The Scandalous Duke Takes a Bride (11 page)

If Jessica hadn’t powdered her face to near white, all present would note that it burned hot red the instant he insinuated her being here in a different capacity with Hayden than a friend. Had this man seen them kissing?

She ducked her head. Hayden must have been as uncomfortable at being discovered as she, for his arm came around her shoulder, the position tucking her face down and aiding in the concealment of her identity.

“Should have figured you’d be here,” Hayden said with an air of boredom.

Hilliard puffed out his chest, so obviously full of pride by association with those at the house party this evening. “I’ve known the Malverns for what feels like forever. Just wanted to catch up with you”—he leaned in closer, lowering his voice—“to see if that matter we discussed had been dealt with.”

Hayden cleared his throat, his hand resting over his chest as he answered. “The results are promising.”

Was this a political association he had with this man or something more personal in nature? Their conversation was oddly cryptic. Suddenly she felt as though she knew Hayden less than she thought.

Hilliard patted Hayden on the arm and gave an approving nod. “I’ll let you get back to the rest of your night. Just wanted to ensure the information I gave you proved to be fruitful.”

Thankfully, the other man didn’t acknowledge her. As he disappeared around the corner Jessica looked at Hayden. “Whatever in the world was that about?”

“Nothing of importance.” He turned them toward the exit once again.

“It sounded like nothing I’d be interested to know until you forced that point.”

“Jessica, not now. We have bigger worries.”

“Yes, like the fact that you’ve just been discovered in attendance at a Malvern house party, and by one of the Malverns’ oldest friends. There may well be repercussions from our attendance. It won’t be long before it’s found that I was the lady on your arm all evening.”

And their kissing would probably be recalled by half the attendees. She massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Tonight, it seemed, had been more than she was ready to handle.

“No one will ever know it was you, Jess.”

She glared at him. Did he honestly think no one would put two and two together? Where Hayden went Jessica was often in attendance, and vice versa. This was turning out to be a nightmare.

“You’re mad if you believe that,” she said to him.

She walked away from him as their carriage came around the drive. Just as the footman gave her his hand in assistance, Hayden’s hands came around her waist possessively and lifted her up the stairs. He didn’t say a word as he climbed in after her. Once the carriage was moving away from the Malvern estate, he tore off his mask, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared back at her, silent and brooding.

And why should he be upset with her?

“What is it I’ve done wrong?” she asked.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. Though you could have told me what you planned right from the beginning.”

She freed the pins that held the ties of her mask in place. There was no sense remaining in costume now that their night had concluded. “Don’t turn this around on me, Hayden. Besides, it seems that I wasn’t the only one gathering information of some sort.”

Talk about cutting right to the heart of the issue. But it bothered her that Hayden knew one of her husband’s friends. That he had dealings with the man.

“Hilliard is well connected, and he had access to information that I needed for some business dealings.”

“I think you’re omitting information. Why don’t you want me to know about your association with Hilliard?”

“Because it was a very brief association, if you want to even call it that.”

“What would you call it?”

“He had information I needed. I offered an ear for a proposal he has for a parliamentary matter.”

She had a sneaking suspicion that this had everything to do with her. Or her husband. “What kind of information were you seeking?”

“Because you’ll not let this rest, I’ll tell you. He gave me Miller’s location, so I could have a conversation with the man.”

Her hairpins fell from her hands, chinking on the wooden floor of the carriage as she stared back at her friend, stunned. His answer was unexpected. “Why would you of all people require Miller’s whereabouts?”

“I will always look out for your welfare, Jessica. I wasn’t going to let that man roam about London freely with the means to harm your standing and reputation.”

Hayden’s expression was firm.

She narrowed her gaze. “What did you do?”

“I put him on a ship to Australia.”

“Why?”

“We both know it needed to be done.”

She swallowed against the lump of nerves suddenly clogging her throat. Did Hayden know the truth? He couldn’t. She tried harder to release the stupid ties that held her mask in place. Anything but focusing solely on the man in front of her. “What did Miller tell you?”

“Nothing much. Talking was … difficult for him.”

“You might think you sent him off for good, but he’ll come back.” She closed her eyes, thinking of the right questions to ask without revealing too much. “When did this happen?”

“A month ago. He can’t hurt you anymore, Jez.”

Oh, yes, he could. But she couldn’t tell Hayden that without revealing the secrets she wanted to keep buried. She would have to figure out how long it took for a ship to reach Australia and return to London. Miller would not be staying away from England long. And when he returned, he’d have a chip the size of Jez to rub off.

Now that she thought back on it, it was no wonder he hadn’t made an appearance in her life these past weeks. Foolishly she’d thought that her purchasing Miller’s chits and selling them to a man known for darker dealings in the seedier sections of London had been the reason for his disappearance. How naïve she was.

She tore at the knot keeping her mask in place. It didn’t budge.

Seeing her frustration, Hayden said, “Lean forward on the seat.”

She did as asked and turned her head to the side so he could see the mess she’d created in her rush to remove the mask. His hands were gentle, his breath moving tendrils of her hair near her ear.

While he worked on untying the mask questions about his action—and hers—hampered her mind heavily. Aside from worrying about Miller again, she had questions about Hayden’s actions tonight.

Why after all these years had he kissed her now? What had changed …

What a bloody fool she was. Hayden was a man with strong morals; of course he would never have pressed his suit while she was married.

