His Wicked Lady (26 page)

Regan glanced at Melissa, who didn’t seem any
happier. Regan wondered if she’d said or done something to upset
her sister-in-law. Truly, she hadn’t meant to.

Malcolm let out a sigh that indicated he knew
exactly why his sister was upset. “Regan, I’d like nothing more
than to get away from Logan. Lead me to the dance floor.”

Despite the situation, Regan’s lips curled up
into a smile at his reminder of how they’d met. Deep down, her
husband was turning out to be quite the romantic, something she
rather enjoyed.

As much as she wanted to press Malcolm about
the thing upsetting his sister, the dance required far too much
clapping and jumping for her to do so. Just as the music ended, she
caught sight of Warren, who had been dancing with a lady.

“Your friend is here,” Regan told Malcolm.
“Lord Steinbeck,” she clarified when she saw him scanning the large
room.

“Is he with Lady Iris?” Malcolm asked.

“No, he’s with someone else. I don’t
recognize her.”

Malcolm’s gaze finally settled on her. “I
don’t recognize her either, but then, I don’t make it a habit to
pay attention to which ladies come from which families.”

Since Regan didn’t see Lady Iris, she could
only hope Lady Iris had taken her advice and dismissed Warren. She
didn’t need someone who only valued her for her money.

“Do you mind if I talk to him?” Malcolm asked
her. “I won’t be gone too long.”

“I don’t mind at all, Malcolm. Like I said,
sometimes gentlemen come to discuss business.”

He smiled and headed for Warren, looking very
much like a child getting his favorite toy. Even if she didn’t care
much for Warren, she was happy for Malcolm. It appeared Warren was
a decent friend, though he’d make a miserable husband. God help the
lady who ended up with him.

Thankfully, that wasn’t her problem. Regan
turned to see who else was at the ball and saw Danette, sitting in
a corner, watching everyone as she usually did. Regan shook her
head. What her friend needed was a husband. If she were truly
content to live the life of a spinster, she wouldn’t keep coming to
these balls.

Regan reached her friend and sat in the chair
beside her. “Danette, I didn’t know you were coming tonight. You
should have told me. Malcolm and I could have picked you up.”

“I didn’t decide to come until a couple hours
ago,” Danette said. “It’s nice to see you so happy. I watched you
and Malcolm. You have such a glow about you when you’re with
him.”

“If you had come over for dinner at my
townhouse when I invited you, you would’ve seen that sooner.”

“I don’t want to intrude on your time with
him.”

“It’s no intrusion, Danette. We’re friends. I
enjoy visiting with you. You are always welcome to come to my
townhouse as much as you did before I married Malcolm.” She
couldn’t think of anyone else who was so terribly shy as Danette.
“I promise you, Malcolm will be nice. He’s a good gentleman.”

“I can see he’s nice by the way he treats
you. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but he adores you.”

“I learned it was important I act respectably
in public for his sake. It was a good lesson. Who knew I could have
fun without creating a scandal?”

Danette grinned. “I think if Frederick were
alive, he wouldn’t believe you actually said that.”

Regan chuckled. “Probably not.”

Regan scanned the crowded room. “Would you
like me to find a gentleman for you to dance with? Malcolm’s sister
and her husband are hosting this event tonight, so they will know
the gentlemen here.” At least well enough to help her friend find a
dance.

“No, I’d rather sit and watch.”

“But you do that all the time.”

“Because I enjoy it.”

“Wouldn’t you like to get married?”

Danette shook her head. “I tried that twice,
and neither time worked. When the last gentleman ended the
engagement, I vowed to never open myself up to such travesty again.
I’m a spinster, and I’m happy.”

Regan wanted to argue with her friend. The
third time might be the one that succeeded. She even opened her
mouth to suggest such a thing, but she caught sight of Logan, who
stood not too far from them. He indicated he wanted to talk to her,
so she decided to delay this talk with Danette for the time
being.

“My brother-in-law wishes to speak to me,”
Regan said. “Why don’t you come to my townhouse tomorrow afternoon?
I’ll make sure the butler has your favorite tea.”

“All right,” Danette replied.

