Page 17 of The Marquess of Temptation
Chapter Eight
"Are you quite certain that Jane would have come to Cornwall?" Lord Payne asked Miss Bowstock, for what was probably the millionth time on the journey.
Alex gritted his teeth in annoyance; Belinda had told him a dozen times that Jane was headed for St Jarvis, and yet the heir to Hawkfield insisted on repeating the question. Payne was half convinced that Mr Jackson had kidnapped Miss Deveraux and spirited her away to London, but as her companion had pointed out, a kidnapped woman would not have had the time to pack.
"I'm quite certain," Belinda replied touchily, her eyes focused on the countryside outside the carriage window. Alex refrained from heaving a sigh of annoyance at her resolute refusal to look anywhere but at him. When the house had woken to find that Jane had disappeared, Belinda had quickly volunteered to accompany Lord Payne to Cornwall to find her. This had prompted Alex to declare that he too would go, his declaration inspired by the roaring of jealousy within his chest. Lady Caroline had pragmatically said that she would go, so that Miss Bowstock was not travelling across the countryside, alone with two men.
Now,a day later, all four occupants of the carriage were irritable, having spent so long cooped up together, as they raced westward across the English countryside. Determination was a trait that Alex had always thought admirable in a person, but after a day of suffering Belinda determinedly avoiding any eye contact with him, he wasn't so sure.
"We're nearly here," Lord Payne said, with barely concealed relief as the carriage turned onto a coastal road. Alex watched as Belinda leaned forward, her face a picture of excitement.
"Oh, it's beautiful," she whispered, her eyes alight. "I always wanted to visit the North Coast. My father promised he would take me, but he never got a chance before he..."
She stopped speaking abruptly, her face slightly paler than before.
"I did not know your father had died, Miss Bowstock," the Marquess said gently, his first words to her in nearly a day. So Miss Bowstock was an orphan; he had been right, she was truly alone in the world, the realisation made his heartstrings tug in pity for her. "My condolences for your loss."
"Thank you, my Lord," she responded, bestowing upon him a swift, cursory glance, that let Alex know she was not a willing recipient of his pity --or anything else he had to offer her. He scowled; gracious, but she was stubborn.
The carriage trundled past hedgerows filled with early spring flowers; cowslips and daisies danced in long grass, whilst tantalising glimpses of the sea were visible beyond. The conversation in the carriage had dwindled to silence, but as they neared St Jarvis, Lady Caroline began to question her brother on his plan of action.
"I owe Jane a large sum of money for agreeing to pretend to be my betrothed," Lord Payne said with a shrug, ignoring Falconbridge's raised eyebrows, which were in danger of disappearing through the roof of the carriage. So their initial engagement had been a pretence? And Lord Payne had obviously found himself hoist by his own petard and deeply in love with the girl.
"She wanted to buy the boarding house." Pane continued, "If that is still what she wants, then that is what she shall have."
"You're setting her free," Miss Bowstock said, her eyes wide as she marvelled at his words. "Oh, how romantic."
"What utter tosh," Falconbridge was quick to put an end to Belinda's misplaced idea of romanticism. "If you love her, then you must fight for her Payne. Just a few days ago you were ready to put a bullet through Jackson for her hand."
"Jackson's not the obstacle any more, though," James shrugged, in a defeated manner that raised the Marquess's hackles. "It is Jane herself -and you can't suggest I put a bullet through her."
"No," Falconbridge retorted, wondering even as was speaking, if his words were directed to Payne or himself. "Though you can ruddy well tell her that you want her as your wife and that you won't take no for an answer."
He finished this sentence with a pointed look to Miss Bowstock, who flushed and turned her head away quickly. Belinda had been acting as though he had some sort of hideous, contagious disease since the night in the library. He knew that she was not immune to his charms, for he had felt her melt into his embrace and heard the whimpers of longing as he kissed her. What he had proposed was the perfect solution to both their problems; her precarious position as an unwed orphan and his frustration at desperately wanting to possess every part of her...and yet she was resisting. It was altogether most irritating, Alex vowed that once they reached St Jarvis, he would take Miss Bowstock aside and--and... He frowned; there was not much he could do to force Belinda's hand, he could not order her to marry him, no matter what he thought. She was a free agent, she could live her life as she pleased --though he could certainly try to persuade her with more kisses.
He settled back happily into his seat, happy to spend the last few hours of the journey plotting the various ways that he would persuade Miss Bowstock to accept his offer.
The carriage drew up in front of Jarvis House, an impressive pile of bricks, Alex had to admit. Lord Payne leapt from the carriage, without waiting for a footman and barrelled up the steps of the house. Lord Delaney and the two ladies had just disembarked onto the pebbled driveway, when Lord Payne came back out of the house and ran straight past them.
"Where are you going?" Lady Caroline called in frustration after the disappearing figure of her brother.
"The boarding house," Payne cried, sprinting in a manner most unbecoming for a man who would one day be a Duke. Caroline heaved a sigh and glanced apologetically at the Marquess and Miss Bowstock.
"I'm terribly sorry," she said, sounding anything but, "But we shall all have to get back into the carriage --for I'm not about to miss the sight of my brother proposing to his beloved."
And so the trio clambered back inside for the five minute drive to the town of St Jarvis, where the boarding house stood. The door was ajar when they arrived and, with Caroline leading the way, the trio followed the sound of voices to a parlour room, that was stuffed full of women.
Gracious; Falconbridge blinked in surprise, he had never seen so many women gathered together at once, each with their eyes fixed on a flame-cheeked Lord Payne, who was standing beseechingly before Jane.
"What did we miss?" Lady Caroline asked in a stage whisper that echoed across the empty room. Alex tried not to cringe at her obviousness; Payne was in awkward enough a situation without his sister making it worse.
"Lord Payne has told Jane that he loves her and wants her as his bride," a flame-haired woman with a Northern accent deadpanned, "Though he is willing to let her go, if that is what will make her happy."
Alex's attention to the proceedings was distracted somewhat by Miss Bowstock, who had turned a deathly shade of white and begun visibly trembling. As Miss Deveraux and Lord Payne confessed their love for each other, Alex followed the direction of Belinda's gaze to the corner of the room, where an older woman sat. The woman looked rather familiar, though at that moment Lord Delaney could not place her, nor think why her presence had upset Belinda so.
"I will marry you. I will love you for the rest of our days and I will be proud to stand at your side, as your Duchess."
Jane Deveraux's words broke the silence that had fallen in the room and as Lord Payne happily presented his fiancée to all present, a cheer went up. Alex, who had been momentarily distracted by the unfolding drama, spotted that Belinda was discreetly trying to leave the room. He made to follow her, only pausing as the old woman in the corner let out a cry that stopped him mid-step.
