An Improper Seduction (5 page)

Chapter 5

Geoffrey was paying close attention to his host, Lord Hartfield, when the dining room door opened.

He had invited himself to the midday meal once again, mainly to find out what the bloody hell had happened to Angeline the night before. Upon his arrival, he was rather astonished to learn that Angeline had not yet returned from Mrs. Bennett’s house, the delivery of her baby taking much more time than was typical.

So now he had been discussing more about the affairs of an estate with Lord Hartfield. The man obviously ran his properties well and his advice seemed to make a great deal more sense than some of the other landholders in the area. Certainly more sense than that of Viscount Hexford.

Thomas, the butler, slid open the door and Lady Angeline dragged in.

He was appalled by her appearance. Her face was pale with dark circles under her green eyes, her attire wilted and disheveled. She looked dead on her feet.

Geoffrey and Angus sprang to their feet. Geoffrey moved quickly toward her.

“Papa, I just wanted you to know Mrs. Bennett is well and I am home. She had a very trying time of it but the babies are well, as is the mother. I—I—” Her eyes found Geoffrey’s. She gave a slight smile then tried to curtsey.

Her knees gave out from under her and she headed for the floor.

Before Angus could get to her, Geoffrey caught her in his arms and lifted her firmly against his chest. He felt her head lean against him and then the softest sigh escaped her lips.

“Angus, I think I best take Lady Angeline to her room. Can the butler show me the way?”

“Yes. Yes, Geoffrey. Thomas, take Lord Colburn to Lady Angeline’s room immediately. Then, have Cook send up some broth and her maid, Margaret, come to put her to bed.

“Thank you, Geoffrey, for your care of her.”

Geoffrey nodded and carried his feminine charge gently as he followed the butler.

As he entered her room, he spared a glance around to see what his lady’s bedchamber was like.

It was no surprise to him to see fabrics in soft greens laden with flowers. Silks covered her boudoir chairs and counterpane. When he laid her on the bed, she sighed once again, then opened her eyes.

“Geoffrey?”

“Yes, Lady Angeline. You fainted in the dining room so I brought you upstairs to your bed.”

“You should not be here, Geoffrey.” Angeline said with mild reproach. She was obviously too exhausted to make a fuss over the impropriety of a man, who was not a close family member, entering a single female’s boudoir.

“I thought it best someone carry you to your chamber. Who is there, other than myself, who could handle such a delicate duty?” Geoffrey bent over her and gently brushed her hair back from her face. “Your father gave me permission. You need rest, Angeline. Cook is sending up some broth. You were probably so busy tending others you forgot to care for yourself. And, your maid is coming to undress you.”

Alarm widened her eyes. “You must go. You cannot be here when Margaret attends me.”

“Rest, Angeline. I will be leaving. I will see you tomorrow. You have tended others well. Now, you must tend to yourself. I will visit you tomorrow afternoon and we can talk further about your latest adventure. I would love to hear of Mrs. Bennett’s condition. I know nothing of childbirth.” He brushed her cheek gently again, then kissed her softly on the mouth.

“It is miraculous, my lord,” her voice almost inaudible as she neared slumber. “To hold a new life in one’s hands is like nothing else in the world. To hear her first cry. To touch the softness of her skin . . .”

“Yes, darling. Sleep now. Your maid is here and I must go. Tomorrow. We will talk more tomorrow.” He kissed her lightly again, then left.

Down in the dining room, Angus was pacing in agitation. “Is she all right, Geoffrey?”

“She’s just tired, Angus. Evidently the birthing was more demanding than usual. Not only for the mother, but for the doctor and his assistant as well. Does she do this often?”

Angus’s head jerked up. “Do what? Oh, you mean tend to the sick? Yes, yes. She learned this from her mother. She started going with her on such errands of mercy when she was but ten and three. She probably knows as much as the doctor these days. And she will not stop.” Angus paused by the window to look out pensively over his lands. “She especially loves the birthings. She loves to hold the babies in her arms. She told me so once. But only the one time. She never mentioned it to me again.”

