Page 110 of The Seduction of an English Scoundrel

“Which is all very well and good,” Lord Belshire said grumpily, leaning forward a final time to speak. “But let us see you married first, hmm?”

Chapter 28

For the next week Grayson behaved as quite the perfect gentleman, the perfect suitor. He squired Jane and her sisters to the museum, to the amphitheater, to lectures and soirées. He bought her flowers. And he did not lay a finger on her, aware that he was teasing her, torturing them both with his promise to show self-control.

Proper she wanted. Proper he would give her, if only on the surface. There would be plenty of time for private improprieties during the course of their marriage.

Two weeks later Cecily exchanged vows with the Duke of Hedleigh in an ancient Gothic church only minutes away from her father’s family seat in Kent. Jane served as a bridesmaid, and Grayson caused another small scandal when he sat in one of the front pews with her father, who kept commenting on how happy the bride and groom looked, and how he hoped to see his own daughter at the altar soon.

A few minutes after the wedding procession drove through the wrought-iron gates of the estate, a cloud of white doves was released from the tower of the east wing. Wedding bells pealed from the village church into the mellow blue skies as the birds fluttered free.

“How lovely,” Jane exclaimed, shielding her eyes to look up.

“Not if they decide to fly over the wedding breakfast,” her father grumbled as they took their seats at the tables where ham, grouse, jellies, and roast beef tempted the guests. “Why can’t these affairs be held inside?”

Jane took a sip of champagne. Where had Grayson gone? Ah, there. Strolling down an avenue of high evergreens with two young ladies in tow. She frowned as the trio turned around a corner. True to his word, he had not touched her since that night at the opera, and she was burning, positively on fire to be in his arms again. He was playing with her, proving another of his wicked points.

His tall figure disappeared. A moment later a burst of gleeful feminine laughter drifted from the direction of the evergreens. The sound tore years and years of Jane’s good breeding to pieces.

“What are they doing?” she asked, putting down her fork.

Her father speared a slice of ham. “What is who doing?”

“Grayson and those girls.”

Lord Belshire glanced around the table. “I don’t see Grayson with any girls.”

“Precisely. They are hidden from view, making their behavior all the more suspicious.”

“I daresay Grayson would be a trifle more discreet if you were to announce your engagement.”

Jane rose from her chair. “Do you think he’s trying to make me jealous?”

“My dear child, it is beyond me to fathom what either of you is doing. All I really care about at this point is that you set a date.” He refused a second glass of champagne offered by a hovering footman. “Once you are married, the pair of you can behave in whatever manner you please.”

She tossed down her napkin and hurried off toward the trees where she had last seen her rogue. It was rude of him, really, to be openly flirting in the midst of the wedding breakfast. With everyone watching. And him making such a beastly point of not touching her for two weeks.

She came to the corner where he had disappeared. A stone Cupid stood in the center of the pathway, pointing an arrow at her heart.

“Shoot if you like,” she muttered, “but you’re a little too late.”

A deep mocking voice spoke behind her. “Too late for what?”

She spun around, bumping against Grayson’s muscular body. A rush of blood warmed her all the way to her toes. It was the closest they had come to physical contact in over a fortnight, but even then he did not touch her. No, he just stood there in all his virile power, letting her smolder. “I was talking to Eros. Where are your giggling girls?”

“Ah, the Misses Darlington. Well, we rescued the dove, and they took off to find their mama.”

“What dove?”

“One of the wedding doves got itself entangled in a tree. The gardener and I staged a heroic rescue.” He stared down into her face, his eyes searching hers. “Were you jealous, Jane?”

She pressed her hand against his chest. “Horribly. Insanely. Grayson, you are never to go off in the trees with any other female but me. Were you trying to make me jealous?”

He grinned. “Me? Capable of such a juvenile act? Of course I was, darling, and obviously my ploy worked.”

He reached down and took her hand, breaking his vow. “We’re announcing our engagement at the ball tonight.”

“Do you think—”