“Because of the duel.”
Charley nodded again. “He’d throttle me for telling you this, but he still wakes up in a panic sometimes, thinking he’s late.”
“I hope he can forgive himself someday.” Bethany sighed.
Tabetha turned to her sister again. She had changed since her marriage. It was almost as though she’d stopped hiding. And although she was still unusually compulsive about some things, she didn’t seem so… apologetic for who she was.
“You are his clever girl. The efficient and practical daughter.” The gowns her sister had worn since marrying Lord Chaswick were prettier than anything she’d ever worn before. And Bethany didn’t pinch her lips together anymore. “Was it love that changed you?”
Bethany shrugged. “Partly. But ultimately, I had to make the decision on my own. I had to allow myself to like other things, silly trinkets even.” She held out her hand, displaying the gorgeous ring Chaswick had purchased for their wedding. “Like rings and other baubles. And I’ve also decided I enjoy being improper on occasion.” She winked in Charley’s direction, “When I am alone with my husband, for instance.”
Bethany sobered and stared down at their hands. “I loved Father, but I am much more than he allowed me to be. I am passionate, fun, and even pretty. I am not only efficient and practical. ”
“But of course, you are not! And I have always known that you are beautiful!” And Bethany admitted to being passionate. Tabetha hated that her sister had ever doubted that about herself.
Her father had been wrong to make such an assumption—even more so to treat Bethany accordingly. Had he done the same to Tabetha, by treating her as though her looks were all she had to offer?
He had loved her. He had loved them both!
But marrying Culpepper would have been a terrible mistake. Tabetha blinked, staring at her sister. Their father had loved them, but perhaps he hadn’t truly understood them.
Whereas Chaswick understood Bethany.
She recalled Stone telling her that she fussed with her bodice when she didn’t know what to say.
Stone understood her.
“I am so very, very glad Chaswick threw you over his lap in The Willoughby’s garden.”
All three of them burst into giggles, and Bethany flushed a delightful pink.
Hearing her sister’s words, she recalled all the improper things she’d done over the past week. If she had become the Duchess of Culpepper, she would have condemned herself to a life without love—without the one man she didn’t want to live without.
“And I am so very, very glad you decided not to marry Culpepper.”
Tabetha nodded. “Me too.” And then she winced. “There cannot be an annulment. I don’t want one, anyway. I want to stay married to Stone. I want to be Mrs. Spencer forever!”
“There can’t be an annulment?” Bethany’s brows shot nearly into her hair but her sister-in-law merely nodded in understanding.
“You love him,” Charley declared.
Tabetha dipped her chin. “I do. I really do. But it’s complicated.”
“It always is, Tabetha, it always is.” Charley sighed when a knock sounded at the door. “And I’ve no doubt we can figure things out, but before we begin, can we eat? I’m positively famished.”
As the three ladies set out their plates and went to work on the meats and stews, Tabetha explained everything… mostly everything. She didn’t go into details regarding how her marriage had been consummated, nor how many times, but since she’d announced the impossibility of an annulment, they’d have to extrapolate that fact on their own.
“Eloping was my idea,” she confessed. She wondered if a part of her had done it intentionally. Because in an ironic twist, marrying Stone had freed her.
But waking up the next morning, and then being sick in front of him, had been mortifying. She’d been embarrassed for so many things! And Stone had been witness to most of them.
Her first mistake had been agreeing to marry Culpepper. Her second mistake, she’d believed that morning, had been marrying a man who considered her spoiled and silly.
Had she already been half in love with him then?
“I was so mad when I saw that certificate that I went storming out—in my dressing gown!” She winced.
“In a public inn?” Bethany stared at her admonishingly.
But when Tabetha told her how she fell down the stairs and woke up not even knowing her name, all admonishment fled and Bethany’s expression turned to one of horror-stricken concern.
“You hit your head so hard that you didn’t know who you were?” Bethany blinked back tears, dabbing at the corners of her eyes.
“But I’ve remembered everything now. At least I think I’ve remembered everything.”
“Were you terrified?” Charley asked.
This was where things truly became complicated. “I wasn’t. I mean, I was a little scared, but I was mostly just… in love.”
The room fell unusually quiet after that. Tabetha could even hear sounds drifting up from the taproom.
“But he wasn’t being totally honest with me. He never contradicted my belief that we’d eloped because we were in love. He pretended…”
Tabetha blinked hard. Had it all just been pretend?
Charley and Bethany were staring meaningfully at one another and then back at Tabetha.
“He made love to you,” Charley said.
“To be fair, I…” Tabetha bit her lip. “I didn’t give him much of a choice.”
“They always have a choice,” Bethany all but growled.
“But the two of them were married,” Charley pointed out. “What if he was already in love with you? Just as you were already in love with him? And not having to deal with the past merely paved the way for the two of you to admit it to yourselves?”
“But I went and ruined everything.”
“Because he’s not a duke,” Bethany guessed.
Charley winced.
“Yes. He was so angry. And I was horrid to him about that before.” Tabetha squeezed her eyes together.
