The Duke's Bride (25 page)

She stiffened. “Well, I do think the meat is a bit overdone,
but you do not have get cross about it.”

“Indeed,” he said through clenched teeth. “A bit
overdone.”

Roderick wanted to shake himself for getting involved
with this woman years ago. She had moved from him to many men, including Jared
at one point. The lady was pretty. He would give her that. But she was a
self-centered female who could not have a sane conversation if she were paid a
thousand pounds.

He had no idea if he could sit through dessert, listening
to her rattle on. He was supposed to be learning about her and Lord Garette.
But all his thoughts were on Jane. Jane and the baby. Jane, the baby, and that
blasted Captain Argyle!

R
oderick stood when the ladies withdrew from the
dining room to take a tour of Lady Vexfield’s new wing, leaving the men to their
port. As Roderick looked on, his heart pumped with a dangerous mix of emotions.
Disbelief. Frustration. But most of all, anger.

To his annoyance, the king had retired for the night,
and therefore, any questions about Lady Trayton’s comments would have to wait
until morning.

Quite honestly, he wasn’t sure he could hold his
temper talking to anyone tonight, least of all Jane. If the babe were his, she
would have told him.

While the men began to converse, he sought out the
captain who seemed to be leaving. Was the man avoiding him? By Jove, Roderick
would follow him to hell and back before he let the man go.

How could he ever have thought the captain his friend?

“So,” Roderick said, his fists clenching as he
cornered the captain in an alcove off the ballroom. “You are avoiding me?”

The captain spun around, his green eyes gleaming with
amusement. “You think too much of yourself, Roderick. I am retiring to my
bedchambers. Nothing to do with you at all.”

“The baby is a boy,” Roderick spat out.

Crossing his arms over his chest, the captain leaned
against the wall, and appeared relieved. “Ah, I am pleased Jane finally told
you. To say it has been on my mind is an understatement. But I am glad you are
taking it so well. Keeping it a secret was not something I would wish to do
again.”

The blood boiled in Roderick’s veins. He glared at the
man in complete amazement. “Who the devil said I am taking it well?”

The captain frowned. “I understand completely. It
would have disturbed me too, if she were my wife. Don’t like secrets.”

“Secrets?” Roderick replied harshly. “You must be insane!”

Candlelight lit the captain’s handsome face as he
laughed. “I would have paid ten thousand pounds to have seen the look on your
face when she told you.”

Roderick could barely keep himself in check. “I fail
to see the humor in this. We are speaking about my wife.”

The harsh tone of his words finally broke through to
the captain. The man narrowed his eyes. “You know, Roderick, I have a strange
feeling you have something more to tell me.”

“You do, do you?”

The captain’s face turned hard. “I do not believe this
is the place to do it, do you?”

Roderick let out a curse and directed the man toward
the back door. “I believe outside would be best,” he ground out. “The earl has some
nice grounds that I would dearly like you to see.”

“Ah, so that’s the way of it, is it?” the captain
replied, his eyes blazing. “To tell you the truth, the way you have treated
Jane has been intolerable. By Jove, I shall enjoy boxing your ears. You look
quite recovered after your
accident
in France. Yes, I won’t mind at all.”

Roderick shot him a threatening look. “You can try,
but I may kill you first.”

Meanwhile, Lady Trayton was growing quite bored with
the women and the tour of the new wing. She had told the king she would meet him
for a little after dinner wine in the same salon where Lord Garette had died.
No one would bother them there, she thought smiling. She eased down the stairs
and was going to make her little rendezvous when a servant handed her a note,
informing her the king had retired. She crumpled the note in her hand and
looked up when she saw Captain Argyle and Roderick marching toward the back
door, looking like two bulls ready to charge. Curiosity got the best of her,
and she followed them outside.

Roderick glowered at the captain who was leaning
against a thick oak, as if he had not a care in the world. A cool breeze
whipped across their faces, rattling the leaves above them. The captain looked
quite bored as clouds floated in front of the moon causing dappled shadows to
play against the man’s fine features.

