“You have the nerve to ask me that? After what has happened tonight?” He peeled off her waistcoat and shirt, seeming not to notice her bare breasts in the shadows. He was too busy trying to stuff her into her gown.
“Be careful or you’ll tear my gown.” She thrust her arms through the small sleeves. “I really wish you wouldn’t yell at me just now. I have had a most upsetting evening.”
“Your evening has not been any more upsetting than mine, and I would like to point out that I am not yelling at you now. I will save that for when we are in the privacy of our own home. Good God, we forgot your petticoat.”
“Never mind. No one will know I am not wearing it.”
“I will know it. I am not about to let you go back into Lady Atherton’s ballroom without a petticoat.”
“Yes, dear.” She struggled obligingly with the petticoat. “Lucas, I was so worried about you tonight.”
“How do you think I felt when I saw you get out of the carriage in front of the Green Pig. You would have been in no danger if you had done as you were told. Here we are. Put on your cloak.”
She slid her feet into her slippers and pulled the hood of the cloak over her head. The next thing she knew, Lucas was opening the carriage door and hurrying her out onto the street.
A few minutes later he led her back into the alley outside the Athertons’ garden wall.
“I will go first.” Lucas found a toehold and hauled himself up to the top of the wall. Then he leaned down to pull Victoria up beside him. “I think breeches are a better idea for climbing walls,” he muttered as her skirt hiked up above her knees.
They dropped down onto the graveled walk on the other side. Lucas rubbed his leg and glanced around the dark, empty corner of the gardens.
“The worst is over,” he announced. “If we are seen now, the most anyone can say is that the Earl of Stonevale was dallying with his bride in the darkest section of the garden. Not exactly proper, but hardly scandalous. Let’s get back into the house.”
Victoria ran a hand through her short curls, brushed a few creases out of her skirts, and put her gloved fingertips on her husband’s proffered arm in a graceful gesture. She could not repress a small grin as he walked her back toward the lights and laughter of the crowded ballroom.
“There is nothing funny about this, Vicky.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I ought to paddle your backside,” he said.
“Yes, my lord.”
“You have implied before now that I have turned into a conservative prig of a husband, but by God, madam, you have not seen anything yet. Henceforth I intend to show you just what a conservative prig I can be.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Before Lucas could utter further threats, a familiar figure caught sight of them from the terrace.
“Oh, there you are, Vicky,” Annabella Lyndwood called cheerfully. “Enjoying the gardens, I see. I want you to meet Lord Shipton. Bertie says there’s a chance he will be offering for me one of these days and naturally I wanted to get your opinion on the man.”
“My wife is no longer in the business of hiring runners to investigate her friends’ marriage prospects,” Lucas said. “She has decided that the time has come for her to start acting in a more refined, conventional fashion.”
“Oh, dear,” said Annabella. “Are you hoping to turn her into another Jessica Atherton or a Perfect Miss Pilkington? How depressing.”
“Yes, Lucas,” Victoria asked, turning innocent eyes up to meet his grim expression. “Would you like me to model my behavior after that of Lady Atherton or Miss Pilkington?”
“I don’t believe we need go quite that far,” Lucas muttered. “If you two ladies will please excuse me, I believe I see Tottingham standing with Lady Nettleship. I want to see if he has read anything interesting lately on manure. For some reason the subject is uppermost in my mind tonight.”
Victoria watched Lucas saunter into the ballroom and then she turned to smile at Annabella.
“Lovely party, isn’t it?” Victoria remarked as she removed her cloak and started toward the open windows.
Annabella grinned. “Lovely. But, then, one can always depend upon Lady Atherton to give the perfect soirée. And I think if we are very careful to stay close together once we are inside, I can arrange for the skirts of my gown to hide the dirt stains on yours.”
Three hours later Victoria sat on her dressing-table chair and watched her husband pace back and forth in front of her. She had never seen him this angry. His voice was low and dangerous and his mood was precarious. It was clear that he had been pushed as far as he intended to be pushed tonight.
“Why in God’s name did you fail to follow orders, Vicky? Answer me that, if you can. I told you not to leave the ballroom under any conditions. But no, you could not be bothered to obey a few simple instructions designed to protect you. You must go gallivanting off into the night at the first opportunity.”
Victoria frowned. “What could I do after I got that note saying you were in danger?”
“You could have done as you had been told, that’s what you could have done.”
“Would you have stayed behind in the ballroom after getting such a note?” Victoria said in an effort to defuse his anger.
“That is beside the point. You should never have left Jessica Atherton’s house alone and you know it.”
“I am sorry, Lucas, but I must tell you in all honesty that if I had it to do over again, I would do it exactly the same way.”
“And that’s another point. For a supposedly intelligent woman, you do not seem to learn much from your mistakes. As soon as one adventure is concluded nothing will do but for you to start looking forward to the next. Well, I have news for you, Vicky. You have climbed your last garden wall.”
“Please, do not make rash statements now in the heat of anger, sir. Give yourself a chance to cool down. By tomorrow I am certain you will see that I acted in a reasonable manner, given the circumstances.”
