Eleven
Vivi dropped her head and shot past Luke to climb into the carriage. Tucking into a corner, she wished for the thousandth time that morning she could disappear. Had she truly grabbed his lip and looked at his teeth like he was a horse? Never had she done anything so humiliating, and that was saying a lot, for she had done many things she had later regretted.
Lana joined her in the coach and took the seat across from her. Thankfully, the gentlemen would be on horseback the first leg of the journey. Nonetheless, while Vivi didn’t want to be confined to a small space with Luke, his choice to put distance between them this morning made her jumpy inside. She had probably ruined everything with her misguided attempt at seduction.
The carriage jerked forward and initiated a throbbing in her head. “I will never drink wine again.”
Lana looked up from the book lying open on her lap. “Why ever not?”
“Because I behaved like an idiot last night.”
Her companion laughed. “You were a charming dining partner, and entertaining.”
“I don’t want to be entertaining,” she said on a near wail. “I want to be beautiful and alluring and irresistible. Not the court jester.”
“You are all of those things in addition to being amusing. I daresay Luke found you charming.”
Vivi shifted her gaze out the window and held her tongue. It would be unladylike to accuse her chaperone of handing out lies. He had refused to kiss her, even when nothing in her conduct suggested she was opposed. This was not the action of a gentleman who had been charmed. Although any gentleman capable of being enchanted by her jealous outburst and dim-witted actions was suspect, in her opinion.
When she glanced back at Lana, her chaperone regarded her with a half smile. “If something is troubling you, I know how to keep a secret. You may tell me anything without fear.”
“I understood Lord Andrew to say there are no secrets between you.”
Lana winked. “See how capable I am of keeping secrets? Even my husband has no idea.”
Vivi wavered between blurting everything out and keeping her own counsel. It would be nice to have a confidant again. Once Mrs. Honeywell had made enough innuendos and hinted to the residents of Dunstable that she was a terrible influence on their daughters, Vivi had lost her friends. She missed Dottie Kennicot most of all, but her bosom friend had been threatened with a severe beating if she sought Vivi’s company again.
Patrice had been livid and written to Ash about the woman’s betrayal, but he had been unsympathetic. As long as no one of consequence learned of her ruin at the hands of a servant, no harm had been done. Instead of threatening the woman, Vivi’s brother had asked her price for silence. How lucky they were that Mrs. Honeywell’s desire for prestige and lavish parties in Town outweighed her craving to spread gossip beyond the small village.
Lana leaned across the carriage to touch Vivi’s knee. All traces of teasing and merriment were gone. “I promise to never share your secrets with Drew unless you grant your permission.”
Vivi nodded and studied a speck of dried mud on her skirts rather than chance seeing Lana’s displeasure. “I have misled His Grace. I entered this arrangement with no intention of releasing him from the betrothal. I don’t want another suitor. I want him.”
She risked a quick glance to see how badly her deceit and selfishness appalled her new friend, but Lana simply stared back at her with an enigmatic smile. Vivi’s body melted against the cushions.
“He is unlike other gentlemen,” Vivi explained in a rush. “He doesn’t berate me for swimming or riding astride. And he not only allowed me to fire his pistol, he encouraged me to load it. How am I to let go of a man so perfectly suited to me?”
“It would seem you are a good match for him as well, but Luke is more complex than other gentlemen.”
“How so?”
She shook her head. “It’s not for me to speak of his personal affairs.”
“But do I have a chance of winning him? Please, be honest. I may have made a fool of myself already, but I don’t want to be humiliated.”
Lana drummed her fingers against the book page, a line appearing between her arched brows. “I wish I could tell you there is no risk involved in love, Vivian, but that would be dishonest. Nevertheless, you may have the best odds of bringing him up to scratch than any lady who has tried thus far.”
Vivi sank back against the seat with a sigh. She had hoped to hear something less discouraging. “Are you implying he might never marry?”
“I don’t know what is in my brother-in-law’s mind. I would venture to say few people do. If he confides in Drew, that is one thing my husband keeps from me.” She tipped her head to the side. “If I may ask, how did you learn to ride astride and shoot a firearm?”
“My brother taught me, but that was before he knew better. It was just the two of us after our parents died. Ash was barely old enough to be my guardian, but he tried.”
Lana chuckled. “The lessons our brothers teach us can come in handy at the most unexpected times. I have four older brothers of my own, and I daresay my education as a lady was enhanced, thanks to them.”
