A Lady Compromised (The Ladies) (19 page)

             
C
hapter 28

Back at Durham House, the Marquess found Delia in the yellow sitting room. She rose when she saw him, blushed furiously, and then presented her lips for a kiss. It frequently surprised him how sweet and honest she was with her feelings. She obviously enjoyed his company and his kisses and she faultlessly demonstrated this enjoyment. There were no coquettish games, only clear admiration and uninhibited joy.

“I am pleased to see you as well, my lady,” Mason said, formally bowing before taking her in his arms and kissing her again. But before he could stop, he felt the familiar and dangerous stirrings of lust that he knew he could not control. Firmly placing her at arm’s length, he said, “We must talk, my dear.”

“That sounds so ominous,” she said, looking at him with eyes that filled suddenly with worry.

“Oh, no. It is only about how we must proceed in order to marry. I have made some arrangements this morning that will permit us to announce our engagement, as well as ensure your safety and provide a bit of time to untangle your guardianship.”

“And how did you arrange such a feat, my lord?” asked Lady Delia, still slightly uncomfortable as she wavered between elation that they would be able to marry and fear at what would have to be done, all while trying to forget the thought of her exquisite future husband, naked and entwined in bed with her.

“Stop thinking about it,” he said to her, in a voice that sounded like a growl.

“What?” she asked, pink staining her cheeks immediately.

“Stop thinking about last night.”

“How do you—“

“I can see it on your face and if you do not stop you will soon find yourself back upstairs again looking longingly at a pile of your clothing on the floor.”

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

“I was thinking of nothing of the sort. Rather, I was thinking that I wished I could have trained Martha to use a toast rack properly back when I lived in Charles Street because Weebold does it so nicely here.”

“That’s what I thought.”

The Marquess, after seeing
Lady Delia seated, himself dropped into a chair at a safe distance from his betrothed.

“I have just spoken this morning with my dear friend, whom you may know, a Lady Burke?”

“Oh, yes. She was supposed to have been a great friend of mama’s, though I have only met her a few times.”

“She is in London and a friend and
she expressed great concern over the vicious gossip she was hearing about you over the summer. She has your best interests at heart.”

“Is that so.”

“My dear, please do listen to me before making a judgment.”

“I only fear what you have done with your way of arranging things without my knowledge or permission—like when you manhandled me into coming here instead of staying in Charles Street.”

“It is nothing so ‘bad’ as being forced to live in my very comfortable town home, if you must be so quarrelsome. I’ve arranged for you to stay with Lady Burke in her town house until our wedding. She will let it be known that she personally collected you from Washburn Court when a number of her letters went unanswered and she suspected something was wrong. While I visited her, I drafted a notice of our engagement to place in the
Gazette,
which will run tomorrow. Then, Thursday next, she will give an engagement ball in our honor. You will be introduced to society as my intended bride and people will have no choice but to forget the vile rumors.”

“What about Mr. Rosewood?”

“I have my solicitor pursuing a solution to the problem of your guardianship and I will meet with him this afternoon. By the time of the engagement ball, I hope there will be no impediment to our marriage.”

“Well!” she gasped, “I have to admit that sounds like tidy work for one morning!”

Mason looked at her, at last unable to help himself, and grinned like a fool.

“Are you pleased, my love?”

Delia jumped forward to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him full on the mouth. She gasped for breath and continued kissing him until she was able to speak without tearing up.

“That is the happiest news I can imagine!” she said with delight as she continued to kiss his nose and temples and cheek.

“My darling,” he murmured as he returned the kisses. “I am so pleased you are agreeable.”

“
Mmmmm.”

“And this solves the problem of me being unable to keep my hands off of you while you are in my house. I should never manage for weeks on end and at Lady Burke’s you will be completely safe.”
              “But I don’t want to be completely safe!” Lady Delia teased.

“It is not that I wish you to be. I simply cannot have my fiancé in my house for weeks ahead of the wedding, where I can bed her every night.”

“It doesn’t sound so bad, if only it wasn’t hideously improper and immoral.”

“Small considerations indeed,” he replied with a smile. “Delia, darling…soon. Soon you will be here as my Marchioness and there will be no more hiding and skulking.”

“Is Lady Delia leaving?” came a voice from the door.

“Oh!” gasped Delia
as she tried to jump up from on top of Mason’s lap.

“Do you never knock?” asked Mason of his sister, as she tripped into the room.

“Why on earth should I knock? It’s a sitting room!”

Lord Durham’s eyes rose to the ceiling and he did not respond. Delia blushed but tried to reassure Lady Harriet.

“I’m sure his lordship meant nothing. Only that I am to live with Lady Burke until the wedding. He has decided it was most improper for me to remain here, which I of course agree, and I am to leave Durham House tonight.”

Lady Harriet’s sweet face fell a bit, but she said, “Of course it’s not proper for you to be here unchaperoned. But it’s probably improper for
me
too, so I should probably also go to live with Lady Burke, shouldn’t I? I understand that and I knew I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. But I
shall
miss you! It won’t be long, will it? Before you are back?”

“No, indeed,” Mason said before Delia could reply. “You have your governess, who is a perfectly adequate chaperone until you are out. And yes, Lady Delia will reside here at Durham House immediately after the wedding, which will be announced at the engagement ball Lady Burke is giving for the two us Thursday next. And, if you are very good,” Mason told Harriet, “You may attend.”

The young lady gave a squeal of delight and jumped to hug both her brother and Lady Delia. Her dark curls bounced and her face beamed with happiness.

