Vexing the Viscount (16 page)

She opened the books of herbs and scanned. It appeared to be very old, but fine, resource. Finding a chapter on belladonna, she read through it again until sadness overwhelmed her. If only she'd had this book a year ago. It might have saved that little girl's life. She flipped a few pages and read the chapter on herbs that helped ease labor pains.

 

Braden waited for his friends to say something, but they seemed to be dumbstruck by his comment about Tia. Finally, Jack blinked and looked over at Adams, who only shrugged.

“He is obviously lying,” Jack commented.

“I most certainly am not!” Braden exclaimed. “She rejected my proposal.”

“You expect us to believe that a woman who has nothing refused to marry a wealthy, titled gentleman?” Adams folded his arms over his chest.

“Why would I lie about such a thing?” Braden's irritation grew.

“Because you want us to believe you didn't break your vow,” Jack said. “A woman like Miss Featherstone would do anything to become your wife.”

“Indeed?” Braden rang the bell for Nelson. “We shall see about that.”

Nelson knocked before entering the room. “Do you need something, my lord?”

Jack sniggered. “I still cannot get used to people calling you ‘my lord.' ”

“Has Miss Featherstone returned from her walk?” Braden asked, ignoring his annoying friend.

“She has, and is in the library reading. Is there anything else?” Nelson asked quietly.

“No, and thank you, Nelson.” Braden rose from his seat. “I believe we shall now set the record straight. Come along.”

Both men followed him out of the study to the library. Braden paused for a moment and stared at her. Tia's windblown hair had fallen out of the coiffure, leaving red tendrils framing her face. She appeared so at peace here. He cleared his throat to gain her attention. “Miss Featherstone, my dearest friends have a rather personal question they would like to ask you. Please do not feel you have to answer them if you believe it too delicate.”

She smiled as she turned her head at them. A devilish twinkle entered her eyes. “Well, my lord, it would depend on the nature of the question.”

“It regards a certain proposal of marriage from me.”

“Indeed? And what would the gentlemen like to know about that subject?”

Jack took a step into the room. “Did he propose marriage to you and then you rejected his offer?”

Braden stared at her for a long moment. She had such a twinkle in her eyes, he wondered if she would tell them the truth.

“If you call being told you would marry a person a ‘proposal,' then I suppose he did. Personally, I did not feel that was a proper proposal. What do you think?”

Adams stifled a laugh. “She's starting to grow on me, Middleton.” He turned his attention on Tia and said, “I would to agree with you, Miss Featherstone.”

She smiled, revealing a slight dimple in her right cheek. “Not that it mattered.”

“How so?” Jack asked.

“I would have rejected a proper proposal as quickly as I did an improper one.” Tia's brow rose.

Jack laughed. “Come now,” he said, walking to the chair across from her. “A wealthy man who happens to be a viscount makes an offer and you would refuse?”

“Yes, I would,” Tia replied. “Why would a man like that want to marry a poor country woman? Now, if love were involved, then I might change my mind. But do you honestly believe a man like Middleton could fall in love with me?”

Adams looked between them both and slowly nodded. “It might be possible.”

Braden stared at his friend. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

This time, Tia giggled. “With
your
reputation?”

“I am not the same man I was six months ago,” Braden said in a defensive tone. “I have no wish to return to that lifestyle.”

“It wasn't all that bad,” Jack muttered.

“I have to agree with Jack,” Adams said. “You didn't seem all that upset about your lifestyle until after—”

“I just didn't show it,” Braden interrupted his friend. He had no desire for Tia to learn exactly who had been the impetus for him to change his life. “I could be a good husband.”

“Perhaps,” Adams drawled.

“Yes, but until Jonathon is found, nothing else matters,” Tia spoke up. “And I was told he paid a call on Lady Bunworth last evening.”

“He did what?” Braden asked. “Why didn't you tell me as soon as you returned from your walk?”

Tia put aside her book and rose. “You had callers.”

“It's them,” he said, waving his hands at his friends. “They already know that we are looking for my brother.”

“Well, I believe we should pay a call on Lady Bunworth,” Jack said with a grin.

