“I knew it!” Christopher jumped up, spilling some of his drink on the rug.
“Wonderful,” Edon muttered. “Now look what you did. That was a gift from Catherine’s father.” He went over to the wall and pulled the cord. “If there’s a stain, you’re going to explain it to him. I’m not taking the blame for this.”
Christopher took out his handkerchief and wiped his hand. “You shouldn’t let your father-in-law intimidate you.”
“You didn’t ruin his daughter’s life.” He returned to Christopher and took the glass out of his hand. When Christopher opened his mouth to protest, he snapped, “From now on, you’re not allowed to drink anything in this room.”
“Oh for heaven’s sakes. You gave the gentleman a granddaughter, and he married your mother. You have no reason to fear him.”
The butler came into the drawing room, and Edon told him about the droplets of brandy on the rug. After assuring Edon he’d take care of the spill, Edon urged Christopher and Camden out of the room.
“It’s really Catherine’s room,” Edon told Camden as they headed down the hallway. “I thought I could trust my friend in there, but,” he scowled at Christopher, “apparently, I can’t.”
“You’ll die well before your time with all the worrying you do,” Christopher replied, not the least bit disturbed by his friend’s outburst.
“Perhaps if you ever fenced with her father, you’d understand. I much prefer it in the country where he’s too far to pay a visit.” They entered the den, and he let out a long sigh. “If I didn’t love my wife, the situation would be impossible. But we’re here for His Grace.” Directing his attention to him, he asked, “Would you like a copy of the book?”
Camden nodded. “If you don’t mind.”
“Why would he mind?” Christopher asked. “He has a lot of copies lying around.”
“Because everyone seems to want one,” Edon blandly added as he went to his desk and pulled open a drawer. “I don’t keep them in sight, of course.”
“Right. No sense in letting our wives know our secret.” Christopher winked at Camden.
“Yes,” Camden cleared his throat, “but I suppose it depends on whether or not the wife would want to read it.”
“It’s a book on how to pleasure a lady,” Christopher said, emphasizing the word ‘lady’. “I don’t think it would appeal to her.”
“Unless you want to know whether or not what’s in it actually works,” Camden replied.
“Oh, it works, all right. I’ve tried everything in it, and my wife likes everything.”
Edon grimaced. “I don’t think Camden’s any more interested in your love life than I am.” He came over to Camden and handed him the book.
Camden inspected the cover. It was a solid dark blue color with no title. He set down his glass of brandy then opened it. The title was on the second page.
“You don’t plan to read that here, do you?” Christopher asked in amusement.
“No. I wondered why the title wasn’t on the cover, that’s all.” Camden shut the book.
“In case someone gets curious, it’s best to be discrete,” Edon replied.
Camden nodded. It made sense. Though if a gentleman wasn’t careful, his wife could stumble upon this anyway.
“Have you picked out who your wife will be?” Christopher asked.
“Oh, um, no.” Unsure of what to do with the book, Camden tucked it under his arm. Then, so he wouldn’t seem strange, he picked up the brandy and took another sip. “I plan to go to a ball tomorrow evening and see if anyone strikes my fancy.” Or if he would strike theirs, but that was only if Miss Beacham didn’t pretend something horrible had happened today.
“Something on your mind?” Christopher pressed.
His face growing warm, Camden shook his head. “No. Nothing important.”
With a cocked eyebrow, Christopher examined him. “Are you sure?”
“For goodness’ sakes,” Edon said. “If he says it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.”
“I don’t believe him,” Christopher replied.
Edon let out an aggravated sigh. “It’s none of your concern.”
“Well, actually,” Camden began, “I could use some advice.”
Christopher crossed his arms and peered at him in interest. “What is it?”
Deciding it’d be best if he put the brandy down, Camden did. There was no need to spill it. Already, there was a slight tremble in his hands. He took a deep breath then straightened, hoping it would make him at least appear confident, especially in light of the fact that he didn’t feel that way at all.
“There was a lady I visited today,” he said.
“Who?” Christopher interrupted.
“That’s not important,” Edon said
“It could be. If we know who she is, then we might know her well enough to offer useful advice.”
