by Rose Gordon
“Thank you,” Andrew said stiffly. He would have rather been the one to go track down Brooke’s sisters and find out where she was. Reluctantly, he agreed to wait while John talked to his own daughters; they were more likely to tell their father Brooke’s whereabouts than him anyway.
Andrew and the baron didn’t have much to say to each other. They just stared at each other for a few minutes then looked around the room. Every so often they’d have a couple words about who was hosting a hunt this fall or other such nonsense. Andrew resisted the urge to look around at the clock several times. It felt like time was crawling by, but he convinced himself it was only his imagination.
He put his elbows on his knees and leaned his head down, cradling it with his hands, he threaded his fingers through his hair. All he could do was sit and wait.
Keeping the same position, he started to study the floor. The patterns made from the lines in the wood were not so interesting, but at least it kept his mind off the time. His gut was in knots from anticipation when the door finally opened.
His head shot up and disappointment washed over him when he looked up to see it was just the butler.
“Dinner is served, my lord.” The butler told Watson.
At those words, Andrew twisted his neck around to see the clock that he knew hung right behind where he was sitting. “You tricked me!” he burst out at Watson.
“I did no such thing,” Watson countered, his lips twitching. “My brother did. He figured you’d come here before going to London. While he and I were talking, a carriage was being loaded. Sorry, but they left,” he looked at his watch, “more than three hours now. I’m actually surprised you lasted so long.”
Fighting the impulse to go strangle Watson, Andrew dashed out of the room. He was trying to be polite not checking the time, convincing himself it was just his imagination, and all the while he was being made a fool.
He rode as fast as he could to get to London, but didn’t make it fast enough for it to be an acceptable hour to make calls. He considered doing it anyway, then dismissed the idea because he didn’t want to cause more trouble by going over there so late, even if it was his right as a husband to collect his wayward bride.
The next morning he left his house at noon and arrived to the Watson townhouse in less than twenty minutes. He knocked on the door and demanded the butler allow him to see his wife. Turner, not the most professional butler in England, gasped at the idea of a countess in residence. Then gathered his wits the best he could and told Andrew the Banks were not home and extended a hand to take Andrew’s card.
Andrew wasn’t about to be deterred. “I know the way,” he told the butler tersely, leaving Turner in the entryway with his mouth agape.
He’d only walked about three steps when Carolina appeared. “Out!” she ordered, making a rigid shooing motion toward the door.
“I have come to collect my wife,” Andrew said, hoping it sounded nicer to her than it did to him.
Carolina eyed him skeptically and looked like she wanted to blister his ears. “Wait here, I’ll be right back,” she said coolly.
Andrew shot her an icy glare. “If you think I’m going to fall for that again, you’ve got a lot to learn.”
Carolina looked at him with a confused look on her face but didn’t ask him anything. “Young man, you may be a peer of the realm and as much as it pains me to say it, my daughter’s husband, but you are still a guest in this house and will act accordingly, or be removed,” she scolded.
“Fine,” he ground out. Then he stood and watched her leave.
In no time at all he heard two pair of footsteps come his direction and his heart almost burst out of his chest knowing she was going to speak to him. But when the owners of those feet rounded the corner, he saw it was not Brooke with Carolina, but John.
The following conversation was very one sided in which John told him in no uncertain terms, he was not allowed back in their house or anywhere near it. He recounted his many sins involving Brooke and told Andrew it would be over his dead body before he allowed Andrew to speak to her again, and he was being permanently dismissed.
The next two days had been just as fruitless. Both days he’d knocked on the door to Brooke’s townhouse, both times he was denied entry. After each time, he sat on a bench across the street holding up a newspaper and waited for her to come out so he could speak to her. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.
At the end of the second day he decided he would try this method one more time. After that, he’d make sure to get his way inside. If not the traditional way by using the front door like they do in a normal civilized society, then he’d scale the wall and go in through the window the next night.
The only problem was he had no idea which window was Brooke’s and wasn’t keen on the idea of entering the wrong room. It would not do for him to creep into John and Carolina’s bedchamber, or even worse, Liberty’s. He would just deal with whatever happened when the time came; he couldn’t stand to go any longer without talking to her.
He rose from his chair and walked to his bedroom, resigned to spend another sleepless night lying in his bed and staring at the ceiling, thinking of how much he missed his wife. He’d hardly slept in the past few nights, tonight would be no different.
Just when he’d finally passed out from sheer exhaustion that night, there was a knock on his door. Ignoring it didn’t make it go away, like he'd hoped; instead, the knock just got louder and more adamant.
Andrew crawled out of bed and threw on his dressing robe to cover his naked body before yanking open the door.
“Yes,” he barked irritably at a very tired Addams who wore a slightly askew night cap, but otherwise resembled his usual stiff-rumped butlering footman.
“My lord, you have a guest,” Addams told him.
