Pascale Duguay Read online

  “If, as you say, nothing happened, then that will not be an issue.”

  “But how will you manage to have an engagement party ready in time and guests invited on such short notice?”

  “It is short notice to be sure, but no one will want to miss the biggest surprise engagement of the season. I will find myself astonished if this party does not turn out to be a success. The ton is always eager to attend such events, especially as Patience is still an unknown and much mystery shrouds this affair.”

  His mother had covered all the angles, it seemed. Julius had run out of pretexts, if not to get out of marrying Patience, at least to postpone the engagement. Knowing there was nothing left to be said on the matter, he bowed himself out and escaped to his study to brood over recent events.

  He poured himself a drink and slumped in the leather chair behind his desk, turning to stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows giving onto the south lawns. His life used to be as well ordered as the immaculate scenery spread before him. Like Mitchell, his gardener, he had been the king of his domain: every blade of grass, every flower was in its place because he had allowed it. But it had taken only a little red-haired imp to turn his whole life upside down. An imp that could not remain still for more than a few seconds at a time; an imp that caused havoc wherever she went; an imp with an adorable dimple in her left cheek and devilishly alluring curves that would turn any sensible male mind to mush. And that same imp would drive him crazy within a se’nnight if he were to be married to her, which it seemed was exactly what would happen unless a miracle walked in right at this moment.

  The door to his study flew open, jerking the Earl out of his reveries.

  “Jule, best of good fellows, I knew I would find you here!”

  A tall young man in his early twenties strode into the room and fell onto the couch opposite Julius’ desk. A ray of sunlight fell onto his blond hair, turning it to gold. His expressive blue eyes were fringed with thick lashes more suited for a girl, but which fitted his cherubic features perfectly.

  “My dear Philip. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” asked Julius in a wooden voice.

  “Come now, Jule, do not put on these high airs with me! Do I need an excuse to visit my favourite cousin?”

  “As it is widely known that you do not like the country, it seems a bit unusual for you to come see me here, so far from London’s fashionable quarters.”

  Philip made a comical moue. “Had you returned to your town house when you were supposed to, I would not have felt obliged to endure the rigours of country life to see how fared my benefactor.”

  “May I infer by this that you are short of funds again, Philip?”

  “Not short precisely. Just in need of a greater sum than I currently have available!”

  “What is it this time? An opera dancer or a new curricle?”

  “Actually, it is a pair of matched bays. But I won’t tell you more as you would surely outbid me were you to lay eyes on such a perfect pair!”

  Julius unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk, removed a pile of bills and handed the lot to his ward.

  “Since I trust your judgement when it comes to horseflesh, I feel no qualms in handing these bills over to you. Who knows, I may even buy this fine pair off of you next time we meet.”

  Philip rose and took the bills.

  “I would not count on it, Julius! I do not intend to part with them for a long time to come! But now I must be off if I do not wish to have a march stolen on me. Charles Wilbury was very keen to get his hands on them also. That reminds me, Charles wished to know if ever I managed to find you, why you did not keep your appointment with him yesterday. I was surprised to hear that my saintly cousin could act so shabbily toward his best friend.”

  Julius had completely forgotten about his appointment with Charles. As there was nothing he could do about it now, he simply shrugged off his cousin’s comment. “You can tell him I ran into an unfortunate contretemps, and offer him my most sincere apologies.”

  Philip nodded, opened the door, took a step outside and stumbled into a soft body swathed in yellow muslin. Catching the damsel before she could fall to the floor, he helped her steady herself on her feet. He immediately withdrew his hands, though he did not move away from her and his surprised smile took on a more mischievous look.

  “Jule, you old dog, you never told me you had such a pretty creature within your walls. No wonder you’ve been holed up here for so long!”

  Julius watched as Patience lifted her eyes to the tall man beside her and smiled. His chest tightened at the charming picture they made. Quickly discarding the unwelcome feeling, he said, “Philip must you molest every pretty girl you meet? I am sure Miss Bingham no longer requires your excessive proximity.”

  Philip laughed before stepping back from the pretty girl in question and bowing elegantly over her hand.

  “Please, pardon my atrocious manners. My only excuse is that my senses deserted me as soon as I laid eyes on such beautiful features.” He gave a mischievous wink, causing Patience to giggle.

  “It is difficult to take offence at such a prettily worded speech. Your excuses are accepted, sir.”

  Philip did not take his gaze from her face, but spoke to Julius. “May I have the pleasure of an introduction, Julius? You cannot continue to leave me in suspense about the identity of this angel.”

  “This,” said Julius suddenly appearing at their side and taking back the hand that Philip was still holding, “is Miss Patience Bingham, a guest in my home, and as of very recently, my fiancée. Miss Bingham, please allow me to introduce Philip Rutherford, my cousin and ward.”

  “Your fiancée?” Philip finally looked away from Patience. “This is a surprise indeed!”

  “Yes, now didn’t you have urgent business to attend to, Philip?” asked Julius, waving him toward the door.

  “No, nothing that I cannot send my man to conclude in my stead. In fact, I believe that some country air would do me wonders at the moment. I think I will stay on for a while.”

