Page 36 of Dukes All Night Long

Fin

F ate had trapped Fin into a nightmare he couldn’t escape from.

Lord Finch Reid had only wanted to focus charitable efforts and forget about his heartbreak, but it seemed that had bitten him in the arse.

He hadn’t been prepared to face Lady Jenny.

The woman he had once intended to marry.

The woman who haunted his thoughts more often than his father or brother.

But it wasn’t just those bastards who had ruined everything.

She could have given him a chance to explain. If she’d cared for him at all, as she led him to believe, she would have done so.

Then again, her brother hadn’t let him through the door when he’d called. And who knew if the note he’d painstakingly written had ever reached her? Judging by the way she’d greeted him tonight, she’d long believed the worst.

He ought to thrash her brother for letting her take on such a dangerous mission.

But then, knowing Jenny, she wouldn’t have asked permission.

Her brother likely hadn’t the faintest idea where she was, which meant the burden of protecting her now fell upon Fin.

Whether she wanted his protection or not.

Fin stared at the moon, trying to shift his thoughts. But no matter what he did, his mind kept drifting back to the spirited, blonde woman who had captured his heart long ago.

The scandal the ton believed to be true had been perfectly engineered by his father and brother.

Thomas’s lack of restraint had always been a problem.

Always lashing out under their father’s iron fist. But impregnating a barmaid was harder to cover up than stolen pocket watches and childhood mischief.

As always, Fin was expected to take the fall. Nothing was more important than the dukedom, and Fin was merely the spare, always in service to the heir.

He hadn’t agreed to do so, but it didn’t matter. The duke made sure the scandal sheets had Fin’s name before the truth ever had a chance to surface.

So Fin became the villain as fast as the pages could be printed. He left London in disgrace, reputation in ruins, and the woman he loved convinced he was nothing more than a rake and a liar.

He should have never returned. His mother had left him funds that he’d wisely invested. Fin really had no need to bother with his father or brother at all. But part of him held out hopes he might find a family. Or have married into one, if he’d have been able to propose to Jenny.

Almost a year had passed since he’d last been this close to her. Since he’d breathed in the scent of lavender from her skin. Since she’d looked at him with something akin to love instead of contempt.

He scanned the tree line, forcing his mind to settle.

But damn it all. What was he going to do?

He’d spent the last year traveling the continent, hoping the scandal would die down.

Three months ago, he’d returned to London, avoiding society altogether and devoting himself to charitable causes instead.

It was the only thing that gave him purpose.

Redemption, even. From what, he wasn’t certain since he’d done nothing wrong, but at least it was something meaningful to do with his time.

And keeping busy was his only hope of easing the ache in his chest every time he thought of Jenny. An ache that had quickly become unbearable from the moment her piercing sapphire eyes bore into him with nothing but hatred.

The carriage hit a rut in the road. He heard her gasp softly, and despite himself, strained for another sound.

The urge to check on her clawed at him, but he kept his eyes on the road, remembering that it was his job to be on the lookout for danger.

And allowing himself to hold on to any hope that she might hear him out, was certainly far too dangerous.

They arrived at the drop-off point without incident.

The women and children were ushered to safety, where they’d rest before the next leg of their journey.

When it was time to depart, Jenny reboarded the carriage alone, shutting the door firmly behind her, confirming she wouldn’t allow him to ride in the coach with her.

Fin gritted his teeth and climbed atop the carriage beside the driver again, the cool night air whipping against his face as they began their journey back to London.

The driver started the carriage. The moon cast long shadows across the countryside, its silvery light illuminating the road before them. No sign of danger.

As always, his thoughts drifted back to her. Wondering if she also thought of him. If he still affected her at all.

It didn’t surprise him that she also sought charitable endeavors.

Her compassion was one of her many appealing qualities.

Along with her wit, her fire, the way she saw through pretense, and didn’t give a damn about titles.

How she never cared that he was the son of a duke.

And he’d felt the love radiate from her the first time he’d kissed her.

And the first time he’d introduced her to pleasure from his hand.

He’d only done so because he knew he’d marry her.

He’d believed she was his future. His everything.

Fool.

Fin should have known that his father and brother would ruin things.

The night air grew colder as they continued their journey, and Fin couldn’t stop the memories flooding his thoughts. The last time he’d kissed her, it had been under moonlight just like this. Her lips had been soft, her breath warm, and her body pressed against his.

A crack tore through the night, followed by a violent lurch that nearly threw Fin from the seat. The carriage tilted to one side. Its wheels screeched while the horses whinnied in distress.

“Bloody hell!” the driver shouted, wrestling the reins. “Axle’s gone!”

A shriek rang from inside.

Fin was off the seat before the carriage fully stopped. He tore open the door, his heart stammering. “Jenny!”

