The Wicked Game (A Wicked Game Novel) (6 page)

She pushed her body closer to his and gazed into his eyes. Sternly she informed him, “I am a woman. You are a man. You have escorted me to my room. It is only proper for you to kiss me good night.”

He moved his eyes to within a few inches of hers and clenched his teeth. “Nothing about this is proper. Now get yourself into bed!”

At this moment Angela leaned in to kiss him and instead of turning his head he simply pushed her, causing her to fall to a heap on the floor.

“But—But you are a man!”

Now Andrew had lost it. “I am not a man!” The words stung as they came out. He now officially hated this woman.

Miss Bennett threw her hands in the air. “Coward.”

Andrew charged towards her. He was going to pummel her. He was going to shake her silly. But when he reached her none of that happened. Instead he fell to the floor in front of her, grabbed her behind the head, and pulled her lips to his. He felt her relax in his arms and suddenly he relaxed in hers. Her lips were soft and supple and he pushed his own harder against hers as if to soak up every essence of her being. She was responding to his touch now and he could feel her push her body closer to his too. He began to flick his tongue at the corners of her mouth and as if she could read his mind, she parted her lips and allowed him entry. Her taste was sweet as sugar and he began to feel as if this kiss was the most right thing he had ever done in his life.

But then Andrew pushed her away from him and she fell back flat on the floor. He had to get away from this situation right now. This kiss was not and could not be right. He rushed towards the door but then he heard a whimper coming from behind him and he sighed. As ferociously mad and confused as he was right now he just couldn’t leave her sprawled on her bedroom floor in this state.

Andrew turned back around and made his way directly to this sad looking woman. He scooped her up, carried her to her bed, and laid her down gently. He again headed for the door but before he reached it he heard her call out.

“I hate you!” But she didn’t sound mad. It was almost as if she was… teasing him!

Andrew found his voice and shot back, “I hate you too!”

The sound of his voice surprised him.

He didn’t sound mad either.

***

She gasped and her eyes shot open.

Angela awoke in shock; the memory of her scandalous dream about Andrew still fresh in her mind. Sarah had just opened the curtains allowing the vibrant sunlight to flood the room. It seemed brighter today than normal and it was making her head split in half.

Dear God, did her head hurt. It was pounding. It was throbbing. She could actually feel the blood pulsing through her skull, and she’d be damned she could hear it too. Her stomach lurched. It was tossing and turning as if a storm was raging inside of her body. She had never been drunk before and so she begrudgingly resigned to the sickness it brought. Angela had seen plenty of men go through it before and remembered thinking how brainless they must be for putting themselves into such a horrible position.

Now she was the brainless one.

Angela eased herself up onto her elbows and blinked her eyes several times to try to get them used to the light. It didn’t work. She was squinting. Her stomach did a somersault and she quickly lay back down.

She tried to recall something of what had passed. She couldn’t have been drunk last night, could she? They had only rendezvoused in their dark corner twice and they had only taken a few sips each time. No. She was kidding herself, it was three times, and now that she thought about it, she had more than just a few sips. Damn it all! She supposed she had been drunk. How could she have let this happen? Her mind raced. Someone must have figured it out. She needed a story. An explanation. Something to...

“Best be getting up, Miss Bennett. Your mother sent me to wake you and tell you she would be up here to see you soon.”

Leave it to mother to notice. Nothing escaped her prying eyes and now Angela was going to pay. She didn’t know how but there would definitely be a consequence and the sickness she felt right now would pale in comparison.

While Angela nervously waited for her mother, she revisited her dream. She put her aching head in her hands, still in shock. It was one thing to innocently flirt with a servant and fawn over his good looks. It was another thing entirely to dream about him in such a wicked way. What a good thing it was indeed that no one could see her innermost thoughts!

There was a quick rap on the door and her mother entered the room. She waved stiffly in Sarah’s direction motioning for her to leave. Sarah looked disappointed but hurried out nonetheless, and shut the door behind her. Angela forced herself, with all her strength, to sit up.

