The Earl's Secret Bargain

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  ***

  Toby couldn’t recall a time when he felt more helpless as he rode with Regina back to his townhouse. During the entire wedding, it had been obvious she didn’t want to be there. Not that he could blame her. He was beginning to wish he had suggested they run off to Gretna Green. He had no idea that being surrounded by her parents and Orlando would make things even more awkward than they already were. But it had.

  Between her mother’s constant distrusting glances in his direction, Orlando’s sympathetic smiles, and Regina’s attempts to avoid eye contact whenever possible, the only saving grace had been her father who tried to smooth things over. He couldn’t, of course. No one could make the whole process easier. But he had to admire her father for trying. His heart had been in the right place.

  Toby looked over at Regina, hoping he could gauge her emotions so he could act appropriately. The last thing he wanted to do was step out of line. He cleared his throat and shifted, surprised when she jerked away from him, a startled look on her face. He paused. There was no doubt about it. He’d be spending the wedding night alone.

  “I wasn’t trying to get close to you,” he explained. “I only wanted to get more comfortable.”

  She relaxed and nodded.

  This wasn’t a good sign of things to come. But he was determined to press through her wall. He’d managed to win her over once. Since he wasn’t pretending to be someone he wasn’t, he should be able to win her over again, even if it would take time.

  “The wedding went better than I expected,” he finally said.

  She turned her gaze in his direction. “I thought it was awful. No one wanted to be there.”

  He wasn’t sure how to respond to that because despite the circumstances, he had wanted to be there. Granted, it hadn’t been the joyous affair he had envisioned when he proposed to her at Toplyn’s ball, but he was still glad he married her. “Well,” he ventured, “you didn’t say no. That was what I was expecting. So from where I’m sitting, it didn’t go as bad as I feared.”

  “Why would I say no? I already said I’d marry you.”

  “Nothing is final until the vows are spoken.”

  She seemed to consider his words for a minute then nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  Her comment put him into a bit of a panic. She didn’t believe she had the right to say no when the vicar asked if she really wanted to go through with the vows? If she had realized it, would she have said no? He opened his mouth to ask but then decided he was better off not knowing.

  The carriage finally pulled to a stop, and he breathed a sigh of relief. As much as he wanted to be close to her, he was glad for the reprieve from having to figure out something to say. So far, he’d been doing a horrible job of it anyway.

  The footman opened the carriage door, and he waited for her to leave before he followed her. Though she didn’t wait for him to walk with her up the steps, she didn’t rush away from him either. That was the best he could hope for.

  It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her to go to the drawing room and share some tea with him, but he was saved from having to risk her rejection when the butler approached him.

  “This came for you while you were out, my lord,” the butler said, handing him a missive.

  Eyebrows furrowed, he took the envelope and saw it was from Pennella. Good heavens. Hadn’t the gentleman done enough damage? Did he really need to keep hounding him?

  “What is it?” Regina asked.

  His initial response was to tell her it was from a gentleman at White’s who probably wanted to speak to him, and while that was true, it wasn’t exactly the whole truth. He studied her expression for a moment then directed his gaze to the envelope. “I’m not sure,” he slowly replied. Who knew what Pennella wanted?

  “Who’s it from?” she asked, this time with a slight edge to her voice.

  He had to tell her. There was no getting out of it. Thanking the butler, he gently took her by the elbow and led her to the drawing room. He shut the doors before facing her. “It’s from Pennella.”

  As he feared, her countenance darkened. “What does he want?”

  “I don’t know.” He didn’t want to open the envelope. He wanted to tear it up and throw the contents away. Maybe he could even have the coachman drive over it with the carriage and send it back to Pennella to show him exactly what he thought of him. “Whatever it is, it won’t be pleasant.”

  “I’m sure it won’t,” she muttered, crossing her arms.

  This was just what he needed. His bride had been upset with him before the wedding, and this wasn’t helping one single bit. “I haven’t said anything to him since the day the wager was exposed in the Tittletattle,” he told her. “And even then, all I said was that I didn’t tell anyone about the wager and that I had no idea who did it.”

  Her eyebrows drew together, but she gestured to the envelope. “What does he want?”

  “I don’t want to know.”

  “Well, I do, especially since it probably involves me.”

  She was most likely right. “If that’s the case, I really don’t want to know. He’s already gotten me into a great deal of trouble. Opening this will only make things worse.”

  “Then I’ll open it.” She held her hand out to him.

  He cringed. “I can’t have you do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it won’t be good.”

  “Won’t be good for you, you mean?”

  “Yes. It won’t be good for me. Or for you either. What do we need with Pennella anyway? He’s an arrogant braggart who bullies people for the fun of it. I swear he lives for nothing else but to make people miserable.” And he was doing a fine job of it, too.

  She snatched the envelope away from him. “If it has nothing to do with me, then I will apologize and have nothing to say about him again. But if it does, I have the right to know.”

  It took all his willpower to remain still when all he wanted to do was snatch it away from her. “Please don’t do this. Things are already tense between us. I don’t want it to get worse.”

  She stiffened. “So it does have something to do with me.”

