To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series) (28 page)

Robert needs me, Angelica told herself, and forced herself to step forward. In less than five minutes, she was entering his garden.

 In the distance, Angelica could see a figure sitting in the gazebo. “Robert?” she called, her voice sounding loud in the stillness of the night.

And then Angelica realized the figure was the woman she’d seen there before. “Hello,” she called. The woman turned in her direction and then vanished.

Frightened, Angelica stopped short. Her heart beat rapidly, her breathing came in shallow gasps, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose up like hackles.

Sacred sevens
, the woman was a spirit. Oh, she needed to speak with her aunt.

Intending to return to the duke’s town house, Angelica whirled around and ran straight into an immovable object. She screamed, and a hand covered her mouth.

“It’s me.” The voice belonged to Robert.

Angelica threw herself into his arms and hid her face against his chest. He put his arms around her and held her close, though the safety within his embrace failed to keep her stomach from churning.

“What is wrong?” Robert asked, lifting her chin. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I have.”

Robert kissed the crown of her head and said, “Angel, ghosts do not exist.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Angelica replied, her voice muffled against his chest. “You didn’t see her.”

“I wanted to explain my behavior and speak to you about the girl,” Robert said, “but I think you need this more.”

Robert tilted up her chin and kissed her. The warmth of his lips seeped into her, calming and exciting her at the same time.

“I’m glad we followed her, Roxanne. “ This voice belonged to Duke Magnus.

Angelica whirled around. Seeing the duke and her aunt standing there, she dropped her mouth open in surprise. Of all the bad luck—

“Your behavior is unseemly, Angelica,” Aunt Roxie reproved her.

“You have placed the lady in an untenable position,” Duke Magnus told his son. “You will marry her posthaste.”

Angelica was stunned. “But nobody knows I’m here.”

“You were seen leaving the ball,” her aunt told her.

“What do you have to say for yourself, son?” Duke Magnus asked.

“I have already proposed marriage,” Robert answered. “The lady refused.”

Duke Magnus shifted his dark gaze to Angelica. “I intend to announce your betrothal to Robert tonight.”

Angelica felt trapped, a mulish expression on her face. “I will not—”

“Roxanne, tell her and be done with it,” Duke Magnus said, sounding irritated.

Aunt Roxie smiled. “Darling, your tiredness and queasiness can only mean that you are with child.”

Her words shocked Angelica. Suddenly dizzy, she swayed on her feet, but Robert steadied her and kept her from falling.

“That is impossible,” she whispered.

“Have you been intimate with my son?” Duke Magnus asked.

Angelica couldn’t seem to find her voice through her humiliation. She looked from the duke to her aunt but no words came out.

“We have been intimate several times,” Robert told his father. “Five days ago we passed the afternoon in my bed.”

Angelica swayed on her feet again. She wished she would swoon to escape this whole situation.

“It’s settled then,” Duke Magnus said. “You will marry after a short betrothal. I will tolerate no scandal attached to the Campbell heir.”

“You have no control over me,” Angelica countered, accustomed to giving orders, not following them. “I am a countess.”

“I am your legal guardian,” the duke reminded her.

Angelica knew when she’d been trapped. It seemed as if the three of them had conspired against her, but she refused to surrender to their wishes so easily.

“I am willing to bargain with the marquess,” Angelica told the duke.

Duke Magnus inclined his head. “Do whatever she wants,” he ordered his son. “This marriage needs to take place almost immediately.”

Robert turned her to face him and asked, “Angel, what is it you want?”

When she raised her gaze to his there was no mistaking the battle lines etched across her face.

“I will marry you only if you promise to form a relationship with Daisy.”

Robert stared into her eyes for a long moment and then, surprisingly, smiled. “I promise to form a relationship with the child if—”

“Dairy is her name,” Angelica interrupted him. “Use it.”

Robert inclined his head. “Daisy, then. However, you must promise to forget your revenge.”

Conniving bastard
, Angelica thought. He knew that giving up the prospect of revenge would be impossible. She had an obligation to her parents.

“No deal, my lord,” Angelica said, wiping the smile off his face. “Prepare yourself for another child born out of wedlock.”

“Robert, I’m warning you . . .” the duke growled.

