Unveiled (Undone by Love Book 3) (26 page)

“A pleasure, Lady Rosemoor.”  Hayden bowed gracefully, doffing his hat with the sweep of one powerfully muscled arm
.

“It is indeed a pleasure, Lord Westfield
. Your gardens at Richmond Park are reputed to be lovely beyond words. I’m sorry I won’t have the opportunity to see them before we leave for home.”

“I am very sorry to hear it.”  He replaced the tall hat on his head
. “Perhaps you could extend your visit? It would be my pleasure to show you my gardens. They are indeed lovely this time of year.”

“I’m afraid we cannot
. We’ve tarried here too long as it is. Jane has been missed most dearly.”

“Hmmm,” he replied, turning his attention to Jane, his eyes raking up her form, eliciting a shiver
. “I imagine she has been. Miss Rosemoor, I called at the Tollands’ earlier today, hoping to have a word with you before your departure. I was disappointed to find you not at home. What providence to find you here, though, isn’t it? Would it be too much to ask for a moment of your time? I think you’ll agree that we have some matters to discuss.”  He held out his arm to her, but Jane did not move to take it.

“Some matters of a
personal
nature,” he added. “Perhaps we could stroll on ahead?”  Again, he offered his arm.  

“A poor idea, indeed, Lord Westfield.”  The words flew from Jane’s mouth before she had time to consider them
. “I saw your wife back by the gypsy tent, and you would do well to locate her at once and keep her close by your side.”

“Wife?”  His dark brows flew together over a furrowed brow
.

“Mrs. Tolland?” a voice called out
. Jane looked up in surprise as the young vicar ambled back toward their party, a woman on his arm. Even from the distance separating them, Jane sensed something seemed familiar about his companion. “I’ve found Mrs. Banks and hoped to introduce you before you left,” Mr. Banks said.

Jane dropped her gaze and fiddled with her reticule, refusing to meet Hayden’s probing stare
. She heard Emily gasp, and looked up to see her cousin’s eyes widen to alarming proportions and her mouth fall open in unconcealed shock.

Curiously, Jane turned toward Mr. Banks again and found herself gaping too
. Her heart slammed against her ribs, her breath caught in her throat.
What on earth
?

It made no sense
–no sense at all. Dorothea Upshaw held Mr. Banks’ arm, smiling up at him unabashedly as she approached Lord Westfield.
Her husband
, for God’s sake.

“Lord Westfield,” Dorothea murmured sweetly
. “How lovely to see you.”

“Mrs. Banks, Mr. Banks.”  Hayden nodded to the pair.

Jane looked to Hayden, assessing his reaction. He did nothing but smile absently and brush a stray blade of grass from his sleeve, completely unaffected. She shook her head, the sound of blood rushing to her temples positively deafening her. “I...I don’t understand,” she stuttered, her own voice sounding muffled to her ears. “Your wife–” 

“
My
wife? You thought...” he trailed off with a rueful shake of the head. “Devil take it, of course you did. I must apologize. I thought word had sufficiently spread that my marriage did not proceed as planned.”

“It didn’t, Lord Westfield,” Emily said, the color rising in her cheeks
. “We were under the impression that Miss Upshaw had become your wife.”

Dorothea’s subsequent tinkle of laughter pricked each and every one of Jane’s nerves
. “How very silly of me! It’s my fault, I’m afraid. Why, when I saw Miss Rosemoor in the shop I just assumed that she’d heard the news of my marriage to Mr. Banks. When I said Lord Westfield had made me the happiest woman alive, I was speaking of his kindness to Mr. Banks. To us,” she amended. “I had no idea you did not know–”

“I most assuredly did
not
know, Miss Upshaw.”  Jane shook her head in confusion. “Mrs. Banks, I mean. Oooh, what difference does it make?”  With a swish of her skirts, Jane stormed past the gaping group and accomplished the carriage as quickly as she could, Emily and her mother trailing behind.

“You must excuse us,” Emily called out over her shoulder
.

Jane clambered inside in abject humiliation, her cheeks aflame and her emotions churning
. She settled herself onto the leather bench and chanced a glance out the carriage’s window as Emily and her mother climbed in and silently took their seats. She could only huff indignantly at the sight of Hayden grinning up at her. “Go away,” she shouted down to him, then winced at her own childish behavior.

“And you said you didn’t indulge in fits of temper in public,” he called out
.

“Oh, how dare you
? You arrogant, insufferable man,” she cried, instantly regretting her words as he threw back his head and laughed heartily.

