Not wanting to look like the jealous bridegroom that he was, especially if the man turned out to be a cousin, Hugh turned to his new father-in-law and waited for a break in the conversation.
As soon as it came, he pounced. “Excuse me gentlemen, Standish, I was wondering, who is that talking to Irene over there?” He nodded his head in their direction. “A cousin? I didn’t recognize him.”
Standish craned his neck, not having the advantage of height, as Wesley turned to look as well.
“Ah… oh that must be Alex. Lord Brooke, that is, Warwick’s heir, and our neighbor on the other side. His mother is quite close with Caroline, so he and Irene practically grew up together. He’s been like a big brother to her since she was born, looked out for her while they were growing up and such; I’m sure she’s quite relieved he managed to come in town for the wedding, he hasn’t been in London for a while.”
As soon as he heard Brooke’s name, Hugh relaxed a trifle. They were acquainted. Not well acquainted, but they’d met and he knew Brooke was a good man despite the… ah… circumstances with his wife. Well that explained why Eleanor’s friend Grace wasn’t here at least, he’d been wondering about that because he knew that she’d been invited. Grace’s mother was here, being bosom friends with his own mother, but Lady Grace would never deign to step foot in the same event as her husband if she could help it.
Brooke was a rake, true, bu
t he never dallied with other men’s wives. Widows, actresses, a few select members of the demimonde, but perhaps his own marital circumstances had soured him on accepting another man’s wife into his bed.
Besides, the way Standish made it sound, they were like Wesley and Eleanor. Of course, Edwin and Eleanor had turned out rather differently. Controlling himself, Hugh turned back to his father-in-law, determined not to become a jealous bridegroom. It was good that Irene’s almost brother could come to their wedding.
Chapter 2
“You make a beautiful bride,” Alex said, smiling down at her. Irene loved the way his eyes glowed when he looked at her, the special smile that he reserved for her. He didn’t smile nearly enough, but he always smiled at her. So what if he didn’t look at her hungrily like Hugh did? She wasn’t sure she liked the way Hugh looked at her anyway. It rather unnerved her.
“Thank you,” she said earnestly, truly smiling herself for the first time that day. When Alex looked at her she could almost forget everything else in the world. Like the fact that he was married to someone else and now so was she.
Alex had always been her knight in shining armor, her hero. She had no doubt that if he’d known of their family’s financial situation that he would have waited to marry her. Her whole life Alex had always been everything that was good and kind, he had not only tolerated her following him around, he’d included her in whatever he was doing. Tall, handsome with his dark reddish hair and dancing, warm brown eyes, she’d been in love with him since she was a little girl. How could she not have been?
Then he’d gone away to school when she was sixteen, before she’d really grown into a young woman even though at the time she’d felt like one, and by the time she’d seen him again, he’d already married Lady Grace. Look how that turned out. The smiling young man she’d known had disappeared, replaced by a cold stranger… except for when he was with her, talking to her. Then he turned back into Alex. Irene was good for him, she knew she was. Who else did he always have a smile for? Who else could make him laugh? Since his marriage she had seen no one else who was able to do so.
If only he’d waited for her, she would have made him the perfect wife. After all he was the perfect man and he deserved nothing less.
But she would try to be a good wife to Hugh, she truly would… but in her heart she knew that she would be waiting for the day when she had given Hugh his heir and his spare and then she could follow her heart’s desire. Although she’d been wary of her mother’s insistence that this arrangement would work, now, looking at Alex, she felt in her heart that it would turn out fine. More than fine. Wonderfully. They could not be together as man and wife but they would be together in another way eventually.
“I’m so glad you could come today,” she said feelingly. “It means so much to me that you’re here to support me.” What she really meant was that it meant so much to her to be able to see him at all, to know that he cared.
“Of course, pet,” he said with a chuckle, reaching out to take her hand in his. Warmth suffused her, a burst of love and affection as he touched her. When they were younger he’d called her ‘pet’ because some of the other boys had teased her for following him around like a puppy dog. Alex had been the one to show her how to take the sting out of their taunts by embracing the idea, making it a special joke between them, turning it into a good thing. He didn’t call anyone else in the world ‘pet,’ it was her own special nickname - and since coming to London she knew that it was occasionally used by other men as an endearment. Actually she hadn’t heard him call anyone else by any other kind of nickname or endearment either. It thrilled her to hear Alex call her that now, reassuring her that she hadn’t lost his affection just because she was now married. Obviously her mother had been right! “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Although I doubt you need much support, your new husband seems like a good man.”
“You’ve met him before?”
“On occasion, usually outside of London. He’s a bruising rider. You two have a lot in common.”
Such an observation surprised Irene, although most of her conversations with Hugh had included some discussion of life in the country. Still, she hadn’t realized that Alex would be considering her compatibility with another man.
“Alex.” The woman’s voice was low, husky, and seductive, cutting across what would have been Irene’s reply. The kind of voice that Irene couldn’t imitate even if she practiced it. “What a surprise.” Alex stiffened immediately, a dark look crossing his face.
Irene felt herself withdrawing, sinking into herself, as Alex turned his head to look down his nose at the elegant woman standing beside them. She was older than Irene, obviously closer to Alex’s age, and a raving beauty. Long black hair, creamy skin, and a shocking expanse of bosom showing for a morning wedding; in fact, she looked quite a bit like Alex’s wife in a superficial manner. From her time in Society Irene recognized Lady Winifred March, a widow whom she only knew of because she was rumored to be Alex’s latest mistress. Here, at her wedding.
For a moment she felt outraged and hurt, betrayed, but that was nothing compared to the storminess that had darkened Alex’s face.
“It shouldn’t be, as I told you I informed you I would be here when I saw you last week,” he said in a low angry voice, one that Irene had only heard him use rarely. It made her shiver, but Lady March just stood there provocatively, leaning forward as if to give him a glimpse further down her ample bosom. “I believe I recall asking you not to come.”
Lady March pouted at him. Did the woman not realize how displeased Alex was by her presence? Did she think he was playing a game? Obviously, no matter how… intimate their relationship, Lady March didn’t know him as well as Irene did. That thought filled her heart with a small surge of warmth, bolstering her despite the situation. She watched, fascinated by this display between the two of them. Never before had she been so close to a man having any kind of interaction with his rumored mistress – rumors that were obviously true – much less between Alex and his paramour.
“I didn’t think you meant it,” the lady purred, leaning closer to brush her chest against his arm.
Half disgusted, half fascinated, Irene couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight. Was this what men wanted? Despite Alex’s icy demeanor he was still looking at the woman’s bosom. By comparison Irene’s own bosom felt very modestly covered and not nearly ample enough.
“I did. You received your conge, madam, and I have no further need of you.”
With that he turned his back deliberately and stalked away. Lady March sniffed in affront before turning and stalking in the other direction leaving Irene standing alone. Both of them seemed to have forgotten her presence, which might have upset Irene more if she hadn’t known how very angry Alex had been made by his ex-mistress’ presumption.
“What are you doing?” her mother’s voice hissed into her ear, fingers suddenly digging into the soft flesh of her upper arm hard enough to make her squeal. “Why did you stand there like a ninny?! Bad enough that you were flaunting yourself in front of Lord Brooke, looking at him like you’re a lost little lamb, but to continue standing here that woman… with her reputation…” Mother was practically sputtering she was so upset, but looking around the room no one else seemed to have noticed they altercation. Only Hugh was looking her way and he gave her a supportive little smile that made her heart beat a little faster. The man truly was too good looking for his own good, and she couldn’t help but feel a little surge of pleasure that he was looking at her when there were beautiful women like Lady March about.