Still, she would have to find some courage before she asked him why he’d done it tonight of all nights. And why he’d never revealed that his feelings for her were not platonic. Not in any sense of the word.

“There,” he said, pulling the mask away from her eyes and setting it on the seat next to her.

She rubbed at a tender spot on the bridge of her nose where the mask had dug into her skin.

“Hayden?” She leaned back against her seat, putting distance between them as she searched his eyes for the answers to the questions she didn’t want to ask. “About earlier—”

He leaned in close to her and pressed his finger against her lips to silence her questions. When she didn’t protest, he caressed his palm over the side of her cheek and jaw with a pensive look.

“There are a lot of things we need to discuss, but right now, we’re both tired and angry about the turn of events, so it’ll have to wait for a more opportune time.” His hand fell away as he sat back in his seat.

She pressed the tips of her fingers against her lips, still feeling a phantom touch of his mouth upon hers. Their relationship had changed the very moment he’d sequestered her in a private corner. Sure, they were still friends, but there would now be a tension between them that hadn’t existed previously.

And all for a kiss.

A deliciously dangerous kiss.

“How can you ignore what happened?” she whispered, half-hoping he hadn’t heard her query.

“I acted impulsively on something I’ve long desired to do, so I will not apologize for my actions.”

He was watching her actions, his gaze lingering where she touched her lips. She dropped her hand from her mouth and curled her fingers together in her lap. “No good can come of this, Hayden. Don’t jeopardize our friendship.”

“You’ve already advised me against that, and I’ve taken it to heart. Trust me when I say that our friendship has always been too precious to ever dare damage. And I will do everything in my power to protect it.”

He brushed one hand through his hair. And while it was normally pomaded to perfection without so much as a stray hair out of place, she noticed it was longer than usual and in disarray. In fact, it had been just so for a number of weeks now.

“You were always daring society to censure you, Jez. I’ve never seen you care about your reputation as much as you do now.”

She swore there was a measure of awe in his voice. She’d have laughed at any other occasion, since he’d been quite reckless and she had been the opposite. But tonight had been too trying on her nerves.

“I can’t deny I’ve lived life the way I wanted. But everything has changed.” She looked out the window, unable to face him for what she was about to say. “If anyone assumes that I’m your mistress, I will be locked out of society forever.”

He reached for her hands, clasped them, and pulled her over to sit next to him on the bench. “Don’t put such a crass word on what we have.”

“Whatever this was tonight…” She shook her head, unsure she believed the denials any more than he. “We can’t.”

She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince herself or him that this couldn’t happen between them. But she did know she needed to be able to rely on Hayden. But couldn’t she?

Now …

She was confused. Flustered. She hated this feeling.

“Jessica, if there’s one thing I’ve come to understand with perfect clarity in the near decade we’ve known each other, it’s that your heart is true where our friendship is concerned. I promise you that I will not endanger that for a moment of folly.”

What was he even saying? Did he regret his actions earlier? She shook off the momentary disappointment she felt when she realized that was the last thing he was telling her.

“Hayden—”

His hands entwined with hers and he held them up to the light that cascaded through the open blinds of the carriage window. “We’ll discuss the recourse of our actions tomorrow, Jess.”

A piece of her heart splintered inside her chest. She needed Hayden, of all people, to get her through the months to come. There was no one who knew her as well as he.

But there was no possibility of forgetting what had happened.

Everything had changed, she wanted to scream.

“I just want to forget what happened.”

“And I don’t wish any such thing.” There was something more than disappointment in his voice, and she’d been the one to put it there.

“I believe this might have been a little too much excitement for my first outing.”

He didn’t release her hand. She didn’t have the strength to argue with him further on this, nor did she wish to physically pull away. While they’d always shared a closeness with each other, it felt different now. Not precisely tainted, or wrong. Just different.

She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. She’d be home soon enough, and then she’d put the whole day behind her and start fresh tomorrow.

*   *   *

He didn’t regret their kiss. Not for one second. Though she might not believe it now, that first kiss had been the inevitable step they needed to take. There was nothing that would change his mind from that fact.

Kissing her had been the right thing to do.

Jez had fallen asleep half an hour ago. She was pressed up against his shoulder, her breaths soft against his neck with each exhalation. When they arrived at her house, he carried her up the stairs. It was late enough that no one would witness their late entry into her townhouse, though he entered through the back entrance where the garden was situated.

On their entering her house, the housekeeper met him in the kitchen. She was a bloody bull whenever he was here. Always had her eye on him. He knew it was because she adored her mistress, so he couldn’t blame her.

“Mrs. Harper,” he said cordially. “Imagine me finding you up at this hour; it’s a perfect opportunity to have you send someone ahead of me to light a fire in Your Ladyship’s rooms. The night has a nip of coolness in it, and I wouldn’t want Lady Fallon catching cold.”

“I can have someone assist, Your Grace.” She wasn’t referring to the fire he’d suggested. No, she wanted someone else to take Jessica up to her bedchamber. “You shouldn’t have to carry her up.”

“It’s fine that I take her, Mrs. Harper. Just have the fire set up.” He walked past her then, uncaring if he was invited or not into the household. Jessica wouldn’t refuse him even after everything that had happened between them tonight.

He didn’t stop and wait for permission, just carried on through the house and headed in the direction of Jessica’s bedchamber. It was still dark when he entered her room, so he’d arrived ahead of the maid. Not that it mattered; all he was doing was putting Jez to bed before he found his own way home and did the same. It had been a long night, with as much time spent in the carriage as at the party.