She sobered. “I am convinced of your charm, my lord. No need to keep wielding it so intently.”
“Around you, I cannot seem to stop.” Lord Drakethorne paused. “If you’re hungry, I will see you to the supper room.”
“I’m afraid I am going to cry off and go home.”
“Another time?” he queried.
She paused, not certain how to answer. Should she encourage him?
Tonight, his demeanor had seemed exemplary of the kind of husband she required, charming but not overbearing.
“Thank you for rescuing me from Lord Ralston,” she murmured.
“It was this knight’s pleasure, my lady. Until we meet again?” he whispered over her hand.
Discreetly, she slid her palm from his grasp and, with her heart pounding, turned away.
-186-
The Lady and the Dragon
Chapter Sixteen
Christina stared out the window at gray drizzle that matched her mood. It seemed appropriate that rain should fall on her wedding day.
Of course she’d known she would marry quickly. She simply had not believed the day would come quite this soon. Still, best to marry someone pleasant now so the gossip would die. Wise to align herself with someone not likely to rip out her heart.
She shrugged. Drexell Cain-Ashmont would do.
True, she found his traditional approach in asking her grandfather for her hand irritating. After all, she would have to live with him. Her opinion was important, and Christina meant to make certain he understood that from now on. She would not be tied to a man to whom her wishes were inconsequential.
She turned back toward the fireplace as the Chinese mantel clock chimed.
Ten in the morning.
The sounds of shuffling and voices at the front door below heralded the punctual arrival of her betrothed and his family.
A soft knock on the door precipitated her grandmother’s voice. “Christina, darling, are you ready? It’s time.”
She opened the door, and her grandmother folded her arms about her like a warm, sun-dried quilt.
“You look wonderful, child.” Her faded lips turned up in a smile. “I’ve a feeling Lord Drakethorne will make you happy.”
Christina frowned. “He married me to free Americans from Newgate and add credence to his position in the ton.”
“Perhaps, but I believe he is taken with you. If you’ll forget the past, contentment will be yours.”
-187-
Shelley Bradley
Forget the past? Though Drexell Cain-Ashmont was gentler, he had yet to prove he was something more than a manipulative cad, any different from Grandfather and the Black Dragon.
Christina pasted on the façade of a smile and followed her grandmother down the hall. Inside the drawing room, the groom and his family waited. Their minister stood in the corner.
Lord Drakethorne sat in a high-backed chair of creamy velvet, fidgeting with the timepiece in his hand. At her entrance, he looked up. Relief loosened his features, and their gazes met. Warmth sprouted in her belly. She’d forgotten his brilliant smile, the one that made her feel desired and female again.
As his gaze lingered, making a discreet sweep of her body, the room receded in her vision. The other occupants seemed to disappear. The heat enveloping her chest dipped lower, to her nether regions, reminding her of her wanton nature. Reminding her that he would expect to share her bed tonight.
She dropped her gaze to the floor as he approached her.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered.
Gazing up at him, no response came to mind. He frightened her; she couldn’t remain unaffected by him.
Her grandfather saved her from the awkward pause in conversation. He cast a jaundiced gaze at Lord Drakethorne as her grandmother busily seated everyone. The minister motioned Christina and her groom to the front of the room, positioned them by the kneeling mats and began to read from his Bible.
At her side, Lord Drakethorne stood close, smelling of musk and man, as always. A sideways glance proved he looked better than sin in biscuit breeches, a crisp ivory vest and a burgundy coat. He smiled nicely enough, but she knew better than to allow him to penetrate the armor around her heart, no matter how manageable he seemed. She would not survive another broken heart.
Christina heard the minister murmur her name. She returned her attention to him and made the appropriate responses. Lord Drakethorne did the same, then took her hand in his warm, callused one. He slid a cool band of gold down her third finger, and the minister pronounced them man and wife. Lord Drakethorne clutched her hand, wearing a triumphant smile.
-188-
The Lady and the Dragon
As the day crept by and shadows lengthened, Christina grew more nervous.
Her new husband did not seem the kind of man easily dissuaded on his wedding night with a simple no. Could she bare her body to him without exposing her heart and soul?
Drat! How could she escape the dangerous possibilities her wedding night—
and every other wedded night—would bring? Fingers pressed to her temples, she shook her head. Somehow, she would survive her fate with dignity—and her heart unscathed.
The groom’s family departed after the evening’s brandy and cigars.
Scowling, Grandfather retired to his study. Christina resisted seclusion with her new husband by lingering over a glass of sherry, while her grandmother rose to leave, looking as if she wanted to impart advice about the coming intimacies. Christina looked away, hoping to avoid such a speech. The old woman left.
“Your grandmother seems to think I’m likely to chop you into little pieces and eat you for dessert,” her new husband remarked.
With an awkward shrug, Christina rose, resisting the urge to flee. She knew what Lord Drakethorne would want tonight. But the thought of sharing such herself with him made her tremble. At moments he reminded Christina of the Black Dragon. At other times, he was a virtual stranger. She knew next to nothing of her husband.
Beside her, he also rose, then reached for her hands. Christina allowed him to clasp her trembling fingers. Looking into the captivating sparkle of his dark eyes, she felt a stirring of feelings she’d believed dead.
“You need not be afraid of me.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I want only to make you happy.”
The fact her happiness mattered to him on any level filled Christina with wary hope. If she could ever forget the past and remember her quest for a pleasant, scandal-free future, she might survive this night.
He squeezed her hands again before releasing them, his expression conveying disappointment at her silence. “I need to have a word with your grandfather.”
-189-
Shelley Bradley
Did his departure mean he was not interested in pursuing their marriage bed, or was he simply giving her a moment’s privacy before he planned to invade her body?
She studied his retreating back. The confident stride hardly looked indicative of a man not interested in a woman’s charms.
After his exit, Christina made her way to her room. He would come to her tonight, want to explore and possess her.
God help her.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Drex knocked on Lilli’s bedroom door. Their wedding night had come—a night he had looked forward to for interminable weeks. After long days of dance and deportment lessons, Drex had lain awake in his father’s house fantasizing of the night he could strip away Lilli’s clothes and restraint and make love to her again. Afterward, she would realize she cared for him. He would reveal himself to her, and together, they would greet a free Ryan. The plan seemed perfect.
She cracked the door, her once expressive face closed. Taut shoulders and stiff posture dominated her bearing. The woman before him, she wasn’t the careless, carefree Lilli he remembered from their days together aboard the Lair.
This tense, careful woman was Christina—a woman he did not know well. A woman he would have to tread carefully with if he wanted his Lilli back.