Jack of Hearts (32 page)

“Oh, Jack, you shouldn’t have. I thought they were another gift for Miss Heriot.”

“No. I know you must sit on the sidelines this year, but there is no reason you can’t sparkle, is there?”

They walked slowly down the street, enjoying their window shopping. As they gazed into one of the windows, Helen turned to her cousin and said hesitantly, “I love my gift, Jack, but I am a little worried…”

“Whether I could afford it?” Jack asked with a quizzical grin.

“Well, Miss Heriot’s money makes anything possible, but I hate spending her money on her betrothal gift.”

“It’s not silly. I felt the same way, so I paid for all of it out of my own pocket. I sold a small painting—the one in the library.”

“But that is one of your favorites!”

“Yes, but so is Anne, and so are you. Live relatives are more important than long-dead ones, don’t you agree?” Jack replied teasingly.

Helen gave him an impulsive hug. “Anne Heriot is very lucky to be getting you as a husband, Jack. And she should be grateful that you saved her from that witch, Lady Eliza.”

“I only hope she feels the same way, Helen.”

* * * *

Jack sent the necklace and earrings over to Anne with a short note saying that he hoped his gifts pleased her and he would be proud to have her wear them at the supper dance. “Of course, if they do not complement your gown, I will understand completely,” he added in a postscript.

Anne turned to Sarah, who was sitting with her in the morning room when the package arrived.

“It is an engagement gift from Lord Aldborough,” she said, gazing down at the package in her lap.

“How thoughtful of him. Do open it, Anne.”

Anne unwrapped the paper slowly and, lifting the lid, gasped with pleasure. “Look, Sarah, it is exquisite. And the earrings are a perfect match.”

“It is perfect for you. Not too fussy and just the right color. The filigree work is very unusual—spare and strong and yet it appears quite delicate.”

“He hopes I will wear it Tuesday evening, Sarah. But the necklace doesn’t match what I planned to wear. He adds he would understand if I didn’t wear them.”

Sarah sat silently, wondering what Anne would do. In any other circumstances, the choice would be obvious. If one cared for one’s fiancé, one would wear a different dress.

“I had so wanted to wear my new, yellow silk,” Anne murmured. “But these go perfectly with the embroidered overslip on the ivory gown.”

“Which doesn’t look as good on you,” Sarah pointed out gently.

“Well, I will just have to rely on the necklace to garner compliments, Sarah,” Anne declared. “I cannot hurt Lord Aldborough’s feelings.”

And so, when Tuesday night arrived, Anne had the pleasure of seeing Jack Belden’s eyes light up with appreciation of the way the sparkling necklace rested in the hollow of her neck and with gratitude that she had worn his gift.

“You look very beautiful tonight, Anne,” he told her as he led her out for the first dance.

“Thank you, my lord, and thank you for your lovely gift.”

“It matches your gown perfectly.”

“I wanted to do justice to the necklace,” she said softly.

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Anne,” said Jack, his voice warm.

His obvious depth of feeling surprised her. She had worn the dress less from a desire to please and more from the wish not to hurt, but she found herself very happy to have pleased Jack Belden.

Anne made sure to visit with Lady Aldborough and her daughters, who were sitting off to the side.

“I hope you are all enjoying yourselves. I would be very happy to sit with your daughters for a while if you wish to visit with friends.”

“Thank you, Miss Heriot, but I am so recently out of mourning that I feel more comfortable just watching tonight.”

“You look lovely, Miss Heriot,” said Helen.

“Especially your necklace,” piped up Liddy. “Helen helped Jack pick it out, you know. And Jack gave her her first diamonds!”

“Hush, Liddy.”

“I noticed the sparkle from across the room,” said Anne with a smile. “They are as lovely as my own, Lady Helen.”

“He sold a painting to buy them, you know,” said Liddy. “It was his favorite, although I don’t know why. The gentleman in the picture looks even more melancholy than Jack!”

This time, Helen turned to her sister and said fiercely, “Hush, Liddy, or I will have Mother send you upstairs.”

Lydia sat back with a red face and muttered an apology.

“There is no need to apologize. What picture was this that Jack sold, Lady Helen?”

