Captive Bride (18 page)

 
"I had a perfectly enchanting evening," Rozalyn sighed as she floated up the back stairs. "I hope you enjoyed yours as well."

 
"I didn't enjoy nothin'." Tess sniffed irritably. "I've bin frettin' about you all evenin', wonderin' if some hooligan snatched you up off the street. I swear, chile, I'm gettin' too old to be lookin' after the likes of you. Yer gonna shove me into an early grave if I have to spend my time stewin' 'bout where you are and what yer doin'."

 
"That's nice," Rozalyn said absently. She was so absorbed in her own world that she was paying no attention.

 
Tess did a double take when Rozalyn sauntered down the hall, humming a soft tune. "What's gotten into that girl? The way she's been floating 'round on a cloud a person would think she was in love ..." A wry smile rippled across the Negress' lips as she watched Rozalyn disappear from sight. "Glory be! She is in love. Well, don't that beat all." Tess snickered as she closed her bedroom door. The possibility of planning a wedding in the very near future left her beaming with uncontained delight.

 
Tess stood back to appraise this vision in lavender, her discerning gaze ensuring that not a single wrinkle detracted from the loveliness of the garment. She had insisted upon helping Rozalyn dress for the dinner party, and she was pleased with the result. Rozalyn looked like a royal princess about to attend a ball. Tess could not remember seeing her young charge so radiant on any other occasion.

 
"Yer man must be somethin' special," she surmised as she circled around Rozalyn to view the creation from every angle. "I ain't seen you smile so much in years."

 
"He is," Rozalyn eagerly replied. She peered in the mirror to rearrange a renegade curl that had tumbled from the shiny ringlets pinned atop her head. "And I consider myself fortunate to have found him."

 
Tess chortled at the lovestruck expression on Roza-lyn's flawless features. "Lawd, I never thought I'd live to see the day you found a man to suit you. Yore gran'mammy must be delighted that her—" The housekeeper bit her tongue before it outdistanced her brain.

 
"If
Grand’mere
's wish is to see me happy, then it has come to pass," Rozalyn replied, without cross-examining Tess about the comment she had left dangling in midair.

 
When the butler announced Dominic's arrival, Rozalyn hurried down the steps, Tess waddling along right behind her. The housekeeper was determined to have a close look at the rake who had so quickly taken hold of Rozalyn's heart, but she very nearly tripped over her own feet when Dominic emerged from the shadows to strike a' pose at the bottom of the steps. Before her stood a man who could make the Greek gods bow their heads in shame. He was every bit as handsome as Rozalyn was beautiful. Tess nodded in approval as her dark eyes flowed over the powerfully built gentleman.

 
Rozalyn was just as awestruck as the housekeeper. She had thought Dominic dashing in brown velvet, but his deep green waistcoat and matching silk vest accented the vivid color of his eyes. The fine fabric hugged his hard, muscular chest and clung to his thighs, and he wore a roguish smile that melted Rozalyn's heart. She found herself returning his contagious grin though she felt like a child gazing upon her idol. The mere sight of him aroused her and stirred sweet memories of a night that bordered on fantasy.

 
“My lady, you have again bewitched me with your beauty," Dominic growled seductively.

 
Lifting Rozalyn from the step, he held her in his arms. Then his gaze drifted to the plump Negress who was beaming at him, and he nodded a silent greeting as he set Roz on her feet. Dominic had been so distracted by this vision in lavender that he had failed to notice they had an audience.

 
"Tess had to see you in person," Rozalyn teased playfully. "I think she believed I'd conjured you up after I described you as tall, dark, and undeniably handsome."

 
"Off with you," Tess sputtered, flicking her wrist to shoo them out the door. "Yore gran'mammy is short on patience. She'll be pokin' her head out the door every few minutes, wonderin' what's keepin' the two of you."

 
As Rozalyn bounded down the steps toward the carriage, Dominic grasped her arm to detain her. When she glanced up questioningly, he answered her with a kiss warm enough to turn her into a pool of liquid desire.

