Accidentally Compromising the Duke (10 page)

Never had she imagined her life could have taken such a drastic turn with so little warning or preparation. Seated at the breakfast table, she did her very best to ignore the imposing presence of Edmond. Adel turned back to her half-eaten breakfast, stared at the scrambled eggs and sliced ham for a moment, then pushed the plate away with a grimace. She was a nervous wreck and unable to appreciate the thoughtfulness of Lady Gladstone, who despite everything had made the day a bit more bearable for Adel. The countess had ensured that breakfast was made available in a smaller dining room for her, the duke, and her family. She had even decorated the room with bountiful vases of orchids and lily.

“Will you be staying for the rest of the house party, Your Grace?” her stepmother asked.

Adel waited for his response. Since he had brushed his cold lips on her cheek in the chapel, he had not acknowledged her. At first she had been baffled, then hurt, then her feelings shifted to gratefulness. She could not endure any attempts at polite conversation.

She felt as if she were in a sea, drowning in uncertainty and trepidation. She was sure of nothing—the duke, his children, her wedding night, and their future. Everything was so overwhelming, she preferred to be silent and not be prodded to converse.

Thankfully, her father and Lady Margaret had ignored her as well, and they had spent the last hour, chattering away at Edmond. Adel doubted he got in more than a few words, though he seemed content to remain stoic.

“We depart for Hampshire at noon,” he said.

Oh
. “I know no one in Hampshire.” Why had she opened her mouth? His piercing regard prompted her to force a smile to her lips. “Though I hear it is most congenial there,” Adel said.

“Your sisters will be very excited to visit your new home. The country air will do wonders for their health,” Papa said, already trying to ensure Lady Margaret’s daughters were seen to be connected with Wolverton.

Lady Margaret gave her husband a sweet approving smile.

“It does you credit, Your Grace, that you would have your family to the famous Rosette Park for a visit in short order.”

It took Adel several moments to realize Lady Margaret spoke to her. She was now
Your Grace
. Good Heavens! A visit to Rosette Park? Not that Adel minded, her stepsisters were good natured, even if a bit silly at times, but it was certainly too soon to have every one descended on them. “With Edmond’s approval you will all be welcome to visit for a spell, however, Papa, I think it is best that the duke and I have the first few weeks alone so we may learn each other. Remember we hardly even got a chance to converse properly…and here we are, wedded.”

Her stepmother’s eyes pinched in irritation and her father frowned, and then nodded. “Of course, my dear. We will take to the waters in Bath for a few weeks. We’ve leased a house at Camden Place and the girls are looking forward to traveling down.”

The duke said nothing, taking too long before he removed his unnerving regard from her back to Lady Margaret.

Good lord
.
When will I be comfortable with him?
But the better question was, had that been admiration she saw in his eyes?

Adel was filled with relief they would be departing in two hours’ time. The journey to Hampshire would take the better part of the day, and they might very well arrive at Rosette Park tomorrow. She lowered her napkin. “If you will excuse me, I must oversee the packing of my belongings.” She pushed back her chair, as the duke stood. After dipping into a shallow curtsy, Adel hurried from the dining room, able to feel his roving stare burning through her dress like a heated caress.

Chapter Ten

Adel shifted the curtains of the carriage and peered into the dark. Under the banner of moonlight she made out the powerful form of the rider ahead. The duke. They had been traveling for several hours, and she had passed the time by reading. Now the carriage lantern was not sufficient for her to discern the words on the pages, and the passage of Theodore Aikens’s latest espionage tale was thrilling and quite rousing.

The coach turned into what looked like the driveway of a lively inn despite the late hour and rolled to a stop. Edmond was the one to assist her from the equipage.

“Thank you,” she said smiling up at him.

He nodded curtly and held out his arm.

“It wouldn’t be amiss to smile,” she muttered.

“Why would I be smiling when there is no cause?”

She stumbled slightly, not expecting for him to hear her comment. “To be polite. A smile goes a long way toward making someone feel more welcomed and relaxed, and it does not hurt to be pleasant.”

“If you are looking for someone to coddle your sensibilities you will be gravely disappointed,” he said, his tone extremely dry.

