Mishap Marriage (16 page)

She shook her head dejectedly. ‘No. I—I’m rather tired and...’

‘Did you meet Lord Harcourt?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you told him?’

‘That we are properly married—yes.’

‘How did he react?’

She shrugged. ‘As I expected. He was shocked—angry. He believes I colluded with Antony to deceive him. I asked him for an annulment, Thomas. A marriage cannot be built on such rocky foundations.’

‘What did he say?’

‘He refused to give me one.’

‘I see. Why did he not escort you home?’

‘Because I didn’t tell him I was leaving. When I saw him go out on to the terrace with Lady Donnington, I thought it was time to go.’ She sighed, giving him an affectionate peck on the cheek before turning to the stairs. ‘I’m sorry, Thomas. Forgive me, but I must go to bed.’

Thomas watched her climb the stairs. He was burdened with guilt. Had he not listened to Antony and believed the marriage was what Shona wanted, she would not be in this unhappy state.

* * *

Returning to the ballroom and finding Shona had left without a word, Zack was at a loss to know what to do about the unholy mess in which he found himself. He had just made arrangements with Caroline to take Victoria on an outing in a few days’ time and now, with his pride and his passions waging a terrible internal war, Zack spent what was left of the night in an exclusive gambling club in St James’s, drinking brandy, playing cards and losing. Feeling plagued by one woman in particular, he emphatically declined the feminine company so willingly offered to him.

* * *

At dawn, when he finally returned to his brother’s town house where he was presently residing, he threw himself into bed and for a short time was able to forget Shona McKenzie-Fitzgerald.

His wife.

* * *

‘Who is Lady Caroline Donnington, Aunt Augusta?’ Shona asked as she swept into her aunt’s bedchamber the morning after the ball, showing no trace of the troubled night she had spent worrying over Zack’s relationship with Lady Donnington.

Having her breakfast in bed, as she was in the habit of doing after a late night, Augusta glanced up at her niece and smiled. ‘My, my, Shona! You look disgustingly bright this morning. I trust your headache is better.’

Shona smiled. ‘Much better. Were you late home?’

‘Not really. I went to the card room to watch a rather interesting game of piquet. Dear me...’ she sighed, buttering a thin piece of bread ‘...Lord Griffith lost a monumental sum of money to Sir Mark Sedgefield, which he can ill afford.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Shona said, sitting on the edge of a chair beside the bed. ‘But you haven’t answered my question.’

‘Didn’t I? What was that, dear?’ Augusta murmured rather absently as she spooned a generous helping of strawberry jam on to her bread.

‘Lady Caroline Donnington? Are you acquainted with her?’

‘Not personally, but I know
of
her. She was married to Lord Donnington. He was an old man when she married him. I believe she was reluctant to enter into it, but he was terribly wealthy and it was what her disgustingly ambitious parents wanted so they pushed her into it. She was such a shy little thing then. She had a child, I believe—although it’s doubtful Donnington was the father. There was talk that she took a lover while her husband was on his deathbed. As a consequence, he didn’t leave her as well off as she expected to be when he died.’

‘And how long has she been a widow?’

‘About two years—and she’s certainly come out of her shell since. Her closeness to Lord Byrne—her husband’s heir—has been duly noted. I didn’t have the pleasure of conversing properly with Lord Harcourt last night by the way. I’m impatient for him to call. When he enquired after you and I told him you had left the ball, I could swear he looked fit to commit murder.’

* * *

It wasn’t difficult for Thomas to locate where Lord Harcourt was staying. Arriving at the house, he was shown into a spacious, panelled library where Lord Harcourt was standing. The two men stood facing each other, Zack looking far more ominous than amiable. Thomas seemed unconcerned with the tangible danger emanating from Lord Harcourt. In fact, he appeared relieved that the confrontation was happening at last.

Zack acknowledged Thomas with a sardonic, questioning look. ‘So we meet again,
Reverend
Franklyn. I think you have some explaining to do. Shall we indulge in polite trivialities for the next couple of minutes, or shall we come directly to the point?’

‘I am sure Shona explained the situation precisely when you met last night. Before we go any further, you should know that she has no idea that I have come here. She would have been against it. I have to try to right the wrong my cousin inflicted on you. Yet the fact cannot be overlooked that both you and my cousin Antony resorted to dishonest practices in order to find a resourceful solution to a difficult situation.’

