Although Adriana laughed, it sounded false even in her own ears. There were definitely times when she felt like the black sheep of the family. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. I’m night . . . and my sister is day.”
“Oh, I hope my comment didn’t offend you, my lady,” Felicity replied, trying desperately to make amends. “I certainly never meant to imply that either of you suffered any lack of beauty. On the contrary, you are both quite lovely.”
Colton had trouble curtailing a grin as he witnessed this innocuous confrontation, but when he found himself the recipient of an icy glance from the winsome brunette, he grew a bit perplexed until it suddenly dawned on him what she might be thinking now that the blonde had joined them. Felicity’s statement had seemed to suggest they had been out and about together.
“Never fear, Miss Felicity,” Adriana assured the woman, managing a rather crisp, albeit pleasant smile. “That remark has been made so often in reference to our dissimilarity that my sisters and I have come to expect it. The simple fact is that my two siblings resemble my mother, and I, my father.”
Stepping forward, Colton took her sister’s dainty hand within his. “May I say, Lady Melora, that you’re just as winsome as you were prior to my departure some years back.”
“And you’re just as gracious as your father before you, Lord Colton,” Melora laughingly replied, craning her neck far back in order to meet his gaze. “But please, forego the formality. Our families have been friends far too long for us to adhere to such rigidity. I give you leave to call me by nothing more than my given name.”
“Thank you, Melora, and please do the same.” At her consenting nod, he cast a devilish grin toward Adriana, who directed her gaze in the opposite direction, deliberately snubbing him.
In an equally affable tone, Colton continued addressing the elder of the two. “I had the good fortune of meeting your intended, Major Sir Harold Manchester, during our encampment near Waterloo. He said at the time that you were reluctant to marry him for fear of being made a widow. Though merely a bachelor myself, I can understand how, when close bonds are formed in betrothals and marriages, they can reap enormous grief when the death of a loved one severs them. Although one hopes to find the same abiding affection that your parents and, until recently, my own enjoyed throughout their marital unions, I fear ‘tis not always the case. You and Sir Harold are to be envied for having discovered such sweet accord before your wedding.”
“We do feel immeasurably blessed,” the petite blonde murmured, amazed that a worldly bachelor could understand the reasoning behind their decision to delay the wedding.
Melora cast a sidelong glance at her sister, clearly conveying the fact that she considered herself the victor in an earlier argument in which they had become embroiled. Being the recipient of that lofty look, Adriana yearned to chide her kin for being so gullible, yet with Colton and Felicity there to witness her testy response, she didn’t dare. Melora had snidely accused her of feigning a bland disinterest in his lordship merely to veil the shame she’d likely suffer if he refused to ask for her hand at the end of their courtship. Obviously, after hearing the man voice insights into rationale she deemed private, Melora was willing to reject claims that he was insensitive to matters that women held dear.
Dismissing Melora with all the dignity she could muster, Adriana directed her consideration to Colton’s altered appearance. “I see you’ve dispensed with your military trappings since last we met and have acquired more dapper attire, my lord. Your tailor must relish the opportunity to clothe not only a hero of the war but a man who does immense credit to everything he wears. Garbed in such stylish apparel, you’ll soon be the envy of every roué from Bath to London. Indeed, I wouldn’t doubt that you’d put Beau Brummell to task to equal such finery.”
Colton didn’t know just how to accept the lady’s statement. He had seen far too many overdressed roués to have any desire to emulate them. As for Beau Brummell, the man had fallen out of favor with the nobility and, as it had recently been rumored, was heavily in debt and not nearly as stylish as he had once been. “I revere your words since they come from a lady who is herself exceptionally well garbed. You alone have seen me at my worst and must therefore appreciate what fine clothes can do for a man.” His eyes glowed insinuatingly above a bold grin, pointedly reminding her that she had seen him without a stitch. “As for my London tailor, Mr. Gaines, he became well acquainted with my clothing needs early on in my career as an officer. His talent has endured throughout the years, and when I brought him from London, he and his assistants immediately set about to furnish me with a whole new wardrobe. Considering how many uniforms Mr. Gaines has made for me over the years, he was overjoyed at the opportunity to finally outfit me with all the paraphernalia of a gentleman. I’m afraid, however, that I’ve worn a uniform so long that I feel rather ostentatious in civilian attire. Nevertheless, ‘twill be something I’ll have to get used to. In a way, it’s like having to learn to dress myself all over again. As much as I’ve practiced, I fear the cravat is beyond my present capability.”
