To Desire a Wicked Duke (Courtship Wars)

Tess couldn’t quite entirely read the gleam in Rotham’s eyes, but it seemed part amusement, part exasperation, and part admiration. “Very well, you have my permission to invite her.”

“That isn’t all.… I want to go to Cornwall with her.”

When Rotham’s eyebrow edged up again, Tess explained. “You know that Lady Wingate suggested we absent ourselves from London for a time in order to let the scandal subside. Well, if I must be exiled from society to dwell in purgatory, I prefer to do so in Cornwall rather than Richmond. Removing there has a prime advantage. I would not have to endure the gossips criticizing my every move, or Lady Wingate lamenting how my scandalous behavior has dismayed and disappointed her.”

“There is that,” Rotham agreed blandly. “Would you expect me to accompany you?”

“You needn’t bother,” Tess quickly replied. “You likely have no wish to visit Cornwall, so I will gladly go on my own—and take Fanny and Basil with me. I want them to have the opportunity to be together and fall in love.”

“You seem to have it all plotted out.”

“Not entirely, but I am working on it.”

“If I fail to hire your friend Basil, will you make me into a villain?” Rotham queried, his tone not so much mocking as teasing.

Tess smiled for the first time since beginning her tale. “I need no excuse to make you into a villain, Rotham.”

“I suppose not. But you are asking a great deal, you know—demanding that I sink so low as to play Cupid with you.”

Her smile widened a little. “I am certain I can manage without you, but I would prefer to have your assistance in hiring Basil. Will you help me?”

He didn’t reply, but his gaze dropped to her mouth. At his continued silence, Tess pressed on. “You said that you regretted making me wed you, Rotham. If you want to make it up to me, you will accommodate this one small request. You have the resources to make a major difference in my friends’ lives, and I am asking you to intercede on their behalf.”

Rotham leaned back in his chair, observing her over the rim of his wineglass. “Hiring your Mr. Eddowes shouldn’t be difficult,” he said finally, “although hiding the fact that we are in collusion might be trickier. And your traveling alone to Cornwall is another matter altogether. It is a two-day drive at minimum, even in a well-sprung post chaise when th

e roads are in good repair. I don’t know that I want you hazarding the trip.”

Tess grimaced. “I have told you before, you needn’t concern yourself with my welfare.”

“But I intend to. You are my wife now.”

She sobered instantly at the reminder, which at last prompted a positive response from Rotham.

“I will consider all your requests,” he said, surprising her, “if you will eat your dinner.” He looked pointedly at her plate. “You have barely touched your food tonight, and my cook went to a great deal of trouble to please you with your first meal at Bellacourt.”

“Very well,” Tess said, feeling a trifle more optimistic. “I would not want to disappoint your cook.”

Picking up her fork and knife, she applied herself to her pheasant while trying to forget that this was still her wedding night and that the worst still lay ahead.

Fanny thinks I should be pleased that my husband is so attractive and reported to be highly skilled at lovemaking. Most women cannot say the same about their husbands or even their lovers. But I would be far happier were Rotham not so gallingly irresistible.

—Diary Entry of Miss Tess Blanchard

Ian kept his thoughts to himself during dinner as he watched Tess employ her persuasive tactics on him like a master. Her use of sweetly reasoned arguments to gain her way with him was new in his experience. He was more accustomed to deflecting ripostes from her tart tongue during their verbal jousts.

Yet he couldn’t deny her appeal. Nor could he help noticing the way her lovely eyes brightened when she championed her friends. Her animation, her sheer passion for her causes, made Tess nearly irresistible. Even against his will Ian found himself wanting to agree to her proposition.

In truth, he had little enthusiasm for traveling all that distance to Cornwall in the pursuit of a dubious love for individuals he didn’t even know. But he wouldn’t spoil his first married evening together with Tess by refusing her request out of hand.

And she did have a point. There might be some advantages to removing themselves from London society for a time—most importantly, to a more intimate setting in which to become better acquainted with his bride. Cornwall would have fewer outside influences to interfere if he attempted to establish a new relationship with Tess.

Ian felt the stir of wry amusement as he wondered if their marriage would always be a series of negotiations.

He was not so amused, however, when after the footmen had served a dessert of fruit and cheese and were dismissed for the final time, Tess began eating even more slowly, obviously delaying the end of dinner.

“What are your plans for your next charity benefit?” he asked, on the theory that encouraging her to talk about her philanthropic endeavors might take her mind off their forthcoming wedding night.

Yet she seemed wise to his strategy. “If you mean to distract me, it will not help.”