Waiting for a Rogue Read online

  Dedication

  For Elise.

  Beloved daughter, cherished friend.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  An Excerpt from Lady in Waiting Chapter One

  About the Author

  By Marie Tremayne

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Chapter One

  Mildred’s Millinery

  Hampshire, England

  March 1847

  Caroline hid her disbelief with a ladylike cough and eyed the familiar aged shopkeeper. With an attempt at patience, she smiled and tried again.

  “I beg your pardon,” she said, a hint of confusion creeping into her voice, “but I don’t believe I heard you correctly, Mildred. My aunt asked me to pick up a bonnet . . . one bonnet.”

  A bout of amused laughter caused the woman’s shoulders to shake with mirth. “Oh no, my lady, you heard me a’right. Lady Frances ordered four, only she’s never been by to pick them up.” She shook her head. “They’re such elaborate things too . . .”

  To prove her point, Mildred reached over to raise the lids of the hatboxes that were stacked on the counter before them. The straw creations were more fancifully decorated with ribbons and flowers than current fashion dictated. In fact, the flashy style was more appropriate to the previous decade. Caroline knew the milliner was typically quite up on all the trends from London, so this came as a surprise.

  “Did Lady Frances order these hats be designed in such a specific way?” she inquired innocently, her eyes widening at the copious layers of satin trim and multicolored feathers the final hat revealed.

  “Oh yes, she was very particular.” Mildred sounded almost apologetic, then smiled brightly from between the gray curls that framed her face.

  Caroline’s smile faltered and she felt the blood drain from her face. Her aunt knew Caroline did not wish to return to London in the spring, regardless of her parents and their feelings on the matter. Was this Frances’s way of forcing the issue? It was possible, but unlikely. She didn’t want to think on what the likeliest scenario actually was, but found herself considering it anyway—that these hats were not intended as part of a larger scheme to pressure Caroline into another useless season, but were simply a product of one of her Aunt Frances’s most recent fantasies. One that would cost a pretty penny, although that concern was not of paramount importance to her at the moment.

  It was how she was going to get the blasted things home.

  If she’d taken the carriage, this little setback would hardly be any trouble at all. But of course she’d chosen to walk today given the mildness of the weather. Tapping her fingers against her lips, she scanned the cluttered storeroom behind the front counter.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve any extra staff on hand to make a delivery?”

  “Wishing I did, my lady,” replied the milliner as she replaced the lids upon the boxes, regarding the clock with stern disappointment. “If my nephew Simon were here on time as he should be, he could do it for ye. Or I could help with loading it into your carriage.”

  Caroline shook her head and directed her gaze out the window, the weak winter sunlight that had shone a moment before now darkening with the passage of a cloud. “I walked here today. However, Lady Frances was most anxious to receive her bonnet, er, bonnets, so I will take them home myself.”

  The shopkeeper stared. “On foot?”

  “Both feet, even,” said Caroline lightly, her tone sounding more self-assured than she felt, the four boxes mocking her from their place upon the counter. She smiled, cinching her green woolen cloak more tightly around her neck and raising the hood. “Would you mind assisting me to the door?”

  A few minutes later and with a doubtful wave from Mildred, she was on her way, albeit awkwardly. The milliner had managed to secure the boxes in pairs with string for easier carrying, and Caroline teetered as gracefully as she could, balancing one set on either side of her as she dodged the mud along the edge of the road. Glancing up, it appeared that the worst of the clouds had passed for now, allowing a slice of sunshine to break through, hopefully giving her enough time to arrive home without getting soaked. The journey to Willowford House was not long—under an hour by walking—but she knew that after only a few minutes her arms would grow weary from carrying these boxes.

  Nothing to be done about it except to walk and keep her head down. It would help her to concentrate on the sound of the horses trotting by and try not to think on how their riders were probably staring down at her with confusion, disdain, or both. Although even she could admit that the sight of her trudging by herself into the country, beset by hatboxes, would appear quite strange, even to those who were not aware that she was the Duke of Pemberton’s daughter.

  Not that she cared about anyone’s opinion, especially that of the Duke and Duchess of Pemberton, she thought with a bitter pang. After all, it was their conspicuous absence from her life that had served to mark her as somehow defective. And what was the ton, or anyone else to think, when they’d simply elected to hide her away in the country with her maiden aunt?

  What was she even to think?

  A fresh tide of heartache washed through her and she steeled herself against it. Not for her parents. She’d long given up on them. But it was Eliza’s departure, and the circumstances that had surrounded it, that still shook Caroline long after her friend had been forced to leave the neighboring estate for good. And there was only one person responsible for it all . . .

  The American.

  She scowled. Hadn’t Eliza gone through enough after being widowed with a young child—her father and brother killed in the same accident that took her husband? Life wasn’t fair and Caroline knew it very well, but her friend had suffered far more than her share. It wasn’t right that she then be evicted from the only home her daughter had ever known, just because the next male in line stepped forwards for his share.