In spite of her limited encounters with naked men, Adriana was wont to think by the seemingly insatiable tendency of her thoughts to dwell on details of the marquess’s muscular torso that his reference to “his worst” was hardly that. In fact, she couldn’t imagine anything about him that could be considered even remotely flawed . . . except, of course, his brazenness. As for his complaints about the cravat, she failed to find any defect there either. “Well, honestly, my lord, if you didn’t do the honors, then I must lend praise to either Mr. Gaines or Harrison’s abilities, for your cravat seems deftly executed.”
“Your kindness is exceeded only by your grace and beauty, Lady Adriana,” he answered, inclining his head in a shallow bow.
However unintentional or minor his slight toward the other two ladies may have been, Felicity took umbrage at the fact that he had praised neither her clothing nor her looks. In sharp contrast, he seemed eager to voice his admiration of Lady Adriana. Indeed, the lighthearted tête-à-tête the pair exchanged seemed to monopolize the couple’s attention.
Felicity cut her eyes toward the brunette, curious to know why the man seemed so taken with her. Hadn’t her own father told her that she was far more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen? If that was true, then why wasn’t she the principal recipient of Lord Colton’s admiration?
Considering the costly garments Lady Adriana wore, Felicity was put to confusion. The black lambskin cape, the deeply hued burgundy taffeta gown with its iridescent sheen, and the black-plumed, saucy bonnet of the same burgundy hue were altogether exquisite, but wasn’t her own gown just as appealing? Of course, one had to consider that it wasn’t her ladyship’s looks or attire that really interested the marquess as much as her family’s wealth. With the Suttons’ affluence, the lady could afford to array herself in finespun gold . . . as well as to buy herself a nobleman whose tailors kept him heavily in debt.
Felicity sidled nearer the marquess, hoping to remind him of her presence. Even then, her attempt to claim his attention from the other came to naught, for he gave every indication that he had dismissed everyone else from mind as he questioned her ladyship about several young children only the two of them seemed to know anything about, concluding with an inquiry, “Have you looked in on them since their mother’s funeral?”
“Yesterday afternoon, as a matter of fact,” Adriana replied, for once allowing a genuine smile to curve her lips. “Mrs. Abernathy said she heard them giggling and cavorting outside for the first time since we took them there. Poor little cherubs, they were just skin and bones and, as you well know, in serious need of a bath—” Halting abruptly, Adriana almost cringed as she awaited Colton’s reaction to her slip. She wanted to bite off her tongue right then and there for its tendency to clatter on foolishly without the aid of her wits. Why in the world did she have to mention the word bath?
The gray eyes glimmered tantalizingly. “ ‘Tis hard to imagine anyone
foregoing the pleasure of a bath, my lady, but I suppose the Jennings children were never able to enjoy even a satisfying meal, much less a lengthy soak in a tub.”
Adriana tried her best to grit out a smile in spite of the glowing blush on her cheeks. Her lengthy soak had allowed him an advantage no other man had ever had over her. Whatever modesty she had carefully preserved until that day in time now did her little good in his presence. He knew exactly what she looked like bereft of all the costly clothes she had come to enjoy wearing. Were she eventually to marry another man, she had no doubt that this man’s intrusion into her bath would haunt her throughout her marital union.
Colton glanced askance at Felicity, unable to ignore the fact that she was encroaching unusually close. Her deflated pout gave him cause to wonder if he had been too obvious in his eagerness to converse with Adriana. However guilty he had been of limiting his consideration entirely to one woman in the presence of others, Colton tried to ease the hurt feelings he had obviously elicited.
