Page 86 of His Wicked Secret
Audrey pressed her cheek against his shoulder and nodded. “Much better.”
When they reached his home, she looked at it with new eyes, the eyes of a wife.
“I bought this for you, you know,” he said, blushing again. “Everything I’ve added, the furnishings, the decorations…it was all with you in mind.”
“But… How could you know we’d end up together? You bought this right after Cedric and Anne were married, months ago.”
“I knew I wanted you from the moment I met you, and I had convinced myself that having a proper home was a requirement before I could propose. We can change anything you like. It’s your home now, after all.”
Audrey was speechless as he helped her down from the carriage and escorted her inside. The servants were waiting in the foyer to greet them. Even her cats were there, Mittens and Archimedes. Mittens was rubbing her cheek against the boot of a footman, and Archimedes was perched on the banister, his black tail swishing, watching everyone. To her surprise, the decor suited her quite well, not at all the home of a bachelor that now required a woman’s touch. It already felt like home.
“The wedding breakfast is all prepared,” the housekeeper informed them. “Will the guests be arriving shortly?”
“Thank you, yes, they will.” Jonathan escorted Audrey to the large dining room where they could admire the feast setting.
Had it really been a month ago that she’d said goodbye to Gillian as her lady’s maid when she’d finally married Lord Pembroke? Now Audrey was here at her own feast with her own husband, starting a new life.
She clutched at Jonathan, who pulled her close. “What’s the matter?”
“I just cannot believe we are married.”
“Tell me you have no regrets.” The concern in his eyes was so touching. There would forever be a part of him that struggled to feel worthy of what life had seen fit to give him. Her heart squeezed tight with love. Their lips met in the sort of kiss that came with years of longing for something and finally having it within one’s grasp. They’d both yearned for this, their hearts heavy with a quiet, desperate ache. Now there was only love, only joy.
“Regret marrying a man like you?” She rose up on her toes to kiss him again. “Never.”
* * *
Hugo stoodin the wings of St. George’s, unseen as the wedding guests departed one by one. Rage filled him like a slow poison, blackening his soul.
She was supposed to be imprisoned, along with Avery.Sheffield had sent word that the two had been captured by French soldiers in Calais. The mission had hinged on either Avery or Audrey being taken in for trial alive. The chaos that would have followed would have resonated all the way to the royal court. Enough for the revolutionaries to play their hand early, or at least expose themselves.
And it had all been ruined. Oh, there had been a scandal, word of captured spies escaping, even an outrageous claim of an English cavalry charge by some of the soldiers. But instead of various nobles pointing fingers at one another in Paris, a diplomatic row was currently being dealt with here instead, facing a unified French front. Instead of stemming a revolution, his resources were being used to prevent a war. No doubt the French would leverage this for a better trade deal at some point. All because the League had meddled and Audrey had escaped.
There they were, laughing, smiling. Audrey had evenmarriedone of those damn Rogues. His focus settled on Charles and the young man who was his constant shadow.
This is all upon your head, Lonsdale. I will rain down vengeance upon you for the sins you have committed. You should’ve died in the river, but because you didn’t, they will all pay for your crimes.
Charles laughed at something Ashton said, and the men and women around them were grinning.
The fools. He had played his games, most of which had not turned out the way he’d hoped. But that was all they were, until now. Games. Games could be won or lost with no real consequence. The game, however, was now over.
You took Peter’s life and my father’s. Now I will take yours, using the hand of the one you trust most.
From his vantage point he saw Tom Linley look around the church, as if expecting to find him. Hugo smiled.
“Soon,” he said, and then he slipped out a side door and blended into the crowds on the street.
* * *
It wasa wedding breakfast to remember. Audrey painted every moment in her mind so she would never forget. Everyone she loved attended—the rogues from the League, her sister and little Evan, Emily, Anne, even Gillian and James. Everything she had fought so hard for had finally come true, and she still couldn’t believe it.
“Audrey, you look so happy,” Gillian whispered with a contented smile as they stood in a corner of the room, watching the guests eat and talk.
“I am,” she admitted. “Marvelously so. Can you believe it, Gilly? We’re both married to the men we love.”
Her former maid nodded, her eyes beginning to glisten. “Sometimes I wake up in the night and for a moment I forget that I am not at the Sheridan home. Then I feel James beside me and…” She paused. “I sometimes start to cry. It upsets James, but I tell him each time that they’re tears of joy.”
Audrey was starting to fight off her own tears. “I know exactly what you mean. I had given up hope so many times, and now I feel like such a fool. Did you know that he loved me from the start?”
