Page 39 of The Viscount and the Vixen
“You like that I am not.”
He lifted his glass in a salute. “Damned if I don’t.”
She didn’t quite trust the smile he gave her. He let her win too easily. She had a feeling he was going to make her pay for it later—in screams of pleasure that might shatter the windows. She suspected what she knew of pleasure was going to pale beside whatever he delivered. She anticipated and dreaded it.
Gilbert strode in and set a plate of broiled lamb and potatoes before her. She lifted her gaze to find Locksley studying her. She was beginning to wish she’d at least put on her drawers. “How was everything at the mines?”
He narrowed his eyes, his face shifting into a cold resolve. “Don’t worry, my little mercenary, your pin money is safe.”
“I wasn’t—” She stopped, unable to blame him for his low regard for her. She’d certainly given the impression that she was merely here for gain. His dislike and distrust of her provided her with a shield. But it was becoming quite heavy to keep in place. “I was merely asking after your day. If you found it satisfactory. That is what good wives do.”
A corner of his mouth tilted up. “Are you planning to be a good wife?”
“Within reason.”
He laughed deeply. “At least you’re honest.”
Only she wasn’t. She wished she could be, but his opinion of her was low enough as it was. Instead of taking her to bed, he’d rid himself of her. With all due haste. “I want things to be pleasant between us.”
“Once we’re finished with dinner, they’re going to be very pleasant between us.”
She released a very unladylike snort. “Again, must your mind always go there?” She wanted a man to desire her for more than her body. Marsden would have wanted companionship. She should have insisted that she marry the marquess. Not that this stubborn, obstinate man would have allowed it, no matter what reasons she gave.
“I thought of you for a good part of the day,” he said quietly.
She rolled her eyes. “Bedding me, I’m sure.”
“Sometimes.” He shifted his gaze to his wineglass, trailed his finger slowly up and down the stem just as he would no doubt be trailing it over her before long. Seemed he wasn’t the only one whose mind continued to journey to bedchambers. “Sometimes I find myself wondering what truly brought you here.”
His gaze, compelling and demanding, slammed into hers. If she thought for a moment that he truly cared, that he would be decent about it, she might confess all. “Your father’s advert.” She hated that the words came out on a croak.
“Did you know they call him the mad Marquess of Marsden?”
She gave a slight nod. “Is that the reason you spend so little time in London?”
“How do you know how much time I spend in London?”
“I believe I mentioned the gossip sheets. Truth be told, I’m rather addicted to reading them. You and the other Hellions are frequently reported on.” She creased her brow. “How did the moniker come about, by the way?”
“We tended to break the rules in our youth. But we’re always forgiven. Our pasts made us such tragic figures we could get away with a good deal of bad behavior.”
“You were also known for being reckless.”
“We were indeed. Ashe almost became a lion’s dinner once. And of course Albert died on safari, leaving Edward to inherit the title, after pretending for months to be Albert. It was madness.”
“I remember it in the papers. It created quite the scandal when his duplicity was discovered.”
“It did. Then he did something even more audacious by taking his brother’s widow to Switzerland and marrying her. They’re not quite accepted yet, but people are beginning to come around. When they visit here, I shall expect you to welcome them.”
“Of course. I am not one to cast stones.”
He held her gaze. “And why is that, Lady Locksley?”
She stilled, her breath timid about leaving her lungs.I know what it is to be disgraced, ostracized, cast out.
“Had a few stones cast your way?” he asked.
More than a few. “As I mentioned, my family did not approve of Montie. His did not approve of me. But our love was grand enough that it didn’t matter.” The last had turned out to be a lie, but her younger self had believed it with all her heart.