“Your daughter is a woman of many facets, Angus. It still surprises me some man has not leg-shackled her by now.” Geoffrey came to stand next to his new friend.

“You have seen her strong will for yourself. There have been many who have asked for her hand but none she would accept. As I told you, your cousin Ronald was one of them. I always thought they would get along quite well. But, Angeline felt his personality would not match hers. She is an intelligent woman. She was probably right.”

“And what of this Lord Hexford?”

Astonishment passed over Angus’s face. “Angeline would kill me if I forced her to marry him. And, I do not exaggerate. His intelligence is marginal, at best. He has devastated his family fortunes and seeks Angeline not only for her beauty but more so for her wealth. And he would want to run roughshod over Angeline’s wishes.” Angus shook his head in disgust. “He is so crass he might even take it into his mind he had the right to strike her to bend her to his will. Truly, I would rather see her remain spinster than to be tied to one such as he. What do you know of him?”

Geoffrey turned to address him directly, leaning against the window frame. “I met him at the home of the Sisters Grimm yesterday afternoon. I was invited to tea, probably to meet their very eligible niece, Gertrude. She is an attractive young lady but much too young for my tastes. Angeline arrived late. I did not even know she was invited.”

Angus nodded. “She often has tea with the sisters. She approves of their independence.”

“So I see,” returned the marquess. “She was as sweet as she could be to Lord Hexford, but I could tell it was an act she played out for me. Lord Hexford, however, was not so discerning. Yet he made comments to all the ladies of what a woman’s place should be. It was not received well by any except Miss Gertrude, who is still too young to know the right of it.”

“Well, I have no fear of Hexford where Angeline is concerned. She’ll put him in his place and keep him there. You, on the other hand, are a different matter.” A glint of amusement settled in Angus’s eyes. “Are you making any progress with your courting?”

“Some, Angus.” Geoffrey smiled warmly at his host. “I wish not to rush her and yet I must keep things moving along. She needs rest now more than anything else after such a night. I will call upon her tomorrow afternoon if I have your permission.”

“Granted. And bless you for trying. I must admit, you are the first I have seen who truly has a chance to run her to ground. I root only for you. Though I must tell you, if you hurt her in any way, I will have your neck stretched for it.”

“As a loving father should be expected to do. No, I will not hurt her, but you must be prepared for some unconventional tactics I will use with her. She obviously did not respond well to standard courting, so I am taking her unawares by a totally different approach.”

“Will you share with me?” asked Angus.

“You are her father. I think not and the less said, the better. I’ll be off now until tomorrow afternoon. Let me know if rest does not heal her.” Geoffrey shook the earl’s hand, then took his leave.

He had much to think about. His Angeline was not the hardhearted wench she had tried to get him to believe. He liked this softer side of her. What could be more appropriate for the wife of a marquess?

He arrived the following afternoon just before tea. After appropriate greetings to Angeline’s father, Geoffrey was sent out to the garden to locate the object of his attentions. As he walked quietly down the suggested path, he heard voices raised in disagreement.

“You cannot continue to deny me your hand, Lady Angeline,” said a rough, frustrated male voice Geoffrey immediately recognized as Hexford’s.

“Oh, but I can and will, Lord Hexford,” Angeline replied in sincere tones.

“I will approach your father whether you wish it or not,” Hexford roared.

“He shall not coerce me in matters where you are concerned. He promised me I could select my own husband—or not.”

Hexford growled, “He needs an heir.”

“But, I am not so desperate as to settle for you. I am aware of how you depleted your inheritance in short order. I will not marry you just so you can do the same to mine.” Angeline’s voice was high and sharp.

“I have feelings for you, Lady Angeline,” Hexford, changing tack, crooned.

“Posh. You wish only a wealthy, attractive heiress so you can spend her money and command her to your desires. It shall not be me.”

Geoffrey heard movement beyond the hedge.

“There are ways to force your hand, Angeline.”

“Let me go. I shall not be sullied by the likes of you.”

As Geoffrey bolted around the shrubbery, he heard a smart slap. Moments later, he cleared his throat to break the tension.

