No Ordinary Groom Read online

  “My lord,” she began hastily, “I have no wish to treat you unfairly. But this visit could last days, whereas this afternoon I asked for only several hours.”

  “Treat this weekend as a chance to explore unfamiliar countryside safe within sight of your intended.”

  She frowned at him. “Are you saying that I can do nothing without you?”

  “I am responsible for you, dearest Jane, and I can’t allow anything to happen to you.”

  “You’ve made the duke responsible for me this weekend, my lord. He can see to my welfare while I visit the attractions near his estate.”

  “On his estate,” William countered. “And accompanied by me.”

  As she opened her mouth to protest, a bell rang for dinner. Smiling, she put her hand on William’s arm and spoke through gritted teeth. “We have much to settle, my lord.”

  “So you say,” he answered back, then followed the organized procession into dinner.

  When the evening was over, Jane felt embarrassed when William insisted on walking her to her door. Did the other guests assume they would now spend the night together?

  “I know where the room is,” she insisted in a low voice, as the ladies farther down the hall glanced back at them and giggled.

  “Of course you do,” he said soothingly.

  She opened a door and, to her consternation, saw the unfamiliar layout of the room. She quickly closed the door again. She didn’t have to look at William to know he was smiling.

  The next, identical door was certainly hers. She partially opened it to confirm for herself, then looked up at William.

  “Might I have my candle now?”

  He loomed over her, the glow of two candles shadowing the lean lines of his face and reflecting in the deep chocolate depths of his eyes. He gave her one candleholder, then leaned past her to push her door wide.

  “My lord, what are you doing?” she demanded, glancing frantically around the now-deserted corridor.

  “Making sure your room is empty.”

  Though she would have thought he was playing a joke upon her, his eyes seemed too serious.

  “Do you think I harbor a strange man in my room?”

  He shrugged. “I’m just keeping you safe, my dear.”

  Then she felt his hand slide up her back and watched a smile curve his mouth.

  “There isn’t a maid to help you undress,” he murmured. “Shall I—”

  “No!” Jane backed through the door. “I’ll ring for a maid. Have a good night, my lord.”

  He caught the door before she could shut it. “William. ‘Have a good night, William.’”

  “Fine. Of course—William. Have it any way you please, just go away.”

  As she shut the door, she heard him whisper, “Have it any way I please?”

  She turned the lock, heard his laugh and then the sound of footfalls on the carpet as he walked away.

  With a groan, Jane pulled the bell cord, lit a few more candles, and then sank onto the chaise at the foot of her bed. Scenes of the evening flashed before her tired eyes. William had been his usual talkative self, but everyone had politely listened. She hadn’t thought he was saying anything that anyone should find so important, but for some reason the duke had been interested. And the two of them had had such a long conversation before dinner. She didn’t think even William would dare discuss the duke’s wardrobe with him.

  She wished she could stop her curious nature, but the mystery of William called it to the fore.

  After the maid had come and gone, Jane sat at an ornate lady’s desk and tried to write in her journal. Surely there was something to tell her father, another tidbit that reflected badly on William. But besides his innovation in securing an invitation from the duke—and somehow she dourly thought that her father would be amused—the only thing Jane could picture in her mind was William’s laughing face as he’d played with the children earlier that day. The scene continued to disturb her, because she’d never before wanted a woman’s lot in life—until William had made her think of giving him children.

  And conceiving them.

  She closed her journal with a snap, feeling confused and worried. She should just go to bed.

  But even the serenity of sleep was denied her. She woke up several hours later, certain that she’d heard something. When she saw the door to the balcony slightly ajar, she sat up quickly, only to feel a male hand press against her mouth.

  Chapter 12

  “It’s me,” William whispered.

  Though her heart was beating at an accelerated pace, Jane had not been truly frightened—for who else but William would be so foolish?

  He released her, and a moment later she heard a match striking, then saw the soft glow of a candle. He wore trousers and a shirt open at the throat, and he tossed his coat over the chaise as if he’d just removed it.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded in a calm, cold voice.

  “Visiting you when we can speak more privately.” He pulled a chair up near the bed, lounged back and sprawled his legs out before him. “And getting a much better view, I might add.”

  With a start, she realized the light blankets were pooled at her waist, revealing her nightdress. Calmly, she fluffed her pillows, pulled the covers up to her shoulders, and leaned back. All the while, he watched with an admiring smile, and she wickedly allowed it.

  “We’ll be disgraced if you’re found here,” Jane pointed out.

  He shrugged. “Then we’ll marry sooner rather than later. And as I said earlier, there are several people here more guilty than we are.”

  He obviously planned to seduce her before their marriage, from the way he was looking at her. Since she found her mind racing back to the last night she’d appeared in her nightclothes alone with him, she had to admit to herself that he was doing a decent job of the seduction. But she wouldn’t let it happen.

  “And why did you need to speak with me privately, risking your neck on my balcony?”

  He grinned. “Concerned about me?”

