Tempting Bella (Entangled Scandalous) (11 page)

Josette licked ice off a finger. “Very wicked.”

Orford helped himself to a spoonful of Bella’s ice. “Delicious.” He scooped up another bite and offered it to Bella. “Have you? Do tell.”

Bella took the spoonful in her mouth, rolling the lemony confection over her tongue to fully savor its taste. “We enhanced our wardrobes. Morning gowns, walking gowns, ball gowns.”

“Indulged yourselves, did you?”

“Sebastian has given Bella leave to spend as much as she likes,” said Josette. “So she begins today.”

Orford took another bite of ice. “And so he should. I’m sure he’s enormously grateful for her fortune. After all, before his marriage, Stanhope didn’t have two shillings to rub together.”

“Do you know that for certain?” asked Bella.

“It’s why I’ve come to find you.” He looked well pleased with himself. “I’ve done more digging.”

“And?”

“Sebastian’s father was on the brink of ruin when the two of you married.” Taking another spoonful of her ice, he smacked his lips. “As you can imagine, the family’s circumstances improved dramatically after your marriage. Before that they’d depended upon the limited generosity of the uncle.”

“The uncle.” Josette perked up with interest. “The Marquess of Camryn?”

“Yes.” Orford wiped his mouth with a cloth. “Sebastian’s brother is now the marquess. The uncle only had two daughters. One of those daughters is now Duchess of Hartwell.”

“Of course, I knew he married me for the blunt.” But hearing Orford confirm just how desperate for funds Sebastian had been pinched her heart.

Josette licked her spoon. “Now that you are truly man and wife, you will learn all about Sebastian
très bientôt
.”

Orford’s blue gaze focused on Bella with obvious concern. “Are you truly all right, my dear? He wasn’t an ogre with you last evening, was he?”

“
Imbécile
.” Josette shot Orford a quelling look. “Perhaps Bella prefers not to talk of such delicate matters.”

“We are all friends here. We have discussed far more intimate topics.” Orford looked intently at Bella. “I only wish to assure myself that you are unharmed.”

She gave him a reassuring smile. “I am fine. Truly, I am.”

“Idiot.” Josette rolled her eyes. “Sebastian is her husband. The marriage act is hardly a cause for alarm.”

Orford’s jaw tightened. “He asserted his husbandly rights, then?”

A stony voice sounded behind them. “That is none of your concern.”

Bella’s heart stumbled as Sebastian approached with a bland look on his face. “Perhaps you should introduce me to your companions, my dear.”

Her face burning, she said, “This is my friend, Josette. You made Orford’s acquaintance at the opera, of course.”

“Of course.”

Josette beamed at Sebastian. “It is a pleasure to finally meet Mirabella’s husband.”

Orford lounged back in his chair wearing an insolent half smile. “Stanhope.”

“Orford.” Sebastian turned to Bella. “If you are ready, I’ll escort you home.”

She stiffened. He was already trying to curtail her movements. “I am still enjoying my ice. Surely you have matters to attend to. Orford will be happy to escort us home.”

“Indeed. It would be my pleasure,” said Orford.

“But completely unnecessary.” Sebastian pulled up a chair. “I’m most happy to join you.”

Now he intended to intrude upon her and her friends. Agitated, Bella popped up. “Actually, I am quite finished. If you insist on escorting me.”

Sebastian’s cool green eyes remain fixed on Orford, who stared back unblinking. “I do insist.”

He escorted her to the coach. After helping her in, he followed and settled across from her, facing backward.

“Are you following me?”

Sebastian leaned back against the squabs with a cool demeanor that infuriated her. “Of course not.”

She crossed her arms, her spine stiff. “Do you plan to limit my comings and goings?”

He stretched his muscled legs out in front of him, slanting them so as not to hit Bella’s feet. “Not at all. Even if I did, I doubt you would heed me. You are free to come and go as you please.”

They really were well-formed legs. Bella could not help noticing his powerful thighs. The pace of her pulse picked up. “Josette and Orford are my friends. I plan to continue to see them.”

His considering gaze held hers for a moment. “Although you seem to have lamentable taste in companions when it comes to Orfus, your friends are yours to choose.”

“His name is Orford and he is every inch a gentleman,” she said, trying not to be affected by the vivid shade of his clear green eyes. Or how the heavy fringe of black lashes provided a perfect sultry outline for them.

“I beg to differ. A gentleman does not feed a lady in public or at all for that matter. Nor does he share her spoon in such an intimate matter.”

“It’s just Orford. It means nothing.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “How long were you spying on us?”

“Spying? You were sharing bodily fluids with a man who is not your husband in a very public place for all to see.”

“Sharing bodily fluids? Don’t be ridiculous. Sharing a spoon is hardly intimate.”

He leaned forward so suddenly it startled her. His intense proximity sent her pulse scurrying under her skin. He brushed his finger across her lips, his touch shooting through her like a cannon. The pull between them reared again, only now it was fiercer and wanton since duty and morality no longer kept it tightly wrapped.
You’re married,
the voice in her head taunted,
you can do anything you desire.

Her mouth opened of its own accord, her tongue flicking out to taste him. His sharp inhale suggested her boldness startled him as well. She couldn’t stop her tongue from tasting him, running over the sweet saltiness, reveling in the mixture of soft skin and hardened calluses. The emerald shade of his eyes intensified, a muscle jerked in his jaw.

Longing welled up in her. She pictured his finger trailing down her neck, into her bodice.

Her gaze holding his, she wrapped one last lick around the tip of his finger, before opening her lips to release it.

He let his finger linger for a moment, then withdrew, brushing it across her lips once more, leaving shooting sparks in his wake.

