The Wicked Game (A Wicked Game Novel) Read online

  But none of this mattered anyway. It didn’t matter how forcefully her mother paraded her around and it also didn’t matter how forcefully her men tried to hide her. Angela’s birth alone had made sure that everyone knew who she was. As the only female Bennett by blood, she was quite the celebrity. She had no shortage of suitors but secretly, she felt a shortage within herself.

  It wasn’t that she had a lack of attention. Quite the contrary. Everyone wanted to meet her and everyone wanted to be her friend… or more. “It is an extreme pleasure, surely,” they all said. But she hated all the attention they gave her. She absolutely bloody resented it! Everyone wanted the female Bennett; the beloved daughter of Lord Cheston. No one wanted her.

  Angela. Just Angela.

  All she ever wanted was for someone to see the real her; the woman she would have been if she had been born to another family, or simply had just had a sister.

  To the rest of the world she was a blank canvas and everyone just drew her how they saw her; the Baron’s daughter, a miracle from God, a pretty little present to hold on their arm. The worst part was that every person she had ever met drew her in exactly the same way. Maybe that wasn’t so horrible in itself other than that all of her supposed likenesses were as flat and one dimensional as the blank canvas they drew on. And then of course, they all drew a person who didn’t, in actuality, exist.

  No one really knew her. They saw what they expected and they apparently didn’t expect much. Angela learned long ago that although society saw her as the perfect woman, nothing much was really expected of a woman. And so day after day and ball after ball she stood with a smile painted on her face, rejecting all the knowledge that filled her brain and letting the people think what they might. After all they would think what they wanted anyway, no use in trying when it would only leave her in tears.

  Unconsciously she let out a scream and she felt like a teapot releasing its pressure. She tried it again, louder and more forcefully, this time allowing the tension to drain from her body in a slow and calming wave.

  “Miss Bennett?”

  The voice shocked her and she fell off of her seat and landed in a heap on top of her reading table.

  The voice spoke again. “I heard a noise. Is everything alright?”

  Angela collected herself and quickly rose to her feet, swaying slightly as she did so. The frightening voice she heard had only been Sarah, her lady’s maid, and her face was turning the same shade of green as the dress she held in her arms. Angela was expecting her and the dress, of course. She looked it over and realized that she had never seen it before. Mother. It was her mission to make sure that she never wore the same dress to society events and so far she was succeeding. What a ridiculous waste of money. If Angela had her way she would wear her riding breeches. What a happy day that had been! Angela had made them herself from scraps she found in the washroom and had gotten all too much pleasure out of the horror they caused her entire family. Now those would keep the men away.

  Maybe.

  “Miss Bennett? Is everything alright?” Sarah repeated as the color in her face began to fade back to normal.

  “Everything is fine. I just tripped.” Her answer was without conviction.

  She could tell that Sarah was not convinced but Angela didn’t press her. She was sure whatever story Sarah had spinning around in her head would make much better gossip than the truth.

  “I wanted to bring you this new dress. It’s the one your mother bought at that elegant store she came across in Wales. If I might speak quite frankly, Miss, it is truly ravishing.”

  “I know what you mean,” Angela retorted, eyebrow raised. She meant it was expensive, very expensive, and that if she didn’t wear it, she would never hear the end of it from her mother.

  Angela took the dress and eyed it cautiously as if it might bite her. It was then that she noticed Sarah staring at something behind her. Angela turned to see her reading table flat on the floor, all four legs splayed out like a squished bug.

  “Would you like me to send someone up to fix it?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Sarah headed for the door a little too quickly, no doubt to blab this little incident to anyone who would listen, and Angela almost felt bad stopping her to tell her she had forgotten the gloves.

  “Yes ma’am. I’ll bring them right back.” And she turned again and left the room, leaving Angela alone again, save for the dress.

  It really was a nice dress. It was soft, light green silk with just enough embellishment to be interesting and not gaudy. The neckline was a rather low swoop but just enough to be coy and not wanton. Angela held the dress up to herself and saw that the waist line was going to rest just slightly below her breasts and the sleeves were just a bit shorter than average. Leave it to mother to stay completely in vogue with the changing fashions. Even so, she couldn’t deny that it was a truly ravishing gown, even if it was green. She could hear her mother now, “Darling, no other color but green will do for that stunning auburn hair!”

  Just another reason for everyone to look at her.

  Now of course Angela was not completely opposed to attention. But the right attention from the right man. There was only one way that ever might be possible: if she could just meet a man who had never heard of her or her family. Fat chance of that ever happening.

  Dejected again, she went to her dressing room while she waited for Sarah to return. As she passed by the mirror she caught a small glimpse of herself and paused. How long had it been since she actually looked at her own reflection? It had more than likely been months, maybe even years. Long ago Angela had decided that men looked at her enough for the both of them and had thus stopped using mirrors unless absolutely necessary.

