The Lady and the Vixen Read online

  “What’s the matter?” Irena poured the tea.

  “It’s not proper to have the door closed—”

  Irena chortled and set her cup to her lips. “Not proper? We’re old friends. I don’t intend to seduce you.” She smiled against the rim. “Not until we talk things over.”

  A sharp ache hammered behind her eyes. She wanted to run home to Dorset, or at the very least to her family.

  Irena’s hand came down on hers, and she jerked. She pulled her hand away, but Irena linked their fingers together. She inhaled through her nose to keep her emotions in check. The last time Irena held her hand was in her bed, the same one she shared with her husband. Irena had kissed and touched her in a way that had her moaning her name in satisfaction.

  “Please don’t be upset. It’s been hell not having you near.” Irena wiped under her eyes, her diamond wedding band sparkling.

  She glanced at her plain gold wedding band. “I’m here, aren’t I? What’s so important you forced me to leave my friends and speak with you privately?”

  Irena stopped her sniffling and pouted. “You prefer those nitwit Keyes spinsters to me?” She dropped her palm onto her chest, the swells of her breasts peeking through her fingers.

  “Please don’t be cruel. It doesn’t become you.” She dragged her hand out from under Irena’s clasp.

  Irena twisted her wedding ring. “You’re right. I should know better. You look well, under the circumstances.”

  “Under what circumstances? You mean my reaction to seeing you last night and then today?” She barely held back her discomfort.

  “I mean the circumstances surrounding your father. I’m sorry to hear about Geoff’s attack. How is Rue taking it? It must not be good for her and the baby. Why, the emotional toll might cause her to go into birth—”

  “Can we not talk about my father or Rue in that way?” She shuddered, her agitation making her head pound even harder. She didn’t want to think about Rue going into early labor. She could barely think as it was, sitting next to Irena after so many years apart.

  Irena lifted her cup again, her hand trembling. Tea sloshed over the rim, and she cursed. She set the cup down, and, to Lucy’s chagrin, claimed both her hands.

  She tugged, but Irena wouldn’t release her.

  “Please, just let me touch you. It will give me the strength I need to apologize.”

  “Apologize for what?” she asked, utterly confused.

  Irena bit her bottom lip, running the edge of her teeth over the meaty flesh. Lucy knew all too well the texture and taste of those lips. Even now, she longed to pull her down on the cushions and feast on her mouth. She’d nibble on the side of her throat, leaving a mark there to show the world Irena belonged to no one else but her.

  She snapped out of her fantasy, wanting to grab something to pat her damp face. She had to be a fool to allow her attraction to Irena rule over her body. A trickle of sweat ran into her cleavage. Her nipples hardened and poked the fabric of her bodice, to her dismay.

  Irena peered at Lucy’s chest, her eyes darkening. She cleared her throat and tightened her hands on Lucy’s imprisoned ones. “The reason I visited Dorset after my husband died was to see you to make amends. Every day I was married to Jonas, I thought of you and missed you. It was wrong of me, I know, but I had to put up with his constant pawing and slobbering in our bed.” She averted her eyes and stared ahead. “I wrote you letters, asking for your forgiveness, but never mailed them. I was lost, adrift in the world without you, and I grew even more depressed when I miscarried the second time, and then Jonas died.…” A tear fell from the corner of her eye and landed on her cheek.

  Lucy’s eyes stung. “I forgave you, but I wanted to be friends and nothing more. You weren’t fine with it and tricked me into—”

  “Into what? Loving you all over again? You’re to blame just as much as I am. When you told me Giles was away for the weekend and invited me to dinner, I accepted in friendship and never meant to spend the night with you as we used to before we both married.”

  She closed her eyes, remembering the night Irena came to dinner and what happened afterward. She’d held out the olive branch, so to speak, and invited Irena to dine with her. Irena accepted, and, after one too many glasses of wine, they moved on to kissing and loving one another in front of the fireplace until they ended in her bed and slept in each other’s arms, only to awaken and make love again, and in the days following.

