“My dearest Lord Buckhurst, my husband has the most violent temper in England. Do you suppose it’s his age?” she asked innocently.
The King called for one of his favorite country dances, Cuckolds All Awry, and Summer found herself being swung high by the very loud and very Scottish Earl of Lauderdale. His hair flamed like a torch and Summer blushed as she pictured what he must look like undressed. As he lifted her a second time his hands slipped up to cup her breasts and he leered at her and said something totally incomprehensible to her. She knew he had suggested something, and she knew that suggestion was both lewd and lusty, but she hadn’t the faintest idea what it was. The King caught her eye and raised his eyebrows in question. Summer held up three fingers in reply and the King shouted, “Bravo!”
The men were all asking for a dance called the brawl, in which kissing was part of the routine. Summer found herself being swung up into strong arms and knew that Ruark had come to claim what was his. As their mouths fused, the world faded away and there were only two people who mattered in the whole world.
The dawn was gray as the footmen carried Lady Helford’s baggage downstairs to the awaiting traveling coach. Without doubt she had more pieces of luggage than any other guest, and the baggage rack plus the top of the coach were inadequate to carry everything. Some of the boxes would have to go inside and the lady would be forced to share the seat with Lord Helford.
She had thanked her gracious hostess the previous evening, knowing Lady Grenvile would not likely be abroad at the ungodly hour Ruark would get on the road. As she descended the stairs she saw Jack Grenvile in the hall below and called down to him; however, when she reached the bottom stair, she saw that it was not Jack. It was obvious to her, however, that this man was a Grenvile. He was somewhat older than Jack, with twice the arrogance in his aristocratic face, and Summer was most curious about him. “I’m sorry, milord, it seems I have mixed up one Grenvile with another.”
She held out her hand, but the man said coldly, “Madame, you are mistaken,” and brushed past her.
“What an uncouth wretch,” she muttered, “and what a miserable day for traveling.”
The previous night’s festivities had lasted until four in the morning, then Ruark’s private entertainment had lasted another two hours and she had had no rest at all. As Ruark handed her into the carriage he noticed the dark smudges beneath her lovely eyes and experienced a pang of guilt at his selfishness. He gave his coachman some last-minute instructions and climbed in beside his wife. She put up her hand to stifle a yawn and he said, “Darling, I’ve exhausted you. You must learn to say no to me when I’m too demanding. Come, let me hold you while you try to sleep.”
She gave him a grateful look and snuggled down into his arms. She was asleep in five minutes.
As he looked down at her he was filled with tenderness. He was so much in love with her that he knew he’d never have enough of her. She was like the other half of himself, the half that made him complete. Only a month ago he would have laughed cynically at love. Marriage was a dull duty a man assumed for the purpose of begetting an heir. Now all his previous thinking had been turned upside down.
Her dark lashes made half-moons upon her cheeks and he thought he’d never beheld a lovelier face in his life. He couldn’t believe they’d only been married for five days; it was as if they’d been together throughout eternity. He smiled to himself as he thought of the diamond necklace he’d bought her. It was like a waterfall of diamonds and he wanted to see her eyes sparkle when he gave it to her. It was to be an anniversary present … an anniversary of one week. He was vain about her and wanted her jewels to be finer than those given to any mistress, even the King’s. She was his precious wife; she deserved only the best. He stretched out his legs and closed his eyes to doze, deeply content that she lay asleep against his heart.
They didn’t arrive home until late afternoon and Summer knew that the most important person in her life for the next week would be Mr. Burke. Without his advice and guidance she would never be able to face entertaining the King and court. She was totally ignorant about food, wine, entertainment, and the pecking order. To top everything off she simply couldn’t endure the thought of Spider being in prison any longer if she had the means to free him.
The mortgage money to Solomon Storm would become due about the same time as their guests would be leaving and she realized that distasteful as it was to confess all to Ruark, she would soon have no choice. It must be faced, and she knew she would only be able to breathe freely once she’d gotten the whole thing off her chest and unburdened herself to Ruark.
