He left her at her chamber door. She kissed him before opening it. Was it her fourth kiss given freely, without him luring her into abandon first? He was losing count.
“You could change it if you want,” she said. “We could move out of that house. You could leave government. I will do whatever you require.” She smiled. “We could go to Brazil.”
Her concern touched him. He kissed her one last time before he left, to let her know that. “You are too good, and I am grateful. But I do not know how I want my life to be anymore. I do not know what I want.”
Except her. He knew he wanted her. Both her passion and her heart.
There it was.
How unexpected.
Chapter Nineteen
After four days Sebastian concluded that even an agreeable and passionate wife would eventually grow tired of a husband’s nonstop use of her. Since he could not restrain himself in this idyllic setting where nothing interfered, he gave the word to the servants that he and Audrianna would return to London.
She fell asleep in his arms almost as soon as the carriage left the courtyard. He should feel guilty for exhausting her. Instead he only knew the devil’s contentment.
After a night at an inn, she was more herself the next day. She noticed, therefore, that they were not on the same road as when they went down to the country.
“We are in Middlesex,” she said after examining the passing farms and buildings when they approached London. “We are not far from Cumberworth.”
“As long as we are out and about, I thought you might like to see your friends.”
She smiled with delight. He felt like a magnanimous king giving his approval to her petition to maintain these friendships, even though she had made it clear that she would do as she liked. Thus did women turn sane men into their fools.
Her smile soon waned, like a flag brought to half-mast. “It will not be a happy visit. I will have to talk to Celia. I had not written to her before we left. I could not find the courage or the words.”
“It may be easier if you see her. It will certainly be kinder.”
Mrs. Joyes emerged from the house when the carriage stopped. She embraced Audrianna and welcomed them both. “Lizzie and Celia are in the greenhouse. You must go to them at once. They will be so happy you have come to us.”
“I will go. I need to speak to Celia privately, Daphne.” She glanced back at him.
“Then be off with you. I am sure that Lizzie will allow the privacy you seek.”
“I will remain out here and enjoy the fair day,” Sebastian said. “You will find me in the garden when you are ready to leave. Will you join me for a turn, Mrs. Joyes? I believe there is a portal over here.”
Mrs. Joyes strolled beside him to the portal and into the garden. He could see Audrianna in her pale, crepe bonnet enter the greenhouse and greet her two friends with embraces. The glass’s distortions did not permit a clear view of their features, but he knew Celia from her blond hair. The other dark-haired one must be Lizzie.
Soon that dark head moved away and Audrianna was alone with Celia.
“It will not be a pleasant conversation, will it?” Mrs. Joyes asked, pulling her concerned gaze away from the glass panes.
“No. Do you know what is being said, and why?”
“I think so. You have learned about Celia’s mother and have forbidden Audrianna to be friends with her.”
“No doubt you find that harsh. Audrianna understands even if you do not.”
“I understand too, Lord Sebastian. Even people who fight the world have to choose their battles. Audrianna is ill-equipped to fight this one, and must retreat.”
“I believe she intends to continue visiting here. The friendship will not end completely.”
She raised her eyebrows, impressed. He let her believe he had agreed to this, instead of being given little say in it.
“I am surprised you guessed what this was about,” he said. “Audrianna says none of you know the full history of the others. That there is a rule against inquiring.”
“I know more than most. It is my home, after all. I bring them here. It is a good rule, although I think that you do not approve.”
“As developments indicate, it is a rule with risks. You might at least have warned Audrianna.”
“You mean warned you, don’t you? There was a very good chance no one would find out. I owed Celia discretion more than I owed you an explanation.”
She stopped to examine a climbing rose on the wall of the conservatory. She muttered something to herself about it needing trimming, and they strolled on.
“Do any more surprises await?” he asked. There were two other women here with vague histories, including the one beside him now.
“Possibly. One never knows. Women often leave their pasts behind for very good reasons. If the past finds them despite their best efforts . . .” She shrugged.
“As long as none of you are murderesses or pirates, I suppose my wife’s reputation will survive more revelations.”
She did not find his little joke amusing. “I will tell you a story that explains why even I do not know everything. When I first came to this house, I had a servant. I then hired another. This second woman was new to the area, and of vague background. She seemed honest to me, but very meek, so I took her on. She became like a sister to me. One might say she began The Rarest Blooms. The greenhouse that you see is to a large extent due to her knowledge of horticulture and what she taught me. I also learned from that sweet woman’s friendship that a woman without family need not be alone.”
“That was good of you to take her in, and you both benefited. However, one fortunate experience does not mean all will follow the same path.”
“Hear me out, sir. She became friendly with the other servant and one day confided to her what I already had been told. That she had run away from a husband who beat her. She revealed her real name. The other girl was not discreet. She meant no harm, but the secret was out. The brute of a husband arrived here and dragged her away, as was his right by law.” Her face tensed. “I will never forget the terror in her eyes. I was powerless to help her.”
