Free Rogue for a Night by Jenna Petersen Page A

had spiraled into something out of his control.
    And as uncomfortable as that made him… he also embraced it. And the knowledge that tomorrow he would see her again.

    ~~~

    When would she see him again?
    Lucinda shifted in her chair and tried not to look at the parlor door for what seemed like the twentieth time since joining Jane for tea just half an hour before.
    “Are you well?” her sister-in-law asked her.
    The question dragged Lucinda back to reality… and made her wonder at the answer herself. Was she well? In the way Jane meant it, of course. She was healthy, and aside from missing her daughters, more relaxed than she had been in years.
    But then there were the other ways one could be well. Last night she had hardly slept. When she did sleep, she had dreamed of Ronan and making love to him again and again. She had woken alone, frustrated and desperate to see him, almost to verify that what they had done was real and not just some vivid fantasy or dream.
    Only Ronan and Nicholas had not joined them thus far today. Something about a long-planned excursion shooting or riding or some equally manly diversion.
    “Lucinda?” Jane said and now there was increased concern to her tone.
    Lucinda shook away her thoughts. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’m well, thank you.”
    Jane arched a brow and slowly sipped her tea. “You simply seem very distracted.”
    Lucinda nearly sucked her tea into her lungs. Oh dear, she was not good at clandestine affairs, that was certain. Not if everyone in her immediate vicinity could so easily see that her mind flitted about restlessly. She looked at Jane. Over time, she had come to see her sister-in-law as a good friend, and perhaps under other circumstances she might have confessed the reason for her “distraction”. But there was a very strong sticking point.
    Jane was married to Nicholas, and she would certainly tell him if Lucinda confessed to making love to Ronan in their garden. Revealing that to his best friend was not her place.
    So instead of lightening her soul with confession, Lucinda shrugged and hoped she seemed calm and unaffected. “Oh no, not distracted. Just enjoying the quiet, though I do miss my girls.”
    Jane nodded slowly and Lucinda could only hope she would accept her half-truth without question. It was certainly a very reasonable explanation.
    “Very good,” Jane finally said after what seemed like an eternity of contemplation. “We were quite worried when you vanished from the ball last night.”
    Heat flooded Lucinda’s cheeks and she cursed her body for its betrayal. “Well, as I said this morning when you asked me about it, I only had a touch of a headache. I didn’t want to trouble anyone, so I just took to my bed. I feel perfectly fine now.”
    There was a long pause and then Jane leaned forward to pour herself a second cup of tea.
    “You know, Rage disappeared for some time last night, as well.” Jane lifted her gaze to Lucinda and held her stare evenly. “I wonder if headaches are contagious.”
    Lucinda swallowed and struggled to keep her face neutral. She had never been a very good liar.
    “Hmm,” she croaked out past a suddenly dry throat that even a huge gulp of tea didn’t soothe. “Well, I wouldn’t know. Did Mr. Riley also say he was suffering a headache?”
    Jane shook her head. “No. I mentioned his absence when he returned to our company but you know Rage. He only replied with a shrug. And Nicholas didn’t see it as odd. Rage doesn’t like these events. I just thought it odd that you two would vanish at the same time.”
    Now Lucinda’s hands trembled slightly and she gripped her tea cup even tighter. “And did Nicholas also comment on the coincidence?”
    Jane laughed. “Nicholas is the man to turn to if you want someone to notice a nefarious character in a crowded room or to find the best horse at an auction… but my dear husband rarely notices little Societal, er, coincidences. And if he does, he sees nothing meaningful in