“Jane Rosemoor,” her mother hissed, her face scarlet
. “You’ll tell me at once what this is all about.”

Emily smiled and patted her aunt’s hand
. “Later, Auntie Eliza. “Drive on,” she called out, rapping on the door.

***

Hayden watched as the carriage lumbered off down the road. He had been stunned to learn that Jane hadn’t yet heard of his betrothed’s change of heart and subsequent marriage to Mr. Jonathan Banks. Hayden had told his housekeeper upon his return to Richmond Park, and assumed that by now his entire staff knew the full details and had sufficiently spread the news throughout Ashbourne–throughout Derbyshire, for that matter. What an inopportune time to learn of Mrs. Pierce’s unexpected discretion.

He watched as the Tollands’ carriage disappeared around the bend in a cloud of dust
. What to do now? Jane was obviously disinclined to receive his calls and would cut him to the quick in public before allowing him to say his piece with any civility. Worse still, he now had her mother to contend with. No doubt he would have to win her over, as well.

No time to waste
. He dashed to his horse, tied up on the village green, and hastily unhitched him. In one fluid motion, he leapt upon the bay’s back and took up the ribbons. Swinging the stallion’s head around toward the lane, he dug his heels into its sides. “After that carriage, Andromeda.”

As if it understood its master’s command, the horse lunged forward, quickly gaining a full gallop in pursuit
.

Only when the carriage’s shiny exterior came into view did Hayden rein in the horse
. A trickle of perspiration made its way down the side of his face, and he reached inside his breast pocket and removed a square of linen.

Doffing his hat, he mopped his brow as the high afternoon sun shone down on him, warming him, sending ripples of heat through the thick air
. He tipped his hat back on his head and stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket as a trio of sparrows zipped past his ear, chirruping gaily. The breeze stirred, bringing with it the sweet, piquant scent of honeysuckle. Hayden took a deep, fortifying breath before quickening the horse’s gait to accomplish the carriage.

There was no turning back now
. It was time to lay his unexpectedly lively heart on his sleeve, if that was what it would take to have her hand. Her heart.

Jane looked up in surprise at the sound of an approaching rider, the steady clip-clop of hooves gaining on the carriage’s right. She leaned forward in her seat, as did her mother and Emily as the rider appeared in the carriage’s open window.

All the breath left her lungs in a rush and she sat back against the squabs with a thump as Hayden tipped his hat and bowed from his mount
. Whatever was he doing? What games was he playing, toying with her like this? It had not passed her notice that, even as Miss Upshaw wed another, he had remained silent. Moreover, it was clear that it was Miss Upshaw who broke off their engagement. If her and her husband’s inability to keep their hands off one another in so public a place as a fair was any indication, theirs was clearly a love match.

If Miss Upshaw hadn’t called off the wedding, no doubt the woman would be Lady Westfield right now, and not the new vicar’s wife
. Jane had to learn the news in the most uncomfortable of circumstances, and there he’d stood, laughing at her discomfiture like the arrogant beast he was.

Of course, it briefly occurred to her that this had been the meaning of his missive
–that he’d meant to call on her to deliver the news personally. And yet...it had been too late, hadn’t it? She’d already run into Miss Upshaw–Mrs. Banks–and been led to believe that he’d married her and returned triumphantly to Richmond Park. Why had he waited? Why had he let her suffer?

“Good day, ladies,” he called out
. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

Jane clasped her hands in her lap, trying to quell their trembling
.

“Miss Rosemoor, if you don’t mind, I must entreat you for a word
. Right now.”

Her gaze flew to the window
.

“Now?” Jane’s mother called out
. “Have you lost your wits, Lord Westfield? I must ask you to cease this nonsense and let my daughter be.”

Jane swallowed a lump in her throat
. Did her mother realize the truth? Had she recognized that Hayden was the father of the child she carried? Anger stirred in her breast. She could
not
let her mother force him to marry her. He would hate her for it. Just because he hadn’t married Miss Upshaw didn’t mean he’d changed his mind about
her
, about loving her. He still had his silly ‘curse’ to contend with, after all, and he was a stubborn man.

The carriage lurched forward a bit, and Hayden disappeared from view
. Moments later, the sight of him sitting atop the magnificent horse reappeared in the window. Jane couldn’t help the jolt of attraction that surged through her at the fine form he cut in his finely tailored blue jacket and gray waistcoat, his firmly muscled thighs outlined in tight-fitting fawn pantaloons. The brim of his tall beaver hat cast a shadow on his face, almost concealing his eyes, but his perfectly trimmed whiskers highlighted his chiseled cheekbones and proud jaw, his full, sensual lips parted into an easy smile.

