worry flashed across her features, but he quickly nodded his head. The frown relaxed and her face broke into a beautiful smile that took Richard’s breath away. But then she quickly remembered she was supposed to be angry with him. She deliberately turned her back on him. Richard hated how they had to put on this show just for the
ton
. He hated them thinking that he and his wife were estranged, and that he was the sort of man who could be so cruel as to have a liaison right in front of his wife.

He made his way casually across the ballroom pausing to greet some of the few people who were not smirking behind his back. When he reached Madeline’s side, he took her hand off Hindsworth’s arm and placed it on his.

“Mr. Hindsworth, you seem to be consoling my wife quite readily lately,” Richard acknowledged him with a polite nod of his head. “Thank you for taking good care of her. Madeline, it is time we left. If you can drag yourself away from Mr. Hindsworth long enough to say your goodbyes, I’ve summoned the carriage.”

Richard noted the firming of Hindsworth’s jaw and how his hands formed into fists.

“If you paid your wife more attention, I wouldn’t have to step in and offer her my assistance quite so often.” Mr. Hindsworth’s words were spoken roughly.

Richard heard Madeline’s gasp.

“How I treat my wife is none of your business, Hindsworth. Perhaps I have been remiss to let you pay so much attention to her.”

Hindsworth said, “Better me than someone else. There are plenty of men here who think your wife is very attractive”.

“I am quite aware of that.” Richard gave Madeline a gentle push towards the far door. “I’m very possessive of what’s mine. You’ve been warned. I won’t warn again.”

Madeline looked at him in confusion. All eyes followed their departure.

“Fabulous performance, Richard. However, won’t it work against us if you start acting too husbandly, and Sarah sees or hears about it.”

“Bugger Sarah. Hindsworth seems overly attentive to you, my love. Perhaps you are enjoying the fact that I’m leaving you on your own so often”.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“He is quite a handsome man, even if he is a young impertinent pup.”

Madeline’s chin lifted stubbornly. “You can’t possibly be jealous. He is the man who saved me from Chesterton. You should be grateful to him.”

“I’m grateful, but not
that
grateful.” Richard’s annoyance grew at Maddy’s seeming defense of Hindsworth.

“I gather things with Sarah didn’t go as planned.”

Richard signed and ran a hand through his hair. “You could say that.”

“Is that why you are in such a bad mood?”

Richard helped her into the carriage. “No. I was in a perfectly good mood until I saw Hindsworth with his hands on you.”

“He did not have his hands on me!” Her face flushed a deep pink. “I touched him and placed my hand on his arm merely to add to our cover of estrangement.”

“I’d prefer you to keep your hands to yourself in future.” He cringed at his double standard. He’d just had his hands on Sarah’s naked skin. As if talking to himself, he uttered, “It is not unreasonable for man to be possessive of his wife.”

Madeline snuggled in to his side as he took his seat in their carriage. “I like it that you are jealous.”

“I can see I’m going to have to watch Hindsworth in future; he is far too attentive at the moment”.

She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around him. “Let’s not fight. We’ve moved forward tonight in pursuit of Charles’s killer. I can put up with all the stares and snide remarks as long as I have you to come home to.”

He stirred as her scent filled his senses and her bottom squirmed against his eager cock. “I am going to have to meet with Sarah at her house.”

“Is that a problem?”

Richard couldn’t look her in the eye. “It’s just I’m worried about how far I’m going to have to go in order to get the information we need.”

Maddy stiffened in his arms. “What exactly do you mean by ‘how far’?”

“I mean, when I went to the designated room this evening, Sarah was…”

“She was what?”

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t want to hide anything from you either. Are you prepared to face the fact that she is out to seduce me?”

“I might be young but I’m not stupid. Of course she is. She is still in love with you.”

They gazed at each other and desire flared bright in the darkened carriage. “I’m not in love with her. I didn’t feel an ounce of desire for her.” He rubbed himself against her. “But you, Maddy, Christ, you set me on fire. If I see you, sense you, smell you, I almost combust with want and need.”

Then he kissed her. Not a gentle kiss but a kiss filled with hunger; it was a hard, hot kiss, with his tongue possessing her mouth.

It was only because he noticed that the carriage had come to a stop that he broke the kiss.

He declared, “I can’t help how Sarah feels for me; I can only control what I feel for her and how I behave with her.”

He turned and cupped Madeline’s face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. “The way Hindsworth looks at you is not the look of a friend. I feel as if I’ve been remiss. What do you know of Hindsworth? What is his family background?”

“Don’t try and change the subject. I know trying to get information out of Sarah is going to be a tricky business. From what I have seen of Sarah, she is a pretty sly and astute woman.”

He helped her down, but kept hold of her hand as they walked up the steps. “She knows what she wants, that’s for sure. Handling her will take a delicate touch and see me walking a fine line.”

“The sooner we can catch the killer, the sooner we can get on with our marriage.” Madeline reached in and pressed her lips to his in a soft, chaste kiss. “As long as you don’t bed Sarah, I’ll be happy with any tactic that achieves the truth.”

They mounted the stairs to the bedrooms. Richard needed a moment to collect himself. Maddy was right, Sarah was clever and if he didn’t play the lover’s role completely, she’d smell a rat. “I will see you in a few minutes,” Richard said before turning and entering his own bedchamber.

“Don’t be long,” she called after him. “I’m quite tired tonight, but I really want you with me.”

Richard took his time undressing and then dismissed his valet. He was incredibly worried about his forthcoming meeting with Sarah and how he was going to extract the information they desperately needed without hurting himself, his wife, or, indeed, Sarah. If he didn’t manage the seduction carefully, Sarah would guess that his heart wasn’t in it. She may suspect that he was after information and he didn’t want to arouse her suspicions until he had a better understanding of her motives or guilt.

He thought about Madeline getting ready to share her bed with him in the room next door. His heart pounded in his chest. All he wanted and all he needed was Madeline.

Shaking his head, he cleared imagines of a naked Sarah, refusing to take her into the bedroom with Maddy. But as soon as he entered the room all he could see, sense and smell was Madeline. His pulse quickened and his body was aroused at the stimulating vision gloriously displayed before him.

Madeline lay completely naked upon her large four-poster bed, the glow from the fire and the many lit candles illuminating her pale skin in a reverential glow. She looked good enough to eat and his mouth watered for a taste.