Doust slid a look at Kit.
This got worse and worse all the time, Kit thought chagrined. His own servants didn’t even recognize him. Why the devil had he waited so long to come here? He was beginning to feel as ifhewas the wrongdoer. “I am Mr. Featherton. You must be Simons.”
The merest flicker of distaste passed over the butler’s face. “Indeed, sir. I shall escort you to the ladies straight away.”
As they followed the butler down a long corridor, Kit couldn’t help noticing that the carpets were clean and in good repair, the woodwork gleamed, and the wall sconces sparkled. The walls appeared recently painted, as well.
Simons opened a door, and bowed as Kit and Doust entered the room.
“Lady Eunice and Lady Mary,” the rector said, “how are you doing this afternoon?”
The older woman rose. “We are quite well, Mr. Doust.” When her gaze lit on Kit, a line appeared between her brows, then disappeared. She smiled as if she’d been expecting him. “Mr. Featherton, how good of you to bring our dear friend with you.”
A younger woman standing in front of the French windows started, then stared at him with the same silver eyes that had haunted his dreams. Her golden hair was dressed in a simple knot, loose curls framed her oval face, and her countenance had changed from a friendly smile to a mask of fear.
What, by all that was holy, was Lady Mary Tolliver doing pretending to be his wife?
Of all the females in England, she was the last one he expected to see at Rose Hill. Something was vastly wrong with this situation, and he had many more questions than answers. Prime among his concerns was why in the bloody hell she was here in the first place. Almost no one outside of his family even knew he owned this property. A rage he’d never experienced before rose within him. What a fool he had been, spending the past couple of years mooning over a fraud. Had she planned to trap him into marriage?
Keeping his eyes fixed on her, he set a pleasant smile on his face and strode toward her. When he was no more than a foot away, he took her hands, raising one then the other to his lips and placing lingering kisses on each palm. Damn the butler for having left the door open and Doust for being there at all. There was nothing for it but to play his part. “Aren’t you happy to see your husband, my dear?” Lowering his voice so that only she could hear, he added, “And are you prepared for the consequences?”
Mary took in Mr. Featherton’s broad shoulders, his fashionably styled chestnut-brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen.
Of all the gentlemen who could have appeared, why did it have to be Mr. Perfect?If only she hadn’t talked herself out of what she knew in her heart to be true.
Featherton. The one man who had completely ignored her during her only full Season, and here she was posing as his wife. A person of no importance, her foot! What had her grandmother been thinking?
The humiliation of that first Season came flooding back. That no one else knew about it mattered not at all. She knew that he’d danced with almost every young lady except her. She’d even saved dances, hoping he would ask her, but he’d never claimed them, forcing her to make excuses about needing a flounce mended in the ladies’ retiring room, or being too warm and requiring a glass of lemonade.
How could she have been so wrong? More than once he’d beenheading straight in her direction, and each time she could have sworn he was finally going to request to stand up with her, but he’d always veered away at the last moment to ask another girl to take the floor or to speak with some gentleman. She must be the last lady he wanted to see at Rose Hill. It didn’t matter. He had never cared abouther, and she did not wanthim.
Still, she could barely breathe. It was a miracle she was not lying in a dead faint. His tone was soft, but menace and heat lurked in his voice.
She focused on his words.Husband?She drew a shallow breath.Consequences?Oh, Lord. What would happen to her now?
Remember your breeding.
She tried to smile, forcing the corners of her lips up. “Yes, of course. If only you had given me some notice, I would have been prepared.”
His body blocked Eunice and Doust from seeing her reaction. Try as she might to remain calm, Mary could not stop herself from trembling. Fear of what Mr. Featherton might do to her warred with anger at her grandmother. Grandmamma must have known whose house this was. Mary raised her chin. If she wouldn’t let Gawain trap her into marriage, she would not allow her grandmother to, either.
Yet perhaps Grandmamma wasn’t aware Mr. Perfect was here. After all, heshouldbe in London letting thetonfawn all over him, not at Rose Hill threatening her.
She slid a quick look at him. This was a scandal waiting to happen. Being caught by him ended her hope that no one would ever find out what she had done. Still, there had to be some way out of this situation. Surely Mr. Perfect didn’t wish to be trapped into marriage with her, a woman he couldn’t even bear to dance with, on the other hand, he was quite capable of ruining her.
He glanced over his shoulder and addressed the others. “If you could leave us alone for a while?”
“I shall show Mr. Doust out, but I shall not be far. You have only to call if you need me,” Eunice said, casting a meaningful look at Mary.
Every nerve in Mary wanted to scream,No! Don’t leave me with him, yet that would cause a scene, something she must not do if she were to escape this mess with her reputation intact. She must remain composed. Giving in to the vapors would not help. Now that he wasno longer looking at her she found herself able to take a deeper breath. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a mistake, as she caught his scent. No perfume at all, just pure male musk and leather. His buttery-yellow buckskin breeches were cut to show off his muscular thighs. No padding there. No wonder women vied for his attention.
“Mr. Doust, if you would tell Simons we might want tea, or perhaps something stronger,” Mr. Featherton said.
The words were phrased as a suggestion, but the tone made them a command. Oh Lord, what had she got herself into, all because she had given in to her grandmother?
He slid his arm possessively around her shoulders, and led her to the small sofa in the center of the room. “Sit here and breathe. You must not faint, it would give a bad impression.” He grinned wryly, although the humor did not touch his eyes. “Even worse than the one the townspeople and servants already have of me. Are you responsible for that, or was it merely my absence?”
He was furious, but her heart was thudding so hard that she could not even respond. After the first few weeks at Rose Hill, she’d not thought about what would occur if the rightful owner appeared. She’d felt safe for the first time in years. Oh Lord. They were properly in the suds now.