Summer found Mr. Burke the easiest man in the world to talk with. He had already set two maids to unpacking all the lovely things she’d brought back from Plymouth and she found herself telling him all about the exotic things the Golden Goddess had brought from the Indies.
He told her that they would select the menus together for the King’s visit and then leave everything up to the cook, who had a small army of assistants to carry out her bidding. He informed her that Ruark would select the wines for his guests and set her mind more at ease by assuring her that Lord Helford was a superb, attentive host and all she would have to do was look beautiful.
“Mr. Burke, the sophisticated ladies from the Court of St. James laughed at the rustic masque performed at Stowe. We must put our heads together and come up with something that will catch their imagination. They are so easily bored.”
“If I may be so bold, my lady, it is because they are shallow, hedonistic, and immoral. Someone as clever as you are will have no trouble setting a new pace with some unique frivolity, I’m certain.”
Summer wished she had as much confidence in herself. She changed into boots and breeches and went to the stables to visit Ebony. Ruark had gotten there before her.
“I thought I’d give Titan some much-needed exercise. I see we both had the same idea. Will you ride with me, love?”
She hesitated only a moment. She would not be able to ride into Falmouth to the prison now. However, if she gathered enough courage to tell him of her brother’s plight, she knew she would never have to visit the prison again.
“Ru?” she said tentatively.
“Yes?” he asked, looking fiercely into her eyes.
“I … I’ll race you,” she said, her courage fleeing before the sheer authority and power of this husband of hers.
They headed inland, following the Helford River. He allowed her to take the lead for a while, but in the end, like any red-blooded male, he could not let a woman best him. “I win!” he shouted triumphantly as he dismounted and waited for her to catch up.
“Unfair!” she cried. “I couldn’t bring myself to ride through those pink samphires and crush their beauty.” She dismounted to gather an armful of the pink flowers.
Ruark watched her with such intensity that she was drawn to him almost against her will. He stared at her as if he wished to imprint every last detail of her image upon his memory. The look upon his face took her breath away and made her heart beat with thick, slow strokes. Her arms filled with the pink flowers, she came to him and stood close in the warm, scented twilight. “Don’t touch me,” he warned, “I’m too full of wanting you.”
She felt triumphant to know that she could make him lose control of himself and his words aroused her. “If you want me, take me. Here in the wildflowers,”
He undressed her slowly, kissing each lovely curve as he uncovered it, then his hand slipped down inside her breeches to play with her before he removed them. She stood poised for one brief moment, totally nude, then before he could disrobe she ran from him through the pink samphires just for the pleasure of having him pursue her and catch her and take the spoils of his victory.
He pulled her to the ground in a mass of yellow poppies and the golden pollen painted her breasts and thighs. They caught their breath on a ragged sigh and a sob for the sheer beauty of the moment. It was a perfect mating; when they coupled, they became the perfect male and female … a fusi
on of silken flesh … obelisk and sphere.
They were so aroused by their wild ride and the erotic setting of their sylvan glade that before he had penetrated her fully, she began to climax. As he felt her fluttering convulsions along his entire length he spilled into her with a low groan. “Let’s go home to bed,” he whispered urgently, and helped her to dress.
He took her up before him on Titan. She sat pressed in tightly between his legs, the inside of his muscled thighs gripping her legs and his hands caressing her sensitive breasts until she flung her head back and screamed from sheer excitement.
Early the next morning when Summer awoke, the bed curtains still cloaked them in intimate darkness. She sat up to push them back and let in the early-morning sun. Ruark reached up to pull her back to their warm cocoon and she lay in the curve of his arm, knowing he could never love her more than he did at this moment.
The waterfall diamond necklace was in a cabinet beside the bed and he wanted to give it to her now. He dipped his head to steal a kiss, but she stopped him.
