Taming the Rake Read online

  “Beyond the fact that we’ve spent more time at society balls in the past few weeks than in the past few years?”

  Coventry smiled ruefully. “Beyond that. Haven’t you noticed?”

  “Noticed what?

  “How lately we are separated as soon as we enter a room.” Indeed, the only place that they were safe was in the catacombs of Wycombe.

  Puzzled, Ash thought about it. “Now that you mention it, yes. Only last week at Pennington’s soirée, I was forced to climb a tree to rescue a foolish kitten at the bequest of Lady Caroline.”

  “And it appears we are about to be sent on some other spurious errand.” Coventry nodded in the direction of Lady Blakemore and her sister-in-law.

  “What do you make of it?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

  And he knew just where to start looking. He’d bet his fortune that it had something to do with Lady Georgina.

  Extricating himself from Lady Penelope proved easier in theory than in actual practice. While Lady Blakemore embroiled Ash in some false endeavor, he’d spent the better part of a half hour searching for a lost pearl earring only to have Lady Penelope, at his suggestion, miraculously “find” it in her reticule. If she wasn’t Blakemore’s sister, he would have soundly throttled the witless creature.

  He didn’t know what game these women were at, but he was determined to find out.

  Where is she? The nagging voice inside him would not quiet.

  The entire time spent looking for the blasted earring, he’d been all too conscious that Lady Georgina had not returned to the ballroom. He couldn’t keep his gaze from straying to the door. What could be keeping them?

  Of course, it was obvious what was keeping them.

  Though he wanted Georgina to leave him be, a part of him didn’t want to believe he could be so wrong about someone. Again. He’d half-believed her to be different. Changing targets so quickly bespoke a falseness of character that he would not have attributed to her. And the thought of her succumbing to Rockingham as easily as she had to him made him ill. Foolishly, he’d thought her passion had been something more than lust. Perhaps it was what he wanted to believe.

  Waiting proved too much. The last of his restraint exhausted, he started toward the garden, dreading what he might find, but unable to keep from seeing it for himself.

  There were two things that hit him the instant he stepped outside. First, it was a bloody shame to waste such a fine night parading around a stuffy ballroom and second, Lady Georgina and Rockingham were nowhere to be seen. A circle of iron lanterns lit the forefront of the garden, providing ample area for the guests to stretch their legs along the concentric circular paths laid out around a large fountain. Indeed, a good number of people were already making use of such.

  A quick study of the layout gave him his direction. Because it was where he would go if he wanted to seduce a woman, Coventry plunged into the darkness toward the distant and secluded greenhouse.

  As he wound deeper into the darkness, the circular maze of paths soon turned frustrating. He supposed it would have been too obvious to lay out a straight path. A thin haze shrouded the moon across a starless sky. He wished he’d had the foresight to grab a lantern, he could barely see ten feet in front of him.

  Finally, he reached the greenhouse. A quick look satisfied him that Georgina and Rockingham were not inside. He was more relieved than he wanted to admit. Perhaps he’d merely missed their return?

  He was just about to start back when a crunch of gravel coming toward him drew his attention. He slipped behind a small thatch of rosebushes just in time to see a flash of silvery blue slide past. The color of her gown. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for them to pass. She came so close he could smell the familiar sweet scent of her perfume.

  “We should be getting back,” he heard her say.

  “As you wish.”

  “Thank you for walking with me, I feel much improved.”

  Coventry watched his friend execute a mocking bow. “It has been my pleasure. Shall we rest a moment before we return?” Rockingham led her to an iron bench outside the greenhouse. “I must confess that my intentions were not purely altruistic.”

  “They weren’t?” She didn’t sound surprised.

  “No. Your father has informed you—”

  “He has.” He could almost hear Georgina’s blush, she sounded so flustered.

  “And you are not adverse to a match between us.”

  Coventry’s heart stopped. She seemed to hesitate. Every muscle in his body tensed, focused intently on her response.

  “N…no.”

  He felt like someone had just kicked him in the gut.

  “I don’t know,” she equivocated softly. But indecision wasn’t enough to lessen the blow. Only an immediate refusal could have done that.

  Rockingham laughed. Huskiness had crept into his voice, deepening for the seduction. “How can I convince you?”

  Coventry wanted to rip Rockingham’s cursed tongue out.

  “I’m sure you could think of something,” she flirted shyly.

  Rockingham leaned closer, his movements slow enough for her to stop him. But she didn’t. She wanted him to kiss her. Coventry couldn’t believe it.

  Why he should be surprised he didn’t know. But he was. The betrayal hit him hard, perhaps even harder than Serena’s, though it didn’t make any sense. Serena had been his wife, Lady Georgina was nothing. A pest. A nuisance that he was eager to be rid of.

  Liar, the pathetic voice inside him whispered.

  Rockingham pulled her into his arms and touched his lips to hers. Coventry lurched forward. Stop him, he wanted to yell. But she didn’t. He couldn’t see her expression, but he could see her movements. Utterly fixated, he waited for the slightest indication that Rockingham’s advances were unwelcome. Nothing. She didn’t make a single move to resist.

  His eyes burned, glued to the scene unfolding before him with perverse fascination that bordered on self-flagellation. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how deep the whip flayed his skin, he couldn’t look away.

  Locked between a primitive rage that burned to yank them apart and sanity that reminded him he didn’t care, Coventry watched Rockingham kiss her again. This time it was neither chaste nor gentle. She didn’t struggle, but melted against his friend.

  Just as she had him.

  It was the final blow.

  A coldness descended over Coventry, so complete it turned his insides to ice, freezing whatever small part of him he’d unwillingly yielded to Lady Georgina. No matter how she appeared, she was no different from the rest.

  He’d seen enough. Turning on his heel, he spun around and made his way back to the ballroom. Back to the things that did not disappoint: drink, cards, and whores. Whores who did not hide their true nature under a thin veil of propriety.

  The weakness that haunted him had finally fled. This time for good.

  “Did you hear something?”

  Gina pulled away from Lord Rockingham’s embrace, only too happy for the interruption. No matter how hard she tried to conjure up enthusiasm, it wasn’t happening. His kiss, though pleasant, didn’t leave her feeling breathless. Nor did she feel the least inclined to tear off his clothes, or her clothes, or anyone else’s clothes for that matter.

  What was wrong with her? Why was she comparing his kiss to another?

  Rockingham didn’t seem to sense her disquiet. In fact, he looked exceedingly pleased with himself. “It was probably just a cat or a bird.” Or the cat who ate the canary, she thought annoyed by his expression. He stood to help her up. “But we should return. I don’t want you compromised.”

  Though actually, he sounded as if he wouldn’t mind it at all. Gina quickened her pace, realizing that she would. After her little experiment, Gina was even more positive that Lord Rockingham was not the man for her.

  He evoked none of the feelings that she experienced with Lord Coventry.

  So where exac