“He isn’t a duke, he doesn’t hold a title, and most likely never will. He’s a mister, Tabby, and if you stay married to him, you’ll never be anything more than a missus.” Bethany, it seemed, would play the part of devil’s advocate. “Aside from that, he participates in that boxing club. Rather base, when you really consider him. You could always deny consummating the marriage and set your cap for a different duke—”
“I don’t want a duke!” Tabetha was on her feet. “And he isn’t base! And if he hadn’t become such a skilled fighter, I’d have had to marry Culpepper and Archie would have been sold to the highest bidder. There is nothing at all wrong with being Mrs. Stone Spencer. At this point, I think I’d be happy enough as Mrs. Rock Chester… just so long as he doesn’t hate me…”
This time, when her sister and sister-in-law met one another’s eyes, they smiled smugly at one another.
“All we have to do now,” Charley said, “is figure out how to convince Mister Spencer that you no longer care that he’s not a duke.”
It sounded impossible.
Tabetha yawned, suddenly feeling the effects of everything that had happened, in addition to a mostly sleepless night.
“Tomorrow,” Bethany said. “We have the entire journey to come up with a plan. But for tonight, I think you need a good night’s sleep.” She rose. “As do I.”
Bethany was right. “I don’t even know what chamber I’m in.”
“First one on the right.” Charley assisted Tabetha into a dressing gown, placed a sleeping Archie in her arms, and then walked both her and Bethany to the door. “Emily is waiting for you there.”
“Chase and I are at the opposite end.” Bethany stifled a yawn of her own as she and Tabetha stepped into the corridor.
“Thank you for everything. Both of you.” Tabetha hugged Bethany and then Charley, mindful not to squish Archie.
Before the door closed behind her, Wester
ley turned a corner and sauntered across to join them. “Good night, little sister.”
“Good night, Westerley.” Bethany waved behind her as she marched off to join her husband in their chamber. But when Tabetha went to leave, Westerley effectively blocked her way. He looked as though he’d taken full advantage of the flask of whiskey Charley had sent down. And then some.
And he looked tired, but he also looked… relieved.
Tabetha watched him hesitantly, half-expecting him to offer up a biting reprimand.
Instead, he reached out and drew her into his arms. “You little fool.” He squeezed her tight, waking Archie, who promptly leapt out of her arms and flew back into the room behind Charley.
“My cat!” She squirmed but only half-heartedly.
“You and Spencer deserve one another,” he growled.
“I hope so,” she murmured against his shirt. “But I don’t want you to hate me over all of this.”
Her brother drew back, looking surprised. “I could never hate you. Never.” He searched her eyes. “You know that, don’t you?”
Did she? “I’m not going to be a duchess… not even a baroness, like Bethany.”
Her brother slid a glance toward Charley, who was leaning on the doorframe watching the two of them with a sweet smile, and then he flicked his gaze back to Tabetha. “Do you really think that matters to any of us? All that matters, the only thing that matters to me, is that Spencer makes you happy.”
He would. Oh, she hoped he would.
“And Mother?”
“Will be ecstatic that you’ve landed one of Ravensdale’s sons.” He laughed. “Oh, Tabitha. Father never should have gone on so much about this duchess business.”
Jules had seen it too?
So Bethany was right. Something in Tabetha’s chest released and in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to find Stone and beg his forgiveness. He was the only person in the world for her! She loved him!
My husband.
“Now off to bed.” He released her, stepped back, and dropped an arm around Charley’s shoulders. “We’ll watch until you’re inside with Emily. Because, in case you didn’t realize it, you’re wearing your night clothes in public.” He leaned close to stare into her eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with my fussy little sister?”
“Go to bed, Westerley.” She poked him in the shoulder and then pivoted away, eager to sleep on a mattress, with a roof over her head, preferably with her husband. If only she knew where to find him. Perhaps if she went downstairs—
“Don’t go traipsing around looking for him, Tabby,” her brother warned, almost as though he could read her mind. “Just stay put in your chamber, can you do that?”
She scowled over her shoulder, pretending not to know what he was talking about. “Take good care of my cat tonight.”
“Goodnight, Tabetha.”
She shook her head. “Goodnight, Jules.”
She opened the door of her chamber and stepped inside. Her first thought was that Stone would be angry that it hadn’t been locked. Her second, that Emily must be asleep already.
Not a single candle remained lit.
Which was odd… The door clicked behind her.
She glanced around, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Emily was sitting on a chair tucked in the corner, tied up and gagged, staring at her with eyes that were terrified but also apologetic.
“What—? Who—? Oh, Emily—” A foul-smelling hand covered her mouth, cutting off her words, and a massive arm trapped her from behind. “Mmph…”
Tabetha kicked out behind her. She might as well be a rag doll. Damned Culpepper. This had to be the work of his men.
She arched her back and twisted with even less effectiveness.
“Hold still or I’ll have to hurt you,” a menacing voice rasped into her ear. “Where’s the cat?”
Unable to answer, she shook her head. One scream. She needed to let out one scream.
Charley and Westerley were one wall away, and she’d be rescued before these thugs knew what happened.
