Chapter 13

Thirteen

“ Y our Grace, you have a visitor.”

Cherie looked up from where she was embroidering a seat cushion to see the butler holding out a tray, a calling card on it. She took the card and glanced at the name on it. Immediately, she felt herself go cold.

She glanced back up at the butler. “Is His Grace here?” she asked.

“No, Your Grace. He is at his club this afternoon.”

Cherie felt her heart race. She knew that her husband would not be pleased that Constantine Banes, the Earl of Rochford, was visiting her when he wasn’t home. He had been so tense at the wedding breakfast when Lord Rochford had appeared. And truthfully, Cherie was a bit nervous to see him as well. After how he had tried to marry her against her will…

But what choice did she have? The Duchess of Wheaton could not deny entry into her home to her husband’s cousin.

Not just Thomas’s cousin, but his heir, since we won’t be producing a child…

“Show him in,” she heard herself say.

The butler bowed and left the room, and Cherie had only a few seconds to prepare herself before the Earl of Rochford was swept into the room, a cold smile on his thin lips.

“Your Grace,” he said, bowing low over her hand as she extended it. To her deep displeasure, he kissed her hand, and she felt herself shudder. There was something so unnerving about the earl, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. Maybe it was the cold, dead look in his eyes…

“It is a pleasure to see you again,” the earl said. “Especially under better circumstances than the last time we saw one another.”

“Oh, you mean the circumstances where you tried to coerce my cousin into giving you my hand in marriage?” Cherie asked sweetly, as she settled herself back on the sofa. “Or the circumstances where you showed up at my wedding breakfast and were rightly shouted at by my husband?”

To her surprise, the Earl of Rochford laughed. “The latter, I suppose,” he said, seating himself across from her without waiting for her to invite him. “That was a rather unpleasant scene. But then again, I wouldn’t expect much more from the Duke of Wheaton. Even when he was in India, word of his temper reached all the way to England.”

Cherie bit her lip to keep from speaking. Part of her longed to ask Rochford what he meant by that, but a larger part of her didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of asking.

“So how have you been settling into your life here?” the earl asked, looking around at the parlor where she was sitting with a critical eye. “Are you enjoying being the Duchess of Wheaton?”

“Of course,” Cherie said quickly—perhaps too quickly because the earl raised an eyebrow.

“Indeed,” he said, lingering on the word like a cat stalking its prey. “And when shall we be wishing you congratulations on producing an heir to the duchy?”

“My lord!” Cherie gasped. She could feel herself growing pink in the face. To ask a lady such a question was a great impertinence, and from a man she hardly knew, like Lord Rochford, it was deeply inappropriate.

However, he didn’t look at all abashed as he raised an eyebrow. “You can’t blame me for asking,” he said. “After all, it is my business whether or not you and the duke produce an heir. Without one, I am the heir to the duchy.”

“I am well aware of that,” Cherie said coldly. “But I would kindly ask you to refrain from inquiring into matters of such a deeply personal nature.”

“We are family now, Your Grace. There is no need to stand on ceremony with your own cousin.” Rochford’s leer made her skin crawl, but Cherie tried to force herself to remain calm.

“We might be family now, but we are not so close as that.”

Rochford spread his hands wide. “Well, I hope you will keep me informed as to when we can expect such happy news. I’d like to know as soon as possible whether or not my position in life is changing drastically.”

“Well then, you’ll be waiting a long time,” Cherie said without thinking. The moment the words left her lips, she was filled with horror and mortification.

Why did I say that? I just gave him everything he wanted to know!

Rochford leaned forward at once, interest gleaming in his eyes. “Is that so?” he asked, his eyes sweeping over her. “And is there a particular reason why I will be waiting so long to find out if you are with child?”

“I only meant—” Cherie tried to think quickly. “I only meant that it takes some months to be sure of such a delicate situation.”