  The Earl’s brows drew together in a forbidding line. He had enough on his plate already and was not in the mood for more. He could have done without his puppy of a cousin making a nuisance of himself as Julius was certain he would do. Knowing he would not leave unless forcibly thrown off the premises, however, he walked to the bell pull and rang for the butler.

  When the butler appeared Julius said, “Simmons, please show Mister Rutherford to his usual quarters and make sure his belongings are unpacked to his satisfaction. We will see you later at luncheon, Philip.”

  “May I interpret this to mean that I am dismissed?”

  “You have interpreted me correctly.”

  “Then I will bid you au revoir, Miss Bingham. I look forward to meeting you again later.” Philip bowed and gave her another mischievous wink before straightening up and walking away with a jaunty step.

  Julius closed the door on his impudent cousin. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should be grateful for the lad’s presence at this time. His flirting nature and good looks might be just what he needed to get him out of this unwanted marriage. He would have to give it more consideration, but first he needed to deal with this new interruption.

  He turned to Patience. “Was there something you wished to see me about, Miss Bingham?”

  “I wanted to know whether you were aware that an engagement party was to take place this Thursday.”

  “If by that you are referring to ‘our’ engagement party, then yes, I am very well aware of it.”

  “I thought that as neither of us wishes to be married to the other, surely we could come up with a plan to stop this before it goes too far. Once our engagement is announced, this will be much more difficult to accomplish. We only have a few days, so we must act quickly.”

  Julius raised an eyebrow at this little speech. After their encounter in the breakfast room that morning, did she still think he was fool enough to believe she would not wish to marry him? No femal
e in her right mind would refuse his offer of marriage, especially a Bingham. What did she think to accomplish by pretending otherwise?

  “Why, have you come up with another fantastic story to bamboozle Society this time? Your lies did not get you far with simple country folk. I sincerely doubt they will be effective on a grander scale.”

  At these words, her conciliating tone was suddenly replaced with anger. “If you had not meddled in my affairs, I would be safely with my aunt at the moment preparing to enjoy my first come out! All I asked of you was to drive me to the Blue Boar. If you had let me go as soon as we got there, I would not have missed the coach, suffered the advances of that lewd innkeeper, been waylaid by a highwayman, flung out of your curricle, and ended up having to nurse the most disagreeable man it has ever been my misfortune to meet!”

  “Nor would you have ended up being caught sharing a bed with me.”

  With my hands on your breasts, he added silently.

  But his unspoken words seemed to resonate between them as he stared at her flushed cheeks then lowered his gaze to her heaving bosom.

  “Lord Rutherford,” Patience ground out with much effort. “I did not come here to fight with you or to be insulted. I merely wished to find a way out of this unbearable predicament.”

  “Well, had I hit on a solution, you would have been the first advised. So unless you have come up with a brilliant scheme, we are back where we started.”

  Patience sighed. “No, I have not come up with anything yet either, but you may be sure I will keep striving.”

  “I am glad to hear it. Now since I think best when I am alone, I would appreciate some solitude.”

  Patience rose to her feet. “Certainly. I will not inconvenience you any further.”

  If that could only be the case, Julius thought as she flounced out of the room.

  Chapter Eight

  “Any word from that stray daughter of yours yet?” Sir Rupert barked as his long-time friend and neighbour strode into his library, a large smile pasted on his handsome face.

  “Must you ask? Did I not make it clear last time we parted that I would not set foot here again until I had found her?”

  Sir Rupert uttered an ineligible grunt, thinking it best not to bring up the quarrel that had sprung up at their last meeting when both men had blamed the other profusely for the chit’s disappearance. How the devil was he to know the girl had been running away? Bingham should have had the girl under lock and key instead of blaming the whole on his head.

  “The post finally brought news of her whereabouts!” Lord Bingham continued. “My sister wrote to say Patience had joined her at Lady Rutherford’s. I should have guessed as much!”

  “Good, all is not lost then. Just fetch the chit home and we’ll go on as planned.”

  “I’m afraid it won’t be as simple as that. It seems she has fallen in the eye of the Earl. An engagement party is to be held this Thursday.”

  “Good God! Mark my word, something havey-cavey is afoot. No earl gets engaged to a chit one week after meeting her!”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “So do you intend to let Rutherford have the dowry, after all?”

  “What! And be obliged to sponge off him for the rest of my days? I think not! I used to know his father, a real hard goer at the tables. But the son is nothing like him. Scorns all forms of gaming like the plague. I do not think we would get on well at all.”

  “If the lad’s set against gamesters, then you are better off with me for a son-in-law, hey?” Sir Rupert let out a mirthless laugh. “What do you mean to do then?”

  “Get Patience back, of course! But we must act quickly. After the ball, my sister wants to take her to London soon after to introduce her into Society. The wedding is to be held a month hence.

  “When does the girl turn twenty-one?”

  “On the day of the wedding. We do not have a moment to lose. It will be much harder to abduct her in London. I suggest we do so before the ball, which leaves us with only four days to act.”

