A Taste of Temptation (11 page)

“So you haven’t seen Miss Loudermilk?”

“No, I wanted to speak with you first. Pour me a splash of that good port you have, will you, dear?” Andrew walked over to the rosewood side table that stretched against the back wall. His Aunt Claude usually had a sip or two of the fine, expensive combination of wine and brandy with him every time she visited.

“I can tell you what she wants,” Andrew said as he filled two glasses with the port that was more brandy than wine.

“She wants me to marry her niece.”

“Of course she does. It’s inferred because you were alone with her in your chamber. I always knew your recklessness would catch up to you one day. It was only a matter of time.”

He handed her a glass and sat down beside her. He sipped from his glass with confidence and then said, “I’m not married yet.”

“I’m here to tell you that it has to be.” Anger at being duped welled up in him again. “She designed our meeting in my room.”

“Say what you will, but she couldn’t have done it without your help. Even so, you must marry the girl.” So much for his aunt’s beating around the bush. She came right out with the hatchet.

Andrew drank from his glass again. He held the strong wine in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. “No.

There are things you don’t know about her.”

“She’s from an excellent family with ties to the Duke of Norfolk.”

“So I’ve heard,” he grumbled.

“So what else is there to know? There’s never been a hint of scandal about her. I’m hoping when I go see Agatha I can tell her you will do what’s right by her niece and marry her.”

“No.”

Claudette’s voice remained calm even though he sensed she was getting agitated. “It’s in the scandal sheets, Andrew. Dorothy must have been the one to have told the gossipmongers. That sweet Lady Lynette wouldn’t dare breathe a word of gossip to anyone, but it’s only a matter of time before Miss Banning’s name is whispered behind fans.”

“I gave up long ago trying to find out how they got their gossip or even caring. But you asked what else there is to know about Miss Banning. I’ll tell you. I think she’s addled or simple-minded or something, because she’s obviously not in her right mind.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve talked to her. She’s as sane as you or I.”

“When I found her in my room she told me she was looking for a ghost.”

His aunt’s amusement started with a slow smile lifting her lips at the corners, which quickly erupted into soft, comfortable laughter that grated on Andrew’s tenuous hold on his anger.

He tried not to show his annoyance. He had no appreci-ation for being anyone’s entertainment, including his favorite aunt.

Grimly he said, “If Miss Banning spoke the truth and she’s a ghost hunter, don’t you find that peculiar behavior?

How can I marry a young woman who is not right in the mind?”

“We’re not talking about you, Andrew. We’re talking about her. It’s her reputation that’s damaged, not yours.” The reminder sobered him and he set his port aside. His aunt would be one hundred percent right had it not been for the fact the young lady had been ruined by her own design. Once they were seen alone in his bedchamber she was accused.

“And if looking for a ghost is all that is stopping you from doing the right thing, forget about it,”Claudette said, with a bit of a sly grin on her lips. “Looking for someone from the spirit world does not make her weak in the mind any more than looking for a fourth husband makes me a madwoman, as some of my dear friends accuse me of being.”

“I’m serious, Aunt Claude.”

“So am I,” she said, although the amused smile lingered on her lips. “Half the members of the
ton
have either looked for a ghost or claim to have seen one.”

“I have to think about heirs. Miss Banning could truly be mad,” he said, not that he really believed that. Her wit had been too sharp and her self-confidence too high for her to be weak in the mind. He didn’t believe she was insane any more than his aunt did, but he still didn’t want to marry the scheming Miss Banning.

“And so could your friends be mad in the head, but they’re not, and neither is she. I can’t believe you are even bringing such a thing up. Don’t you remember when Lord Dunraven thought a priceless golden raven had been stolen by Lord Pinkwater’s ghost?”

“Members of the
ton
thought that, not Chandler.” His aunt gave him a look that let him know she didn’t believe him and then continued. “And just last year Lord Chatwin thought a ghost had spooked his horse and then rode off on it. I believe it was Lady Veronica’s ghost. No, my dear, belief in the spirit world does not a simpleton nor a madwoman make.”

Andrew laughed, amused that his aunt remembered the rumors and gossip of the past and not the facts. She had made her point well.

His good friend Chandler had never thought a ghost had stolen the raven but somehow the story had gotten started among the
ton
and it made good fodder for the gossip columns. And Andrew knew for a fact that it was no ghost that rode atop John’s horse. In fact, the lady who rode his horse that early morn a year ago later became his wife, yet rumors still lingered that a ghost had once ridden John’s horse.

“Miss Banning also said something about having her sights set on a man in Kent.”

“That could very possibly have been a ruse.” Claudette paused. “But if not, you can handle that. She is beautiful and articulate. I’m sure more than one man has been interested in pursuing her.”

“You would want me to marry a woman who desires another man?”

Claudette took a sip of port before she looked him squarely in the eyes and said, “As her husband, it would be your responsibility to make her forget any other man she has ever thought about.”

“And just how am I supposed to do that?” he said without really thinking about what those words meant.

“In your bed, my dear Andrew. Once you get her there, make her forget any other man exists.”

“Aunt Claude, please,” Andrew said, not wanting to discuss such matters with his aging aunt.

“Don’t act surprised to hear me say that. I’ve had three marriage beds and I know what a good lover can do. Judging from your reputation you won’t fall short in that department.”

“You do know how to get to the heart of a matter, don’t you?” he grumbled more to himself that to Claudette.

“Miss Banning might have gone into your bedchamber, but you didn’t turn her out. You kissed her, we all saw it, and you had her backed up against the dressing table, no less, not the other way around. You might not like the outcome, Andrew, but now you have a moral obligation to make it right.”

“I can make it right by finding her a husband who would be pleased to marry such a beautiful and tempting young lady.”

