Silent Revenge (18 page)

The blood roared in her head. She’d never been held like this by a man before. “This is hardly proper, my lord. Whatever will people think if they see us?”

He touched the back of his fingers to her cheek. “They will think we are newly married and cannot stand to be separated.”

He blessed her with a grin Jessica was sure tilted the earth on its axis, then lowered his head and loomed over her until he was much too close for her to even think. If only he would not look at her like he did.

“They will think our marriage is a love match, and that we’ve each found the perfect partner.”

He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. Her face burned like it was on fire. She couldn’t breathe. He’d stolen all the air in London.

“And they’ll think we’re so contented with each other we hardly know the rest of the world even exists.”

He traced his thumb against her lips while his gaze locked with hers, refusing to release her from his spell.

He tilted her head slightly, bringing her lips closer, then stopped. He slowly raised his gaze to a spot just behind her left shoulder and lifted his brows. Jessica stared at his lips, waiting to feel the warm pressure against her mouth. Praying he would kiss her and terrified he would not.

“Good day, Covingsworth.”

Jessica saw Simon’s mouth move to say the words, but could not comprehend what they meant until he leaned back, lifting himself away from her. She turned her head to the left and saw the Marquess and Marchioness of Covingsworth riding next to them in their carriage. The grins on their faces said they knew exactly what Simon had been about to do. Jessica wished to die.

“Allow me to introduce my wife,” Simon said, sliding his arm around Jessica’s shoulder.

Simon made the introductions as effortlessly as he did everything else, and it was more than she could do to watch the words being spoken so she could answer at the appropriate time.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady,” the marquess said, and the look on his face was genuine. “I can’t tell you what an honor it is to make your acquaintance.”

“Thank you,” Jessica answered, sure her face was a brilliant red. She wanted to die of mortification. She’d almost allowed Simon to kiss her in the middle of Hyde Park in broad daylight, and two of society’s most influential members had seen them. Her head pounded. Heaven only knows what else she would have let Simon do if the marquess and marchioness had not arrived. Jessica berated herself again for her weakness.

The marchioness leaned forward and graced Jessica with the most contagious smile she had ever seen. “Congratulations, Lady Northcote. Your husband and mine have always been close friends, and I know you and I will soon be able to boast the same closeness.”

“Thank you, Lady Covingsworth,” Jessica said, moved that Simon’s friends wanted to include her so easily. Or would until they found out about her impairment.

“I’ve been wanting to welcome you back, Simon,” the marquess said, and Jessica watched his lips. “It’s time you returned.”

“Yes. I’ve stayed away long enough.”

“If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I appreciate the offer, Covey.”

“That’s what friends are for.” The two men exchanged knowing glances, and then the marquess sat back in his seat. “And I can’t tell you how pleased I was to hear you’d married. How fortunate for you. Your wife is enchanting.” He looked at her and smiled.

“Thank you, my lord,” Jessica answered, knowing her face was even redder than before. She wasn’t used to receiving such open compliments. No one had dared to even speak to her until today. Until Simon had taken her into the public and forced her to become a part of his world.

“I am very fortunate,” Simon answered. “I’ve found the most amazing woman in all of London. If I’d known she was here all this time, I would have rushed to come back sooner.”

Simon reached for her hand. When he twined his fingers through hers, a raging heat surged throughout her body. Even though Jessica had no choice but to focus her gaze on what was being said, all she wanted to do was lower her eyes and slink away in confusion. How could he distract her so easily? What would happen if she were ever alone with him? She didn’t even want to think of it.

“Well, I can see this is not the most opportune time to keep you, Northcote,” the marquess said, lifting his lips in a knowing smile, “but I didn’t want to miss this chance to welcome you home. I will be in touch shortly.”

The marchioness leaned forward in her seat and smiled openly. “We are hosting a small gathering next week, Lady Northcote. Perhaps you and your husband will honor us with your presence?”

“I—” Jessica’s eyes darted to her husband. She expected him to make their excuses. His words shocked her.

“We would be honored, Lady Covingsworth. Thank you.”

