Lord Sinister (Secrets & Scandals Book 3) (27 page)

He studied her for several seconds before replying in a soft, hoarse voice.  “The eyes mirror the soul, Amelia.  What do my eyes tell you?”

At first, Amelia thought his words meant to tease her.  But as she continued to stare at him and saw no playful twinkle, not even a slight grin, she realized he was serious.  Her palms grew sweaty.  Her lips parted in wonder. Julian gazed down at her with a look so powerful, it made her breathless.  Then he lowered his head and grazed her lips with his. 

She jerked back, her chest heaving.  “But…but how could…” she moved her head from side to side, frustrated that she couldn’t put words to her feelings.

“What is it, Pixie?”

That name given so long ago, brought it all back.  She squared her shoulders.  “Have you placed another wager with Lord Fielding?”

His eyes went wide with surprise, then narrowed to slits.  He settled his hands flat against the wall at either side of her head and leaned forward.

Amelia plastered herself against the painted wood and took note of the anger building on his face.  He halted just an inch from her lips and spoke in a deadly soft purr.  “I’ll say this just once.  What I feel for you right now is genuine and true, and it has nothing to do with that bloody wager.”

She started to ask exactly what it was he felt for her, but his lips dropped down over hers.  Her eyes fluttered shut.  He nibbled her bottom lip before slanting his head to the side and deepening the kiss.

As his velvety tongue, spiced with a hint of whiskey, slid against hers, Amelia responded slow at first, then in a mad frenzy.  His arms folded around her body, and he pulled her to him.  A throbbing heat pooled between her legs, taking control of her.  She could only think of satisfying the ache of desire consuming her.

Julian ended the kiss much too soon.  He lifted his head, his breathing almost as labored as hers.  “I would very much like to take you home now, wife.”

Pressing her cheek against his, she nodded.  “I would like that, too.”

CHAPTER 27

Nothing could have prepared Amelia for the glorious sight of Kenbrook.  The sprawling mansion spread wide and tall in the field of grass, sparkling from rain that iced over during the night, surrounded by a forest of oak, ash, beech, and elm.  It had to be the most beautiful thing on earth.  The carriage rolled to a stop in the drive freshly swept as one of the massive twin doors opened and Alex raced out.  He hesitated long enough to allow a footman to assist her to the ground before throwing his arms around her.

“Oh, my son, how I’ve missed you,” Amelia said into his ear, tears stinging her eyes and nose.

“Not half as much as I missed you, Mama.” His voice broke on the last word.

Amelia smiled and closed her eyes, allowing the warm tears to flow down her cheeks.  Then she wiped the wetness away and pulled back.  “Let me look at you.” She examined him from head to toe.  “My, Alex, you have grown!”  She shook her head.  “What have they been feeding you?”

Her son’s sniffle quickly turned into a laugh.  “Everything.”  His eyes sparkled with happiness.  “Oh, Mama, Eton is wonderful.  I’ve learned so much.”  At the sound of approaching footsteps, Alex’s happiness altered into a polite distance.  Amelia sighed.  Obviously her son hadn’t been pleased with Julian’s failure to bring her back any quicker than now.

Julian’s arm slid across her shoulders.  “Hello, Alex.”

“My lord,” her son said with a slight nod, his shoulders rigid.

As Amelia started to chastise Alex, Julian leaned down and planted a small kiss on her temple.  “It’s cold out here, let’s get you inside.”

“You’re probably wondering why we didn’t return to Sagemeadow,” Julian said quietly as they entered the grand foyer.

Amelia shook her head, visions of him lying in a pool of blood racing through her head.  “I understand perfectly.”  She shot a quick glance at Alex and lowered her voice.  “Has the man who tried to kill you been found?”

“No.”

She halted and faced Julian, her worry mounting.  “You mean he’s still out there, waiting to strike again?”

Julian took her by the shoulders, his touch gentle.  “Don’t worry, Pixie, we’ll be safe here.”

As she opened her mouth to argue, Julian’s parents approached.

“Amelia, how wonderful it is to see you again.” The duchess’ smile held genuine warmth.  She reached for Amelia’s hands and gave an affectionate squeeze.

“I’m happy to see you, too, Your Grace.”

“No more of that ‘Your Grace’ rubbish,” the duchess waved her hand, “call me Margaret, please.”

Amelia felt a smile slipping across her lips.  “All right, Margaret, I shall.”