  Her eyes shot open when Irena stroked her cheek. The yielding and warm look in Irena’s eyes was almost her undoing. She held back a sob as Irena’s mouth brushed her lips. She rose, knocking the table, trying to keep her distance from this woman who would be her downfall once again.

  Irena latched on to Lucy’s wrist. She tried backing away, but the grip was too strong. She twisted around, and Irena jumped up, wrapping her arms around Lucy’s waist.

  “Let me go this instant!” She flinched when Irena brushed her cheek.

  Irena’s chamomile-scented breath swept over her. “Nothing is stopping us from being together. We’re both free and independent. No one would question our relationship.” Irena pressed her palm on Lucy’s stomach, drawing her back. “I can’t let you go again. I wouldn’t be able to survive it.”

  “I-I can’t be with you. I refuse to be your dirty secret like last time.” She dropped her hand on Irena’s to stop her fondling. Irena chuckled and glided her hand lower, cupping her between her legs.

  She yelped and shoved Irena away. She darted behind a chair and gulped air, her breathing ragged. Every part of her was as tight as a drum, and she shook with the need to be taken. If she allowed Irena to give her relief, she would hate herself, and the guilt would eat her alive.

  “Dear, you’re shaking. Sit down and we can—”

  “Don’t call me dear and don’t tell me what to do!” She jabbed her finger at Irena. “I finished obeying your commands the night you announced your engagement to the marquess. I almost broke down at that blasted ball, clueless you meant to betray me because, only hours before, your face was between my thighs!”

  “Lucy, what did you expect? I wouldn’t marry? I had to. Jonas spent a good six months courting me. He was rich and titled. If I rejected him, my father would have disowned me.” Irena tapped her fingers on her hips. “I loved you, not Jonas. We could have continued as we were—”

  “Continued? Are you mad?” She brushed aside her tears. She wouldn’t weep in front of Irena. She had done so too many times before. Never again. “I wasn’t going to be your mistress or whore while you played the happily married wife. I refused to be at your beck and call when you were bored and needed me to pleasure you in ways your husband couldn’t.”

  “So you ran away to your aunt and uncle in Dorset and married some farmer to spite me,” Irena snapped.

  “To spite you? You’re still a selfish, spoiled witch. There’s no reason to stay and argue with you. I’m leaving.” She grabbed her shawl off the divan and marched toward the door. Before she turned the knob, Irena dug her fingers in her shoulder and swung her around.

  Her head thumped hard on the door, leaving behind a sting. “Let me go before I scream and your servants come running.”

  “You wouldn’t do that. Your reputation means far too much to you,” Irena snarled and released her.

  She rubbed her scalp and stared at Irena, fear and loathing for this woman severe. “Irena, it’s unhealthy for us to be together. It always ends disastrously. Giles accused me of being unfaithful and playing him false. He assumed I carried on with another man, and when he found the note you left.…” She would never forget the shock and hurt in her husband’s eyes when he called her a faithless whore.

  “You made me leave. I would have stayed and taken you in after your husband rejected you.” Irena lifted her hands, and Lucy batted them away. “We could have gone anywhere, seen the continent and lived a life of luxury. Jonas left me well off. I would have given you everything.”

  “Enough!�
� she cried. All she wanted to do was leave.

  “Calm down. You’re becoming hysterical, so we won’t talk about our past or what the future holds for us. But we must discuss Colby and how close he is to going to prison for his debt.”

  “Why do you care whether or not my brother goes to prison?”

  Irena suddenly smiled. “He owes a great deal of money to his creditors. He also gambles heavily at the tables; Pythos is his favorite gaming hell. I’m fond of the boy, and I’m still good friends with your father and Rue and Chase. When Colby admitted his money problem, I loaned him a hefty sum. Now I’ve decided to call it in. If he doesn’t pay me in full with interest by the end of this month, I’ll have him arrested.”

  Nauseated, she moved away from the door, sat in a chair, and stared at her lap. When Irena bent in front of her and cupped her cheek, Lucy didn’t push her away. She was numb.