“Indeed.” But Rochford didn’t look convinced, and Cherie felt herself redden even more. He was watching her with narrowed eyes, and she got the terrible feeling that he could see through her mask and glean all her secrets. “You know, I am an amateur herbalist myself,” he said at last. “And I would be happy to mix a potion for you that might help inspire the duke to action… if that is what he requires. Or, if the problem is you, I have many remedies already at my disposal that clients have found helpful.”

“There is no problem!” Cherie said shrilly. “With either of us!” But she knew she sounded guilty as charged.

He knows. He knows that Thomas and I are not living as man and wife.

“The duke is interested in producing an heir, isn’t he?” Rochford asked after a moment, and Cherie’s heart began to race. Her hands suddenly felt wet, and the back of her neck prickled with sweat as well.

“Of course he is,” she said, trying to keep her voice as even-keeled as possible. “Why wouldn’t he be?”

The earl shrugged, but there was a steely glint in his eyes that Cherie didn’t like at all. “Perhaps he feels that his line is not worthy to pass on.”

Cherie frowned, the vagueness of this statement grating against her. “Why would his line be unworthy?” she snapped. “He is one in a long line of dukes. He comes from one of the most illustrious families in the realm. A son of his would be from a far better line than a cousin such as yourself.”

But her attempt to get the earl riled up didn’t work. Instead, a strange look once more came over Rochford’s eyes, almost as if he knew something that she did not. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. But after a long moment, the earl shrugged again, and the look in his eyes vanished.

“The duke’s relationship with the late duke was strained,” he said lightly. “Fathers and sons can have such complex feelings about one another. It can even make some sons wonder if it is such a good idea to become a father.”

Cherie leaned forward. She could feel the anger rising in her, and she suddenly knew that she had to go on the offense. “You had a difficult relationship with your father, didn’t you?” she said, her voice low but firm. “Tell me, my lord, does that make you not want to be a father?”

The earl blinked, clearly taken aback that she was privy to this information, but he recovered quickly.

“Yes, my father and I didn’t get along,” he said at last. “But at least he saw me as a proper son.”

“What does that mean?” Cherie asked sharply.

The earl smiled. “There is much your husband doesn’t tell you, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cherie said through gritted teeth. “Either speak plainly or don’t speak at all.”

“It’s as I thought,” he said, smiling contemptuously and leaning back against the sofa. “You should ask the duke more about his relationship with the late duke. I think you would find it… informative.”

“The duke has told me plenty about his relationship with his father,” Cherie said coldly. “I know the late duke was a cruel man, which is why it makes sense he favored you at one point. The current Duke of Wheaton is not a cruel man, and if that made his father dislike him, then I will take that as a compliment to my husband.”

“Indeed.” Once more, the earl spread his hands wide. “I’m sure you know much more than I do. But I was very close to the late duke, Your Grace, and I know there were moments when he did not feel as if Thomas was anything like him.”

“At least my husband was actually his son,” she snarled. “Unlike you, whom he only treated like a son until he could discard you. Tell me, doesn’t it make your skin crawl to still be so loyal to a man who treated you so contemptuously? If anything, you should admire Thomas for standing up to his father’s tyrannical ways. You should have joined him in that, after the way his father treated you!”

This time, there was no mistaking the flash of anger in the earl’s eyes. “The late duke made many mistakes,” he said quietly. “But he was a good man. A noble man. And more of a father to me than my own.”

There was a quiet lull, during which Cherie was unsure what to say, and then the earl sighed and stretched his legs.

“I apologize for upsetting you, Your Grace,” he said, and his tone was much lighter and more pleasant than it had been moments before. “The truth is, I did not come here to discuss your husband. I came to see you.”

“Yes, and you have seen me…” Cherie said, looking pointedly at the door as if to suggest he leave now.

“But I am worried about you,” Rochford said, leaning towards her again, a frown creasing his brow. “You are clearly unhappy in your marriage.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, so startled by this statement that she didn’t even remember to be angry.

“Your husband… he is not attentive enough to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Rochford smiled. “Your lack of a child,” he murmured, so quietly that Cherie wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. “The fact that you will be waiting for a long time to announce that you are expecting. A man can read between the lines, Your Grace. Your husband is not attentive to you in a way that a wife requires. Especially a wife as beautiful and enchanting as you are.”