She took a deep breath and swallowed the emotion that had crept into her voice. “He hit her, twice, right in front of me. With his fist, and on her face. He drew blood and—Anyway, now when one of my sisters does not want to speak of her past, I respect it, Lord Sebastian, and I expect all the women here to do so as well.”
There was nothing to say in response to a story like that. However, it confirmed his belief that the ambiguities in this household could be potentially dangerous. “I hope that your goodness and generosity are always rewarded in kind, Mrs. Joyes.”
“The day will come when they will not be, I think. Thus far my judgment of character has protected me, however.” She looked past him, toward the greenhouse. “Here comes Audrianna. She looks close to weeping. I must go and comfort Celia. I will leave your wife’s sorrow to your care, Lord Sebastian.”
Sebastian’s time soon became absorbed with government and the start of Parliament’s sessions. Audrianna’s time became occupied with navigating the demands of a rapidly increasing social schedule.
She began receiving callers. She chose Tuesday afternoons, when she knew Lady Wittonbury left the house. She received the curious and the cruel, the friendly and the grasping. There were more of the last than she anticipated. Far too many people were under the illusion that the wife of Lord Sebastian could influence him to their husband’s and family’s benefit.
Most of them were women, but some were men. The former could be very blunt, but the latter hoped flattery and time would win her over. She wondered what Sebastian would think if he heard some of the poetic appreciations sent her way during those calls.
Then again, he might not find it at all odd. Perhaps he was calling on the wife of some lord or MP while he was gone, casting his own lures to engender favor for one of his bills.
Two weeks after the visit to Airymont, she brought a b
ook to the drawing room to await the cards and visitors. Outside the streets were busy with carriages and wagons. The annual influx of the best families to London had begun in force.
She slipped a letter out of her book. Celia had written. They had agreed to continue this communication, as well as Audrianna’s visits. She looked at the familiar hand on the address and thought about that meeting where she asked Celia if Lady Ferris’s story was true.
Celia had displayed no embarrassment. No shame. That was a relief. And she had known at once what it meant to their friendship. No rancor there. No hurt that was visible. Audrianna had been the one to weep, and Celia the one to comfort.
Now Celia had written, and a very cryptic note it was too. Perhaps she thought Sebastian would be reading it, and dared not write plainly.
I have cause to believe that your queries will receive some answers soon. She meant the queries about the Domino. Thus far no letters had arrived for her at the office of Mr. Loversall, the solicitor whom she had arranged as a mail drop. Nor had the employees at the hotels and theaters that she had approached contacted her with information either.
It was unlikely that Celia herself had met the Domino, so her allusion was too mysterious to make much sense.
She rather wished Celia had written about other things, like the state of Lizzie’s health and the garden’s resurrection with spring growth. She found herself visiting the flower shops supplied by The Rarest Blooms, and purchasing bouquets that made her nostalgic.
“Madam.” The voice startled her out of her thoughts. The butler stood in front of her, salver in hand.
She read the card and her mood clouded. Roger had called. Now, that was bold.
She agreed to see him and braced herself for echoes of those old pangs of sorrow. Instead, when he entered the drawing room, she experienced nothing at all except a mild irritation that he did not have the good sense to stay away.
He was in his uniform and looked very smart. His gaze swept the drawing room, then settled on her lone figure. His eyes sparkled with a familiarity that he should not show anymore, even if they were alone.
“Up from Brighton again?” she asked.
“Yes, a short leave. I expect we will all be enjoying much of the season here. There is not much to do down there, except when the Prince Regent visits. The French aren’t going to invade now, are they?”
“I am sure there will be invitations aplenty in both towns. Hostesses always like having young men in uniforms about.”
They chatted about upcoming balls and parties. “It is my hope to meet individuals in government who can help my career in peace time,” he explained. “The country requires many fewer officers and I do not fancy living on half-pay.”
Audrianna had come to recognize the overture. She pretended she had not.
“Perhaps you will put in a good word for me,” he added when she did not offer herself.
“Roger, only a stupid woman would ask her husband to help a man to whom she was once affianced. You are no rival, but men are men.”
Her response truly surprised him. “Your husband? Lord Sebastian? I would never request such a thing of you. It was my hope that you would speak on my behalf with the marquess.”
“Wittonbury is an invalid. He never leaves the house. His influence is nonexistent now.”
“He is not a hermit, is he? I am told he enjoyed considerable influence before he went to war, and engenders even more sympathy now. A well-directed letter from him would find favor with the recipient, who would want to do him a good turn. He was a friend of the army and still is, and the War Office will not treat his recommendation of an officer lightly.”
“He does not even know you. Why would he so recommend you?”
“He knows you, doesn’t he? How else do you think this happens? Someone knows someone who knows someone who does a favor in kind.” He looked amused and sly. “It is said he has affection for you. If so, he will be glad to write a letter.”
“It is said? By whom?”
He shrugged. “It is known. It is around. I heard he let his affection be known in order to ease your way, so that being caught with his brother near Brighton would not cause you too much disdain.”