Zack’s eyes were brittle, his tone ironic. ‘And your own involvement was without reproach?’

‘No, it was not. As far as you and Shona are concerned, I can confirm that you are indeed man and wife. The papers you signed are genuine. If you do not wish to remain married to each other, then you must seek a divorce. I am not proud of what I did. Indeed, I’ve had time to regret my actions.’

‘A man in your position should be beyond corruption.’

‘I agree. It was a mistake—a huge mistake. I deeply regret allowing Antony to play me for a fool. What I did, I did for Shona. I knew how unhappy she was on the island and that her presence at Melrose Hill with Carmelita had become unbearable. According to Antony she was not averse to you. Determined to abide by his father’s wishes, he would not allow her to leave Santamaria without the protection of a husband. I only agreed to go through with the ceremony because I thought it was what Shona wanted. I had no idea Antony was deceiving Shona as well as me.’

‘And you expect me to believe this?’

‘Your own actions could be held up for question. You are not entirely blameless. When you decided to play Antony at his own game, you entered into an arrangement devoid of honour and didn’t care about the hurt it would cause Shona.’

‘Because I believed she was part of the deception.’

‘She wasn’t. She really had no idea of the scheming going on behind her back. When she was made aware of the facts she was devastated. Believe me when I say that she was innocent of any wrongdoing.’

A pair of silver-grey eyes held his captive, measuring his response, judging it for truth.

Zack drew a long breath and nodded slightly, his expression no longer coldly forbidding. ‘I know that now.’

‘You do?’

‘Absolutely. It wrenches my gut to think that I took part in something so despicable.’ Regret surged upwards within him and was so intense he was nearly taken aback by surprise. ‘Because I thought she’d tricked me so artfully, damaging both my ego and my pride, I insulted her by treating her as if she had. When I hatched my plan to deceive her, I never dreamed I would come to care so deeply for her. I treated her abominably. She deserved better from me.’

‘You feel no worse than I do,’ Thomas said. ‘I think I should tell you that I’ve decided to leave the church.’

‘Over this?’

Thomas shook his head. ‘There are many reasons too numerous to go into just now. Suffice to say that I’ve been battling with my conscience for some time. You might say that circumstances on Santamaria forced my hand. But what now? I believe Shona has asked for an annulment.’

‘There will be no annulment. I have made Shona aware of this. However, things are still rather complicated, I admit.’

‘I’m happy to hear it. You must speak with her. At this present time she’s at a pretty low point. Her pride has taken a battering, too. Go to her.’

Knowing that as each moment passed, Shona’s hurt and anger would be hardening into hatred, naked pain flashed across Zack’s handsome features. ‘I’m on my way.’

* * *

It was one o’clock when Zack arrived to see Shona. She had just come in from the garden and gone to her room to refresh herself when Morag informed her that her husband had just arrived. Crossing to the window, she looked out and, sure enough, an ornate, shining black coach and four was outside her aunt’s villa, the fine black horses tossing their heads, as if they had borne the devil to his destination.

With her heart in her throat Shona eventually entered her aunt’s stately drawing room. On seeing Zack, she quivered, half with a spurt of apprehension about how he would react and half with relief that he had cared enough to come. As always, he was every bit as imposing in his dark, brooding way, a man any woman would be proud to call her husband—or lover. With clenched hands, she fought the memory that thought aroused. She didn’t like to remember the night she had thought he was her husband and welcomed him into her bed as a bride. Sometimes she forgot the terribly wanton things they’d done, the pleasures they’d shared without the final act. And then a mere glimpse of him, the sound of his voice, would send them rushing back again.

With one of his long legs crossed over the other, he was in conversation with her aunt, apparently friends already. Shona could see that her aunt, arranged in elegant perfection on a graceful Egyptian-style couch with
The Morning Post
on her lap, was savouring every moment, positively eating up Zack’s attention. The deep, velvet rumble of his cultured baritone made her stomach flutter.

She hadn’t expected him to just turn up at the house like this—but then she hadn’t known what to expect from him. Zack was a law unto himself. He was no foppish, romantic young gallant. With his jaw set with implacable determination, even in pensive pose he seemed to emanate the restrained power and unyielding authority she had always sensed in him.