“Miss Beacham,” Camden replied. “Her name is Miss Beacham.”
Christopher nodded. “I know who you’re talking about.”
Since this was the case, Camden opted to ask, “What do you know about her?”
He shrugged. “Her brothers have a scandalous side to them. They don’t exactly stay at home all the time with their wives, if you catch my meaning.”
Edon’s eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know that?”
“From a person I know very well,” Christopher said.
“Person?” Edon pressed.
Christopher shot him a pointed look. “Yes. You know…the person who works at a certain paper.”
“Oh.” Edon’s eyes widened in understanding. “Right. That person.”
“Right.” Christopher turned his attention back to Camden. “And though her sisters are more discrete, they aren’t that much better.”
Camden swallowed. “They aren’t?”
“A whole book could be written on that family,” Christopher said, looking much too happy about this.
Why didn’t Helena warn him? He never would have danced with Miss Beacham if he’d known, much less asked if he could visit her.
“Just what happened during your visit with Miss Beacham?” Christopher asked, leaning toward him as if he was going to hear a tasty morsel of gossip.
“Nothing,” Camden blurted out.
“Oh.”
Noting the disappointment on Christopher’s face, he said, “I told her no and left. I’m not that kind of gentleman.”
At that, Christopher burst out laughing. “Are you telling me she tried something?”
“I’m not exactly sure what she wanted,” Camden mumbled, glancing away in case they figured out he was lying. But for all he knew, they weren’t fooled. “I was just wondering… What are the chances she’ll claim something did happen?”
“Ladies don’t go around crying scandal,” Edon replied. “Their reputations would suffer too much for it.”
“That didn’t stop Miss Leighton from initiating a scandal with my cousin,” Christopher told Edon.
“That was different,” Edon said.
“How so?”
“She was desperate. Her brother was ready to marry her off to a horrible gentleman. I’ve seen him,” Edon added, glancing at Camden, “and I would have done anything to get out of the marriage, too, if I was her.”
“Is Miss Beacham desperate?” Camden asked.
“No,” Christopher replied.
Camden breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Maybe things would be all right after all.
“But as my wife says,” Christopher began, “Miss Beacham has been known to lack any good sense.”
Camden’s gut tightened back up.
“You’re scaring him,” Edon warned Christopher.
“It’s the truth,” Christopher said. “The entire family is a bit peculiar. Not a sense of decency among them. For all we know, she might scream scandal simply because he rejected her.”
Camden winced. “You think she’d do that?”
“No,” Edon said.
“Or yes,” C
hristopher consented. “You should ask her.”
No, Camden didn’t want to ask her. He’d rather not give her any ideas. If she knew it would bother him, then she might be more likely to do it, if for no other reason than to upset him.
“Don’t ask her,” Edon told Camden. “The best thing you can do is ignore her. Talking to her again will only encourage her to keep doing what she’s been doing…or worse.”
Just as Camden was about to assure Edon he wasn’t going to say anything to her, Christopher said, “I heard her parents would love for her to marry someone with a title. Perhaps she was hoping something would happen this afternoon so she could claim you were the father of her child.”
Though Christopher laughed, Camden wasn’t amused. What was wrong with him? Was he really enjoying this?
Edon frowned. “If she does that, I’ll make sure that person you know tells everyone she’s lying.”
“You could do that,” Christopher said, “but it’s more exciting to believe a scandal.”
“We can say he was here all afternoon with us,” Edon replied.
“But he wasn’t, and someone might have seen him on his way over to her townhouse.”
Edon sighed. “Why must you think of everything?”
“It’s a gift.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do to stop Miss Beacham from lying about me?” Camden asked as the sinking feeling of despair began to take hold of him. Was he going to be at the mercy of Miss Beacham’s whims?
“If you create a scandal with another lady before she has a chance to say anything, then you can stop her.”
“How can I create a scandal?” Even as Camden asked the question, he had to resist the urge to wince. Here he was, looking for ways to cause a scandal when he was praying Miss Beacham wouldn’t do that very thing.
“There are many ways you can create a scandal,” Christopher said. “But the thing is, whoever you make the object of the scandal will be your wife. So the real question is, which lady do you want to marry?”