  “Do you expect any trouble from the Earl once we get your girl back?”

  “That is the least of my concern. We will have the knot tied quickly enough and there is nothing Rutherford will be able to do about it once it is done. For all we know, he will be right glad to be rid of the girl!”

  The Earl sat brooding at his desk. The sun shone brightly while the birds chirped happily amongst the foliage, the perfect day to be strolling about in the gardens with a pretty lady’s hand resting on one’s arm. Julius watched as Philip pointed various varieties of plants to Miss Bingham’s attention, all the while steering her toward one of the more secluded paths. Patience suddenly laughed at something his cousin said, the tinkling sound drifting in through the open study windows. The two were getting along famously, it seemed. In the short time since his cousin had arrived, there did not seem to be a moment when Philip was not entertaining his fiancée. As much as Julius disliked the term, that was exactly what Patience was, yet she could not have appeared less so.

  Julius had never heard Patience raise her voice at Philip. She was all friendliness.

  A good deal too friendly, he thought, as he watched Patience playfully swat his cousin’s hand. But Patience acted like a totally different person in his own presence. They could never meet without their polite if somewhat stilted conversation turning into an argument. Granted, if Patience had been trapped into marrying his cousin as she claimed was the case with him, she might not be acting so carefree at this very moment.

  Or would she?

  What would it be like to be able to flirt with Patience?

  He suddenly bolted out of his chair. Flirting? Was that what these two were doing?

  Julius started pacing the room. Wasn’t that what he had hoped would happen? He certainly did not want to be leg-shackled to such a girl for the rest of his life. He would never have a moment’s peace. But Philip was not the answer. For one, he would make the devil of a husband. He could not imagine his cousin giving up his racketing ways, at least not for some time yet. He was too young and too irresponsible to take care of a wife and family. And Patience was certainly not the kind of girl who would incite him to change his ways. Quite the contrary! No matter what he may have thought before, Julius could see clearly now that it was his duty to save Philip from such a fate.

  Walking back to the window, he noticed the couple had disappeared. Turning on his heels, he strode out of his study toward the door leading to the garden.

  “What am I doing?” he mumbled to himself. “It is nothing to me if Philip decides to go after Patience. But I’ll be damned if I let him do so under my own roof!”

  “Julius,” called his mother as he was about to march out of the house, “have you seen Patience?”

  He checked on the threshold, and turned to answer her. “The last I saw of her, she was taking a stroll in the gardens,” he replied nonchalantly, as though Patience had been far from his thoughts.

  “Since you seem to be heading in that direction, would you be so kind as to fetch her for me? The seamstress has arrived from London. We will finally be able to start work on her ball gown.”

  “With pleasure, Mother.” He bowed and continued out the door. At least he now had an adequate excuse to go after Patience.

  Julius had guessed correctly, it seemed, for he found the couple down the secluded path. They were seated on a wooden bench, their heads close together as Philip attempted to remove a leaf stuck in the lady’s hair. Both looked up at the sound of his approaching footsteps on the gravelled path.

  “There you are, Patience. Mother is looking for you. She has charged me with bringing you back to the house. A seamstress has arrived and is awaiting your pleasure.”

  “Of course. I would not want to keep Lady Rutherford waiting. She has much to do with the coming ball,” replied Patience before turning to Philip. “Thank you for this charming walk, sir.”

  “The pleasure was all mine,” Philip said, giving her o
ne of his famous winks.

  “Shall we?” asked Julius, offering Patience his arm while glowering at Philip.

  Once they were out of earshot, Julius spoke up somewhat more harshly than he had intended. “It is not seemly for you to be seen so much in my cousin’s company.”

  “As he is your cousin, I had not thought it improper.”

  “What is improper is for him to be touching you at every opportunity.”

  Her hand stiffened on his arm. “His actions have been nothing but gentlemanly, my lord!”

  “As I doubt you have been much in the company of gentlemen, especially of my cousin’s stamp, I would not expect you to know much about the matter. Unless of course, your aim is to entice my cousin into falling in love with you. Are you hoping for an elopement, perhaps? If so, I must point out to you that although he will be a very rich man when he comes into his fortune, that will not be until he reaches the age of twenty-five. As this will not be for another two years, I doubt it would meet with your father’s approval. Gamesters can rarely afford the wait, especially when they happen to have pressing debts.”

  Patience gasped and stopped short to face Julius, her green eyes blazing with anger. “How dare you utter such contemptible, odious remarks?”

  “I dare because as we are still betrothed, it is my right to know what is going on in that pretty head of yours. Your actions will perforce reflect on me.”

  “If that is what is troubling you, you may put your mind at rest. I have no designs on your cousin. Although, I am sure it would be much more enjoyable to be married to him than you!”

  A wave of fury washed over Julius. He reached out and crushed her to his chest, tightening his arms about her. When she opened her mouth to protest, he ruthlessly crushed her lips with his own. As she pushed to free herself, his tongue sneaked inside her mouth, surprising her into stillness. Without warning, her tongue instinctively responded of its own accord meeting him thrust for thrust.