“A guest?” Andrew repeated. He wasn’t expecting any guests. The only person who ever came to see him was Alex. It wasn’t likely Alex would come this time of night. Why would he? Unless he’d found out about what happened with Brooke and was coming to rescind his offer for a loan. Andrew hoped that wasn’t the case. He had run into Alex earlier in the evening and explained his situation with the mines, and even though it killed his pride to do so, he asked his friend for a loan. Alex was in an excellent mood and readily agreed. Maybe now that he’d had time to think about it he’d changed his mind. Andrew groaned. “Is it Alex?”
“No, my lord,” Addams said, turning a little pink. “Your guest is a not a man.”
Andrew’s heart skipped a beat. “Is it Lady Townson?” he asked hoarsely, not remembering that Addams had never seen Brooke before.
“I do not believe so, my lord. Though your guest is female, I do not believe she is a lady. She is more of the hooded female variety,” Addams said with a slight cough.
Andrew gave a sour look. “Tell her I have a wife and send her away. I’m not in the mood to deal with this now.”
“I tried, my lord. But she is most persistent, she said it is most urgent she speak to you immediately. She is waiting in your study.”
Andrew glanced longingly at the bed but walked to the door. He didn’t bother to dress. There was no need. He was going to go speak to a woman of ill repute, she was used to men in their dressing robes, and less.
His study was almost completely dark. Only one candle in the middle of his desk was lit. “Hello,” he hollered, hoping the woman had already left. When he heard a delicate cough from the shadows he stopped walking. He couldn’t see anyone and his hands flew to the sash around his robe to make sure it was tight. There wasn’t anything he could do about the middle of his chest showing where the robe came together, nor could he help that his legs below the knee were exposed, but he could do his best to cover up the rest from this mystery woman’s gaze. He was now wishing he had bothered to dress. It felt awkward to be almost naked in front of another woman after he’d been intimate with Brooke. Nor did he want this woman to take his state of undress as an invitation. “Madam, I have no nee
d for your favors. If you would be so kind as to remove yourself from my study so I can return to bed, I would be most appreciative,” he said icily.
“I object. I think you're in need of my favors,” a female voice whispered.
“I assure you, I do not.” Andrew said, stepping closer to the shadows to determine who this woman was. It was hard to recognize voices when they were whispering but he knew when she first spoke that she wasn’t Brooke.
“Do not come any closer or I will not help you,” the voice hissed.
Andrew thought he heard a hint of panic in her voice and he stopped walking.
“Step back, please,” she whispered again.
With an irritated sigh, Andrew stepped back and sat in his chair.
“I have some information about your wife, Lady Townson,” she whispered at last. “She is leaving for America tomorrow.”
Andrew’s throat convulsed. Was she telling him this to torture him or spur him into action? His throat was too thick to push words out and he made some sort of grunt that the woman must have taken as a response.
“I may have heard she and her sister are going on an outing tomorrow morning if you’d like to catch her.”
“Catch her?” he choked. Had people taken notice of him sitting on the bench across the street from her house? “Where are they going?” he asked when she didn’t elaborate.
“Covent Garden, I believe. Lady Townson and Miss Madison were heard speaking of it to Mr. and Mrs. Banks. I do not know the time.”
“Will the whole Banks family be present?” he asked, hoping she’d say no.
“No.”
“Just Brooke and Madison, no maids or anyone else?” he asked skeptically.
“Correct.”
Andrew felt the pressure lift off his heart. Madison wasn’t a bad sort at all. In fact, she probably wouldn’t try to stop him from speaking to Brooke. Rising from his seat, he kept his gaze fixed on the dark corner he knew she was in. “Thank you for the information, miss. Is there anything I can do for you in return?”
“Yes, there is one thing.”
“What?”
“Dismiss your mistress.”
Andrew’s jaw dropped. Where had that come from? “Excuse me. If I had realized that would be your price for this information, I might have taken my chances sitting on the bench,” he said irritably.
“I’m not vying for the job, I am quite satisfied with my position,” she whispered, sounding annoyed. “I just think Lady Townson deserves to have you, all of you. That is if she decides to take you back.”
Andrew nodded. This was obviously a woman who cared a great deal for Brooke, and she was only looking out for her happiness, realizing this, he said, “I do not make a habit of talking about my personal life; but, I do not now, nor do I plan to, have a mistress. Ever.”
“Excellent choice,” she whispered.
Andrew took that as a dismissal and started to go. But when he reached the doorframe, he turned back around. He’d reached the conclusion this was a servant from the Watson townhouse. Servants always knew everything. He didn’t know why she would want to help him and he wasn’t going to question it. She'd offered him invaluable information and he felt he needed repay her in some way. “Your information has been invaluable to me, I thank you very much. If you ever need anything in the future, please do not hesitate to come to me.”
“Thank you,” she whispered softly.
He walked back up to his room and went to the window. He watched the cloaked woman climb into a hired hack and drive away before going back to his study where he stayed until morning.
Andrew decided his best tactic would be to accost Brooke at the main entrance. He knew there was still a chance of missing her, but he had a better chance of being allowed to speak to her if he waited for her there rather than outside her residence.
He waited at the entrance all morning. He sat. He stood. He paced. He leaned on a post. All the while tramping down his nerves and thinking of what he would say to her when she finally came.
