Louisa Mountjoy’s liaison with his wife. But, even so, he could not parade her defeat before the servants. ‘You are distressed, ma’am, which is understandable.’ He could not help his icy tone. The woman would have ruined him if she could. ‘I will leave you here to regain your composure. My butler will return in a quarter of an hour to show you out. I suggest we do not meet again.’ With a curt nod, he strode to the door and left her.
In the corridor outside, he almost fell over his wife. ‘Beth! I…I did not expect to see you down so early.’ She was looking remarkably alluring, in a gown of palest pink trimmed with flounces. Another one of those expensive fripperies he had encouraged her to buy in London. They all became her much too well.
She dropped him a curtsy. ‘Good morning, my lord. I wonder if I might have a word with you?’ She sounded unusually determined.
Jon wondered what had caused her change of mood. Last night, when they had been together in her chamber, she had been so soft, so yielding… Not at all like this stern young matron.
‘Might we go into your library? Where we may speak in private?’
That pulled him up short. ‘Er…no. Not the library. It is not- That is to say, Miss Mountjoy is in there.’
Beth stiffened and grew a little pale.
‘We were discussing a…a matter of business. She will be leaving in a few moments, once she has recovered-’ This would not do. He was tying himself in knots, and for no good reason. He refused to feel guilty about what he had just done to Miss Mountjoy. She deserved it all, and more.
Jon smiled down at Beth and tucked her hand under his arm. ‘The library is too gloomy this morning. Let us leave it to Miss Mountjoy. We can be private in the conservatory, and make the most of the light, besides. Madam, will you walk?’
Beth held herself a little apart as they walked through the house to the conservatory. She did not remove her hand from his arm-that would be much too confrontational-but she certainly could not relax into his touch.
Miss Mountjoy! He had been alone in his library with Louisa Mountjoy! What on earth had they been doing at this time of the day? And why did she have to be left alone there? To recover? From what?
The pictures racing through Beth’s imagination were far from comfortable. Although she had no reason to suspect that Jon and the Mountjoy woman were lovers now, she could not banish the suspicion that they might have been lovers once. Had she come to see him this morning, by appointment, before any of the guests was about? Before his wife was about? It did not bear thinking of. Beth fancied Miss Mountjoy was capable of anything, even seducing a married man.
In total silence, they walked through to the conservatory where Beth let Jon usher her inside. He had been right. By comparison with the rest of the house, it was full of light. It was warm, too, but the myriad of green leaves made it seem cool, and very restful to the senses. Jon pushed aside some of the overhanging branches and led her through to a small clear space where they could be private. There was a white painted bench to one side, but he did not invite her to sit. He simply stopped and faced her.
Now that they were alone, and the moment had come, Beth felt her courage ebbing away. How had she ever thought she could challenge Jon? She struggled to put a simple sentence together, but no words came.
‘You asked for a private word?’ His tone was gentler than she had expected. Was that because he was guilty about Miss Mountjoy?
The thought of that obnoxious woman in Jon’s embrace gave Beth a degree of courage that surprised her. ‘I understand you have engaged a new valet, sir.’ The words came out in a rush. ‘As mistress of your household, I should have preferred to learn of such a change from you, rather than from the servants.’
He flushed. ‘Good God! First my mother, and now my wife! Since when do I need permission from the women of my household to decide upon my own manservant?’
He was angry. Yet Beth was beginning to know him well enough to suspect that this show of temper was partly a cover for his embarrassment. He must know he was in the wrong over this.
‘Might I ask why you have decided to make the change, sir?’ Beth asked innocently.
Her tone had its effect. He took a deep breath and, when he spoke again, his anger had been replaced by gruffness, as if he were explaining a lesson to a rather stupid child and working hard to control justifiable impatience. ‘I no longer have need of Vernon’s skills. He should serve a single man, the kind of employer who wishes to cut a figure in society. All well and good when I was just returned from Spain, but no longer.’
He reached for Beth’s hand and, to her surprise, raised it to his lips for a gallant kiss. Was that by way of apology for his show of bad temper?
‘Now that I am married, I plan to spend more time in the country.’ His voice was almost normal again. ‘There is much to do here, and at the other estates. A country gentleman has no need of a man like Vernon. Joseph’s skills will be more than adequate, even when I am in town.’
‘You call him “Joseph”?’ Beth said, surprised into betraying herself. Was Jon’s relationship with Joseph as close as Beth’s with Hetty?
He shrugged. ‘We spent a long time together in the Peninsula. For some reason, everyone there used his given name. I fell into the way of it. I accept that it is improper, but- Well, let us see what happens once he has arrived.’
Jon watched the play of emotions crossing Beth’s expressive face. She was clearly intrigued by what he had done and would want to learn more of his relationship with Joseph. What would she think if she learned he had done it for her? His mother had taken it almost as a personal insult. She had even accused Jon of abandoning his station in life. But Jon’s plan had worked. The Dowager was now training her fire on Jon rather than on Beth. Her disdain for Beth’s choice of lady’s maid had been forgotten in her anger at her son’s deliberate flouting of the standards she had instilled in him.
Jon allowed himself an inward smile. He had promised his mother he would deal with the situation. And he had.
At that moment, he became aware that he was still holding Beth’s hand. Shocked at his own weakness, he dropped it. Too abruptly.
Beth flinched as if from a blow. ‘Is Miss Mountjoy ailing?’ Beth’s voice was cold. ‘Perhaps I should offer my help if she is feeling unwell.’
‘I am sure she will have recovered her composure by now.’ That was the truth, but it was not enough to restore Beth’s confiding mood. If he wanted that, he would have to unbend a little. ‘I must tell you frankly, Beth, that I do not think she would welcome an offer of assistance from either of us.’ There, it was done.
Beth’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened in apparent disbelief.
In for a penny… ‘I do not wish to malign the lady. She was Alicia’s friend and they had…um…a great regard for each other. However, I find Miss Mountjoy’s continued visits here excessive.’
Beth glanced up at him in surprise and then quickly looked away. Strange. Surely Beth did not actually like the woman? There had been no sign that she did. Given the woman’s history with Alicia, Jon would much prefer to keep his wife and Miss Mountjoy as far apart as possible.
He drew himself up and said, ‘Miss Mountjoy will be leaving King’s Portbury before the next quarter day. I- She has decided that this area is no longer to her taste.’ He had betrayed himself, he realised. There had been too much venom in his voice.
But perhaps not? Beth’s shoulders were no longer so tense, and there was the beginning of a smile on her delicious mouth. The temptation was just too much, especially in a place like this where they could not be observed. Jon dragged her into his arms and began to kiss her.
She stiffened, but only for a second. Then she melted into his embrace and returned his kiss with more skill than he had thought she possessed. This was not the innocent nymph of the Fratcombe folly. His wife had become a practised and eager seductress.
He knew he should break the kiss, put her from him so that they could resume their proper, public relationship, but her response was so passionate that he could not. Just a little longer exploring her luscious mouth, stroking her hair, her skin, the curve of her breast…Just a little more of the scent and taste of her…
She groaned from deep in her belly and put her hands to the waistband of his pantaloons, fumbling for his buttons. In a moment, there would be no going back.
‘No, Beth.’ He did not recognise his own voice as he pulled away from her. Since the day of their marriage, he had been telling himself to keep his distance from her. Closeness made a man vulnerable, and weak. And closeness to a woman was the most dangerous of all.
She had blushed scarlet. The fingers that had been trying to undress him just a moment ago were now twisting