Cherie’s mouth fell open slightly as she realized what it was exactly that Rochford was saying.

“How dare you,” she whispered, still so shocked that she couldn’t summon the volume she knew she should have. “To come into my home, ask such impertinent questions, and then imply?—”

“I still find you as beautiful now as I did when I hoped we would marry,” Rochford interrupted. He didn’t even seem to have heard her. His eyes were gleaming, and there was an intensity in his tone that he hadn’t had before. “Everything I said at your wedding breakfast was true. I find you captivating.”

“I think it is time that you leave,” Cherie said, trying to sound as firm as possible. She stood, but Rochford remained seated.

“You deserve better, Cherie,” Rochford murmured. His eyes bored into hers, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. “You deserve a man who desires you. A man who will treat you right. A man who will teach you about passion and that you are his.

Cherie’s throat was so dry. She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. Rochford didn’t seem to need her to respond. He stood, then reached out and took her hand.

“I could show you passion, Your Grace. I could show you what it means to be adored. To be worshiped.” He reached out and touched her cheek, and she shuddered. His fingers were so cold, and she could feel disgust throughout her whole body. Every part of her wanted to push him away, but somehow, she couldn’t.

Because part of me does want to know what it means to be worshiped. Part of me does want to be desired, to be treated right.

But not by him. Not by this disgusting man.

I want to be treated right by Thomas.

Rochford brushed a lock of hair away from her cheek. “Just because we didn’t marry doesn’t mean we can’t still be together,” he whispered. He was moving closer to her, his mouth looming closer. “Isn’t this what you have always told people you wanted? A passionate affair? Well, I can give you that, Cherie. There is nothing more exciting, more thrilling. It would fulfill every single one of your desires. And then you would finally have revenge against the man who forced you into marriage against your will.”

How does he know that?

So many emotions were coursing through her. She hated this man, his vile words, his presumption, the way he tried to manipulate her to avenge himself against her husband.

But she also knew that this might be the only chance she would ever get to be treated as a woman and a wife. The thought was so depressing that it made her want to wail.

Rochford was even closer now. Far too close. And in his cold eyes, there was a look of triumph. “Perhaps,” he murmured, “I could even give you the child you so desire.”

And suddenly all of her instincts kicked in at once.

She snatched her hand away and took a step back. “Do not touch me,” she hissed. “And kindly refrain from saying such intimate things to me. I am married to the Duke of Wheaton, not to you, and it is an affront to both me and my husband for you to speak to me in such a manner.”

Rochford’s expression immediately soured, and he stood up straighter, his cold eyes glaring into hers.

“So, you are loyal to your husband?”

“Of course I am! He might not be perfect, but he is ten times the man you will ever be.”

A sneer began to creep across Rochford’s face. “Then you are even more foolish than I thought. And when I finally have accomplished my goals, you will realize that trusting the duke was the biggest mistake of your life.”

Before Cherie could respond, the door to the parlor opened, and Thomas strode in, a surprisingly serene look on his face.

“Ahh, Lord Rochford,” he said, smiling at the earl. “I heard that you had graced us with your presence.”

There was a tense silence, during which Cherie couldn’t look at her husband. Her heart was beating so wildly that she was sure he could hear it. Did he hear anything? Does he know what Lord Rochford proposed?

“Yes,” Rochford said at last. He glanced at Cherie one last time, and she looked away quickly, before turning to face the duke. “But I was just leaving.”

“Well then, let me show you out,” Thomas said. “There is some business concerning the estate I’d like to speak with you about anyway. Duchess, please excuse us.”

The two gentlemen left the room. The moment they were gone, Cherie felt her legs give way, and she collapsed onto the sofa, a million questions racing through her mind: What did Rochford mean about regretting trusting the duke? What were his insinuations about the duke not wanting to pass on his line? Did he really want to have an affair with her, or was that just revenge against the duke?

And then, of course, there was the question most pressing on Cherie’s mind: How can I really live the rest of my life not knowing the passion of a real marriage?