“We cannot all go pounding on her door,” Tia said. “His lordship and I will go. My friend also told me, Jonathon was at White's last night. So you two, go there.”

“I can't go to White's,” Jack replied. “I'm not a member.”

“I am,” Adams said with a shake of his head. “You can enter as my guest.”

“And you,” Tia said, looking over at Braden, “will introduce me as your betrothed.”

“Will I?” he said, cocking an eyebrow at her. “I don't believe you have accepted my offer.”

“No, I haven't. But your cousin is not aware of that fact. I am quite certain that she will not accept me into her home under any other circumstances.”

“You are most likely correct on that mark. Very well,” said, holding out his arm to her, “shall we go visit my cousin and set London on its ear?”

“How so?”

“You have just caught a viscount, my dear. The world will never be the same.”

T
ia took Braden's arm as he helped her out of the carriage. Looking up at Lady Bunworth's house, a shiver of fear swept across her. She hadn't thought about the repercussions of being introduced as his betrothed. Her only thought had been to gain entrance into the home. But news of their engagement would spread like fire all over London. What would happen when the truth came out that they weren't to marry?

“Middleton, please wait,” she said, before they walked up to the house.

“Come along, Miss Featherstone. Do not think of the future, only now.” He forced her forward either deliberately to ignore her concerns or because he didn't want to be seen skulking in front of his cousin's home.

“But—”

“Not now. We will discuss this later.” He knocked on the door and they waited in silence.

“My lord,” the butler said with a bow. “Please come in.”

They walked into the home and the butler showed them to a small salon. The house was much smaller than Middleton's house in town.

“Please tell Lady Bunworth that I am here with my betrothed,” Middleton said.

“I shall see if Lady Bunworth is at home,” the servant said stiffly.

The butler left and Tia couldn't help but giggle. “Surely he knows if she is at home.”

Middleton stifled a smile. “True, but he doesn't know if she will accept us into her home.”

Tia shook her head. She would never understand these people. “Why would she not? You are her cousin.”

“True, but if she doesn't wish to speak with me, then the butler will say she is not at home. It is common courtesy.”

Footsteps announced the return of the butler. “Lady Bunworth will be down presently, my lord. I have ordered tea.”

“Thank you,” Middleton said.

Once the butler walked away, Tia whispered, “What will happen once everyone finds out we are not engaged?”

“Not now, Tia.”

Lady Bunworth appeared at the threshold. Her lips were pursed, her face drawn, and her eyes narrowed. “You had the nerve to bring that woman into my home, cousin?”

He rose and bowed. “You are speaking of my future wife, Constance.”

Lady Bunworth inhaled and slowly released the breath. “Very well, Middleton. Welcome to the family, Miss Featherstone.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

“You may call her Constance,” Middleton said with a smile.

His cousin eyed him critically. “You are looking well, Middleton.”

“Thank you, Constance.”

“Where is the tea?” Constance turned and shouted down the hall.

“Coming, my lady,” a voice called from down the hall.

Constance walked to the sofa and sat down. A footman rushed into the room and placed the tea service on the table between them, before leaving the room with all haste. She poured the tea and handed a cup to each of them.

“So,” she drawled. “Other than to announce you have decided to make Miss Featherstone an almost respectable woman, why are you here?”

“Ah, Constance,” Middleton said. “Always straight to the point.” He sipped his tea as if to make her wait for an answer. Finally, he set his cup down and looked over at her. “I heard a rumor that my brother paid you a visit last evening. Is that true?”

Her face went pallid. “Yes, he called on my husband. Why?”

“I haven't seen him since I returned to town. I would like to speak with him.”

Tia watched the expressions running through her face.

“You haven't seen him at all?” Constance sounded truly surprised. “I spoke with him briefly before Harold came downstairs. Jonathon said he had seen you only two days ago.”

Middleton's shoulders sagged. “No, he has not paid a call on me.”

“How odd,” Constance said with a shrug.

“Is Bunworth home that I might speak to him about this?” Middleton asked.

“No, he is at his club. Was that the only reason you stopped by?”

