Twenty

My lady, there is a young woman here who insists upon seeing Lord Randwulf and claims the matter is of some urgency, but she refuses to give her name or any indication what her visit is about."

"His lordship is outside walking the dogs, Harrison," Adriana replied. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance to the lady."

The steward seemed to hesitate before venturing further. "Your pardon, my lady, but the woman is not a lady in the same sense that you and the Lady Philana are."

The lovely brows gathered in confusion. "You mean the visitor is not an aristocrat?"

"No, madam, she is not. Neither is she a lady."

"Oh." A moment of pensive silence followed as Adriana considered his statement. "My goodness, Harrison, I truly hope she's no kin to Alice Cobble. I don't know that this household can bear another sampling of her sort."

"Much more comely and cleaner, to be sure, my lady, but her manner of attire leaves one to imagine that she has had more worldly experience than one who has been carefully protected from unsavory influences."

"I think I shall have a look at this … ah … comely creature who wants to see my husband," Adriana declared softly. Considering Colton's earlier forced marriage, she could only wonder what other light-of-love had emerged from his past.

"As you wish, my lady." Harrison inclined his head in a shallow bow. "I shall show her into the drawing room."

As the man withdrew, Adriana approached the long, standing mirror in the dressing room and thoughtfully inspected her reflection as she turned from side to side. Her childbearing state was too far advanced for anyone to mistake her condition though she had trouble herself believing she had been married for five wondrously perfect months. Her union with Colton had been the sweetest bliss she had ever known. Indeed, each new day, especially now that June was nigh upon them, seemed filled with its own special euphoria, each night rapture beyond her wildest imagination, not only in the merging of their bodies, but in the deepening awareness that their unborn child was a unique entity forged by their union and yet an altogether separate individual. The hard knotting of her belly evoked their laughter as they lay side by side watching the small gyrations going on beneath the small, creamy, protective mound, which once upon a time had been flat stomach, and then feeling beneath their hands the wonder of their baby moving. Colton didn't seem to mind at all that she had lost her winsome shape; indeed, he gave every indication that he was now just as eager to view her naked as he had been before. Ofttimes, he'd take the rose-scented oils and lotions she was wont to rub over her body and perform the task for her. Yet he seemed far more methodical about it, obviously enjoying the intimacy marriage and expectant fatherhood afforded him. Never once had she dreamt that he'd be such a wonderfully attentive, tender, and adoring husband, or that her love for him, which before their marriage had seemed far beyond the measure of reasonable logic, could deepen with each passing day.

Although the weather was fairly warm, Adriana laid a lace shawl about her shoulders to hide to some degree her rounded shape. As she did, she realized how anxious she had become in the last few moments. In spite of her assurance that Coltonloved her, the thought of facing another woman from his past unsettled her as nothing had done in some months.

The visitor, upon hearing the lighter, feminine footfalls progressing rapidly across the marble floor of the central hall, turned from the mullioned windows of the drawing room with a brow raised in curious wonder, fully expecting to see the marquess's mother. She was somewhat taken aback by the appearance of a younger woman and was immediately put to confusion. Her gaze swept the beauty full length, from sedately coiffed dark hair to the slender leather slippers barely visible beneath the hem of her gown, but it was the roundness beneath the intricately woven shawl that made her eyes harden.

The stranger's chin raised loftily. "I came here to see Colton, no other."

"I'm Lord Randwulf's wife," Adriana replied, rather piqued at the liberty the other took using her husband's name. She concluded her own inspection of the caller in much the same manner as she had been perused and had to agree with Harrison. Although quite beautiful, their guest did indeed lack the elegance and refinement of a lady well tutored in social graces. Applications of rouge had been made to the woman's cheeks, dark kohl lined her eyelids, and her softly curving mouth was vividly painted. Her garments also conveyed a boldness in both color and design that led one to mentally question her profession. Wrapped about her head was a paisley turban, from which a tightly curling mass of dark hair streamed over her shoulders and down her back. Large, gold filigree earrings dangled from pierced earlobes. A necklace of brightly minted gold coinage of questionable value, along with various other chains, hung about her neck. In height, the stranger was shorter than she, Adriana determined, but overtly rounder in places most men would have appreciated. Such attributes were deliberately flaunted. In spite of the hip-length, loosely flowing magenta robe she wore, her bosom seriously tested the shallow bodice of her empire gown, which readily revealed the deep valley between her breasts. If she wore any undergarments at all, then that possibility remained questionable, for the silken cloth clung to her suggestively.