  “I don’t know if it does or not, but…” After struggling to think of something he could say to convince her to put the envelope down, he gave up. “Whatever’s in there, it won’t be pleasant. It’s never pleasant when it comes to Pennella.”

  Why he thought Pennella would cease to be a thorn in his side now that the wager was over with, he didn’t know. Hope, he supposed. Dumb, naïve hope. With a sigh, he watched as she opened the envelope and pulled the letter out. As she silently read the contents, a scowl crossed her pretty face, and when she looked up at him, there was no denying the rage in her eyes.

  “You made another wager?”

  His jaw dropped. “No. I wouldn’t make another wager with anyone after all this trouble.”

  “That’s not what he said, and it’s not what everyone at White’s is saying either. My father is a fool for believing there’s any sense of decency in you.” She flung the letter toward him and stormed out of the room.

  He wanted to run after her, but his gaze went to the piece of paper that floated through the air until it landed on the floor. He already knew he didn’t want to read it, but like a horrible nightmare, he couldn’t seem to resist picking the blasted thing up. Then he read it. His face grew hot, and he crumpled the paper in his hand.

  Gritting his teeth, he stomped past a startled footman and butler without waiting for either one of them to open the front door so he could leave the townhouse. He was going to find Pennella and settle everything with him once and for all.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Toby flung the door open at White’s and marched inside. Something in the back of his mind told him he should take a deep breath and calm down, but he just couldn’t. Not when the words of Pennella’s missive keep running through his head.

  Congratulations on winning the l
atest wager. Miss Giles married you even after finding out about our little wager in the Tittletattle. I didn’t think she would, but she was foolish enough to do it. Come to White’s at your earliest convenience, and I’ll pay you the money I owe you.

  Toby’s hand clenched the piece of paper as he looked for Pennella. When he found him lounging in the gaming room, he rushed over to him. And, before he could stop himself, he gave Pennella a swift punch in the jaw. Pennella flew backwards, tipping the chair over.

  The whole thing happened so fast that he was barely aware of what he was doing. It hadn’t been his intention to actually strike Pennella, but he was so angry, he couldn’t think straight. All his attempts to repair the damage he’d done with Regina had been for nothing. One missive and Pennella upset the little progress he’d made. After this, who knew if Regina would ever give him another chance?

  Before Toby could strike him again, Edon restrained him.

  “What are you doing?” Edon demanded.

  Roderick and Clement came over to them. “He’s upset,” Roderick told Edon. “And who can blame him? If it was me, I would have struck Pennella a long time ago.” Roderick looked at Toby. “How you managed to restrain yourself for as long as you did is anyone’s guess.”

  “Don’t encourage him to do it again,” Edon snapped.

  Pennella rose to his feet and touched his jaw. “Don’t worry. He didn’t do any damage. I’m a little sore but that’s all.” He set the chair back by the gambling table. Then, as if to further provoke Toby, he smirked as he sat down. “You ought to take to fencing. Punching isn’t your strength.”

  With a growl, Toby tried to hit Pennella again, but this time both Edon and Clement stopped him.

  “Oh, let him do it,” Roderick called out. “He’ll do us all a favor.”

  “Stay out of this,” Pennella barked, glaring at Roderick.

  “I’m sure whatever you did, you deserve it,” Roderick replied.

  When Toby realized he was no match for both Edon and Clement, he stopped trying to get away from them. They waited a moment but finally let go of him, and Clement bent down to pick up his cane. The other gentlemen in the room remained silent as they watched Toby and Pennella.

  Leaning back in his chair, Pennella directed his gaze to Toby. “You shouldn’t be so upset, Davenport. I intend to make good on my word.” He collected a few pounds from the table and held them out to him. “This will cover the wager I mentioned in the missive I sent you.”

  Toby waited for a moment to make sure neither Edon nor Clement would stop him before he crossed the distance to Pennella and slapped the money out of his hands. “There was no wager over whether or not she’d marry me.”

  The corner of Pennella’s mouth turned upward. “I know.”

  Toplyn walked over to them and glanced at Pennella. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  “He’s trying to make things difficult for Davenport,” Roderick said. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “It’s true,” Toby told Toplyn then looked at the other gentlemen. “He couldn’t stand it because there was no winner in the wager we set, so he has to do everything possible to make me miserable.”

  Pennella snorted and crossed his legs as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I have no power over whether or not you’re miserable. That is all your doing.”

  Toby shook his head. Pennella was enjoying every minute of this. If Toby punched him again, it’d probably make him laugh. Groaning, he began to rub his eyes when he realized he was still holding the paper in his fist. He smoothed the paper out and showed it to Edon and Clement. “See this? He sent this to my townhouse so my wife would see it as soon as we came home from the wedding.”

  “She saw it?” Pennella asked in interest. “I must say, you have more courage than I gave you credit for. I didn’t think you’d dare let her read the contents.”

  “Go over there and tell her it’s a lie,” Toby demanded.

  After a moment of seeming to consider it, he said, “Nah,” and shook his head.

  “You can’t expect someone who has no morals to do the right thing,” Roderick commented.