He started to fear he’d missed her and would have to go in search of her. He took out his pocket watch once again and frowned. With a snap, he closed his watch, pushed off the post he was leaning against and looked up. That’s when he saw her and his heart started racing like a horse at Ascot.
Chapter 30
Brooke tried to put on a happy face, but her smile just wouldn’t stick. She knew Madison only to spend time with her before she set sail for New York. Unfortunately, her tangled mess of emotions regarding Andrew got in the way of her enjoying their day together.
Madison had convinced her to go to Andrew’s townhouse, demand an explanation, and see if they could work it out. But when they arrived, the snobbish man who answered the door informed them stiffly that ladies do not call on gentlemen under any circumstances, besides which, his lordship was not in.
Willing herself not to lose her composure, Brooke smiled and walked away. She decided to continue with their original plan and go to the garden to be harassed by vendors and watch men on stilts juggle dangerous objects.
They were just about to the entrance when Madison stopped walking and looked straight ahead. Brooke followed her gaze. Next to the entrance, leaning on a post and looking at his pocket watch, stood Andrew.
Now that the moment had arrived, she briefly entertained the idea of running away. However, that idea was soon dismissed when Madison softly touched her elbow. “You wanted to know, now is your chance.”
Brooke nodded. “What’s he doing here?” she asked numbly.
“I don’t know,” Madison replied. “But since he’s here, you can get your answers. Let’s go,” she prodded, “he’s looking in our direction. If he hasn’t noticed you already, he soon will.”
Brooke attached a bright smile on her face and started walking in his direction. Andrew had also started walking, or running if one wanted to be precise, toward her.
He closed the distance between them within seconds. “Brooke,” he said unevenly.
“Andrew,” she said in a stilted tone.
Andrew turned to look at Madison. “Good morning, Madison,” he said with a bow.
“How did you know we were coming here?” Brooke demanded.
Andrew gave her a little smile. “That's my little secret.”
“You seem to have a lot of those, don’t you?” Brooke shot back, her anger with him was quickly returning.
Andrew sobered.
“Well, I can see my presence here isn't needed,” Madison said airily, then pointed to an empty bench. “I’ll be right over there.”
“Thank you,” Andrew said with a surprisingly grateful look on his face. He waited for her to leave before he met Brooke’s eyes again. “I don’t know what to say,” he admitted.
“Starting from the beginning would be my strategy,” she replied tartly.
Andrew’s jaw clenched. Then with a nod, he released a pent up breath and words started tumbling out of his mouth. “I borrowed money from Gateway. I couldn’t pay and he repossessed my estate. In order to get it back I was asked to bring shame on your family. I refused at first, but then he twisted the words around and I got defensive. Then, before I knew what I was saying, I agreed to do it. That was the night before we met.”
“Wait,” she interrupted, putting up a hand to stop his rambling. “You just said you were to bring shame on my family. Why?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I asked, but he wouldn’t say. All I know is he wanted your family on the next ship bound for America.”
“So you’re saying it wasn’t me specifically?” she asked skeptically, her brow furrowing in confusion. What would anyone, especially Gateway, have to gain from her family returning home?
“No.”
“All right,” she said cautiously. “I don’t quite understand, but pray continue.” Maybe she’d understand better if she just let him keep talking.
“Gateway just wanted enough shame to fall on the family that you would
all go home. He didn’t care who it fell on, just that it happened and your family left. I don’t know about in America, but here, a lady’s reputation is everything, so I assumed it would be the easiest avenue to pursue; Gateway knew that, too, and when he first approached me, he even suggested it.”
“From the day we met you’d set out to ruin me?” she asked quietly.
“Yes. No. Not exactly. At first, I wanted to try to find out some sort of family secret, expose that and be done with it; but there wasn’t one. Once I figured that out, I had to rely on ruining your reputation.”
“Why me?” she cried. “Is it so well known that I’ve been in the garden with a few gentlemen that you thought I’d be the easiest target? Is that it?” Tears were beginning to form in her eyes and her throat felt clogged.
“No,” he said fiercely. “I didn’t even know your penchant for kissing in the shrubs until later. I picked you because I liked you. From the moment you entered the room I liked you. Nobody had ever had the brass to just stare at me that way. Nobody had played such a prank on me before. I truly believed for the better part of a day you had indeed decorated that atrocious room. It wasn’t until I saw the initials on that mind-numbing painting that I realized you were having me on. I liked it. I liked you. That’s why I chose you.”
Andrew ran a hand through his hair. “Then we went on our ride in the park, I enjoyed teasing you then. I also enjoyed taking you to the museum. I had never enjoyed a kiss as much as I did that day. Before I knew what was happening, I was looking forward to our next meeting and being with you.”
“If that’s true, then why didn’t you just tell Gateway you could not go through with it?” she interrupted.
“Because he would have just found someone else to do it. I knew that if I just carried it out I could keep you protected. Someone else would have been completely heartless about the whole thing and would have caused you, or possibly one of your sisters, more pain and embarrassment than necessary.”