on, and apparently he and Selina are to stay behind."
Not surprisingly. Sir Matthew’s “bold” suggestion was no suggestion at all; it was left to Miss Bradley to interpret his words.
“Are you proposing that I accompany you to America?” she asked coyly. “It does sound most amusing, but I have no clothes.”
No clothes? Selina recalled the groaning phaeton, the endless yards of muslin spilled in the innyard, and choked back a laugh.
“That will pose no difficulty,” Matthew said, “for there’s a splendid mantua-maker in Richmond. I’m sure Selina will testify that Mrs. Renard quite rivals London’s finest modistes.”
“Mrs. Renard?” Selina echoed. He had invariably confused the inept housekeeper with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Deveau, but, on second thought . . . “Mrs. Renard is a splendid seamstress,” she concurred, “but she is extremely modest about her talents. She will probably claim she can’t sew the first stitch, but you must insist she make your wardrobe, Miss Bradley.”
“It is settled then,” Mrs. Seymour said, a bit too eagerly. “Isabella and Sir Matthew must pack at once, and I shall appoint you, John, to see them safely onto the ship.”
Papa gave Selina a broad wink and escorted Matthew to their chamber, and Miss Bradley fled to her own room. Selina fumbled behind her back, found the doorknob, discreetly turned it; but Grandmama was not prepared to let them go.
“As for you,” she said sternly, “Sir Matthew was quite right: your behavior is inexcusable. I do not wish to know why you elected to deceive me, but if you one day choose to tell me . . .” She paused and issued a wounded sniff. “In any event, you must procure a special license at once, and with Isabella out of the way, perhaps no one will ever be the wiser.” She stopped again, and her face softened, and she stepped a little closer. “But do not marry if you’re not in love,” she whispered. “It’s clear you want each other, but desire makes a happy bed for a week, a month, a year at most. To share a bed for forty years requires friendship and laughter and infinite patience; and all of those—with the desire tossed in for spice—make love.” She stepped away again, and her eyes once more darted between them.
“I love Selina very much,” the Earl said. He looked down at her, and her heart began to crash against her ribs, to soar into her throat. “Though I did not recognize my feelings until quite—quite recently.” His face was altogether solemn, but there was a familiar, infuriating, wonderful twitch at the corners of his mouth, and Selina repressed a giggle of pure joy.
“Very well,” Mrs. Seymour said. “As I indicated, Samuel did have numerous influential friends hereabouts, and while we dress, I shall try to remember their names.”
She turned around and started toward her chamber, and Jeremy, as was his wont, suddenly materialized beside her.
“Does this mean I am to receive no further payments?” he demanded.
"Payments?”
Grandmama and Alex spoke in unison, but Mrs. Seymour seemed a trifle the more distressed: she seized the sleeve of Jeremy’s nightshirt and began to drag him across the hall. “We shall discuss that in private, Jeremy—”
"Payments?” Selina interrupted sharply. “What payments?”
“I warned you you would be sorry, Selina,” Jeremy said. “I was later sorry I tattled, but by then it was too late. One does hear things, you know,” he added defensively.
"Particularly if one lays one’s ears to doors and hides behind the draperies,” Selina suggested grimly.
“Yes, particularly if one does that. At any rate, when I told Grandmama you and Alex were not married, she agreed to pay me ten pounds a week to keep the secret—”
“Ten pounds a week?” Alex groaned.
“Secret?” Selina echoed.
“You knew'?'' they chorused, glaring at Mrs. Seymour.
“I knew”—she lifted her chin—“and I should do the same thing again. As soon as I met Selina, I perceived that the two of you were perfectly suited, but Jeremy immediately told me what you were at. It was clear you couldn’t possibly fall in love if you intended to separate the instant you were out of my sight, so I determined to prolong your—your exposure insofar as I could. I insisted on conducting a ball in London, I lured you down to Wiltshire with the promise of renovating Worfields, I placed you in the same room in Reading and again at Seymour Manor, I proposed a housewarming ball, I even pretended I was going to give my money to Selina. I thought the latter stroke had won the day, for during the ball, Jeremy informed me of Alex’s marriage proposal.”
“You were paying Jeremy to spy as well?” Selina gasped.
“Certainly not,” Grandmama said indignantly. “I merely suggested that if he chanced to overhear any pertinent information, he might wish to relay it to me. At any rate,” she rushed on, “when you declared you were going on holiday, I suspected you were slipping away to be wed. However, when you said you planned to travel to America, I collected you had reached a parting of the ways, and I seized my last opportunity. I decided to accompany you to Plymouth in hopes of bringing you to your senses, and thank God I succeeded.”
Selina did not feel Mrs. Seymour could take much credit for the events of the night just past, but she firmly bit back a rejoinder.
“In answer to your question, Jeremy”—Grandmama turned her attention to the young extortionist—“your work is done, and you will not receive any further payments.”
“Humph.” Jeremy looked up at Alex. “I suppose you won’t pay me any more either,” he said despondently.