“You think I will not kill you?” Roderick asked,
astounded by the man’s calm behavior. “Thunderation, have you no remorse?”

The captain flashed him a sardonic smile.

Roderick’s temper flared. The man looked both
dangerous and handsome. A wicked combination. No woman could deny the man if he
tried using that charm to his advantage. Roderick had seen him at work.

Jane was sweet and innocent, and this man had
dishonored her. Not that the captain would force himself on her, but—

“What exactly did your wife tell you?” the captain
blurted out.

“My wife,” Roderick said sharply, “did not tell me a
thing. I was informed about the baby through Lady Trayton.”

The captain frowned and kicked the dirt beneath his
feet. “I see. And you believed what?”

“How can you stand there and strike the ground with
your shoe as if nothing is amiss? Are you insane, man?”

The captain straightened. “I think you underestimate
me, Elbourne.” His voice was dangerously low.

“I certainly did,” Roderick snapped. “You took my wife
from under my nose. Gave her a child—”

The blow to Roderick’s jaw was swift and painful. He
staggered back in shock, rubbing his face. He looked up and sneered at the
captain. “Ah, the jealous lover. Have you forgotten I am her husband? Oh, you
thought she was not married to me, did you? But wait! If the babe was born
early and healthy, you must have known we were married. A tangled web, Argyle.”

The captain started taking off his jacket. “Curse you,
Roderick! Your wife does not deserve you!”

Roderick ripped off his jacket, popping the buttons. His
waistcoat came next. “I shall kill you, James. Confound you! I will keep the babe
as my own, before I lose her to you! Do you hear me?”

Argyle scoffed. “She may be your wife! But you
certainly do not treat her like one! She deserves better!”

Roderick plowed his fist into the man’s stomach. “By Jove,
you will pay for everything you have done to her.”

Argyle bent over and charged, ramming Roderick to the
ground. “You do not know…what a jewel you have.”

Roderick’s fist threw the man into the bushes. “You took
advantage—”

The captain recovered quickly, planting his fist into
Roderick’s face. “You should get on your knees and ask forgiveness, you fool.”

Roderick stumbled backward. “You, sir, are the fool!”

The captain and Roderick rolled in the dirt.

“You let Garette attack her and did nothing,” the
captain heaved, sitting up, wiping the blood from his lip. “What kind of
husband are you?”

Roderick stood and bent over, trying to catch his
breath. He was not as fit as he thought after the shooting incident. To add to
his misery, the captain was a better fighter than any of his brothers, and that
was saying a lot.

“How the devil could I attack a dead man?” Roderick
panted. “Only someone with your depraved brain would think such a thing.”

“Oh, ho,” the captain ground out. “Depraved? By Jove,
you are too much! Humiliating Jane further, you took Lady Trayton to supper, of
all things!”

“The seats were set. You know that. And I do not have
to explain my dealings with you!”

“No, but you will have to explain your cozy
conversation with Lady Trayton to your wife! What Jane sees in you, I will
never know! You conniving, despicable rat!”

Roderick bunched his hands, ready to finish the man. “You
dare call me names? You, of all people! Hell’s teeth! You go too far! You had
best take yourself far from this party, and far from my wife! For I vow, I will
kill you in the very next minute if you do not take your leave!”

“Ah, perhaps you were the one who killed Garette,” the
captain snapped, glaring at him. “Perhaps it was not natural causes after all.
I know the signs. The man was poisoned. Someone killed him! Do not play me the
fool. I worked for the Crown as well. Our host is hiding something, and so are
you!”

The captain muttered something about stupid dukes.

Roderick glowered at the man. “Lady Trayton is the one
we believe murdered Garette. And that is why my conversation with her at dinner
appeared more than it was. Don’t know why I’m telling you this because you
deserve nothing but my fist in your face!”

A rustle in the bushes startled the men. They spun
around. The sound of silk swishing against shrubbery followed by the crunching
of footsteps faded into the darkness.