In a guise of serenity, Adriana offered their guest a smile. "Since you're now acquainted with who I am, may I be allowed the pleasure of knowing the name of the one to whom I am speaking?"

The red lips angled upward patronizingly. "Well, I guess you may address me as Lady Randwulf … or Wyndham, if you'd prefer."

Adriana frowned, thoroughly confused. "I assume, then, that you're not related to my husband since he's the last of his family to carry on the Wyndham name."

"Colton Wyndham is my husband," the visitor announced with a challenging brow raised, "which, of course, makes you no wife at all."

Had she been struck a debilitating blow, Adriana would have reacted no differently. Staggering on trembling limbs to a nearby chair, she eased herself carefully within its confines. As if sensing her distress, the baby moved suddenly within her womb, causing her to gasp in sharp surprise and clasp a hand to her tensed belly.

"Now don't lose the little bastard," her guest cautioned with a smirk. "Of course, the way things stand now, ‘twould probably go better for you if you did. The slander will be bad enough without people cruelly ostracizing your chit for the sins of his parents."

"Who are you?" Adriana cried in anguish. "Did you come here for the sole purpose of tormenting me? Or do you have some ambiguous motive in mind?"

"I don't know what you mean." The visitor had definitely never heard the word ambiguous before. "I simply came here to stake my claim upon my husband, and I find you living here under his roof. As for my name, I am Pandora Wyndham, and if I'm not mistaken, my daughter is living here with my husband."

Adriana now understood only too well. "Obviously you're not quite as dead as my husband was led to believe. Yet I cannot help but wonder where you've been for the last five or sixmonths. Had you sent some missive informing him of your good health soon after you and he were married, the two of us would never have wed." Considering the length of time it had taken the woman finally to come forward and make them aware of her existence, Adriana couldn't resist a bit of sarcasm. "Was that a minor detail you failed to consider months ago, or merely a lack of etiquette? Whatever the case, you're a bit late informing us that you're not dead."

"I did die, at least for a moment or two, as the good rector will attest, but I revived. Yet I was so weakened by the birth of my daughter that friends immediately whisked me off to warmer climes in hopes of bringing about a full recovery. As you can see, their nurturing attention rejuvenated me, and I have returned to England to claim my husband and my child."

A sharp whistle in the main hall alerted Pandora to the approach of the one she had come to see. Colton's voice verified that fact as he instructed, "Go find Adriana."

The joyful barking of the wolfhounds changed forthwith into a vicious growling that evoked a frightened screech from Pandora as the two animals came bounding into the room, sending her stumbling hurriedly back in rising panic. She halted only when the back of her head hit the mantel, where she was forced to a terrified halt. Hysterically, she tried to shoo the hounds away, flicking her hands outward cautiously, as if afraid one of them would snap off her fingers or take a large chunk out of her arm.

"Get away! Get! Get!" she shrilled. "Get away, you beasts!"

"Aris! Leo! Behave yourselves!" Colton commanded from the main hall.

Obediently the pair sat down on their haunches in front of their captive and looked back over their shoulders as their master approached the room. The dogs' proximity made Pandora wary of even moving, much less crossing the room to greet the marquess.

"Adriana, who in the world was doing all that frantic screeching? Do we perchance have a visitor—?" Colton'swords halted abruptly as he entered the drawing room and finally saw the woman the dogs had cornered. "Pandora!"

"Get these animals away from me!" she railed in outrage, indicating the pair with a wary flick of her hand. "You shouldn't have beasts like that running loose in the house! They could kill somebody!"

"Leo, Aris, come," Adriana urged, snapping her fingers. Wagging their tails, the wolfhounds readily answered her summons and received from her several fond strokes along their backs before they plopped themselves down on the rug near her feet.

Pandora glared at the brunette, realizing she could have called off the animals just as easily as the man. In nettling ire, she lifted her upper lip in a caustic jeer at that one, allowing her unspoken insult to convey her thought.

In spite of the venom bestowed upon her by the actress, Adriana returned her gaze unwaveringly before lending her attention to her husband, whom she eyed quizzically. For one so mentally astute, it was taking him an unusually long time to recover his aplomb. Obviously, he was trying to understand all the whys and wherefores of how this situation had come about, much as she had been.