“Until next week then.” The marquess gave them a parting nod, then motioned to his driver.

Jessica watched the marquess’s carriage move away, wishing to have them return so she could refuse their offer. She gave her husband a look of disbelief, but the expression on his face reflected none of her doubts or fears. “Do you realize what you have just done?”

He raised his brows in a most disconcerting manner. “I had a quick conversation with a dear friend, then said good-bye so we could be alone again. Now, where were we? Oh yes.” He leaned closer and turned his body inward until he was as near as before.

Jessica pushed him away with a hard shove. Damn him. He was taking too many risks. She couldn’t do it. “I do not attend small gatherings. I do not go where people expect me to talk to them. I do not—”

“Did you know,” he said, lifting her hand from her lap and twining his fingers through hers, “your hair is the most amazing color I have ever seen. It’s not brown, yet it is not quite black, either. In the sunlight it shimmers in a kaleidoscope of remarkable shades. It’s like burnished brass mixed with deep chocolate and…”

“It’s the same color as charred grass after a fire,” she said, fighting the effect of his warm flesh holding her hand. Why did being near him cause such turmoil inside her?

“Hardly, my lady. Hardly charred grass.”

“Listen to me, my lord. We cannot attend the Covingsworth affair. You must—”

“I wonder what it would look like loose and flowing across your shoulders. Or in soft curls around your face. I’ve only seen it in that silly knot at the back of your neck.”

He touched her hair. Jessica lifted her hands to keep him from removing the pins. “Simon, don’t. We must come up with a suitable excuse so that—”

“And your eyes. At first I thought they were brown, but they are not. They’re the most unusual shade of gold I have ever seen. Like the riches of Egypt. Deep and gold and—”

“Now you are being ridiculous. My eyes are the most common shade in the world. You’re not listening. I will not allow you to ruin my life. I cannot attend…”

“And your lips…”

His gaze dropped to her mouth. She couldn’t breathe. Not with his hand holding hers, and his face so close, and his lips nearly touching her. Dear God. She was letting him affect her again. “Simon, I…I think I would like to go home now.”

His gaze didn’t leave her face. “You have the most enticing mouth I have ever seen. So full and lush and…”

“That is absurd. You could just as easily be describing a cow standing in the field, my lord.”

Simon lifted his mouth in a smile so open and innocent even his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I have never had the urge to kiss a cow, my lady.”

The air caught in her throat, and Jessica laughed. It was the first time in days—no, weeks—she’d found something funny to laugh at. And she didn’t want to stop. She found his remark so hilarious, even a tear trickled from her eye.

“I would not want to imagine you kissing a cow, either, my lord,” she said, stifling another giggle. “I’m sure you would not find it at all to your liking.”

His expression changed in the blink of an eye, and she studied him more closely. “What is it, Simon? Is something wrong?”

There was surprise in his expression mixed with a degree of regret, and she wondered what she’d said or done to bring about such a marked change. She must have said or done something to cause such remorse.

He cupped her face with his hand, then wiped away the wetness from her cheek with his thumb. A frown furrowed his brow, and his gaze did not leave hers. There was such tenderness in his actions, such exposed sensitivity in his touch, Jessica feared for him.

“What’s wrong, Simon? Have I said or done something to offend you?”

He shook his head. “Far from it. You’ve given me something I can never return to you—the sound of your laughter. I would give the world to be able to describe the sound to you. Of all the things I wish for you, it would be that you could hear the pure elation in it.”

She turned her face away from him. This was not the way she wanted him to be. She could battle his gruffness, she could challenge his temper, but it was impossible to be unaffected by such kindness. Didn’t he know what he was doing to her? He was forcing her to go out in public where her disability would eventually be discovered. He was forcing her to leave her world of seclusion and safety. He was making her wish for things that were impossible to have.

He touched her chin and turned her face toward him. “Jessica, I didn’t mean—”

“Please, don’t. I learned long ago it did no good to wish for things that could never be.”

She tried to separate herself from him, but he wouldn’t let her move away. Instead he held her close and brushed his fingers along the side of her face.