The duke moved to his wife’s side, looking solemnly down at her.  Amelia had to cock her head all the way back to look him in the eye.  “First you save our daughter and grandchild, then our son, and we repay you by allowing you to be shipped off for an offense you didn’t commit.”  He paused as a storm of emotion gathered in his dark blue eyes.  “I know it’s not enough, but you have our sincerest apology, madam.”

“Oh, Your Gr—”

“Joseph.”

Amelia swallowed the knot of tears in her throat.  “Joseph,” she said, “you had no choice.  I confessed, remember.”

He shook his head.  “I should have known it was a false confession.”

Her brows sprang up.  “So you’re a mind reader, then?”

“Well, no.”

“Then that settles it.”  Amelia gave him a sunny smile and a pat on the arm.  “I’ll not have you feeling guilty one more second,” she stated, then turned and began in the direction Alex had gone.

Margaret caught up with her.  “Thank you, dear.  Joseph has been feeling responsible.”

“Responsible?”  Amelia shook her head.  “But he did nothing—”

“That’s it exactly,” Margaret said.  “Nothing was done.”

“Your coat, my lady, may I take it?”

Amelia turned to the butler.  “Not just yet,” she replied with a quick glance to Julian who approached with his father.

“There is something we would like to tell you.” Julian halted at her side and slid an arm around her shoulders.  “Come, let us go inside.”  He gestured the drawing room to the left, where Alex stood waiting for them.

Joseph and Margaret gave quizzical glances to each other.  Amelia gripped her hands together, nervous at what their reaction would be.

As the two footmen closed the doors, Julian brought her forward.  “Amelia is with child,” he said simply, a proud smile coming to his lips.

His parents rushed forward with congratulations.  Amelia’s nervousness evaporated as they each hugged her.  Then she looked for Alex.  Her happiness waned.  He stood board-stiff, lips pressed together, looking out the windows, not at all pleased with the idea of a brother or sister.

But before she could go to him, the door opened and Megan and Nicholas entered.

When the news had been repeated, Amelia received more hugs and well wishes.  She turned to the windows but found Alex no longer there.  And after a careful scan of the room, she found him gone.

“What is it?”

Julian’s voice in her ear gave her a small start.  “It’s Alex,” she answered breathlessly.  “He’s gone.”

“Not to worry, Pixie.”

Her gaze traveled to the windows, to the blanket of ice beyond, and shivered.  “What if he’s out there?”

“He isn’t.”

She turned back to Julian.  “How can you know that?”

His right brow went up slightly.  “Alex is being watched, protected.”  He settled his hands on her shoulders.  “I am to know straightway if he ventures outside.”

Relieved, Amelia blew out a breath and relaxed.

Alex paced the large room he’d been assigned, agitated.  Negative feelings boiled within him.  He couldn’t stop them.  Nor could he identify why he felt the way he did.  Of course seeing his mother made him glad, glad that she wouldn’t have to work so hard just to put a few scraps of food before him.  But something else bothered him.

With a sigh, he left the chamber.  Exploring this gigantic palace-like mansion sounded like a good idea.  A sort of adventure.  Meandering through hallways, up and down stairs, peeking in various rooms, Alex started to feel better.

Leaving the music room, he crossed the hall and opened the door to a darkened chamber.  From the small amount of light splashed across the wooden parquet floor, he could just detect the folds of drapes covering windows on the other side of the room.  Curious, he moved forward and separated the panels.  Winter sunlight spilled in to the room, blinding him momentarily.  He squinted, then turned when his vision cleared.

On every wall in the room hung portraits of various sizes.  Hundreds of them.   He glanced from one to the other.  Men, women and children, spanning at least three hundred years from the way some of them were dressed with their ruffled collars and tall white wigs.

He examined each face carefully, realizing as he came to his grandfather, that these were his ancestors.  Their aristocratic blood ran through his veins.  That was important, he’d learned from the other boys at Eton.  Intelligence and willingness to learn were nothing compared to a title.

Alex frowned as he thought on that.  His eyes shifted from the portrait of his young grandfather and grandmother to the large painting of a dark-haired boy about ten years old.  Dove-gray eyes glared proudly down as he sat atop a glistening black horse.

The boy could have been his twin.  And the reason for his sudden agitation hit him like a boulder over the head.  His father had denied him and his mother all this, forcing them to live like lowly creatures.  How could his mother forgive Lord Julian so easily?

Alex went stone still as the answer came to him.  As always, his mother did what she thought best for her son.  Was she just pretending to be happy, then?  Was it just an act for his benefit?

He turned away from the pampered people on the wall, unable to stomach the sight of them anymore, and found Megan standing there, smiling at him.

