For the very first time since her beloved Sedgwick initially proposed a betrothal between their son and Adriana Sutton, Philana felt a spark of hope that a marriage would actually take place between the pair. Colton was too good-looking to be ignored . . . or rejected by the fairer gender. Most young ladies would be tempted to fawn over such a handsome man and, no doubt, offer their bodies as a token of their infatuation. She found it enormously refreshing to see how adroitly Adriana put her son in his place. Coolly rejecting his advances would likely set the handsome scamp back upon his heels, and deservedly so. He was too confident of his persuasive charm with women and probably wouldn’t know how to handle a rebuff.
Missing the real import of his daughter’s jibe, Gyles pressed, “Is that true, your lordship? Do you wish to withdraw from the agreement?”
Slowly straightening, Colton smiled as he lent his consideration to the elder. “On the contrary, Lord Gyles, I wish to proceed with the courtship with all possible haste. Since being informed of my father’s contract with you, I’ve read with great care the document you both signed. According to the provisions set forth, I have three months of earnest courtship in which to decide my fate . . . unless, of course, the lady is otherwise inclined.”
Cocking a magnificent brow inquiringly, he peered down his noble nose at Adriana, awaiting an answer. When she maintained a cool reticence, he again settled in the chair beside her and bent toward her with a grin. “What say you, my dear? Do you have any objections as to the date upon which such a testing of our emotions should commence? If you have none, then may I suggest that we start today?”
The sooner to be through with me, Adriana mused derisively, feeling her hackles rise. Although strongly tempted to reject Lord Sedgwick’s edict rather than leave herself open to the many antics of his handsome son, she couldn’t actually bring herself to the point of doing so. As much as her pride would’ve benefited from releasing Colton Wyndham from the obligations to which he had long been averse, she knew that she’d have to yield him that distinct privilege, for she couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Philana or shaming her own parents by being the one to negate their hopes and wishes for the future. “If you wouldn’t mind a short delay overmuch, my lord, I’d prefer to mark the beginning of our courtship with the date upon which the Autumn Ball takes place, the twenty-first of October.”
“So long a wait? Why, that’s fully a month away!” Colton was taken aback by the idea of such an extended interval. His primary reasons for agreeing to the courtship was simply to prove to his mother that love could not be forced by a mandate drawn up by one’s parents. Once that reality had been established, he’d be freed from his commitments. At least, then, if he wanted to marry Adriana, it would be entirely his own decision, not because he felt compelled by his father’s dictates. In his opinion, the protracted wait before the initiation of their courtship made the arrangements even more arduous.
Bracing a finger alongside his cheek and his chin upon his thumb, Colton assumed a contemplative pose as he considered Adriana at some length. He was a man who had made his own choices for most of his life, but after viewing this lady in his bath, he had never known so many sleepless nights. As much as he yearned to appease his manly appetites with her, how could he, like some lapdog, blandly accept his father’s will over his own? Somehow he’d have to get through the courtship without yielding his heart, his mind, and, more difficult to be sure, his body to the temptations that would be ever at hand. Only then would he remain his own man. Once he managed to accomplish that feat, then he could turn his mind to more serious considerations . . . courting the lady without having to hide his own desire to solidify their union. “The twenty-first, you say?”
“Or whenever you wish, my lord, as long as the Autumn Ball has begun,” Adriana answered aloofly.
Colton was curious to know where the girl stood with the miller’s son. “And what of Roger Elston? Will you allow the apprentice to visit you until then?”
Adriana felt her cheeks growing hotter by the moment beneath his close perusal. How dare he question her after he had taken it upon himself to visit Felicity. “Prior to your return, my lord, I had given Mr. Elston leave to attend the ball. For the sake of propriety, I must inform him of the need to halt his visits, but ‘twould seem somehow less rude if I were to tell him at the conclusion of the ball.”
