have taken to tell me of something so inconsequential. Surely your son could have sent word himself, if that was his intention. I wonder he made no mention of his impending journey when I first extended the invitation.’ A pause. ‘I must say, Lady Tyringham, such a trifling matter seems to have caused you and your husband a great deal of vexation. Tell me, why are you both so determined to prevent it? Fathers are supposed to be ambitious for their sons – the eldest above all. But then . . .’
His eyes blazed into hers as he left the words hanging in the air. Frances could hear her pulse thrumming in her ears. ‘But then?’ she repeated. Say it. Even though it was the thing she feared, she needed to know for certain that Lady Vaux had betrayed her secret.
The duke took a step towards her and cocked his head to one side. As he slowly exhaled, she caught the bitter aroma of stale wine on his breath. There were dark shadows under his eyes and his soft skin appeared pallid and drawn. Even though he had feigned his illness earlier that month, he was not the image of youthful vigour he had once been, Frances reflected, momentarily distracted from the fear that was coursing through her.
He brought his mouth so close to her ear that his lips almost brushed against it. ‘George is not his son, is he, my lady?’ he whispered.
Frances jumped back as if scalded, her heel jabbing painfully on the bark of a tree. Swift as a cat, Buckingham pinioned her arms and pushed her against the gnarled trunk.
‘Who would have believed that such a pious woman would have played the whore?’ he drawled. She could feel the heat of his arousal as he pressed his hips against hers. ‘And with a notorious traitor. Did the danger of the forbidden excite you, Lady Tyringham?’ He trailed his lips along her neck. ‘Does it still?’
‘No!’ she cried, wrenching her arms free and striking him a stinging blow across the face. His eyes bored into hers as he touched the welt with his fingers, then tightened them into a fist. Frances flinched, waiting for him to strike. But he gave a low chuckle and stepped away from her.
‘Your virtue is safe, my lady. Such borrowed flesh is hardly enough to tempt me.’ He gave a sniff and brushed the remnants of bark from his palms. ‘Besides, it is your son who interests me, not you.’
Frances clenched her hands into fists as she stared at him. ‘If any harm should befall him— ‘
‘Then it will be entirely of your making. What a torment that must be for you, knowing your treachery has blighted his life. If ever the King should learn that Master George is not his beloved Thomas’s son, but the bastard of one of the Powder Treason plotters, he would have your head and the boy’s too.’
‘He would not believe it,’ she spat back. ‘What proof could you offer? His Majesty would hardly accept the word of your friend Lady Vaux.’
She caught the momentary shock on his face before he recovered himself.
‘I would not need that when there are plenty of men to attest to how greatly your son resembles Tom Wintour.’ He moved towards her again. ‘The King has long had you marked as a witch and a traitor. Were it not for the love he bears your husband, he would have had that pretty neck snapped long before now. If I should tell him what I have learned, it would merely confirm his suspicions.’
Frances’s gaze did not waver, though fury and fear surged through her. ‘Then tell him, Your Grace.’ Her voice was as sharp as flint. ‘But do not think to threaten me. I have no fear of death.’
Buckingham gave a sad smile. ‘For yourself, perhaps not. But for your precious boy? Ah, I see that is a different matter. What would a mother not do for her firstborn son?’ Another step closer. ‘I intend to find out, Lady Tyringham.’
Frances held her breath as he traced his index finger slowly down her neck to the swell of her breasts. ‘What would you have me do?’ she rasped, swallowing her terror and revulsion.
His eyes flashed with desire as his lips curled into another slow smile. ‘I am sure there are many services you might perform for me. My only difficulty will be in deciding which should come first.’ His fingers still hovered above the