“Such broad shoulders, sir,” she cooed at him, running her hands over him. “It seems all that digging in the sand has agreed with you.”
“Well, you do not agree with me, my lady.”
“On the contrary, sir. I can be most agreeable.”
“Not to me. Not when you are on friendly terms with my uncle.”
“Now now. You never know who might be listening in on our private conversation.”
Her hands were working at his trousers now. The cravat was one thing, but this was entirely another. He took her by the shoulders again to push her away from him. Odd, he’d meant to be firm, but not cruel. However, she cried out as if he were harming her.
“You are too bold, sir!” she practically shouted. “Take me if you must, as I’m hardly a match for your force.”
With that, she tumbled affectedly into a silk-draped settee. Her dressing gown was quite miraculously askew, and she threw one hand up to her forehead and another to give show of covering her bosom. Harris was left to stand over her and wonder what the devil she was about.
It was then, of course, that the door was flung open and noisy, male footsteps pounded toward him. He had just enough time to steel himself for the attack.
Lord Burlington. Of course. He should have seen this disaster coming a mile away. By God, he’d been an absolute idiot.
“Unhand my wife!” Burlington stormed.
Harris was grabbed by the collar and whirled around to face his accuser.
“You again!” the man sputtered. “I knew there was something amiss! I should have called you out that first time I found you in my house. You’ve had your eye on my wife ever since.”
“No, I assure you neither of my eyes nor my hands have come close to your wife for any of the purposes you assume.”
“Liar! You cannot deny what I see right before me. Blackguard, I will kill you for this!”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you would, but…”
He didn’t exactly get around to finishing that sentiment, however. Another set of heavy footsteps entered through the doorway, and Harris realized the full extent of this snare when he glanced up and recognized the hefty figure. He supposed he should have expected this, too.
“Hello, Uncle. I did not realize you were in Town.”
Nedley Chesterton simply harrumphed. Harris was actually impressed that he got even that much from him. It had been years since the old man had so much as looked his way.
He certainly was glaring now, though.
“Damn it, boy, do you think to cuckold a man in his own home and get away with it?”
“And it’s very lovely to see you, too, sir.”
“Don’t think you can lickspittle your way into my favor now, you dissolute pup.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. How fortunate that you happen to be here just now, though.”
His uncle merely frowned at him.
“Yes, fortunate indeed!” Lady Burlington declared, pulling herself together and rushing to cling to her husband’s side. “I can’t imagine what he would have done with me had you not arrived just now!”
“I can,” Lord Burlington snarled.
“Indeed you probably can,” Harris agreed. “You’ve had to live with her all these years.”
It appeared her chaste and delicate ladyship was just about to swoon again. Right after she disemboweled Harris for inferring an insult.
“You have brought shame and dishonor to our family,” Uncle Nedley grumbled. “If it were in my power, I would disinherit you.”
“So you may have mentioned once or twice,” Harris acknowledged.
“He won’t live long enough to inherit anything, Nedley,” Burlington said. “I’m calling him out. Harris Chesterton, choose your second and make amends with your maker.”
“Second? I’d rather not even have a first. Can’t we simply discuss this as rational men, Burlington? Surely you don’t really believe that I would—”
“I believe a scoundrel like you would be capable of any crime. It’s pistols at dawn, Chesterton!”
“Oh, good Lord.” Must the man turn this into a cliché?
“I will attend you, Burlington,” Nedley offered.
And wouldn’t the old man just love that? He’d been wishing for years that Harris would cock up his toes. Now he would have an unobstructed view of the event.
An event he was obviously a very large part of orchestrating. Harris had been such a fool to be lured in this way; he almost deserved to die. Of course he had no intentions of doing so.
The easiest thing, naturally, would be to avoid the stigma and give Burlington the satisfaction he demanded. After all, Harris was a good shot. He could give a convincing show to stave off any cries of cowardice, yet he could trust himself to aim carefully and not end up with any uncomfortable murder charges. A flesh wound would suffice.
Unfortunately, there was always the chance that Burlington might get lucky and wing him. Or worse. Or that Uncle Nedley had planned for this all along and would seize the opportunity to step in, ridding himself forever of his hated nephew and then claiming Burlington had done the deed in a fair duel. It was certainly not at all beneath his uncle to let some unwitting partner take the blame for his own actions.
No, Harris corrected himself. It would appear Burlington was less a partner and more a pawn. Harris would be willing to bet he had no idea this was all staged for his benefit. To judge by the smug expression on Lady Burlington’s face, she was looking forward to this turn of events just as much as Nedley. Likely she was hoping Harris might conveniently rid her of Burlington, while Nedley was hoping Burlington might rid him of Harris. Either way, someone would end up well pleased, and it would not be Harris.
“Oh, very well,” he said at last, determining that going along with them was the only way out. For now.
“Good. If you are not a coward, you will meet me in two days. I’ll have my man send directions around to your address. You must learn, young man, that fiends like you do not rule the day in England.”
Odd, it certainly seemed as if they did.