  “How much does he owe you?” She looked right at Irena.

  “Five thousand pounds.”

  She cracked her knuckles. The popping did nothing to soothe her. “He doesn’t have that money. The only one who can sign such a large amount over to him is our father. If my father dies—” The burning behind her eyes intensified. She was riddled with such heartache for her baby brother, whom she had failed to protect.

  “There is one way I’ll forgo the loan. You live with me as my companion.”

  “For how long?”

  “Indefinitely.” Irena drew Lucy in for a hug. “You’ll have your own bedroom, but at night you’ll sleep with me in my bed. You’ll still be able to see your family whenever you want, and we’ll even take trips to Dorset to visit your aunt and uncle. I’ll buy you a new wardrobe, and we can go to the theater and all the best restaurants. The world will be our oyster!”

  “You want us to be lovers again,” she said, her voice hollow.

  “Yes. I want you naked in my arms and to make you climax and find pleasure and give it in return,” Irena whispered and drew her hand down until her palm landed on Lucy’s breast. She kissed the middle of Lucy’s forehead and traveled down, licking and nipping until she reached Lucy’s mouth, finally stopping to kiss her.

  She dug her nails into her palms, refusing to respond even as Irena’s tongue slipped into her mouth and flicked the inside of her cheeks and along her teeth. She cupped Lucy’s breast, molding it.

  “Come upstairs with me now, and we can renew our friendship.” Irena sucked Lucy’s upper lip. She started to pull Lucy up from the chair, but she turned her face away and thrust Irena away.

  “I won’t lose you again.” Her smile was calculating and cold.

  “I need time to think,” she said in return, rubbing her arms.

  Irena rolled her eyes and sat on the divan. She ran her fingers across her chest, stopping to circle her nipple protruding against the fabric of her bodice. “You have until Saturday night. I want your answer at the ball I’m hosting. You and your family have been invited like always.”

  She clutched her new shawl, holding it to her like a shield. “Please don’t contact me before then. I need time—”

  “To think. I heard you the first time,” Irena snapped. She took a bite of a scone. “Hmm.” She brazenly licked her lips then blew her a kiss.”

  Her stomach churned, and she covered her mouth to stop from vomiting. She barely nodded her goodbye before she wrenched the door open and ran out.

  Before the butler reached the front door, she opened it and darted down the front steps and onto the sidewalk. She hurried around the corner. Finding an empty bench, she sat down, dropped her face into her hands, and cried.

  CHAPTER TEN

  By the time Lucy returned home, it started raining. She shivered, and her head felt like it was going to burst. Knowing her luck, she would end up with a cold. It had been her own fault, sitting outside as the weather became ominous. But she couldn’t face her family right after her altercation with Irena. All she wanted to do was take a warm bath and wash away her touch.

  Walter came out from the drawing room with a maid carrying a tray. He met Lucy at the door. “Hello, Mrs. Endcott. Did you get caught outside in this nasty weather?” He eyed her dress, which was damp in areas, and her hair, which had come partially undone.

  She handed him her new shawl and wiped at her skirt. “The rain started in earnest just as I opened the front door. I’ll take a bath before dinner. Can you tell one of the maids to heat water for me?”

  Walter nodded. “Of course. Master Colby is in the drawing room with Mrs. Toulson.”

  She hid her surprise. Chase had been successful in convincing Colby to come over. It gave her a small measure of contentment. “Chase is here as well?”

  “He’s upstairs visiting with your father. Miss Rue and Master Freddy are napping in their bedroom.”

  She longed to take a nap as well, but first she had to speak with Colby. “Hold off on the bath for now. I’ll visit with my brother and aunt.”

  Walter smiled and strode toward the kitchen.

  She took a handkerchief out of her reticule and patted her damp face while she caught her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Her eyes and nose were red and strain lines bracketed her mouth. She looked a fright, but there was nothing she could do. She pinched her cheeks to give her face more color, hoping to hide her facial irritations, and with a bright smile in place, entered the drawing room.

