Chapter 19
Now for that scandal I promised … It has finally unfurled and is blooming into something so salivating that I can hardly contain my excitement. A certain duke, broken off from his mistress for well over a year now, has been spending an inordinate amount of time at the residence of a new lady. This is no courtship, dear readers, but a liaison if the extended late hours are anything to judge by. What man would steal into the back of a house—through the servants’ entrance no less—if it weren’t for something forbidden?
The Mayfair Chronicles, August 4, 1846
There was no doubt in his blasted mind—because really, what had he been thinking before now?—that he had to tell Genny the full truth. Even though he’d decided not to go through with the wager, or however the hell one defined his agreement and involvement in this charade, he still had to confess his intentions. This wasn’t something he could keep from Genny any longer. She had a right to know the truth. And to judge him for said truth.
And he had to be the one to tell her. Because, so help him, if she ever found out through another source, there would be no chance for forgiveness. This was assuming she’d forgive him. Last night had been meaningful for them both, though, so perhaps it would hold some weight in her final judgment against him?
They lay in his bed together; Leo traced teasing lines over her shoulder and her side. She brushed her fingers in small circles over his chest. The weight of the ring he’d given her lay between them.
The slow tick of the mantel clock was a constant reminder that the night was growing late. This was, he imagined, worse than a countdown for a public hanging. Time stood painfully still as he tried to find the words to tell Genny the whole truth. He had to stop stalling and spit out the hated words.
His arms wrapped tightly around her, and he kissed her as though this were the first and last time he’d have the opportunity to do so.
He pulled away from the kiss slowly. “The hour grows late.”
She looked up at him with those forgiving, innocent eyes and it made him hate himself a little more. “I wish I could stay all night.”
“I wish the same thing.” He pulled away from her and reached for his trousers tossed near the bed on the floor. With a reluctant sigh, she gathered up her chemise and pulled it over her head.
“We only have a week left,” he mused aloud.
“Don’t remind me that our time grows short.”
He pulled his shirt over his head and took Genny’s hand and tugged her down to sit on the edge of the mattress with him. “There is something that needs to be said between us. Before you leave tonight.”
“You sound so solemn and very serious.” She rested her head on his shoulder and took his hands in her own.
Looking down at her, he saw the ring he’d given her around her neck. It glared at him accusingly. Would she forgive him once the truth was out? Would she still go through with the marriage?
It was hard to find the right words so he started at the beginning. “Do you remember when I asked you how you knew Lady Charlotte?”
She sat up and looked at him. Her happy, sated demeanor vanished and puzzlement filled her normally inquisitive expression. “Yes, I recall that day.”
“You were right to distrust me when we first came upon each other at the Randalls ball.”
She slid her hands away from his and folded them in her lap. He felt the loss of her touch like a slap to his face.
After a moment of silence, she said, “Precisely what is it you’ve done?”
He didn’t wish to expose anyone else’s involvement in the Lady Charlotte charade, but there would never be a chance at forgiveness if he didn’t reveal everything.
“Tristan and I made a wager of sorts.”
Leo watched her expression closely. Her smile completely vanished, and it was as though she were already putting the truth together for herself.
“What have you done?”
He rubbed his hand over his face. “Lest you judge me for any harm where your cousin is concerned, know that I made sure the wager wouldn’t succeed.”
Genny folded her arms over her chest. “I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”
“When the Earl of Fallon passed, he left Jez in quite a state.”
“And what has this to do with my cousin?” Her tone was clipped.
“He left Jez without a centime to her name. Mr. Warren stands to inherit everything that is rightfully hers.”
“With her reputation, I don’t understand how you think her deserving of Fallon’s fortune.”
Leo reached for her but she evaded him by leaving the bed. “She’s a better sort than I ever was, Genny. Society has painted a less forgiving picture of her. This is what often happens to the fairer sex when they are treated as equals among men.”
“You’ll not convince me of her good name.” Genny wiped away the few tears that trickled down the side of her face. “Now tell me the rest.”
“She remains the dowager until Mr. Warren takes the seat, marries, and sires children of his own.”
She moved farther away from him. “And Charlotte stands to inherit everything that was once the dowager’s.”
“Yes.” Because Genny had figured out the truth on her own, it didn’t make telling the rest any easier. Regardless, she deserved to hear the whole sordid tale. “We were to court your cousin and sway her decision to marry Mr. Warren.”
“I trusted you, Leo.” The way her face scrunched up in sadness and anger was like a punch to his gut. “You let me trust you.”
He stood from the bed, shoved his hands in his pockets so he wasn’t tempted to reach for her, and walked toward her. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I see…”
Her lip quivered, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but he knew she wouldn’t allow it right now.
“So you willingly planned to seduce my cousin and ruin her chance for a decent marriage. What was the wager?”
“First man on top won my breeding mare from the Americas.” He cringed at his own wording for that. There were a million other more appropriate ways to phrase it.