“I must apologize for my outrageous behavior, Lady Rosemoor, but your stubborn daughter leaves me no choice
. I am firmly in possession of all my wits, I assure you. She’s refused my call, ignored my pleas, and I’m left with no other alternative save publicly declaring my love to her, here on the road in the most indecorous manner.”

Jane sucked in her breath, her eyes widening
. Declaring his love? Did he say
love
?

Jane’s gaze flew to her mother’s, and she was surprised to see the dear woman smile, tears dampening her eyes
. She winked at Jane–actually winked–then leaned out the window with a scowl. “Hold your tongue, young man. This is most inappropriate.”

“Indeed it is, madam
. Yet what choice have I? Pray, you must let me continue. My regard for your daughter is honorable and true, and I must declare it to her at once. Miss Jane Rosemoor, I love you with all my heart. You are, without a doubt, the loveliest, most maddeningly wonderful woman I’ve ever met. You’ve shown that you are my equal in every way, and my esteem for you knows no bounds. I can no longer live without you. You would be bestowing me the greatest favor imaginable if you would agree to be my wife, though Lord knows I don’t deserve you.”

Jane watched in astonishment as Emily suppressed a giggle with a gloved hand.

“I must know at once if you return my affections, my dearest Jane.”

Jane couldn’t breathe, much less speak
. Never in her life had she been rendered so utterly flabbergasted, so completely speechless. What of his claim to heartlessness? What of his curse?

“Please, Jane,” he implored, his voice softer, thick with emotion
. “Do not make me suffer so. Your answer?”

Tears welled in Jane’s eyes as her gaze flitted to her mother, now weeping openly into her handkerchief, and then to Emily, grinning from ear to ear, her cheeks rosy and damp
.

She knew she loved him with all her heart
–all her soul–but could he truly mean these words that she’d not dared to hope for, not allowed herself to dream of hearing? She no longer feared the familial madness, but could she risk her fragile heart? She thought then of the babe growing inside her. Would Hayden forgive her for deceiving him so?

At once all her doubts washed away in an exquisite rush and her heart picked up its pace in anticipation
. Yes, her heart cried.
Yes
.

She stood on unsteady legs and rapped on the roof
. “Stop the carriage!” she cried.

Chapter 23

The carriage swayed to a halt, and Jane flung open the door and leapt out, barely grabbing onto the footman’s hand before her slippers touched the ground
. Picking up her skirts, she raced around the carriage, just as Hayden swung down from his mount and opened his arms to her.

She closed the distance separating them and flew into his welcoming embrace, her eyes misting with tears of joy
. Pressing her face against his coat, she breathed in his familiar masculine scent, feeling as if she might burst from happiness.

“Well
? Have I your answer?”  He stepped back from her and reached for her hands, clasping them tightly in his as his gaze sought hers.

Jane felt lost in those gray-green eyes, swimming in their depths
. The love in his gaze enveloped her, cloaking her in their warmth and sending shivers of delight straight down to her toes.

He doffed his hat and dropped to one knee, still clasping her hands in his
. “Marry me, Jane Rosemoor. My heart will not rest easy till you say yes.”

“Oh, yes,” she said at last, her vision blurring as the tears began to flow
. “Yes. I love you with all my heart, Hayden. Surely you knew?”

His lips curved deliciously into a smile, his eyes alight with obvious joy
.

In a single motion, he rose and pulled her to him, his mouth hungrily taking hers
.

Cheers and applause broke out from the carriage, and Jane found herself laughing against his mouth
. His lips retreated, his laughter joining hers as they turned toward the carriage and watched as Emily and Jane’s mother leaned out the window, waving their handkerchiefs with delight.

Hayden retrieved his hat from the ground and bowed exaggeratedly in reply.

A flutter of nerves in Jane’s stomach reminded her of her deception, and she swallowed hard. She knew she must tell him that she lied to him; she must have his forgiveness before they could wed. She tugged on his sleeve and leaned close to his ear. “We must talk,” she whispered. “You might reconsider your offer after what I must confess to you.”

He nodded
. “Lady Rosemoor, allow me to see your daughter home.”

“Yes, Lord Westfield,” her mother replied with a sniffle
. “Of course. I’ll be expecting you shortly so that I can get to know my future son-in-law. Oh dear, Colin will be miffed to learn he was not here to give his approval.”