Pandora sought to salvage as much of her pride as she could manage after the dogs had sent her fleeing like a squealing pig. Difficult as it was, she lifted her head in an elegant manner, as if posing for a stately portrait. "Well, Colton, aren't you happy to see me?"

"Not especially," he retorted brusquely. "I thought you were dead."

"I was, at least for a moment or two, but I revived. And now I'm here to claim my rightful place as your wife."

"The devil you say!"he barked, his gray eyes flaring. "I have only one wife, and she is the one you have most recently met!"

For a moment, Pandora's jaw sagged in shock at his thunderous declaration as he swept a hand about to claim Adriana as his only true spouse, as if he'd fight heaven and hell beforerelenting to any other state of wedlock. The tenacity he displayed while making that statement left Pandora feeling as if he had just slapped her across the face. Making every attempt to keep her chin elevated in a guise of dignity, she insisted, "Legally, Colton, I am your wife. Nothing you can say or do can change that."

"Well, I intend to! Although I agreed to let Reverend Goodfellow speak the words over us, ‘twas done merely to give Genevieve my name and protection."

"Genevieve?"

"The child to whom you gave birth, but now I'm wondering if she really is mine. Perhaps you tricked me into marrying you … for what purpose I cannot as yet say exactly, although I have the distinct feeling that I'm about to learn what that is." His lips turned sardonically. "Lucre, no doubt."

The woman blinked her eyes, a bit perplexed. "I'm not sure I understand the meaning of that word … lucre."

"Profit, money." His wide shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. "It's all the same."

"Oh, Colton, how could you even suggest that I'd stoop to such a despicable level? Genevieve is our daughter, and, as her mother, I only want to be with her … and you."

He seemed to grow increasingly museful as he lifted his head to the decorative molding edging the lofty ceiling. "How long has it been now since you supposedly passed on? Six months? Or has it been seven? At least long enough for my wife to be nearly six months along with child. Considering the length of time it has taken you to get around to telling me that you didn't die as I was led to believe, I seriously doubt that you've had any desire to be with Genevieve. I'm sure whatever you were doing, you were enjoying yourself immensely. Otherwise, I would've heard from you sooner. What made you finally come? Did your funds run out? Or did your lover decide to toss you aside for some new diversion?" He caught the sudden flare in her eyes and decided the latter conjecture was closer to the truth, if not the very reason forher appearance. "Is that it? Were you rudely spurned by your rich admirer? I can more easily entertain that notion than I can believe you had any desire to see Genevieve."

"Of course, I've wanted to see her, Colton. She is my daughter, after all … as surely as she is yours."

"Is she really mine?" His tone suggested that he now had serious doubts about that possibility.

"Of course she is. How could you have forgotten that she bears your family's mark? Tell Alice to bring the girl down here, and I'll have her refresh your memory. That mark is incontestable proof that she is your offspring."

Adriana opened her mouth to explain that Alice was no longer living under their roof, but Colton surreptitiously motioned to her behind his back, silently bidding her to remain silent. She readily complied, perceiving he had some viable motive in mind.

Facing the actress, he inclined his head briefly. "I shall ask one of the servants to convey the news that the child is to be brought down."

"Genevieve?" Pandora arched a brow after Colton had excused himself and, with a condescending smirk, turned to peer at Adriana. "Who thought of that? Please don't tell me you did. Otherwise, I'll have to change her name once I root out the little baggage trying to usurp my marriage."

Adriana folded her hands in her lap to keep from responding with sarcasm to the woman's slur. Considering the length of time the actress had been gone, she could only imagine that if Pandora's union to Colton had been valid, then its continuance went against every precept intended by God and man, especially if she had indeed been involved with a lover. "The child was named by her ladyship, the marchioness."

"Colton's mother, you mean." Pandora tossed her head and laughed, seeming to revel in a moment of anticipation. "As much as I've resisted the lure of the title, I shall be pleased to hear my so-called friends addressing me as the Marchioness of Randwulf. They'll soon be licking spittle from my shoes and offering me parts they've recently been giving to mere chits."

"I believe my husband has something entirely different in mind than what you're presently coveting," Adriana replied succinctly. "So if I were you, I wouldn't count on your acquaintances doing obeisance just yet."

Pandora chortled derisively. "As much as Colton may resent our marriage, my dear, I'm afraid there's no escape for him. After all, I have proof. The document he signed will confirm our marriage."

