Page 15 of When the Rogue Returns
Yet she called the baron “Rupert.” The intimacy that implied made him burn from the inside out. “I see. You’re just content to be his mistress.”
“Verdomme,”she muttered, surprising him with her use of the Dutch word for “damn it.” “I don’t know whatyou’vebeen doing all these years, but I upheld those marital vows you referred to so glibly. Rupert is only a friend.”
That took him entirely off guard. Especially with her pressed up against him, reminding him of how it had felt to have her beside him... beneath him. It made him yearn for what he could no longer have.
Which was probably exactly what she intended. “That’s not what his mother says,” Victor snapped.
“And you would listen toher, of course, since she’s blond and pretty and rich.”
The note of jealousy in her voice oddly cheered him. At least he wasn’t the only one falling prey to that dangerous emotion. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Right,” she scoffed. “Are you really Lady Lochlaw’s cousin, or is that just some connection you’re claiming so you can get close enough to her to... to...”
“To what?”
As he made a sharp turn into a quieter street, she grabbed the side of the phaeton. “Perhapsyou’rethe one looking to marry. You didn’t deny that you wanted a divorce.”
“If I’d wanted that, I could have had it long before now. Dutch law allows me to divorce my wife for malicious desertion, and given the circumstances—”
“For the last time,” she bit out, “I didnotdesert you! And if you try to claim that in a court, I will happily refute it. But given your part in stealing those diamonds, I’d think you’d want to avoid going anywhere near a court.”
The audacity of the woman! She wasthreateninghim. Bad enough that she and her scurrilous family reallyhadapparently stolen the jewels, making sure he got the blame for it. But now she meant to drag him through it allagain?
He growled, “You know damned well that I hadnopart in it. And if you even attempt to imply that I did to the authorities, I swear to God I’ll—”
“Mrs. Franke!” called a voice from a passing curricle. “I was just coming to meet you!” It was a man’s voice. And a very expensive-looking curricle.
Isa grabbed his arm. “It’s Rupert. You have to stop!”
“Why, so you can introduce him to yourhusband?” he said snidely.
“His feelings will be hurt if you don’t. And he won’t understand.”
“I don’t give a damn,” he ground out. But he reined in. He wanted to know what sort of man had caught her eye. What sort of man needed to have investigators hired to protect him from women.
The baron turned his curricle around and pulled up behind them, then handed his reins to his groom and leapt out to approach them on foot. Victor turned his head to get a good look at the man and got quite a start.
Lochlaw looked nothing like his mother. Dark-haired and spare, he wore wrinkled trousers and a coat with small holes in one sleeve. He had the rawboned features of a youth just coming into his own. But there was no denying how his eyes lit up as he came abreast of the phaeton... and Isa.
It chafed Victor keenly.
“I’m glad I ran into you, Mrs. Franke,” the baron said in a rush. “I went to your cottage to borrow Dalton’s book, but your maid told me you’d gone to Mother’s. So I figured you might need rescuing. I know how she can be.” His gaze flicked to Victor, but though curiosity shone in his eyes, he was apparently too well bred to ask who Isa’s companion was.
In his place, Victor wouldn’t only have asked; he would have demanded an answer. But then, Isawashis wife, no matter how much she wanted to escape the connection.
“Rupert,” Isa said hastily, “I’ve just been making the acquaintance of a cousin of yours.” She shot Victor a taunting glance. “Mr. Victor Cale.”
Lochlaw blinked. “My cousin?”
“Your distant cousin,” Victor gritted out.
“Yes,” Isa said. “Your mother introduced us. Apparently, he’s here visiting your family. I suppose you haven’t had the chance to meet him yet.”
The young man looked intrigued. “I didn’t know I had a cousin named Victor Cale. Though the name does sound familiar.”
Thank God Manton had made Victor study theDebrett’sentries for the Lochlaw family before he left London. “My mother was a Rosedale,” he lied, “so our connection is very remote. I believe she was your third cousin, once removed. Or was it second cousin, thrice—”
“I shall look it up,” the baron said brightly.