“Well, Ash’s wife does not view my unorthodox education the same. She was raised with sisters only, and my rowdiness often sent her into the vapors. My poor brother didn’t know what to do when she took to her bed for days after he defended me.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and glanced out the window. How it had broken her heart to see her brother conflicted. When Muriel was with child, Vivi knew she would be sent away. Even in her nine-year-old heart, she realized this was for the best. If her sister-in-law had lost Ash’s issue after a spell brought on by her antics, Vivi might have lost her brother, too. She had been saddened by the news of Muriel’s miscarriage, but also relieved she wasn’t to blame. She had been living at Brighthurst House for weeks at the time.
Now, Muriel despised her for forcing her to endure Mrs. Honeywell’s companionship. “I fear my brother’s wife and I will never be on friendly terms.”
Lana clucked her tongue. “Please don’t take offense, my dear, but I shouldn’t think I would like to make Lady Ashden’s acquaintance. Is there a way to avoid inviting her to yours and Luke’s wedding?”
Lana’s optimism buoyed her spirits until memories of what Vivi now dubbed “the tooth blunder” resurfaced. She groaned under her breath.
Lord, help her. She made for an abysmal seductress, but she must try or else surrender.
And surrender had never had a place in her vocabulary.
“Lana, how does a lady court a gentleman exactly?”
“Just continue to be yourself.” When she frowned, her friend laughed. “Oh, very well. I may have a couple of suggestions, but I warn you to use them wisely and be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?”
“For anything. The Forest men are an unpredictable lot.”
***
Luke shifted in the saddle and peered over his shoulder toward the carriage where Vivian was safely ensconced. Safe from what, exactly, he didn’t know. Perhaps safe from him.
After a sleepless night of fantasizing about removing each article of her clothing and kissing every inch of her body, he didn’t trust himself to remain a gentleman if he found himself alone with her again this evening.
Being in close proximity all day would only make matters worse. Yet he missed her wit and laughter. The heat of her skin as his leg accidentally brushed against hers in the carriage. His body ached for her.
This is insanity. He swallowed a groan and returned his attention to the rutted road.
Drew chuckled.
“Speak your mind and be done with it,” Luke said. “You know you will eventually, so spare me the suspense.”
“You only need to give the word if you want to join the ladies.”
“I don’t.” But he did. He wanted it with great intensity, which was the reason he was riding his damned horse.
Drew’s black stallion plodded along beside Thor in companionable silence. Luke wished he could say the same for his brother.
“Lady Vivian is a beautiful young woman. Father chose well.”
Luke pulled his hat lower to shade his eyes. “I’m certain Father had no idea what he was agreeing to when he entered into negotiations with Ashden.”
“What do you mean? Lady Vivian is lively, intelligent, and not a bit hard on the eyes. What fault do you find with her?”
“She has no faults in my eyes. Father, on the other hand, would not have approved of her high spirits.”
“Hmm,” Drew muttered noncommittally.
“Have you ever met a lady who wields a foil and can sit a horse better than most men? You should have seen her clear the fence at Brighthurst. It required hardly any effort.”
A surge of energy chased away the sluggish feeling that had been dogging him since he had climbed from bed that morning. Vivian excited him; she made him feel intensely alive, like the day he had been caught in the thunderstorm. The first day he had laid eyes on her.
“If Lady Vivian is an accomplished equestrienne,” Drew said, “you should have invited her to join you instead.”
“She is perfectly fine in the carriage. I can barely keep my hands off her as it is.”
Drew’s brows drew together. “And why can’t you touch her?”
Luke had never known his youngest brother to abstain from anything he desired, which likely accounted for his bemusement. “If I’m to help Vivian make a match, I cannot ruin her, now can I?”
“I see no reason you should hand her over to another gent, especially if you’re entertaining thoughts of bedding her.”
“I am not thinking of bedding her.” At least the thought hadn’t invaded his mind for the past ten minutes, but it was back like an annoying itch he couldn’t scratch. “I promised to help her find a husband, and I honor my word.”
Drew shrugged. “Lana had some decent gentlemen on her list, but you dismissed them all. Who do you think would be a good match for Lady Vivian?”
“I haven’t decided, but none of those will do.”
The thought of Vivian marrying Lord Corby or Mitcham did not sit well with him, even if the gentlemen did boast sterling reputations. Nor did he care for Lord Ledbery or Mr. Theobald. And what in God’s name made Lana believe Osborn, Kirby, or Gillingham would make a decent match for Vivian? She needed a husband who understood and embraced her nature. Luke wasn’t certain if any gentlemen of his acquaintance would meet his standards.
Drew cleared his throat. “What are your intentions for yourself once you have ensured the lady is well settled in marriage? I hate to sound like Rich, but you are the duke now. Neither our brother nor I may assume the role.”