  But why did they look at her? Angela had never found herself particularly attractive. She had to admit that auburn hair was quite interesting and her green-grey eyes did hold a certain amount of allure. But was that enough? No, she never saw herself as ugly but she didn’t suppose she was a brilliant beauty either. So again, as always, who she was to them became more important than the real her.

  Angela lowered her robe slightly, just enough to see her collar bone and the top of her swelling breasts. She stretched her neck upward and observed the supple curve of her upper body. Her skin was smooth and silky and at this moment, slightly pink. It had to be the bath water because normally Angela’s skin had a milky tone that vaguely reminded her of a porcelain doll. She let the robe slip more.

  Now she could see her entire body all the way down to her navel. Her breasts were full and in their proper position; the nipples erect with the chill of the room. Her eyes were tracing down to her belly button and exploring the flowing curve of her hips when she heard the door open. Angela pulled the robe up covering her breasts but a great deal was still exposed. She turned around expecting Sarah with the gloves but her lady’s maid was not there.

  Instead, standing in the doorway was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

  ***

  It was the stranger she had seen earlier in the yard. And yes, he most definitely was a man. He must have been farther away than she thought for her to have mistaken him for a scrawny young boy. How else could she have judged him so wrongly? From this distance his appearance was unmistakable. Even through his clothes Angela could see that he had a strong and muscular frame. The strength of his arms bulged slightly and his legs matched the silhouette. Thin, powerful, and very alluring. Her eyes drifted a bit lower to his…

  No. She couldn’t and she looked at his face instead. His skin had been darkened from the sun, his brunette hair was unkempt, and he had the beginning of a beard. By conventional standards he was too rugged to be attractive. Everything about him was wrong but something about him just seemed so right. So, so…

  “Oh my God!” Angela suddenly realized with horror.

  She was still dressed in nothing than her robe, her very thin robe, completely exposed to him. How long had she been standing here, indecent, gawking
at this handsome stranger? It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, could it? She met his eyes and noticed now that he was staring at her too. Angela found her voice.

  “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my room?”

  ***

  Andrew had not expected to be set to work within minutes of arriving at the Baron’s country manor house. But when the maid had seen him and informed him that Miss Bennett’s table was in dire need of repair he had no choice but to fix it. He also had not expected Miss Bennett to be in the room…

  But when he opened the door, there she was. It would have been bad enough if she had just been sitting around but when he opened the door, she was in front of the mirror with her robe around her waist. He had only caught a small glimpse of her in the mirror before she pulled up the robe and turned around but it was enough to set him into a temporary paralysis. He had expected her to scream and him to be murdered, most literally, but instead her eyes fixed on him for a few moments. What was she looking at? Was she in shock too?

  He tried to pull his eyes away but he still could not move. She was wet and her robe was white and that was all there was to it. Even though she was mostly covered, the robe was sticking to her damp body and he could see every thrilling curve of her from the top to the bottom. He could even see a little bit through the robe. He felt a heat in his body and then he felt the beginning of a swelling. He saw her eyes move down and he prayed that she wouldn’t see his body’s reaction. Oh God, what a thing to pray for!

  He had just looked back at her face when awareness flashed in her eyes. She gasped and pulled her robe tightly around her.

  “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my room?”

  His paralysis ceased and though usually extremely verbose, he struggled for words.

  “Well—um—I—the maid, she—”

  In desperation he pointed towards the table by the window that was obviously broken. When he looked back at her, her face was stern as stone. So different than it had been only a few seconds before.

  “Please leave my room.”

  Andrew turned on his heels and fled, wondering what had just passed between them.

  ***

  Angela’s body went faint and she literally fell to the chair next to her. She grabbed a small leaflet of paper and began to fan herself. She was breathing heavily and she felt lightheaded. How could she have let that happen? If this were any other day she would have been dressed by now and long gone from the room. Long ago Angela had rejected the idea of having someone else dress her when she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. She practiced diligently until she had gained enough flexibility in her arms and back to be able to completely dress herself without help. She was the only woman she knew that could lace her stays and button her own gown and be off to the kitchen to sneak a quick snack before it was time to leave for the night. Sarah knew this and that was obviously why she had sent this man up to her room to fix the table. But this had not been the case today. Today, instead of dressing, she had nonsensically decided to gawk at herself half naked in the mirror. Of course Sarah would never have expected that. And of course, the man had not expected it either.

  Angela quickly got back in routine. She threw her chemise over her head and seized her stays, working quickly to attach the fastenings. She was just getting into her petticoat when Sarah walked into the room.

  “Oh Miss Bennett, forgive me. I was not expecting you to still be in the room!” Sarah exclaimed.

  “Neither was someone else…” Angela mumbled.

  “Miss?” Sarah questioned as she added another item to her gossip list.

  “Oh nothing. I just got umm, tied up for a moment and now I am running late.”

