Lady Amelia's Secret Lover (5 page)

“A
nd I want
you
to be her lover.”

“You want me to what?” Harry stared at his twin. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” Robert plucked a cigar from the marble and bronze smoking stand on his desk, neatly trimmed the end, and handed it to his brother.

Harry looked at it skeptically. “If this is a bribe, it’s not enough.”

“This might well be the best idea I have ever had.” Robert selected a cigar for himself, clipped it, then took a match from the stand. He struck it, lit the cigar, then leaned back in the chair behind his desk. “I tell you, it was like a bolt from the blue. A stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.”

“Genius?” Harry lit his cigar. “There’s a fine line between genius and idiocy.”

“Perhaps, but this was brilliant. I thought of it at
once, you know.” He puffed on his cigar and blew a wobbly smoke ring. “Brilliant ideas do tend to strike with blinding speed. At the very moment I offered to help her find a lover, I realized you were the perfect choice.”

“Me?”

“You’re repeating yourself Harry, but yes, you. As I said, you’re perfect.”

“Dare I ask why?” Harry said with a feeble smile.

“I should think that would be obvious. You’re experienced in such matters. You’re charming, clever—”

“Not to mention handsome,” Harry muttered.

Robert laughed. “I was going to mention handsome. From my observations, women are usually eager to fall into your arms.”

“I’m not sure I would use the word
eager
but I have had a certain success with the fairer sex.” Harry blew a smoke ring somewhat less wobbly than his brother’s.

“All of which makes you the perfect candidate.”

“See here, Robert, I don’t think—”

“Fortunately, I have done the thinking for us both. Indeed, I have done a great deal of thinking in recent days.”

“Too much thinking has always gotten us into a great deal of trouble.” Harry puffed his cigar. “So what is the result of all this thought?”

“If I were to present Amelia with a man who was less than charming, clever, and handsome, she would know at once that I never intended to help her find a lover. You, however”—Robert grinned—“are well known for your amorous adventures. God knows your reputation does not preclude a liaison of this sort. As I said, you’re the perfect choice.”

“Even so, there are some limits to my disreputable character. Prime among them, avoiding the seduction of my brother’s wife, which I am certain I have mentioned before.”

Robert chuckled. “You don’t think I intend for you to actually seduce her, do you?”

Harry stared at his brother. It was obvious that was exactly what he had thought. “No?”

“Of course not. I intend for you to do exactly what you usually do to get a woman into your bed without actually taking that final step. And by doing so, keep my wife too busy to seek a real lover. In the meantime, I shall be doing my best to regain her affections.” Robert met his brother’s gaze firmly. “Once again I need your help, Harry. There is no one else I can trust with this.”

“I am not the least bit trustworthy.” Harry groaned. “What have I ever done to give any of you the impression otherwise?”

“Nonsense, you’re my brother. I trust you completely. I can depend on you just as you can depend on me.”

Harry stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head slowly. “In most matters, indeed, you can depend on me, but I am sorry, Robert, I won’t do this. It’s a mistake to become embroiled in affairs between a husband and a wife. I want no further involvement in any of it.”

“I daresay you’ve been involved in a lot worse,” Robert said mildly and considered his twin. He wasn’t surprised at Harry’s refusal. In fact, he had expected it. But he knew his brother. And refusing to help him in one respect always made Harry more agreeable to helping in another. “Very well.”

“Very well?” Harry said slowly. “You’re going to accept my refusal without so much as a word of argument?”

“I would never want you to do something you found morally objectionable.” Robert shrugged. “Therefore I shall have to do this myself.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed. “Do what yourself?”

“I shall have to be you.”

“Me?”

“You do realize you need to start answering with something other than
me
.”

“And yet appropriate,” Harry snapped. “What on earth do you have in mind?”

“If you will not shower my wife with the type of attention that you are so skilled at, that inevitably leads to seduction, thus keeping her too busy to seek out a real lover, then I shall have to do so.” Robert puffed his cigar and blew a perfect smoke ring. It was most satisfying. “But I will do it while pretending to be you.”

“M—what?”

Robert chuckled. “It’s really quite simple, Harry. I shall pretend to be you to keep her from becoming involved with any other man. While, as myself, I shall endeavor to regain her affections.”

“It seems to me”—his brother chose his words with care—“if you are really concerned that she has come to the realization that she fell in love with the wrong man, pretending to be that man is not the way to assuage that fear.”

