Married By Midnight(16)

“Do your brothers know about your boat?” she asked.

“No,” he replied, “and I would appreciate your discretion in that regard, especially with Father. He might think I’ve brought on another curse, and for the first time in my life I am enjoying being in his good graces.”

Anne rubbed her hands together inside her muff where it was toasty warm. “You were a naughty child?” she asked with a hint of humor and mischief, hoping to lighten the mood, for it had turned rather dark. “I would never have guessed it.”

For a long moment he didn’t answer, then he squinted up at the bright sky. “Not so much naughty as unwanted, but that is a story for another day. Are you cold, Lady Anne? Shall we go and have some hot cider?”

Wishing he had not suggested they join the others at this intriguing juncture, she nevertheless took his arm when he offered it, for she had promised to keep her distance and it would be best to hold true to that promise instead of risking all and caring too much. Yes. That would be a dangerous mistake to make.

“That would be lovely,” she replied as she skated off the ice with him.





* * *





The following night after dinner, while Anne sat at the table chatting with Charlotte, Garrett found himself watching her, entranced by her dark, ethereal beauty. She was unlike any other woman he’d met before. She was very open and unashamed about her past transgressions, yet at the same time there was something pure and unworldly about her. He found it difficult to believe she could have earned the slightest stain on her reputation.

But she had. She’d admitted it openly.

Bloody hell, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He was forced to remind himself a number of times during dinner that it was a physical attraction best left unexplored, for he and Lady Anne were in a contractual relationship together, and the terms of their union   had been laid out very clearly by the solicitors at Mason, Morrison, and Sangster.

He was to marry Anne Douglas by Christmas Eve; then he would be free to leave England with no further responsibilities toward her. All the financial arrangements for her future annuities would be administered by the same team of solicitors—the very firm that was handling his father’s will, which stated that if all four brothers were not married by Christmas, the family’s entire unentailed fortune would be bequeathed to the London Horticultural Society.

And it was more than a substantial fortune. The Pembroke estate was one of the wealthiest in the country. With it, the Horticultural Society would be able to cloak the entire south of England in a blanket of tulips and roses from now until the end of time.

At the image of tulips and roses, Garrett’s attention returned to his lovely fiancée seated across the table.

She raised her wine glass to her lips and regarded him over the rim for what seemed a sweltering moment. All at once he found himself uncomfortably aroused and wondered what would happen if he entered into a flirtation with her during these two weeks at Pembroke.

She was not a virgin. Perhaps she would enjoy a brief amour. There was nothing in the contract that prevented it. They were, in fact, required to consummate the marriage.

But not until the wedding night of course.

He raised his own wine glass to his lips and met her enchanting gaze a number of times throughout the evening. All the while, he had to fight to keep thoughts of bedding her at bay, for he could not possibly deserve such pleasures.

He was here to do what he must to make amends for the accident—of which he had not told the whole truth—not to plunge himself into another temporary, and no doubt dangerous affair. Besides, he wasn’t sure she would be agreeable to such a self-indulgent plan, and he certainly didn’t want to disrespect her after all she’d been through. He did his best to purge the idea from his mind.





Chapter Six





Garrett was reading the Times and sipping coffee alone in the breakfast room a few days later when his mother entered and stopped just inside the door.

“Good morning,” he said as he folded the paper and set it aside on the white tablecloth. He noticed how lovely his mother looked in a sky-blue morning dress with white trimmings. She had celebrated her fiftieth birthday earlier that year, but was still as slim and attractive as she had been in her youth.

“I am sorry to disturb you,” she said, “but I thought you might like to meet Dr. Thomas. He has been treating your father since the spring. Perhaps you have some questions you would like to ask?”

Garrett did in fact have a number questions regarding his father’s state of mind, for the duke was suddenly a proud and doting parent. Was it simply memory loss? Did he even remember that Garrett was illegitimate?