6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

N ick had finally quelled his anger from earlier that afternoon. Well, perhaps not completely, but his breathing had at least returned to normal. How dare she demand an apology from him? He still didn’t understand why his father told him she had married when she hadn’t, but he reasoned his father had only the best of intentions. Nick had been miserable for several months while he licked his wounds from Eliza’s rejection. He surmised that his father merely took pity on him and wished to help his son mend his broken heart.

It hadn’t mended very well, since the mere presence of the vexing woman tore the wounds wide open, leaving his heart laid bare. If she thought he would stand by and allow her to throw herself at Lord Irvine right in front of him, she was indeed mistaken. He would make her explain herself, so he might be able to finally put her, and what they shared, in the past.

She at least owed him that, to put him out of his misery by divulging the reasons she had for abandoning him. Even if a part of him, a larger one that he cared to admit, still loved her, he couldn’t build a life with someone who would treat him so callously and walk away from the depths of the love he’d believed they had shared, and then throw herself at other men.

He glanced around the salon. And he wouldn’t bother to lie to himself and pretend he wasn’t looking for her. Before the house party had concluded, he would learn why she wouldn’t see him to explain why she lied about loving him. About her being his. When he pulled her aside earlier, he hadn’t expected to lose all of his self-control. Something primal in him took over when her lips touched Irvine’s cheek, and he needed to possess her.

She was supposed to always be his. A fact she seemed to have forgotten, or perhaps it was a tribute to her incredible acting abilities. He downed the rest of his brandy and continued watching for her.

Ockham approached him as Nick refilled his glass.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Ockham asked.

“Indeed,” Nick replied, holding up his glass. It would be a regular lie as long as he was trapped in the same house with Eliza, reliving the best memories and worst pains of his life.

“My wife would be quite put out if you weren’t, so I am glad to hear it.”

Nick shook his head and laughed. “We can’t have that. I might be just a tad afraid of her, if we are honest.”

“Me too, my good man,” Ockham jested. “But she’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Nick fought the urge to gag and sought to change the subject. “It seems that Rosina might have found someone who caught her eye,” Nick said, nodding towards where Lady Rosina Preston stood chatting with the Duke of St. Albans.

“I thought you might have taken an interest since you partnered with her for Pall Mall,” Ockham said, assessing his reaction.

Laughing, Nick elbowed his friend. “I’d never take our dear friend’s widow to bed. God rest his soul. I wonder what he’d think of her resolve to remain unwed, and well…you know.”

“Well, my wife finds the lady’s intentions admirable and supports a woman’s decision to decide her own future. She’s probably right. Who are we to judge what the lady wishes to do?” Ockham asked, shrugging. “Besides, my wife and I had bets on who the lady would select, and it appears my wife just might win. ”

Nick eyed his friend curiously. “What are the terms of this bet?”

Ockham laughed and patted his friend on the back. “I shan’t tell you, but just know that either way, I come out a winner.”

Nick rolled his eyes and took a large gulp of his drink. “I’m sure you do.” He glanced around the room again and tamped down his irritation that Eliza hadn’t made her appearance yet. A sudden panic overtook him, and he scanned the room, looking for Lord Irvine. Every second he spent trying to locate the man constricted his chest tighter.

Finally, he spotted him in the corner chatting with a few other guests, Eliza not in his company, either. The tension eased slightly.

“My wife also has some ideas on who you might pair nicely with, Craven.”

Eye rolls were going to be common for the duration of the house party as well, it would seem. “I have already told you that I’m not interested.”

“Are you ever going to tell me who the woman was?” Ockham asked. “Surely enough time has passed that you might be ready to move on.”

“If your wife had rejected you to marry another, would your heart so easily recover?” Nick asked, then felt bad for snapping at his friend. Even if Nick knew she hadn’t actually married, his friend wasn’t aware of that new revelation, and better to keep to the story. At least they wouldn’t be able to guess who the mystery lady was. His hosts would become tiresome if they knew his past love was in attendance at their party.

The man frowned, and his eyes pained in response. “No, it wouldn’t. Please accept my apologies.”

“None needed,” Nick said. “Don’t worry about me. I am perfectly well.”

Ockham’s wife approached, and both gentlemen shifted their attention to her, bowing.

“Everything all right, my love?” Ockham asked.

She looped her arm in her husband’s and laid her free hand on the same bicep. Nick hated how his heart pained at the simple gesture between the couple.

“Indeed. Lady Eliza isn’t feeling well, so I had a tray and tisane sent to her chamber.”

Nick took a large gulp of his drink to keep from asking his hostess questions about Eliza. He had little doubt that Eliza only feigned illness to avoid seeing him after their encounter that afternoon. She couldn’t hide from him for the entire party. He would get the answers he needed from her. She at least owed him that.

A pretty, voluptuous miss approached their group. Nick recognized her as the friend that had been at Eliza’s side last night and at breakfast. She curtsied to the group and spoke to their hostess. “Do I have enough time to check on Eliza before dinner?” she asked. “I just wish to see that she is all right.”

Lady Ockham eyed the clock on the mantel. “I should think so. Dinner shall be served in another quarter hour.” Lady Ockham glanced at Nick. “Lady Juliet, have you been introduced to Lord Craven?”

Nick saw a flash of shock and then anger cross the young lady’s expression before settling on a tight smile. Interesting. She must have some awareness of his and Eliza’s past. He wasn’t sure why it delighted him that Eliza had spoken of him to another, even though it appeared that the young lady didn’t think too highly of him.

“I don’t believe we have,” Nick said, bowing to her. “Pleased to meet you, my lady.”

She attempted to widen her smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You as well, my lord,” she replied. “If you all will excuse me, I shall return in a moment.”