 
"Mmmmm . . . I feared I would die for the want of that kiss. God, how long has it been? It seems like months." He groaned before his lips devoured hers once again.

 
When he finally granted Rozalyn a breath of air, she laughed light-heartedly and then turned toward the carriage. "You, sir, are outrageous. One would think you starved for affection."

 
"Am I not?" Dominic chortled as he quickened his pace to keep up with her strides. "If I had my wish, we would not have said
adieu
last night. I shamefully admit I squeezed the stuffing out of my pillow while I slept . . . it was a poor substitute for the feel of your soft, shapely body."

 
Rozalyn slipped her small hand into his and then smiled up into his handsome face. "
Grand’mere
's party cannot last until dawn. With any luck at all she will grant us a few moments of privacy."

 
"I doubt that." Dominic pouted like a child who had been deprived of a treat. "She will flaunt us like two prize canaries in a cage. I predict we will be put on display the moment we set foot in the house."

 
Rozalyn"s gay laughter eased Dominic's sour mood, and when she smoothed the frown from his features with a feathery kiss, Dominic forgot the nagging feeling of apprehension that had plagued him throughout the day. He had been relieved that Aubrey DuBois had not yet returned from his warehouse on the wharf when he'd come to call on Rozalyn. There would be a better time to confront this adversary. But when? Dominic asked himself. He had to voice his grievances to the powerful furrier, but his preoccupation with Rozalyn had pushed that purpose to the corner of his mind. Patience, man, Dominic told himself. If he wasn't careful his intricate scheme would explode in his face. He had to proceed one step at a time. Soon he would confront Aubrey, but for the moment, he would enjoy the free-spirited pixie who occupied his thoughts.

 
When Dominic and Rozalyn stepped into the carriage, Mosley popped the reins over the horse's back, urging the steed into a trot. A sly smile lifted his lips for he'd witnessed Dominic's possessive kiss on the front steps of the mansion. Mosley could almost feel Chadwell's twenty-dollar gold piece weighting down his pocket. Dominic is hooked, Mosley assured himself. This gorgeous creature with shiny raven hair and bright blue eyes certainly had his master in a tailspin. Chadwell would be eating his words.

 
While the groom was gloating, Dominic was making use of the few moments of privacy. One kiss led to another, and Dominic would have sworn the carriage had sprouted wings for they seemed to have flown to the Rabelais mansion. Reluctantly, he broke the arousing kiss and dragged himself away from Rozalyn. But when he stepped from the carriage, Mosley was peering down from his perch, a wide grin stretched across his face, and Dominic could not fathom what the old man found so amusing.

 
"You have certainly been behaving strangely tonight," Dominic remarked. The man seemed to be harboring some juicy secret. "I didn't realize that driving a carriage was so highly amusing."

 
Mosley shrugged noncommittally as he climbed down from his perch. Dominic would have pursued his investigation if Rozalyn had not emerged from the carriage to distract him. Her bright smile could have illuminated the night sky, and it nearly blinded Dominic. As he propelled her toward the mansion, Mosley took a long draw on his pipe and then ambled toward the stables. A soft peal of laughter echoed in the darkness as Mosley disappeared into the barn to join the other grooms who were waiting to drive
Madame
Rabelais' guests home when the party drew to a close. Dominic doesn't stand a chance against Rozalyn's charms, Mosley mused as he sank down into a chair. And he was prepared to bet another ten-dollar gold piece against anyone foolhardy enough to take the wager.

Chapter 9

 
Lenore clasped her hands in delight when Rozalyn and Dominic appeared in the foyer. A perfect match, she said to herself. She had prayed for this moment and it had finally come.

 
When Rozalyn focused her attention on her ailing grandmother, she could not believe the drastic change in Lenore's appearance. There was lively color in her cheeks and her eyes twinkled with happiness. The beldame's face was no longer chalky. Indeed, she looked ten years younger than she had two days before! It seemed her expectation of Rozalyn's upcoming wedding had worked miracles. Lenore seemed to have drunk her fill at the fountain of youth.