Chapter Fourteen
It was morning and Penelope’s eyes were still red and unattractively swollen. Drat that Lord Harry! He should not be allowed to do this to her, ruin her sleep and ruin her day. Her meals, too, it would seem.
She was dreading breakfast. Surely after last night’s, er, occurrence Mamma was not going to let them eat in peace. She’d have plenty more to say on the subject, Penelope was certain. Indeed, so would Anthony.
A wedding in one week? No, that would never happen. And she had not only lost her scarab, but her one hope to convince Anthony to let her travel. He would never let her go now. The Tollersons would be leaving soon, and she would be left behind. She suspected Lord Harry was already gone, wherever he might be going. Anthony had neatly supplied the conveyance, she’d supplied the financing, and a wedding date had certainly given the man ample motive to leave and never look back.
It was a horrible start to her day.
And now, as she moved listlessly through the house, it seemed things were getting even more horrible. She heard angry male voices coming from Anthony’s study. At first her heart fluttered, hoping—like an idiot—that Lord Harry had come, but she frowned in confusion when she heard her brother call the other man by name.
“These are grave accusations against my future brother-in-law, Mr. Chesterton.”
The other man, older and more gruff than Anthony, swore. “And they’re bloody well true, Rastmoor. I saw them with my own eyes. Your so-called future brother-in-law was having his way with Lady Burlington right there in her husband’s home. Disgusting. I tell you, the man is not fit for anyone’s sister.”
Lord Harry’s uncle was here? And he was claiming that Lord Harry had…Good heavens, but what she’d seen pass between Lord Harry and that scantily dressed banshee at the ball last night truly had been the arranging of an assignation! And right before he’d helped himself to whatever Penelope had to offe
r, too.
Infuriating! The man was disgusting. She’d been correct all along—Harris Chesterton truly was the most horrible fiancé imaginable.
Good God, and she’d almost fancied herself in love with him! The thought made her nearly sick, especially since she detected a tiny part of her still was. All morning she’d been fighting to ignore a desperate little voice inside, calling out and begging her not to believe such things and to give Lord Harry a chance to explain himself. Merciful gracious, but she would have to silence that voice immediately.
It turned out to be rather easily done. All she needed was to continue eavesdropping.
“Burlington called him out, of course, but we’ve yet to see if the craven will show up tomorrow.”
“You believe he won’t?”
“He’s a poltroon, a dastard. Very likely left Town already.”
“So he acknowledged that Burlington’s claims against him were true?”
“Of course he did. How could he not? We both found him there, in a state of undress very much misusing the poor woman. I assure you, it gives me no pleasure to admit what an abomination my own nephew has become, but I feel it is my duty to inform you of his true nature. I beg you to spare yourself and your sister the indignation of connection to such a vile mongrel.”
Anthony did not reply immediately. She knew he was taking it all in, determining whether or not to believe the man. Yet how could he not? As the earl had said, it could certainly give him no pleasure to announce such things about his own nephew. There was no reason for Anthony not to believe him.
For Penelope’s part, she had more than enough reason to believe every word of it, despite that annoying little internal voice. Just now it was actively sighing in relief that Lord Harry might have chosen the craven’s way out rather than getting himself shot to death by a vengeful husband. Oh, but she really could not be at all happy with this dratted voice.
“Thank you for your time, and for your concern,” Anthony finally said. “I will certainly take it into consideration.”
“A marriage between your delicate sister and my degenerate nephew would be a most disastrous thing, I’m afraid,” the uncle declared. “I only pray it is not too late to save her virtue.”
Penelope winced. Anthony, however, surprised her by his indignation.
“My sister is a lady, sir. Rest assured she has behaved like one.”
Drat. She almost wished she’d not heard that. Now she was in Anthony’s debt.
“I’m certain she has. It’s my devilish nephew I worry about, Rastmoor. Trust me, if you care for the well-being of your sister, do all in your power to keep her far away from Chesterton. He’s no good.”
“I’ll certainly consider what’s to be done, sir. Thank you.”
The men were ending their conversation, so Penelope quickly ducked into the next room. She needed a moment or two to run through all this new information. Had Lord Harry truly been found with Lady Burlington? She had no reason whatsoever to disbelieve his uncle’s claim, yet it did not sound entirely right. Lady Burlington was too willing to be “misused.” Who on earth could ever accuse Lord Harry of such a thing? True, he might be unscrupulous, but he would never do anything to a lady without her consent. That was not like him at all. Why, he was…
For heaven’s sake. What was she doing? Lord Harry was a bounder of the worst kind, and she could only be a fool if she ever thought to make excuses for him.
Why, next time she saw him she would tell him that…Oh, but it was unlikely there would ever be a next time. He’d gotten what he needed and even run away from an honest duel. Clearly the man was miles from here by now, just as she’d expected. Maria had been right all along. This truly did end badly. She began to wonder if she should ever trust herself again after such monumental failure in judgment.
“Penelope?”
Anthony stood in the doorway. She glanced up at him, and past him, but there was no sign of the elder Mr. Chesterton.
“He’s gone,” Anthony answered for her. “You heard him?”
“I did.”