Lady Juliet turned on her heel and departed the salon.

Nick noted Onslow near the exit and took his opportunity. “I need to speak with Onslow about something, if you could excuse me as well,” Nick said. He didn’t wait for them to respond and crossed the room to Onslow.

Nick looked back to see if his hosts were watching him, but they had been approached by another couple. He bypassed Onslow and hurried to the staircase, then darted up the stairs, hoping to see which room Lady Juliet would enter. He took a left off of the staircase and saw a shadow down the hallway. Nick quickened his pace and caught sight of a door clicking closed. He crept to the door and put his ear to it.

He should be ashamed of himself for eavesdropping, but he was desperate to get to the bottom of what had occurred between them. If he could overhear something useful, he could forgive himself for using devious means to obtain the information.

“Why didn’t you tell me he was here?” Lady Juliet asked. “Is he the reason you are hiding in your chamber?”

“I planned to tell you. Today, in fact. I promise,” Eliza said. “I just didn’t know what to think about seeing him again. I still don’t.”

“So he was the reason for your poor mood this morning.”

“No,” Eliza said, then paused for a few seconds, which felt like hours to Nick. “Well, all right. Yes. His presence is quite distracting.”

“He really is quite handsome. I can see how he would set your head to a spin and why you took him to your bed,” Lady Juliet said.

Nick grinned to himself with his ear still pressed against the door. He found it interesting, indeed, that Eliza had told her friend about the two of them being intimate .

“Jules!”

“Well, it’s true,” Lady Juliet said. “One does have to wonder why he never took a wife.”

“He probably just dallies with whomever he wishes and casts them aside when he is finished,” Eliza said.

He balled his hands into fists and fought to keep himself from barging into her room. She was the one who was the expert in dallying with one’s affections, and yet she treated him as the villain.

“He’s certainly riled you up. Have you given more thought to making good use of the house party to entertain a tryst?” Lady Juliet asked. “I saw you flirting with Lord Irvine. And don’t try to convince me otherwise.”

Nick pressed his ear harder against the door, not daring to miss Eliza’s response. He tamped down the mixture of jealousy, hurt, and fury bubbling far too close to the surface.

“I’m considering it,” Eliza said. “I’m still not certain. But I shall have ample opportunity to decide. I certainly believe he would be amenable. He can’t keep his eyes off my chest.”

He heard laughter coming from both of the ladies, when he found nothing humorous about the mere suggestion that Eliza would take up with another man in the ways that he had been with her. She had been passionate and an active participant in their couplings, extremely vocal as well, and he didn’t want anyone else to experience that side of her. Especially not where he would be far too aware of what had occurred.

“I must return downstairs to join the party for dinner,” Lady Juliet said after the laughter subsided. “I will visit again when I retire for the evening.”

Nick hurried away from the door and darted back downstairs, hoping that he had enough of a head start that Eliza’s friend wouldn’t see him making his escape.

He made it back to the salon several seconds before Juliet re-entered the party. Nick hadn’t considered that if anyone had seen them, they might believe that it was Juliet he had snuck from the room to meet.

Attempting to prevent anyone from getting such ideas, he joined a group of gentlemen near the sideboard.

“Irvine might have a chance with Lady Eliza,” Lord Duncan said.

Nick fought to school his features. She was everywhere, even when she wasn’t in the room, she was still there taunting him and driving him to distraction.

“But I didn’t think he wished to wed. At least not anytime soon.” Lord Onslow replied.

Lord Duncan laughed before taking a swig from the drink in his hand. “I didn’t say anything about marriage. ”

Nick fisted his hands, contemplating planting the man a facer and then marching over to Irvine and giving him one in each eye.

Before he did just that, the dinner bell rang. He wasn’t certain how he was going to get through the rest of the evening if Eliza continued to be the topic of conversation.

Nick tossed and turned in his bed. His body and mind were at war with themselves. His cock stood at attention when he recalled the taste of Eliza’s climax on his fingers, a sweet nectar he had missed more than he’d allowed himself to admit, longed for even. But his head replayed the ladies’ conversation and Eliza’s contemplation with that rake, Lord Irvine. He was at least thankful that he went the rest of the evening without one of the gentlemen bringing up Eliza again. Thank God for small favors.

When the sun emerged from the horizon that next morning, he gave up on the notion of restful sleep.

Climbing out of the bed, he wrapped his banyan around himself before washing his face with the cool water in the washbasin.

He glanced down and his cock protruded in front of him and refused to relent, aching from the intensity of the thoughts that invaded his sleep. He willed it to subside, not wanting to think of the one person he wished would ease his need. Trying not to think of her only made him think of her more. Made him want her more.

Nick couldn’t have his valet help to dress him in such a state, his member fully erect and throbbing. He tried to think of something else, but his mind kept coming back to her. It always came back to her.

Where he stood, he fisted himself and stroked up and down his shaft. He let his head fall back and stiffened his legs, stroking and teasing the steel rod between his legs as he imagined her lips wrapped around his cock. He thrust his hips to meet his hand, increasing his speed, still imagining her tongue stroking the smooth underside. She used to love when he fucked her mouth, leaving him with a wet surprise he could lap up between her thighs.

Before he came, he grabbed a cloth from the washstand and whispered her name when he released himself into the soft fabric.

He set the soiled cloth on the table and tied his banyan closed. He was still half erect, his need only momentarily sated, but perhaps he might better have his wits about him. Thinking about Eliza wouldn’t help, but he must get her alone so he could ask her why she abandoned him. Why she told him she loved him and would always be his, only to disappear and refuse to see him .

And more importantly, he’d have to ensure that a rakehell like Lord Irvine didn’t put his hands on her.