  It’s the way of the world, people had told her. Entailment is the law, they had said.

  Well the law was stupid, she thought, kicking a rock vengefully out of her way. And strangely enough, the law seemed designed to put females at a disadvantage. It was one of the reasons she did not wish to marry . . . aside from the fact that men had only proven to her, time and again, that they were undeserving of such commitment. She refused to be a either a brood mare or a decorative accessory for some foppish lord, and there was no way she would ever let herself be managed by such a man. Or any man, for that matter.

  “I trust you won’t make it easy for him,” Eliza had said as she had pulled her close on her final day in Hampshire, struggling to smile through her tears.

  Caroline’s throat had constricted in sorrow. “Never.”

  Despite it all, Eliza had found a happy ending with her new husband, the incredibly mischievous Viscount Evanston. Caroline had even surprised herself by approving of the match. But there was no such change of heart for the Cartwick heir.

  She glared down the road in the general direction of his newly acquired estate. Regardless
of the law, he had still robbed her of one of the only people who loved her and caused an undue amount of pain in the process. He was simply another man trying to rule his little piece of the world without care for others, and she was only too happy to make it as difficult for him as possible. In fact, Caroline had already started by hampering his efforts to alter the boundary lines between their estates. It was a mystery how the lines had gone wrong to begin with, and she knew her recourse was limited, but he’d taken quite enough already, in her opinion. She would not sit idly by.

  At some point, the hardened dirt street of town had given way to the hedgerows that lined the road leading towards home. Exhaling a sigh of relief, she set her boxes down upon the grassy ground underfoot. Caroline rolled her head around to loosen her shoulders, now aching with the persistent weight of the boxes, and flexed fingers that had grown numb from the brisk coolness of the air. Her hood had slipped off but she didn’t mind so much now, when she was away from the curious stares of the townsfolk. Her hair was a thorough mess, however, with locks flying every conceivable way from their pins.

  Depending on her current mood, Aunt Frances would either laugh in delight at her disheveled state, or deliver a sharp rebuke for looking like a heathen out of doors. Caroline could no longer be sure what kind of reception she would receive; she only feared for the day when her aunt might forget her entirely.

  Her vision blurred as she bent down to retrieve her burden once more, but the sounds of an approaching horse stayed her hands and she squinted up ahead. It was a lone rider. Muttering under her breath, she hooked her fingers through the string handles and moved quickly off the road. To her consternation, the rider’s pace slowed as he neared. In an attempt to avoid engaging him, she fixed her gaze to some distant point and tipped him a nod of barest acknowledgment. It was an indifferent gesture that she was certain would not encourage further conversation.

  He started one anyway.

  “Pardon me, but are you in need of assistance?” called the man.

  The rich depth of his voice took her by surprise and she almost risked a glance upwards at his face. Caroline resisted the urge as it would only promote more interaction. Staring at the gleaming black leather of the boot that rested in the stirrup, she was likewise perturbed by the muscled leg that rose just above it, and by the long masculine fingers that held the reins in their commanding grip. She twitched her head anxiously in negation.

  “No, sir, I am not, but thank you for your concern. Good day.”

  Caroline resumed walking, and for one fleeting moment she almost believed she’d successfully deterred the stranger until the horse’s hooves could again be heard ambling closer.

  “It seems you are rather fond of headgear, although I see you wear none yourself,” he observed.

  There was a hint of amusement in his tone, and she might have laughed if she hadn’t been so taken by that voice again. He had an intriguing accent that was refined, yet had an edge to it she could not quite place. Caroline wasn’t entirely comfortable with how it was affecting her, nor did she care to find herself feeling vulnerable in the company of an unknown man on an empty road. She felt the strongest need to get rid of him. And tug him closer. It was all very confusing.

  “They’re not mine,” she replied hastily over her shoulder. “And while I appreciate your concern for my headgear, I really must be on my way.”

  Her heart sank when she heard him swing off his saddle to land solidly on the ground behind her. She knew there would be no ignoring him now, but perhaps she would find him as unattractive as his voice was enthralling. Spinning around to face him, she felt her breath seize inside her chest.

  No such luck.

  He was tall but not imposing, his body an enticing combination of lean angles and muscles with a powerful set of shoulders easily discernible beneath the lines of his sapphire-blue frock coat. The hands she’d admired before slid slowly off his horse’s polished leather saddle while he surveyed her with interest, and she noticed the unusually short cut of his brown hair, the strong set of his jaw, the alluring curve of his lips and a slight dimple in the center of his chin.

  There was something that made her want to stroke him with her fingertips. Caress his cheeks, his nose, his mouth. He had a sensuality that called to her, until recently ignored, primal instincts. Even her brief interest in the undeserving Lord Braxton had never sparked feelings like this.