“Colin?” Hayden asked.

“My brother,” Jane supplied. “The Viscount Rosemoor. You haven’t asked his permission, you know.”

“I’ll write to him at once, Lady Rosemoor
. Better yet, I’ll invite him to Richmond Park and ask him for Jane’s hand in person. Would that make you happy, Jane?”

“Very happy.”  She’d missed her brother
.

If Hayden would still have her after she confessed her secret, then she would marry him right away, in the rectory at Richmond Park
. She could not wait much longer to become his wife. She’d waited a lifetime for him, after all.

“Drive on,” Hayden called out to the driver with a nod, and the carriage lurched off
. He took her hand in his and led her toward his horse.

“Come, ride with me
. I’ll take you to the lake, and we can speak there. But I fear we should speak quickly, lest your mother comes looking for us. I don’t want her to think I’m out compromising you. Again,” he added, one dark brow arched. “Much as I’d like to.”  

Jane laughed
. “Believe me, the pair of them will be standing at the front window, awaiting our return with bated breath.”

“I’m sure you’re right
. Let’s be off, then.”

Jane nodded her assent and allowed him to lift her up onto the horse’s back. He climbed up behind her and settled himself into the saddle
. He took up the reins in his right hand, wrapping his left arm about her and pressing her tightly against him as they set off.

Minutes later, the shore of the lake loomed ahead and he reined in the bay
. He swung down gracefully, then reached up for her, folding her in his arms as he lowered her gently to the grassy lawn below. Taking her hand in his, he led her toward the steep knoll that sloped down to the shimmering water.

At last he turned to her and spoke
. “Thank you, Jane. I don’t know how you’ve forgiven me my first proposal. I was an insufferable clod.”  He shook his head. “And everything that’s happened since...”  He looked off to the horizon, a shadow crossing over his eyes. “Either I’m the luckiest man alive, or you’re the most forgiving woman in all of England. Or quite possibly both.”

“I understood your reasons, Hayden
. I know what it’s like to feel cursed, not in control of your own fate. I’ve finally come to see that my own fears were largely unfounded. Yet in a way, I’m almost glad that I suffered them nonetheless. Otherwise, I might have accepted a lackluster marriage long ago and not waited for the true love of my life.
You
.”  She reached for his hand, and he brought it to his lips. “But what of your own fears, Hayden?”

He sighed heavily
. “Cowardly fears they were, nothing but an excuse to shield myself from life’s pleasures. I suppose I convinced myself I didn’t deserve happiness. All these years, Emily swore it was nothing more than a series of unfortunate coincidences, these tragedies that have plagued me. But loving you has changed me. I no longer fear that which I cannot control. My heart tells me that I am meant to spend my life with you.
That
is what I trust.”

“But you cannot trust me,” she said quietly
.

“Of course I can.”  He smiled down at her
. “I’d trust you with my life.”   

Jane’s lungs burned as she took a deep, ragged breath
. Would his feelings for her change when he learned the truth? “I’ve deceived you, Hayden.”  One hand rose to cover her mouth, then dropped to her side. Her cheeks blazed with shame. “I’ve concealed something from you, something unforgivable.” 

“Unless you confess that you’ve secretly eloped with William Nickerson, you have no fear of my not forgiving it, Jane.”  

He had no idea the enormity of it. She reached for his hand and placed it on her abdomen, covering his hand with her own. “I’m carrying your child.”

She saw his mossy eyes widen, his mouth fall slack
. “You’re
what
?”  He pulled his hand away as if burned.

Hot tears sprang to her eyes
. “I cannot say it any plainer. I’m carrying your child, Hayden.  

“But how
? There was only that once, and you wrote me–”

“I lied.”  Her throat ached miserably
.

“You...you lied?” he sputtered, backing away from her
. His hands, visibly shaking, rose to his temples. “And you were just going to let me go ahead with my marriage to Dorothea while you knew you carried my child? Why, Jane? Why would you do such a thing? Didn’t you think I deserved to know? Did you think me so cold, so cruel, as to cast you aside?”

“Of course not,” she countered, shaking her head vehemently
. “I knew you’d do your duty–that you’d marry me and hate me for it. That you’d be forced to sit there and watch helplessly while I went mad; that I’d be nothing but a burden to you, a shameful secret. That my child would be forced to grow up with a father who’d refuse to love him for fear of losing him.”

“Him
? Did you say ‘him’?”

“Well, of course I have no idea whether the babe will be a ‘him’ or a ‘her.’  I couldn’t very well say ‘it’ now, could I?” she snapped.

