Chapter 23

He came to her that evening.

Adam appeared in the nursery and stood there on the threshold, as if unsure of what to do next. She wasn’t surprised to see him. She supposed a part of her had been waiting for him. She rose from her bed with a glance at the twins, who were sound asleep in their bed.

“You can tell me to leave,” he said.

“Don’t leave.” She reached up to kiss him before taking his hand and leading him to the governess’s room, a chamber she’d never used.

“No, not here,” he said. “Come.”

She went willingly, her heart so full it hurt. Isabel knew what the sensation meant. Somehow, she’d allowed herself to fall deeply and irrecoverably in love with a rake. She’d stepped into a situation that was certain to end in despair—at least for her. And the thing of it was that she’d gone into this affair with her eyes wide open and did not regret a moment of it. If eventual agony was the price she must pay for these stolen moments of bliss—for feeling that she was alive again after so long—then she would willingly accept the consequences.

He led her to his bedchamber, an enormous room with perhaps the most magnificent bed she’d ever seen. The bedclothes were rumpled, as if he’d had a restless sleep. Tiny silver spangles sewn into the crimson bed hangings sparkled whenever they caught the candlelight.

Isabel’s stomach tightened and she halted. He turned to her. “Have you changed your mind?”

She shook her head. “Just not here.” She knew he wasn’t hers alone. But she did not want to make love with him in the same bed where he’d cavorted with many women.

Adam seemed to understand. “I have never brought a woman here before. This is my private chamber. You are the first person, besides my valet and the servants, that I have invited here.”

“Why?” she asked, both moved and dazed.

He cradled her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. “Because you are like no other.”

She clasped his hand as he led her to bed. He dropped his silk banyan and she saw he wore nothing underneath. He was already aroused. The candlelight shimmered over the strong curves of his body, making him appear even more beautiful, if that were possible.

She pulled her own night rail up over her head and dropped it to the ground. He took her into his arms and as he held her, kissing her deeply as if she were the only woman in the world, Isabel suddenly couldn’t bear the idea of him with anyone else. She broke away.

He let her. “What is it?”

“I cannot bear to share you with other women.”

“Isabel—”

“No.” She placed a finger over his lips to keep him from speaking. “While we engage in this…liaison…I must have your word that you will not dally with other women. I realize that might be a great deal to ask of you—”

“It is not too much to ask.” He removed her finger from his lips and kissed it tenderly. “I have not been with another woman since the ball. I may be a scoundrel, but I can promise you complete fidelity during the course of our affair.”

Her heart squeezed at the thought of how she would feel when he tired of her and returned to his indolent lifestyle, but she pushed the dark thoughts from her mind as Adam lifted her and placed her in his bed.

He came down over her, his large frame pressing her into the soft mattress. Kissing her tenderly, he entered her and made love to her almost sweetly, moving slowly at first until their need built. As they reached their climax together, Isabel experienced a terrible pang in her heart. She could easily become accustomed to this, to being with Adam in this way, but she knew that was not to be.

---

Afterward, Adam lay on his side watching Isabel, who was on her back. He pulled the bedclothes down to her waist so he could touch her breasts. He loved her breasts. He loved being able to touch her this way, to be free with her. “Was I adequate?” he asked playfully.

“Braggart.” She stretched, her wild curls forming a halo on the pillow. “You are perfectly aware that you were more than adequate.”

“Well,” he conceded, “the way you screamed when you achieved your pleasure did give me a hint.”

She watched his hand toy with her nipple. “That has never happened with me before.”

His hand stilled. “Are you saying you’ve never experienced la petite mort before?”

“No, I have. My husband was very attentive.” Mention of her husband made Sunny want to spit, but he forced his expression to remain unchanged. “But it never happened during the act. With you, it seems to always happen.”

Quite pleased with himself again, Sunny bent to kiss her erect nipple. “And we’ve only just begun to explore each other.”

“Adam,” she said after a pause, “who is that woman who was visiting you in the playroom?”

“Who? Anne?” He ran his tongue over her nipple. “She’s one of my father’s many bastards.”

“She’s your sister?”

“Mmm hmm. I suppose you could refer to Anne as such. My half sister.”

“It’s nice that she visits you.”

“It’s more of a business concern.” He did not have a particular closeness with any of his father’s bastards. “I found out about her after my father died. She was teaching in a parish school. She wants to start her own academy for young ladies, and I am funding the enterprise. The academy building is currently being constructed.”

“Did your father not assist her?”

“My father did not acknowledge any of his bastards. Once he died, the ones I could find, I assisted with their education, or like with Anne, with business concerns.”

“That’s very good of you.”

“They are my father’s spawn. I merely saw to it that my father lived up to his responsibilities. His by-blows deserve at least a small piece of his fortune to set them on their way in life.”

Her eyes glistened as she stared at him. “You’re a much better man than you show the world.”

“The world be damned.” He pressed his lips to her pale shoulder. “As long as you’ll have me, I’m content.”