Hexford had a clear, red imprint of Angeline’s hand on the left side of his face. His outrage palpable, he looked as if he would force himself upon the lady right then.

Angeline’s color was high, as was her indignation. She hefted a small garden trowel in her left hand with a look on her face that dared the viscount to assault her again.

“Excuse me, Lady Angeline,” Geoffrey put in smoothly as he leaned against an ancient elm. “Your father said I might find you here. Am I interrupting anything of importance?”

Angeline’s eyes never left Hexford. “No, my lord, nothing of importance. Lord Hexford was just leaving.” Her glare should have turned the man to ash.

Hexford grabbed his hat from the bench next to his knee. “You have not heard the last of this, Lady Angeline.”

“Oh, but I have, my lord. Do not return to this estate ever again. Instructions will be given at the door to turn you away. No matter what.”

“We shall see about that, Angeline.” Hexford slapped his hat upon his head, then stomped away, just missing the marquess as he headed down the path.

Angeline’s gaze snapped to him. Her face was still flushed, there was fire in her eyes, and she breathed heavily. She looked formidable. . .ravishing. . .seductive.

“I see I arrived just in time to save your virtue, Lady Angeline,” Geoffrey quipped.

“I can protect my own virtue, Lord Colburn.”

“Come, come. I came for a pleasant visit. Forget Hexford and his barbaric ways. Sit with me and tell me how you fare today.” Geoffrey took her gently by the elbow and led her to the bench. “You had quite the day of it yesterday. And today seems no less dull. I never would have expected life in the country to be so eventful.”

Angeline tensed as he touched her but then relaxed and sat on the bench next to him.

“That man is a plague on womankind. God help the woman who is fool enough to take him to husband.”

“I am glad it shall not be you, Angeline.” He smiled down on her.

“I have been clear with you, Lord Colburn. . .”

“Geoffrey, please.”

“Yes, well, I have no intentions to wed. Men remain unmarried with few if any recriminations or scandal. I shall do the same.”

Knowing better than to confront Angeline when she was in such a vexed state, he merely remarked, “Enough of that. Tell me of yesterday’s adventures. You spoke only moments of it when I carried you to your bedchamber.”

Angeline blushed. “You should not have been in my room, my lord.”

“And how were you to get there? Fly? You had no strength for the task, Angeline. And, all was proper. Thomas stayed until your maid arrived and then I left you none the worse for it.”

“But still, Geoffrey. . .”

“Did I hear you right? Did Mrs. Bennett have twins?” Geoffrey hoped he could pull her off track by changing the subject.

“Yes. Two of the prettiest little girls.” Her face lit up with the telling. “They look just alike and have the bluest eyes. We tied different colored ribbons round their wrists so we could tell them apart.”

Enjoying her enthusiasm over the new babies, Geoffrey sought to continue her experience.

“And did you get to hold them, Angeline?” he asked softly.

“Oh, yes. Both of them. They are so tiny but they cried up a storm at first. They have strong lungs. And when Mrs. Bennett went to feed them, they hushed just fine. They knew who their mother was.”

“Did you watch them nursing, Angeline? That is what it is called, no? Ladies of the
Ton
refrain from such activity.”

“More’s the pity, Geoffrey. You can see the bond that grows between a mother and her babe as she feeds it. If I were a mother, I would nurse my own children, not have some stranger do it.”

“And have you wanted children of your own?” he asked ever so gently.

“Oh, yes, Geoffrey,” she said before she realized the subtle trap he had laid for her.

She recovered quickly. “But that shall never happen, my lord, as I will never marry.”

“I believe you believe that, Angeline. And with what you have had to choose from over the last several years, I am not surprised with your decision. But enough of birthings and babies for now. Tell me, what did you think of your first lesson?”

Angeline looked away from him as her face flushed a bright red.

“I think it is best we not speak about it, my lord. I should not have come.”

Geoffrey smiled and thought to himself that he wouldn’t have given up that night with her for all the tea in China. She had been magnificent, and he became aroused every time he had ventured to think about their encounter.