Mesalliance (13 page)

In the remotest
tone she could manage, she said, ‘It is not, then, because of what
happened last night?’

‘In the sense
that you mean it, no. Harry’s discretion is to be trusted, Lizzie
has plainly drawn her own conclusions and my sister will do as
she’s told. Aside from yourself, there is no one else in this house
whose opinion matters a jot to me … and neither am I feeble enough
to be coerced. On the other hand, when Nemesis speaks, I
listen.’

‘I see. And you
are proposing, in effect, a marriage of convenience?’

‘Something of
the sort. Yes. I believe you might call it that – at least, for the
time being.’ He continued to regard her enigmatically. ‘I do not,
you will notice, expound on what I can offer you.’

‘No.’
Pale
blue silk and silver tissue
, she thought wildly. ‘No. It’s
self-evident, isn’t it? You can take me away from this house. That,
as I imagine you probably know, is a greater gift than I ever
expected to have.’

He replied with
the merest inclination of his head and waited. Silence yawned about
them and, finally, when she still did not speak, he said
courteously, ‘I am sorry to be importunate … but I really would
like an answer. Would it help if I went down on one knee?’

She shook her
head, incapable of either humour or her usual astringency.

‘Well, then,’
said Rockliffe. ‘If you could see your way clear to putting me out
of my misery, I would be more than grateful. I was rather hoping,
you see, that we might leave this place today.’

The aquamarine
eyes flew to meet his. ‘
Today
?’

‘Yes. I see no
reason to linger. Quite the reverse, in fact. And my valet is
already packing.’

‘Oh.’ Her hands
tightened on one another till the knuckles glowed white and she
made one last attempt to combat temptation. ‘Marriage to me will
relate you to Diana. You can’t want that.’

He sighed but a
glint of humour re-appeared in his face. He said, ‘I don’t. But,
unless you are planning to make a bosom friend of her, I believe I
can resign myself to it.’

A faint
answering smile touched her mouth.

‘Does nothing
at all about this worry you?’

‘No.’ He
circumnavigated the table to her side. Then, taking her hands, he
drew her to her feet and said, ‘We’ve talked enough for now, I
think. Look at me … and, if you feel you can’t live with me, say so
now.’

‘You – that is
unfair.’

‘
Do it
.’
His tone was still soft but unmistakeably magisterial.

Slowly, very
slowly, she looked up at him and drew a long, unsteady breath.
Then, smiling crookedly, she said, ‘I can’t, of course. It would be
a lie.’

‘So you’ll
marry me?’

She swallowed
hard and nodded.

‘Do you think
you could say it?’

She hesitated,
but only for a second. ‘Yes. If you truly wish it, I’ll marry
you.’

For perhaps the
space of a heart-beat, he continued to look at her with an
expression she was unable to interpret. Then, ‘Thank you. We may
now attend to the practicalities. But before we do …’ And, without
any warning whatsoever, he slid one hand around her waist and used
the other to lift her chin. Then his mouth found hers.

This time it
was no fleeting brush of the lips. This time, he took what he had
been wanting to take for a week; and Adeline, stunned as much by
the suddenness of it as by the feel of his body against hers, found
herself powerless to resist. As her hands crept up to grip his
shoulders, Rockliffe gathered her even closer and slid his fingers
into her hair. Her mouth was indescribably sweet and her response
little short of intoxicating; and it was that which made him forget
– since it was unlikely she’d ever been kissed before – that he had
meant to keep this first time lightly experimental and, instead,
deepen the kiss beyond the bounds of either sense or good
intentions. He had known he wanted her. Until this moment, he had
not known how much.

Drowning in
sensations that flooded her body with inexplicable heat, her pulse
pounding erratically and her breathing hopelessly disrupted,
Adeline simply dissolved against him. His kiss both enticed and
demanded, filling her senses to the exclusion of all else and
shrinking the world to the compass of his arms. The moment lasted
forever and ended too soon.

Slowly
releasing her, Rockliffe looked into eyes that were no longer
coolly composed but startled, confused and a little shy. Eyes that
belonged less to the woman she was now than to the girl she had
been eight years ago. ‘
Ah
,’ he thought. ‘
Yes. There
you
are
.’ And said lightly, ‘My apologies. That … went a
little further than I had intended. I will try, for a time at
least, not to make a habit of it.’