Helen considered sparing Jack embarrassment by downplaying his sacrifice. But he had made such a thoughtful and romantic gesture that she decided his fiancée needed to know about it. Especially since they were marrying for such unromantic reasons.

“My cousin had a small portrait of our great-great-grandfather. Jack looks very much like him.”

“I hope it wasn’t the only likeness!”

“There is a larger one at my grandmother’s home. But I know this was his favorite. I believe Jack wanted to make sure that his engagement present was a true gift,” Helen added, trying to be as subtle as possible.

“I understand, and I very much appreciate it,” Anne told her softly.

“But I am sure he didn’t want you to know, which is why I am so angry at Liddy.”

Anne smiled. “She is a delightfully open child, but openness can sometimes cause embarrassment. I will keep this our secret, at least for now. And I wish you would call me Anne, now that we are to be related, Lady Helen.”

“Then you must call me Helen. I want to tell you how happy I am you chose Jack over Baron Leighton. His daughter was not as respectful as she might have been…” Helen’s voice trailed off.

“Tha means she was a right witch, doesn’t tha?” replied Anne with dry humor. “And I suspect tha was as much of a long-tongue as tha sister when tha was younger, lass.”

Helen blushed. “Mother despaired of ever teaching me manners. But I haven’t disgraced myself in years.”

“You are a daughter to be proud of, Helen, and I am happy to call you cousin,” Anne told her warmly.

* * * *

Elspeth and Val had been so busy with their guests that Anne had no chance to visit with them until later in the evening. “I cannot thank you enough, Elspeth,” she told her friend. “Your party has been the perfect way to celebrate my success. All my favorite people are here and none of the spiteful gossips.”

“That doesn’t mean no one is gossiping, Anne,” Elspeth warned her with a smile.

“But not spitefully!”

“No, most have been talking about how beautifully your necklace complements your gown.”

“It
is
beautiful, isn’t it? It was Jack’s engagement present.”

“I know. The first thing he said to me tonight was ‘Do you think I chose well, Elspeth?’ ”

“I understand Lady Helen had a hand in choosing it.” Anne hesitated. “Are people assuming that Jack spent my money, Elspeth?”

“No one here would be that crass, Anne.”

“But I am sure they are wondering.”

“Do you care? Everything Jack has will come from you.”

“I care only because it does him an injustice, Elspeth. Lady Lydia blurted out that he sold a painting for it.”

“That child is incorrigible!”

“I like her. In fact, she reminds me of you!”

“I was never that blunt,” protested Elspeth.

“Almost as bad when we were at school.” They both laughed their agreement, and then Anne said seriously, “It seems Jack valued this painting very much. It was a portrait of his Spanish great-great-grandfather.”

“It was likely all he had left to sell.”

“I am touched he would make such a sacrifice for me.”

Elspeth wanted to say,
He loves you, so he was happy to make it,
but it wasn’t her place to reveal Jack’s secret. “He is a sensitive man, and whether people would know or not, he probably felt it more honorable to make sure his gift was truly a gift.”

“It’s a gesture I wouldn’t have expected from him,” Anne confessed. “I think I have had an image of him from our first meeting that I have never quite let go of.”

“The devil-may-care ‘Jack of Hearts’?”

“He seemed like a man not overly careful of women’s feelings.”

“Only if you listen to the gossips. Or did not see that the young ladies whose hearts he supposedly stole were quite eager to hand them over to any man who fit their fantasies.”

“You and Val have always painted a different picture, but Leighton and Windham appeared so much more trustworthy.”

“They are both likable gentlemen, so there is no need to apologize for preferring them at the time. But now that you’re marrying Jack, I’m glad you are beginning to see him more clearly.”

Anne looked across the room at Val and Jack, chatting with Captain Scott. Val Aston was a striking man, with his hawk-like nose and broad shoulders. Captain Scott was another good-looking man, very handsome in his regimentals. But Jack Belden, whose face changed like quicksilver, was one of the most attractive men she had ever met. She could admit it now and felt a stirring of desire. It would seem that whatever one’s motive for marriage, one could so easily be deceived by external appearances. She had only seen the positive qualities of Lord Leighton and Lord Windham. What if she had married either one of them and then found out about Lady Eliza or Windham’s wounded heart?