“Your idea of a reasonable manner is totally opposite from my own.”
“I do not believe that, Lucas, not entirely. I know I am too headstrong as far as you are concerned and that you think me rash on occasion, but—”
“On occasion?” He rounded on her with an incredulous glance. “More like ninety percent of the time, madam.”
“Really, my lord. Surely I am not such a bad wife?”
He stalked past her. “I did not say you were a bad wife. You are a disobedient, wayward, reckless wife who will almost certainly wear me out before my time if I do not teach you some respect for your poor, harried husband.”
“I do respect you, Lucas,” she said very earnestly. “I have always respected you. I do not always approve of your actions and sometimes you annoy me no end, but be assured I have the greatest respect for you.”
“Yes, you find me tolerable, do you not?”
“For the most part.”
“That is, of course, vastly reassuring,” Lucas said through his teeth as he turned and stalked back across the room. “I shall remind myself that you have the greatest respect for me and that you find me tolerable the next time you willfully defy me.”
“I have never actually willfully defied you, my lord.”
“Is that right?” He swung around and came back to her, stopping directly in front of her. “What about what you did tonight? Was not that an act of defiance? Of disobedience?”
Victoria straightened in her chair. “Well, I suppose it could be viewed as such if one were to put the worst possible construction on my behavior, but I never meant—”
At least have the grace to admit you did it because you loved me.”
Victoria’s eyes flew to his and a great stillness descended on the bedchamber. She hesitated a moment, cleared her throat delicately, and nodded. “You are quite right, my lord. That is, of course, precisely why I did it.”
“My God, I don’t believe it.” Lucas looked stunned for a moment and then he reached dow
n and hauled her to her feet. “Say it, Vicky. After all I have been through tonight, I deserve to have the words at last.”
She smiled tremulously. “I love you. I have loved you since the beginning. Probably since the night we met at Jessica Atherton’s party.”
“That was the real reason you rushed off to rescue me tonight, the real reason you would not allow me to kill Lady Rycott as she deserved. You love me.” He tightened his arms around her, crushing her close. “My dearest wife. I have waited so long to hear you say that. I thought I would go out of my mind waiting.”
“Do you think there will ever come a time when you will be able to say those words to me, Lucas?” Her voice was muffled against his dressing gown.
“Dear God, I love you, Vicky. I think I knew it the night I took you to that inn and made love to you. I certainly knew then I would never desire another woman the way I desired you. But everything went to hell the next day when I walked into the conservatory and realized Jessica Atherton had told you why she had introduced us. All I could think of was that she had cost me far more than she would ever realize. I wanted to lash out at anyone and everyone. I knew you would never believe I loved you after that.”
“I was not in a mood to hear a declaration of love just then. But you could have told me later, Lucas.”
“Later you were too busy telling me that you would graciously condescend to form a business association with me. You made such a point of painting our relationship as a partnership that I grew desperate. The only thing that gave me hope in my darkest moments was the fact that you never removed the amber pendant.”
She looked briefly startled. “The pendant? I never removed it because there were times when it was the only thing that gave me hope.”
“’Tis your own fault for being so stubborn,” Lucas said.
Victoria fingered the pendant around her neck. “You could hardly expect me to tell you I was in love with you after learning you had married me for my money. Besides, you were very busy letting me know that you were not about to give an inch lest I take advantage of your good nature and try to manipulate and control you. You wanted my surrender, Lucas.”
“I may love you to distraction, my dear, but I also understand you, at least somewhat. You would not have been above using any leverage you could get in our small war and I could hardly have blamed you for doing so. You have my utmost respect as an opponent, but I would much rather have you as a loving wife, Vicky.”
“Very nicely put, my lord.” She hugged him fiercely. “Oh, Lucas, I do love you so.”
Lucas kissed her warmly. “And while we are on the subject, there is another point I would like to clear up. I did not marry you for your money. I started courting you for it, I’ll admit, but I wound up marrying you because I could not imagine being wedded to anyone else. Good God, woman, I had to be in love with you. Why else would I have gotten myself leg-shackled to a female who was almost certain to turn my life into a series of near disasters?”
“I suppose that’s true enough. Let us not forget you did have a choice. There was always the Perfect Miss Pilkington to whom you could have turned in a pinch.”
He shook her gently. “Are you laughing at me, wench?”
“Never. I would not dream of laughing at my husband. I have nothing but the highest respect for him.” She lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes sparkling. “Does this mean you are going to cease reproaching me for my actions tonight?”
“Do not look so pleased with yourself, madam. I have not finished with you yet.”
“Really? What is next? Will you have me hauled before a court-martial? Shall I be stripped of my rank and privileges?”
“I think,” Lucas said, “I will simply take you to bed and strip you of your nightclothes. Then I shall make love to you until you have been brought to a full realization of your erring ways.”
Victoria put her arms around his neck as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. She smiled up at him through her lashes. “That sounds delightful.”
His laugh was husky with passion as he settled her down onto the turned-back bed. “As usual, we are very much in accord in this area of our marriage.”