She looked back
at him, noticing the faint hint of colour touching his cheekbones
and the odd expression in his eyes. She supposed she ought to say
something but she didn’t know what. As if he understood, Rockliffe
raised one hand to gently caress her cheek with the back of his
curved fingers. Then, stepping away from her and becoming unusually
brisk, he said, ‘Pack only what you need for tonight – and bring
the remains of Lizzie’s dress. Then make your goodbyes.’

‘Is that all?’
she managed to ask. ‘Shouldn’t – shouldn’t I go and speak with my
aunt?’

‘No. That
pleasure,’ he replied with a sudden, sardonic smile, ‘will be all
mine.’

*

Having ejected
Mr Horton from the room and shut the door in his face, Rockliffe’s
interview with Lady Miriam was brief and to the point. He said,
‘Your niece has done me the honour to accept my hand in marriage.
We will return to London today and I shall arrange for the wedding
to take place as soon as possible. Since there will be no need for
you to put yourself to the inconvenience of attending the ceremony,
you may offer Adeline and myself your good wishes before we
leave.’

Her ladyship’s
expression indicated that she had numerous wishes she’d like to
offer but none of them were good. She said stiffly, ‘This is all
very sudden. I hope your Grace does not come to regret it.’

‘Your concern
is appreciated,’ came the smooth reply. Then, ‘I imagine that you
will be bringing your daughters to town for the season?’

‘I – yes. That
is certainly my intention.’

‘Of course.
Then perhaps you will accept a word of advice? As I imagine you are
already fully aware, it would be … inadvisable … to gossip about
the events of last evening since, if the true facts were to become
known, Mistress Diana is the one who would suffer most from
it.’

Lady Miriam’s
colour rose. ‘I doubt that very much.’

‘Your mistake,
then. I regret to say it – but your daughter’s behaviour reflects
very poorly on her upbringing and if she cannot learn to govern her
temper, her prospects are bleak. Also, neither you nor she should
rely on my sister’s continuing friendship since I would prefer Nell
not to acquire any of Diana’s other unfortunate habits. I trust I
make myself clear?’

‘You are
insulting, sir.’

‘That is not my
intention – though, in Diana’s case, one would have to admit that
it is hardly possible,’ he returned calmly. ‘There is just one
final thing. I shall expect my wife to be accorded the courtesy
that is her due. Anything less than that and I fear I may be a
trifle … annoyed.’

The threat was
veiled but it was there nonetheless. Left with nothing she could
usefully say, her ladyship merely inclined her head glacially.

‘I rejoice that
we understand each other,’ murmured Rockliffe. ‘All that remains,
then, is for me to thank you for your hospitality. I believe I may
truthfully say that my sojourn in your house has been one I shall
never forget.’

Adeline was
never to know what took place that day between Rockliffe and her
aunt. He did not tell her and neither did she ask. Her own
leave-taking was discreet in the extreme and had about it a curious
feeling of unreality. She did not see Diana; Lady Miriam was
frigidly polite and only Tom seemed to mind her going. Aside from
that, her sole and abiding recollection of the event was contained
in Richard Horton’s strangely satisfied smile.

Then they were
in the carriage, she and Nell and the Duke … and the unreality
persisted. Nell, who strongly objected both to her brother’s
decision to wed and her own enforced early departure, stared darkly
through the window and declined to talk. Adeline tried to think of
something to say that might help matters but eventually concluded
that her wits were still too scrambled to be relied upon and
abandoned the notion.

It should have
been a relief, therefore, when they arrived in St James’ Square –
but somehow it wasn’t. Adeline took one look, first at the majestic
porticoed entrance and then, past his Grace’s dignified butler, at
the exquisitely appointed hall beyond, and her nerve failed.

‘
My
God
!’ she thought feebly. ‘
What have I done
?’

Rockliffe drew
her hand through his arm.

‘Welcome,’ he
drawled, not without a hint of humour, ‘to Wynstanton House.
Something of a mausoleum, of course … but one does one’s poor
best.’