He took a step into the room. To gloat, she expected. He’d always thought her capable of so much idiocy, he must be simply bursting with pride over his prophetic abilities.
“Perhaps he is mistaken,” he said at last.
She almost laughed at that. “No, that’s highly doubtful. Perhaps you’d like to know that I saw Lord Harry in a rather intimate tête-à-tête with the lady just last night, while he thought I was distracted by dancing.”
“You made no mention of that!”
“No, I suppose I didn’t.”
Perhaps she should have. Now it was too late. She’d ruined herself and ruined her chance of ever being allowed to travel. Worse, she’d broken her own heart in the process.
“You should have told me about him, Penelope.”
“I know. It was wrong, but I just couldn’t…”
Couldn’t what? Couldn’t admit she’d intentionally tried to deceive her brother, or that Lord Harry had never felt anything for her? She refused to answer herself.
“There, there,” he said softly. “I suppose you wouldn’t have wanted to acknowledge it. I understand.”
“You do?”
“Of course. Come here, little sister.”
To her absolute shock and amazement he stepped toward her and actually embraced her. Tenderly! It was almost as if he weren’t angry at all that, once again, she had thrown them into scandal.
“I can guess how you must feel.”
“You can?”
“You trusted the man and he turned out to be a scoundrel.”
“Really he—”
“No, don’t bother to defend him. He blinded me to his flaws, too. You can hardly be blamed for it. You did nothing wrong.”
Nothing wrong? Did he really believe this? If she were a decent sister, she would confess the truth, confide in him that…No, just keep quiet. Don’t say anything.
“Trust me to handle this for you, Penelope. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll see that you’re left quite undamaged from this debacle.”
“Er, how?”
He patted her on the head and stepped away to smile down at her. “Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of Lord Harry.”
“You will? But how…”
“Don’t fret yourself over that. You just take care of mending your heartbreak. And I think I know just what might help.”
“Might help?”
“How would you like to take a little trip?”
He was still smiling the sweetest brotherly smile. Was he this happy to finally banish her to the country?
Then he tapped her on the nose as if she were a child. “I believe you should go to Egypt, after all.”
“I should what?”
“Of course. That’s the perfect thing to take your mind off this. I’m sure the Tollersons would love to take you along when they go. They’re fine, honest people; they would be excellent companions for you. And how about if we ask your friend Maria if she’d like to go along? Would that be acceptable?”
Acceptable? Good heavens! It would be marvelous! But what about his belief that she would destroy the Sphinx, or that the Tollersons were too old to even keep track of their own teeth, let alone look after her?
“Are you toying with me, Anthony?” she asked. “Because if you are, it’s a very cruel joke.”
“No, Penelope. I’m not toying with you. If you can recall, I had my heart broken once. I know how it feels and, believe it or not, I honestly want to help you.”
“So you would send me to Egypt?”
“I thought that was what you wanted?”
Indeed, it was. Most earnestly! But…what about Lord Harry? Not that she cared, of course, but surely his uncle would be even more ungracious toward him now. And had Lord Burlington truly called him out? What if he were shot? And now Anthony was furious with him, too. What did he have planned for the man? True, Lord Harry had used her badly, but she’d been the one to
facilitate it.
“What do you mean,” she asked carefully, “that you’ll take care of Lord Harry?”
“Never you mind. I’ll simply see to it that he does nothing further to malign your character or play fast and loose with your reputation.”
“Oh,” she murmured, as if his answer had been any sort of real explanation.
“Now you go up to your room and give yourself time to recover. I’ll have some breakfast sent up to you. And I’m sure you would not mind if I were the one to break this distressing news to our mother? Or would you prefer to do that yourself?”
“Er, no, you’re welcome to do that.” Goodness, by all means that was a conversation she’d very much rather avoid.
“Fine,” he said, that still-sweet smile just as unfamiliar to her. “Go rest. I’ll take care of everything.”
She was so off-balance by his unexpected attitude that she couldn’t think of anything to say but a weak little “thank you.” She was already in her room, taking her first bites of the breakfast he did, indeed, have sent up for her, before she thought to wonder just exactly what he truly meant by “I’ll take care of everything.” Since she’d been very careful to keep her brother in the dark about “everything,” she found it quite difficult to comprehend just how he would be taking care of it.
Still, he’d offered her Egypt! She found herself quite torn between a feeling of triumph and a rather nagging little feeling that things were not about to be resolved so easily. She decided to focus on the first.
HARRIS GRUMBLED AS HE READ THROUGH LORD BURLINGTON’S latest note. The man was not going to make this easy, was he? Messages had been sent back and forth, with the nobleman calling Harris every scathing insult available to him, coward being his favorite. Nothing Lord Harry said could placate the man or dissuade him from his desire to meet on a field of honor.
Damn the idiot. As if the man hadn’t been cuckolded often enough, why should he suddenly feel the need to avenge himself where Harris was concerned? Didn’t he see he’d been offered an easy way out? Surely he couldn’t really believe he stood so much as a thin chance of surviving a fair duel with the nefarious Harris Chesterton? Apparently he did.
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