“I’ve clearly demonstrated that I’ll have you,” she said wryly. “Again and again.”

“I am a fortunate man.” He relished having her here in his bed, speaking with her and sharing their thoughts. He felt a strange closeness with her that he’d never experienced with anyone else before—certainly none of the many women he’d bedded. Normally, once the sex was over, he was done with a woman and politely took his leave of her. But with Isabel, he wanted to keep her close and learn everything there was to know about her.

“How old were you when your parents died?” he asked.

“I was nine. I felt so alone in the world.”

“You loved them?” The idea was alien to him.

“I did. Very much so. When I married Ben, I finally felt as if I was on solid ground again.”

He felt a stab of jealously in his gut. “You cared for your husband.”

“I did. But what was more important to me was to finally have a family again. We talked about having many children but then…” Her voice trailed off.

“He died and his family cast you out.”

“And I became Patience and Prudence’s governess about a year later.”

“What did you do in the interim?” He ran a hand over her smooth belly. “After your husband’s death and before you became a governess?”

She stiffened under his touch, pulling the sheet to cover herself and settling far enough away so that their bodies no longer touched.

He pulled her back to him. “Don’t you go anywhere.” He settled her body against his so that he was spooning her. “We don’t have to speak of it if you don’t wish.”

“It was a dark time. I barely survived it.” There was a tremor in her voice. “I do not like to remember it.”

He put his lips to her ear. “Then don’t,” he whispered. She turned to him and their lips met. He shifted to mount her again. With a soft exhale, she spread her thighs and pulled him closer. He moved over her, wanting nothing more than to help Isabel forget every terrible thing that had ever happened to her.

---

“Are you almost through here?” Sunny asked impatiently as he and Cosmo crossed the courtyard at Tattersall’s.

“She truly is a beauty.” Cosmo’s gaze followed a gray Thoroughbred being led through the yard. He’d had his eye on the animal since they’d arrived three-quarters of an hour ago. “I wonder if I should bid for him.”

Sunny checked the time on his fob. “Do as you wish, but pray do so quickly.”

“What’s your rush?” Cosmo tore his gaze away from the horseflesh. “Have a doxy waiting for you somewhere?”

“Hardly. I promised the children a picnic today.” He and Finch were taking the girls back to his plunge pool at Lyon House. They planned to stay at least one night. Sunny could hardly wait to get Isabel naked in the plunge pool this evening after Patience and Prudence were abed.

Cosmo made a skeptical sound in his throat. “You promised the children? Or is it their governess you want to spend time with?”

“Don’t be absurd.”

“I saw the way you looked at Miss Finch when I picked you up today. It’s the way I used to look at Mari.”

That got Sunny’s attention. “Truly?”

Cosmo leaned back against one of the yard’s many Doric fluted columns. “And you’ve been nauseatingly cheerful and optimistic of late. If I were a betting man, and I am, I’d wager that you’re besotted.”

“How do you do it?” Sunny loved making love with Isabel. These past few weeks with her and the girls had been the happiest period of his life. He never wanted it to end. Yet he knew that it inevitably would. He was his father’s son after all. “How do you remain faithful to one woman?”

“I knew I couldn’t keep Mari with me if I bedded other women. It was an easy choice.”

“You’ve been wed for…what is it…almost five years now. Haven’t you grown bored?”

“It’ll be six years in the spring. And no, if anything, what Mari and I have with our children has deepened into something richer than it was when we wed.” A mischievous glint entered his dark eyes. “Mind you, I still bed her every chance I get.”

If Sunny could envision being with one woman for the rest of his life, it would be Isabel. He hadn’t had an interest in another woman for months now. And he couldn’t seem to get enough of Isabel. They’d made love every day over the past month.

He took precautions to avoid any consequences of their lovemaking, although the idea of getting a child on her wasn’t entirely unappealing. But he would never saddle Isabel with a by-blow. He would never be like his father in that regard. Besides, he respected and admired Isabel far too much to place her in a predicament that would expose her to society’s censure.

However, as enchanted by Isabel as he was at the moment, he couldn’t envision never again bedding another woman. “Don’t you have the desire to swive other women?”

Cosmo shrugged. “I’m as randy as the next man, I suppose. And I still appreciate a beautiful woman. But once I was wed, I never allowed my thoughts to stray in that direction. And to be perfectly frank, it has not been a hardship. Sex with a woman you care deeply for is infinitely better than swiving dozens of strumpets.”

That, Sunny could understand. Making love with Isabel was certainly far superior to any of his previous carnal experiences. “Perhaps the ability to be faithful is in your blood,” he reasoned. “Aldridge’s devotion to your mother was well known.”

“Balderdash. It isn’t as if you are condemned to live a life of debauchery just because you are your father’s son. You are nothing like the old goat. Excuse the insult.”

“None taken. I’ve certainly called my father worse.”

“You don’t bed servants or force unwilling women. And you take better care of his bastards than he ever did.” He studied Sunny. “Do not let your father’s sins rob you of the future you deserve.”