With Jack, she had seen only the negatives, the aspects of him that were most on the surface. Although all three men had the same motive—her fortune—she had allowed herself to see the others’ feelings of affection for her. But she had never taken Jack Belden seriously. She had dismissed him early on, and despite their growing friendship, had never completely let go of her early suspicions. But any man who would make such a sacrifice was a man who cared for her.

She was very grateful, she realized, for she might well have made a match that gave her more than she had hoped for.

As though he was aware of her eyes on him, Jack turned and smiled. His smile was so warm, so approving, that Anne felt she was melting in its warmth. She found herself hoping they would find some time alone before the night was over.

* * * *

Jack was hoping the same thing, but unfortunately, it was a chilly night and the Faringdon town house had only a small garden. There was a conservatory, however, and he intended to maneuver Anne there as soon as possible.

It took almost all his patience to wait through the next few dances, but finally the musicians announced a break. “I am going to claim some time with my fiancée,” he told Lord Lovett, her last dance partner, and he whisked Anne away from him.

“Have you seen Lord Faringdon’s conservatory, Anne?”

“No, although I have heard it is quite lovely.” Anne sounded calm, but in fact her heart was beating erratically at the thought of being alone with him.

The earl had imported several small orange trees from Spain, and the scent of their blossoms was intoxicatingly sweet. As they walked slowly around the perimeter of the semicircular room, Anne was disappointed to see that there seemed to be no place for two people to sit. But finally they reached a small window seat.

“This is not very comfortable, but it will have to do,” Jack muttered as he pulled her down next to him and then almost immediately leaned down and kissed her. He did not begin with gentle exploration, but took possession of her mouth with a hunger that stimulated her own. One moment, she surrendered herself to him, and then, in the next, she was demanding as much from him as he was from her. Soon she lost all sense of who was kissing, who was being kissed, for they seemed to have become one person.

The kiss went on forever and at the same time ended too soon.

“God, I’ve been wanting to do this all night,” Jack murmured, his face buried in her neck.

“And I have been wanting you to,” confessed Anne, ducking her face in embarrassment.

“So you enjoy our kisses,” he teased.

“Very much. Too much.”

“Too much?”

“I’m afraid I’ll get lost in them and never find my way back.”

Jack pulled away and looked down at her. “Back to where, my love?” he asked softly.

“To solid ground, to what is familiar…kisses aren’t practical,” Anne said wildly, knowing she was making little sense.

“The ever-so-practical Anne Heriot,” said Jack with a teasing grin. “Sometimes you have to let go of solid ground, Anne. Sometimes you have to lose in order to gain. I hope I can show you that with more than kisses,” he whispered, as his long fingers slipped beneath her bodice and cupped her breast. As his thumb circled, she felt again a flood of warmth deep within and wanted something more from him, though she was not sure what that was.

When he took his hand away, she gave a little moan, for she thought he was going to pull away from her. Instead he gently lifted her gown and trailed his finger up her thigh. She gave a little gasp of surprise and then pleasure when his finger slid into her. How had he known just where she was melting down to? As he began to stroke, she was very still, and he began to lift her up and up, only to bring her down shuddering in his arms.

Jack had always taken pleasure at bringing a woman pleasure, but he had never before been the first, never before felt a woman he loved trembling in his arms. He wanted to take her then and there, but at the same time he marveled at how he didn’t need to, because her pleasure felt like it was his own.

Well, almost didn’t need to, he thought with ironic humor as he shifted a little so he was not so close to her. He hoped his arousal would subside, for they would have to return to the ballroom soon. They were betrothed, it was true, but he didn’t want people gossiping any more than they were already.

“Are you all right, Anne?”

Anne didn’t know what to say. She had never felt so much herself in her life, and yet she had never dreamed herself capable of such abandon. She couldn’t look at Jack, couldn’t let him see her, so she kept her head down as she nervously straightened her gown and smoothed her hair.

“Yes, I am fine, but shouldn’t we be getting back?”

“Yes, in a minute or two.” She could hear the ironic humor in his voice and realized what he meant. She had grown up in the country and was not ignorant of male anatomy, but she hadn’t been thinking much of him at all, just of the delightful things he had been doing to her.