“On the contrary, being you will provide me with the means to determine if my concern has any validity at all.”

“Regardless.” Harry shook his head. “It will never
work. She knows the difference between the two of us. She’ll know immediately that you’re not me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, brother dear. She’d know immediately if you took my place. That might have worked when she and I were first getting to know each another—”

“You’d be surprised,” Harry said under his breath.

“—but that would never work today. She knows me entirely too well. However, to my observation, while you and she are cordial enough, she scarcely knows you at all.” Satisfaction widened Robert’s grin. This was really good. Indeed, it might well be brilliant. “Therefore, whereas you can never again take my place, I can more than likely take yours.”

Harry puffed on his cigar in a thoughtful manner. “But to what end?”

“The first, obviously, is to keep her occupied and away from other suitors. Beyond that…” Robert thought for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure. Yet. But I flirted with her last night and she flirted with me. I don’t think we’ve flirted with one another for years. It was rather exciting.”

“Flirting with your wife of six years was exciting?” Harry scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”

“As did I.” And yet it was remarkably exciting and brought back all sorts of feelings and desires he had almost forgotten. Feelings and desires that had nothing to do with comfort or contentment. “I shall quite enjoy flirting with her as you, and if you are right about her true purpose—”

“Her true purpose?” Unease sounded in Harry’s voice.

“Yes. You said it yourself. This is all a scheme to
divert my attention from a mistress she refuses to believe I don’t have back to my wife and perhaps make me jealous as well. She doesn’t really want another man.”

“Nothing but speculation on my part, mind you,” Harry said quickly.

“You were right about something else as well.”

“Was I?” Harry grimaced. “How clever of me.”

“I need to go back to the beginning. Oh, there’s no need to be a bumbling idiot again. I daresay I couldn’t if I tried.”

“Oh, I’m certain with the proper amount of effort…” Harry murmured.

Robert ignored him. Even his brother’s sarcasm couldn’t dim his confidence at the moment. “But I do need to win her heart once more. I need to make our lives together less comfortable and more exciting. Oh, we will never go off to explore the jungles of Africa, but complacency has no place between us. Not now, not ever, regardless of how many years go by. What I feel for her has not dissipated with time, it has simply been…untended.”

“Like a garden gone to seed.” Harry had something of a secret passion for designing gardens. It was Robert’s fondest hope that one day he would put that passion to a useful purpose. “The plants are still there; they just need to be uncovered and nurtured.”

“Exactly.” Robert nodded. “Last night I saw desire in her eyes, and even if I hadn’t noticed before, it hasn’t been there for some time. Nor, do I suspect, has it been in mine.” He met his brother’s gaze firmly. “I shall not let it slip away again.”

“That’s all very well and good but…” Harry
blew a smoke ring as good as—if not even a tiny bit better—than his twin’s. “I still don’t think you pretending to be me is a good idea.”

“Perhaps not, but it’s the only idea I have.” He thought for a moment. “If indeed this is a ruse on her part, it will be easy enough to discern. And if not, well, I shall cross that bridge when it presents itself.”

“Still—”

“Aside from everything else, Harry, I had more fun sparring with her last night than I’ve had in a long time. And I suspect she did as well. Playing this game with Amelia, well, it might be just the thing to recapture what we once had.”

“Most couples seem to find the renewal of their marriage vows to be sufficient,” Harry muttered.

Robert laughed. “We have never been most couples. I fear I had forgotten that. Admittedly, while I might have been somewhat inept at it in the beginning, the pursuit of Amelia was the most fun I’ve ever had.”

“This could end badly,” Harry warned.

“No, it can’t. There has never been a divorce in this family and there never will be.” The muscles in his jaw tightened. “She is the most important person in my life, which is yet another thing I had forgotten.”

“Perhaps you should be telling her, not me,” Harry said quietly.

“I fully intend to but not quite yet.” He tapped the ash of his cigar into the tray affixed to the cigar stand. “In this game of ours, that is my trump card. The last trick of the hand, as it were.”

“I wouldn’t wait too long to play it if I were you.”

“Ah, but you aren’t me. However”—Robert cast his brother a wicked grin—“I fully intend to be you.”