“Touch is not the only kind of intimacy, Mirabella,” he said in a low, gruff voice. He brought his finger into his own mouth before slowly drawing it out again. “There is also the unique, indescribable pleasure of the taste of a woman. I would not share that privilege with any other man.”

Mesmerized by the trail of his finger, she forgot the mechanics of breathing. Her body felt like a glowing ember ready to burst into full flame. “Very well,” she chirped. “If you feel so strongly about it, I shall cease sharing a spoon with Orford.”

He sat back, eyes dark with possessive satisfaction. “When will your new gowns be ready?”

The sudden shift in conversation threw Bella off balance. “Some will be delivered in two days. The rest will follow shortly thereafter.”

His brows lifted. “Two days. That’s rather quick, is it not?”

Bella’s smile felt delicious on her lips. “For the correct price anything is possible.”

Instead of expressing irritation, he seemed amused. “Paid handsomely, did you?”

“Very.”

If Sebastian heard the challenge in her voice, he ignored it. “Excellent. We’re to Cam’s house in a fortnight. You’ll require something appropriate to wear.”

Bella straightened, looking at him with alert eyes. “Your brother’s house? The marquess?”

“Yes, they return from the country soon. The family is most anxious to meet my bride after all this time.”

“Meeting your family sounds daunting.”

“Nonsense. They all will no doubt be as entranced by you as I am.”

“All?” She remembered he had four brothers.

“Yes, Cam and his marchioness. You will like Charlotte. She is not at all high in the instep. My brother, Sir Edward, is away in India so he will not attend.”

“Your brother has been knighted?”

“Yes, he fought valiantly on the Peninsula and was rewarded with a knighthood.”

His large family intrigued her, especially since she had almost no family of her own. “I see, and who else?”

“I believe my cousin, Willa, will be there. She’s the Duchess of Hartwell. And her husband, the duke, I expect will accompany her.”

“Your brother was her father’s heir.”

He appeared surprised that she knew that. “Yes, my uncle had two daughters and no sons, so Arthur became his heir.”

“Arthur?” Bella asked, having a difficult time following all of the names.

“My brother’s name is Arthur, but since he came into the title we call him Cam.”

She nodded. “I see.”

“And my other brothers, Will—”

“The artist.”

He spoke about his family with obvious warmth. “Yes, and the youngest, Basil.”

She could not help but notice that he’d left someone out. “And your mother?”

The warmth in his face cooled. “Yes, my mother, of course. She will no doubt be there.” She sighed and settled back against the squabs. “I shall look forward to meeting them.”

…

Late the following afternoon, Bella watched Sebastian ride away on another of his frequent outings. Her husband’s physical pursuits certainly extended far beyond the customary daily constitutional. He spent an inordinate amount of time at the fencing and boxing clubs. At times, instead of riding his mount, he took brisk walks. She’d never seen anyone take so much exercise. But it kept him from home, for which she was grateful, especially today since she intended to take full advantage of his absence.

She made her way down to his study, which she had never visited before. Entering the chamber, she almost bumped into his secretary on his way out. “The master is away, my lady, if you are seeking him.”

“I am not,” she said. “Perkins, isn’t it?”

“Yes, my lady, Henry Perkins, at your service.” He was young and slim, with sand-colored hair, even features, and intelligent gray eyes behind round spectacles.

“Have you been with my husband long?”

“I have worked for Mr. Stanhope going on two years, my lady.”

“What sort of work do you do?”

He blinked. “The usual, my lady. Correspondence, settling accounts…the Traherne holdings are vast, as my lady is no doubt aware.”

“Are you on your way out?”

“I was. However, I would be pleased to stay and offer any assistance to my lady.”

“My thanks, but there is no need for you to delay. Good evening, Mr. Perkins.”

Taking her dismissal for what it was, he bowed and quietly quitted the room. Once he’d gone, she surveyed the surroundings, indulging her curiosity about the space where her husband spent a great deal of his time. The large orderly desk at the far end of the room must belong to Sebastian. A smaller workspace, where Perkins likely worked, sat in the far corner, stacked with books and papers.

Deciding to start there, she sat at the secretary’s desk and picked up the first account book. She scanned it, going through row after row, page after page. When she finished, she picked up the next notebook and gave it the same methodical treatment. Book after book, she took notes on the figures until her eyes began to blur, losing all track of time until a tap on the door was followed by the appearance of Monty.

“Do you plan to stay closeted in here all evening?”

She rubbed her weary eyes. “Monty, this is a pleasant surprise.”

His dark brows moved up. “You invited us for cards. Have you forgotten?”

“No, is it that time already?”

“It’s half past.” He gestured toward the documents and books before her. “Find anything of interest?”

“Fortunately for me, Sebastian is attached to order. The account books appear to be neatly organized, one for each property and business concern.”

“Convenient. What have you learned?”

“It all appears to be quite profitable,” she said. “But I don’t know where to look for the irregularities.”

“Perhaps you’re looking in the wrong place.”

She eyed him. “What else should I examine if not the books?”

“Traherne’s assets are quite vast and varied. It wouldn’t be difficult to bury any malfeasance deep in the books somewhere.”

“So where do you suggest I look?”

“Start at the end.”

“Meaning?”

“Instead of seeing where the money starts, begin with where it ends up.”

She perked up. “Sebastian. You want me to look at Sebastian’s personal accounts.”

“Tracing where his fortune comes from might be the less complicated way to pursue the matter.”

Sitting back in her chair, she shook out her cramped shoulders. “So I need access to his bank account.”

“Are you certain he’s taking more money than the allowance allotted to him as your husband?”

“Before we married, he didn’t have two guineas to rub together. Six years later, he is in possession of a great fortune. What does that tell you?”