Good! At least she’d get to continue this
conversation tomorrow. For tonight, she’d leave the matter alone.
Content, Regan wove around a few people until she met up with
Logan.

Before she could speak, Logan gestured for
her to follow him. Surprised, she glanced around to make sure no
one saw them before she headed down the hall after him. She prayed
this wouldn’t somehow come back to hurt Malcolm’s reputation.

Once they were in the den, Logan shut the
door and turned to her. “You’ll never guess what I found
yesterday.”

“What?” Regan asked, sure he was right.
Indeed, she had no idea what he could possibly be talking
about.

He went over to the window, pulled aside the
curtain, and produced the cane she’d bought for him. “Melissa hid
this from me. The only reason I found it is because I found the
note you’d written me. I found the note almost a month ago, and it
was in the trash.” He came over to her. “I almost asked Melissa
about it, but I thought she’d deny it. It’s not like her to hide
anything, so I suspected something was amiss. After looking all
over this house, I finally found this cane at the bottom of her
armoire.” He placed a hand on his hip and asked, “Do you have any
idea why she hid this?”

Regan shook her head. “No. It’s only a cane.
I wished to thank you for helping me with Malcolm.”

“Yes, I know that, but for some reason, she
doesn’t want me to have this.”

As if on cue, the door opened, and Melissa
burst into the room. She pointed to Logan and Regan then looked at
Malcolm, who closed the door to ensure their privacy. “I told you
they’d sneak off together,” she said.

Regan’s eyebrows furrowed. Was Melissa
accusing them of something?

Malcolm looked heavenward and said, “Melissa
thinks you two are having an affair.”

“You think we’re what?” Logan asked.

“That’s nonsense,” Regan said.

“Which is exactly what I told her when she
came to me about it a month ago,” Malcolm told Regan.

So that was the thing bothering Melissa.
Regan went over to her. “Melissa, I only gave Logan the cane as a
way to thank him for helping me get Malcolm to fall in love with
me.”

“It’s true,” Logan said. “She came to me
because she wanted a gentleman’s perspective on things, and she
didn’t know any other gentlemen to ask. You were there that day she
came to see me.”

Melissa shifted from one foot to another,
looking between them as if she needed time to weigh their words.
“Well, yes, I was,” she slowly agreed. “But the two of you met
since then.”

“Right, at my townhouse,” Regan replied. “He
wanted to know if his advice worked or not.”

“As it turned out,” Logan said, “Malcolm
needed a little more prompting which is why I got a copy of Lord
Edon’s book to give him. You were there for that, too. I tried to
give it to Regan during our dinner party, but Malcolm panicked so I
was unable to.”

Melissa glanced at Malcolm.

Malcolm grimaced. “Logan, if you had to hear
your sister talking about enjoying the bed with a cad, you’d panic,
too.”

Melissa turned back to Regan and Logan. “Why
are you in here right now, all alone?”

“Because of this.” Logan lifted the cane. “I
couldn’t understand why you’d hide this from me.”

“I thought she,” Melissa gestured to Regan,
“was trying to win you over with gifts of her affection.”

Regan gasped. “No! I never meant it to be
such a thing.”

“See?” Malcolm asked Melissa. “I told you
there was no way Regan would ever have a dalliance with Logan.” He
went over to Regan and slipped his arm around her waist. “You have
nothing to worry about. I trust you completely.”

Melissa bit her lower lip and studied Regan
and Logan. “Well, I suppose now that I think about it, the note
Regan sent didn’t mention a secret rendezvous.”

“No, it didn’t.” Logan produced it from his
pocket. “It reads, ‘Thank you, Lord Toplyn, for your assistance.
Things couldn’t be better.’” He gave the note to Melissa. “How did
you get that I was having a torrid love affair with Regan from
that?”

“I’d like to know that, too,” Malcolm
added.

Melissa read the note, and her face turned
pink. “Now that I look at it, I suppose it could apply to things
being better between Regan and Malcolm.”

“That’s what I meant when I wrote it,” Regan
assured her. “Melissa, I would never do anything to disrupt a
marriage. You and Logan belong together. Anyone can see that.”

“Especially since no one else will have him,”
Malcolm quipped.