Adriana held her peace, not knowing what would follow. She felt equally weak and sick inside, as if her greatest joy had been snatched from her life. She couldn't even take comfort in the movements of their baby who seemed especially active in her womb, perhaps sensing her distress.

Colton returned to the drawing room with the announcement, "Genie is being changed at the moment. She will be brought down directly."

"We must talk at length about our child and our marriage, Colton," Pandora responded, moving toward him with a hand outstretched, as if to make another appeal for the judiciousness of her reasoning.

If a lightning bolt had struck the floor right beside Colton at that instant, he could not have reacted any faster. Clearly conveying a reluctance to be anywhere within close proximity of the actress, he eluded her attempts to approach him and, in the rapidly dwindling space she left him, stepped over the dogs lying at Adriana's feet. Settling on the settee beside his young wife, he reached out a hand to her lap. Entwining his long fingers through hers, he settled their clasped hands in the hollow of her gown defining the place where her thighs joined as he rested the back of his hand against her softly rounded belly. His bold familiarity would've definitely been out of place in the company of others, but in the presence of this visitor, Adriana eagerly welcomed his intimacy and was not in the least bit embarrassed by his forwardness.

Pandora could hardly mistake the unspoken message Colton had just delivered. He had made his choice; he would have no other.

Feeling a burgeoning annoyance at the increasing frequency with which she was being uprooted by younger women, Pandora glared back at the couple. Knowing her most recent lover had done that very thing didn't assuage her pride one meager speck.

"Does Genevieve favor me?" she asked in an effort to redirect the man's attention away from where it obviously was.

Colton's answer was curt, evidencing his brewing vexation. "Not particularly."

"Then you, perhaps."

"Absolutely not."

"But surely she favors one of us."

"I see no resemblance whatsoever. Genevieve is dainty, blue-eyed, and dark-haired. ‘Tis only the last trait either of us can lay claim to."

Pandora took exception to his blunt remark and lifted her chin. "Just what do you call dainty if I'm not that very thing?"

Colton laughed caustically. "Do you even know what the word means, Pandora?"

"Of course I do!" She flung her hand toward Adriana. "Am I not more dainty than she? Why, she stands nearly half a head taller than I!"

"And I'd venture to guess that even now, when my wife is far along with child, you must outweigh her by as much as two or three stone." Sweeping a hand toward Adriana, he declared with pride, "She is what one would call delicately beautiful, not only in appearance, but her character as well. I've never been able to say the same about you, Pandora."

The actress's eyes ignited at his audacious insult. She had always considered herself beautiful beyond the measure of most women, and it infuriated her to be compared unfavorably with one of her own gender, especially when that one was younger by six years or more. "You're only saying that because you're angry with me, Colton."

He managed a lame smile, as if only tolerably amused by her supposition. "Believe what you will, Pandora. I'll say no more."

Some moments later, Blythe carried in Genevieve and, after giving the child to Adriana, bobbed a pert curtsey and promptly took her leave. The baby squealed in glee as she recognized the man sitting beside her. Smiling at her obvious show of elation, Colton swept the tiny girl up in his arms and rose to his feet. Gently jouncing her in his arms, he approached the actress.

"This is Genevieve Ariella Wyndham," he announced to their visitor. "As you can see, Genie favors no one here." Now able to closely compare the child to the actress, Colton was led to speculate. "In fact, Genie is so completely different from you that I have to wonder if she's really yours at all. Her skin is fair, yours is not; her mouth is winsome and small; yours is—"

"Of course, she's my daughter!" Pandora insisted. "I even died giving her birth, though I'm very thankful to be alive today. I'm also intent on claiming my due, that being my daughter and my husband. You can't deny we're married, Colton. I have papers to prove it. As for the child, I remember quite clearly that she bore your ancestors' mark upon her buttock. If you've forgotten that small detail, let me remind you now by showing it to you."

She snatched the child from him, wrenching frightened screams from the tiny girl and in so doing bringing Adriana flying across the room in motherly concern. Pandora turned aside, preventing the younger woman access. When Adriana persisted, Pandora raised a shoulder to prevent her from reaching Genevieve.

"Genie doesn't like strangers," Adriana declared, moving around in another attempt to take the girl from the actress.

Once again, Pandora gave her an ignoring shoulder. "She's my daughter!"

"Please let me have her," Adriana pleaded in rising concern, and then reasoned, "If you must see her backside, I shall uncover it for you myself."

