Page 50 of The Rake's Bride
This seemed to snap him out of whatever trance had captured him. “It might not be worth our time,” he finally replied. “I’ve been to these parties many times, and they are never as polished as the ones in London.”
“That doesn’t matter to me,” she said with an airy laugh. “Now that Faith is improving, we could have some time, just the two of us…socializing with other adults. You cannot tell me that is not appealing, even if the rest of the event is boring!”
The tension eased from his face when he met her eyes.
“Besides, Luke will be there as well,” Victoria added. “He indicated in his last letter that he has business with Lord Greenleigh, and it will be so good for me to see my brother again.”
Was she imagining his small sigh of resignation?
“We may attend if that is what you wish.”
Victoria told herself that she was imagining Rafe’s hesitance. He’d seemed quite friendly with Lady Greenleigh in the village; surely, he would tell her if there was a good reason they should not attend?
It was everythingRafe could do not to groan at just how horrendous an idea it was for them to attend the Greenleigh party. For one, Victoria’s brother had always treated him with poorly veiled dislike (although, admittedly, Rafe would probablyhate himself were he in Luke’s position). The thought of spending an entire evening with the man was not something he relished.
Then, there was the matter of just how he knew the hosts. Lady Greenleigh happened to be a cousin to his most recent paramour, a young widow who hadn’t taken well to Rafe’s dissolution of their arrangement. Lady Dallow was no older than Victoria, but she was leaps and bounds more experienced. She’d married young and had been widowed only one year into her marriage. Not a single day had she and her husband been faithful to their vows, and the man’s untimely death following a disagreement with his mistress’s other lover only set her free. No longer required to mask her indiscretions, Lady Dallow had flitted from one protector to the next. Unfortunately, men did not realize her mercurial nature and unhealthy possessiveness—odd for a woman who did not know the meaning of the word “fidelity”—was often the cause of those arrangements coming to an end. Many a man had been charmed by her ample wares and skills in the bedchamber, only to be run off by one of her tantrums. To say she had been unhappy when Rafe terminated their relationship would be an understatement; however, she had not attempted to contact him since their last meeting. Still, Rafe did not relish seeing her again, and he hoped the chances of an encounter at the party would be slim. She usually stayed in London year-round, and he hoped she would not go through the trouble of traveling to Kent for her cousin’s husband’s birthday celebration. Perhaps it would work out, and he needn’t be so concerned.
He did not relish the possibility of a chance encounter with her. In his experience, those never boded well with a lover who felt jilted.
Even though the women with whom he entered sexual relationships were supposed to have a full understanding thatthe arrangement was only temporary, things did not always end as cleanly as he hoped. There had been several women who’d optimistically believed they would be the one to change him—to snag one of London’s most notorious rakes and set him to heel…to save him…to tame him.
Although he’d expressly told her that their relationship was one of physical fulfillment, Lady Dallow had been one of those women. For all her faults, he’d once thought fondly of her…now he could look back on their time together and see it for the hollow satisfaction that it had been. She’d been a skilled lover and had known exactly what to do to make his body quake with desire, but he knew now—or, at least, he was beginning to—recognize actual companionship.
He was finding it with Victoria.
It was a sobering realization for a man who had thought the notion to be as insubstantial as a fantasy.
Gradually, he was coming to understand that he hadn’t known as much about women and relationships as he’d once believed. He knew now that his wife deserved as much of himself as he was capable of giving to her. And, seeing the hope in her eyes and hearing in her voice how excited she was to see her insufferable brother once again made him want to give her everything. If he had to chance seeing Lady Dallow in an uncomfortable situation, then it was a small price to pay to return to Victoria some of the joy she’d brought to his family.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The day ofthe party, Rafe took his time bathing and dressing, grateful that he’d brought a formal outfit with them to the country. He certainly hadn’t anticipated attending such an event, but it was fortunate that his sense of fashion often won out over practicality.
One never knew when he might be on display, and he had some reputation left to uphold. Whatever would the bucks of London do without his example?
Fitted in his black evening kit, hair tousled and shaped to perfection, he went off in search of his wife.
Victoria had retreated to her own chambers to dress, but he found them empty when he went to retrieve her. After a bit of wandering, he realized she was not downstairs either. He glanced at his pocket timepiece and hoped she had perhaps changed her mind about attending.
Still, there was one more place he had yet to check.
Heading back up to the second floor of the home, he turned at the top of the stairs toward the room occupied by the children.
There, he found Victoria tucking the children in tightly beneath their blankets. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched silently as she kissed each of them atop their heads.
“Wiww I have a dress that pretty one day?” May asked, awe dripping from her every word.
“I’m certain you will,” Victoria replied warmly as she brushed the curls from May’s face. “I will make sure of it.”
Dominic came next, and what the lad did surprised everyone, even Victoria, judging by her little exclamation. He threw his arms around her neck, heedless of her delicate attire, as only a child can be. Victoria held him in return without a moment’s hesitation.
“You do look like a princess,” the boy murmured just loudly enough that Rafe could hear it from where he stood.
Victoria laughed, but there was a catch to it that Rafe did not miss. “Sweet boy,” she replied and stroked his dark hair.
Pushing off the doorframe, Rafe entered the room and said, “I agree. A princess walks among us.” Victoria’s head whipped around toward him, and Rafe swore his heart stopped. As moving as it had been to watch her with the children, now he was faced with her full beauty. And it was awe-inspiring. He was rendered mute by the dewy glow of her skin and the rosy pinkness of her full lips; he was stunned by how the glitter in her eyes so precisely matched that of her gown—another concoction so expertly made to fit her elegant figure that it should be considered a masterpiece to be studied. He nearly expired when she smiled at him with a mixture of shyness at having been observed unaware and pleasure at seeing him. Several long seconds passed before his body and mind remembered what they were supposed to do, and he crossed the room to bid each of the children goodnight.
“Enjoy yourselves,” Nan whispered cheekily on their way from the room. “The children will wish to hear everything about the grand party tomorrow.”
