by Josie Bonham
Bertie laughed. “Mama doesn’t mind where she goes as longs as it’s in the company of the Earl of Welford. The reason she wanted an invitation to stay at Hargreaves wasn’t to do with me, whatever she said. She wanted to be close enough to Welford’s Kent seat to visit him. When he realised that, he offered her marriage as long as she stopped hounding you. Turned out he’d been interested in her for ages and had a special licence ready, with a view to proposing at the house party.”
Max’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t believe it.”
Bertie picked up a newspaper and threw it at him. “Read the marriage announcement.”
Max stared at the announcement in The Times. “They were married on 29th December in London.”
“That’s right. We came back here for the ceremony and they set off for Welford’s Northumberland estate the following day. Welford told her she had to promise to drop this silly feud she’s had with you. He whisked her off for a bit so she wouldn’t be tempted.”
“She couldn’t have spread these rumours. Oh Lord, Mrs Powell must have found someone else to do that.”
“I’m not the villain you think I am, Max. I hope we can become friends without Mama’s silliness. What can I do to help?”
Chapter Twenty Five
Georgie dragged her tired body upstairs. At least Max knew the truth now. In a way she felt worse. The more she thought about it the angrier she was with him for not trusting her. Did he think honour was only for the aristocracy? She should never have married a man so far above her in status. A yawning Martha appeared out of the dressing room when she entered her bedroom. Mercifully, she wasn’t inclined for conversation. Georgie accepted her help to undress and sent her off to bed.
She snuffed out her candle and climbed under the covers. Now that Max knew she was innocent he would want to resume the relationship in the bedroom. She was so tired she wasn’t sorry he had gone out. If he came to her later, he would get short shrift. Fear clutched at her chest. Had he rushed off to a London mistress for comfort? That would be unbearable. He ought to be here begging her forgiveness for doubting her and helping to ease her fears about how she would go on in London. It would serve him right if she showed herself up for a country bumpkin and he became a laughing stock.
If only she could fall asleep. Augusta had promised she would arrive unfashionably early for their shopping trip and she seemed the sort of person to keep her promises. At least she would be properly dressed but she would have much rather waited for Eliza to help her. It suggested Augusta had plans for her entertainment. She would do the best she could. If Max wasn’t there to support her, he couldn’t complain if it all went badly. It wouldn’t be fun trying to face down the gossip with people she knew, let alone complete strangers.
***
Georgie was finishing off her breakfast in the smaller of the two dining rooms when Augusta was shown in. She jumped to her feet. Augusta asked a hovering footman for another coffee cup and waved Georgie back to her seat, taking the one beside her.
Augusta poured her coffee and waited for the footman to leave the room. “Where’s Max? I was hoping for his escort.”
“He went out as soon as we arrived home last night and I haven’t seen him since.” Anger made her waspish.
Augusta smiled at her. “That’s the spirit, get angry with him, he deserves it. I have a feeling you’ve been giving him far too easy a ride. If you’re angry with him let him know in no uncertain terms. Otherwise, you’ll never get him trained.” Augusta’s eyes twinkled.
Georgie was too stunned to reply.
Augusta burst out laughing. “You think I jest? Men are still naughty little boys at heart. You need to give them boundaries in the same way you would with a dog you’re training. The trick is to let them think they’re in charge at the same time.” She downed the last of her coffee. “Let’s make a start. We have a lot to do today.”
An impressive town carriage, drawn by four matched bays, was waiting outside. A liveried groom held the door open for them whilst another handed them in.
“Max said he would have a phaeton made for me and teach me to drive a pair.”
“Did he? Well that’s something. That will be perfect for driving in the parks but you will need a town carriage as well.”
“We may have one I suppose. Max said he was living in his bachelor quarters up until now so Hargreaves House hasn’t been used much since your mother died. I know he intends to buy some more horses.” She hesitated. “I mustn’t stay out too long as Mrs Mills is hoping to have some prospective servants to interview this afternoon.”
