One Night With You (The Derrings #3)(57)

Jane studied Julianne as she slowly chewed her toast.

"Excuse me, ladies." Seth rose to his feet. "I have an appointment to keep. Julianne, I'll send Knightly along."

Julianne dabbed a napkin over her broad smile. "Thank you." Seth faced Jane. For a moment, his eyes darkened with something indecipherable. "Jane." He gave a single tight nod.

Heart in her throat, she watched him depart, stirring her tea absently as his broad back disappeared from sight.

"Jane." At the sound of her name, she returned her attention to her sister-in-law. "You've met Mr. Knightly…" Julianne paused, her slender throat working for words.

"Yes?" she prompted.

"What do you think of him?"

Jane answered slowly, "He seems a fine gentleman." Unsure she knew enough about him to assess his character, she added, "Although I've not had the chance to make his acquaintance to any great degree."

"I have," Julianne confessed, leaning forward in her chair, her expression rapt, reminding Jane of the girl she had once been, full of anticipation and wide-eyed na?veté. "He's brilliant! So witty and charming. Oh, Jane!"—she clasped her hands together before her—"he listens to me. No gentleman has ever listened to me as he does. And he treats me as though I'm whole and not some invalid. My own family has never even treated me like that."

"It appears you've grown quite attached," Jane murmured, concerned over the tendre Julianne was clearly forming for Seth's valet.

"Jane…" Color flooded Julianne's face.

"Yes. What is it?" Jane prodded.

"Mr. Knightly. Is he… handsome?"

Jane stared in surprise.

At her silence, Julianne rushed forth, babbling, "Not that it matters a great deal. It wouldn't change my feelings for him. I'm simply curious and would like to hear a woman's opinion."

"Yes. He is attractive. Any lady would think so, but Julianne—" She shook her head as if to clear it. "What sort of feelings do you speak of?"

"I'm in love with Gregory." Julianne leaned forward, hands flattening on the linen covered table before her. "You mustn't tell Seth, Jane. He wouldn't understand. Swear it, Jane. Swear to me." Jane's mouth worked for a moment, wondering how she could keep such a thing from Seth. He cared deeply for his sister. He had married for Julianne's sake! How could she keep such a thing from him? What would he do if he discovered she harbored such a secret?

"Jane," Julianne's voice broke into her musings, insistent and desperate. "Promise me you will not tell."

Feeling as though a deep and lasting noose settled about her neck, she relented with a sigh. "I promise."

A sour taste flooded Seth's mouth at the sight of the woman lounging on the chaise, the morning sunlight streaming through the window gilding her fair hair.

Madeline. The mere sight of her had once sent his heart pounding. Crossing his arms over his chest, he surveyed the woman that had once filled his every dream, an odd sort of detachment coming over him as he eyed the impeccably coiffed lady idly caressing a figurine of cut glass in her hands.

She had changed over the years. Her face had narrowed, the rounded curves of her cheeks lost to delicate angles and hollows. Her girlish figure had filled out. The waist was no longer so small. The breasts she had permitted him to caress beneath the summer sun had grown fuller. Changes aside, she was still one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. And yet he felt nothing. Nothing save a rueful regret for losing his head over such pretty packaging. And a renewed determination to never lose his head over any woman again.

"Your Grace," he greeted, executing a sharp bow.

Her head swung in his direction. "Seth, dearest." She set the figurine back down on the table with alacrity and rose in one graceful move. Her glossy lips curved in a hungry smile. "Surely we are beyond such formality. We're family now, after all." She walked toward him, her hips swaying seductively.

Family. A cold wind swept through him at the very idea.

She stopped before him, one hand propped on her cocked hip. "Although I was not invited to the wedding"—the fine porcelain skin of her nose wrinkled—"a rather slap-dash affair, I imagine." Her hand toyed with the ivory lace fringing on her low-cut bodice, beckoning his gaze. "But then Jane was never one to expect much from her husbands."

His hands clenched at his sides, unsure if the gibe was an insult to him or Jane. And the reminder of Jane having been married to someone else—though not news—caused an unfamiliar tightness in his chest. "The goal was expediency, Maddie."

Her gaze softened. "You were the only one to ever call me that." Her fingers brushed his cheek, where the scar split his flesh. A feral glow filled her eyes. "How fierce you look now. Dangerous. Quite appealing, really." Her voice dropped to a rhythmic croon. "I'm so sorry, Seth. It should have been you and me—"

"Don't," he bit out. "What we had is dead."

And in that moment, he realized he spoke the truth.

Staring at her ice-like beauty, so perfect she could have been chiseled from stone, he realized with a jolt that the love he once held for her had been grounded in infatuation—in a determination to possess the one person everyone told him he could never have. Looking at her, he could not recall what he had loved beyond her face.