She came forward and struck him across the face so hard with her open palm that his head whipped to the side. He’d seen it coming, but really, how could he dare stop her? He deserved that and so much more for the damage he had contemplated doing.
“How dare you,” she said. “How dare you lie to me all this time. I can’t believe I trusted you. How stupid am I?”
He couldn’t keep from touching her, he reached out to hold both her arms in his hands, but she yanked away from him. “Have I done you any wrong so far?”
Looking into her sad eyes, knowing he was the cause of her sorrow, he felt as if his heart were pierced in two.
“You have,” she said.
“I meant everything I said to you yesterday. Everything, Genny.”
“I can only imagine what you thought on seeing me again. You probably thought to have a good go and get the better of me, didn’t you?”
When he didn’t respond, she said it more loudly, “Didn’t you!”
“Believe me, Genny, I never wanted to hurt you.”
Tears flooded her eyes again. “But you have.”
He watched as she fought to keep those tears at bay, her mouth quivering and on the verge of sobs.
He had done this to her. He had made her a miserable wreck.
Was there any way to make her change her opinion of him? He doubted it as he watched those damnable tears finally spill over the rims of her eyes and slide down her cheeks.
He had been the sole cause of her sorrow. Her hatred.
And he deserved it.
She turned away, giving him her back as she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her robe. “How did I ever trust you? For even a moment, how could I dare let my guard down?”
It wasn’t a question she wanted an answer to; yet, he needed to give her more. “I asked you to trust me, Genny.
What reason should you have not to?”
“Because…” Her voice caught on another sob. “Because you made me believe that there was more than just a liaison between us. That you genuinely cared about me.”
“Tell me how I can fix this?”
She turned back to him with tear-swollen eyes, her cheeks damp. “You can never make this better.”
When he reached for her to pull her into his arms, she stepped away.
“There has to be a way.”
“You have to leave, Leo.” She shook her head back and forth. “I can’t see you ever again. I never want to see you again.”
“There has to be something…”
“There is nothing between us now.” She pulled the ring and chain off over her head and balled it up in her fist. “I don’t know how you thought I could forgive you for this. I can’t. Not now. Not ever.”
“We have three days left.” That was three days to convince her that his feelings for her were genuine and that he would make up for the wrong he’d done for the rest of his days if that was the only way she could forgive him.
“If you respect me, have any feelings toward me … you’ll go back to London and leave me to live my life out alone.”
He shook his head. No, he’d never leave her. “Because I care a great deal for you, I cannot abide by your wishes.”
She wiped away the wetness on her cheeks with the back of her hand. “You can and you must.” She held out her fist with the ring he’d given her.
“It’s yours.” He didn’t want it back. Taking it from her meant a life without Genny. He stepped away from it. “It’s my promise to you.”
She turned her hand palm down and let the necklace and ring fall to the carpeted floor. “You are nothing to me.”
He did not believe her harsh words when they were accompanied by a fresh deluge of tears.
“You have ruined any possibility of a future between us.” She sounded broken.
“Genny,” he said, feeling more helpless as the minutes wore on and he made no progress in convincing her to stay and work this out with him.
“Don’t.” She held up her hand and visibly swallowed back another torrent of tears. “I don’t want to see you here in the morning.”
“You’ll feel differently after a night’s rest.” She was understandably upset right now. But she’d told him she loved him—that had to count for something.
“How dare you think that I would so easily brush away a plot against my cousin! All you have proven is that I’m a fool for ever trusting you again.”
She stormed past him in a flurry of rage, but he caught her arm before she could turn the door latch to leave without giving him so much as an option to make this better. He needed to fix the wrong he’d created.
“Genny … you can’t leave like this.”
She pulled out of his grasp, glaring at her arm and his hand as though he’d burned her with a hot iron.
“I never want to lay eyes upon you or your friends again. And if you are here come morning, I will take it to mean that your intentions to play with my cousin’s feelings and life are still strong. And that I simply cannot abide. We are no longer lovers and certainly no longer friends, Barrington.” She put her chin up defiantly. “From this point forward you are dead to me.”
He was clenching his jaw so tightly that it cracked. “I refuse to give you up so easily.”
“I will find a way to publicly expose your deed if you don’t. And I will make sure that your friend Jezebel is never invited to another social event so long as I am in London. I might only be a lowly paid companion, but I do have friends in high places that can make life difficult for your friend.”
“I understand that you are upset, Genny, but at least give me time to make this up to you. I couldn’t be honest before now. And after everything we’ve been through these past few weeks, I had hoped that you could at least forgive me my transgressions.”
“To forgive you would mean that I condone your behavior, but I would never tolerate any actions that could intentionally harm another. You don’t know me at all if you thought that this could be easily brushed under the carpet like yesterday’s dust.”
He put his hands up in surrender and stepped away from her. Nothing would be won tonight. Not when she was this upset. He’d find her in the morning and try again.
