Page 32 of Her Sweetest Rogue (The Worthington Legacy #6)
T rey paced the floor of the drawing room while his mother looked through Judith’s prospective husbands checklist for the tenth time. She jotted down notes of what she knew about them. He passed the window and stopped to gaze across the meadow, watching for Judith and Hawthorne to return. They’d been gone a good hour.
Surprisingly, Judith looked more refreshed this afternoon when she entered the drawing room than he figured she should. Especially after last night. She didn’t have dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Instead, her eyes gleamed with luster when she’d first glanced his way.
Had he been the only one who’d lain in bed, tossing and turning, wondering why they could never be together?
Trey stopped by the window and looked out again. His life was torture, and knowing she was out with his best friend didn’t help matters, either. Although Judith tried to assure him she was in good hands, Trey knew the way his friend worked. Hawthorne courted the women he wanted to make his mistress, making them think they had a chance to become the next Lady of the manor. Hawthorne didn’t have a heart when it came to women. He used them for the same reasons Trey did.
Yet, somehow, he believed Judith didn’t have those feelings for the marquess. Not when she looked at Trey with adoring eyes, and stroked him with a lover’s touch like she had by the stairs earlier.
Groaning silently, he rested his forehead on the glass pane. He knew that look. It had been on Judith’s face for a few days now. The same look most women gave him when they were infatuated. Judith didn’t have a reason to love another man now. Could he have replaced Mr. Cutler in her heart already?
Although the idea caused excitement to stir in his chest, he tried to convince himself he didn’t want her to think of him in such high regard. He didn’t want her love, and to be sure, he didn’t deserve it.
Or did he?
“Trey, dear?”
His mother’s shrill voice jerked him out of his thoughts. “Yes, Mother.”
“Do you think Lord Hawthorne would like to court Judith? He has been coming around quite often, but he has not made his intentions known.”
Inwardly, Trey seethed. “I would not know, Mother.”
“Well, I think Lord Hawthorne and Judith suit very well. I think he will make her a perfect husband. Do you not agree?”
He balled his hands into fists and shoved them into his pockets. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm his ire. Why couldn’t his mother see how wrong it would be to pair Judith with Nic?
“Mother,” he began through clenched teeth, “I think it has slipped your mind that Lord Hawthorne is a titled rogue. Therefore, pairing him with Judith is out of the question. She does not need a man like that.” He took another deep breath. “She requires a man who will stay faithful to her, who will love and cherish her forever.”
He turned to look at his mother. Her frown deepened as she sank into the sofa, her shoulders drooping. He closed his eyes and cursed his inability to think before speaking. His mother had also deserved a better husband than the one she married. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a thing his mother could have done about her marriage, short of divorcing, anyway.
“Mother, forgive me.” He walked to her and touched her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “I didn’t think—”
“No need to apologize, my dear,” she said softly. “You are absolutely right. Judith is a very special young woman, and she deserves only the best.” She patted his hand and looked up at him. “However, whether you have heard this or not, I have been told reformed rakes make the best husbands.”
He grinned. “They do?”
“Mind you, I don’t know this first hand, but I have friends who swear this is true.”
He bent and kissed her cheek. “Then I’m quite certain Lord Hawthorne will make some lovely creature a wonderful husband. Unfortunately, it will not be our Judith.”
She pulled back to look him in the eyes. “And pray, why not?”
He straightened. Once again, irritation flowed through him like water over jagged rocks. He didn’t want his best friend touching and kissing the woman Trey could not get out of his mind.
“The subject is closed, Mother. Hawthorne will not be considered.” He folded his arms and stalked across the room to the window again. “Dominic is my friend, and as my friend, he better have the decency to remain a gentleman in Judith’s presence. I will not ever consider this match, so I expect you to drop the matter.”
“Yes, dear.”
His mother remained on the sofa as she looked at the list of prospective suitors. He’d like to toss the paper in the fire and never think of it again. The list turned his stomach in the worst way.
Letting out a deep sigh, he rubbed his forehead where a small throb started. How could he go through with this? How could he sit back and watch men court Judith and not stop it? There had to be a way to numb his heart. By allowing her to marry a man who would truly love her, Trey was saving her from a lifetime of heartache if she married him. Yet, convincing his heart it was the right thing was harder than he thought.
From down the hallway, jovial voices rang through the corridor. Trey hurried to the door, anxiously waiting for Judith and Nic to arrive. When Trey noticed their expressions, his gut twisted. Judith sashayed in the drawing room holding on to Nic’s arm, both smiling wide as if they shared a delightful secret.
Balling his hands into fists, Trey shoved them behind his back before someone noticed. His mother beamed and motioned for them to come closer.
As they passed Trey, Judith’s gaze met his briefly, her eyes twinkling with merriment. In haste, he studied her face, but thankfully, her lips weren’t swollen from a lover’s kiss as they’d been last night before he had left her room. That relieved him slightly.
“How was your ride, my dear?” his mother asked.
Judith’s grin widened. “Absolutely wonderful.”
“I must say, the weather has been very accommodating of late,” the dowager replied.
Nic bent over Judith’s hand and kissed her gloved fingers. “Thank you for such an enjoyable afternoon.”
“The pleasure was all mine.” Judith winked.
Nic straightened and nodded to Trey and then the dowager. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend.”
Trey gnashed his teeth as his friend walked out the door, but what bothered him most was the dreamy-eyed stare on Judith’s face as she watched Hawthorne leave.
“Judith dear, come sit by me,” Trey’s mother said. “We need to go through these invitations and see which ones to accept.”
“Certainly, Your Grace.”
The giddy expression on Judith’s face was replaced and covered by a mask. The same mask he’d seen her wear whenever she was accommodating his mother. He knew it well since he’d worn it for many years. Pleasing his mother wasn’t only necessary for her health, but his as well, especially if he wanted her to stop nagging at him for every little thing.
What was the real purpose of pleasing women? In his mother’s circumstance, he did so because making her happy would pacify her curiosity and especially her harping. So, naturally, it was worth sugar-coating the truth just to see her smile.
What about Judith? What ways did he please her outside kissing her? Their conversations lately had been heated, and all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and keep her there. They’d gone on a few rides around the estate together, which he knew pleased her. But what else made her happy? He could tell she enjoyed playing him for a fool. He chuckled to himself. Oddly enough, it pleased him to make her laugh even when he was the target of humiliation.
Truth be told, he liked the way his heart raced whenever she was around. He enjoyed the way he could make her smile. And laugh. On occasions their conversations became heated, and yet little by little, he had come to enjoy talking with her no matter if it left him in a temper—or her.
Never before had he wanted to please a woman by just talking. Yet Judith was so very different. He wanted to do things that made her smile. Knowing firsthand how miserable life was when thinking about departed loved-ones, Trey wanted to make certain his Judith was smiling and laughing. He loved seeing her eyes light up with happiness…then darken with passion.
Was there more to their relationship? What were the things they had in common? True, they both loved roses. They both loved horses. But was there more?
Strange, but he didn’t know this answer. Perhaps he should spend a few days getting to know her better. After all, he couldn’t let his mother pick the right man for Judith, and how else could Trey pick the right man for her if he didn’t know what Judith liked?
His stomach churned and bile rose to his throat. He couldn’t even think about choosing her husband, but he was more qualified than his mother was. After all, he knew most of these gentlemen. He’d know if they would love his Judith the way she deserved.
Pain enclosed around his heart and squeezed. Hopefully, this ache in his chest would disappear very soon. He couldn’t become emotional at a time like this.