“No wonder your grandmother drove men to distraction,” he grumbled at her. “You are obviously just like her.
“Am I?” she drawled at him. “Well, if I am, you had best beware, my Lord of Glenkirk. Madame Skye has outlivedallof her husbands,and her lovers, andis still going strong!”
He wanted to laugh at her, but instead her words gave him pause. His mother had been such a woman as Jasmine and Madame Skye. He was used to independent women, but James Leslie did not know if he approved of them. Still, his Isabella had been a meek wife, and while he had been fond of her, she had never excited him or intrigued him as Jasmine did. While his intended bride might be determined to chart her own path through life, the earl of Glenkirk knew that she would never embarrass him or set herself against him to bring dishonor upon his family’s name. She would never take the marquis as a lover although she might toy with him out of curiosity, and for herown amusement.And he would have to let her lest he risk losing her forever.“Be careful, darling Jasmine,” he said softly to her.
She turned a dazzling smile upon him. “I will,” she responded. Then she took pity upon him. “St. Denis is like a beautiful snake,” she explained. “I am fascinated, but I am not foolish, Jemmie.”
“He is quite determined to have you,” the earl said.
“Then he is the fool,” she replied. “The king has plainly said the decision is mine, and I made that decision in France.” She leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. “Go home, my lord. It is late, and I would seek my bed. Besides, poor Kipp St.Denis has been watching the house for hours now, and I am certain is quite exhausted. He will not leave until he is certain you are ensconced at Uncle Robin’s for the night. He is a loyal dog to his brother.”
“St. Denis is having you watched?”Glenkirk was astounded.
“He is very jealous,” she chuckled, escorting him to the garden door. “Now kiss me, and let us give him something to report to his brother this night, Jemmie, my love.” She slid her arms about him.
“Where is he?” the earl demanded.
“In the shadow of the wall that separates Greenwood from Lynmouth House,” she told him.“No!Do not look! As long as he believes himself concealed, I know just where to find him. If you look, he will know we know where he is and will seek another hiding place I may not so easily discover.” She gazed up at him seductively. “Don’t you want to kiss me, Glenkirk? St.Denis would kill to kiss me,” she taunted him.
Teasingly he nibbled at her lips. “You are ripe for bedding, madame,” he murmured against her mouth. Then he kissed her a hard, swift kiss before turning on his heel without another word and leaving her.
Her hand went to her mouth. It felt bruised with his fierce kiss. She watched him depart, moving quickly down the lawn, and across the garden, and through the almost concealed door in the ivy. She remained for a moment after he was gone, her legs jelly, a growing ache in her nether regions. Since he had moved to her uncle’s they had not made love even once. She realized now that she missed their shared passion just as much as he missed it. Damn the king! Damn Piers St.Denis! Damn everyone who stood in their way! It was over a month until their wedding day. Unless they could find a stolen moment before then, they would have to wait to be together once again. She didn’t know if she could bear it. She had grown used to James Leslie in her bed.
Piers St.Denis, however, had grown quite annoyed with Jasmine’s refusal to give serious consideration to his suit. He could never get her alone. Glenkirk was always with her but when she slept. Shortly she would announce her preference, and he knew it would be James Leslie, unless, of course, he could change her mind, but how could he when he was never alone with her? He complained to the king.
“I have not a chance with her with Glenkirk skulking about all the time,” the marquis of Hartsfield said, his tone petulant. They were in the royal apartments.
“Gracious, St.Denis,” taunted George Villiers, “do not say you are a laggard in love. I should not have thought it of you.” His dark eyes danced mischievously. “The rumors are certainly otherwise,” he finished with a grin.
Piers St.Denis threw the younger man a venomous look. “Your Majesty, I cannot court Lady Lindley if I must share her every waking minute with the earl of Glenkirk.”
“My husband has said the choice is Jasmine’s,” the queen said, not even bothering to look up from her embroidery frame.
“But how, madame, can she make her choice if she does not know me?” the marquis of Hartsfield almost shouted, frustrated.
“Perhaps,” the queen said giving him a mild stare, “she already has made her choice, my lord.”
“Sire! Youpromisedme a chance with Lady Lindley,” Piers St.Denis almost whined. “Youmustdo something!”
“I’ll send Jemmie to Edinburgh,” the king answered.
“James!”The queen’s tone was pure irritation. She had only earlier spoken most severely to him about his foolishness in attempting to meddle in Jasmine’s life again. Would he never learn?
“Now, Annie,” the king said, “our Piers is justified in his complaints. Jemmie will nae let him near the lass. Let him go up to Edinburgh to begin the arrangements for our visit there sometime in the future, perhaps next year or the year after. When he returns Lady Lindley will be allowed to make her choice. ‘Tis only fair.”
“She will not change her mind, Jamie,”the queen said, annoyed with her husband’s overindulgence of the marquis. “All you will do is outrage Glenkirk and possibly provoke Jasmine to some new rashness.”
“I will speak wi them myself,” the king said. “Our Piers must hae his fair chance wi the lady, Annie.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” the marquis said, kissing the king’s hand with gratitude.
The king caught the hand in his and smiled at the young man. Then he ruffled Piers St.Denis’s honey-colored hair. “Yer a braw laddie, Piers. How can she nae fall in love wi ye?”
“Well, it had best be settled now,” the queen said briskly. “Steenie, go and fetch Lady Lindley and Lord Leslie to us, will you?” She caught Villiers’s eye, and total understanding passedbetween them in that single moment. The queen liked George Villiers, and far preferred him as her husband’s favorite to the marquis of Hartsfield, whom she hoped eventually to remove from the picture entirely.
George Villiers leapt up. “At once, Your Majesty,” he said with an elegant bow, and was out the door before the king or St.Denis might protest on one pretext or another.
“There now,” the queen said with a sweet smile. “Now, my dear St.Denis, you will be able to begin your courting more quickly.”