And if they ran, Stone would catch them downstairs and beat them to a pulp.
Unfortunately, the man’s meaty hand didn’t budge. She inhaled through her nostrils, willing herself not to panic.
“I don’t see it,” the second thug growled. “Forget the cat. What Culpepper really wants is the dowry.”
But she was already married!
Tabetha slammed her head backward and the man behind her cursed. She slammed it again. He removed his hand and she gasped for air so she could scream.
She wasn’t quick enough.
A foul-smelling cloth was stuffed inside her mouth, causing her to gag and choke when the villain tightened it and then tied it behind her head.
Tabetha struggled frantically but was no match for Culpepper’s men. Holding her down, they bound her arms and legs and then dragged her to the window.
“I told you not to fight me.” The man’s gaze landed on her ominously.
He raised his fist and if only she’d had her hands free, she could have tried to deflect the punch. Redirect, Stone had told her. But with her hands tied firmly behind her back all she could do was watch it grow larger and larger and then, shooting pain and then…
Nothing.
Chapter 26
Damn Culpepper
“We didn’t hear yelling last night. Or vases hitting the wall. Does that mean Lady Tabetha isn’t going to demand that annulment?” Chase stepped out of his room at the same time Stone pulled the door to his chamber closed behind him.
“What are you going on about?” The morning light streaming through the window at the end of the hall was almost unbearable.
He’d half-hoped he’d find his wife waiting under the covers for him, but after consuming copious amounts of scotch, when he’d fallen onto an empty bed, thought perhaps waiting to talk to her until morning was best.
Chase glanced up and down the passageway and then rubbed his chin, frowning.
“Where is she, anyhow?” Stone asked.
Tabetha’s sister stepped out and peered around her husband. “We’re all packed up. Just waiting on Tabetha. Is she ready yet?” Bethany was dressed for travel, wearing a bonnet and carrying a small valise.
“I wouldn’t know,” Stone said. “Didn’t she stay with you?”
Instead of answering, Bethany turned in the corridor and began counting the doors from his toward the direction she’d come from.
Damn Westerley. He must have arranged for her to share a separate chamber with her maid. It irked him. Despite the unconventional nature of their marriage, the fact remained that Tabetha was his wife now. He would be the one to take responsibility for her lodgings.
But Lady Chaswick was pointing at the door Stone had just emerged from. “She slept in there. Westerley reserved the chamber for both of you.”
The hairs on the back of Stone’s neck lifted.
“What did Westerley do?” The earl himself emerged from the adjacent chamber, joining them in the corridor and holding matching valises in each hand. “How is my sister today?”
Not taking the time to answer, Stone whipped the door behind him open. What had he missed?
He’d been too soused to notice her valise tucked in the corner. And another one that must belong to her maid.
A small bottle of perfume and a lady’s hairbrush rested on the wardrobe. Barely aware that the others had entered behind him, Stone’s gaze swept the room.
“She wasn’t here when I came up last night,” He ran a hand through his hair. Remembering that she’d been willing to ask for her own room on another occasion, he glanced toward the stairs. “If she wasn’t with any of you, then she must have asked for a separate chamber.”
“I watched her enter myself,” Westerley said.
“But wouldn’t she have taken her belongings with her?” Bethany asked.
And then a flesh-colored creature dashed through the open door and leapt onto the be
d, staring at Stone accusingly.
Archie.
“She wouldn’t have gone anywhere without the cat.” Stone crossed to the window. One of the curtains was torn.
His heart all but stopped and then adrenaline shot through his veins.
“Culpepper.”
Chapter 27
He will come!
“I told you to bring the cat too!”
“He wasn’t there, Your Grace. I decided that between the two of them, the chit was worth more.”
“I don’t pay you to make decisions. I pay you to follow orders.”
The voices crept into Tabetha’s consciousness, but her eyes were too heavy to open. Where was she? Was she laying on a floor?
She tried taking a breath through her mouth but couldn’t. She was gagged! Forcing air through her nostrils, she fought the rising panic as a door slammed nearby.
She was in Culpepper’s carriage. She’d recognize the stench anywhere.
A violent lurch and they began to move. Where was he taking her? Fully awake now, she opened her eyes. Even in the darkness, she recognized the tall heel on his shoes. She glanced up.
“I’m sorry to have to resort to all of this, but you gave me no choice.” A beam of moonlight slanted through a window just enough so she could see the duke’s features.
“Mmmph.” She squirmed, feeling helpless and scared. Every time she tried to breathe through her mouth and then couldn’t, fear shot through her.
“You don’t like that, do you?” he chastised her and then chuckled. “It would have come in handy on our journey up. Nothing more annoying than a chit who doesn’t know when to shut up. So much talk about nothing.” He clucked his tongue and turned to stare out one of the windows.
How had she ever thought she could marry this horrid creature?
A tear slipped out from beneath her lashes. Her arms ached behind her, and her eye was throbbing. But she would not lose heart.
Stone would come for her. After all they had been through, he wasn’t about to let Culpepper take her now.
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