His Reluctant Lady (11 page)

“
When I married Nate,”
Claire began, “he thought I created a situation where we were
caught in a scandalous situation.”

“
Did you?” Agatha
asked.

“
No, I didn’t, but it looked
that way and we married because of it. Things between Nate and I
were uncomfortable at first.”

Agatha leaned forward in interest.
“Uncomfortable how?”

“
We didn’t get along, at
all. In fact, we spent a lot of time apart, especially when we
arrived at his country estate. He made it a point of ignoring me
and at one point left for a few weeks.”

“
It sounds like a good way
to start a marriage.”

Sophie glanced at Agatha and sighed.
“No, it’s not. It’s horrible.”

“
She got a husband with a
title and he left her alone,” Agatha said. “Did he leave you alone
because you conceived right away?”

“
We weren’t intimate during
that time,” Claire replied.

“
Really?” Agatha wondered
how Claire got so lucky. A husband who ignored her
and
didn’t come to her
bed? “What did you do to get so fortunate?”

“
I wasn’t happy during that
time,” Claire said. “It wasn’t the kind of marriage I wanted. While
I wasn’t expecting love, I wanted to at least have an amiable
relationship with my husband.”

“
I’m glad it didn’t take
that long for me and Ethan to get along or enjoy the bed,”
Catherine chimed in. “Lovemaking is a lot of fun.”

“
Is it?” Sophie asked with a
hopeful smile.

“
Oh be serious,” Agatha
replied. “There’s nothing fun about it.”

“
That’s not true,” Catherine
argued. “I’ve enjoyed my time with Ethan immensely.”

“
And I’ve enjoyed my time
with Nate,” Claire added. “Christopher might be an imp at times,
but he cares very much for you and will be a considerate
husband.”

Agatha’s eyebrows furrowed. “You and
Christopher have been talking about me?”

“
He adores you,” Claire
replied. “It’s really very sweet.”

Though Agatha failed to see anything
sweet about being coerced into marriage, she didn’t say anything.
It was obvious Claire thought very well of Christopher, even if her
husband didn’t. There was no arguing with someone who already had
her mind made up.

“
Tell us what happened,”
Sophie encouraged. “What did you and Christopher do after you
married Nate?”

“
Right.” Claire nodded.
“After Nate left the estate to take care of some business, I longed
to return to London and visit my family, but there was no one who
was willing to help me do that, except for Christopher. He came up
with a plan to get me out of there. He gave me clothes so I could
dress up as a stable boy and had a horse ready for me so I could
ride back to London.”

Agatha couldn’t believe how foolish
that plan was! “Didn’t it occur to him that something might have
happened to you all alone out there? You could have been robbed or
worse. And what if someone discovered you were a lady? He did you
no favors.”

“
It wasn’t the best plan,”
Claire conceded, “but Christopher’s heart was in the right place.
If he suggested such a plan today, I wouldn’t do it. But back then,
I was so desperate to get to London, I was willing to try
it.”

“
I had no idea you were so
adventurous,” Catherine said, her voice hinting at how impressed
she was.

“
I didn’t go through with it
because Nate happened to show up as I was ready to get on the horse
to leave,” Claire replied. “I probably wouldn’t have had the
courage to go all the way to London. I probably would have gotten
scared and returned to the estate.”

“
Which would have been the
sensible thing,” Agatha said. “I don’t see why you dressed up as a
stable boy in the first place. If Christopher had suggested such a
thing to me, I…” She glanced at the others and realized none of
them were pretending to be a gentleman in order to write in
the
Tittletattle
or in hopes of publishing gothic horror. None of them did
anything scandalous. Shifting in her chair, she cleared her throat.
“Forgive me. I shouldn’t speak out of line.”

“
Had I not been desperate, I
wouldn’t have considered it either,” Claire said, smiling. “I
understand how ridiculous Christopher’s plan was.”

“
Even if it was ridiculous,
I think it was kind of him to do something to help,” Catherine
replied.

“
I do, too,” Sophie said.
“So tell us, what happened?”

Claire chuckled. “Nate came back before
I could leave and found me dressed as a stable boy.”

Catherine and Sophie laughed. “Did he
realize it was you?” Catherine asked.

“
He did,” Claire replied.
“Though he didn’t let me know it right away.”

“
Why, Claire, you really can
be scandalous when you want to be,” Catherine teased.

Claire winked. “Thankfully, no one
caught on to that.”

“
The rules the Ton imposes
on us is absurd,” Sophie said.

“
Even so, we have to be
careful,” Agatha replied. “You don’t want your reputation
tarnished.”

“
Yes,” Catherine agreed,
“keep your scandalous activities a secret.”

Claire and Sophie laughed.

“
Oh?” Agatha asked, her gaze
turning to Catherine. “Do you have a secret?”

“
Well,” Catherine hesitated
but continued, “I like to draw my husband.”

“
There’s nothing scandalous
about that,” Sophie replied, sounding disappointed.

“
Without clothes on,”
Catherine added.

“
Oh, you don’t!” Claire said
between fits of laughter.

“
I do, but he doesn’t know.
He’d probably be mortified if he knew.”

“
Why do you want to draw him
without his clothes on?” Agatha asked.

Catherine shrugged. “I think the male
body is fascinating. But Ethan doesn’t know and I don’t want him to
know.”

“
I don’t see why you don’t
tell him,” Claire said.

“
I think he’d be
embarrassed,” Catherine replied, her cheeks growing
pink.

“
Most likely not, given his
reputation. He’d probably be pleased you think him so
desirable.”

“
I wager he’d even pose for
you.” Sophie teased.

“
Sophie!” Agatha admonished,
stiffening in her chair. She couldn’t believe the way her sister
was talking! If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear her sister
wasn’t an untried lady.