“Tell me what to do, Genny?”
“I want you gone from my life.” The defeat was so palpable in her voice that he barely managed to take her in his arms to offer her any comfort he could.
He searched for any possibility of forgiveness in her eyes. There was nothing there but disappointment … sadness, too.
“I will not leave.”
“If you ever cared for me … if you ever loved me, you’ll do as I bid.”
She turned away from him again and walked through the door without so much as a look back in his direction. Leo followed her into the hall and made sure no one watched her enter her private chambers.
When he was sure she was safely ensconced in her room, he leaned back against the inside of his closed chamber door. He’d known she would be angered by his deception. Why he’d expected anything less than what had just transpired between them was beyond him.
He still had tomorrow to convince her that he hadn’t meant to harm her or her cousin. He would find a way to make this up to her.
Leo’s head lightly thunked against the door behind him and he rubbed at his face with a heavy sigh. He’d really messed this up. He wasn’t sure how to make it better, but he had to because he loved her.
Chapter 20
What do you suppose will happen if you toss a debutante, a man with only his charm and his father’s undistinguished title to rely upon, and a distinguished member of high society all in a bowl as if they were a sticky, messy, commingling trifle? What a love triangle you create.
The Mayfair Chronicles, August 5, 1846
What a terrible muddle this was. How had she ever trusted him, or given in to him, or ever adored and fallen in love with him? She flung her arm over her eyes to block out the light from the morning sun.
A very small part of her stupidly wished he’d ignored her explicit wishes yesterday. What was wrong with her? The man had set out to ruin her cousin’s chance at marrying a decent man with a decent title. Thank goodness he had told her before anything more serious could develop in their budding relationship.
Who was she fooling?
Something very serious had happened between them. They’d promised themselves to each other. They’d made firm plans to marry.
She let out a frustrated groan and covered her face with both arms. What did she have to be ashamed of? She’d done nothing wrong, aside from sleep with and fall in love with a man she promised herself years ago that she would wipe from her memory. She needed to pull herself together.
Forcing herself to leave the bed, she sat at her vanity and gathered up the last of her courage as she dressed her hair.
Charlotte exited her private chamber at the same time Genny did.
“No breakfast?” her cousin asked, carefully studying her.
Genny tied her bonnet beneath her chin. “I have a megrim that has diminished my appetite significantly.”
“Let us walk this morning instead then,” Charlotte said.
“That is just what the doctor ordered.”
The sun was high in the sky and white balls of fluff danced across the blue. Genny leaned her head back and breathed in the cooler air. “It’s the best day we’ve had since coming here.”
Her cousin made a noncommittal noise, then asked, “Where is Lord Barrington this morning? This will be the first day he hasn’t walked with us.”
“How should I know what amuses him during the day,” she snapped. She clapped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean to say it quite like that.”
“You have had a row with him?” When Genny didn’t respond, Charlotte added, “I wonder what you could possibly argue about; you were ge
tting on famously.”
“Lord Barrington has probably found another amusement to occupy his time.” Genny took her cousin’s arm and walked down the stone path that led to the creek. “Where is Ariel this morning?”
“Dinner was not agreeable to her. She looked green when I checked on her in her room.”
“Oh, I do hope no one else is ill.”
“Lady Hargrove said she wasn’t feeling very well last evening but her illness seemed to pass with a good night’s sleep.”
Genny locked her arm with her cousin’s. “We’ll check on Ariel when we are back. See if she wants our company.”
Her cousin grinned at her. “Oh, I already told her I would barge into her room after lunch if she didn’t come down.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
Genny was glad for the change of topic so that less focus was put on her sour mood this morning. So far the day held a great deal of promise. However, it did not bode well that no one had confirmed whether or not Leo had left the residence. Perhaps he was preparing his bags right now.
She hated that her feelings were conflicted, that she wanted him both to leave and to stay and try and make amends. However, forgiveness simply wasn’t possible after this recent betrayal.
They picked some flowers along the way, both holding a bouquet when they reached the path that led toward the stream. As they walked down the stone steps, they spied Leo sitting on the bench she usually rested on. She gave an unladylike stomp of her foot and slowed her pace intentionally. It was far more preferable to turn on her heel and go back to the house.
She pinched her lips together to keep from making a caustic remark. Charlotte did not need to know any more than she had already guessed.
Charlotte let go of Genny’s arm. “He looks very somber this morning. Oddly enough, I would say he is as serious and disconcerting as you, cousin. I’ll leave you to speak privately with him.” Charlotte plucked the bouquet Genny held and took it with her.
“No…” She tried to grab her cousin’s arm and drag her back to her side, but Charlotte was already wending her way farther down the path to give her a moment alone with Barrington.
She supposed she had no choice but to speak with him. Demand once again he do the right thing and leave, even though she preferred not to talk to him at all, because the very sight of him tore at her heart.
Wicked Nights With a Proper Lady Page 23