“I am sure you would not be so cruel as to forbid me from coming,” Lady Harriet cried, “And I shall, of course, do everything Miss Henry tells me not to do. Starting with ordering a proper gown! I am so overcome!”

Lady Delia smiled and encouraged Lady Harriet to continue speculating on what she would wear to the ball while Mason excused himself to meet with Mr. Jarndyce. As he left, she continued to listen as her future sister-in-law planned her elaborate gown.

As he waited in his study for his solicitor to appear, Mason was pleased to reflect on the tidy way in which Delia’s problematic situation was being resolved. It was lucky, he knew, that he had gone with Freddy Whitmore to the opera that night last week. The thought of what may have happened had he refrained from doing so clenched his stomach. Freddy could have persuaded her to marry him—and then he would have had to either murder Freddy or avoid him for life. Or, she could have been recognized as Lady Delia Ellsworth and her reputation would have been destroyed for good. Or,
Christopher Rosewood could have taken her on the street during one of the times she foolishly wandered about London on her own. It was extremely fortunate that had not occurred on the day she had spent with her editor and publisher, as he waited for her to return for hours. She simply did not seem to understand the danger she had been in. But he was relieved that she appeared to understand now what she must do. Not that it was particularly irksome. The issue of her writing novels was another problem. He would have to deal with that later—

“Ah, Mr. Jarndyce. How good of you to wait on me here at Durham House.”

“My lord, it is, of course, no trouble for me at all.”

“Do have a seat and let me know what you have discovered? Unless I am mistaken, there is not yet any progress on the situation in which the lady finds herself?”

“No, indeed, my lord, that is not the case at all. However, I fear, the matter is much simpler, but far less innocuous.”

The Marquess leaned forward and frowned, knitting his eyebrows, as he steepled his fingers.

              “I hope it is nothing that cannot be undone?”
              “It is not a matter of undoing anything, my lord, as there is nothing to undo. It appears that Mr. Rosewood represented to Lady Delia that he was her guardian when in fact, nothing could be further from the case. The lady’s guardian is the new Earl of Ellsworth, Lady Delia’s cousin, Mr. Augustine Harcourt, who is traveling back from abroad, according to the new Earl’s solicitor.”

             
“Then how on earth was this Christopher Rosewood able to pass himself off as her guardian?”

             
“It appears that after the late Earl’s death, his solicitor was indeed notified and the appropriate bequests were sent out after the reading of the will. But Rosewood was able to bribe a clerk in the office of Ellsworth’s solicitor to have the will reading done in their offices instead of at Washburn Court. Lady Delia was not present due to her profound grief and instead, only Mr. Rosewood, for whom a bequest was made by the Earl due to Rosewood’s father’s relationship with him, and a proxy for the new Earl. The lady has no immediate family, as you are aware. Rosewood had presumably learned from the late Earl who the guardian was to be, and that he himself was to receive a bequest. So he simply asked that the reading occur away from the presence of Lady Delia, and while the proxy for the new Earl was in fact to be the new guardian, Rosewood knew that the proxy was only an employee of the firm and offered to take the guardianship papers to Lady Delia as a favor. He was, after all, known to the lady by his stay at Washburn Court. Rosewood simply returned to Washburn and informed everyone that the late Earl had made him Lady Delia’s guardian because he did not know the new Earl and wished his daughter to be in the best of hands.”

             
“So, Rosewood has no control over her whatsoever.”

             
“No, indeed, which might explain his desperation in attempting to achieve a marriage between the Lady Delia and himself. Upon the return of the new Earl, he would be out of the house and without control of the lady. And, of course, if they were not married by the time the new Earl arrived back in England, there is no way that a marriage between his ward and Mr. Rosewood would be permitted. Mr. Rosewood, my lord, is a man who appears to have nothing but a mortgaged estate and debts to his name. However, if he had married the girl by special license and had been living with her as man and wife…”

             
“There would be nothing that the new Earl could do.”

             
“Quite so.”

             
“A truly disgusting revelation, Mr. Jarndyce.”

             
“I certainly agree, my lord. And might I say that once it became clear that this clerk’s actions had led to Mr. Rosewood passing himself off as the lady’s guardian, he was, of course, terminated. The new Earl’s solicitor has already been dispatched to Washburn Court to ensure Rosewood is not permitted re-entry and to attempt to resolve the mess that has been created.”

             
“A bit late, I’m afraid, though at least Lady Delia is safe.”

             
“Quite so, my lord.”

             
“Jarndyce?”

             
“Yes, my lord?”

             
“Perhaps you will have gathered, due to your undoubtedly fine intellect, that I wish to marry the Lady Delia myself.”

             
“It had occurred to us, my lord, given the nature of the inquiry and your otherwise nonexistent relationship with the lady.”

             
“Will there be any impediment to my marrying her, absent the consent of her guardian, who is not yet in England?”

             
“In my opinion, my lord, you may apply to the new Earl’s solicitor, who will attempt to gain permission from his lordship prior to his arrival back in the country. Given the provisions of the guardianship’s marriage clause, I see no reason why the new Earl would refuse.”

             
“Excellent. Will you draft a letter to that effect?”

             
“Of course, my lord. It shall be a great pleasure.”

             
“Jarndyce, you have outdone yourself on this matter and may I offer my humblest thanks?”

             
“I endeavor to give satisfaction, my lord, and may I offer my congratulations on your impending nuptials?”