A Dangerous Game (Regency Spies & Secrets Book 2), Laura Beers [i read books TXT] 📗

Miss Jenkins smiled coyly at him. “Everyone knows you only married her because you wanted to save her from the Duke of Billingham.”

“That is only part of the reason.”

“Come now,” she said, “you didn’t truly want a wife, did you?” She took a step closer. “If you must know, I don’t mind sharing you.”

Oliver stiffened. “I do not appreciate your insinuation,” he declared. “I am a married man.” She brought her hand up to touch him and he grabbed her wrist. “I’m serious, Miss Jenkins. Whatever we had in the past is over.”

A smirk came to her lips. “If you say so,” Miss Jenkins said, pulling back on her arm. “But no one believes you are capable of being faithful to one woman.”

He watched as Miss Jenkins swept back into the ball before he turned around and saw Emmeline was watching him from a short distance away, her face pale.

In a few strides, he closed the distance and asked, “What is wrong?”

“I saw you with Miss Jenkins,” Emmeline shared.

“Nothing transpired between us,” he asserted.

“You two appeared rather close.”

He frowned. “If you must know, Miss Jenkins and I have a past together. I have taken her on carriage rides and have dined with her family.”

Tears came to her eyes, making her eyes sparkle in the moonlight. “Did you intend to court her?”

“I did not.”

“But I took away your choice to do so.”

Oliver placed his hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter,” he stated. “We are married, and I promised that I would be faithful to you. Until my dying breath, I will not betray you.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip before saying, “But what if I want more from this marriage?”

He furrowed his brow. “What are you saying?”

Meeting his gaze, unyielding, she said, “I have developed feelings for you, and I have tried to suppress them, but I can’t. If anything, they have only deepened.”

Oliver remained close but let his hand drop to his side. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any more of myself than I have already given you.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she reached up to swipe it away. “I understand,” she said. “It is awfully unfair of me to want to change our agreement after we wed.”

“Emme—” he attempted.

She put her hand up, stilling his words. “Please, forget I said anything.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“I think it would be for the best.” Emmeline took a step back. “If you will excuse me, I believe I shall retire for the evening.”

“Would you like me to escort you home?”

She shook her head. “I want to be alone right now.”

As she brushed past him, Oliver reached for her arm. “This has nothing to do with you, Emme,” he said. “You must know that.”

“Then what does it have to do with?” she asked, turning her gaze towards him.

“I’m afraid I am not at liberty to say.”

Emmeline gave him a sad smile. “If you ever decide to trust me, I can promise that I would be your fiercest ally.”

Oliver dropped her arm and watched as she hurried into the ballroom with her head held high. He had the sudden urge to chase after her, to apologize, but he remained rooted in place. He couldn’t do that to her, or himself. He stood by his words.

“Blast it,” he muttered under his breath.

His wife had bravely confessed that she had feelings for him, and he had to admit that he held her in high regard, as well. But he couldn’t act on his feelings. He was, first and foremost, an agent of the Crown.

Chapter Twelve

Emmeline leaned her shoulder against the windowsill as she stared out the window and wondered what was going to become of her. She had brazenly confessed her feelings to Oliver, and he had rejected her. He refused to let her in, to trust her.

A tear rolled down her cheek, but she didn’t bother to wipe it away. Her heart ached at the thought that she was trapped in a marriage to a man that she desperately cared for, knowing he didn’t hold her in the same regard.

The door to her bedchamber opened and her lady’s maid entered the room, closing the door behind her. “Are you ready to undress for bed, milady?” Mary asked in a cheerful voice.

“I suppose I am,” she said, glancing over at her.

Mary gave her a concerned look. “You’ve been crying.”

“I have,” she replied, seeing no reason to deny it.

“Whatever happened to make you so upset?”

Emmeline straightened from the windowsill and walked over to her bed. As she sat down, she revealed, “It was a mistake for me to go to the ball. Everyone was staring at me.”

“I am sure it only seemed that way,” Mary attempted.

“No, they were blatantly staring and whispering behind their fans.”

“I am sorry to hear that, but the scandal will die down shortly enough,” Mary encouraged. “You just need to give it more time.”

Emmeline sighed. “But that wasn’t even the worst part.”

“No?”

“I decided I needed a moment alone, so I went out into the gardens, and I witnessed Oliver having a conversation with Miss Jenkins.”

“I am not familiar with her.”

Emmeline pursed her lips, then said, “Miss Jenkins is not someone that I would willingly choose to associate with. She has a sharp tongue that she uses quite frequently.”

“I can see why you wouldn’t wish to associate with her, then.”

“I was unable to hear what was being said, but it was evident that Miss Jenkins was flirting with Oliver.”

“How did Lord Oliver react?”

“He didn’t appear to reciprocate her advances, but it made me realize that I’ve been awfully unfair to him. By marrying him, I took away his right to find his own bride.”

Mary came to sit down next to her on the bed. “Oliver knew what he was getting into when he agreed to marry you.”

“I told him how I felt,” she admitted.

“I take it that it didn’t go well.”

Emmeline shook her head. “It did not,” she shared. “He politely informed