Another piercing scream of terror from Genevieve caused Pandora to cringe in pain. That seemed to convince the actress of the expediency of handing the girl over. She did so, almostshoving the baby into Adriana's arms in her haste to be rid of her. "Here! Take the nosy little whelp if you must! But I would have you show Colton the birthmark of his forebears."

Holding the bawling child close against her as she returned to the settee, Adriana rubbed a hand soothingly over Genie's back as she softly sang a lullaby against the girl's dark curls. Slowly the sobs were hushed and, in their stead, came the happy gurgling of a baby who felt secure in the arms of a loving, caring, familiar person.

Several moments passed and still Pandora saw no evidence that her demands would be adhered to anytime soon. Settling a glare upon the younger woman, Pandora asked sharply, "Well, are you going to show us the birthmark or not?"

Deliberately ignoring the woman, Adriana continued to play with Genie, patting her tiny hands together and gently chucking her chin as she sang a children's rhyme. Soon the girl was patting her hands together herself and squealing in delight as she wrinkled her nose and lifted a sparse-toothed grin to the woman who nurtured her with as much devotion as a mother.

Pandora lost patience and, in strident tones, railed at Adriana, "If you're not going to do as I asked, then I most definitely will!"

She stalked toward the pair menacingly, causing the hounds to leap to their feet. The animals' fangs were promptly bared in savage snarls as low growls issued forth. Just as quickly, the actress stumbled back, a trembling hand clasped to her throat.

Colton chuckled softly as he moved around behind the animals and settled once again on the settee beside his wife. " ‘Twould seem you are mistaken, Pandora."

Upon espying him beside them again, Genevieve squealed in glee and pumped her tiny arms up and down as if coaxing him to take her. Colton did so, much to her babbling delight.

The actress assumed the role of a poorly beleaguered mother, hoping to win sympathy from the man. "Are you so cruel, Colton, that you'd actually keep me from my own daughter?"

Slowly shaking his head at her antics, Colton chuckled inamusement. "Too bad you never learned the art of genuinely weeping on cue, Pandora. Perhaps I'd be more convinced of your sincerity. The simple truth is, even if you are in truth Genie's mother, she doesn't know you as such, and I'll not allow you to frighten her again. If it pleases my wife, she will show us the birthmark … when it suits her, not you."

Pandora could see no advantage in protesting his decision. If she had learned one thing about the retired colonel, he was not moved by feigned tears or plaintive whining. Her last ploy had achieved nothing. Deeming a more gracious manner favorable to her mission, she retreated with a muted, "Very well."

Not in the mood to accommodate their unwelcome guest, Adriana did indeed take her time baring Genie's backside, but when she finally acquiesced, to the astonishment of both Pandora and Colton there was only the faintest evidence left of what had purportedly been a Wyndham birthmark. Even that had become so faded in areas on the girl's buttock that it was no longer recognizable as anything closely resembling a bird in flight.

"Call Alice down here this instant," Pandora demanded in roiling rage. "I want to know what you've used to get rid of that mark. It must be some kind of deviant trick of yours, something you've rubbed on to hide it, because it was there clear as day when the girl was born. Alice will probably know what you've used and will take it off."

Colton was pleased to announce, "Alice was let go some time back, Pandora, along about the time we hired a new nursemaid, a woman to whom Genie has since become attached."

"The little brat would grow attached to anyone with a full teat!" Pandora snapped.

"She didn't seem that fond of Alice, and I can honestly say from my limited experience, I've never seen bigger breasts nor ones bared as freely as Alice seemed inclined to do. If truth be told, Genevieve seemed quite discomforted by the hag's neglect."

"Alice probably spoilt the chit and made her contrary."

"Genie was not contrary, but somber and listless. As you can see for yourself, that is no longer the case. What I'm wondering is where you ever managed to find someone as despicable and callous as Alice."

"I told you. She cleaned the theatre where I worked."

"Then I shall make a point of visiting her there to find out what concoction she applied to Genie's buttock, no doubt at your behest, so I'd think the babe was my daughter. Obviously since Alice hasn't been here to reapply it for the last two or three months, the mark has faded to what we now see."

As if stricken by an inner fear, Pandora stared at him, her eyes conveying something akin to panic before she managed a laugh. "I doubt if Alice would've gone back to the theatre. In fact, you probably won't ever be able to find her."