“I still think this is a bad idea. But, as you are my brother and you did ask for my assistance, and as you’ve probably forgotten exactly what it takes to turn a woman’s head”—Harry considered Robert for a thoughtful moment—“I shall take on the burden of showering your wife with flowers, gifts, and whatever else comes to mind. Anonymously, of course.” He shrugged. “I think that would be best.”

“Anonymously?” Robert considered the idea. It had a great deal of merit. “Perfect.” He chuckled. “It will accomplish exactly what I need to accomplish without your direct involvement.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“You will have my undying gratitude.”

“As well as your immediate reimbursement for my expenses.”

“I intended as much. The game is on, Harry. And rest assured”—Robert leaned back, blew another smoke ring, took a quick puff on his cigar, and shot another directly through the first—“victory will most definitely be mine.”

“I
would say that very nearly everyone of note is here this evening.” Amelia sipped her champagne and surveyed the crowded ballroom from their vantage point off to one side, in front of the columns that separated the ballroom from a long gallery. “Mrs. Amherst must be quite pleased.”

“If indeed a crowd too large to allow movement without bumping into a dozen people, the sense that one is part of a herd rather than a gathering of sentient beings, coupled with overly stuffy conditions, indicate a successful event, then she should be beside herself with joy.” A dry note sounded in Robert’s voice.

Men really had no idea what constituted success when it came to functions like this. Mrs. Amherst was no doubt chortling to herself over the size of the crowd. Her ball was indeed a rousing success.

“I noted the flowers that arrived today. Dare I ask who they were from?”

She bit back a satisfied smile. “There was no card.”

“An unknown admirer then?”

“Apparently.” She sipped her champagne.

“I thought we had agreed that you were not going to begin your search for”—he cleared his throat as if he couldn’t quite get the word out—“a lover until tonight.”

She shrugged. “I don’t recall agreeing to any such thing. Besides, as I said, the flowers were sent anonymously. I have, as yet, done nothing to encourage anyone.” She paused. “Perhaps I simply caught someone’s eye.”

“Someone with no sense of decency or decorum,” he said coolly. “Sending flowers to a married woman.”

“And yet I found it delightful.” She paused. “Are you jealous?”

“Absolutely. He’s probably here, you know.” Robert narrowed his eyes and surveyed the gathering. “He could be anyone.”

“It’s rather nice to know I have caught someone’s eye.”

“You, my dear Amelia, would catch anyone’s eye. You always have. If I recall, you caught my eye the moment I first saw you. At a ball very much like this one.”

“You remember?”

“One does not forget momentous occasions.”

She adopted a casual tone. “Are you flirting with me, Robert?”

He grinned. “How am I doing?”

“You could do better.”

“I fear I am out of practice, although I was never very good at it when it came to you.”

“On the contrary.” Her gaze wandered over the gathering. “You were quite engaging.”

“Still, I shall endeavor to improve. It does seem flirtation is in the air tonight.” He smiled down at her. “Can you feel it?”

“It’s spring, Robert. The season is at its height. I daresay flirtation is always in the air on a night like this.”

“Perhaps.”

“Do you miss it?” she said idly, as if his answer was of no concern whatsoever.

“Miss what?”

“Flirtation, the exchange of innocent comments that weren’t the least bit innocent, all of it. The thrill of the chase, as it were.”

“I’ve never considered it.” Robert sipped his wine thoughtfully. “Although I suppose, looking back on those days of bachelorhood, I recall enjoying the games played between men and women rather a lot.”

“By my observation, you were successful at it,” she said lightly.

“Somewhat, I suppose.” He chuckled. “Up to a point.”

“And what point was that?”

“I never had the least bit of trouble with the pursuit of women. I did indeed enjoy the chase and all that went along with it. Until it became much more important than mere flirtation.” He paused. “Until I lost my heart.”

Her heart thudded in her chest. “Oh?”

“Until I met you. And then no other woman had the least bit of appeal for me.” He chuckled. “If you remember, I became both tongue-tied and rather bumbling when in your presence. Not at all my usual demeanor.”

“And yet I found it charming.”

“Regardless, it was most disconcerting.” He shook his head. “I was not used to being anything other than completely in control of, well, of everything. And yet when I so much as attempted to speak to you with any degree of cleverness, I sounded like a fool.”

“You did not,” she said staunchly.

“Oh, but I did. I remember that distinctly.” He gazed out over the crowd, a reflective smile on his face. “I wonder how many young men in this very room are right now fraught with apprehension at the prospect of even speaking to the love of their lives.”

