The Bedding Proposal

by Tracy Anne Warren

  She kissed him back, forgetting all about the fact that they were right out on the street where anyone might see. And honestly she no longer cared. She was just too deliriously happy. Happier than she’d been in her entire life.

  Her nerves were humming when he finally let her come up for air.

  “Shall we continue on to Gunter’s or do you want to go back inside?” he asked in a husky voice.

  “Gunter’s,” she said after a moment. “Your ribs are still tender. I don’t want to risk reinjuring them.”

  “I could always lie quietly and let you do all the work,” he whispered into her ear. “You’ve learned to do amazing things with those hands of yours. Not to mention your very clever tongue.”

  She met his eyes. “I had an excellent teacher. Now, are we going to Gunter’s or not? I’m suddenly in the mood to scandalize some old tattlemongers.”

  With another laugh, he flicked the reins and set the team and curricle in motion.

  * * *

  “One black currant ice for you, my love,” Leo said as he took the dessert from the waiter and passed the painted china cup to her. “And maple hazelnut for me.”

  As was the custom in summer, couples remained in their carriages while they indulged their sweet tooth and took note of the others gathered to do the same.

  Her head held high, Thalia ignored the frequent surreptitious glances that came their way and concentrated instead on savoring the cold treat and Leo’s wonderful company.

  As she’d told him on that long-ago day at Tattersall’s, it had been years since she’d visited Gunter’s. Despite the expected disapproving looks from some haughty matrons, it was good to be back. And she realized to her surprise that she really didn’t care what anyone thought. Her life was her own to do with as she liked.

  She gave a little chuckle, feeling liberated.

  “What is funny?” Leo asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just happy. And the ice is good. I’d forgotten how delicious they are.”

  “Then I am glad we came.”

  She smiled and ate another spoonful.

  A slight breeze rose up, the cooler air refreshing on a late June day. The waving feather on a lady’s hat caught her eye and she glanced toward it.

  That’s when she noticed its wearer, a pretty young woman with pale blond curls and roses in her cheeks. She looked very young and very innocent.

  Too innocent.

  She frowned and looked away.

  “What’s wrong?” Leo asked.

  “Nothing.” She ate another spoonful of her frozen black currant confection.

  Leo raised a chiding brow. “Again, what is wrong? No secrets, remember.”

  Inwardly, she sighed, wondering if she should tell him. Wondering now how she could not.

  She’d seen the girl a couple of weeks ago when she and Mathilda had gone shopping on Bond Street. They’d all been at the same modiste and she’d been unable to keep from overhearing two of the shop assistants discussing the “delicious” fact that Lord Kemp’s new fiancée, Lydia Duxworth, just happened to be in the dressing room right next to his former wife, Lady Thalia Lennox.

  Thalia had taken pains to make sure she and Miss Duxworth did not meet that afternoon. Still, she’d observed the young woman long enough to realize that Lydia Duxworth was shy, sweet and obviously far too easily controlled by her rather domineering mother.

  Money. That must be the reason for the engagement—not that Lydia necessarily realized that. Gordon could be charming when he put his mind to it. He might even have convinced young Lydia that he loved her. And perhaps some small part of him did. Still . . .

  Thalia had not been the only one whose reputation had suffered due to the divorce. For years, matchmaking mothers of the Ton had steered their daughters away from Lord Kemp. However rich he might be, no respectable family wished to align itself with a divorced man. And such things as having a wife with good lineage meant a great deal to Gordon, so he had waited rather than marry beneath him.

  But now after more than six years, it would appear that, with the right amount of money, he was being allowed to buy his way into an advantageous marriage again. Finally, he would be able to have the wife and sons he craved.

  And poor Lydia Duxworth was his choice.

  Thalia looked at Leo, aware he was waiting.

  She stifled another sigh. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to get upset.”

  He cursed, heavy lines creasing his forehead. “What is it?”

  “You’re getting upset.”