“And what future is that?”

“A life with a wife you might actually care for.”

Sunny contemplated Cosmo’s words after taking his leave to walk home. Did he love Isabel? The world certainly seemed to be a glorious place now that she was in his life. He loved being with her. To even think of losing her was agony. Isabel’s happiness—and that of the children—was more important to him than his own.

If this was love, it really was rather magnificent.

---

One of his father’s bastards was waiting for Sunny when he returned home.

As soon as Sunny arrived, Dowding informed him that Malcolm Gilpin had called with a pressing matter and awaited Sunny in the ducal study.

“This is a surprise,” Sunny said to his half brother as he entered the study. “Your timing is rather bad. I have a previous engagement.”

“Forgive my calling unannounced.” Malcolm Gilpin came to his feet. Although he possessed the famous Fairfax eyes, Gilpin’s dark coloring came from his mother’s people, whoever they were. Sunny didn’t keep track of such things. He had, however, paid for Gilpin’s schooling, and the man now served as his solicitor. “I’m here on a rather urgent matter.”

“Can it not wait for a few days? I’m off to Lyon House with my wards this afternoon.”

“Actually my urgent business concerns your wards.”

“It does?” For the first time, Sunny gave the other man his full attention. “How so?”

“It seems the Earl of Winchester and Viscount Denbury have decided to take up the children’s cause.”

Sunny frowned. The two old goats were puritans who made no secret of their disapproval of his scandalous pursuits. “What cause is that?”

“There is to be an informal hearing to discuss altering the children’s guardianship.”

“Altering it how?” Sunny demanded impatiently. “And what business is it of those two old bastards?”

“They claim to have a vested interest in the children’s welfare.”

“Like hell they do. Patience and Prudence are Fairfaxes. My blood runs through their veins. I am the head of this family, and they belong with me.”

Gilpin’s brows lifted. “I’m surprised at your reaction. I’d assumed you’d be eager to be rid of the children.”

“Circumstances have changed. Allowing my wards to go elsewhere is no longer a consideration.” He rose, meaning to dismiss Gilpin, and be on his way with Isabel and the girls. “Tell Winchester and Denbury to go to the devil.”

Gilpin came to his feet. “Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. This is a serious matter. Their lordships claim to have proof that the children are being corrupted under your roof.”

“They can go to perdition.” Sunny’s neck burned. “Where is this proof?”

“In a letter.” Gilpin reached into his worn leather case.

“Written by whom?”

“They are withholding the name of the person who lodged these allegations against you. I expect we won’t learn your accuser’s identity or view the actual letter until the hearing.” Gilpin pulled a note from the case and handed it to Sunny. “However, the specific concerns expressed in the letter are listed here.”

Sunny snatched the paper from the solicitor and tore it open, his eyes scanning the list of accusations.

Two impressionable young innocents in danger of being corrupted…Scandalous parties…Unclothed women performing perverted acts upon each other…The young ward almost walked in on the duke behaving shamelessly with a topless woman on his lap…

Sunny’s stomach rolled. The words on the page struck him like hammer blows to the heart. The way the sentences were strung together sounded familiar. And he knew who had recently witnessed him cavorting with a half-naked strumpet on his lap.

The full force of Finch’s betrayal slammed into Sunny like a runaway carriage. He slumped down into his seat. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Your Grace.” Gilpin came to his side, his concerned voice barely penetrating Sunny’s consciousness. “Are you well? Shall I summon Dr. Jarvis?”

A knock sounded from out in the corridor. Gilpin strode over to see who it was. “The duke needs assistance,” he called out as he pulled the door open and stepped out into the corridor. “I’ll go and find Dowding.”

“Sunny?” Isabel’s voice. He heard the quick shuffle of her skirts, and she was by his side. She put a hand on his sleeve. “What is it?”

The moment she touched him, a fury unlike any other he’d ever known engulfed him. “Get away from me, you traitorous bitch.” He flung his arm away from her and shot to his feet. “I know what you’ve done.”

Shock filled her eyes. “What is wrong?”

“You did this.” Anger seethed so strongly in his gut, it felt like it might burst.

“What?” She looked bewildered. “What did I do?”

“You told them to take Patience and Prudie away from me.”

“Told who?”

For a moment he almost believed she truly didn’t know what he spoke of. “Winchester and Denbury. Do you deny it?” He threw the letter at her.

It fell on the floor near her feet, and she stooped to pick it up. As she read it, Dowding appeared. “Your Grace. Are you in need of assistance?”

Sunny kept his eyes on Isabel but with a toss of his head directed his words at the butler. “Get out.”

“Mr. Gilpin informed me that you might be ill.”

He looked at the butler. “Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here. Now.”

Dowding cast a worried look between Sunny and Finch.

Sunny gritted his teeth. “She stays. You go. Now.”

As Dowding closed the door behind him, Sunny’s attention went back to Isabel. And the expression on her face told him everything he needed to know.

Any sliver of doubt he might still have that she hadn’t completely betrayed him evaporated.