Zack stood up the moment Shona entered. Their gazes locked—a tremor ran the entire length of Shona’s body. As he approached her, she was filled with a disturbing surge of lust for him, despite her anger and hurt and her general desire to throttle the man.

‘Here she is!’ Augusta said sweetly.

Shona held her breath, her eyes wary the closer he came. He was looking every inch the handsome, elegant lord today, with his blue coat and darker blue trousers, his striped blue-and-silver waistcoat and his immaculate white linen, and it was clear by the admiring face of her aunt and the way she patted her hair and straightened her gown that she was quite overwhelmed.

He is no doubt accustomed to this sort of feminine reaction everywhere he goes,
Shona thought wryly. Well, he might have fooled her aunt with that smooth charm of his, but she saw through this shrewd puppet master who was determined to control her now he’d decided not to set her free.

‘Hello, Shona,’ he greeted her, his silver-grey eyes aglow, a slight smile on his lips, with no sign of his fury of the night before.

He looked so pleased with himself, she thought. She smiled at him with an aloof lift of her chin as he bent and kissed her cheek, reproach shooting from her eyes. She refused to shrink from his touch and the intensity of his gaze, but the scent of his flesh lingered.

Augusta beamed from her chair. ‘There now,’ she enthused, ‘this is so agreeable. Ring the bell for tea, Shona.’ But before her niece could move to do her bidding, Zack protested.

‘No, please, do not trouble yourself on my account,’ he said. ‘I will not trespass on your time too long. I wanted to see Shona, but I also wished to pay my respects to you, Lady Franklyn—and your son Thomas.’

‘I am delighted to receive you. Unfortunately, Thomas is not at home at present, Lord Harcourt, but I know he will regret having missed you.’ So taken was she with her visitor that she was unaware of the powerful currents of tension that passed between Shona and her husband at the mention of her son’s name. ‘I have to say what a perfectly beautiful couple you make!’

‘It’s kind of you to say so, Lady Franklyn,’ Zack said, not looking away from Shona.

‘Isn’t it just?’ Shona retorted for his ears alone, her look telling him that nothing had changed.

Zack took one look at her and saw he had some making up to do. His young wife was not the expert that he was at hiding her feelings—what he read in her face told him that she was still furious because he refused to grant her her freedom. So he would have to pacify her and help her see the wisdom of their marriage. Being rather skilled at compartmentalising different areas of his life, he was able to put the difficulties this would pose with Caroline and his daughter aside for the moment. Now he’d had time to get used to the idea of being married to Shona—of wanting her to be his wife—in his mind he had already begun to think of her as his. Strangely, any objection on her part merely strengthened his resolve.

When he had last seen her, she had been a radiant star in a shimmering gown of silver lace, almost untouchable in her pristine elegance, but today she was as warm as the sun. In a state of unpretentious loveliness she was demure in her floral-printed day dress, with three-quarter sleeves edged with lace and a white fichu tucked into the neckline. The sunlight, streaming in through the window behind her, illuminated her thick mane of golden hair, which hung free about her shoulders and was held back from her face with a simple pink ribbon.

Keeping a firm check on his desire, Zack smiled at her and took a step back.

‘I did not expect you to call so soon,’ Shona remarked. ‘You find me unprepared for visitors.’

‘I am no ordinary visitor, Shona.’ He gave her a confident smile. ‘I recall you telling me not to take too long in calling on you.’

‘Did I?’ she replied briskly, wishing he would leave, knowing he was not here to make idle chit-chat. ‘I don’t remember.’

‘And I am no ordinary visitor.’

Her cheeks flushed suddenly. ‘No, you’re not.’

‘My dear Shona.’ He took both her hands between his own and gazed soberly into her eyes. ‘It’s a pleasant afternoon and I have my carriage outside. I want you to come for a ride with me.’

He didn’t ask, he stated, Shona noted angrily. ‘I don’t think—’

‘Oh, but you must, Shona,’ Augusta said. ‘A ride in the park is just what you need. It’s too fine a day for you to remain cooped up indoors. Now run along and get your bonnet. I will entertain Lord Harcourt while you are gone.’