The Wedding Runaway (33 page)

Victor brushed at his sleeve.
"
I
'
ve had my quota of duels for the month
,
nor would I care to roll in the mud with you again. Is it not time we moved past this animosity?
"

George stared at him as if he had grown horns. Since the man had hated him for half a decade
,
Victor suspected the concept of being friends once again was beyond him.

"
For Regina
'
s sake, as well as my new godchild
'
s
,"
prompted Victor.

"
Where is my wife?
"

"
I should imagine she is home
,
or if not
,
you might ascertain if she is with Sophie. They do spend a fair amount of time together.
"

"
Why would you send me such a note?
"
asked George
,
the fight draining out of him. He sat heavily on a chair
,
leaned over and buried his face in his hands.

"
Why would you refuse to make love to your wife?
"
Victor asked softly. He glanced toward the wardrobe. He did not want to have this conversation here.
"
Come
,
let us go downstairs.
"

George shook his head
,
paying him no mind.
"
It is not right. It is only for procreation and I take too much pleasure in our congress.
"

"
That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
"

"
What do you know
,
you have no religion or god
,"
George lashed out.

Inexplicably, his words hurt
,
but Victor was determined to make his point.
"
We both know Amelia is too passionate a creature to be ignored. If you will not share her bed
,
she will take a lover
,
so all your morality shall be for naught.
"
He had to get George out of his room
,
out of the earshot of Lydia.
"
Besides, the midwives say that regular intercourse helps ease the pains of childbirth. Would you deny her that?
"

George dropped his hands and his eyes were red-rimmed.
"
Are you quite sure?
"

Victor looked him straight in the eye and lied like he never had lied before, and then calculated how much he would have to pay a midwife or an accoucher to attest to his fabrication. Could one bribe a minister to tell George relations between man and wife were never a sin?

Then, just to be double-sure George understood him
,
Victor kicked his boot.
"
You should thank God every day that he gave you a wife who gives you much pleasure. God does not love me so.
"

George blinked at him.

Out of the corner of his eye
,
Victor saw the wardrobe door move. No!

~*~

Lady Helena walked as quickly as she could with her head down to the address given to her by Nurse Antton. She had left her carriage standing at the curb and her maid in a green grocer's waiting on an order. Helena
'
s heart pounded with the fear. She would be found out. Her servants would report her absence to her parents. The midwife would take too long
,
refuse to give her the information she sought
,
or would not even be there.

But all those fears proved inconsequential. There had been a few moments of discomfort as Helena had to ask the midwife to explain how the device she was given was to be used
,
and Helena had made an awful excuse that she was to be married soon
,
but that she and her imaginary husband were planning a continental trip and they both felt it unwise to be encumbered by a pregnancy during their travels.

All the while
,
she was sweating each second that ticked by. Finally the transaction was complete
,
her silver handed over and the device wrapped in brown paper. The midwife gave her a final warning that the method was not foolproof
,
and to not be stingy with the lemon juice.

Her mission accomplished, Helena ducked out of the midwife
'
s inner chamber only to find herself staring at Amelia Keeting and Sophie Davies.

The two women stared at her as if just as shocked as she was to find her in such a place. But they were both married and had children. They probably had every need for the services of a midwife.

"
Why, good day
,
Lady Helena
,"
said Sophie.
"
How are you?
"

Helena did not know how she did it
,
but she stumbled through a greeting and then excused herself as her maid was waiting. She could not help but hear Amelia ask
,
"
Why do suppose she is here? You do not think...do you?
"

Helena turned around.
"
I have been handling many of my mother
'
s errands
,
while she...while she rests.
"

Fearing at her age miscarriage was more likely than a baby
,
Lady Caine had insisted there was no reason to bandy about news of her pregnancy
,
and Helena was sworn to secrecy.

Amelia lowered her gaze.

"
Send your mother our best wishes then.
"
Sophie
'
s gaze moved to the parcel in Helena
'
s hand.

Helena stumbled out the door. Oh, stars above
,
they did not believe her. And why should they? She was not here on any errand for her mother. Could she trust them not to gossip? Would her final season be clouded with rumors and speculation?

How could she land Wedmont if there was the slightest blot on her reputation? They were both friends to him. Even if they did not spread their knowledge of her errand throughout the ton
,
would their friendship obligate them to warn the earl? She looked down at the package in her hand and wondered if she had deliberately sown the seeds of her own destruction.

~*~

Lydia strained to hear what was said to this George. Victor lowered his voice. She leaned her ear against the cupboard door
,
and the unlatched door began to swing open.

She grabbed one of Victor
'
s jackets to keep from tumbling out onto the floor.

"
The dress is for whom?
"
George asked.

"
A friend
,"
answered Victor.
"
What are you about?
"

"
Where is she hiding?
"

"
No one is under the bed
,
George. I swear to you Amelia is not here.
"

Lydia froze, fearing the inevitable discovery. What would her brothers think? What would Oscar say? What would Victor do?