Logan’s jaw dropped at the insult, but
Melissa spoke up before he could retaliate. “I’m sorry.” Melissa
chuckled and pointed to the note. “I don’t know how I misconstrued
what was happening.” She glanced at Logan. “It was silly of me to
get jealous.”

Logan relaxed, and he smiled. “Actually, it’s
flattering you did. It means you don’t want to share me with anyone
else.”

“I love you,” she told him.

“And I love you.” He gave her a kiss. “I’ll
never have anyone else but you.”

“Unfortunately,” Malcolm muttered under his
breath.

Regan shot him a pointed look, and he
shrugged.

Melissa, however, didn’t notice either one of
them, for she had wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck and kissed
him in return.

When the kiss ended, Logan asked, “Do you
feel better?”

“Yes.” Melissa turned to Regan. “I’m sorry.
Will you forgive me?”

“Of course,” Regan said and gave her
sister-in-law a hug.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Malcolm replied.
“Now we can all get on with our lives.”

“I agree. Melissa, will you have the next
dance with me?” Logan asked.

Melissa went back to him and accepted his
arm. “I’d be delighted, my lord.”

After the two left, Malcolm headed for the
door. Regan followed, fully expecting to leave the room as well,
but to her surprise, he shut it and turned to face her.

“I know I can trust you,” Malcolm said. “The
whole nonsense of you having an affair with Logan was all Melissa’s
fretting. That’s what she gets for marrying a cad. She has to
constantly question his motives.”

Regan couldn’t hide her grin. The two would
probably forever be at odds with each other, but even so, she
couldn’t stand idly by while Malcolm thought the worst about his
brother-in-law. “Malcolm, I love you. When I look at you, I see the
most wonderful gentleman in all of London.”

“That’s to be expected.”

For a moment, she thought he was serious, but
the hint of a smile on his lips betrayed his joke. Laughing, she
pulled him closer to her and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I
assure you that Logan was honorable at all times. He never once
insinuated he wanted to do anything improper with me.”

“Because he knows you wouldn’t allow it.”
Malcolm brought his arms around her waist and pressed her up
against him. “He knows if he were to try, you’d find him inferior
to me.”

“Malcolm! I’m shocked. I had no idea you had
such a wicked streak in you.”

He chuckled and traced her rear end, an
action which caused shivers of delight to run up and down her
spine. “I suppose I don’t mind a little mischief from time to
time.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, his lips
warm and soft on hers. She fully expected him to end things there,
but he brushed his tongue along her lower lip, encouraging her to
open her mouth to him, something she was more than happy to do.
Soon, their tongues were intertwining, and he was gently nudging
her to step back until her back was pressed up against the wall.
She might have thought nothing of it, except he was pulling up her
gown so that her legs were exposed.

“Malcolm?” she asked when she ended the
kiss.

“Hmm?” He nuzzled her neck while he continued
to lift her gown higher.

“What are you doing?”

“You know the answer to that,” he murmured,
his breath hot against her ear.

The bare skin on her thighs tingled as they
were exposed to the air. Surely, he didn’t mean to do something
intimate here. Not while a ball was going on in the other room. But
soon his hands were sliding up to her rear end, and he nudged her
legs further apart.

She gulped, partly in anticipation but also
in fear of being caught. Yes, the door was closed, but who was to
stop anyone from coming in and finding them like this? “Malcolm,
the door,” she whispered.

“I locked it,” he whispered then kissed the
sensitive skin along her neck, making her shiver in pleasure. “Do
you always make it a habit of wearing nothing under your dress?”
His fingers brushed the tender flesh between her legs.

With a moan, she leaned back against the wall
and allowed two of his fingers to slide into her. She closed her
eyes and forgot all about the ball. Right now, the only thing that
mattered was what Malcolm was doing to her. And doing it with
surprising skill. Malcolm, it was turning out, was a quick
learner.

“You’re ready for me,” he murmured.

“Well, I happen to enjoy lovemaking,” she
replied.

“As it turns out, I do, too.” He undid the
buttons on his trousers and shoved them down. But instead of
entering her, he brought her leg up around his waist and slid his
fingers back into her. In short time, his thumb found her sensitive
nub, and he was rubbing it. “There. That’s better.”