Colton teased a curling strand that seemed wont to nestle against her cheek. Such a delicate little ear, he thought, and wondered how she’d react if ever he’d run his tongue into the tempting crevices and fragile ridges that formed the outer configuration. Devilment shone in the gray eyes as he laid a finger aside the lady’s chin and turned her face toward his. Probing those dark orbs, he questioned softly, “Would you object overmuch, my dear, if I were to lend my attentions elsewhere that evening? It seems only fair . . . since you will be otherwise engaged.”
Adriana presented her profile to him again and aloofly elevated her brows in a quick, upward shrug. She didn’t need to be told the name of the woman he had in mind. “I shall not be otherwise engaged, my lord. I merely gave Roger permission to attend the ball if he so desired, but please do whatever pleases you. I have no claim upon you.”
“Oh, but you do, Adriana.” Capturing the lustrous curl that teased her cheek, he rubbed it between his fingers and admired its natural tendency to curl softly about his digit. The silken strands were as fragrant as the lady’s body, and he could feel his senses reacting as surely as if he had quaffed a strong potion. “We’re bound by a contract as surely as if we were already betrothed. That alone gives you entitlement to say yea or nay when it concerns my conduct with other women. And if we’re affianced, doesn’t that mean we’re as good as married?”
“That’s hardly the way of it in this case!” In some irritation, Adriana flung up a hand as if brushing a pesky insect away from her cheek and in so doing managing to break his grasp on the coiling strand. “We’re not married, my lord, and even if we were truly betrothed, I’d give you permission to lend your attention to whomsoever you please . . . just as long as you’d agreed to leave me alone in the process. . . . Now stop that!” she snapped in fiery indignation and slapped the back of his hand as he reached out again to entrap the curl. “Leave my hair alone!”
“Adriana!” her mother gasped, taken aback by her daughter’s display of temper. “For shame, child! Slapping his lordship, what will he think?”
“Tsk, tsk!” Colton chided through a widening grin as he leaned toward the enticing beauty. “I think you have little regard for me, Adriana.”
“That may well be true, my lord,” she retorted hotly. “After all, you’re no more than a stranger to me. . . .”
“Adriana!” Christina was shocked by her daughter’s bluntness.
“You’re presenting a definite challenge to me, Adriana,” Colton accused, amusement gleaming in his gray eyes. “I’ve never before known a woman who seems so loath to accept my attentions.” If anything, he had become inured to the fairer gender fawning over him. It was fairly refreshing to be on the opposite end of the spectrum from whence he normally found himself. To chase after a young, beautiful lady who seemed totally devoid of any interest in him? Most intriguing . . . and challenging!
Adriana’s tone was snide as she yielded to a strengthening urge to reproach him. “I’m sure you’ve left many a heartbroken maiden in your wake, my lord, but I shall try not to offer adulations that have no doubt become hackneyed to you through numerous repetitions.”
It came as something of a shock to Colton to realize that he was enjoying this feisty tête-à-tête perhaps as much as he had ever relished the final capitulation of a beautiful, well-versed enchantress. The women he had known had all been experienced in the game of love, and he had never once doubted his appeal. That was certainly more than he could say for himself in this instance. Still, a little more kindling seemed in order to thoroughly test the true depth of the girl’s tenacity.
“What if I were to t
ell you instead, dearest Adriana, how lovely you are? Little did I imagine when you were a child that you’d become so exquisite. Your beauty takes my breath away.”
“Breathe deeply, my lord,” Adriana urged loftily, looking neither right nor left as he recaptured her hand. “I’m sure it will come back.”
At her daughter’s sarcasm, Christina opened her mouth to intervene, but curbed the motherly instinct when Philana reached across the space separating them and gently squeezed her hand, mutely urging her to remain silent.
Colton lifted to his lips the slender fingers of his perspective fiancée, letting his warm, moist mouth linger on her knuckles in a slow, sensual caress.