“First, I have something to tell you, darling.” She hesitated, her heart beating rapidly now that the moment was here. “I have some secrets that I have to confess to you,” she said softly.
His look bathed her with love and tolerant amusement for her great confession.
She knelt before him with bent head and lowered lashes. “My brother Spencer was arrested on suspicion of smuggling with some other men—”
His voice like a whiplash cut off her words. “When?” he demanded.
“He … I … the night before we were married,” she answered truthfully. “He’s in Falmouth prison and I told him … I hoped … you would be able to release him.” Ruark flung from the bed and reached for his breeches. The silence in the room was terrible. No one could have guessed at the panic that was rising within her. The only thing she wanted to do was confess all and receive her punishment. “Ruark, we had to dabble in smuggling, we were starving! My father gambled away everything we had. He sold the horses, the paintings, the furnishings. Roseland hasn’t had servants in years. The stables are falling down, the grounds are overgrown, and the house in in total disrepair. When I met you in London, I’d just learned that it was mortgaged for eighteen thousand pounds. That debt has now grown to twenty thousand, and it’s due next week or the London moneylender, Solomon Storm, will sell it.” She took a great trembling breath.
“You little bitch!” he ground out. “You mercenary little bitch. You only married me for my money!”
Her lashes flew up. “No … Ru …”
His face was livid with anger. His mouth was set in a grim cruel line and his eyes glittered with cold fury. “Not only did you marry me for my money, but for my position of power as magistrate. By Christ, you had it all worked out in a neat little plan. Well, let me tell you that you and your damned brother knew smuggling was dangerous. You know by definition it is dishonest, and you know it is forbidden strictly by the law of the land. I neither can nor will, madame, gain his release from prison. He can rot!”
Summer was aghast. She couldn’t believe the things he was saying to her.
“Women are all bitches … every last one. I’ve never dealt with a woman in my life who didn’t betray me! I thought you were different. Have you any idea how much I loved you?” he raged.
She was trying to conceal her fear, but perhaps fear was what he wanted from her. She couldn’t move. She felt trapped … kneeling naked in the bed … where only last night he’d worshiped her from head to foot.
“Love obviously never entered into our relationship once!” he lashed out.
The tears streamed down her face. She loved him with all her heart, yet she knew she was guilty of much deceit. Desperately she cried, “Ruark, how can you accuse me of not loving you … you must know I love you more than life.” She could not bear to hear him accuse her, even though she was guilty.
“Like every vixen born before you, you are nothing but a deceitful liar. Christ!” His cry was like that of a wounded wolf. He remembered the diamonds he’d bought her and threw back his head in laughter, but there was no mirth in it. “What a bloody fool you made out of me. You’re nothing but a little whore asking money and special privileges for sexual favors!”
“No, Ruark … please let me explain. We were desperate … we had no money, no food … and then the very roof over our head was going to be taken from us.”
His anguish at her betrayal deafened him to her pleas. He’d never believe another word she uttered … and he’d never forgive her … never, ever.
She remembered how she’d lured him, hoping he’d marry her, but being willing to settle for mistress. But damn it all, that had absolutely nothing to do with how she’d fallen in love with him since they’d exchanged vows. She’d loved him since she’d laid eyes on him, if she admitted the truth. It suddenly infuriated her that he accused her of giving him sex for money. She put up her chin, her eyes blazing. “How dare you speak to me like that, you arrogant swine!”
“Lady Summer St. Catherine,” he mocked, “my own pure little virgin.”
She was speechless with anger, for none knew better than he that she had been virgin.
“So diabolically clever. You underestimate yourself. You don’t need me—you don’t need anybody!” he thundered. He smiled his wolf’s smile. “Since you’re so bloody clever, you can get your own mortgage money. Not one copper penny of Helford money will you get your grasping hands on.”
“Sod off!” she screamed.
“No, madame, that’s what you will do. I’m going to get an annulment!”
