Taming the Rake Read online

  Humiliated, a searing pain twisting in her chest, Gina raced from the room as if the devil were nipping at her heels. Tears blurred her vision. She hated that he’d seen her cry. But she’d felt so uncertain, so vulnerable after what he’d done to her, her emotions had bubbled right to the surface.

  The most wondrous, intimate moment of her life had been shattered in an instant by the cold lash of his vile tongue. How could a man that had kissed her with such passion one minute treat her so cruelly the next?

  She should never have come looking for him. But she hadn’t been able to eat when she’d noticed he wasn’t at supper. She’d felt ill wondering whether he was with that strumpet Lady Darby, who’d practically thrown herself at him the moment they entered the ballroom.

  And now look what Gina had done, what she’d allowed him to do. She was no better than Lady Darby. He’d touched her in the most intimate of places and made her fall apart in his arms, ready to gift him with her maidenhead. After fortune and connections, it was the only thing men seemed to value in a wife.

  The horror of the situation suddenly caught up with her, how perilously close she’d come to ruin. Panicked, nausea tossed in her stomach. She raced to the powder room. Her hand went to her mouth, still bruised and swollen from his kisses. Bile rose in her throat.

  She made it just in time.

  When she’d finished, Gina took a seat on a nearby stool. The bitter irony of the situation was not lost on her. If anyone came searching for her, she wouldn’t need to feign illness.

  Bowing her head in her hands, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her tumultuous insides. What was she going to do? She wanted him, and it had nothing to do with a bet. He’d kissed her, touched her, and opened up an entire new world to her. A world of passion. And now that she’d found it, she feared that she wouldn’t be able to relinquish it so easily.

  Was it always like that for a man and a woman? She didn’t think so; she’d been kissed before and felt nothing compared to what she’d felt tonight.

  Had it truly only been a game to him?

  The pain in her chest tightened.

  Gina didn’t want to believe he could be so unfeeling. She had a nagging suspicion that there was something very wrong about the scene that had just occurred. She’d seen the expression in his eyes when he’d touched her. It hadn’t only been desire, there was more. His expression was almost reverent. Adoring. He looked as if he truly cared for her.

  She shook her head. She was a fool. He’d made his feelings plain enough. Wasn’t he merely living up to his reputation as a heartless rake, a debaucher of innocents?

  She popped upright on the stool.

  But if that were true, why hadn’t he taken her virginity? His words, crude though they were, were not false. She had offered, and he had refused. What had stopped him from taking what she knew he wanted?

  Could it be that there was a thin streak of honor in him after all? Did he care for her, or was he really as unfeeling as he wanted her to think he was?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “You’re sure nothing happened in Newmarket?” Cecelia’s dark brows formed a delicate “v” over her tiny nose. “You haven’t been quite yourself since your return. You seem distressed about something.”

  Gina’s cheeks heated, though she tried not to let it show. “I wish there was more to tell, but I’ve relayed everything of importance.” Well, mostly everything. There were some details that were too intimate, even for best friends. Besides, Gina was embarrassed to have so easily fallen prey to the well-known wiles of a notorious rake like Coventry. Her friends would be shocked. In truth, she didn’t quite believe it herself.

  Gina forced her thoughts away from what had occurred in the card room. She’d been back in London for nearly a week, and she’d thought about what he’d done to her far more often than she wanted to admit. It had been amazing. Until he’d ruined it.

  Gina hadn’t seen him since she’d left Greenbrook on Saturday. Their arrival in London on Monday had been greeted by the shocking news of Prime Minister Perceval’s assassination earlier that day. Fears of a French plot had circulated throughout the ton, but were quickly disproved by the quick arrest of John Bellingham. Social events had largely been put on hold for the week during the trial, culminating with a finding of guilt the previous day.

  Despite the length of time that had passed, Gina still couldn’t decide whether she never wanted to see Coventry again, or whether she wanted to put the screws to him for treating her so repugnantly. Probably a little of both. The more she thought about it, the stronger the suspicion that there was more to his behavior than first appeared. Clearly, he’d wanted to push her away, the question was why.

  In any event, Cecelia was right. She had been feeling a bit melancholy since her return from the country. Coventry’s rejection had stung more than she would have thought possible—especially coming on the heels of such a staggering personal failing on her part. How had it happened so quickly? One minute she was in control and the next she was practically begging him to have his way with her. She’d behaved like a wanton and nearly lost her virginity in the process. She could have been ruined by a man who wouldn’t have spared her fate a second thought.

  She was furious with herself, but she was also inexplicably sad—thus the melancholy the twins had noticed.

  Her friends were still studying her with concern. Gina shrugged, downplaying her moodiness. “Our wager has been more difficult than I anticipated.”

  Claire furrowed her fair brows. “They’re slippery little devils, aren’t they?”

  Her befuddled expression brought a smile to Gina’s face. “They are indeed.”

  “What will you do next?” Cecelia asked.

  Gina sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve cleaned up his life the best I can, and demonstrated all that a proper wife can do for him, but, to use Claire’s analogy, he won’t bite. He’s more stubborn than I realized.” She frowned. “And there’s something else. Coventry has a true repugnance toward marriage. I’m convinced that it must have something to do with his first wife.”

  Cecelia looked at her strangely. “You mean you don’t know?”

  “I know that he was unfaithful and that she died giving birth to a child.” The lout. Gina didn’t bother to hide her disdain.

  Cecelia bit her lip, looking as if she wanted to say something. “Claire, dearest, will you fetch me my dark green pelisse with the black braid? It’s up in the cupboard in my chamber. Tessie will help you find it.”

  “But it’s not cold outside,” Claire whined. “It’s a beautiful day.”

  “Be a darling, won’t you?”

  It was said so prettily, Gina knew Claire wouldn’t be able to refuse. She didn’t. Resigned to doing her sister’s bidding, Claire turned to head back inside. “Very well, but you won’t say anything while I’m gone will you?”

  “Don’t be a pea,” Cecelia assured her with a brilliant smile.

  But as soon as Claire had left the garden, Cecelia sobered and motioned to a stone bench overlooking the large classical fountain that occupied the center of the rose garden. Stafford House, the marquess’s townhouse on Grosvenor Square, boasted one of the most beautiful gardens in London, and the girls often spent their morning hours outside.

  Curious as to what would require such an obvious ploy to get rid of Claire, Gina eagerly took the seat next to her.

  Cecelia lowered her voice so that they would not be overheard by Lady Stafford. The twins’ mother was sitting at the writing desk near an open window in the blue drawing room that overlooked the rose garden. Lady Stafford found unseemly in her daughters that which she undertook with relish: gossip.

  “What you have said is correct, but there is much more.” Cece paused and took a deep breath. “Lady Coventry was every bit as profligate as her husband, if not more so. She was shockingly bold about her affairs. She had a reputation for a sharp tongue, and from what I understand, it was often publicly directed at belittling her husband.