“We’ll be as quick as we can but you must have some new clothes before we can take you about.”
As she had feared, it seemed Augusta intended to introduce her to her friends. The clothes would have to be made so she would have a few days respite. They pulled into a street lined with shops. She could see at least two milliners and a modiste. The carriage drew to a halt. She let out a pent-up breath. The modiste appeared to be closed. Augusta rapped sharply on the door and they were invited inside.
A diminutive little woman, with bright black eyes, came out of a side room to greet them in heavily accented French. Augusta seemed to understand every word and replied in rapid French. The woman took Georgie’s hand and pulled her into the centre of the room. She switched to English.
“Lady Hargreaves, it will be a pleasure to dress you.”
Georgie started to stammer out her thanks but the woman turned back to Augusta.
“First we must find something for her to wear today.” She opened a door into what appeared to be a workroom and disappeared.
Augusta patted her hand. “You won’t recognise yourself when Madame Duval has finished with you.”
Three young women appeared, all with clothes over their arms. Madame went with her into a changing room and poked and prodded as she tried them all on. An assistant wrote down measurements. Within minutes a richly embroidered cream day dress and a warm pelisse in an unusual shade of pale green were taken off to the workroom. For the next hour she was shown patterns and had fabrics draped all over her until her head ached. Augusta translated as Madame fired questions at her.
Eventually both ladies went quiet for a moment. “That should be enough to be going on with, Georgie. Madame says the first day outfit will be ready for you to try on in a moment. She’ll have the first evening gown sent round before dinner.”
Georgie drew Augusta to one side. “I lost quite a bit of weight with my cousins. It would be wasteful to buy too many clothes at once in case I put it back on again.”
“Very true, my love, I’ll tell Madame we’ll leave it at today’s order for now. Don’t blame me if that starts a rumour that you are enceinte.”
Georgie stared at her and tried to will the heat in her cheeks to go away.
Augusta laughed. “It might not be a bad thing if it does. They say the best way to dispel a rumour is to give the Ton a juicier one.”
The day outfit arrived and fitted Georgie perfectly. She couldn’t resist a glance in the looking glass. A stylish stranger looked back at her. So much for expecting a respite before any of the clothes arrived. Their next visit was to a milliner, where Augusta saw a friend and introduced her. Georgie was aware of curiosity in the woman’s face but she was perfectly amiable. Augusta helped her to select several hats. They returned to the coach loaded with parcels. A footman rushed forward to take them. Augusta certainly lived in high style. Would Max be the same?
Augusta opted to follow her in when they reached Hargreaves House. “I want to catch a word with my brother.”
***
Max woke up with a start at the sound of his bed curtains being pulled back. He turned over in bed and groaned. What was Jepson doing waking him up so early? He felt as if he had hardly slept.
“My lord, you have visitors. Viscount Ashbrook and Mr Bright are waiting for you in the library.”
Max sat up and shook his head in an effort to throw off the last dregs of sleep. “
At this time of the day?”
“It’s nearly noon, my lord. They said it was urgent.”
“Send a message down to say I’ll join them in twenty minutes.” He was fully awake now.
Max ran down the stairs at a quarter past noon. He strode into the library to find his visitors deep in conversation. Brook spotted him first.
“Here you are at last. I came around for the details of Lady Hargreaves’s guardian and her lawyer friend. Mr Bright was already here.”
Max waved at Mr Bright to keep his seat and took the chair opposite to them.
“Lord Overton’s groom, trained by me, traced the two men who tried to cause a disturbance at your wedding to London.” Mr Bright smiled. “My men are watching them and I’ve told Lord Ashbrook everything we know so far.”
Brook broke into a broad grin. “I’m delighted to say that the two of them are working for Mr Fitzpatrick. A dangerous character, suspected of being involved in a smuggling ring and a friend of Mary Hutton.”
“Good Lord, what is there to be delighted about in that?”