She was stunned. “You can’t … the marriage has been consummated.”
He said coldly, “You forget I am the magistrate—I am the law. It will be the simplest thing in the world for me to arrange.”
She reached for her clothes and said icily, “I’ll leave now, Lord Helford. I’m going home to Roseland.”
That’s when he approached the bed and struck her across the face. “You, madame, will do precisely as you are told. While you are still my wife, you will reside under this roof. You forget our guests are due to arrive in a few days.”
She lay in a crumpled heap. It was true. She had forgotten. How could he possibly expect her to entertain the King and his courtiers under these circumstances? She was no match for him physically, but she used her tongue as a weapon. “I’ll cuckold you with the first cavalier who asks me!”
His eyes narrowed dangerously. “If you are unfaithful to me while you are still my wife, I shall kill you. Once the marriage is annulled, you may do as you damned well please. You may keep these rooms for the present. I’ll move to the north wing.” The door slammed after him.
Summer was left feeling stunned, incredulous. The lovely dream couldn’t end this way. She was totally shattered. She lay down upon the bed, curled into a ball, her heart broken.
In about an hour there came a low knock upon her chamber door and Mr. Burke entered quietly with her breakfast. She shook her head because she did not trust herself to speak.
“You must eat something, my lady.”
“I cannot eat, Mr. Burke, so please don’t press me,” she whispered. She gazed with unseeing eyes through the tall window which overlooked the fountain, her hand pressed against her breast. “My heart hurts so very much.”
“Lady Summer, he has a terrible temper and a stiff pride. It has always been so. Afterward he regrets the terrible things he has said, but his damned pride prevents him from apologizing.”
“This has happened before?” she asked listlessly.
Mr. Burke nodded. “His father was cursed with the same Helford blood. They quarreled viciously and his father went to the grave without them reconciling. He’s never admitted it but I know he deeply regrets his part in it, just as he will regret this between you two.”
“I must get out of here. I’m taking a ride if he asks, Mr. Burke.” The servant said quietly, “He won’t ask, my lady, but if you don’t ret
urn, he will come and get you, even if he has to drag you back.”
“I’ll return, Mr. Burke, but don’t expect me for hours and hours.”
Summer went home to Roseland. She sat dejectedly in the deserted kitchen, wondering what on earth she was going to do. It wasn’t in her nature to mope, as she had always preferred action. Soon a small core of anger deep inside started to spread through her blood. “Damn you to hellfire, Ruark bloody Helford!” she shouted. “You think I need you? You were right, I don’t need anybody! I’ll get the money for the mortgage on my home if it kills me,” she vowed, striking the table with her balled-up fist. First, though, was the problem of Spider. She went over the alternatives in her mind. She had a pistol. She had jewels … perhaps she could bribe someone.
She gasped in fear as the kitchen door swung open quietly. Gathering her courage, she challenged, “Who’s there? Speak up or I’ll shoot your blasted brains out!”
“It’s me, Cat, don’t shoot!” her brother cried out in alarm.
“Spider! Oh, thank the blessed St. Jude. Did Ruark get you released after all?” she asked, a tiny spark of hope kindling in her heart.
“Ruark my arse!” he swore, shutting the door carefully and coming into the room. “They took me to an interrogation room and the bloody window was open. Can you believe such incompetence?” he crowed.
“You’ve escaped? Ohmigod, they’ll come looking for you!”
“You forget, they don’t know who I am, Cat.” He grinned.
Her heart sank. “I told Lord Helford this morning.”
“But surely I don’t have to worry about that, you said you were his wife. Cat, were you lying to me?” he demanded.
“No,” she said angrily, “but he threatened to annul the marriage when I told him about you and the mortgage.”
“He can’t get an annulment unless there’s something wrong with him and he can’t perform sexually,” stated Spider.
“He’s the law, he can do what he damned well wants.”
“Did he fuck you or not?” Spider asked bluntly.