  By now she had finished hooking her petticoat on and had slipped into the gown. She was angrily fighting with the buttons when Sarah again noticed the reading table.

  “Oh Miss Bennett. Your table is still broken. Did the boy not come up here to look at it?”

  “Yes he did.” Angela gave Sarah a sharp look. “But as you can see I was not done dressing so I, uh, called through the door for him to leave.” But now she was done dressing and she turned to face her maid.

  Sarah looked embarrassed.

  “I’ll fetch him back for you, Miss. He—”

  “No, that won’t be necessary. I shall find him and introduce myself.” The words were out of her mouth before she knew what they meant. “Say what you want, and I know you will, but I assure you that I will speak to him in public, in full view of many others. Servant or royalty, I have no intentions of meeting any man in a secluded, dark corner. Ever!”

  Sarah let her jaw gape open and Angela left her there to stew while she went in search of the handsome stranger.

  Chapter Two

  Andrew disappeared down the hall as fast he could. What had happened back there? Why would that servant have sent him to the room of the Baron’s daughter and not warned him of her presence? Had it been some kind of cruel joke? Well whatever it had been it was not in the least bit funny. He had just seen the Baron’s daughter nearly naked. It was only a matter of time before she told someone and he would suffer the consequences. For a moment he thought about leaving. Just going right now. But if something were to come of this that action would be like admitting that he had meant to do it. And besides, he had never backed down from any obligation in his life. He was now obligated to serve this family and he would do so to the best of his abilities, for as long as he was allowed. Andrew had never known his mother but he inherited one trait from her that he held to tightly. His mother’s actions before his birth had taught him that some things in life are much more important than yourself. Andrew’s mother could have remained free. When she found herself pregnant she could have made many other choices, but instead she decided that her child’s life, his life, was more important than her own. And so she gave up her own life for his.

  As foolish as it might prove to be, this was why he could not bring himself to run. He gave his word to serve the Bennett family and he would stay and follow his duty. If something amiss were to come of his earlier encounter with the Baron’s daughter then it was his obligation to see it through. To an outsider Andrew’s decision might seem brainless, but to him, his obligation was a binding promise, his word as a man, and he would not back down.

  Andrew walked down the hallway that led to the servant’s stairs. He had briefly been shown where he would be sleeping before that maid had come looking for him. He didn’t have anything else to be doing at the moment so he was going up to his bed to think about his plan of action for what he knew was inevitable.

  He had just put his foot on the stair when he heard someone storm up behind him.

  “You!” he heard.

  Andrew turned around but he already knew who it was. It was her and she sounded angry. Very Angry.

  But God, he thought when his eyes finally rested on her: She sure is beautiful when she’s angry!

  ***

  As it turned out, Angela might as well have met the man in a secluded dark corner because where she found him by the servant’s stairs was pretty close. She looked around cautiously half expecting Sarah to be peering from a corner but found nothing. The one time she’s right and she’ll have no proof. How delicious.

  Angela turned her thoughts back to the task at hand and briefly wondered again just why she had set out on this task. With no answers in mind she contemplated what she would say when she finally found him, but now that he was here in front of her she lost all sense of herself. Only one word came out.

  “You!” She forced the sound through her chapped lips.

  Her voice had most definitely not come out the way she wanted and she cursed her body for its betrayal. Angela’s intentions had been to approach him confidently, introduce herself, and act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The stranger would then, of course, follow her lead… whatever that was. Nothing at all was going her way today. Her usually melodic voice left ins
tead her mouth meek but somehow, at the same time, with an angry undertone.

  What was wrong with her? As soon as she saw him standing there she went flush. Her knees slightly buckled and she lost her breath. Her first thought was that she must be embarrassed but she quickly dismissed it. This had not been the first time a servant had slipped into her room while she was less than decent. It was a common occurrence among all households with hired help and by custom it was never talked about and then “forgotten.” So again Angela puzzled over why she had been compelled to track down this man and confront him. Perhaps it was the moment of hesitation that passed between them. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it. All she knew was that she had been drawn to him nonetheless. Right now. This moment. It could not wait.

  Angela took one stifled breath and tried to compose herself. The man heard her struggle for air and flashed her a concerned look.

  “Is everything alright, Miss?”

  Concerned? About her? When was the last time that had happened?

  Angela’s knees weakened again and she almost fell over but the stranger reached out and caught her by the arm.

  Her skin caught on fire.

  She gasped and pulled back quickly. “Yes. Yes. I am quite alright thank you. I just lost my breath for a moment.”

  She clasped her hands together in front of her and stood silent completely lost from her task.

  The man gave her a questioning look. “Is there something you need?”

  “Oh—umm—yes. I just wanted to come introduce myself. I am the Baron’s daughter, Angela Bennett. You may call me Miss Bennett.” She paused and gulped for air. Again. “And you are…?”

  “Andrew Wilson, ma’am.” He bowed his head toward her.