Free Keepsake (The Distinguished Rogues Book 5) by Heather Boyd Page A

alive and here once more.”
    Kit winced. Since Miranda was not actually here, he felt it best to be honest. “I lost her. Temporarily.”
    Carrington gaped at him. “What? Are you sure it was her then?”
    “Oh, I am sure.” He straightened his cravat and took his coat from his valet to slip on. He saw little point of hiding anything now, as he was surely the laughingstock of London already. “My wife appeared and then disappeared from the theater. She made sure everyone saw her make a grand reentrance into society. Quite theatrical. She’s not the product of a lonely mind, I assure you.”
    “I see.”
    Fury built in him anew. Miranda was determined to make him look a fool, and he’d let her get away. The papers this morning were damning. That would change. He glared in the direction of the empty marchioness’s suite. “If I’d imagined her, I’d be much less irritated.”
    “Ah.” Carrington shook his head. “You’ve already had an argument.”
    “How could that have happened? I’ve barely seen her long enough to get two words spoken. She never gave me a chance to be her husband, and now I have to pay the price for her behavior all over again.”
    “It’s a good thing you never loved her. Agatha will never forgive me for suggesting this, but perhaps you should divorce her and be done with the pretense of convincing society you want her back. At least now there’s proof you didn’t murder her as some speculated.” Carrington shook his head. “It shouldn’t prove a difficulty to find a woman who wants to be your marchioness.”
    Kit bit the response burning on his tongue. After so long, he could barely remember much about his wife either, but he did remember a little of the way he’d felt about her before they married. He’d been obsessed. Her warm and teasing smiles had hinted she was eager to marry him, and not just for his title. He’d done everything he could to understand why he couldn’t stay out of her bed when he should have. It was a shock now to discover those disquieting feelings of attraction had never completely gone away.
    The absence of her affection now was further proof that her suitability to be his wife and marchioness was simply a product of his own flawed thinking. “No divorce. I expect to locate Miranda today and resume our marriage forthwith. I’ll make sure she knows where her place is. She’s made enough of a fool of me, and I’ll be damned if I’ll put up with it a moment longer.”
    A throat cleared, a childish pitch that made Kit spin around and stare at the door. Carrington had brought his adopted children with him, and they were standing in his bedchamber no less, listening to him rant and rage about Miranda’s failings. At the door stood the smallest, a girl of barely five and the eldest boy, Simon, gazed at him, wide-eyed in shock.
    “Children,” he spluttered, reining in his rising temper quickly.
    “Lord Taverham,” they said together, one bowing and one curtsying. They looked at him in such a disapproving manner that he felt uncomfortable.
    Kit addressed his friend and scowled. “Do you take them everywhere with you?”
    “They were with me when I heard the news, so we came straight here together.” Carrington made a feeble attempt to appear cross. “They were supposed to wait below.”
    Neither one appeared to take any notice of Carrington’s gentle scold. Kit had never been sure of the boy’s age. Some days Simon appeared very young and others, like today, his world-weary gaze made him seem so much older.
    “Mabel wanted to know,” Simon confessed quickly.
      At the mention of her name, the little girl ventured closer. “Do you have any lemonade for Simon?”
    Kit shook his head.
    The little girl looked at him hopefully and then reached out to tug on his coat. “A biscuit? He does love ginger ones.”
    Carrington stepped forward and laid a hand on the girls’ head to halt her impertinence. “Forgive her, Taverham. She is young and we are