Her breath caught. “Was I the love of your life?”

“You were. And regardless what else might transpire between us, you remain so.” He shrugged. “Nonetheless, life moves on, as do we all. We are not the same people we were six years ago.”

“I suppose not,” she murmured. Even though she had already realized much the same thing herself, hearing the admission from Robert twisted her heart.

“In many ways one might say we have gone our separate ways.”

“Do you think so?”

“You have the children and your charitable pursuits. You run a large household and have become an accomplished hostess as well as an accomplished guest. You’re an excellent conversationalist. It’s quite impressive the way you keep up on the affairs of the day. Most wives don’t, you know.” He glanced at her. “You’ve become the perfect wife for a man in my position.”

“Have I?”

“Indeed you have.” He sipped his champagne. “I
daresay I haven’t told you, or shown you, for that matter, how very proud I am to have you as my wife.”

She swallowed past the knot that abruptly lodged in her throat. “No you haven’t, but then I haven’t told you that I too am proud of the man you have become.”

“Although I am scarcely perfect.”

“I’m not at all sure I would like perfect.”

“In that respect, we remain well suited. Now then.” He nodded. “We need to determine who else might suit.” He cast her a chastising smile. “You have extremely high standards.”

She raised a shoulder in a casual shrug. “My current lover is difficult to replace.”

“Let me see.” He scanned the crowd. “We’re looking for a gentleman who is charming and handsome, with polished skills at both conversation and seduction.”

“Surely we can find one or two who will do.”

“No doubt,” he muttered, and Amelia struggled to keep her expression serene. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Robert had no intention of truly finding her a lover. If she knew nothing else about her husband, she was fairly confident of that. Although he was a clever beast and obviously had some sort of plan in mind. Still, she could play this game as well as he. Probably better. He nodded at a point off to one side of the ballroom. “What about Lord Burwell? He seems to meet all the requirements.”

“Indeed he does, if one of the requirements is advanced age, the onset of gout, and a lecherous way of leering at anything female.”

“He has a reputation, you know, with the ladies.” A tempting note sounded in Robert’s voice. “I’m sure he could provide excellent references.”

“I believe he
had
quite a reputation, once, a very long time ago, and I fear most of his references can no longer be relied upon because, as I understand it, the ladies in question are of such an age where they can barely recall their own names, let alone his.”

Robert chuckled. “There is a price to be paid for experience. Well, perhaps he is a little old for you.” He studied the crowd. “What about Mr. Washburn?” Amelia followed her husband’s gaze to a portly figure trying to balance a plate of food and a glass of wine. “He’s a healthy specimen of a man.”

“Healthy indeed.” She snorted. “Good Lord, Robert, I could scarcely get my legs around him.”

“Amelia!” Shock sounded in Robert’s voice, then he laughed. “Yes, well, that would be a problem. Let us consider Lord Helmsley over there then. He’s well on his way to making a name for himself with the fairer sex.”

“That doesn’t speak well for his sense of discretion. Especially as I am looking for a secret lover.” She shook her head. “Besides, he’s entirely too young. No, I think someone more like…” She scanned the ballroom, then nodded. “I’ve always found Lord Elkins to be rather charming. He would do well, I think.”

Robert scoffed. “He’s too tall for you.”

“How lax of me to have overlooked such a flaw,” she murmured. “Well then.” She glanced around the room. “Sir Randolph is extremely handsome, and he’s not at all tall.”

“No, he is of a perfect height, but have you ever heard him laugh?” Robert shook his head in a mournful manner. “The man sounds like a braying horse.”

“Even so—”

“I expect you want someone amusing, and I daresay that sound”—Robert shuddered—“would spoil the…mood.”

“Very well. Mr. Wolcroft?”

“Notoriously tight with his money.” He signaled a passing waiter and handed him their now-empty glasses.

“Lord Milton?”

“Devoted to gambling.” He leaned toward her in a conspiratorial manner. “And not very good at it either.”

“Viscount Smithfield?”

Robert grimaced. “Nasty temper.”

“The Earl of Rosebury?”

“Overly attached to his mother.”

“Baron Copely?”

“Handsome enough but of less than average intelligence.” Robert shook his head. “No, no, none of these will do.”

“My goodness.” She flipped open her fan in an innocent manner and waved it idly. “This is a problem.”