“Good morning Baroness Isabella. What brings you to my room so early?”

Lady Cheston raised an eyebrow. “If half past ten is your idea of early. Though I know that on any other day it is not.”

Angela did not say a word. She knew better. Her mother’s piercing eyes locked with her daughter’s, as she slowly moved closer and sat down on the edge of the bed, crossing her hands purposely on her lap.

“The Duke of Corning has been invited to dinner tonight. He will be calling on you.”

The Baron’s daughter turned her head sharply. This was certainly a shock. Her head had been swimming with drink last night but she was fairly certain she had done nothing to give him the impression that she might be interested in him. In fact, she was certain she had done everything she could to convince him that she was
not
interested.

“Mother, why would you invite...”

“Now you address me as my child? Don’t play the fool with me, Angela! Everyone knows what you and Mary were up to last night! The way you were acting was shameful!” For the first time in my life Angela thought she heard her mother’s voice quiver. “Your father and
your men
were able to cover for you. As far as society is concerned, you acted as you did because you are so smitten with Corning.”

Her mother sat up straight and looked Angela in the eye. “I don’t know if anyone believed them but no one would dare to question your father. So the matter is settled for now.”

Angela was still confused and she extended her mother a puzzled look.

“Why the way you were dancing with him was shameful enough! But how you let him touch you! And to try to kiss him in such a way…in public! I can only thank God that the Duke had enough sense to turn his head!”

And with this Angela nearly fainted as she put together the pieces of her evening. She hadn’t been dreaming after all. It had all been real. But instead of Andrew, she had been groping the Duke of Corning.

Her stomach took another violent turn and she gagged as she forced it to stay in place. Her heart sunk. No longer could she run to
her men
for help. This situation was beyond repair, even for them. No matter how much they loved her, they would have no choice now but to protect the family. Especially after the conversation they engaged in at the ball.

“But mother, you can’t possibly...”

She grabbed Angela by the chin, her nails digging in painfully, and leaned in until their faces were nearly touching. “Look at me! Do you want to shame your family?”

Angela made her best attempt at shaking her head “no” as she held back tears.

“You will be on your best behavior tonight. You will treat Corning with the utmost respect. He has graciously agreed to help us cover up this little...incident. Your father believes the Duke actually is smitten with
you
and if tonight goes well, there may be a marriage for you very soon. We’ll make something good come of this yet.”

Lady Cheston let go of her daughter’s face and promptly left the room. Angela felt her stomach twist into knots, and this time she could not control it. She leaned over the side of the bed and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

***

It was around noon the next day when Andrew learned that the Duke of Corning would be coming to dinner that evening to call on Miss Bennett.

His first reaction was to fall on the floor laughing. After how she had acted last night with him when he had walked her to her room he could only imagine the public spectacle that must have ensued for the Duke to be coming to dinner. Andrew had never met the Duke but he knew enough about him from social gossip to know that Miss Bennett would never be attracted to him…unless she had been worse for the wear with drink, and she most certainly had been!

He wanted to laugh; he really did, just thinking of her trying to fake an attraction to that man for her family’s sake. It would be excruciating for her but she deserved it for acting like an idiot and getting drunk at a social event. Even a servant such as he knew better than that. After how she had acted last night, for making him say what he had and do what he did, he should really care less about what happened to her. He wanted to see her pay for her mistakes. He wanted to point at her and laugh. But for some reason he just couldn’t. For some reason he was actually starting to feel upset for what she was about to go through. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, all he could think about now was that kiss. God! When had he ever had a kiss like that? When had he ever had a kiss so passionate?

Honestly he couldn’t think of a time.

Last night had been
the
kiss and it would have to stay that way. Andrew knew that he shouldn’t have done that in the first place. He should have walked out of the room and gone to his own bed. But he didn’t do that. Instead he had kissed her…and it was amazing!

But he could never do that again. She was the daughter of a Baron and he was a servant. That one solitary kiss would have to suffice.