He removed his dressing gown and came down beside her, already fully aroused. He fumbled briefly with her nightclothes and then he tugged her down across his body. The amber pendant dangled from her throat, brushing the crisp hair of his chest.
“Tell me again that you love me, Vicky.”
“I love you. I shall love you always.” She cradled his head between her palms and kissed him with all the emotion that was in her heart. “You are the only man on this earth I could have married. What other man would discuss the merits of manure with me during the day and climb my garden wall at midnight to take me to a gaming hell? You are unique, Lucas. Now tell me again that you did not marry me entirely for my fortune.”
His hands tightened on the back of her head as he brought her mouth close to his once more. “It does not really matter why I married you, my Amber Lady. I am so deeply enmeshed in your coils now that I will never be free. I love you, Vicky. I will put up with any amount of wall climbing, ledge crawling, or midnight adventuring if you will just give me your word that you will love me for the rest of your life.”
“You have my most solemn vow, my lord.”
She no longer saw ghosts in his eyes, Victoria realized as she gave herself up to his kiss, only moonlight and love, and a passion that would last a lifetime.
Lucas woke once during the night, aware of a familiar ache in his leg. He thought about getting up for a glass of port, but before he could slide out of bed Victoria put her hand on his thigh and began to massage it gently. Lucas closed his eyes again and a moment later he was asleep.
The following spring Lucas went in search of his wife. He found her, as usual, in the conservatory, where she was working on a painting of an odd little lily she had just recently received from America.
She had returned to her watercolors immediately upon rising from childbed the previous month. She had been greatly inspired, she said, by the news that Reverend Worth’s Instruction in Methods Guaranteed to Create a Beautiful Flower Garden had sold out the first edition and gone into a second printing.
The vicar had been adamant that the plates, etched and hand-colored from original paintings by Lady Victoria Stonevale, had ensured the book’s overwhelming success. He was most anxious to get on with a sequel, this time on the subject of exotic plants for private gardens.
A baby’s happy gurgle greeted Lucas as he made his way down the aisle of luxuriantly blooming exotic plants. He paused by the cradle which had been set next to the easel and grinned at his healthy baby son. The babe seemed symbolic somehow of the now-thriving lands that surrounded the great house.
The gardens outside the windows were lush with blossoms and the fields beyond were rich and green with the promise of excellent crops. It was going to be a good year for Stonevale, the first of many, Lucas vowed to himself.
He leaned down to kiss his wife, who was busy mixing colors with her brush, and noticed a spot of orange on her nose.
“What have you got there, Lucas?” she asked, glancing at the leather-bound volume in his hand.
“A small gift, madam. I had a copy of your book bound for you.”
She blushed with delight as she reached for it. “’Tis not precisely my book, you know. It is Reverend Worth’s book.”
“I shall let you in on a little secret, my dear. Your aunt Cleo says people are buying the book as much for the lovely plates as they are for the vicar’s excellent treatise on gardening.”
Victoria examined the book, running her hand over the leather.
“Oh, I doubt that.”
“It is quite true.”
“Thank you, Lucas.” She looked up at him, her love in her eyes. “Aunt Cleo was right about one thing. You do have a knack for being able to give me gifts I could never buy for myself.”
He smiled his slow smile. “And you,
my love, have given me far more than I ever bargained for when I went hunting for an heiress.”
“Do you know,” she murmured, idly touching the pendant at her throat, “I think it is about time for the Amber Knight and his lady to make another midnight appearance on the grounds of Stonevale.”
Lucas groaned. “And you only a month out of childbed. Forget it, my love.” He glanced significantly at his son. “Besides, you have other things to do at midnight these days.”
“Well, perhaps not tonight, I grant you. And mayhap not tomorrow night, either. But soon.” She laughed up at him, her eyes brilliant. “You know how you like to indulge me, Lucas.”
“Why is it,” he asked as he brushed his mouth lightly, lovingly across her own, “that I still ask myself which of us did the surrendering?”
Victoria’s answer was lost in the kiss, a kiss that held the promise of a lifetime of glorious midnights.
About the Author
AMANDA QUICK, a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, is a best-selling, award-winning author of contemporary and historical romances. There are over twenty-five million copies of her books in print, including Seduction, Surrender, Scandal, Rendezvous, Ravished, Reckless, Dangerous, Deception, Desire, Mistress, Mystique, Mischief, Affair, With This Ring, I Thee Wed, and Wicked Widow. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Frank. Her latest book, Don’t Look Back, is now available in hardcover from Bantam Books.
Visit her website at www.amandaquick.com.
Lavinia and Tobias are in for more mysterious and
romantic adventures in Amanda Quick’s next
tantalizing novel
Don’t Look Back
Available from
Bantam Books
Read on for a preview …
One
Tobias watched Lavinia walk up the steps of Number 7 Claremont Lane and knew at once that something was very wrong. Beneath the deep brim of her stylish bonnet, her face, always a source of intense fascination for him, showed signs of an odd, brooding tension.