“Hello, Alex.”

“Aunt Megan,” he said, knowing her eyes lit with happiness every time he called her aunt.

She beamed and came forward, glancing around the room.  “I used to love to come here when I was your age.”  Slanting him a sideways glance, a twinkle entered her eyes.  “But I must admit, I loved visiting the Claremont gallery even more.”

“Why?” he asked, intrigued in spite of himself.

“That is where I fell in love with Nicholas.”

“You used to meet him in the gallery?”  He thought that an odd meeting place, with all those eyes watching.

Megan shook her head.  “It was his portrait I’d meet with.”  Her eyes turned dreamy.  “One glance was all it took and I knew he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

Alex wrinkled his nose.  “What an odd way of falling in love.”

“Falling in love usually does happen at odd moments, when it’s least expected.”  She paused and gave him a pointed look.  “Like when it happened to your parents.”

In a vehement denial, he shook his head.  “They do not love each other.  Mama is just protecting me, seeing that I don’t go hungry.”

Megan’s happiness slid right off her face, she looked stunned.  “Oh, Alex, that isn’t true.”

“Yes, it is.”  He crossed his arms.

“Then why did Julian go after her?”  She took a step forward.  “You were being well taken care of, yet he still went after your mother.  And your mother returned with him.  Why?”

He glanced around, searching for a reason.  “The baby,” he stated quickly when he found a picture of an infant on the wall.  “He must have learned about the baby.”

She gave a dubious look.  “And when was he supposed to have found that out?  Your mother explained she didn’t even know about the babe until after she’d moved to Hamblen.”  She stepped up to him.  “How could Julian have known before your mother?”

He staggered back, shaking his head.  No!  Julian didn’t love his mother.

“I know Julian very well, Alex,” Megan said with assurance.  “He loves her.  They love each other.”

He turned away and walked to the windows. He glanced out at the row of bare cheery trees, recalling the sadness in his mother’s eyes when he used to ask about his father.  Megan’s footsteps sounded on the wooden floor.  She halted at his side.  “I hope you’re right.”  He turned swiftly, anger bubbling up to his lips.  “Because if he hurts her again, I’ll see that he pays for it.”

Julian stepped quietly into his bed chambers so he wouldn’t disturb Amelia’s rest.  After observing the fatigue in her eyes earlier, he’d insisted she take a nap and led her to the chambers they would share for the duration of their visit.  The satisfaction he felt after tucking her into his large bed surprised him.  His reluctance to leave her surprised him even more.  He had wanted to stay and just watch her sleep.  How foolish.  So he went back downstairs to challenge Nicholas to a game of chess.  Of course, he couldn’t keep his mind on the game.

After two swift losses, Nicholas chuckled and insisted he go check on Amelia.  An excellent idea, Julian thought as he crept closer to the bed.

And found it empty.

He glanced around the dim chamber, his worry mounting, until he found her sitting in the wide window seat gazing down at the ice-covered garden below.  “You are supposed to be sleeping,” he stated as he approached.

He watched the corner of her mouth spring up.  “And you are supposed to be playing chess with Nicholas.”

Settling on the tuft cushion behind her, he slid his legs around her and brought her back against his chest.  She rested against him with a sigh, allowing her head to fall against his shoulder.  Carefully, he settled his hands over her swollen belly, but jerked back when something tapped his right palm.

Amelia chuckled and led his hand back.  “It’s all right.  That was the baby greeting you.”

“He does that a lot?” Julian put his hand back.

“Yes, she does.”

“You think it’s a girl?” He felt more taps and grinned.

“I think so.”

He moved his hand in slow circles.  “Why do you believe it’s a girl?”

She shrugged.  “Just feels different than when I carried Alex.”

Julian’s hand stilled momentarily, regret once again searing his conscious.  He cleared his throat.  “It’s strange that you named him Alexander.  That’s my middle name.”

There was a brief pause.  “I know.  That’s why I named him that.”

He slid his eyes shut.  “Oh, God, Amelia.  What I did…”

She rose up and turned to face him, placing a finger across his lips.  “Shhh, Julian, it’s all right.”

With a shaky breath, he opened his eyes to tell her it wasn’t all right.  That he felt horrible every time he thought about what he did to her and Alex.  But he didn’t have the opportunity.  Amelia did the most amazing thing.  She leaned forward and placed her lips over his.

Stunned, he just sat there a minute.  Then his body stirred to life and a slow burn spread all over his flesh.  But he would not reach for her, afraid that if he did, he would rip off her clothes and pull her under him like some barbarian.