  “Concerned that if you’re found unconscious beneath my window, people will think you were climbing back out.”

  He gave a soft laugh that was warm and far too intimate. “Have no worry, my dear. I am like a cat in the dark.”

  “So you’ve had much practice stealing into women’s bedrooms?” she asked dryly.

  “Honestly, no. But since I was a child, the dark has seemed wonderfully mysterious, and I have spent many a night out exploring. But tonight my only mission is to discuss your plans for tomorrow.”

  “That is your only mission?” she asked suspiciously. She paused to consider him in the near darkness, where his shirt glistened too whitely. Deep inside her, something new and dangerous stirred to life. “You promise to remain in that chair, and only get up when it is time to walk to the balcony?”

  His eyes narrowed. “And if I don’t wish to make that promise?”

  “Then I will know your true plans for the evening, and you can leave immediately.”

  He heaved a dramatic sigh. “I promise.”

  Something came over her, there in the shadowy room with only the one candle flickering at her side. She could see his eyes and teeth glittering as he showed his confidence. She felt like setting him back a pace, like…tempting him.

  Forcing a yawn, she stretched her arms up and allowed the blankets to fall down to her waist.

  His smile faded, and an uneasy silence filled the room. An awareness of the two of them as man and woman glowed inside her. It wasn’t right of her to tease him—but she wouldn’t stop.

  “So you want to know what I have planned for tomorrow,” she murmured.

  He cleared his throat, and with growing excitement she watched the difficulty with which he raised his gaze back to her face. It wasn’t as if he could see anything beneath her nightdress—she was covered up to her neck and down to her wrists.

  “Precisely,” he answered in a voice that was deeper, huskier, than she was
used to.

  She shivered and pressed her hand against her stomach. When he leaned forward, she held her breath.

  “I can see your nipples tighten right through the fabric.”

  Her mouth fell open, but she said nothing, did nothing to cover herself. She let him look, and the forbidden thrill of it astonished her.

  She ignored his comment and answered his question. “William, I am attending whatever outing the ladies choose to amuse themselves.”

  “Not hunting.”

  “No. Is that what the men are doing? And you will be attending?”

  “I don’t hunt,” he said shortly, his gaze still below her face.

  “You don’t?” This distracted her. “I thought all men enjoyed the hunt.”

  “I kill for food, not for sport.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “It seems rather unfair to use guns to chase animals for no reason.”

  “I’ve always thought the same,” she said, astonished that they agreed on something.

  “But I will fish, as you already know, because at least the fish can decide for themselves whether to take my worm or not.”

  Will watched her laugh, and the rare sight struck him hard with pleasure and gratification. Her laughter was full and unrestrained, with a throatiness that made him shudder. This night she was brimming with a spontaneity he’d never seen in her before. She was a vision lying in bed, her long black hair in silken darkness about her shoulders and across the pillow. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and a smile was constantly teasing her lips. Although her nightdress was not as sheer as he would insist it be when they were married, the fabric was soft enough that he could see her pointed breasts, and imagine much more.

  Suddenly she pulled the covers aside. “It’s hot this evening, isn’t it?”

  Though his mouth fell open, he could say nothing. She was covered down to her ankles, but her slim feet were an erotic sight.

  She smiled. “You were saying something about fishing?”

  He cleared his throat again and struggled to remember the warning he’d wanted to give. “I might fish tomorrow, if they ask me to. Please remain with the ladies, and don’t wander off alone.”

  “But what if the ladies aren’t doing anything I wish to do?”

  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Will’s mouth dried as he watched the fabric sway, then drape over her curves. She was so close. If he lifted a hand he would touch her. Then he realized he hadn’t promised not to.

  He caught her nightdress in his hand and slowly pulled her between his knees though she resisted. “I won’t have you wandering off, Jane. Promise me.”

  He heard her breath come in little gasps, saw the quick rise and fall of her breasts just before his face. His thighs touched hers, then tightened.

  “William—” Her voice carried a warning.

  “I’ve not left the chair. Promise me you’ll remain with the other women.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Can’t what? Can’t kiss me? Can’t touch me?”

  When she put her hands on his shoulders, he felt her trembling.

  “I can’t promise that I’ll remain with the others.” She took his chin in her hand and raised it so their eyes met. “I am often so bored by what women of the ton do.”

  This bothered him more than he cared to admit, and a sudden realization worried him even as it made sense: Jane behaved much like his younger self—a feminine version, of course. There was a restlessness in her, just beneath the surface, a longing for something different.

  But that wasn’t what he wanted anymore. He wanted a wife, a home, children, all normal in every respect. It had taken him years to learn his lessons of loneliness in the hard school of foreign service.

  Yet…a normal woman wouldn’t be deliberately tempting him like this. Though her boldness fired his blood, he would have to show her that only within their bedroom could she give herself such free rein.

  She pushed away from him, and he reluctantly let her go.

  “Why do you care what I do here, William?”