Sweeping his gaze about to encompass the three, he declared magnanimously, “I must say, ladies, you make it dreadfully difficult for a man who has long been bound to the battlefield to decide which of you fair maidens would win the prize for beauty or the most winsomely attired lady in the area. I do indeed feel honored to find myself in your collective company.”
“You’re very kind, my lord,” Felicity replied, conveying her best impression of a genteel lady. The temptation to slip her hand through the bend of his arm was nearly beyond her ability to resist.
“You are most generous with your praise, my lord,” Melora added, smiling.
“Be careful,” Adriana warned, giving him a sidelong perusal and a brief glimpse of a tight smile. “Your pretty words will likely have us all smitten with you.”
His eyes sparkled as they delved once again into the depths of those dark pools. “Then I would count myself fortunate indeed to have such comely maids under my spell.”
Felicity gasped suddenly as she wobbled from side to side. In the next instant, she caught Colton’s arm and held on with all her might, as if fearful of falling through a crack in the cobblestones. The idea for her ploy had come to her when she happened to recall the incident wherein the brunette had whirled through the elegant corridor of Randwulf Manor into the arms of the marquess. Whether that particular event had been planned or a chance occurrence, only her ladyship could rightly say. As for her own ruse, it certainly gave her the chance that she had been seeking. “My goodness,” she gasped, slipping a hand through Colton’s arm and drawing it close to her soft bosom. “I would have fallen if not for you, my lord.”
Proving unstinting in his willingness to accept the lady’s ploy for the accident she claimed it to be, Colton consolingly patted the gloved hand that clasped his sleeve. “I’m pleased to have been of service, Miss Felicity. It isn’t everyday a gentleman is gifted with the pleasure of having such a winsome lady upon his arm, however fortuitously it came about.”
Felicity beamed with delight, pleased that she had managed to fool the man. “Oh, my lord, you truly are kind.”
Adriana subdued an urge to emulate her father’s habit of snorting in derision whenever he had reason to doubt circumstances to be what they seemed. If she were to do such a thing, she’d likely scandalize her sister, who’d then break all records racing home to tell their parents of her unladylike manners.
Colton met Adriana’s cool stare briefly before her fine nose elevated and her gaze went chasing off. From all indications it seemed the lady was none too pleased with him, which did much to heighten his curiosity. Was she miffed merely because he had lent assistance to another woman?
Reluctantly Adriana turned a smile upon her rival. Although she was fairly certain the two were together for some special purpose, she was most curious to know just what that was. “You’re looking so radiant this morning, Miss Felicity, I’m led to wonder if my sister and I are keeping you and his lordship from an important event. Considering the exquisiteness of both your appearances, I can only imagine that you two must be going to Bath, or perhaps to Bristol.”
Felicity was suddenly aflutter over the idea. “Oh, yes. Wouldn’t a trip to Bath be nice!” She glanced at Colton, hoping to receive an invitation similar to that which her ladyship had mentioned, but she was soon to be disappointed, for the gentleman remained discreetly mute. She sighed and, in a wistful tone, assured them, “I would really like to go there . . . someday.”
Colton could not have relished Adriana’s probing inquiries any more. Had she asked outright if he had plans to whisk the blonde off in his carriage, her irritation over that idea could not have been displayed more vividly. At least now he understood why she had seemed so annoyed. She obviously thought he was paying court to the lady.
Adriana cast a glance toward Colton and once again found herself the recipient of his warmly challenging gaze. The fact that he had not yet seen fit to disengage himself from the blonde’s grasp seemed reason enough for her to snub him. Thus she turned her face aside and endeavored to ignore his unswerving regard.
Nevertheless Colton directed his inquiries to the two siblings. “Will Lady Jaclyn be coming to the wedding? ‘Twould please me immensely to see her again after all these years and, of course, to be introduced to her family.”
Melora peered up at him with a smile. “Yes, of course. In fact, her whole family will be arriving a day or two before the wedding, so you’ll be able to get acquainted with them prior to the nuptials, if you so choose.”
Coolly distant, Adriana deigned to meet those glowing gray orbs that seemed eager to meet hers. “I’m sure Jaclyn will be delighted to see you again, my lord.”