He crossed the gravel pathway with rapid strides, but Adel had no difficulty keeping pace.

They entered the inn, and it was evident from the several nods that he received from patrons in the common room that he was well known. The wretched man treated them with the same cold incivility. A room was ordered and immediately they were taken to the best the inn had to offer. Adel was surprised the room was so clean and pleasant, with an inviting fire place. She strolled over to the hearth, tugged off her gloves, and held her hands over the heat.

The duke’s imperious tone from behind her ordered a supper tray for their room and a bath.

She glanced over her shoulders to find him watching her with an inscrutable mien.

“You do want a bath, do you not?”

After traveling for several hours she did feel a bit travel worn, and she was painfully aware this was their wedding night. Unable to help herself, her eyes were drawn to the bed in the center of the room.

His dark brows drew together as he stared at her. “Is there something on the bed sheets?”

She felt the heat climbed her neck. Determined to remain unruffled, she pasted a smile on her lips. “Of course not, and a bath would be lovely.”

His gaze flickered briefly to her mouth, and her heart clamored. Then with a curt nod, he turned and marched from the room.

Good God
, would the man ever unbend and smile? Worse…had that unfathomable look at her lips meant he wanted to kiss her or that she should prepare for a wedding night? She prayed not. She understood her duty to the duke, but the very idea of completing their union at an inn was exceptionally off-putting. She would certainly say so if he were to approach her. Though she doubted he would indeed even touch her. The man treated her with nothing but chilling incivility and the awareness of it had a terrible, hollow ache rising in her chest.

It was never more apparent to her, how much she was lacking. Not that she wanted to tempt him…even though she had no idea what she should be really tempting him to! Earlier as she’d peered at his powerful and uncompromising form seated on his horse, she had felt out of her depths. How could she have formed an attachment with a man who had no interest in her? If not for her folly…Adel was certain he would never have glanced in her direction.

With a soft sigh, she pushed Edmond from her mind, determined not to dampen her spirits further. She had months…years to understand the situation she was now in. If only acknowledging such a thought did not cramp her stomach with such acute discomfort.

…

An hour after he’d left the room, Edmond returned fully expecting Adeline to be sleeping. Instead, she was submerged in the bath still, singing softly. Her voice was warm and rich and…sultry. Something elusive stirred inside him. He closed the door with an audible click and she stiffened.

She darted a nervous glance at him, then her eyes jerked to the bed.

“You may relax, madam, I won’t pounce,” he drawled, almost amused.

“I…I am naked, sir.”

He didn’t even bother to point out that she was almost fully submerged in the bath water in the far corner…the only part of her on display was the elegant lines of her swan like neck, and that was because she had perched her mass of curls high atop her head. “You have nothing to tempt me with, madam, you are safe.”

Liar,
the sensuous line of her neck, begged to be licked, nibbled…

Noting she still looked anxious, he sighed. “It will be as if I am not in the room.”

His tone may have been a trifle too bland for she looked dubiously at him. He made no further overture to make her comfortable. He rose and started to shrug from his coat. She flushed and turned away. He removed his overcoat and waistcoat, and untied the simple cravat he had worn. After shedding his boots, and arranging everything neatly on the sole chair in the room, he made his way to the bed, and lay down. The frame groaned under his weight, and he closed his eyes, completely ignoring her.

She muttered something under her breath about being rude and insufferable, and it actually pulled a smile to his lips. Closing his eyes, he allowed his mind to drift. He’d sent word to the estate that he was arriving home with his duchess. He could just imagine the uproar that would cause. But he was more concerned with how his daughters would react to Adeline. Sarah was almost three years old when Maryann died, and had no memory of her. Rosa was just shy of six, but she had whispered to him tearfully several months ago that she could not remember her mother and if that made her bad.

A rustle in the room jerked him from his thoughts. He swallowed. It seemed Adeline had emerged from her bath. He waited, listening to the soft sounds she made, slightly curious as to what she was feeling. A few seconds later the bed dipped.