Roderick caught a hint of red that looked all too
familiar. “Lady Trayton. I think she heard us. Confound you, James.”

Roderick’s glare drilled into the captain. Cursing,
Roderick straightened his cravat and snatched his waistcoat and jacket from the
ground.

“Never mind about her, you idiot,” the captain said,
wiping his hand against his mouth. “It’s your baby.”

Roderick’s head jerked. “What?”

“I do not think it my story to tell, you dimwitted
fool!”

“Then whose story is it?”

Argyle’s face turned to stone. “You are an arrogant
devil, did you know that? If you were not married to Jane, I would take her
away from you faster than a fox from the hunt. But the lady loves you to
distraction! She had no wish to tell you about the baby because you would not
allow her to see other people for help. But why a husband with your intellect
could not see that his wife was with child is beyond me. You must have avoided
her for a very long time.”

Roderick stiffened. The man was too close to the
truth. “What
other people
?”

“My servant, Mrs. Hobbs, had a hand in saving your
baby, you idiot. She lived in China for years. Oh, there were doctors too, but
your wife asked Mrs. Hobbs to personally use any remedies the lady thought
could help an unborn child. But Jane knew you would refuse any treatments your
London doctors did not agree with, Chinese or otherwise.” The captain threw on
his jacket and swore, picking up a button near his shoes.

Roderick rubbed his jaw. Something in his heart
warmed. “My baby?”

The captain tossed him the button. “I have no idea why
I am even telling you this. You are one wretched husband, Your Grace.”

Roderick watched the man closely.

The captain looked up at him. “What the devil is it
now?”

“I have a feeling I am going to have to apologize,”
Roderick said, pursing his lips in regret.

“You have a feeling?” Argyle responded icily. “My,
that would be a first. If I were you, I think I would ask myself why my wife
could not talk to me about a baby she carried.”

Roderick’s cheeks flamed as memories began to squeeze his
heart. He vaguely recalled Jane trying to talk to him about children. But any time
she had uttered a word about a baby, he had halted the conversation. There was
a small part of him that thought perhaps she was carrying his child. Her body
had changed. Her words had hinted at such, but he had been so worried about
losing her, he dismissed the notion as pure nonsense.

He had not realized he had been slowly losing her.

The captain started walking back to the house. But suddenly,
he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

Roderick cleared his throat in embarrassment. “What
else?” he replied, knowing he was not going to like whatever the captain said
to him.

Beneath the moonlight, the captain’s green eyes
shimmered with anger. “She thought you would force her go to London and see
those doctors again. The doctors who could not save her other babies, I might
add. Whatever you think, whatever you do, know that your wife’s decision to
continue to see Mrs. Hobbs probably saved the life of your son. Oh, yes, we
will never know for certain, will we? There were other doctors involved in her
health when she visited Bath and Hemmingly Hall. They helped, of course, But
what are the odds after so many losses? Tell me that, Your Grace!”

Inwardly, Roderick cringed at the thought of Jane not
trusting him. Of Jane having to go it alone. What kind of man was he?

The captain sneered. “Not only that, your wife left
the baby in the country with an older couple who live about three hours away.
She left a newborn baby to be with you. An arrogant, conceited, duke of a
husband. How lucky for her. I wished she had stayed with the child instead. Her
heart would be much lighter and happier than it is now.”

Uttering a vile oath, the captain disappeared into the
house, leaving a stunned Roderick to stare into emptiness.

Jane looked up from her conversation with a few of
Lady Vexfield’s guests when Lady Trayton paused inside the drawing room door. For
some reason, the lady had left the group when they had been taking a tour of
the new wing. But now, the lady appeared before them, as if she were looking
for someone. Jane had been afraid the lady had been with Roderick. And maybe
she had. That had been their plan, had it not?

But anxiety overwhelmed her when Roderick had not appeared
with the rest of the gentlemen when they had walked into the room.