Page 67 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

“Surely, you don’t think I can stand by and allow Ansbach to usurp my role as London’s most vain, philandering ass.”

“Ye are nae like Ansbach at all,” she said fiercely. “I ken ye—”

“Yes?” he probed gently. After a long pause, Amalie sighed.

“I was wrong. Ye are nae rude, overbearing, vain, thoughtless, or cruel, and I am sorry for saying ye were.”

Stunned by Amalie’s confession and apology, Valeran stared at the dark shadow that was his wife. Light from a gas lamp illuminated her in a brief flash of light. She was staring straight ahead, and sat stiff and rigid in her seat.

“Thank you for that, Amalie,” he said quietly as triumph and satisfaction rolled through him. He’d managed to overcome one of the most difficult hurdles he’d faced where his wife was concerned. She was beginning to see he wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. She suddenly turned toward him.

“But ye are still an arrogant, frustrating mon,” she said with a mixture of irritation and amusement.

“Am I?” he chuckled

“Aye,” she said with a gentle snort of laughter. “I dinnae think ye can change, though.”

“So, I have definitely lost my crown to Count Ansbach.”

“Dinnae I just say ye are nae like the mon?”

“Simply because a man takes a wife doesn’t mean he loses his ability to seduce a woman, Amalie,” he chuckled, certain his words would ignite her fiery temper, and with it, the passion inside her.

“If ye are thinking tae humiliate me by taking a mistress, Lord Sommerville, I will make ye regret it.”

“Will you, now?” he grinned as a wave of elation swept over him the minute Amalie leaned toward him in a fiery display of outrage.

“Aye, my lord. If ye think I will allow ye tae make me a laughingstock, ye are mistaken,” she bit out through clenched teeth. “I will serve up your stones on a platter so fast, it will make ye head spin.”

“But I don’t want any other woman, Amalie. I want you.”

The moment his quiet words filled the space between them, Amalie shrank away from him to sit frozen in the corner of her seat. It was as if a coil of wire had been pulled straight and taut, then released, so it danced wildly in place as it regained its shape. She didn’t speak for a long moment before she dragged in a deep breath and slowly nodded her head.

“Then you may visit my bed chamber when you choose, my lord. I will not refuse you.”

Valeran’s jaw tightened so hard his face ached as he absorbed Amalie’s emotionless, stoic response. Christ Jesus, the woman sounded as if she were throwing herself on a sword. He didn’t want her giving herself to him because she felt obliged to do so. He wanted his wife to welcome him because she desired him.

Defeat pounded against him with a viciousness that made his entire body hurt almost as badly as his face. The victory he had believed was close at hand had been nothing but a mirage. His wife was determined to keep a wall between them, and he was out of ideas as to how to break through to reach the woman he wanted behind it. The Rolls Royce rolled to a stop in front of Sommerville House. One hand gripping the door handle, he pushed the door open with a vicious thrust.

“I want a woman in my bed, Amalie, not a sacrificial lamb,” he said grimly.

Teeth clenched tightly together, Valeran climbed out of the vehicle and strode into the house, leaving Amalie to follow without his assistance. He knew his behavior was not that of a gentleman, but at the moment, he didn’t give a fuck.

§ § §

The door of The Black Horse creaked open, and Valeran caught the thin, ghostly stream of light spilling outward into the night. For the past two hours, he’d been standing several hundred yards down from the pub’s door, waiting on Ellerbie to emerge.

“Tell Silas he can kiss me fucking ass, the bastard.”

Ellerbie’s jovial insult was met with loud, raucous shouts of laughter sailing out into the night. As the man always did, Ellerbie headed toward the boarding house where he slept, but Valeran followed him nonetheless, he took no chances that Ellerbie might bypass the boarding house and head to a new place. He gave the man a good head start before stepping out of the shadows to follow him. If the Ellerbie stayed true to his normal routine, the man would fall through the door of the boarding house and spend the night snoring loudly.

Up ahead, Valeran heard his quarry shuffle to a stop, and in the next second, the air stirred in front of him as the man’s shoes clattered noisily against the cobblestones, heading directly for him. Even in the dark, Valeran could see the man’s bulky shadow, and he easily side-stepped Ellerbie as a matador would a bull in the ring.

“Here now, what the fuck is wrong with you, mate,” Valeran snarled as the man spun around to and started to charge forward again.

“You’ve been following me.”

“Bugger off, man, why the devil would I be following you? I’m headed for bed. You reek of ale, and it’s made you delusional.”