  “Why don’t you stay out of this?” Pennella asked him, turning an irritated scowl in his direction.

  “Why can’t you stay out of Davenport’s marriage? It’s bad enough you cornered him into that ridiculous wager. Be a grown gentleman and accept the fact that he got the lady instead of you.”

  Setting both feet on the floor, Pennella straightened in his chair. “No one knows who she was going to pick because you blabbed it to Gerard Addison at the Tittletattle before we found out.”

  “Are you still on that?”

  “Are you still denying it was you?”

  “Oh, stop it!” Clement interrupted. “It doesn’t matter. The whole thing’s been exposed. There’s no undoing any of it.”

  “Of course, it could’ve been that ward of yours,” Pennella told Clement. “Robinson is nothing but trouble.” Then he looked at Edon. “Or it could’ve been you.”

  Edon shrugged. “I have better things to do than to worry about a stupid wager.”

  “He’s right,” Toplyn replied. “He has his father-in-law to contend with.”

  A round of laughter erupted, and some of the tension in the room eased.

  Pennella gritted his teeth. “It had to be someone.”

  “Why do you care so much about who told some imbecile at the Tittletattle about the wager?” Toby demanded. “Are you really that concerned about your reputation with the ladies?” He threw his hands up in the air. “Fine. I’ll come out and say it. You can get any lady you want. All you have to do is snap your fingers, and she’ll come running. Before this whole thing was exposed, Miss Giles’ mother was trying to secure a marriage between you and her daughter.” As much as it pained him to say that, it was the truth, and maybe if he came out and said it, Pennella would be satisfied enough to leave him alone. “So you can see that if the wager had never been exposed, you would have won.”

  “That’s not exactly what the wager was about,” Toplyn argued. “It was about who Miss Giles wanted, not who her parents wanted.”

  Toby glared at Toplyn. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut? “No, the specific agreement was the gentleman who got a yes to his proposal, won the bet.”

  “But it’s implied she chooses the gentleman,” Toplyn stated.

  “Are you so worried about losing money that you’ll press this issue? Since the wager was exposed, no one is losing or winning any money. All bets are off. What matters right now is saving Pennella’s blasted pride.” He gestured to Pennella who was still calmly sitting in front of him. “So, I am going to publicly do that right now.” He turned to Pennella. “You are superior to me. You’re better looking, you’re more charming, you’re more engaging. You are everything, and I am nothing. Does that satisfy you?”

  Toby didn’t intend for his voice to get louder as he spoke, but the words came out that way, and he couldn’t seem to stop it. Right now, he was willing to do or say anything he needed to in order to get Pennella to leave him alone. And he was afraid Pennella had picked up on his desperation.

  After a long agonizing moment, Pennella rose to his feet. “You have admitted that I won the wager in front of everyone. Despite what you said to Toplyn, that means I’m entitled to my winnings.”

  “You can’t have Miss Giles. I married her this morning.”

  “I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about money. You promised me a sizable amount. An estate’s worth, if I remember correctly.”

  Despite the grim situation, Toby laughed. He couldn’t help it. All this time Pennella had been worried about the money? He hadn’t cared a whit about Miss Giles or his reputation with charming ladies in general. It all had to do with money, and Toby had barely enough to rent a townhouse and hire a butler.

  “What’s so funny?” Pennella asked, glowering at him.

  “There isn’t going to be an exchange of money,” Roderick spok
e up. “The wager was brought to light before anything was publicly stated, and we’re all witnesses to it.”

  “I agree,” Clement added. “We won’t allow you to take a single pound from Davenport, Pennella.”

  “Right,” Toplyn quickly said, probably because he worried that he might have to give up his money to those who had bet that Pennella would win. He glanced at the other gentlemen in the room. “We won’t let him do it, will we?”

  The gentlemen shook their heads.

  “This has gone far enough,” the Duke of Ashbourne called out while the others murmured their agreement. “Pennella, stop this nonsense at once. You’re acting like a child.”

  Pennella’s jaw clenched then unclenched. “I’m going to figure out who told Gerard Addison about the wager, and when I do, I’ll make him pay.”

  “Just let it be,” Toby snapped. “We’re all sick and tired of you bullying people.” When he saw Pennella shake his head, he finally admitted what he had carefully concealed for years. “It doesn’t matter. You’re fighting for nothing. I don’t have any money. I made the wager with you because I had nothing to lose. My father lost everything. I rent my townhouse, my estate is in need of repair, and I only have a butler. So all this letter writing,” he gestured to the paper, “and all this talk of getting money is for nothing.”

  “Miss Giles has money, does she not?” Pennella asked.

  Toby’s jaw dropped. Was he serious? After all this, he still refused to leave the matter alone?

  “This stops right now,” Roderick barked and stepped between them, facing Pennella. “Miss Giles’ money was never in the wager. You try to get anything from her and we’ll have you thrown out of White’s.”

  The other gentlemen agreed.

  Toby supposed he should have received some satisfaction in knowing the gentlemen were supporting him, even despite what they’d just learned about his financial status, but he didn’t. All he wanted was to be happy with Regina.