Adriana became aware of a strange quivering in the pit of her body and realized her breath was being snatched inward each time his lips came in contact with her skin. The rush of feelings he stirred within her was similar to those he had awakened when they had collided in the hall at Randwulf Manor; yet as titillating as they had proven to be, it now seemed only a meager sampling of what she was now experiencing. To be sure, the sensations he elicited were too persuasive for a young lady to bear in front of her parents and still remain poised!
Reclaiming her hand with a vengeance, Adriana shot to her feet and fled to the door. There she faced her guests with flushed cheeks, managing to erect from her shattered composure some semblance of dignity. Feeble as it was, she offered a truthful explanation. “I promised Melora that I’d help her with a few of the wedding arrangements ere the day was well spent.” As her eyes swept to their elderly guest, she sank into a respectful curtsey. “Lady Philana, if you will please excuse me . . .”
“Of course, child,” the marchioness replied with a gracious smile, holding her son responsible for the girl’s flight. She cast a chiding glance toward him. The fact that he seemed amused by it all made her heave a mental sigh. He reminded her too much of his younger years; he was still an unabashed tease.
The dark, silky lashed orbs chilled to some degree as Adriana finally settled her gaze upon the marquess. Her smile was crisp, perhaps even a bit terse. “Good day, Lord Randwulf.”
Even Colton flinched as the door slammed behind her, and for a moment, parents and suitor stared at the portal in differing degrees of surprise. Then, almost in unison, Gyles and Christina turned their attention upon the younger man, wondering how he’d react to their daughter’s spirited departure.
Bursting into laughter at the girl’s fiery display of indignation, Colton thrust a thumb over a shoulder as he indicated the door. Obviously Adriana was no more taken with the terms of the contract than he had been. “I swear that girl has a temper the equal of which I’ve never seen in one so well bred.”
Christina managed a hesitant smile. “I hope my daughter hasn’t offended you, my lord,”
Philana began to chortle in amusement. “I don’t know about my son, but, personally, I thought she was wonderful . . . as usual. Another moment more and she would have boxed Colton’s ears . . . and justifiably so.”
Christina didn’t know what to say to make amends. She looked almost pleadingly toward the marquess. “At times, my youngest daughter grows a bit annoyed with certain members of the male gender. She doesn’t like being pestered, but I never thought for an instant she’d behave so unseemly in your presence, Lord Colton. I shall certainly take her to task for her manners—”
“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” Philana interrupted with conviction. “My son deserved everything he received for deliberately annoying her. Perhaps next time he’ll know better. If not, then he can get used to his fingers being slapped like some naughty little boy’s. I can assure you, it wouldn’t be the first time. I used to do it on a fairly frequent basis when he was younger. He seemed to take endless delight teasing the girls whenever Adriana came over to play with Samantha.”
Gyles rubbed a hand across his mouth several times, trying to banish the unquenchable grin that seemed impervious to his efforts to curb it. Failing in that endeavor, he clapped both hands to his knees and rose to his feet. “I suffer no doubt that my youngest offspring would have given those frogs at Waterloo a proper thrashing. She riles fairly easily at times. She seems to find it especially offensive to be handled in any fashion by eager young suitors.”
Adriana paced the confines of her bedchamber in agitation, angry with herself for having allowed Colton Wyndham to affect her in so many widely diverse ways. Never before had she experienced sensations the like of which he had elicited. Nor had she ever felt so much irritation, not only with him, but with herself for allowing his mischievous ruse to get the better of her. His intentions seemed clear enough. Forced by the mandate that his father had set forth, he intended to humiliate her any way he could, if for no other reason than to vent his frustration over the situation in which he found himself. Coming home after years of mutinous refusal to concede to his sire’s dictates, only to find himself caught in the same unyielding snare, had likely been a terrible jolt to him, especially if his thoughts had been focused entirely on the marquessate. In view of the depths and heights his resentment had reached years ago, he might well imagine he had cause to hate her, especially if he viewed the situation only from his perspective. He probably wouldn’t even realize she had become a victim, too, chained by her dedication to her parents.
