A Summons From the Duke (15 page)

Julian chuckled. His cousin may complain often about his sisters, but Julian knew he held affection for both. Cousin Miriam, on the other hand, was less than fond of her brother. After all, Pen had stolen her birthright: blonde curls passed down from their mother.

The backdoor of the theatre eased open and a hooded figure peeked out, looking quickly in both directions. Apparently deeming the deserted alley safe, the person hurried out the door. Heavy, dark skirts and a lithe frame. The woman lowered her head, pulling the hood down to hide her face, and walked briskly in their direction. She clutched a large case in her hand.

Julian nodded. “She’s the one.”

It had dawned on him too late that it mattered very little which woman he recommended to Pen since Julian had every intention of talking his cousin out of his plans on the morrow. He could have ended this nonsense hours ago.

“
Are you certain?” Pen asked.

“
Yes. Now I’ve done my part, and I’m growing impatient with this clandestine operation. I’m ready to play faro.”

Pen rapped sharply on the roof and opened the window.

One of his servants moved into the woman’s path before she reached the end of the alley. “Pardon me, miss. Lord Penlow would like a word.”

She froze like a rabbit, poised to dash away. “Step away from me, sir.” She readjusted her grip on the bag. The poor dear was probably frightened out of her wits, being accosted the minute she exited the alley, and who could blame her?

“
Make it quick,” Pen called out. “We have somewhere to be.”

When the footman turned his head towards Pen’s voice, she took advantage of the distraction and tried to bolt around him.

“
Stop her!” Pen scrambled from his seat and threw open the door. “Stop her now!”

His servant lunged to grab the woman, hugging his arms around hers and knocking her bag from her hand. It hit the ground with a thud.

“
My bag!” Her panicked voice echoed off the building.

“
Quiet her,” Pen said. “Put her in the carriage.”

“
No!”

The servant clamped a hand over her mouth before she let loose a scream and lifted her off her feet. She kicked and wriggled until he almost lost his hold. The hood fell away to reveal a cascade of dark hair.

Julian shot out of the carriage. “What are you doing? You said nothing about abduction.”

Her gaze darted towards him, her eyes wide, and her thrashing increased.

“
See what you’ve done?” Pen sprang forwards and captured her legs. “Let’s put her in the carriage before someone discovers us.”

Together, Pen and his servant struggled to put her in the Berlin before Pen climbed inside. “Come on, Julian.”

Julian hesitated a moment, then snatched up her bag and clambered into the carriage, closing the door behind him. Pen was sitting on the bench, holding his nose and oddly silent. The girl huddled in a corner, her breaths shallow and rapid. She was as scared as a church mouse. Good Lord, this might take some doing to make everything right.

Julian placed her bag on the floor and reached a hand towards her. “No one is going to hurt you, miss.” As he leaned in, her leg shot out, and her boot struck him in the center of his chest.

“
Damnation!” He fell against the door; his side banged against the seat.

She barreled for the exit, trying to climb over him to reach it. Her boot ground into his thigh, and she lost her footing on the slick fabric of his breeches. She dropped like a lead ball, her knee crashing into his groin.

Julian hissed in pain. Pinpricks of light danced in the blackness, clouding his vision. His gut wrenched, wringing every ounce of comfort from him and replacing it with excruciating torture.

He would never trust his judgment again. He’d chosen a wildcat.

As the waves of pain slowly receded, he became aware of her hands resting on his chest. She was no longer struggling as she sprawled atop him. Her face was inches from his, her lips parted in horror. The carriage was moving now, carrying them away from the theatre.

“
Please forgive me, sir. Did I hurt you?”

Her large brown eyes were filled with concern and caught him by surprise. He wouldn’t expect compassion from a woman he’d just helped snatch off the street.

“
Of course you hurt him.” Pen grabbed her around the waist and hauled her off Julian. Her warmth was missed at once. Cool December air invaded the carriage through the open window. “Now do behave so we may conduct our interview and carry you to your destination.”

She sat in her corner again and folded her hands in her lap, warily looking between the two of them. “Y-you plan to release me?”

“
Yes,” Pen said, “although I will require an apology first for bloodying my nose.” He pulled his hands away from his face. A dark stain marred his once pristine cravat.

“
Oh, dear,” she said. “Would you like me to check if it’s broken?” When she reached a hand towards Pen, he recoiled.

“
Don’t touch me, you harridan.”

Julian eased himself onto the opposite bench, tempted to ask if she wished to examine his stones. “You had best not have broken
me
.”

She lowered her head. It was too dim in the carriage to determine the color of her skin, but he suspected she was blushing. Perhaps he hadn’t been wrong to select her on Pen’s behalf. She played the role of innocent maiden well enough now.

Pen issued an exaggerated huff of annoyance. “Shall we try this again? Please allow me to make introductions. I am Leander Thornhill, Baron Penlow, and this is my cousin, Julian Beckford. And you, my dear, are to be my wife.”

~ 2 ~

Wife!
Felicity Halliday nearly fell off the carriage bench. “You want to
marry
me?”

Lord Penlow sniffed and closed the window. “You needn’t sound so appalled. My offer is better than any other you’re likely to receive.”

The gentleman had a sound argument. A physician’s daughter with no dowry would receive no offers of marriage from anyone, much less a nobleman. Still, the man had stolen her from the streets. He probably hadn’t even gotten a good look at her yet. What in the world made him think he wished to marry her, or that she would consent, for that matter?

Mr. Beckford gingerly adjusted his position. A soft groan accompanied his movement. She looked away, focusing on the dark street beyond the window, as a fresh wave of heat swept over her. Mr. Beckford’s testicles had felt like smashed apricots under her knee. His pain must have been horrendous.

“
You should request ice for your injury as soon as you arrive home,” she said.