Nothing. He had already warned her that he would not offer marriage even if he seduced her
,
and he had offered a slip on the shoulder instead.

She could go home and marry Oscar
,
masquerade as boy until she was found out again
,
or become Victor
'
s mistress. Of all the choices
,
becoming Victor
'
s mistress held the most appeal but the least sense of worth. Could she live with herself if she tossed aside the values that she had been raised with?

"
I swear on Reggie
'
s health that your wife is not here and has never been here in my room
,
or alone with me in any of my bedrooms
,"
Victor said, just the other side of the wardrobe. Clearly
,
he did not want this George person to discover Lydia while looking for Amelia.

Apparently that avowal was decisive to George
,
because shortly afterward Lydia heard the bedroom door close.

She waited until she was sure the bedroom was empty
,
then she eased open the door.

Feeling slightly ridiculous, she tiptoed across the floor. As she neared the bed
,
she saw the letter on the floor.

She picked it up, looking at the address that she had seen Victor write out that night
,
the night when she had gone into his bedroom because she could not sleep. She turned it over, wondering what words had brought George Keeting storming in from the countryside and ready to throttle Victor.

If you will not make love to your wife
,
I will.

Wedmont

Lydia
'
s head spun as she realized George was married to Amelia and clearly both men had intimate knowledge of her passion—was that how Victor had phrased it?

She rubbed her forehead, remembering her jealousy of Amelia at Victor
'
s dinner. Had he gone to visit Amelia after Keene had interrupted their kisses that first time? He had written the letter that night. What other conclusion could she draw?

Lydia
'
s hands began to shake. Did Victor make love to her by night and Amelia by afternoon?

And who was this Reggie? Regina? Another woman in Victor
'
s life?

Pain twisted in Lydia
'
s stomach. She sank to her knees on the carpet. Was there anything special about the kisses they shared? Or was it just that she was convenient
,
sleeping in his bed and foolishly giving him every indication she would willing indulge in pleasures of the flesh? He had warned her in so many ways that he would not treat her seduction as anything that might require redress. What was she doing here?

Every avenue in her life led to a brick wall with no egress
,
and this one was no exception. She had been running from the reality of her life so fast that she had never really looked forward to see her destination. She had always thought if she ran fast enough and far enough, a magical solution to her problems would appear.

The door swung open and Jenny came in.
"
The master says I am to get you dressed for an outing. Whatever are you doing on the floor?
"

Lydia stood slowly and folded the letter.
"
Nothing.
"

"
Oh
,
miss
,
what a lovely dress!
"
Jenny scooped the pale blue silk off the bed.

"
Yes
,
one should always wear a beautiful gown to one
'
s own funeral.
"

Jenny turned around, puzzled.

"
Two of my brothers and Oscar are here
,
and I am told Leonard must die.
"
Lydia set the letter down on the dresser.
"
I suppose he is taking me to them.
"

As much as she hated the thought
,
Leonard had to go. Life had caught up to her
,
in spite of her running away. Now she had to decide what to do with her future.

~*~

With their enmity set aside for an uneasy accord
,
finally Victor was rid of George. Victor gave the signal to Millars
,
and then met Lydia at the garden gate near the stable entrance.

"
Anyone see her?
"
he asked Millars and Jenny.

"
No
,
milord
,"
they answered in unison. Then Jenny giggled.

Lydia
'
s face was hidden behind the drawn-down veil of her poke bonnet. He
'
d purchased that particular bonnet because the wide brim would hide her face and the full crown would conceal her sun-bright hair. As he looked her over
,
the only thing she had in common with Lenny was her height. Few women were so tall.

Yet
,
she was beautiful
,
willowy and slender. The ripples of silk caressed her gentle curves. Victor swallowed hard
,
thinking of her long
,
long legs
,
thinking of the nearly sheer undergarments she wore
,
thinking of the way she had kissed his scar.

He had worked to stay away from her
,
visiting Keene
,
visiting their half-sister Margaret. He
'
d found Margaret scrabbling in the dirt with her chickens. Although he
'
d talked with her briefly as she scattered corn for the chickens to eat
,
he
'
d spent more time with her husband, whose elegant shudder spoke volumes about his wife
'
s immersion in her chickens.

It did not matter how long Victor stayed away. Two seconds in Lydia
'
s presence and he wanted to bed her
,
laugh with her
,
watch her concentrate over cards
,
but mostly he wanted to kiss her from now until eternity.

"
I cannot conceive of why you would ever want to abandon dresses
,"
Victor told Lydia.

She turned her head away.

He extended his arm.
"
Stay back several yards
,
Millars.
"

She slowly put her hand on his sleeve and he led her down the alley
,
to the street. He thought if they walked through the neighborhoods they might have more of a chance at uninterrupted conversation. She needed to decide what she wanted to do. He already regretted the poke bonnet that hid her face so well.