“And no doubt he would be much older than you. I know Agatha and she will not allow her niece to be married off to an old lord more than twice her age just to save her reputation. Nor would she allow her to marry a penniless baron who would be supported by her dowry for the rest of his life.”

His aunt’s words struck him hard just as she’d intended.

He had to admit he didn’t like the thought of Miss Banning being married off to an old man who couldn’t tap into the passion he sensed and felt inside her last night. She had way too much inner anticipation in her to be resigned to that fate.

He didn’t like the thought of a young man touching her any better.

Andrew’s gaze shifted from his aunt to the Seth Thomas clock on the mantel. It was four thirty.

What was he going to do about Miss Banning?

If she pushed marriage as her aunt indicated by mentioning the powerful Duke of Norfolk, there were several things he could do to counter that. He could simply leave Town under the guise that he was looking for Willard Hawkins. He could even arrange a marriage for her to someone else.

He instantly dismissed those ideas. He might have done something like that a few years ago but not now. Leaving his estates in the hands of others and not taking an interest in his affairs until it was almost too late had cost him dearly. It had also helped him to mature.

If nothing else, his problems with Willard Hawkins had taught him the hard way not to let unpleasant things continue.

It took a while for him to come to this point. He was a year past thirty. He wanted to be active in what went on in his life and not leave what affected him for others to handle.

If something wasn’t right, he intended to take the matter fully in hand, which was one of the reasons he wouldn’t stop looking until Hawkins was found and thrown in prison.

So what did that understanding tell him about what he should he do about Miss Banning?

He didn’t want the entanglements of a wife. He wanted the freedom to flirt with an enchanting miss on a starlit balcony. He wanted to enjoy the pleasures of a mistress in his bed or spend the night gaming and drinking. When he came back to London he had his life all planned out, and it didn’t include the responsibilities of a wife.

But Miss Olivia Banning had plans of her own that included him.

Suddenly a picture of her standing in his room framed by golden lamplight filtered through his mind. Her aggres-sive denial of wanting to trap him whispered past his ear.

The scent of fresh washed hair wafted on the air beneath his nose. His tongue tasted the sweetness of her mouth.

The pads of his fingers tingled deliciously as he remembered the softness of her skin.

When he’d kissed her, he’d sensed there was deep passion inside her that had not been roused before he touched her. The thought of awaking her womanly desires sent a rush of heat searing through him. He had no doubt Miss Banning was an innocent, but he also had no doubt she would be a bold lover once she learned the intimacies of what could be shared between a man and a woman.

Andrew swallowed to slow his breathing. Just thinking about her excited him.

She might really be a ghost hunter, or she could have been merely curious as she’d said, but he was certain she wasn’t a simpleton.

After his aunt finished her port and said her farewells, Andrew dressed for the evening and headed straight for White’s. He needed to do something to get his mind off Miss Banning.

It still rankled that he’d been caught with her in his private chamber. He was old enough to know better than to be so irresponsible. And he wouldn’t have been had the gel not tempted him beyond his endurance to resist her.

Cards didn’t seem to be his game for the evening, so he left the tables and headed to the billiard room and found a challenger. Minutes later Andrew rested the heel of his palm on the billiards table and positioned the cue in the web of his hand and scattered the balls.

Not a one of them went into a pocket.

Half a rueful laugh swept past his lips and he bowed to his opponent.

Not only had fate turned against him, Lady Luck had left him, too.

Andrew barely knew the man he was playing against, but that’s the way it had been since he’d returned to London. Before John and Chandler had married he’d always had them to play cards or billiards with so there was no reason to get close with anyone else. He had to get over the fact that neither of his two best friends cared a damn anymore about spending the night at White’s gaming and drinking.

“It’s your turn,” the younger man said.

Andrew looked at his opponent, and then without saying a word tried to put a ball in the side pocket. He missed by several inches. It just wasn’t his night. He should have given up long ago and gone home.

He’d lost every card game he’d played, and now he couldn’t even win at billiards when he was usually a challenging player. With no current mistress to ease his frustration, the only way to end a night like this was to have another drink and go home.

But that didn’t hold any appeal, either. He had to make some inquires and see about arranging for a mistress.

Andrew quickly let the young man beat him at billiards and then replaced the cue on the hanger before settling his bet. He picked up his tankard of ale and turned to head into the club room when he saw Chandler and John walking through the doorway.

His spirits lifted instantly. Damn, there was no way they could know how bad he needed to see them tonight, yet they were here.

“What’s this?” he joked, walking toward them as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Are these the two love-sick puppies I saw a month ago? The ones who didn’t want to leave their wives for an evening of games at White’s or even a horse race in the park?”

“We wouldn’t have tonight,” John said, “except for the fact that we felt like you needed us.” Andrew’s smile faded. That changed everything.

He did need their friendship and companionship, but he didn’t want them knowing that. He’d walk through hell un-armed before he’d allow anyone to feel sorry for him, especially these two strong men who had been like his brothers.

Andrew had gotten himself into this trap with Miss Banning and he’d get himself out of it. And looking at the two of them, he knew exactly what he had to do.

Eyeing them warily, Andrew said, “Now why would you two think I needed you? I’m in White’s with money in my pockets. I’m gaming,” he pointed to the billiard table behind him. “And I’m losing.” He pointed to the gentleman who was putting his winnings in his pocket. “And I’m drinking.” He held up the tankard of ale he held in his hand. “What more could I need?”

“We’re worried about you, and it looks like somebody needs to be, since you aren’t,” Chandler said with a scowl on his face.

Andrew grinned with ease. “Worried? Since when and over what?” he asked, though he had a pretty good idea why they had come.

“Since last evening when you admitted you were caught with a young lady in your bedchamber. We haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”