Rogues, Rakes & Jewels

“No … no…minx! This won’t do.”

“You started it…” she teased.

“Indeed…which gives me the right to put a stop to it as well!”

“Very well, so be it. Then instead, you may tell me just where you have been. I have been waiting hours and hours for you. I think myself very ill-used, my lord.” Her green eyes flashed playfully.

“Ah, if I have kept my love waiting I must be no more than a lowly cad.” He hung his head, but his eyes twinkled as he brought his glance to her reproving glare.

“Fie! Fie on you! You mock me, my buck, and I shall have none of it.” She giggled and then said, “Why, why have I been waiting all day when your letter said you would be here by noon?”

“Business, pet. The estates were in need of updating with my man…it took longer than I expected.” He glanced over at the Quarterly Review and noted that it contained a scathing review of Lord Byron. His brow went up before he looked away and added, “There are things that need to be done and put in order if we are to take that extended honeymoon of ours.” He pinched her chin. “In fact, after these last few days, you should dole out some pity on me, for I am being grossly taxed…”

She released a full-throttled giggle. “Oh, poor, dear love. Dull work, I know, and there are other more enjoyable things you could be doing…” She gave him a saucy look, and he pinched her cheek.

“Duty, beloved, and…” he whispered, his blue eyes were lit with dark sparks. He held her captive in his embrace, and his voice was husky with desire. “I must ensure the riches you are accustomed to enjoying.”

She gave him a hearty slap to his upper arm. “Rapper! As though I give a fig for such things!” She frowned then. “Duty, however, is quite another thing, isn’t it? I mean, so many people depend on you to manage their land so they can make their living. All your farmers and—”

“And kiss me again, minx…” What the hell was he doing, he asked himself. He had to get control, and yet, here he was taking her into his arms to kiss her once more.

However, this second kiss eluded him as Maxine’s mother entered the room noisily at that moment and fondly cleared her throat. “Engaged you two may be, but not, my dears, yet married.”

His lordship laughed and took Maxie’s arm as he moved forward and bent over his future mother-in-law’s hand. “Well met, ma’am, and may I say you are looking as lovely as ever.”

“Scamp!” Mrs. Reigate smiled as she moved to the yellow winged ladies’ chair and took her position. “Now, sit and tell us your news. I will ring for coffee.”

“Dare I refuse, when I need to ask you a favor?” His lordship eyed her hopefully, and his charm filled the room.

“Ah.” Mrs. Reigate silently thought his winning smile irresistible. “What then, my lord?”

“While we still have some day left, I thought I would steal your daughter for a short while so we might enjoy a little riding jaunt through the fields.”

Mrs. Reigate knew her daughter had been itching to ride all day but had refrained from doing so while she waited for his lordship’s arrival. She smiled to herself as she looked from one to the other. They were perfect for one another. She was also cognizant of the undeniable fact that when Lord Julian Talbot had asked for Maxine’s hand in marriage a month ago, her daughter had not only made the match of the season, but of the decade! In any event, she was a doting and indulgent parent and didn’t see the harm in his request.

She smiled ruefully as she said, “Very well—a quick jaunt…home before dark.”

Maxine laughed and dropped a kiss on her mother’s cheek. She was in high spirits and ran with childlike happiness for the door, blowing a kiss to Julian and exclaiming with glee, “I’ll throw on my riding habit in less than ten minutes, see if I don’t! Time me…I shall be true to my word.”

His lordship laughed out loud. He had never known a woman who could change her clothes in ten minutes. He called after her, “The wonder of it is you are a speedy little monkey. Go on then, girl, for I do mean to time you.”

Mrs. Reigate smiled and watch her daughter bounce off before she turned to ask his lordship, “What news have you of Wellington? Everyone is still crying over our terrible casualties at Waterloo. ’Tis heart-wrenching.”

“Indeed, and in such a contrast to the wild frivolity that commanded Brussels only days before the battle.” His lordship had spent two weeks in Brussels. He had only just become engaged to Maxine when the Home Office had entrusted him with a secret errand. That accomplished, he had returned to London only days before Wellington met Napoleon at Waterloo. Now, it was all so cuttingly fresh in his mind.

Mrs. Reigate reached

out for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I am sorry for your loss…I know that you and Colonel Reynolds were dear friends…”

“Thank you, yes…” It was all he could say. He and Tom had been at Eton and then at Cambridge together. Tom would have been his best man at his upcoming wedding.

It seemed only a moment or so had passed when Maxine entered the room with a gleeful, “Ta da! Less than ten minutes!”

Fiancé and mother looked at her and broke out laughing. She certainly had changed into a stunning royal blue velvet riding habit, but the matching top hat was on askew, and her jacket was not buttoned correctly. She stole his lordship’s heart all over again. She was everything he had ever wanted.

Her mother went about the business of tidying her up before his lordship took her light kid-gloved fingers to his lips and whispered, “Are you mine? Are you really mine?”

She looked up at him provocatively and replied, “Not yet, my lord…not quite yet…”