“Not at all. I have the perfect prospect.”

“Oh?”

He glanced around the room. “I see him now. I suggest the two of you start your liaison with a dance.”

She laughed. “You can’t possibly think I am going to accept some man you have selected for me?”

“You’ll accept this one. He’s charming and amusing. He has a great deal of experience with women. And even better”—Robert grinned—“he looks exactly like me.”

“Surely you’re not talking about Harry?”

“Oh, but I am. He’ll suit beautifully.”

“Harry,” she said thoughtfully, then smiled. “Excellent choice.”

“I thought so.” Robert’s manner was decidedly smug. “I shall be happy to fetch him for you.”

“How considerate of you. And most appreciated, I might add.”

“I am nothing if not considerate.” He nodded and started off.

Damnable man. What was he up to now? Of course, the answer was obvious, and she should have realized it at once. Robert had selected Harry for her for much the same reasons she had selected Harry. Even if Harry refused to accept it, he could indeed be trusted by both of them. Robert had no idea Harry had once sought to gain her affection, and might well change his mind about Harry’s trustworthiness if he knew. Amelia had no intention to ever inform him otherwise. Aside from the harm it would do their relationship, it was nice to know she always had something that could be held over Harry’s head, should the need to do so ever again arise.

Robert made his way around the room until he reached his brother, a scant dozen yards away, speaking with a lovely woman Amelia didn’t know. They exchanged words; Harry glanced at her, nodded, and started in her direction, but her attention remained on her husband. Who was that woman? Robert took her hand and raised it to his lips. Light flashed off the woman’s wrist, off a bracelet that even at this distance was distinct. Amelia’s breath caught. Was this then his mistress? A moment later Robert swept the lady onto the dance floor. Amelia was hard pressed to take her eyes off the couple.

Harry reached her side. “Amelia, I have given your plan a great deal of thought and—”

“Harry, who is that?” she said abruptly.

“Who is who?”

“The woman dancing with Robert.” She swallowed hard.

“Lady Deering?”

“That’s her, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed her.” He chuckled. “She’s lovely, isn’t she? And a widow. I do so like widows. The very moment I can dispose of this nonsense between you and my brother, I intend to devote all of my time and attention to her.”

She stared at her brother-in-law. “Why would you devote your time and attention to Robert’s mistress?”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Well, then—”

“However, as that is not Robert’s mistress, as he doesn’t have a mistress, there are no impediments to making her mine.”

“But she’s wearing the bracelet.”

“Which cost me a pretty penny.” He shook his head. “I tell you, Amelia, it’s not enough to simply be charming and witty. There are certain procedures for getting a woman into your bed. Flowers, notes of affection—preferably with a poetic touch—expensive baubles—”

“The bracelet was yours?” She shook her head. “But I found it in one of Robert’s drawers.”

He raised a brow. “Snooping, were we?”

“Not at all,” she snapped. “I couldn’t find a pair of gloves, and on occasion, mine will end up in his drawer. I was merely—but that has nothing to do with anything.”

“It seems to me it has everything to do with everything.” He shook his head in a reproachful manner. “Robert did me the favor of picking up the bracelet from the jeweler’s. If you had not been looking where you had no business looking, you would not have seen it and never would have thought Robert had a mistress. Which is what started all this in the first place.”

Her gaze turned back to her husband on the dance floor. “Then he really doesn’t have a mistress?”

“I told you he didn’t.” A smug note sounded in Harry’s voice.

“So did he,” she murmured. She watched her husband dance with another woman in his arms and wondered why she wasn’t more relieved than she was. There was some of that, certainly, but…

“I know I’m going to regret becoming any more involved in this than I already am, and if I were even half as clever as I think, I should let this go, but apparently I don’t have a brain in my head.” Harry chose his words with care. “You thought, understandably so given the evidence, that Robert was involved with another woman. Now you know otherwise. Why aren’t you happier?”

Why indeed? Why was there now a dreadful sense of despair, as if all was truly lost, instead of relief?

She drew a deep breath. “If the problem between us is not another woman, at least in part, then it lies entirely with us. With what we’ve had and what we’ve lost. With what we’ve become.” She met his gaze. “I don’t know what to do now.”

“Might I suggest you speak to your husband,” Harry said quietly.

“I—” She shook her head. “Would you be so good as to take me home?”