“Yes,” Middleton said.

“No,” Tia said.

Middleton turned and stared at her. “It is not?”

“No,” Tia said again. “Why did you not take your maid with you when you married?”

“Mary?” Constance shrugged. “She and I had a falling out over a certain hairstyle I wanted. She thought it was inappropriate for a soon-to-be-married woman. So I insisted Bunworth hire a new maid before I married him. Why?”

“Do you have any idea where she is?” Tia asked.

“Alistair told me she was in your home, Middleton.” She quirked a brow and looked over at Tia. “For her.”

“She was, but she left suddenly and with no notice. It was quite odd,” he replied.

“Hmm, no, I have not seen her.” Constance rose from her seat. “I really must ask that you take your leave now. I have to call on my mother.”

“Of course,” Middleton said as he rose. He gave her a quick bow. “Good day, madam.”

“Good day.”

Constance said nothing to Tia as she walked past. Tia stopped and said, “Good day, Lady Bunworth.”

“Good day, Miss Featherstone. And good luck getting that one to put a ring on your finger.”

Tia trailed behind Middleton, who seemed to be in a big hurry to leave his cousin's home. Not that she could blame him. The woman was a witch. Tia scrambled into the carriage while Middleton followed her. “Well, that was fruitless.”

“Not at all. We know Jonathon was there last night and was lying to Constance about seeing me. We also know that Adams and Cranborne are both at White's right now. They know we were speaking with Constance, so they will strike up a conversation with Bunworth.”

“Do you believe what she said about Mary?” Tia asked.

Middleton released a sigh. “Honestly, I don't know. It doesn't take much to get a maid sacked. Perhaps Alistair felt Mary wasn't in the wrong, so he kept her on. I don't know.”

“Something just doesn't feel right,” she whispered.

“On that we can agree.”

She looked up to his handsome face and smiled. “Now what?”

“We go home and rest until Adams and Cranborne return.”

“I agree that you should rest, but is there nothing else we can do?” There had to be something. “Perhaps we could go to White's—”

His loud laughter caught her off. “Sweetheart,
we
could never go to White's.”

“And why exactly not?”

“Because you are a woman and White's is strictly for men.”

“Oh.” She supposed she should have known that. But there weren't any men's clubs in the Midlands of which she was aware.

He squeezed her hand. “You wouldn't have known that. I apologize.”

“How do people learn all this?” she asked quietly. Back home, she always felt quite intelligent. But here? She was completely ignorant of some of the most basic of information. She didn't belong here. Perhaps it was time to accept that fact and return home.

“It's no different than how you were raised.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were raised by a woman who made you read books on herbs, taught you how to set a bone, birth a baby, and help an elderly person pass comfortably to the afterlife. The women here are made to read
Debrett's
to learn every peer's name, how to converse about the weather, and other unimportant things so as not to look too intelligent in front of a prospective husband. Personally, I would rather have a conversation with you than any of the women of Society.”

“You would?”

He stared down at her with a smile. “Of course.”

Sneaking a look up at him, she sighed. If she returned to the estate, she would miss him terribly. How was it possible that she would miss him? But she would. That was the most ridiculous thought ever. She barely knew him.

But she was discovering that he wasn't the man she'd assumed he was from all the rumors. He certainly wasn't heartless. She had a terrible feeling that she was falling in love with him.

“What is wrong?” he asked. “You have gone quite pale.”

“N—nothing,” she muttered.

“Tia . . .”

Thankfully, the carriage slowed to a stop in front of his home. As soon as she could, she scrambled down with his help and rushed into the house. “Good afternoon, Nelson,” she said and continued up the stairs to her room.

She ripped off her bonnet and gloves, tossing them on a nearby chair. Then she paced. And paced. She couldn't be in love with him, she told herself. That just wasn't possible. She wasn't that naïve. She knew nothing could come of it. His offer of marriage was only to ease his guilt for breaking his vow. Nothing more!

A knock halted her stride. Assuming it was Mrs. Abbott, she said, “Come in.”

She turned away from the door and continued her pacing. It took a few seconds to realize just how quiet Mrs. Abbot was this afternoon. Tia turned and found Middleton with his back against the door and his arms folded over his chest.