  Aunt Sera and Colby sat in front of the fireplace, talking in low voices. Realizing they were focused on their conversation, she cleared her throat to announce her arrival. They broke apart.

  She hurried to Colby and embraced him.

  “Oh Colby, it’s wonderful to see you!” She kissed his cheek then cupped his face, noticing how pasty and thin he had become. Her once-robust brother now looked so different. Bleak despair hovered in his eyes, and his lips were chapped and chewed over.

  “You look well.” He drew her in for another hug. He sighed deeply as he rested his cheek on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through the springy hairs on his nape, lending him comfort.

  “Colby has come for dinner,” Aunt Sera announced. “Speaking of which, I’ll check with the kitchen staff to make certain the menu is correct. Excuse me.”

  She sat in the chair Aunt Sera had vacated. Colby sat across from her. She took his hand in hers, studying him intently.

  “Why are you staring at me like that?” He peered at the fireplace.

  “I haven’t seen you in a few years. You look different…more manly. An adult.”

  He snorted. “I may look like an adult, but I’m still treated like a child.”

  She tsked and leaned forward. “You’re the baby of the family. It’s hard for us to think of you as a grown man.”

  He slouched in his chair and steepled his fingers to his mouth, still staring into the fireplace. “Father called me a little boy when he found out how much I’ve been spending and where I’ve been at night. He told me I’m a disappointment to the Daugherty name.”

  “Oh, Colby, Father has called me a disappointment on more than one occasion. He’s all bluster and ego. When I told him I planned on marrying Giles—”

  “Did he ever slap you across the face and call you an embarrassment?” He gazed at her in sadness.

  She cracked her knuckles, uncertain how to proceed. The one thing their father never did was discipline his children with his hand or some other instrument. He preferred to use words and threats as punishment.

  “You’ve never gotten out of that habit, huh?” He tapped her knuckles, and she smiled sheepishly, flattening her palms on her lap.

  “’I’ve been cracking my knuckles a great deal more since I returned yesterday. The last twenty-four hours have been interesting. I experienced my first gaming hell, witnessed my brother make a drunken spectacle of himself, and learned from a former friend how he owes her a great deal of money. And if it’s not paid in full with by the end of the month, he’ll be thrown in prison.”

  “The Marchioness de Macey t
old you? When did you see her? At Pythos?” He wiped his forehead and stared at the floor.

  “I visited with her at her home. She was very forthcoming about your problem.” And her blackmail. She flexed her fingers, eyeing her wedding band. She wondered if Giles watched from Above, and what he would think of all this. He probably would say she deserved it as penance for her base desires and treachery.

  “It’s why Father and I had our row. I asked him for money…more of a loan, but he refused, saying I could rot. I called him a cold, unfeeling bastard, and he wished I was never born and said mother would still be alive if not for me.”

  His voice shook and he covered his mouth with his fist. She held his hand, stunned.

  He sniffed and peered up at the ceiling. “When I came upon Father in his study, he was by the window, reading a letter and muttering under his breath. He said a woman’s name, Maire. Does she sound familiar to you?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of her.”

  “He crumpled up the paper and threw it into the fireplace. When he realized I was there, he poured a glass of whiskey more than half full and drank it down.” His brow knitted. “He barely touches the stuff. Before I asked him what the problem was, he snarled at me, and then we were yelling and screaming.”

  “Maybe something in the letter upset him?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Could be. It would calm my nerves knowing I’m not the only one responsible for causing his death.”

  Her heart broke in that very instance. If she had the power, she would take away all his anguish. And she would accept Irena’s carte blanche offer, easing some of her brother’s suffering.

  “There’s a slight possibility Father might recover. Right now, it’s too soon to tell how bad he is. But I do have a solution to your other problem.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “How?”

  God, give me strength. She inhaled through her nose. She would remain strong, if only for Colby’s benefit. “Irena has offered to let your loan go if I move to London and live with her as her companion.”