“I will not allow my wife to jeopardize her health and her reputation, as well as the health of our child, by proceeding with this scheme for revenge,” Robert told his father.

“Darling, be reasonable,” Aunt Roxie pleaded with her. “You will become the Marchioness of Argyll, the future Duchess of Inverary. Think of the status, the jewels, the glamour. Your every wish will be granted.”

“All but one,” Angelica replied.

“You misunderstand me,” Robert amended himself. “I will take revenge on Drinkwater, Mayhew, and Emerson in any manner I think expedient. I promise their crimes will not go unpunished.”

Angelica knew that was the best she would get. “You have won a bride for yourself,” she said.

Robert lifted her hand to his lips. “And a loving wife, I hope.”

“Don’t press your luck,” Angelica said, and brushed past him, intending to return to the duke’s town house.

Robert caught up to her and grabbed her hand. When she tried to pull out of his grasp, he said, “We need to play the loving couple, angel.”

Angelica made no reply but allowed him to escort her back to the duke’s town house.

“I knew they would be fabulous together,” she heard her aunt say to the duke.

“Humph,” the duke snorted, mirroring her own feelings. “I’ll announce their betrothal before supper so she can’t change her mind.”

Ten minutes later, Angelica stood with Robert at the foot of the ballroom. For the second time that evening, Duke Magnus instructed the orchestra to stop playing. A sea of faces turned to look at them.

“I have additional good news,” Duke Magnus announced, beaming with pride. “The Countess of Melrose has accepted my son’s proposal of marriage.”

A murmur of surprise swept through the crowd. Responding to it, Angelica pasted a bright smile on her face and fixed her blue gaze on Robert instead of their guests. She hoped she looked adoring.

Duke Magnus held up his hand in a gesture for silence. “I realize this is a bit unorthodox, but Robert and Angelica have agreed to marry in three weeks so that my own marriage to Lady Roxanne will not be delayed.”

The crowd erupted into conversation. Someone in the crush of people applauded with approval, and others followed suit.

And then the well-wishers surrounded Angelica and Robert. Adam St. Aubyn stood in front of her and lifted her hand to his lips. He winked at her and whispered, “I beat the others. I’ll send you a banknote in the morning.”

“You keep it,” Angelica said, looping her hand through Robert’s arm. “I have just caught myself an exceedingly wealthy husband.”

When Adam stepped away, Angelica scanned the ballroom and noted Venetia’s venomous glare, as well as Charles Emerson’s nauseatingly insincere smile. That smile frightened her more than his daughter’s expression of hatred.

Chapter 16

The bride wore a frown.

“Angelica, darling, do stop frowning,” Aunt Roxie said. “What will our guests think?”

“Would you prefer growling?” Angelica asked, making the duke smile.

“Don’t encourage her,” Aunt Roxie told the duke. She turned to Angelica saying, “Today is the happiest day of your life. You should be smiling.”

“The happiest day of my life?” Angelica echoed. “You tricked me into marrying a man who hasn’t exchanged one word with me in the past three weeks. No visits, no gifts, no notes.”

 “Perhaps the marquess feared you would cancel the wedding,” her aunt said.

“Is that why the marquess didn’t bother with a betrothal ring?” Angelica countered. “More likely, the marquess wanted me to cancel the wedding.”

“Be quiet,” Aunt Roxie snapped, losing patience. “I am tired of listening to you, which is probably what kept the marquess away. You’ll need to be more agreeable if you want a successful marriage.”

Standing with the duke and her aunt in the nave of the Grosvenor Chapel, Angelica clamped her lips together, and her frown became a scowl. Two hundred of the Campbells’ closest friends filled the church for her wedding.

“You look like a princess, except for that grotesque expression,” Aunt Roxie said, after circling her with a critical eye. “Your parents would be so proud.”

Angelica wore her mother’s wedding gown. Elegantly simple, the gown of white silk had been embroidered with hundreds of tiny seed pearls. Its bodice had a squared neckline and long, flowing sleeves shaped like bells. Drop-waisted, the gown flared slightly from her hips.

Around her neck, Angelica wore her diamond and gold pendant, and on her feet were white satin slippers that complemented the gown. A wreath of orange blossoms served as a headdress, crowning the blond hair that cascaded to her waist.