But the more he thought of it the more he knew that one kiss would not be enough. And so he would have to avoid her as best as possible. That should be easy enough… shouldn’t it?

Joshua Duncan, his grace the Duke of Corning, was scheduled to arrive at eight o’clock that evening. Dinner was to start at quarter past. But the Duke arrived at seven and the entire house was sent into a ruckus. The women threw their clothes on in haste and the cook scurried to put dinner on the table over one hour early. It did not matter that the Duke had taken it upon himself to arrive before scheduled. He very well might marry the Baron’s daughter and so everything was to be done as he pleased.

It was now clear to Angela just how serious the situation was. If the Duke were simply playing along to help preserve the honor of her family, he would have shown up promptly at eight o’clock, interacted respectively with the family, and then retreated home. But the Duke had arrived one hour early and did not act as if he wanted to leave anytime soon. The Duke might actually be smitten with her and her worst fears were starting to be realized.

It was no surprise to find that mother had again, dressed her in a green gown. Angela eyed herself in the mirror, the same bloody mirror that had started all of this, and briefly contemplated spilling something down the front of the dress so she would have to change. But in the end, as tempting as it was, she decided against it. Her mother would know that it was no accident and would probably invite the Duke back tomorrow night. No, one night pretending to be interested in that gross old man would be hard enough.

As if in a trance she followed her mother’s orders and went directly over to the Duke the moment she came downstairs. Hesitantly Angela offered him her hand.

“Your Grace,” she murmured demurely.

The Duke’s eyes widened with delight as he reached out to accept this delectable gift. Angela’s muscles involuntarily clenched and when the Duke tried to move her hand to his lips, it didn’t budge. He shot her a look and she felt a private but fleeting joy. Reluctantly she relaxed her muscles and let her gloved fingers extend up to his rotten lips. He kissed them and she turned the same color as her dress. Angela couldn’t see her mother but she just knew that she was glowing.

She wanted to puke but instead, she carefully slipped her arm through the Duke’s and let him lead her into the dining room.

***

The early arrival of the Duke was only Angela’s first glimpse of just how disastrous this evening was going to turn out. The Duke led her into the dining room sporting a grin so big it barely fit on his face. She looked away from him partly out of repulsion towards his expression and partly because the smell wafting off of him was monstrous. She was breathing through her mouth now which made it considerably harder to control her facial expressions. Her mother was looking on approvingly and Angela soon realized that her open mouthed gape was looking more pleasant than she had intended. She furrowed her brow.

Apparently under mother’s orders Mary sat opposite her cousin, conveniently leaving the chair to Angela’s right unoccupied. Corning sat there. Mary was sitting between Arthur and Daniel and the trio gave Angela looks of sympathy, though she couldn’t tell how sincere they truly were. She wanted to scream but she knew there was no point in fighting, so she plastered a smile back on her face and let the Duke pull out her chair. She sat down…and he quickly slipped his hand down to cup her bottom.

“Oh!” she squeaked.

Everyone in the room looked at her. What a perfect time it would be to reveal him right now in front of her whole family. Though she suddenly realized what little good it would do. Apparently, with her permission, Corning had been touching her all of last night.

“I stubbed my toe,” she mumbled looking down. No one had any reason to believe that she was lying.

Once fully seated, Angela scooted her seat as far away from the Duke as she could without anyone noticing.

As the food came out, Angela continued to smile and then, retreated deep within herself.

***

It was official. This singular dinner had been the most painful thing Angela had ever been forced to endure. It was clear now that everyone knew the circumstances surrounding this situation. The tension in the air was so thick that she could scarcely breathe. And no one talked; at least not normal conversation. There was the occasional remark about weather and a comment about how wonderful the food was but other than that the evening was remarkably silent. Angela’s brothers, normally so verbose, barely made a sound. Her heart broke to pieces. They weren’t fighting for her as they had always done and she knew it wasn’t because they didn’t want to. It was no longer up to them.