“
Nothing is going anywhere near my
injury
, thank you very much.”

“
And don’t think he’s pleased about it either,” Lord Penlow said, scolding her like he’d been a cantankerous grandmamma in a former life. “I’m certain Julian had other plans for the evening.”

She aimed a glare at the obnoxious popinjay. “As did I, and they did not include an abduction by a madman or a ridiculous proposal of marriage.”

“
Abduction was not part of my plan. I simply wished an audience.”

Mr. Beckford sighed. “Correct her misunderstanding, Pen. You’ve caused enough distress for the woman already.”

“
The wench hasn’t suffered near the distress she has doled out,” Penlow argued.

“
An unpleasant experience, to say the least,” Mr. Beckford agreed, “but not unprovoked.”

Felicity sent a fleeting smile of gratitude across the carriage for him. The gentleman obviously didn’t remember her, or perhaps the circumstances of their reunion negated his memory. She, however, had never forgotten Julian Beckford, smitten as she had been at the age of seventeen.

She hadn’t been foolish enough to believe she could ever make a match with a viscount’s son. But Mr. Beckford, through his loving attentions to his aunt during her illness, had set the standard for the type of husband Felicity would someday marry. She hadn’t realized at the time someday would never arrive.

“
What do you really want with me?” she asked. “Do you require a doctor?”

Lord Penlow looked down his nose at her. “Not prior to our unfortunate meeting, Miss…?”

She hesitated to reveal her true name. The last thing she needed was rumors of her abduction and subsequent ruin destroying Meredith’s chances of making a match.

“
I was under the impression I would soon be Baroness Penlow.”

Mr. Beckford laughed. “Grandfather will have met his match with this one.”

The baron swiveled towards her, angled his head to the side, and looked her up and down. “But will he find her believable?”

Mr. Beckford rubbed his chin while Lord Penlow fiddled with his unruly hair. Neither of them spoke as they eyed her like a piece of horseflesh up for auction.

She threw up her hands. “Oh, for goodness sake! Do you wish to look at my teeth?”

Mr. Beckford balked.

“
All right,” Lord Penlow agreed.

“
No.” Mr. Beckford’s arm shot out to stop the baron’s advance on her. “We beg your pardon, miss. What my cousin has failed to do with any grace or evidence of good breeding is extend an invitation for you to join our family at Danby Castle in Yorkshire for Christmas.”

She blinked, unable to comprehend what either gentleman was talking about. They both sounded like escapees from Bedlam.

“
That’s not exactly how I would have worded it,” Lord Penlow said. “I need you to accompany me to my grandfather’s home and convince him you are my wife. I’m afraid he is on his deathbed, and the last thing I want is for him to leave this world disappointed with me. I would be unable to live with myself.”

Mr. Beckford rolled his eyes.

She looked back and forth between them. “I don’t understand. Is your grandfather dying or not?”

“
Highly unlikely,” Mr. Beckford answered. “He has been at the brink several times this year and managed a miraculous recovery each time.”

“
But this time could be
it
, Julian. Why else would he summon all of us?”

She had never heard such nonsense in all her life. “For how long do you expect me to pretend to be your wife, exactly?”

“
Well, Grandfather is a duke,” Lord Penlow said. “He’s very important, you know. An audience would last fifteen minutes, at best.”

“
Let me see if I have the facts correct. You wish me, an unmarried woman, to travel with you alone—”

“
Out of the question,” Lord Penlow said. “We will not be traveling alone. My cousin will accompany us.”

Mr. Beckford sat up straighter. “Pardon? I never agreed to—”

“
Jul, please. You cannot leave me alone with her.” The baron tossed a quick look her direction from the corner of his eye and lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. “She drew my cork.”

“
This is the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

They argued under their breaths back and forth for several seconds until Felicity lost patience.

“
It matters not whether Mr. Beckford accompanies you to Danby Castle or not, my lord. I’m declining your
invitation
. I have no intentions of pretending to be your wife or leaving London, especially during the holidays. Now if you will kindly signal the coachman to pull over.”

“
I’ll pay you,” Lord Penlow blurted. “Five hundred pounds.”

Her jaw dropped.
Five hundred pounds?
To come by that amount of money, she and Mama would have to work for years. With five hundred pounds, her younger sister would have a decent dowry. There would be no more fear of someone discovering Mama was taking in other people’s mending to help stock the larder. Felicity could take a respite from sneaking into the playhouses and brothels to provide medical treatment for those women respectable doctors wouldn’t treat. At least until she saw her sister safely settled in marriage.

“
Why isn’t she speaking?” Lord Penlow hissed.

She opened her mouth to sincerely thank him for the generous offer, but she couldn’t accept. Five hundred pounds would help her family, but she couldn’t abandon her mother and sister around the holidays. Nor could she lie to the baron’s family by pretending to be something she was not.

“
A thousand!”

Mr. Beckford reached across the carriage and grabbed Lord Penlow by the lapels of his jacket. “Leander,
what
are you doing?”

The carriage turned onto a well-lit block, the glow of the street lamps throwing blocks of light across her captors’ faces. The baron was looking at her with eyes glittering wildly, desperately. “A thousand pounds to play my wife. I won’t offer anything more.”

Felicity was speechless. A thousand pounds for a few days of her life?

“
Very well. Fifteen hundred. That truly is as high as I may go.”

A thousand thoughts flew through her mind. How immoral it was to lie. How damaged her reputation would be if anyone discovered her actions. How topsy-turvy her life had become when Papa died. How unfair for her mother to have to struggle with a needle and thread when her arthritic fingers ached. How hopeless Meredith’s future was. Felicity didn’t wish to see her young sister take a position as a scullery maid, or worse, work in one of the brothels. Fifteen hundred pounds would end her family’s suffering.