Breathless (The House of Rohan 3)
25
The rain had begun to fall by midafternoon, but Lucien made no effort to join his bride in the carriage, despite the cold chill. He wasn’t particularly happy with himself, which was nothing new. Happiness wasn’t something he tended to consider—it was far too ephemeral, and, in fact, he wasn’t sure he’d ever really known it.
His mother had died in childbirth, taking his baby brother with her. And his father, inheriting nothing but debts and a fatal propensity for gaming, had had no choice but to decamp to the remaining family estates in the new world, taking his four-year-old son with him.
He’d married again, another émigré, more to warm his bed and his coffers than to provide a mother for his neglected son.
Lucien could remember, if not happiness, at least a form of hope. Cecily was kind to him, and she gave him a sister, Genevieve, before his father had died of cholera.
He must have recognized the darkness that lay within Cecily, that stopped him from giving his child’s heart to the only mother he had ever known.
Because it wasn’t long before the madness was on her.
In truth, he was much more familiar with solid, long-lasting things like justice and revenge. Happiness is an illusion.
Though there were moments, when he’d been with Miranda Rohan, that he thought he might have caught a glimpse of it.
Why the hell had he ever thought marrying her was a good idea? He never would have tolerated a milksop, never have considered it. But Miranda was a woman with fire and determination, and he’d been reluctantly entranced with her from the moment she stepped inside his carriage in Hyde Park. Before that she’d simply been a catspaw, a tool to bring him what he wanted. He thought he could play with her and then discard her, immure her in Pawlfrey House and not have to think about her again.
He’d greatly underestimated her. She drew him in ways he didn’t want to think about. She infuriated him, made him laugh, filled him with lust.
And she weakened him.
This was the greatest danger. He looked at her and something inside him softened, just as his cock hardened. He should have realized what a risk she was and come up with another plan. He was fiendishly inventive—it would have been simple enough to have orchestrated some other design that would leave the Rohans in the dust, sparing Miranda. He’d already had to regroup once when St. John had failed so miserably. He could have done so again.
And there it was again, his ridiculous desire to spare her, to protect her. When his life’s work aimed at using her to hurt the people who loved her most.
It was no wonder he was happier riding in the rain. It suited his gloomy preoccupation.
The current members of the Heavenly Host were ensconced in Bromfield Manor, a house in the countryside beyond Morecombe, their revels already commenced. He’d joined in a number of times, watching their futile black masses with amusement, helping himself from the banquet of sexuality offered. He told himself he would have nothing to feel guilty over. No one, woman or man, was coerced or forced at the revels. All Miranda need do was say no and she would be left alone. She was the mistress of her own fate.
She was also infuriatingly stubborn, and not one to back down. Well, neither was he. In the end it would be up to her, her choice.
It was evening when they arrived at Bromfield Manor. If Miranda had any trepidation she hid it perfectly, keeping up a steady stream of inconsequential chatter as they were shown to their rooms. She only balked when the maid opened her trunk and laid out her outfit for the night.
At first glance it was suitably demure—a Grecian style gown in black, with gold sandals of a classic design, as well. It took but a moment to realize the dress was diaphanous to the point of transparency, and all of his future wife’s charms would be revealed to the Host.
He even had Bromley work up a black mass wedding, and he’d done so with his usual enthusiasm. That ceremony included consummation by whomever she accepted, thereby sealing their vows of a nonmonogamous relationship and an openness to indulgences of every kind. If Miranda accepted this absurdity her subjugation would be complete, and th
e Rohans would have lost her. A few days with a fortune hunter were one thing. A willing participant in what would quickly become an orgy was a different matter.
“You expect me to wear that?” she said, picking up the sheer fabric and dropping it. Her voice was a bit higher and tighter than usual, but apart from that there was no sign of her uneasiness. “I’ll catch my death of cold. ”
“They keep the rooms heated,” he said, not moving from his seat by the fire. “And you’ll have a domino in the beginning to keep you warm. ”
She cast him an acerbic look. “How nice. ” Finally her sarcasm was beginning to leak through the cheeriness. “It will be so delightful to enjoy new experiences. But did you not say there would be a wedding ceremony with your friends in attendance? I see no wedding dress or anything remotely suitable. ”
He took a sip of wine, keeping his face impassive. “It’s not precisely a wedding ceremony. The Heavenly Host are intellectuals with inquiring minds. They investigate the existence of God and his counterpart. I believe our wedding is to be in the service of the latter, assuming there is such a thing. We’ll have a legal ceremony after we return home. ”
She was holding very still. “Indeed,” she said after a moment. “A Satanic wedding. How original! It’s a rare bride who can say she was wed in front of God and the devil. ”
He set his wineglass down with a snap. “During which, instead of promising your eternal fidelity and devotion, you’ll be swearing to keep an open mind. And open legs,” he added with deliberate crudeness.
She didn’t flinch, damn her. “Fascinating,” she said faintly. “And will I then be called to act upon this oath?”
“It generally works that way. ” A patently ridiculous thing to say, since the Heavenly Host had never held a wedding before.
“Did you know my father and grandfather were members of the Heavenly Host?” she murmured, plucking at the gown she was to wear.