“With the information Mr Bright’s team have gathered, we should be able to throw Fitzpatrick in prison for years for offences unrelated to his smuggling activities. You don’t need to know what else I have in mind but we won’t have to involve Lady Hargreaves in any way.”
Max turned to Mr Bright. “Good work. Nat is lucky to have you. What were the men intending to do at our wedding?”
“They were trying to capture your wife. Mary Hutton thought her birthday was Christmas day. The snow stopped them finding her any sooner but when they realised what was happening, they decided to try and stop the service on the grounds she was a minor.”
There was the sound of a scuffle in the hallway. The door to the library opened and a sturdy looking man, aided by a footman, dragged a fashionably dressed young man in by the points of his overlarge shirt collar.
Mr Bright jumped up. “What have you got here, Fallon?”
“Mr Algernon Hutton, Sir. We’ve been tracking him. I saw him come to the door and grabbed him.” Fallon let him go and he sprawled at Max’s feet.
Hutton stood up and brushed at his pantaloons. He held out a letter to Max.
“My mother made me deliver this. Before you say anything, it’s nothing to do with me so you can ignore it.”
Max tore it open with a wary eye on Hutton. “It seems Mary Hutton has heard about the rumours around us and is threatening to make them ten times worse with a claim for breach of promise against Georgie if I don’t pay her a large sum.” Max’s voice rose. “How can you say this has nothing to do with you, you miserable little guttersnipe.”
“Because she can’t do anything without me. I’m engaged to someone else, a widow. She’s sold her business and home to a friend of her late husband’s. We’re escaping up north where Fitzpatrick, my mother’s lawyer friend, can’t find us. I had to agree to deliver this so he wouldn’t suspect anything.”
Max looked at Brook. “Do you think this is a trick?”
“I don’t know. What do you think, Fallon?”
“It could be true, Sir. He’s been coming and going to the house of a widow in Gracechurch Street, whenever that Mr Fitzpatrick hasn’t been around.”
Max ground his teeth. “He deserves to be thrown in jail for how he treated Georgie but we don’t want any more scandal.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Brook said. “With the help of Mr Bright and his team we’ll take him in charge until we have Fitzpatrick under lock and key. If his story is true, we’ll send him and his prospective bride on their way.”
Mr Bright grinned at him. “I’ve rounded up several good lads, my lord. We’re only too happy to help.”
“Excellent. You can safely leave it all with us, Max.”
Chapter Twenty Six
Georgie and Augusta ran Max to ground in the library.
“Well, Max, we have your wife looking quite lovely,” Augusta said.
“She always looks lovely but now she looks modishly lovely.”
He gave her a warm smile and Georgie caught her breath. He seemed pleased with himself.
“She does indeed. I think you need some time on your own, but first tell me what you’ve been up to, Max.”
“Quite a lot. I managed to track Bertie down last night. You will be amazed to know that Selina is now the Countess of Welford.”
“Really? That’s good news but why is she still spreading rumours?”
“She isn’t. They’ve gone to Northumberland. Bertie said Mrs Powell came around looking for his mother. He’s probably right that she’s gone around some of Selina’s cronies. He’s promised to do all he can to scotch the rumours.”
“Not sure there is much he can do but even so that’s good of him. I never thought he was as bad as you painted him.”
“I’m coming to that conclusion. He suggested the marriage announcement, which he finally remembered to put in The Times for Welford the other day, might help us.”
Augusta chuckled. “He’s right. It’s bound to create quite a stir.”
“I had another piece of luck. I went around to my club yesterday afternoon and found Brook.”
“You mean Viscount Ashbrook?”
“Yes. He and Nat’s Mr Bright have got together. It turns out that Mrs Hutton’s lawyer friend, Fitzpatrick, has been involved in criminal activities. Brooks got contacts. He’s going to see he’s put in prison. With him out of the way I suspect Mrs Hutton will leave Georgie alone.”
Georgie pulled a face. “Awful woman. What about Algernon?”