  “Of course I am. I remember the last time you wrung that kind of promise out of me and it turned out to be something that definitely made me upset.”

  “Fine. Then I won’t tell you. You’ve only just recovered and your health is still in a precarious state.”

  “My health is fine. Although I may have an apoplexy if you don’t cease these infuriating delays. Just tell me. I’ll decide afterward how upset I want to be.”

  She looked at him again, then handed the cup with the last of her uneaten ice to a passing waiter. “Do you see that young woman over there?” Subtly, she nodded toward Lydia Duxworth.

  “The little blonde, you mean?”

  “Yes.”

  “What of her?”

  “Apparently, she is Lord Kemp’s new fiancée.”

  “What!” he exclaimed, loudly enough that several heads turned in their direction. Thankfully, Lydia Duxworth’s was not among them.

  “See? This is why I didn’t say anything before. Just his name is enough to rouse your ire.”

  “Of course it is after everything he’s done.” He fisted his hands, his knuckles popping from the strain. “I don’t know why I let you and Lawrence convince me not to hunt him down the moment I was out of my sickbed.”

  “And the rest of your brothers,” she reminded. “We all agreed that a direct confrontation between you and Gordon would do nothing but escalate the enmity between you, and potentially put you in harm’s way again.” Reaching out, she took his hand. “I nearly lost you because of him. I won’t risk losing you again. Let the law take its course.”

  “And if it doesn’t?” he asked blackly.

  “It will. Have faith. Your brothers are doing everything they can to find the men who assaulted you. Once they do, at least one of those men is bound to name Gordon as the villain who hired them.”

  “But he is a peer and as such cannot be prosecuted for anything less than murder.”

  “What he did to you was attempted murder. If that is not enough cause, then we will find some other means of seeing justice done.” She paused. “Of course, you could always just let it go.”

  His jaw tightened. “You think I can just forget—”

  “No, not forget, or forgive. Just put it behind you. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. I am tired of letting Gordon’s hate intrude on our happiness.”

  Leo looked across to Lydia Duxworth. “And what of that girl? She looks utterly naive. Do you really think she has any idea what he is or how he treated you? Do you imagine he’ll turn saint and be kind and loving to her?”

  She frowned, having already given those same questions some serious thought. The answers troubled her greatly. So much so, there had been nights she had not been able to sleep.

  “He might,” she said. But even she didn’t believe it.

  Leo gave her a hard look. “And if he doesn’t? Do you really want that on your conscience?”

  “No, of course not. But what can we do? Even if I could find some way of speaking to her, she’d never believe me. Everyone would tell her that I’m just trying to get back at Gordon and making up stories designed to discredit him. I don’t want her to suffer any more than you, but I don’t see what I can do.”

  Leo fell silent, considering. “Maybe you don’t have to do anything,” he said after a moment. “Maybe someone else can do it for you.”

  * * *

  “The florist is here with the flowers, milady,” Fletcher told
Thalia a week later. “Where shall I have him place them?”

  She turned from where she was penning a letter at the small lady’s writing desk in the drawing room and looked at the elderly butler.

  Although Leo and Lawrence already had a butler, she’d brought Fletcher, Mrs. Grove and Parker with her when she’d moved to Cavendish Square. Fletcher had been promoted to serve as her personal majordomo with main butlering duties on the days the other butler was off. So far the new arrangement seemed to be working well, although the situation belowstairs in the kitchen—what with two cooks instead of one—was not proving as easy. But she was determined to work through it. When she’d moved from her town house, she and Leo had agreed that none of the staff—either hers or his—would be given notice.

  She was, however, considering asking Mrs. Grove to come with them to Brightvale once they removed there in August. The shift would hopefully soothe ruffled feathers on both sides.

  “Oh, good,” she told Fletcher as she laid her pen aside. “The arrangements are for tonight’s dinner. The epergnes with the roses and lilies go in the dining room. The hollyhocks and irises in the entry hall and here in the drawing room.”