A light knock sounded on her chamber door, and at her call for admittance, Melora’s maid scurried in and bobbed a sprightly curtsey. “Excuse me, m’liedy, but yur sister be wonderin’ what’s been keepin’ yu since yu came upstairs.”
“I’ll be there straightaway, Becky.”
The door closed behind the servant, and in the silence that followed, Adriana heaved a long, pensive sigh, wondering if she’d ever be able to endure three months of courtship with Colton Wyndham. It was not that she didn’t desire it. Indeed, he was the man she had been waiting for all her lifetime. Nevertheless, he seemed capable of creating within her strange emotions that could well prove her downfall, possibly even her capitulation to his invitation. In spite of her outward display of annoyance, she treasured secret memories of him that, at times, left her yearning for the warmth of his arms around her and his lips plying hers with lingering kisses. Just thinking of that long, muscular, naked body against her own stirred a strange, unquenchable excitement that left her whole being burning with desire. Her nipples craved some special attention of which she was totally ignorant, and there bloomed within the depths of her woman’s body a hunger that seemed destined to remain unappeased until she yielded herself to him and him alone.
By dint of will, Adriana won a battle with her composure and finally made her way to Melora’s room, where she found her sister in a flustered snit. In trying to work out the seating arrangements for the breakfast that would follow the wedding, she had become mired in confusion.
“There you are at last!” Melora cried petulantly. “I was beginning to think I’d have to make all the preparations myself. I’ve been nigh to the end of my wits while there you and Mama were, taking your own sweet time visiting with the Wyndhams, as if the matter of your courtship couldn’t wait for a few more weeks! I say, Adriana, considering all the years Colton has been away, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt matters any if you had delayed his visit until after the wedding. You should’ve known how frantic I’d be with the nuptials swiftly approaching. Only ten days left!” Pausing, she peered at her sibling, but saw no evidence of sympathy for herself. Glumly, she vented a ponderous sigh. “I suppose the courtship will begin immediately.”
Adriana tried to ignore Melora’s tiresome tone. “No, as a matter of fact, I’ve asked that it be delayed at least until the Autumn Ball.”
“Thank goodness!” the older sister exclaimed, exaggerating her relief. “Now you can help me as you promised to do. You can start by compiling a list of the guests who’ll be coming and where they should be seated for the wedding breakfast. Cook is already busy with preparations, and, of course, the servants have started cleaning every nook and cranny. We can?
??t allow ourselves to be embarrassed by a bit of dust here or a smudged window there. . . .”
Dismissing as unimportant much of what Melora was chattering on about, Adriana sat down at her sister’s tall secretary and began organizing the collection of names. She was sure Cook, the assistant cooks, and the rest of the household servants would do their very best to make the wedding breakfast a memorable occasion for her sister. As for herself, she just hoped she could keep her thoughts well away from the area of Colton Wyndham, for she was just beginning to fear that, where he was concerned, her heart wasn’t nearly as safe as she had hoped it would be.
Ten
* * *
The weather on the last day of September was fairly heady with the intoxicating smell of autumn wafting on the gentle breezes. With the sun’s radiance in evidence, it had proven to be an especially fine morning for a wedding. During the ceremony, the chapel had been filled nigh to overflowing with guests, but as family members and friends collected outside to await the appearance of the bride and groom, they were wont to meander about and exchange pleasantries with relatives and acquaintances. Adriana found herself surrounded by a fairly sizable group of young men eagerly vying for her attention. Among them were members of the best families in England, including Lord Harcourt who had managed to gain an advantageous spot immediately upon her left. Stuart Burke stood on her right and seemed delighted that Colton had deigned to keep company with Perceval rather than the lady. The younger man couldn’t help but hope that something had drastically changed in the relationship between the couple that would allow him an occasion to press his own suit.