"Then I shall have to go to Oxford to search out the Reverend Goodfellow," Colton mused aloud. "I have friends there. They'll know where his church is."

Pandora waved a hand in a vague direction. "The good rector has moved beyond our shores. I'm not sure where. Ireland, perhaps. Somewhere far beyond my ken."

Colton managed an abortive laugh. "How convenient for me that he has."

The actress seemed taken aback by his statement, yet, at the same time, bemused by it. "What do you mean?"

"He can't serve as a witness to our marriage."

"Oh, but there's a license with your signature on it."

"Can you produce such a document? You'll have to, you know, if you intend to verify its authenticity before a magistrate. ‘Twill be a requirement in your claim against me."

"No, I don't have it now, but I know where it is."

"Where?"

"Well …" Pandora chewed on a bottom lip, "I'm not sure just where I put it exactly since I've been gone for a while. It may take a little searching. It must be in one of my trunks I left with a friend."

"Reverend Goodfellow said he'd take it to his church in Oxford. Once I locate his church, I'll ask the rectors there tosearch for it, and then have the archbishop determine its legality, just in case it's a forgery of some kind. He'd certainly be willing to do that for me, considering he signed the license permitting my nuptials to Adriana."

"Your high and lofty friends won't be able to undo our marriage, Colton," Pandora flung caustically. "You'll have to face the fact that our marriage is legal and binding. The document will prove that beyond your attempts to deny its validity."

"Well, if it's all the same to you, Pandora," Colton said almost pleasantly, "I'll proceed as I see fit." Canting his head, he gathered his brows in museful reflection. "Which leaves me wondering where I should actually begin my search. I seem to recall a story you told me a few years ago about your brother being so skilled at duplicating certificates that he was able to pass himself off as an Oxford scholar. Forging a marriage certificate would be fairly simple in comparison. Is your brother also an actor? Perhaps he did you a favor by performing the part of the good Reverend Goodfellow … for my benefit, of course. I shall have to look into that theory, especially if no one can tell me who this Reverend Goodfellow is or where his church is located."

Pandora's eyes flared with venom. "If you dare mention this matter to anyone outside your family, Colton, you'll only see yourself disgraced. ‘Twill soon be bandied about that the woman you're living with is with child. I'm sure you can imagine the shame she'll suffer after word gets out that she's going to bear a child out of wedlock. For her sake, you'd better go no further with this matter. Besides, if you intend to seek out all the rectors at Oxford, you'll find them busy nowadays, what with the returning soldiers having so much difficulty finding work and food."

"Too busy to accept a worthy donation for lending their attention to such a matter, an amount that would allow them to help soldiers who can't find work or food for their starving families? I'm sure they'll take into consideration what I've already done in an effort to ease the hardships of our soldiers and to hire those who can work. Surely, in light of that, a rector of achurch would not refuse me. But then, I can understand why you wouldn't want me to seek their help. If Reverend Goodfellow doesn't exist, then my investigation will likely lead to your brother's arrest and, quite possibly, your own."

Pandora wrung her hands as she paced about the room, feeling unduly pressed by the man's insistence. Over the years she had come to know him well enough to realize that he could be damnably persistent when he was inquisitive about a matter or when it came to getting at the truth. Hadn't her brother warned her about the colonel years ago? He hadn't ceased his investigation into the disappearance of munitions and gunpowder until those responsible had been hanged for treason for selling large stores of English arms and supplies to the French. The fact that her brother had narrowly escaped with his life and the ragged clothes on his back had thereafter made him wary of trying to dupe the man. Nevertheless, the thought of being able to glean not only revenge but great wealth from the present Marquess of Randwulf had proven a strong incentive.

Laughing softly, Pandora commended herself on her skill as an actress as she deftly turned the subject away from the marriage certificate. "You needn't go to all that trouble looking for the document, Colton. If you really want me to remain silent about our marriage, you have only to show some generosity toward me instead of the soldiers…."

Colton cocked a brow above a bland stare. Her offer was no less than what he had been expecting since finding her in his drawing room. "In what form?"

"Well, in a sizable payment that would keep me comfortable for the rest of my life."

"Extortion, in other words."

"Hardly that, Colton. I only ask for a little compassion, seeing as how I'm giving up my rightful place as marchioness and entitlement to …"—she swept a hand about to indicate everything within sight and much of what was not—"all this."