‘Yes. I can see
that,’ she responded, with as much acerbity as she could muster,
before somehow finding herself inside.

Nell had
already vanished – which could not be considered a hardship – so
when the Duke decreed that she herself should have dinner in her
room and go early to bed, it seemed a lot easier to acquiesce than
to point out the unlikelihood of her sleeping. So she did as he
asked, dined in solitary state on duck and green peas, climbed into
the vast splendour of the red silk bed … and knew nothing more
until morning.

The maid who
opened her curtains and brought the hot water offered to help her
dress. Adeline, accustomed to helping herself, sent her away. Half
an hour later, having asked for and received directions, she found
his Grace at breakfast with a round-faced young man whom he
introduced as Matthew Bennett, his secretary.

‘Matthew,’ he
told her, ‘is entrusted with the matter of arranging our wedding.
An onerous task but one which will not, I hope, tax him
unduly.’

Mr Bennett
grinned and rose, clutching a fistful of papers.

‘Much obliged,
sir! I’ll try not to let it. And may I just say that I wish you
both every happiness?’

‘You may – and
we thank you,’ replied Rockliffe lazily. And then, to Adeline,
‘Will the day after tomorrow suit you?’

Having resolved
to retain her composure at all costs, she kept her expression at
its most impervious and said, ‘Yes. Perfectly.’

‘You hear,
Matthew?’

‘Indeed, sir.
With your Grace’s permission, I’ll put things in train
immediately.’

‘By all means.
Ah – and just one thing more. On my bureau, you will find two
letters. The one to Lord Amberley, I require him to receive today;
the other, to Mr Ingram, will need to be with him by noon tomorrow
at the latest. You might, perhaps, send Fletcher with them. And …
er … Matthew?’

This, as Mr
Bennett showed visible signs of wishing to be gone.

‘Yes, your
Grace?’

‘I’ll need the
carriage at the door in half an hour,’ said Rockliffe.

The young man
left the room laughing.

‘You’re going
somewhere?’ asked Adeline.

‘Not I, my
dear. We,’ he corrected. ‘Yes. I’m taking you shopping.’

‘Oh.’ A tiny
frisson of excitement crept down her spine but she hid it, saying,
‘What about Lady Elinor?’

‘Nell is still
abed. I think we shall not disturb her.’ He rose from his chair.
‘And now I must leave you for a few minutes. So little time and so
much to do, you know. Ring the bell if you need anything - and I
will see you presently. Ah …’ He turned back, smiling faintly.
‘Have Lizzie’s dress put in a box and brought downstairs, would
you? We will need to take it with us.’ And was gone.

Adeline
indulged in a number of very natural reflections and summoned her
fortitude over two cups of coffee. Then she prepared to accompany
his Grace.

He took her
first to the Maison Phanie where Madame la Directrice was
discreetly informed that she was to have the honour of providing a
complete wardrobe for the future Duchess of Rockliffe. Madame
refrained from rubbing her hands together and, instead, adopted a
mood of brisk elation. Then, having scrutinised Adeline from head
to toe, she announced that – since Mademoiselle’s figure and
deportment were possessed of a certain elegance – it would be a
pleasure to create for her A Style.

Having agreed
that this was certainly desirable, Rockliffe then proceeded to take
a hand in the matter, approving some gowns, vetoing others and
suggesting alterations in style or fabric to yet more. Far from
being annoyed by this, Madame considered each of his remarks with
pursed lips before, more often than not, agreeing that his Grace
was perfectly right.

At the end of
two hours, Adeline had lost track of precisely how many gowns had
been ordered and in what materials; at the end of three, all she
remembered with any clarity was that Lizzie Pickering would
presently receive a copy of her ruined gown in bronze-green watered
silk. She herself had been parted from Lady Miriam’s grey polonaise
and arrayed in a pink and cream striped gown, hot from Madame’s
work-room. The carriage already held boxes containing garments of
every description – whose purpose, it appeared, was merely to equip
her suitably for the next few days; and a complete trousseau,
including the
pièce de
resistance
which would be her
bridal gown, was to follow in due course. Adeline contemplated the
probable cost of it all and felt faint. Rockliffe waved her qualms
aside and bore her off to buy some hats.