Mistaken for a Rake - Rose Pearson Page 0,31

will not stand for this, Lady Kensington!”

The tears faded from her eyes in an instant and, in that instant, Jeffery realized that it had been nothing more than an act. She sniffed once, delicately, before turning her head and looking towards the large windows that showed nothing but the clear night sky.

“You have ruined everything for me, Lord Richmond,” she said, her voice thin and flat as Jeffery fought to control his temper. “If you had only accepted my affections as you ought, then Lord Kensington would not have discovered us. I would have taken you to another room, to another place, where we would not have been disturbed. Your reputation would have remained intact and I would have gained what I have long desired.”

Jeffery shook his head, disgusted with her. “I do not simply do as you wish, Lady Kensington,” he said darkly. “It is not my fault that there have been consequences for your actions.”

She turned sharply to him, her eyes now a little narrowed. “Lord Kensington will barely allow me from his sight,” she said, her voice low. “Fortunately, this evening, he has been forced to depart from the house to deal with a serious business matter. Promising him that I would remain at home until he returned, I quickly prepared to depart, knowing that you had been invited here this evening.”

Jeffery snorted. “Lady Crawford is one of your close acquaintances, I presume.”

“She is indeed,” Lady Kensington replied without hesitation. “And she has given me the opportunity to speak with you so that my difficulties do not continue.”

A hard laugh escaped Jeffery’s lips. “Your difficulties are your own, Lady Kensington. I have nothing to do with them.”

Shaking her head, she spread her hands. “You are, unfortunately, the sole reason for such a thing,” she said with such a false sweetness that Jeffery turned away from her, no longer even able to look into her face. “If you had given me what I wished, then we might be just as we were. Just as we should be. And because you did not, there are consequences for us both.”

“Consequences I will bear,” Jeffery spat, rounding on her. “Consequences that have come from my choosing what is right over what you might wish for, Lady Kensington. I am determined to show society I am not what they believe me to be, that I am not this scoundrel who does the things as they say of me. Whether they believe me or not is yet to be seen, but I am determined to prove it.”

Lady Kensington tipped her head, looking at him in a bird-like fashion. Her eyes ran over his frame before returning to his face, and Jeffery’s stomach twisted. She was much more calculating than he had ever realized before, much darker in her considerations than he had ever perceived. And now he felt as though he were caught up in her schemes without having had any intention of being so trapped.

“Your reputation means nothing to me, Lord Richmond,” Lady Kensington began, her voice silk, her words like gentle caresses despite the harsh, cruel words that were being spoken. “I am entirely without sympathy for where you stand at present. In fact, I intend to make it all the more difficult.”

Jeffery’s stomach dropped but he did not move an inch. Instead, his frame stiffened, his eyes narrowed, and his hands slowly curled tightly into fists.

“You will not ask me what my intentions are?” Lady Kensington teased, her smile crooked and uninviting. “Very well, I shall tell you.” She took another step closer to him, her skirts rustling gently, and Jeffery felt himself begin to slide into a waiting darkness that was entirely impossible to escape from.

Lady Kensington waited for another few moments, allowing his torment to linger before she spoke again.

“I intend, Lord Richmond, to punish you for what you have done,” she said. “You have, it seems, escaped severe consequences from the ton as there are those within the beau monde who simply refuse to believe that you could ever have attempted to steal affections from another man’s wife.” Her lip curled in either anger or distaste and Jeffery turned on his heel, refusing to look at her and instead making his way back to the door. He yanked at the door handle once, twice, but still, it would not budge.

Behind him, Lady Kensington laughed. “The door will not be open to you until I have finished what I have to say,” she said as though it was