Closing the locket back, she rose and padded over to the window to look out over the garden in the back of the house. Hopefully her evening with Stuart would pass quickly. She looked forward to another night with Gray.
Her entire body lit up as she remembered with great detail every caress, every kiss. He’d surprised her by not fully consummating their agreement, but perhaps tonight he would remedy that situation.
An aching pulse began between her legs, and she shifted back and forth to appease her discomfort. Her breasts tingled and grew tight. Her nipples hardened, and she imagined his hands and his mouth stroking over the buds.
A groan tore from her lips. It was going to be a long evening.
Chapter Seven
“It’s absurd. Completely unseemly,” Viscount Dudley huffed as he and Stuart climbed into his carriage and pulled away from the Penbury residence.
“I beg pardon?” Stuart said in a whiny voice that grated on his every nerve.
“The Penbury chit. She has no respect. If she is to bear the Dudley name, she must be taken in hand. Something the earl has obviously failed at.”
Stuart looked at him in puzzlement. “Jenna is the model of propriety. Whatever do you mean?”
“Does it not pain you that she has no regard for your dead mother?”
“Jenna has always had the utmost affection for Mother. What would cause you to say such a thing?”
“She doesn’t even wear the locket your mother gifted her with. It is a valuable family heirloom. Been in the Dudley family for four generations. Yet she treats it like a common trinket.”
He shook his head in disgust, but glanced sideways at Stuart to gauge his reaction. He nearly smiled in satisfaction when he saw a frown mar his son’s face.
“What is so important about the locket?” Stuart asked, his expression turning pensive.
“Nothing of import,” he hastened to say. “I merely hoped it meant more to Lady Jenna than it apparently does. She is the future Viscountess Dudley. Our heirlooms should be of great importance to her.”
“I suppose I see your point,” Stuart said rather grudgingly as if it pained him to be in any sort of agreement with his father.
“You should encourage her to wear it,” he prompted. “Perhaps she would take direction better from you since you are her fiancé.”
“I shall mention it to her,” he murmured. “Perhaps at the opera tonight.”
The viscount sat back in satisfaction, careful to hide his smug smile. His constant coddling of Stuart was wearing his patience thin, but if the imbecile knew of his true intentions toward Lady Jenna, he would likely balk.
###
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people at the opera,” Jenna said as she laid aside her opera glasses. She sat forward and surveyed the crowded boxes that dotted the upper level of the lavish opera house.
“I say, it is quite a crush,” Stuart agreed. He turned to face Quinn who sat behind Jenna and Stuart in the earl’s private box. “I had no idea you were fond of the opera, Quinn.”
“Yes, well, I’ve only recently become enamored,” he said with a wink in Jenna’s direction.
“Oh, look, the performance is beginning,” Jenna said excitedly as the lighting dimmed and the curtain rose. She leaned back in her velvet-covered seat, eager to take in the evening’s entertainment.
She cast a sideward glance at Stuart, who, as usual, sported an interesting array of fabrics and hues. Attired in a gold satin waistcoat and matching gold gloves, he shone as brightly as a street lamp. His silver ruffled shirt was contrasted by a red cravat and red formal breeches. And lastly, his feet were adorned with gold-colored half boots with rubies dotting the tops of the toes.
She shook her head and turned back to the stage, losing herself in the entrancing melody. But even as mesmerizing as the performance was, her thoughts still strayed to her impending meeting with Gray. A dreamy smile curved her lips. She quickly glanced sideways to make sure Stuart or Quinn were not observing her.
She needn’t have worried. Stuart was riveted to the stage, a look of rapture on his face, and Quinn looked like he would fall asleep at any second.
A sudden movement to her right startled her and drew her attention to the side curtain of their box. A shadowy form appeared, and Jenna found herself looking down the barrel of a pistol.
Stuart let out a gasp, and the intruder waved the gun menacingly at Stuart’s head. “Don’t utter a sound, me boy, and no one’ll get hurt,” the man growled in a low voice.
Jenna’s eyes flitted to Quinn who sat behind the pistol-waving lunatic. Had the man not seen him? He stood with his back to Quinn and now leveled his gun directly at Jenna.