She was braced against the wall, eyes wide, hair loose and wild around her shoulders. Moonlight spilled across her worried face. All he wanted to do was take her into his arms.

“Are you hurt?” he called to her.

“I’m quite all right,” she clipped. But the tremor beneath her words betrayed her. “What happened?”

“The axle’s broken,” he replied, offering his hand.

She didn’t take it. Instead, she gathered her skirts and stepped down with practiced poise, refusing to look at him.

Fin forced himself to step back as Jenny assessed the wreckage. The carriage leaned precariously to one side, the broken axle jutting like a snapped bone. They were stranded on a country road, miles from London. It was going to be a long night indeed.

“How long will repairs take?” she asked the driver.

The driver crouched beside the damaged wheel, his weathered face grim in the silvery light. “Can’t be repaired here, my lady. I’ll take one of the horses and return as quickly as I can with another carriage.”

“Nonsense,” Jenny said. “We can each take a horse and ride together.”

Fin sighed. “You’d be seen arriving in London at dawn… unchaperoned. I hardly think scandal will improve your season.”

It would, of course, guarantee she became his wife if they were to be seen, but was it too much to hope that his future bride might throw herself in his arms willingly?

Jenny huffed and crossed her arms, drawing his gaze to her chest. Damn it. It had been too long since any woman stirred him, and she still did it without even trying. Just another example of the hold she had over him.

“I’ll remind you, Lord Reid, that my reputation and actions are none of your concern,” Jenny replied frostily. “You’ve no right to dictate my choices when you’ve made yours perfectly clear.”

The moon glinted in her eyes, silver and fire. Fin’s jaw tightened.

“Be reasonable, Jenny,” he said, lowering his voice. “What would your brother say if you arrived home at dawn astride a horse with me at your side? The gossips would have a field day.”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “How noble of you. Shame you discovered propriety so after the fact.”

The driver cleared his throat uncomfortably. “There’s an inn two miles back. Shall I go for help while you both stay with the carriage?”

Jenny tipped her head to the stars, clearly wishing for deliverance. “Fine. Be quick. And don’t mention either of our names.”

The driver nodded and disappeared into the darkness, leading one horse by its reins. The sounds of hoofbeats faded into the night, leaving Fin and Jenny in a suffocating silence.

Jenny paced along the roadside, her skirts brushing the dewy grass. The moonlight turned her golden hair silver. Fin leaned against the lopsided carriage, watching her. It might have been an amusing scene if he didn’t feel the heat of her ire.

“Given that we are stranded together,” he began at last, his breath forming a slight mist in the cool night air. “Perhaps we might declare a temporary ceasefire?”

She didn’t stop pacing. “I see no need. Silence will serve us fine.”

Crossing her arms tighter, as if holding herself together, she didn’t stop moving. The night air had grown colder, and she hadn’t brought a cloak or pelisse.

Fin noticed how she trembled and fought the urge to warm her.

“You’re cold.”

“I’m fine!” she snapped. Another shiver betrayed her.

Wordlessly, he shrugged off his coat and held it out to her.

“I want nothing from you.”

Fin sighed, his patience wearing thin. “For God’s sake, Jenny, take the coat before you catch your death. Your stubbornness will hardly serve you well if you fall ill.”

She snatched it from his hands and wrapped it around herself like armor. “I’m not stubborn.”

“You are maddeningly stubborn,” he muttered.

Her eyes snapped to him. “Forgive me for not trusting the man who fondles a woman one night and beds another the next.”

The words sliced clean through him.

“You really believe that?” he snarled. “That what happened between us meant nothing to me?”

She fell silent, the deep frown confirming exactly what she believed.

Fin clenched his jaw until it hurt. “Did you ever once consider there might be more to the story than what appeared in those damned gossip sheets you so readily believe? Perhaps if you would have given me the courtesy of a simple conversation…”

Jenny lifted her chin, defiant even wrapped in his coat.

“And what would you have said? That it was all a misunderstanding? That the woman who named you as her child’s father was mistaken?

” She released a hollow laugh, taking a step closer to him.

“And then you left, hiding from your responsibility. What are you even doing here? Atoning for abandoning the woman and your child?”

“I have no child!” he ground out.

“Don’t lie to me!” she hissed. “Everyone knows what happened at that inn—”

“What? That I seduced a stranger and fled responsibility? That I abandoned the babe?”

He stepped toward her, each word clipped with fury.

“My brother got that girl with child. My father paid to silence her and spun the story before I even knew what happened. I took the fall. Without my agreement, mind you. That’s what spares do, apparently.

They protect their disgraceful brother merely because he was born first. Meanwhile I had to flee London, heartbroken and disgraced. ”

Jenny froze.

Fin stared at her with a pounding heart. All he wanted was to crush her mouth beneath his, to erase the space between them. But not until she believed him.

Not until the hate in her eyes gave way to something else. Something that indicated all was not lost between them.