  Her gaze rested with tremulous fascination upon his eyes. They were of the lightest brown . . . glowing and golden. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything quite like them. What was worse, she didn’t want to stop looking.

  The hatboxes slipped from her fingers to land on the ground.

  With a tiny exclamation, she crouched down to collect her aunt’s bonnets, one of which had managed to free itself in the midst of the chaos. Before she could reclaim the wayward headpiece, the stranger had managed to scoop it up, silencing her objection with another outstretched hand meant to assist her.

  “No, thank you,” she forced out shakily, untangling herself from her skirts and coming to a stand on her own.

  The man raised his eyebrows and shrugged, then directed his attention to the decorative bonnet still in his grasp. He turned it this way then that, finally glancing towards her with hesitant inquiry.

  “You have . . . extravagant taste,” he noted, neatly dodging the bright spray of feathers as he turned the bonnet another time.

  Caroline leaned forwards to snatch it from his hand, realizing too late that she’d come close enough to detect the skin-warmed scent of his shaving soap. She jerked back with a glare.

  “I told you before,” she said while trying to stuff the offensive thing back in its box, “it’s not mine. Please don’t look at it,” she added.

  He uttered a low laugh. “You dropped it out onto the road. How was I not to look at it?”

  She could think of no response to that but a small hmph, which elicited a smile of amusement from the handsome stranger. With the boxes sealed and secured at last, she lifted them again and gave him what she hoped was a final nod of farewell. She felt too ridiculous at the moment to even attempt a more formal good-bye. Turning on her heel, she strode quickly away.

  “Wait—”

  His request only made her walk faster, but the slide of his fingers upon her sleeve halted her progress. She faced him with something nearing exasperation.

  “What do you want from me, sir?” she asked. Although if she were being honest about it, part of her hoped there was an answer to that question.

  The man pulled his hand away and patted the sleek black nose of his horse, still being towed dutifully behind him. “I think we started off on the wrong foot.” He inclined into a shallow bow. “My name is Jonathan—”

  His next words were ripped from the air by a crack of lightning that sent the rooks in the trees scattering noisily. They held each other’s gaze in mutual alarm. He shook his head, switching topics altogether.

  “How much farther do you have to walk?” he asked with a wary glance at the burgeoning sky, placing his hand gently behind her to usher her along.

  “I, um—” It took a moment to gather her thoughts between the dazzle of the lightning and the heat of his hand pressing against her back. “Not much farther . . . just past the hill to Willowford House.”

  He stopped abruptly. “Did you say Willowford House?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  After a pause, he cleared his throat. “No reason.”

  The pressure of his hand was upon her back again. They resumed their walk in awkward silence, with Caroline casting furtive glances to ascertain the reason for the suddenness of his shift in mood. Finally, he said, “So what is your impression of the American?”

  She turned to stare at him, but a simultaneous rumble of thunder prompted her feet to keep moving beneath her skirts. “The American?” she asked in confusion.

  “The one who has moved into the Cartwick estate. I can only assume you’ve heard of him sinc
e he would be your closest neighbor.”

  Caroline scoffed. “Indeed, I have heard of him.”

  “And?”

  “I’m not impressed so far.”

  His eyes were alight with interest. “Why not?”

  She shifted the weight of the boxes to alleviate the strain on her fingers, and without breaking his stride, he reached down to take one set of hatboxes. At her murmur of thanks, he only tipped his head for her to continue.

  “Well for one, the vile man is apparently unwilling to converse unless it is through his land agent.”

  He raised his brows. “So you have spoken to the land agent?”

  “Through letters.”

  “And there is a dispute?”

  She gave him a wry glance.

  His mouth twisted. “I see. And what makes this American so vile? Or is it simply that you disagree with his views on this . . . land dispute?”

  Their harried pace up the hill was making it difficult for her to catch her breath, but she was still able to shoot him an offended look. “Has anyone ever told you that you give your opinion quite freely?” she managed.

  “I think you did, just now.”

  A lock of auburn hair worked free from its arrangement to slide down across her cheek and she brushed it away in annoyance. “Well yes, certainly I disagree with him,” she said, eyeing the appearance of her driveway with some relief. The first cold sprinkling of rain had begun to fall amidst under another deep rumble from the sky. “But he has shown his true colors through his dismissive replies, the inflexibility of his agent and his inability to compromise over the slightest of errors. Not to mention he displaced a woman who is my friend—a widow with a child, no less. He is obviously a boorish man whose lack of concern for others show him to be decidedly American.”

  They approached the front of the house, and a footman dashed outside. The man relinquished his reins and accompanied Caroline up the stone steps. Once they reached the top, he grimly held out the pair of hatboxes he’d been carrying, the muscle in his jaw flexing.