Lady Beneath the Veil(26)

'Ah, yes, Monsieur Lamotte.' Gideon's voice was quiet, silky, but no  less menacing. 'Odd that you should deny him one day and the next he is a  friend.'

'I should say he is more of an acquaintance.'

'A charming young man,' said Gideon lightly. 'But French, you know. He  is unfamiliar with the way we do things here, especially when it comes  to husbands. They can be the most unaccountable creatures, you see.'

'Can they?'

Max sounded wary and, casting a quick glance at Gideon, Dominique  thought that despite his pleasant tone his eyes had never been so  menacing.

'Oh, yes,' he said softly. 'I did not realise it until I became one  myself, but it seems now that if anyone should try to harm my wife, or  even to upset her, then I should be obliged to wreak the most terrible  vengeance. I just couldn't help myself.'

Despite the noise and chatter of the room, a dangerous silence hung  around the two men. Dominique could feel the tension and remained still,  not daring to do anything that might precipitate violence. At last Max  gave her a tight smile.

'You are to be congratulated, Cousin, you have found yourself an admirable protector. I wish you joy of your bulldog.'

With a curt nod he stalked past them.                       
       
           



       

'Do you think he understood you?' she asked as they continued back to the music room.

'Oh, yes,' murmured Gideon. 'I think he understood me all too well. He will not bother us again.'

Recalling the fury in Max's eyes, Dominique could not be easy.

'Gideon-'

'Hush.' He held up his hand. 'We have given your cousin quite enough  time this evening. Let us instead listen to the music. This next  soprano, I have been told, is quite matchless.'

* * *

Their last weeks in town were very busy. Dominique felt quite low when  Gwen departed for Brighton, but she left Dominique a long list of things  she considered necessary for a protracted stay in Buckinghamshire.

'Buy your loose gowns before you go, for there is but one dressmaker in  the village, and although you will want to put some work her way you  will need more gowns than she can provide. And make sure you buy some  warm petticoats. Flannel ones, my love, because the corridors at Rotham  can be icy in winter! Then you will need books,' Gwen continued,  counting off the items on her fingers. 'I left one or two novels at  Rotham, but I doubt my father will have anything new, and it is such a  fuss to send to London every time one wants a diversion. If you wish to  paint, then you should find everything you need in the old nursery.' She  pulled a face. 'Poor Papa, he insisted we have the very best-tutors,  materials, paints, charcoal and sketchpads-but I was a sad  disappointment and not at all proficient at drawing or painting. Oh, and  buy at least two pairs of stout boots, the lanes become prodigiously  muddy...'

She went on for some time and when she had finished Dominique gave an uncertain laugh.

'You make Rotham sound like something from a Gothic novel, all gloomy shadows and empty, echoing halls.'

'Well, it is,' replied Gwen with alarming candour. 'Since Gideon  escaped, Papa has rattled around in that great house all alone, with  only an elderly neighbour to visit him.' Gwen noticed her  sister-in-law's dismay and quickly assured her that Rotham was in no way  as bleak as it sounded. 'The local families will be glad to welcome  you, I am sure, and Ribblestone and I will be returning to Fairlawns in  December, so we shall only be a few miles away.'

To Dominique, December sounded a very long time ahead, but she put  aside her worries and threw herself into preparing to travel to her  husband's family home.

* * *

Travelling in easy stages, they took two full days to reach Rotham. A  baggage coach was hired to follow them, the roof piled high with trunks  and Dominique's precious harp packed inside. Dominique rode in the  elegant chaise sent up from Rotham for her comfort. Her only  disappointment was that Gideon preferred to ride, but since this meant  that Kitty could join her in the carriage she was not lonely on the  journey, and when they stopped overnight at a prosperous coaching inn  there was no lack of conversation with Gideon.

They dined in a private parlour served by the well-trained staff of the  inn, who were efficient and unobtrusive. Even so, Dominique kept the  conversation to innocuous subjects until at last the covers were removed  and they were alone.