He grew pensive. "At the moment, I'm not in favor of accepting your offer, Pandora. It has always been my wont never to relent to the demands of those who try to wrest some gainfrom tragic or difficult situations, but I must consider others who'll likely be hurt by scandal. I shall give the matter further consideration. Should I agree to your terms, I'll need to know where you'll be staying in case I have to reach you. Or are you on your way back to the theatre?"

"I'm afraid I'm no longer employed there." Having recently suffered the pangs of bruised pride in her career, Pandora lifted her chin a notch, her feelings smitten by the brutal severing of what had once been a lucrative and, in the world of the theatre, a very prestigious position. "It seems another actress has been found to take my place, someone who's younger and supposedly more talented—but I'm sure in time they'll realize their mistake and come crawling after me, begging my forgiveness. But I digress from the pertinent issue. If you must know, I had planned on staying in the area for a time … this house, in fact, seeing that I am legally your wife." She elevated her chin in the guise of a suffering martyr, as if sorely wounded by his rejection. "But I can see you don't desire that now, since you've found someone younger to service your needs. Of course, you know your present love is, at best, only your mistress since I am still legally your wife. You won't be able to change that unless you obtain a divorce, but to do so would involve a lot of difficulty and notoriety."

As if he hadn't heard the woman, Colton jounced Genevieve up and down on his lap, educing gleeful shrills, which soon made the actress cringe and clasp her hands over her ears, as if in dire pain.

"Do you have to do that?" Pandora railed. "I fear my hearing will never be the same after today."

Upon espying Adriana's smiling face close by, Genie decided she wanted to bestow some loving attention on her and promptly gave her a slobbery wet kiss upon her mouth. Fairly often she had seen the man give the beautiful lady something similar while they were together. If that was not enough, the child sat down rather abruptly on what was left of Adriana's lap, and then, as if deciding that sitting wasn't actually what she really wanted, immediately sought to pull herself up bygrabbing what was handy. Adriana almost yelped as the baby's tiny fist closed over the place where her gown protruded … and the vulnerable nipple beneath. A woman's breast was familiar territory to the youngster, who, upon leaning forward, searched about with an open mouth for the hidden peak.

Laughing at the innocent antics of the tiny girl, Colton took pity on his wife and lifted Genie onto his lap. As much as Adriana sought to ignore her discomfort, she felt like dissolving in pain. Leaning against her husband, she folded the shawl across the front of her bosom to hide the telltale wetness over her breast and tried to await the ebbing of her discomfort.

"Ah, the joys of parenthood," Pandora derided and then smirked pointedly toward the woman's softly rounded belly. "‘Twould seem you're doing your best to supply the Wyndhams with a new heir. Too bad ‘twill be born a bastard."

Colton felt his wife shudder beneath the actress's taunt and promptly settled the back of his arm at a slant across her torso, as if to physically shield her from the other woman's ridicule. Laying a hand alongside her thigh, he snuggled her close against his side. "It's all right, my love," he murmured, seeking to ease her fears. "We'll come through this in good order. That much I promise you."

His assurances ignited the fires of jealousy in the one who observed his tender nurturing. "Well, you can tell her that if you think it will help, Colton," Pandora sneered caustically, "but I really don't know how you're going to make good on your pledge, seeing as how the two of you aren't really married."

The woman had cause to stumble back as she saw the feral gleam in the gray eyes that turned upon her. Never had she seen Colton Wyndham in such a rage.

"You leave me no other choice, Pandora," he retorted coldly. "Be it known that I will now search heaven and hell for proof that the vows you and I exchanged were nothing more than a farce, and if they weren't, then I shall go before thehighest magistrate in this land and plead my innocence of any wrongdoing and my ignorance that you were still alive when I married my wife. I can assure you, I will use every advantage at my disposal, even the fact that I'm a war hero, to gain the right to cast you out of my life forever and to seal my marriage with the only woman I've ever loved. Do you understand me?"

"I'll make you pay if you try to brush me off without a farthing!" the actress railed in ear-shattering tones, wrenching a frightened whimper from the tiny girl. "You won't be able to keep Genie. I'll demand my rights as a mother, and I won't stop until she's given back to me!"

"Then I'll just have to prove that she isn't yours, won't I?" Colton rejoined snidely. "It may take me a while, but I think I can do that."