Knowing she was so close to him sent frissons of heat through his body. He ruthlessly suppressed the urge, not allowing it to be born. Edmond glanced at her. She herself was so stiff on the far side of the bed she could have passed for a dead body. How she was to sleep through the night he had no idea. He’d already told her she was safe, and he would waste no time providing other reassurances.

“It is strange that tonight is our wedding night is it not?” she offered somewhat tentatively.

He turned his head, and the dark, hazel eyes met his. The lady had shifted her entire body towards him, but she still maintained the ridiculous distance that would no doubt see her spilling from the bed sometime through the night. “No.”

Her eyes widened when she realized he would say nothing further. “Are you always this curt?”

He swallowed the sigh. He’d spent most of the day in the saddle and was weary. “Yes.”

No…there had been a time when he was a boy that he’d been happy. He had memories of sitting on his father’s shoulders as they toured his estates, eating apples and listening to the soft rumble of the man he’d idolized. A man he’d not thought could fade from his life. It was at the age of twelve he tasted second-hand the first sting of death, and he’d entered one of the darkest hours of his life. Edmond belatedly realized it was as if he’d never emerged.

“Why do you think that is?”

“What?”

She sighed. “Why are you so curt?”

A ripple of annoyance stirred his blood. “Adeline.”

“Yes, Edmond?”

“Go to sleep, we have several more hours of traveling tomorrow.”

He smiled in the dark when her breath huffed in what appeared to be irritation.

“You are the most maddening man.”

“You have no notion of my character.” Though he did not think she referred to talk of him being
the mad duke
.

“No, I don’t,” she mused softly, her voice sweet and sensual. “But I would very much like to. Are you not at all curious about me?”

He scowled. “No.”

A soft hurt gasp sounded and regret stirred. He might be disinterested, and it was quite well for him to say so…except it truly wasn’t. She was his duchess for better or worse. He belatedly realized though they had no prior attachment, she must have had some expectations of him.

Hell…

It seemed he’d not thought through beyond the need to provide a mother for his children. He had nothing to give Adeline, not even the wedding night she seemed to be anticipating with such acute nervousness. He would wait until they were at Rosette Park before he informed her she would not have to dread his attentions, for he would never allow them intimacy.

Chapter Eleven

After traveling for what felt like a lifetime, the elegant and well-sprung carriage pulled into the forecourt of Rosette Park a few minutes after noon the following day. Adel heaved a sigh of relief.

The door was opened by a pair of footmen, who assisted her down. Adel almost stumbled at the splendor of Rosette Park. The estate grounds were glorious. This was not a manor, but a castle with a sweeping arched entrance, and it was situated on one of the most splendid lakes she had ever seen. But it was the rolling lawns which seemed to spread for miles which held her attention. In the far distance she could see a few children running, but they were too far away for her to hear their enjoyment. An avenue of beech trees lined the long driveway, and in the far distance behind the lake the sunlight dappled through the thick leaves.

How glorious…

And she was its mistress.

She moved closer and realized her first impression that it was a castle was incorrect although the mansion boasted several crenellations and a number of decorative towers. The house clearly was built in the last few generations, but felt heroic in the beautiful setting. Formal gardens surrounded a classical fountain in which sea nymphs frolicked around a benevolent Neptune. Behind the house more gardens could be seen and sweeping lawns leading down to the picturesque lake. Within the lake were a number of small islands which were bedecked with weeping willows and abundant greenery. Swans and other water birds swam in the waters followed by their offspring.

There was a gentle clearing of a throat, and she faced the line of servants who were dressed smartly and waiting on her. At that moment the sound of thundering hooves alerted her to the fact her husband had caught up with them. Though it had drizzled rain for a few hours, he had elected to ride his massive black stallion, instead of being seated in the carriage with her. It had slightly stung, but she spent the arduous journey reflecting on how to be successful in her new station. It had made no sense lamenting on what could have been, and she so badly wanted to eventually be happy with Edmond. Marriage was so…
permanent
. It perplexed Adel that many in society were simply content with a lukewarm attachment with their spouses. Not that she was overly romantic, but she wanted—no, needed—warmth and passion in her marriage, much like her mother had experienced with Papa.