  She had to admit she loved the luxury of having fresh flowers in the house again. Leo was extravagantly generous and happy to let her buy anything she desired. Even so, she tried not to overindulge.

  But she couldn’t resist the temptation of fresh flowers, especially given the excellent excuse tonight’s meal provided. His family was coming over for a quiet evening in. They were to have dinner, then cards, games and music. She was quite looking forward to it, particularly the music and the games, which she hadn’t enjoyed in ages.

  Leo and Lawrence had left a couple of hours ago to see to some business across Town. She didn’t expect them back for a while.

  Once Fletcher bowed himself out to see to the florist, she returned to finishing her letter.

  Ten minutes had passed when she heard raised voices in the entrance hall.

  “Excuse me, my lord, but as I told you, Lady Thalia is not receiving.”

  “I am sure she’ll make an exception for me,” came a booming voice that sent chills down her spine. “Out of my way, Fletcher. I wouldn’t want to have to hurt you.”

  She stood, gripping the back of her chair. She glanced toward the fireplace and the poker, then noticed the silver letter opener on her desk. She wrapped her hand around it and slid it into her pocket only seconds before Gordon strode into the room.

  He stopped, then swept his gaze over her, his eyes malevolent with disdain—and simmering anger.

  It was a look she knew well.

  “Thalia. Come up in the world again, I see. You must be better than I remember to convince him to let you move in here. Where is your young protector? Or is he still recovering from the injuries he suffered after his unfortunate run-in with those street thugs?”

  Gordon smirked, gloating and cruel; she knew that look too.

  “Lord Leopold is quite hale and will join me any moment. He will not be pleased to see you, so I suggest you leave now before he arrives.”

  Smiling, Gordon sauntered forward, idly surveying the room.

  Inside her pocket, her fingers tightened on the letter opener.

  He stopped, leaving about six feet between them. “I’ll go when I get what I came for.”

  She lifted her chin, refusing to let him intimidate her. “And what is that?”

  “As if you don’t know.” His voice grew deeper, more menacing. “You interfering little bitch.”

  “Get out of my house.”

  Lifting her voice, she called for the footmen, but they didn’t arrive. Had he done something to them?

  She pulled out the letter opener and held it in front of her like a weapon.

  He laughed. “You think that’s going to stop me? You didn’t learn much, did you, from when we were married?”

  “I learned plenty, including what a vile waste of a human being you are.”

  “Is that what you told her? I want to know.”

  “Who?”

  “Who?” he repeated, his words louder, then louder still until they were nearly a shout. “Who? Miss Duxworth, of course. She broke off our engagement this morning. Turned me away with barely a word of explanation. I want to know what you said to her. I want to know what lies you put into her head.”

  “I didn’t tell her anything. I’ve never even met her.”

  Actually, it had been Mathilda and Jane who had told her. Mathilda and Jane who had gone to Lydia Duxworth and explained to her exactly how much danger she would be in if she was foolish enough to marry Lord Kemp. Apparently their entreaties had been effective.

  “Someone told her something to make her change her mind. Whatever the source, the information had to have come from you.”

  “Then it cannot have been lies. Whatever her reasons for reconsidering your suit, she is well-off to be away from you.”

  A red flush of fury crept up his neck and into his face.

  He took another step forward. “Two years I spent cultivating that relationship. Two years ingratiating myself to her parents, to her friends, so that she would say yes when the time was right. Now, in the matter of a few days, you’ve undone all my careful planning. All my hard work. She was the perfect one to marry. The right one to give me the heir you were too weak to provide.”

  His eyes bulged, his chest and shoulder muscles taut with rage. “I could kill you. I should have killed you years ago when I had the chance. It would have been a hell of a lot easier to just put you in a grave when I had the chance. Maybe I’ll do it now.”

  “Get away from her, Kemp!”

  It was Leo. Lawrence stood at his side.

  Slowly, Gordon swung around. “The valiant savior returns? What are you going to do, Byron? Hit me again?”