He raised his brows, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “I suppose not.” 

“I realized I’d make a mistake
–a terrible mistake–the moment I saw Miss Upshaw in Ashbourne and thought you were wed. But don’t you see? I thought I was protecting those I love. You, Hayden, and this babe.”  She laid her palm flat on her stomach. “Indeed, I made a grave mistake,” she said softly. “One that I will always regret. I doubted you, when I should have known better.”

He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply
. “No, Jane.”  He opened his eyes and his gaze met hers. “I gave you no reason to think differently. I was a betrothed man and still I took you to my bed, used you in the worst way possible. I should have married you the very next day. None but a rogue and a coward would do otherwise.”

“I would never have agreed to it
. At the time, I still believed myself doomed to madness. I thought having a child would threaten my sanity. You see, it was only after I thought you’d wed Miss Upshaw that my mother at last allayed my fears.”

“I could have tried to convince you otherwise
. Hell, I could have forced your hand, if need be.”  He spun around, his back to her. With an oath, he kicked a rock and sent it arcing through the air. “How could I leave you to suffer so?”  His voice was hoarse, laced with grief, and it tore at Jane’s heart.

Slowly, tentatively, she moved toward him, fitting herself against his back. She laid her cheek between his shoulder blades and reached for his hands, easing them from angry fists and lacing her fingers with his
. Moments passed before his rapid, ragged breaths began to slow, his racing heart to calm. Jane gently squeezed his hands, and a tear slipped down her cheek when he at last returned the pressure.

“We’ve both made mistakes, Hayden
. We’ve acted out of fear and raced to conclusions that need never have been reached. But look where it has brought us. Right here, right where we should be. Perhaps fate knew we would need a hand, that we needed to face the certainty of life apart before we’d ever agree to a life together.”

His shoulders seemed to sag, and then he dropped her hands and turned to face her
. “You are the single most extraordinary woman I’ve ever met.”  The burning intensity in his eyes nearly took her breath away.

“And you are the most wonderfully forgiving man I’ve ever known
. You’re going to make a fine papa.”  A smile curved her mouth at the startled expression her statement elicited.     

And then his lips began to twitch
. A smile began at the corners of his mouth and spread outward–a dazzling smile, lighting his eyes and animating his features. With a whoop, he whisked her off her feet and into the air, spinning her around and around till the landscape began to blur.

At last he lowered her, cradling her against his muscled chest with a groan
. His lips sought hers even as his hand stroked her stomach through the fabric of her gown.

He kissed her deeply, passionately, with a fiery intensity she barely recognized
. His tongue parted her lips, probing the warm depths, seeking out her tongue in a sensual, seductive dance. Her limbs went limp and she clutched at him desperately as his hands rose to untie her bonnet and cast it aside.

She gasped as his lips left hers and moved to her jaw, her temple, her throat, as his hands released her hair from the pins that held it in place
. She shuddered as she felt the silky locks brush her back.

He tenderly combed his fingers through her hair, fanning it across her shoulders
. “So very beautiful,” he murmured. “You’ve no idea how I’ve longed to see you once more with your hair down, framing your lovely face. I thought I’d go mad, trying to remember the way it felt between my fingers, soft as silk.”  He brought a lock to his lips and kissed it reverently.

“All is forgiven, then?”  Jane peered up at him, a smile dancing at the corners of her mouth.

“Of course. Now I know for certain I am the happiest man alive. A child. My child!”  He swept her off her feet once more before setting her back unsteadily on her feet. “Madeline. We must go tell Madeline at once. She’s going to be beside herself with delight. She adores you, you know. It seems to run in the family.” 

“Not until you return me to Emily’s and allow me to set their minds at ease
. Then we can go straightaway to Richmond Park and tell her, my lord.”

“My lady.”

“Jane,” she countered.

“My very dearest Jane,” he corrected
.

She looked across the lake’s rippled surface to the far side of the water and saw the stone walls of Richmond Park rise up in grandeur from the solid, Derbyshire ground
.
Home
, she thought. At last, she’d found the place she belonged. Here, in Hayden’s heart.

Joining hands, they turned back toward the waiting stallion, toward their future, a future without the faintest trace of fear, a future filled with love and laughter and the patter of tiny feet
.

With a happy sigh of contentment, Jane gazed lovingly at the prideful, arrogant, maddeningly stubborn earl who would be her husband, and knew with certainty that she was indeed the luckiest woman alive.