“Child, I do not want either you or my son unhappy,” Duke Magnus said, taking her hand in his. “If you prefer not to marry Robert, I’ll call off the wedding.”

Angelica raised her gaze to the duke’s. She loved the marquess and couldn’t bring herself to say the words that would cancel this fiasco. How could she bring a child into the world unless she married the babe’s father? She had trapped herself into this marriage without any help from her aunt or the duke.

“I’m already unhappy,” Angelica said, and then she sighed. “Another forty years of misery won’t make any difference. The child will be loved.”

“Darling, why are you unhappy?” Aunt Roxie asked, looking concerned.

“I wanted to marry a man who loved me,” Angelica answered, a catch of emotion in her voice.

“Is that all?” Aunt Roxie said, and smiled. “The marquess adores you.”

“He’s never expressed any love for me,” she countered.

“Have you expressed any for him?”

“Yes,” Angelica answered, wiping the smile off her aunt’s face.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Aunt Roxie told her. “Watch what a man does, not what he says or doesn’t say.”

Duke Magnus cleared his throat “Roxanne, I’ll handle this.” He turned to Angelica, saying, “Robert wants to marry you, but sometimes men find expressing their feelings difficult, if not impossible.”

“A man who says ‘I love you’ too easily is not to be trusted,” Aunt Roxie agreed.

“Be patient with Robert,” Duke Magnus continued. “Despite our wealth, my oldest son has had a difficult time. As a boy, the prospect of living up to his father’s and his ancestors’ high standards, worried him. Then Robert lost his brother to a riding accident, and Louisa’s suicide a few months later devastated him.”

“How can I compete with a dead woman for his affection?” Angelica asked.

“Robert felt no great passion for Louisa,” the duke told her. “Theirs was an arranged marriage.”

“What was she like?”

“Gentle and timid, Louisa possessed none of your fiery spirit,” Duke Magnus answered with a smile.

You look like your mother but possess none of her gentleness,
Angelica recalled her father’s final words to her.

His words rang true, but there was nothing to be done for it. She couldn’t change who she was.

“Will you marry my son and make him happy?” Duke Magnus asked. “Or shall I step into the chapel and call off the ceremony?”

“I’ll marry him,” Angelica said, smiling for the first time that day. “Beyond that, I can promise nothing.”

“That’s good enough for me,” the duke said, offering his arm. “Roxanne, tell them we’re ready and take your place in the chapel.”

Angelica looped her arm through the duke’s. Together, they stood at the top of the aisle. When the organ and violins began to play, the duke gave her an encouraging smile and guided her down the aisle toward his son.

Hundreds of flickering candles lit the chapel, casting dancing shadows on its walls. Bouquets of red and white roses adorned the altar, reminding her of the day Robert had stood outside her cottage and tried to make amends with her.

Angelica suffered one bad moment. When the sea of mostly unfamiliar faces turned to watch them, she spied Venetia and her father. Both wore such expressions of hatred that she hesitated for a fraction of a moment.

“Focus on Robert,” Duke Magnus whispered.

Angelica took his advice. Blocking out everyone else, she fixed her gaze on her groom, who stood with the bishop at the altar. Robert looked magnificent in his midnight blue attire; but, more importantly, his smile on her held the promise of love.

Reaching the altar, Duke Magnus placed her trembling hand in his son’s and joined her aunt and sisters in the front pew. Robert lifted her hand to his lips before turning with her to follow the bishop through the mahogany gates into the sanctuary.

Suffering from a queasy stomach, Angelica felt relieved that the ceremony was short. Its only tiny glitch came when she gasped out loud at the first sight of her wedding band. Topped with an enormous diamond, the band was yellow, white, and rose gold, braided together.

“I assume you like the ring,” Robert whispered.

“Is it real?” Angelica asked, making him laugh.

The bishop cleared his throat. “Shall we continue?”

In a few short minutes, the bishop pronounced them man and wife, and Robert was escorting her down the aisle. An army of bodyguards surrounded them before they stepped outside, reminding her that someone wanted her husband dead.

Angelica felt shy on the short ride to their wedding breakfast at the duke’s town house. The man beside her was her husband, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to him.