  “Hitting you again would be a pleasure. Now step away from her.”

  “You dare to give me orders, puppy?” He pointed at his chest. “Me? A peer of the realm. You may think that family of yours gives you protection, but it wouldn’t if I decided to pursue charges against you for assault.”

  “If anyone is going to pursue charges, it would be me.” Leo pointed a finger. “You are the one who barged into my house uninvited. The one who attacked my servants and threatened the woman I love. Now, I’m giving you one last chance to be gone, or I’ll toss you out myself.”

  Kemp gave a harsh laugh. “Just try. You are nothing, you know. Just some trumped-up younger son who hasn’t learned to respect his elders. I see that beating I arranged for you didn’t drum any sense into your head after all.”

  Leo arched a derisive brow. “You’re the one who lacks proper intelligence, Kemp. I heard you blaming Thalia for having had a hand in ending your engagement, but you’re directing your anger at the wrong person. You see, I’m the one who saw to it that Miss Duxworth was given a thorough appraisal of your character. That she knows exactly the kind of cruel, callous bastard you are. That she’s aware how you abused and tormented and lied about Thalia—a woman whose name you aren’t even fit to speak.”

  Kemp opened and closed his mouth, his fists clenched, arms trembling at his sides.

  Leo took a pair of steps forward. “Miss Duxworth’s going to tell everyone in the Ton about you and this time they’ll believe the truth. She’s going to whisper in the ears of every girl of marriageable age and warn them to run as far and as fast from you as they can. You’ll become a pariah, so tainted and condemned that no decent woman will have you. You’ll never marry again. Never have that heir you want, Kemp. Just illegitimate bastards who won’t be able to inherit your title or your estate.”

  Leo leaned closer, as if imparting a secret. “All your clever plans and machinations, your cruelty to Thalia, it will have been for naught. In the end, you will have nothing. And should Miss Duxworth fail to finish you off, Kemp, rest assured that my family and I will not.”

  A roar came out of Kemp’s mouth, his hands clenching
so hard it looked as if his fingers might break. His skin turned the color of a ripe apple, red and shining with a film of sweat from throat to hairline, eyes bulging in his head.

  “You impudent whelp,” he said on a shout. “You think you can best me? I’m going to destroy you and I’m going to destroy her too.” He jabbed a wild finger toward Thalia. “By the time I’m through with the pair of you, you’ll wish you’d—you’ll wish—you’ll—urgh—”

  Suddenly he froze and clutched at his chest, his words turning to a wheezing sputter. He staggered, his lips wide, gasping as if he could no longer draw breath. His fingers clawed at his waistcoat, his cravat. He let out an odd, gagging moan, then crashed in a heap onto the floor, where he moved no more.

  There was silence in the room as Thalia, Leo and Lawrence all stared.

  She was the first to recover, hurrying to the door. “Fletcher,” she called. “Fletcher, fetch the doctor, now!”

  “Thalia,” Leo said quietly.

  Turning back, she found him kneeling beside Gordon.

  “There is no need for the doctor,” he told her.

  “Of course there is. He’s collapsed. Whatever he’s done, we cannot leave him like this. He needs someone to attend him.”

  Leo exchanged a look with Lawrence; then he stood. “No, he doesn’t. Thalia, Kemp is dead.”

  Chapter 36

  “Are you all right?” Leo asked Thalia several hours later as they settled together onto the sofa in the sitting room that adjoined their bedchamber.

  Hera had joined them, the little tabby cat curling into her new favorite spot in the window seat. She’d made a bed out of one of Thalia’s old woolen shawls, and not having the heart to dislodge her, Thalia had let her keep it.

  “Of course,” Thalia said. “It has just been an eventful day.”

  “We ought to have canceled dinner.”

  “No, I am glad your family came over.”

  Even though the evening had been a quieter one than originally planned, without the games and the music, she’d been pleased to have the company. The confrontation with Gordon and his unexpected death had been shocking and unsettling.