  “You’re under my protection, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” And he himself was putting her in danger by agreeing to help Nick Wright.

  She walked slowly toward the balcony doors. “You’ve said this before, yet you have not explained what the danger could be, here at Langley Manor with a household full of people.”

  It was as if she read his mind. She opened the door and leaned against the frame, staring out. Will wanted to go to her, to see her by starlight. But he’d promised to remain in the damned chair.

  “The world is full of danger, Jane, and you are too naïve to see it. There are men here who look at you as—”

  “As you do?”

  “Perhaps, but those men won’t remain bound to a chair because of a woman’s promise.”

  She tilted her head to look at him, and the fall of her hair across her breasts wrenched a groan from him. With quick steps she was at his side.

  “Is something wrong?” she whispered, touching his face again.

  He turned and pressed his mouth into her palm, then spoke against her skin. “Even I am hard put to honor my promise.”

  She pulled her hand back but didn’t move away.

  “I won’t trust another man to ignore the temptation of your beauty.”

  She suddenly went still, then whispered sadly, “You use words for your own purpose, William. You’re good at that.”

  “You think I’m twisting the truth? Can you not imagine what you look like to me by candlelight, wearing so little, your eyes saying so much? Your laughter tonight was as erotic to me as a kiss. The thought of waiting to touch you until we’re married is the purest form of torture.”

  “You wave about these future vows of marriage, but you don’t trust me to keep myself occupied while you’re gone. You’re keeping secrets from me, yet you want everything a woman can give, without the trust that’s so much a part of it.”

  How had his secrets become apparent—and made him so vulnerable? He’d always been able to fool everyone. But not her—not his Jane, with her cool intellect on display, and hot passion beneath the surface.

  “If you want me to trust you,” she continued, “then tell me why we’re here. Saying that we’re here to see the estate just doesn’t make sense. It’s not as if it’s for sale. What did you and the duke talk about?”

  For the first time Will wanted to tell her everything, to unburden himself, but he worried that the danger would be too much for her. He couldn’t know how she’d react—and frankly, he didn’t want his wife ever to be a part of his other life, the life he so wanted to leave behind.

  “We discussed the people he knew and the people he thought I need to know as a peer,” he offered. “We discussed things related to the queen, but again, I can’t talk about that.”

  She whirled away from him toward the bed. “I am patient, William, but this secrecy about the queen is haunting me. What have you done that makes everyone want to reward you?”

  He could only lean forward, his hands braced on his knees. “I know you want my trust—you have it as far as I can give it. Give me yours, Jane. Say to my face that you’ll be my wife.”

  But she said nothing, only climbed back into bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin. “Go back to your room, William,” she said with evident tiredness. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  “I might be gone with the men by the time you arise.”

  “Then we’ll talk later.”

  He hesitated, wanting again to extract promises from her, knowing she wouldn’t give them. He sighed. “Am I free to leave the chair?”

  “Yes.” She rolled onto her side away from him. “Good night.”

  For another minute, Will watched her, then he walked out onto the balcony and closed the door behind him. After an uneventful journey back to his room, he removed his clothing and got into bed.

  And stared at the shadowy ceiling.

  It was a famili
ar ritual since he’d returned to England. Visiting Jane had at least enlivened the dreariness of his insomnia. Perhaps when they were married, and he could make love to her whenever he wished, he’d sleep better.

  Killer commenced a sudden furious barking next to the bed. Will leaned over and lifted the dog up. He tossed a pillow to the end of the bed, and with a grumble, Killer turned in circles on it, then curled up and began to snore almost immediately. Will sighed and looked back at the ceiling.

  Keeping secrets from Jane was becoming far too difficult. She was asking pointed questions he couldn’t answer. Truthfully, he and the duke had mostly spoken of people they knew and the current political climate. But it was obvious the duke knew something of Will’s past, because he’d asked questions about the military situation in India and what it was like to live there. When Will had asked him not to speak of his past with others, the duke had already known that secrecy was necessary. He was obviously not only a cousin but also an intimate confidant of the queen. It was imperative that the duke not marry a traitor.

  But it wasn’t Will’s job to tell him the truth about Julia Reed without proof. Yet now that he was on easier terms with Kelthorpe, he could begin to subtly question him.

  But what to do about Jane? Will could insist she go fishing with him again, and he could keep an eye on her every moment of the day. But he sensed that that would not go over well.

  He did not want to lose what ground he’d already gained with her. Her deliberate temptress act tonight had been a welcome revelation that he wanted to encourage.

  So he would trust her to follow his wishes—and trust the duke’s security.

  When Jane awoke at dawn, she stretched and turned her head to look out the brightening curtains. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep after her wanton behavior with William. Even now she shivered with renewed amazement at how close she’d almost come to falling into his arms and letting him do what he would with her.

  She had never before felt power over a man, the ability to make him desire her. It had made her feel exuberant and daring as he’d sat in that chair watching her. She wanted to feel more of these sensations, to give into an excitement she’d never imagined.