Luke’s lips thinned. That was the rub. Only he could bear the title, but he was least suited to fulfill the duties. At one time, he had been ready to embrace his role, but that was before his accident.
He had been engaging in tomfoolery with his Oxford classmates in the dormitory corridor. He remembered almost nothing beyond that moment, aside from the crash of glass and cold air on his face. The impact remained a forgotten memory, one he didn’t care to recall. Yet, sometimes the fall came back to him in flashes as he drifted to sleep at night, causing him to jerk awake and his heart to slam against his ribs.
“Let’s see how the expedition goes before we begin settling my future,” he said. “Later I will concern myself with finding a wife. If I make it back.”
“Stop talking that way. Of course you’ll make it back, but Lady Vivian will be lost to you by then.”
Luke’s stomach lurched and he swallowed against the bitter taste at the back of his throat. “If I return, I’ll find someone else.”
Drew scowled but said nothing.
“Marriage is about mutual benefit for both parties, and a title wouldn’t be enough for Lady Vivian.”
Was that true? She had said she could be content living a life apart from one another.
“Marriage is about mutual benefit, is it?” Drew said. “How foolish of me to believe love might play a small role.”
“One can’t deny you are foolish in the extreme.” In truth, both of Luke’s younger brothers were besotted fools. Richard was just as arsey varsey over his wife as Drew was for Lana, but one could not deny they were in the minority. Gentlemen of means and title married for many different reasons. Love was an illogical one.
“Don’t become too smug, brother,” Drew said with a smirk. “You’re in danger of joining the rank of fools, too. I have noticed how you regard Lady Vivian.”
Just the mention of her name stirred Luke’s body. “This conversation has grown tedious. First one to reach the bend ahead is the winner.”
Drew’s horse shot forward. “Loser buys the ale,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Luke squinted against the fine dust cloud stirred up by the other horse’s hooves and lightly kicked Thor into a gallop. His horse reached full stride in moments and closed the lead.
Drew’s whoop carried on the wind as he anticipated victory. His hat whipped from his head. Luke ducked before it hit his face.
Thor reached the other horse’s hindquarters just as they rounded the bend, his brother besting him as he usually did when they raced.
Luke and Drew eased back on the reins to slow their horses. Luke’s heart beat heavily and he laughed, exhilarated by racing neck-or-nothing against his brother.
Drew’s cheeks were red and his hair was tousled. “The ale is on you tonight, old man.”
“You had an early start.”
Drew grinned, that same cocky smirk he’d sported since he had worn short pants. “My only advantage was that I’m a superior specimen of man.”
“Not to mention modest.”
In truth, Luke didn’t mind losing to his youngest brother. At least Drew was willing to indulge him and take his mind off his troubles. Had Richard been traveling with him, Luke would have been tearing down the lane alone. Situated squarely between Luke and Drew in birth order, Richard behaved as if he were in his dotage. They had uncles less crotchety.
Luke raised his brows. “Aren’t you riding one of Father’s horses? That would make him mine, you realize.”
“Demetrius? Sorry to disappoint you, but Father gave him to me long ago.”
“That wasn’t how I heard it. I think the tale went something like you absconded to London with Father’s prized Thoroughbred.”
“Borrowed? Gifted? Is there truly any difference?”
“Not to you, I guess.”
Their banter continued as Luke turned his horse back down the lane and made to return to the ladies. As he rounded the bend, he spotted another carriage closing in on their small caravan.
“Damnation. It’s Brookhaven and Collier again.”
Drew rode up on his side. “We are traveling to the same destination. It should come as no surprise that our paths have crossed again. I imagine we will be breaking bread with them this evening.”
Luke’s fingers tightened on the reins. “If I take the ribbons and drive the team, it should be easy enough to lose them.”
“You most certainly will not. My wife and children are in the carriage.”
Luke shook the foolish notion from his head. “I wasn’t seriously contemplating it.”
Any risk of harm coming to Vivian or his kin would never do, even though putting distance between themselves and the rogues was tempting. He dreaded another dinner with the drooling mongrels, especially when the tasty morsel they would be eyeing was Vivian.
Drew walked his horse to where his hat lay tipped over in the lane, dismounted, and slapped it against his trouser leg before popping it on his head. He swung back into the saddle as Luke’s carriage approached.
As the conveyance passed, Luke took up position alongside it. Vivian flattened a palm against the glass, as if waving, and smiled. She had removed her gloves and bonnet, and wisps of hair had slipped down around her face.
God, she was breathtaking.
A tug of longing from deep inside caused him to bolt upright in the saddle. The feeling was unexpected, startling him, just like the falling sensation that jerked him awake at night.