A baleful gleam came into the actress's eyes. "You hopeless, besotted fool! You don't know what scandals you'll be facing if you dare refuse me. Believe me, I'll get my revenge on you and your child-bride, even if I have to bed down with every magistrate in this country in order to see it done. I can be immensely persuasive when I want to be. I'll play the victim to the hilt while I scheme and lie and tell all sorts of outlandish tales about you both. Once I'm finished, neither of you will be able to hold your heads up in London, much less around this paltry place you call your country estate."

Collecting her poise, Pandora assumed a more dignified posture and inclined her head briefly to Adriana and then to Colton. "Thank you for your hospitality, such as it was…."

"One more thing before you leave, Pandora, if you don't mind," Colton interjected, his tone pleasant in spite of the threats the woman had just leveled against them.

Having already advanced toward the drawing room door, Pandora halted promptly, certain he had decided to relent. Stepping back to face him, she arched a brow expectantly. "Yes, what is it?"

"Perhaps you can save me the trouble of asking the performers of the theatre where you worked if Alice Cobble didindeed work there and was with child during the latter part of that period. If need be, I'll explain that you're trying to claim her child as your own. I'm sure there'll be those who'll be eager to negate the idea of your childbearing state as well as your dying performance in your town house the night you supposedly died.

"I'll also ask them if they know of the substance Alice Cobble used to create the birthmark on Genevieve's backside and to touch it up thereafter. It must've been some enduring stain to resist my attempts to rub it off that night, and of course, since Alice never saw my birthmark, I must assume that you made a pattern from my own. Did you trace it while I slept?" He laughed shortly. "I must have been pretty exhausted during that event, but then, there were many times when I was so physically and mentally drained from fighting that all I wanted to do was sleep. Perhaps with his forgery skills your talented brother reduced its likeness to an appropriate size for a baby and made different patterns for Alice to use as the child grew. Too bad for you that the crone was so despicable that no one here could abide having her around. Without Alice on hand to reapply it, the mark soon faded."

His theories stunned Pandora into momentary silence, for she had to wonder how in the world he had thought of everything they had done so precisely. The man was far more clever than even she had suspected.

Clasping a shaking hand to her throat, she stared at him as if unable to fathom what he was talking about. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"Before you knew who I was, you told me you were incapable of having children, and in the ensuing years, you never got with child. I'm sure you had other lovers, but I never saw any evidence that you had given birth. It was only after I was proclaimed a hero by the London Gazette that you actually learned that I was in line for the marquessate. Once I gained the title, you supposedly bore a child. Convenient for you, yet your barren state throughout our lengthy affair leaves me wondering how you came to have Genie. If Alice got with childwhile working as a cleaning woman at the theatre, then I'm sure you'd have seen some advantage in bartering a healthy stipend for her babe. Perhaps you might have even given her a purse at the time of your agreement and then promised her a larger one once she delivered into your hands a live newborn. After all, if your scheme worked, you'd become wealthy, and Alice certainly seemed callous enough to comply with that kind of bargain. Of course, that leaves me seriously bemused, how an ugly woman like Alice could bear a child as dainty and pretty as Genie. Yet if her own baby died, she'd have likely gone to great lengths to steal another woman's newborn in order to obtain the purse you promised her.

"So, again, what if …"—Colton lifted his wide shoulders in a casual shrug as he expounded further—"she stole the babe outright or practiced a bit of midwifery to get her hands on one. Whether boy or girl, it wouldn't have mattered, just as long as it was alive. Alice could've easily told Genie's real mother that her baby had died and left her own dead infant in her stead."

Canting his head thoughtfully, he continued to muse aloud for Pandora's benefit. "If I were to let it be known throughout the highways and byways of England that I'd give Alice a very handsome reward if she could provide undeniable evidence of the girl's parentage, I think she'd be willing to give me what I seek, even if it meant putting to naught your little gambit. Alice seems the kind of woman who'd want to hold some leverage over you to make sure she got her full due … or perhaps even more than she had actually been promised. Have you considered what the odds are of Alice having secured irrefutable proof that you're not Genie's mother?"

"I've heard enough of your inane gibberish," Pandora declared irately, seeing her hopes for great wealth being sundered by the man's speculations. "I'll be staying at the inn outside of Bradford until I hear from you, and if I don't, I'll let the authorities know you are twice wed and both your wives are living."

With that, she stalked out the drawing room and, upon seeing Harrison hastening toward the door, angrily waved him out of her way.

"Thank you kindly, but I can let myself out! And may you all be damned to hell!"