She had underestimated the marquess. He might be a prisoner of those chambers, but as Roger said, he was not a hermit. He still received a few friends and he could write letters. It touched her that he had tried to ease her way.
“If Wittonbury favors me, I am flattered. I think that it would not do for me to overvalue my good fortune, however. I can only dip from that well so often, I expect.”
Roger heard the rejection of his petition buried in her musing. His face assumed a severe passivity. He masked his disappointment beneath formality, and soon took his leave.
Deciding she had awaited callers long enough, Audrianna went up toward the marquess’s apartment. She had not visited him as much the last weeks as before. In part that was due to the increase in social obligations, but his days had altered as well.
One of those physicians called in had detected some sensation in Wittonbury’s legs. Sebastian had ordered exercises be resumed. Most afternoons, if one passed those chambers, one could hear Wittonbury cursing while Dr. Fenwood forced flaccid muscles to move.
When she entered the apartment’s library, those exertions were finished. The marquess sat near the window, his face to the crack of fresh air.
“Ah, my dear sister. I am relieved you are here. Fenwood won’t dare interfere with me now.”
She could not help but glance at his legs. The blanket never covered them now, unless he had guests. It seemed to her that they showed more mass. They no longer resembled thin bundles of rags stuffed into trousers.
“Do not ask,” he said. “It is all a fool’s errand, and I weary of talking about it.”
“Then we will not. Should I read to you, or would you like a chess match?”
“Pettigrew and Eversham. P & E.” Mr. William Holmes, Treasurer for the Board of Ordnance, muttered the name over and over while he perused his account books in his Tower office.
It had taken two weeks and considerable political capital for Sebastian to procure this meeting. Mr. Holmes, like all of the Board, held his office from the Crown and felt no obligation to accommodate a mere member of the House of Commons. Only when the Prime Minister had intimated that the Crown might be persuaded to reconsider Mr. Holmes’s recently attained position, and the handsome salary he drew, did Mr. Holmes finally decide time could be found for this inquiry after all.
“Ah, here it is. A small mill, from the looks of it. Fairly late to the game. It appears that powder was purchased from them beginning in 1811. Maybe seventy thousand was paid overall. That may sound like a handsome sum, but for an industrial affair it is quite small. It is a wonder we bothered with them, but the need for reserves was severe.”
“And the last payment?”
Mr. Holmes ran his thick finger down the page. “May 1814. They probably thought the war would last forever. One wonders if they even realized their investment back in three years.”
Perhaps they had not. That thought opened a new path in Sebastian’s mind. “Do you know who owned P & E?”
“The records do not say. I could probably discover the name of the person to whom the money was sent, but it may not be the owner. The name itself implies a partnership, although neither Pettigrew or Eversham are familiar names to me. My predecessor, Mr. Alcock, might have known them, but of course, he is not available.”
“If you were to find to whom the payments were sent, I would appreciate it. I will await your letter.”
Sebastian rode back to the City. He visited one of his solicitors. He had charged the man with learning what he could about P & E, and now he had a date when the company might have been formed. That alone should make digging for information more productive.
Chapter Twenty
“That fellow is flirting with your wife again.” Hawkeswell made it a point not to look in Audrianna’s
direction while he spoke.
“So he is.” Sebastian did not look that way either. All the same, he had been keeping an eye on things.
“I trust that the passing weeks have reduced the novelty of marriage and that you will not want to be an ass this time.”
That remained to be seen. “That Fellow” had called on Audrianna last week, according to his valet, who heard about it from the butler. It appeared That Fellow had friends enough to be invited to more parties than expected too. What was the good of having a regiment at Brighton if the officers never stayed there?
“His name is Major Roger Woodruffe. I found out about him for you,” Hawkeswell said. “His introductions come through an aunt of his mother. The aunt is married to a baronet, and Roger there mines the connection for all it is worth.”
Hawkeswell had checked rather thoroughly. Which meant Hawkeswell probably knew Major Woodruffe and Audrianna had once been engaged.
“I expect he will be underfoot all season then,” Sebastian said. He did not mind that too much. Audrianna said she no longer loved Major Woodruffe. He was inclined to believe her, if only because the alternative was wanting to be an ass, as Hawkeswell put it.
However, Woodruffe’s presence reminded him of the odd caprices of fate. He had assumed that if not for her father’s disgrace, and a cryptic notice in the Times, and a disastrous first meeting that resulted in scandal, he would have never met Audrianna.
Only, most likely he would have, it turned out. He could have been at a party like this and seen her after she was married to this army officer.
What if she had captivated him then? He would have been faced with seducing another man’s wife. Since he did not much like Major Woodruffe, from what he could see, that would not bother him too much. Unfortunately the Audrianna he knew might very well have refused to be seduced.
“Lord Notorious has arrived, I see,” Hawkeswell mused.
That explained the little agitation that flowed through the garden party. Heads turned and whispers buzzed as Castleford made his entrance. He smiled like a man amused by the attention, but who also considered it his due. Mothers beckoned their virginal daughters to come admire The Rarest Blooms’ artistry at the other end of the property.
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