“Either?" Mrs. Seymour and Selina looked at the Earl as well.
“It was Selina’s idea,” his lordship protested.
“My idea?”
“Not precisely your idea," he admitted, “but you did put the notion in my mind. You were so concerned about Jeremy’s happiness that I thought if you thought that he thought he was still going to America . . .” He paused; perhaps he was as confused as she was. “In short, when I told Jeremy we were not traveling to America, I asked him to pretend I hadn't told him. If all else failed, I intended to prevail on your sympathy for my floor little brother. Who would be sufficiendy
disappointed as it was, even before he learned that his beloved new sister-in-law planned to abandon him.” “Corrupting a child.” Mrs. Seymour shook her head. “/ corrupt him?" Alex stared balefully down at his “poor little brother.” “He charged you only ten pounds a week, Grandmama; he charged me ten pounds per day. And, no, Jeremy, I shall not pay you any more."
“Humph,” Jeremy snorted again. “Weil, as Miss Bradley mentioned, the facts could emerge.”
“If the facts emerge, Jeremy,” Selina said severely, “you will be confined to your bedchamber for the rest of your life, and you will subsist on a diet of bread and water. And possibly your worms. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma'am,” he gulped. “I believe I’ll dress for breakfast now.”
He dashed across the corridor, and Mrs. Seymour nodded with righteous approval.
“It was wise of you to set him straight, Selina, before Alex could entirely destroy his character. And now, if you will excuse me, I shall dress as well.”
She started to turn away, but Selina had one final question. “What of the Nightingale, Grandmama? Did you really read about her in The Times?"
“The Nightingale?” Mrs. Seymour frowned, then nodded again. “Ah, yes, the ship upon which Alexander supposedly went to his doom. No, my dear, I did not; at that juncture, I was grasping at straws. I frankly hoped to scare the devil out of you both.”
She stepped away once more, but this time Alex caught her up. “And your money, Grandmama? What do you plan to do with your money?”
“I plan to lend you and Selina a modest sum until such time as you are able to provide for yourselves. In order to do so—provide for yourselves, that is—you will obviously have to reduce your lavish household expenditures, and I am fortunately prepared to employ your excess servants. And I shall revise my will: my estate will be equally divided among
st you and Harriet and Jeremy. But you must not count on an imminent inheritance, Alex, for I fully expect to live another five and twenty years. At my age, one has few ambitions left; mine is to reach a hundred and watch my greatgrandchildren grow up. Indeed—if you would busy yourself—I might well be able to dandle my great-great- grandchildren on my knee.” She stole another glance at their chamber door. “Well, you have clearly been busy, but if I am to have legitimate descendants, you must make an honest woman of Selina without delay.”
The conversation was definitely over: Mrs. Seymour marched across the hall, and Selina eased open the infamous door. She and the Earl backed into their room and, having forgotten how exceedingly small it was, prompdy tripped over the end of the bed and tumbled onto the mattress.
“Everything is solved, is it not?” Alex murmured. He pulled her into his arms, and his lips teased her throat. “Isabella and Sir Matthew will no doubt be enormously happy in America, and Jeremy has been silenced, and Grandmama has quite removed her money as a source of temptation.” He nibbled her ear, and Selina melted against him. “I propose we resume at the point where we were so rudely interrupted—the beginning of the second lesson.”
His mouth found hers, and Selina shoved him away. “No,” she said firmly. “Grandmama is right; you must make an honest woman of me.”
“For God’s sake, Selina! It is not yet four in the morning—”
“By the time we dress and eat, it will be half past five, and we shall be able to go down to the dock and see Matthew and Miss Bradley off. I doubt they will actually sail before seven, and we can then set about obtaining a special license.”
“Selina!”
“You must exercise some patience.” she said wickedly. “As Grandmama pointed out, that is an aspect of love.” She hesitated a moment. “You did mean what you told her? You do love me?”
“I love you beyond my wildest imaginings.” His lips brushed her eyelids, her chin, her throat again. “But I can well conceive, after all our bumblebaths, that you may entertain some lingering suspicion.” He sighed most impressively. “Consequently, I am prepared to prove my affection at once ..
He lowered his head once more, and Selina squirmed away, leaped out of the bed and crashed into the wardrobe. The Earl began to laugh, and she briefly glared at him, but then she started to giggle as well. Alex left the bed, and they dressed as best they could— stumbling into the furniture, bouncing off the walls, laughing like children all the while. And Selina fancied she could almost hear an approving boom of mirth from across the corridor, for, as Grandmama had said, it was all a part of love.
About the Author
Though her college majors were history and French, Diana Campbell worked in the computer industry for a number of years and has written extensively about various aspects of data processing. She had published eighteen short stories and two mystery novels before undertaking her first Regency romance.
Her previous Regencies—THE RELUCTANT CYPRIAN, A MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE, and LORD MARGRAVE’S DECEPTION—are also available in Signet editions.
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