Why was he doing this to her? Why did he pretend he cared? She knew he couldn’t keep up the pretense for long. It was only a matter of time until her deafness became too great an embarrassment to him. It was only a matter of time before he would no longer wish to be seen with her, when he would want to keep her hidden so people wouldn’t find out about her deafness. Just as her father had.

“Are there birds singing today, Simon?”

He stopped to listen. “Yes, there are birds singing.”

“That’s what I would wish to hear first,” she said, looking into the trees, knowing the sound came from above. Then she lifted her face toward the sun. It had been so long since she’d been anywhere other than just her garden in the daylight. It was suddenly as if she couldn’t take in enough of what was there. And yet…She didn’t know if she was strong enough to live with the consequences if she failed. Every experience was another risk Simon intended her to take.

He squeezed her fingers gently, and she turned to him. She’d become used to the pressure on her hand when he wanted her to look at him.

“See, Jesse, you have to admit the outside is not as bad as you feared. There is a whole world waiting for you, and I will be here to—”

Simon’s words stopped, his gaze focusing on a spot far away. His body stiffened, every muscle as tense as an archer’s bow, coiled to strike. The expression on his face hardened, his look determined and unyielding.

“Driver, turn here,” he ordered, and the carriage took a sharp turn to the right.

Jessica looked ahead and saw a carriage coming toward them. “Who is it, Simon?”

Simon spoke without looking at her, and although Jessica could see his lips to read what he’d said, she knew he was more interested in the approaching carriage than in her.

“Something is wrong, Simon. What is it?”

“Nothing is wrong. I would like to see a smile on your face, though.”

Jessica lifted her lips in an upward curve that seemed stilted even to her.

He glanced at her, his look distant and changed. “That is a pathetic smile, wife,” he said, touching one corner of her mouth. His touch was tender. The look in his eyes was not. “Perhaps you would care to practice a bit before we greet the Earl and Countess of Milebanke.” Simon indicated the approaching carriage with a nod of his head. “They will no doubt want to visit with us and extend their congratulations.”

Jessica’s heart leaped to her throat. The Countess of Milebanke was the last person she wanted to see today. “Surely you don’t intend to stop?”

Simon’s lips curved in an even more sardonic smile as he leveled a hostile gaze straight ahead. “Of course we must stop. Unless Lady Milebanke has changed while I’ve been gone, she’s one of the biggest gossips in all of London. To ignore her would be unthinkable.”

“Simon, no. You don’t know what she’s like. She has a reputation for being brash and cruel. If she even suspects that I am—”

“She will suspect nothing, wife, except that you are the most beautiful woman in all of London and wonder how I was lucky enough to convince you to marry me.”

“Simon…”

Jessica watched the shiny curricle come toward them pulled by a pair of matching blacks, and a knot tightened in her stomach.

“Smile, Jesse. I promise you’ll be safe.”

He cradled her hand securely, then turned his concentrated gaze on the two people in the carriage stopping beside them. “Good afternoon, Milebanke. Lady Milebanke.”

Jessica wondered if the sound of his voice was as volatile as the glare in his eyes. He leaned back in the seat and looped her arm through his in a secure and possessive grasp. On the outside, he looked as if he did not have a care in the world, as if there was not the slightest possibility that his wife’s disability might be found out. Jessica fought the rise of panic in her chest. Sitting close to him, she could feel the tension that seemed ready to snap.

“Good afternoon, Northcote,” the earl said, glancing around uncomfortably, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to be seen with the tainted Earl of Northcote. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Yes,” Simon answered, turning toward Jessica. “May I present my wife, Lady Northcote. Jessica, Lord and Lady Milebanke.”

“How do you do, Lord Milebanke. Lady Milebanke.”

“Our best wishes to you, Lady Northcote,” Milebanke said. “You cannot imagine our surprise when we heard Northcote had taken himself a wife.”

Jessica reminded herself to smile. “I’m sure our marriage took most of London by surprise, my lord. The looks we’ve received today confirm it.”