'Tell me about your father,' she said, putting her elbows on the table  and resting her chin on her hands. Gideon looked nonplussed and she  added with a smile, 'Are you very like him?'

'In looks, perhaps, but in temperament-my father is very reserved.'

She thought of the long silences she had endured with Gideon, but did  not comment upon it and said instead, 'Is his health poor? Is that why  he lives so quietly? Gwen told me,' she explained, when he raised his  brows at her. 'She warned me that Lord Rotham rarely entertains.'

Gideon gave a crack of laughter.

'Rarely? He never entertains. However, that must change if you are  living there. You must invite whom you please.' He was silent for a  moment. 'You must not be frightened of my father, Nicky. He might appear  cold, but his heart is very generous.'

'It will need to be,' she murmured. 'I bring no dowry.'

'You must not let that worry you.'

'But it does, Gideon.'                       
       
           



       

'I think Father will be too relieved to know I have settled down to  worry about your lack of dowry. You see, he was sorely disappointed when  I went off to make my own life in London.' He was silent while he  poured himself another glass of wine. 'I did not behave well, I admit  it. And once in town I fell in with your cousin and his friends. I am  not proud of that time.'

After the suffocating discipline of Rotham, Max's mischievous  merrymaking had seemed very attractive. Gideon had willingly  participated in the pranks and jokes they played on each other and even  on total strangers-boxing the Watch, stealing an old gentleman's wig,  holding mock duels, bribing the coachman to let them take the reins of  the stage and race it against one of their own carriages... It had all  seemed like harmless fun at the time, but looking back he saw how  childish it had been. When he stole that little lightskirt from under  Max's nose it was inevitable that the earl would retaliate, but bullying  his innocent little cousin into marriage-!

Glancing up, Gideon saw Nicky's anxious face and he added quickly,  'That is no reflection upon you, Nicky. I could not want for a better  wife.'

'But perhaps you could want a more beloved one.'

Gideon frowned.

'We will not discuss that, if you please. The actress Max employed to  impersonate you would not have been acceptable to my family.'

Dominique met his eyes across the table, the wine making her brave.

'And am I any more acceptable?'

To her surprise the coldness in his gaze was replaced by something warmer, including a hint of laughter.

'With your grace and dignity and your indomitable spirit-yes, you are, my dear.'

She was inordinately pleased with his answer even though it made her  blush rosily. At the same time she felt that strong tug of attraction to  the man sitting opposite. His look seemed to burn right through her  decorous gown and she could feel her body responding, the breasts  tightening, pushing against the restricting material as she imagined his  hands caressing her body. It had been weeks since he had touched her  like that and she was filled with an indescribable ache to feel his arms  around her. She longed to say so, but the words would not come. The  silence stretched between them, becoming ever more uncomfortable.

'It-it has been a beautiful day,' she said at last, glancing out of the window. 'It seems a shame that we spent it travelling.'

'I at least had the benefit of riding. You were shut up in the chaise  all day. Perhaps you would like to take a little stroll with me now and  catch the last of the sun?'

'I would like that very much,' she said, reaching for her shawl.

* * *

The inn was situated on a busy street, but Gideon had noticed a lane to  one side and once they had walked a few yards the noise and bustle were  left behind. They strolled side by side in companionable silence. The  lane was bounded on each side by large fields of ripening corn, gleaming  and golden in the setting sun.

'How long will you stay at Rotham?' she asked him.

'Until you are established. I shall drive down to Brighton to see Gwen,  then I shall go to Chalcots and see what is needed to make it  habitable. I have been thinking we might set up home there.'

'That is your godmama's house, near Hampstead? I should so much like to see it.'

'And so you shall, once your confinement is over. Too much travelling  will fatigue you and I would not risk your health.' His voice was kind,  but Dominique's spirits sank. He did not want her with him.