“What are you doing in my room unannounced?”

“You told me to come in,” he said with a smirk.

“I thought you were Mrs. Abbott.” God, why wouldn't he leave? The longer he stood there sending her those smoldering looks, the more her thoughts turned sensual. And she shouldn't—no,
wouldn't
—let her mind go there.

“There are usually only two reasons women pace in their bedchambers.” He tilted his head slightly.

“Oh? Only two? I can think of many reasons a woman might wish to pace in her room,” Tia retorted. Perhaps if she could summon her anger at him, then she wouldn't think about stripping off his jacket and shirt so she could run her fingernails down his chest.

“The first is that she is not telling her lover something important.”

“You are not my lover,” she countered.

“Then it must be the obvious.” He stepped away from the door, slowly stalking her. His blue eyes shimmered.

She took a step back for each he went forward. “What is obvious?”

He continued to pursue her until she felt the wall behind her. He smiled at her predicament. “The only other reason for a woman to wear a carpet so thin is frustration.”

“What frustration?” He couldn't possibly know her thoughts.

“Frustration of a carnal nature,” he whispered near her ear.

She shivered when his lips plucked little kisses around her ear. “I believe you might be wrong about that.”

“Am I?” He trailed kisses down her jaw.

“What about your vow?” she whispered hoarsely. She couldn't want this again. Well, she
shouldn't
want this again.

“We have already discussed that.” He kissed just both corners of her mouth before bringing his hard lips down on hers.

Resist him
, her conscience screamed at her. But she didn't want to resist him. Slowly, she opened her mouth for him, letting his tongue find hers. The heat of his mouth on hers made her melt against him.

He broke the kiss and stared down at her with those penetrating eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?”

Emboldened by the desire she would see in his eyes, she placed her hand on his trouser-covered cock and stroked him. “I believe I do.”

“Tia,” he groaned as he ripped off his jacket. “If you weren't so inexperienced I would take you against the wall right now.”

“Against the wall?” The image that came to her mind excited her, sending moisture to her folds. “How?”

“God, I love your curiosity.” He backed her against the wall again and then lifted her up. “Put your legs around my hips.”

She wrapped her legs around him. Feeling the pressure of his bulge against her, she whispered, “Oh, yes, please, Braden. Like this.”

Braden groaned. He couldn't do this to her yet, no matter how much his body wanted him to sink into her wetness right this second. “You're so new at this, Tia. It might be too much.”

“Now,” she said as she rubbed herself against him.

“No,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her back and carried her to the bed. “I am going to make love to you . . . properly.”

A slight look of disappointment crossed her eyes. “You don't have to be such a gentleman with me.”

He tore at his clothing until he was naked. Slowly, he knelt over her. “You make me want to be a gentleman for a change.”

She blinked her eyes quickly, as if attempting to hold back tears. “You shouldn't say such things,” she whispered.

He stretched out over her and kissed her sensually. When he broke away from her, he stared into her brown eyes. “I will never be good enough for you, Tia. But I'm going to spend a lifetime trying to be.”

Before she could utter a sound, he kissed her hard, demanding a response to his passion. Feeling her soft tongue scrape against his sent desire flaring through his body. Her soft moans encouraged him. Skimming his hand down her throat to her bodice, he realized his mistake. With a slight laugh, he pulled away.

“What is wrong?” she panted.

“We are doing this all wrong,” he said, rolling off her.

“We are?”

Braden rose from the bed and pulled her up with him. “We both really should be naked. Now turn around.”

She did as he requested and he had her stripped out of her clothing in just a few moments. Standing before him in just her stocking and garters, she shivered from either desire or the room temperature.

“Sit on the bed so I can remove your stockings.”

“I can do it.” She reached for the garter, but he pushed her hand away.

“I will do that.”

“As you wish.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and waited.

He quickly untied the first garter and slowly skimmed it down her leg. She released a staggered breath. After undoing the second, he brought his lips down to the soft skin of her thigh. Kissing his way down her leg, he removed the other offending stocking.