 
A pensive frown puckered Rozalyn's brow for she wondered if there would truly be a wedding. Dominic had spoken of love, but he had not asked for her hand. Did he only presume that wedlock was inevitable since it was Lenore's intention to whisk them through a brief courtship? Marriage was what Rozalyn wanted, but what about Dominic?

 
Casting aside her worrisome thoughts, she approached her grandmother, giving the beldame a cheerful smile. Rozalyn was sitting on top of the world and nothing could spoil her festive mood. She was hopelessly in love, and she didn't care if all of St. Lo
ui
s knew it.

 
"You needn't say a word," Lenore insisted as she accepted the kiss Rozalyn pressed to her left cheek. "I can see by the look on your face that all is well with you and Dominic." Her eyes circled back to the dashing rake who was garbed in rich green velvet, and for a moment she admired the awesomely built, strikingly attractive man Rozalyn had selected for her future husband. "Come here, young man, and pay your respects to this feeble old woman."

 
A wry smile caught one corner of Dominic's mouth as he strode forward to take up her hand and place a light kiss on her wrist. "You look charming this evening,
madame
," he complimented and winked subtly at Lenore. "Rozalyn has warned me not to let my eyes stray to other women tonight. I am not certain I will be able to keep my promise for I might be drawn into your enchanting spell. It is not difficult to understand how Roz inherited her beauty or to whom she owes her vivacious personality."

 
"Devil," Lenore teased, delighted with Dominic's playful attention. "I am much too old and decrepit to believe such nonsense. Now, have you set the date for your wedding? I would be heartbroken if I were to miss the occasion."

 
Sparkling green eyes drifted to Rozalyn. Then Dominic smiled tenderly as he wrapped an arm around her and drew her to his side. "Did you perchance invite a clergyman to this affair? I have already made it clear that yesterday would not have been soon enough to speak the vows."

 
When Dominic bent to press a kiss to Rozalyn's upturned lips, Lenore beamed. Silently, she applauded herself for having already considered what Dominic had suggested.
 
This engagement
 
party will serve a dual purpose, she thought, a cunning grin on her face. Nothing would make her happier than to hear Rozalyn and Dominic speak their vows this very night, and if everything went according to her scheme Rozalyn would have a husband this very evening. But where the devil is Aubrey? Lenore wondered. She had sent him a message early that morning, stating that under no circumstances was he to miss his daughter's engagement party. If Aubrey did not arrive to give his daughter away at her surprise wedding, Lenore vowed she would find someone to stand in his stead. The inconsiderate lout.

 
"It just so happens I have invited a man of the cloth," Lenore announced, and her smile broaded when Rozalyn and Dominic gaped at her in disbelief. "The Reverend Fletcher says he will be only too happy to—"

 
"Rozalyn!" Lenore was cut off in midsentence when Mariette Jarmon swept from the ballroom to meet the man Lenore had been raving about for the past half-hour. Mariette's footsteps halted when she peered up into a pair of incredible green eyes.
Mon Dieu
. She had never been as envious of Rozalyn as she was at this moment. Rozalyn had landed herself a most dashing prize, but Mariette had lost two beaux to this wealthy beauty and she considered trying to steal this handsome catch away from Rozalyn DuBois. "I am most anxious to meet your fiance," she purred as she sashayed forward, her violet eyes never straying from the attractive rake in green velvet. He was pleasing to the eye, and Mariette was already contemplating how it would feel to be held in his arms.

 
A twinge of jealousy sizzled through Rozalyn as she watched the curvaceous redhead ogle Dominic. Mariette was the type of woman who derived pleasure from causing trouble. She had always been an outrageous flirt and a tease, and Rozalyn had never particularly cared for her. Clamping a tight rein on her temper, Rozalyn forced a civil smile. She would view Dominic's reaction to this seductive redhead. If he found Mariette intriguing, perhaps she would reconsider the hasty wedding.

 
"Mariette Jarmon, I would like you to meet Dominic Baudelair. He is—" Rozalyn was unable to finish her sentence before Mariette pounced.