Sophie groaned and glanced at her.
“Must you be so dull? This is a lot more interesting than the
conversation at dinner.”

Agatha shook her head in disbelief. She
didn’t understand Claire or Catherine at all. The two didn’t seem
to be joking. She kept expecting them to say they were kidding. But
they didn’t, and her sister was laughing right along with
them.

Agatha couldn’t fault her sister if she
merely wanted to make friends, especially since their aunt had
coddled her to the point where she didn’t have any. Had it not been
for Agatha, her sister wouldn’t get acquainted with other ladies of
good standing, at least as far as the Ton was concerned. Agatha
could only hope her sister would have the good sense not to take an
interest in the marital bed or venture a look at Lord Clement’s
bare flesh when she married him.

When there was a knock at the closed
doors, Agatha breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the nonsense
these ladies were uttering would come to an end. She waited for
Catherine to stop giggling before she called out for the person who
knocked to enter.

The gentlemen filed into the room and
Agatha noted that Claire, Catherine and Sophie at least had the
decency to blush. If the gentlemen had any idea what they’d been
talking about, they would probably be… She sighed. Oh, who was she
kidding? They’d probably be delighted, except for Claire’s husband
who’d have to admit his wife had been so desperate to get away from
him that she threw caution to the wind and tried to run off on a
horse dressed as a stable boy. She snorted. And to think
Christopher—her intended!—had something to do with that
one.

“
Is something troubling you,
my dear?” Christopher asked from beside her.

Ignoring the ladies’ startled
expressions, she rubbed her forehead. “Actually, I’m not feeling
very well.”

“
You’re not?”

“
No. Maybe Sophie and I
should take our leave.” She rose to her feet.

Sophie remained seated and shook her
head. “I don’t want to leave. I feel fine.”

“
But I’m not up to staying,”
Agatha insisted, shooting her a pointed look. “You came here with
me.”

“
Well, she can leave with me
and Nate,” Claire offered. “Her townhouse is right on the way to
ours. You don’t mind, do you, Nate?”

“
Of course not,” he
replied.

“
Excellent,” Perry said, his
grin widening.

Agatha glanced at Perry and knew she’d
be wise to let Sophie stay. He was obviously smitten with her. With
a nod, she said, “Very well, Sophie.” With a curtsey to the rest of
the group, she added, “Thank you for a lovely evening.” Then, for
good measure, she rubbed her forehead and winced, just to remind
them that she was leaving because she had a headache, not because
she was appalled by the evening’s events.

Christopher stood up and cupped her
elbow with his hand. “I’ll make sure you get home
safely.”

“
There’s no need,” she
quickly replied. “My footman and driver brought me
here.”

“
Yes, but you’re not feeling
well and your health is important to me. You are, after all, going
to be my wife.”

“
And how will you get back
here? I’m leaving in my carriage.” It was a weak attempt to get him
to stay, one she didn’t think would actually work.

And she was right. He shrugged and
said, “I’ll walk. It’s a lovely night and the fresh air will do me
good.”

Since he was so determined to accompany
her, she bit her tongue and forced a pleasant smile on her face. It
was irritating her to no end that Christopher didn’t give up. Once
he set his mind to something, he got it. Looking back, she couldn’t
help but realize that once he set his eyes on her at the ball, her
fate had been sealed and there was nothing she could have done to
change it.

Chapter Ten

Agatha scooted further away from
Christopher as her carriage moved forward, but he closed the gap
between them and kissed her neck. Ignoring the thrill that shot
straight through her, she wiped her neck and glared at him. “I
don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not the kind of lady who
gives a gentleman any kind of favors until he marries
me.”

“
Ah, but we’ll be married
soon enough,” he replied in a low sultry voice that made her heart
beat faster.

He lowered his head and kissed her, his
lips soft and warm. She fully expected him to thrust his tongue
into her mouth, but he didn’t. He remained gentle, his embrace
comforting. When his lips left hers, he left a trail of kisses from
her mouth to her neck, making her body respond to him in a most
uncomfortable way. She felt rather pleasant in areas that alarmed
her, and she didn’t know how to handle it.

Good heavens. All the talk Claire and
Catherine engaged in about how much they desired intimacy with
their husbands was unwittingly affecting her! “I insist you stop at
once,” she protested as he kissed her cheek. “I am a refined lady,
not one of ill repute. If you want to grope someone, go find a
mistress.”

“
I’m merely being
affectionate.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I will not remove
your clothes or go into bed with you before we marry, that is
unless you want me to.”

She gasped and tried to shove him away
from her.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around
her shoulders. “I’m teasing you, my lady. I wouldn’t take liberties
with you, even if you have a scandalous streak in you.”

“
I wish you’d never found
out about Gerard Addison.”

“
But I did and here we are,
the happily engaged gentleman and lady.” When she huffed, he added,
“Or at least the happy gentleman.”

“
Your happiness comes at the
expense of mine.”

“
I doubt it.” He cupped the
side of her face and stroked her cheek. “You’re a beautiful lady.
No other comes close to you.”

His actions were gentle, a mere caress,
and as much as she tried to fight it, she had trouble resisting
him. “You’re annoyingly persistent,” she muttered.

“
I am so I won’t deny it.
Someday, you’ll be glad for it.”

“
I doubt it.”

He leaned closer to her and brushed his
lips against her other cheek, something that made her shiver in
pleasure. If being in bed could be as good as this, she wouldn’t
dread it. But no. Once the gentleman got into bed, he forgot all
tenderness and consideration. He just went directly to what he
wanted and gave no thought to the lady’s needs. Claire and
Catherine really shouldn’t have made lovemaking sound desirable.
Sophie was going to be devastated when she learned the
truth.