Having noticed the strange quirk that had briefly elevated her brow when he had spoken of the harmonious compatibility that Melora and her betrothed enjoyed, Colton wondered if she deemed him incapable of experiencing a similar attachment to a woman. Feeling directly challenged, he probed, “And you, Lady Adriana, are you not hoping to mirror your sister’s good fortune in finding a fiancé whom you can cherish and who will treasure you in return?”
“That seems to be the wish of every maiden, my lord,” Adriana replied woodenly, thoroughly convinced that he was seeking some way to escape what his father had once decreed for him. His delay in answering her parents’ missive seemed to bear that out. “As for myself, I suffer no grand illusions about the one who was chosen for me. He seems an independent sort, unwilling to bind himself to nuptials. I shan’t be surprised if he departs for worlds unknown rather than comply.”
The lady’s answer was certainly affective in snuffing the heated lust he had recently been battling, Colton realized, but then, perhaps that would prove beneficial if it meant he could enjoy a good night’s sleep for a change, instead of remembering how beautiful the lady had looked in his bath. Even so, he couldn’t resist an equally nettling rejoinder. “I’ve heard that you have many smitten swains following at your heels, my lady. I would think you’d find it difficult to choose among them. Of course, there will always be Mr. Elston, should the others lose all hope of winning you for themselves. He seems adamant enough to stay the course through thick and thin.”
The dark eyes flared with indignation. “Mr. Elston is merely an acquaintance, my lord, nothing more,” Adriana stated frostily, her temper sorely pricked. “As for the suitor my father chose for me, I must bide my time till the true nature of such a match can be determined. I owe that much to my parents and the memory of the elderly gentleman who extended as much affection to me as he did his own daughter, yet I really don’t foresee anything of measurable significance materializing from that relationship.”
Colton raised a brow to a lofty level, rather amazed that she put no store in the honor she had been bequeathed by being his sire’s only choice for a daughter-in-law. “I take it, then, that you have no interest in this . . . ah . . . relationship?”
“A friendship can hardly be nurtured between two individuals unless they spend some ti
me together, my lord. Thus far, that has not occurred. Even if his lordship and I were to become better acquainted, I cannot hold out any hope that the agreement will bring about the desired end that our parents once hoped it would. We are at the very least strangers, and I cannot foresee that fact changing significantly either in the near or distant future.”
Colton managed a laconic smile. It would certainly serve the lady her just due if he turned a deaf ear to the pleas of his parent. “Perhaps with a little patience, my lady, you will come to see the way of it. As will he.”
Wondering what he meant, Adriana searched the depths of those dark gray eyes once again for what they would reveal, but the glowing warmth was no longer there. With a clipped smile and a murmured excuse, his lordship begged leave of them all and, pivoting about, limped toward his waiting carriage. In watching his departure, Felicity released a dejected sigh and then, after a moment, made her excuses to the two women before departing in the opposite direction.
Melora pinched her sister’s arm, breaking the thoughtful trance into which Adriana had descended as she stared after Colton Wyndham.
“Keep your hands to yourself, Melora!” the younger sibling snapped, turning upon her indignantly. “You hurt me just now!”
“Considering the stone you have for a heart, I was wondering if you’d even notice,” Melora retorted. “How could you have answered Colton like that? You might as well have slapped him in the face.”
Adriana tossed her head, dismissing her sister’s jibe. “If mine is of mere stone, then surely his must be made of hardest granite.”
The petite sister elevated a challenging brow. “Two of a kind, in other words?”
Adriana leveled an ominous glower upon her older sister, annoyed because she had made such a comparison. Yet, when she turned aside, a gloomy sigh escaped her, for she had to wonder what in the world Sedgwick Wyndham had thought he had been doing when he had created this hellish torment for her. Would she ever be free of it? Would she ever be able to live a normal life with a husband who loved and cherished her above all other women? Or would she be constantly reminded that she had never been the choice of her husband and that, if he yielded at all, he would do so only to avoid wounding his mother?