“He won’t trouble you. He’s about to marry a widow from Gracechurch Street, but keep that quiet for now. I’ve spoken to him and his mother doesn’t know yet. I was tempted to pull him limb from limb but we can’t afford any more scandal.” Max grinned.
Augusta laughed. “It sounds like you have it all under control, Max. We’re having a small dinner party tonight.”
“I’m sure Georgie would prefer to stay quietly at home tonight, Augusta.”
“Cathlay has invited people who will be delighted to meet your new bride. We will expect you no later than nine o’clock. Georgina has an evening gown arriving later.” Augusta swept out of the room. “I’ll see myself out,” she said, over her shoulder.
***
Georgie’s mind was racing. Max was with Bertie when she suspected him of visiting a mistress. He pulled her down onto a sofa and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m sorry, Georgie. I should have trusted you. Will you forgive me?”
Augusta’s unusual views on dealing with husbands came back to her. Perhaps she should be more forceful with Max. At the very least she must be honest with him if she was ever going to have peace of mind.
“I hope so.”
Max sat up straight. “I don’t understand. Either you will or you won’t.”
“It’s not as simple as that and it’s time we were honest with each other. I want to be a good Christian and forgive you but I can’t be sure I’ll be able to. It hurts that you didn’t trust me.”
Max jumped up and walked around the room, running his hands through his hair. “I’m so sorry. It sounds stupid, but after Lavinia I was looking for problems where there were none. I ought to have told you what happened. I was barely twenty and madly in love, or so I thought. We were betrothed and then I found her in bed with another man. A man I thought was my friend. I was furious and the humiliation was dreadful. Even worse than my sense of betrayal.”
“Oh, how awful for you.”
Max sat back down. He took her hand and caressed her palm with his thumb. Georgie shivered and Max smiled at her before he continued.
“It got worse. She wanted the money and position I brought with me but she didn’t want me. She wouldn’t release me from the betrothal, confident I would be too humiliated to want the scandal to get out. She miscalculated. I jilted her. The scandal was dreadful but all my family supported me. I pushed you for an early we
dding because I couldn’t bear the thought of a long drawn out engagement and the inevitable speculation about whether I would come up to scratch the second time.”
Georgie studied his face. “The trouble is we don’t know each other, do we?”
“I suppose we don’t. Can we start again and put that right? I do know that you’re everything I’ve always wanted in a wife.”
She longed to believe him. He looked sincere. “Are you sure? You became distant days before you dismissed Mrs Powell.”
“You seemed scared of her and from something you said I began to wonder if she was blackmailing you.”
“I wasn’t scared of her but the things she said to me when I first arrived were awful. At the same time, my arrival was rather odd and many people would have wondered. I felt it my duty to be fair to her. My aunt campaigned against servants being dismissed on a whim.”
“Which was why you were angry at me dismissing her out of hand?”
Georgie nodded. “Even after we were married, she was insolent towards me but I felt guilty about her losing her job.” She lowered her eyes.
She had also felt guilty because part of what Mrs Powell had said, implying she was nothing but a wanton, was probably true. Why else would she have agreed to marry an aristocrat she knew nothing of if it hadn’t been for the glorious sensations he aroused in her?
“You didn’t have anything to feel guilty about. I noticed that guilt and was worried it meant you had cheated me. I’ve lost count of the number of women who have tried to trick me into marriage, but that’s no excuse.”
He looked contrite but could she believe him? Was that the only reason for his withdrawal after they started to plan the move to London? She longed to ask him but couldn’t find the courage. “I suppose I can’t blame you for doubting me after the things Mrs Powell said that day.”
He caught her gaze. “Can we start all over again, Georgie?”
Somehow Georgie found the strength to look away. She had to be sure of him before she let down her guard. She didn’t want to be hurt anymore. “Yes, but let’s take it more slowly this time. I’m feeling exhausted. I think I’ll take a nap before I dress for dinner.”