Chapter Seventeen
Camden couldn’t sleep that night, and by the time it was morning, he didn’t feel any better about what he was going to do. He stared at the ceiling for a long time, clutching and unclutching the blanket, hoping the simple action would ease his tension. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t relax.
He thought once he got used to the idea, it would be easier, but it wasn’t. If anything, it was more difficult. He was about to trap an innocent lady into a marriage she didn’t want. If Miss Beacham’s family wasn’t known for creating scandals, he wouldn’t feel compelled to act against his principles. But heaven help him, he couldn’t spend the rest of his life with that lady, not even if they agreed to spend most of it apart.
What if Helena and Edon were right? What if Miss Beacham wouldn’t dare risk her reputation? But he was a duke, and she might find that fact attractive enough to tell everyone he took advantage of her.
Did he dare risk delaying the plan Christopher came up with to find out? Or should he, as Christopher suggested, act quickly?
His gut clenched, and he closed his eyes. Never in a million years did he expect coming to London would cause so much difficulty. But as his brother had once told him, it was easy to do things here that one would otherwise never do. Despite how much the Ton criticized those who engaged in scandals, it was far too easy to get caught in one.
No wonder his brother had spent so much time at the gambling hells and drinking. He was taken in by the allure of it all. And it was even harder to resist when everyone else seemed to be doing those things. Camden had spent all his time in the country, far removed from all of this.
He hadn’t realized how fortunate he’d been all those years. He used to think he was missing out on the best life had to offer, but with his awkwardness, his father would never bring him. Then when his aunt became ill and came to the estate, he didn’t even think of coming here. After his brother got so far into debt he killed himself, he had no choice.
If only the wager between Davenport and Pennella hadn’t been exposed. Then he wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament right now. But he had no time to waste. The gentlemen his brother owed money to would be coming in less than a month to collect their payment.
Camden opened his eyes. He had no choice. He had to go through with it. Helena would be upset, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to think of his mother and aunt. Better to have Helena upset with him for the rest of his life than to hand his estate to those gentlemen.
After a long sigh, he slipped out of bed and trudged to the armoire to collect his clothes for the morning. He washed up, shaved, and got dressed, his movements slow and methodical the entire time. He felt like a villain lying in wait for his prey instead of someone who was saving his family from ruin. And he didn’t like any bit of it. Never had he hated himself as much as he did this morning. Betraying Helena’s trust was going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever done. But he had to do it. Too much was at stake.
He spent the day in silence. For the most part, he stared ahead at the wall in front of him, not really seeing anything. Over and over, he played out the different things he could do. He could, of course, not go through with the scandal. He could go to the ball this evening and hope for the best. There was a small chance Christopher was wrong.
And if Christopher was right? He could imagine Miss Beacham bringing her irate father over to him who’d demand Camden marry his daughter at once. Or maybe Miss Beacham would be crying to someone—perhaps her brothers—about how he soiled her, and her brothers would demand he make things right. Or maybe she’d act as if nothing was wrong until an opportune time. Then, after he let his guard down, she’d kiss him in front of everyone.
For the life of him, Camden had no idea there were so many ways a gentleman or lady could get trapped into a marriage. The rumor didn’t even have to be true. People just had to believe it. But would that be the worst thing that could happen to him? Wasn’t it best he get the money?
Was it really important he like the lady he married? Of all the ladies he’d met in London, Helena was, by far, the best. But wasn’t it wrong to deny her the right to marry someone she wanted to be with? Of course, it was. He knew it was wrong. And yet, he was about to do something very selfish in not giving her a choice.
She was going to hate him. If he followed through with Christopher’s plan, she was going to hate him for the rest of their lives. Unless perhaps, she had grown fond of him in the short time they’d known each other. Then she might forgive him at some point. But did he dare risk it?
***
Helena caught sight of someone coming up the sidewalk. Good. It was Camden. She glanced at Chloe who was sipping tea in her drawing room. “I’m glad to see he didn’t let his mishap with Miss Beacham deter him from coming tonight,” Helena commented.
“I had no idea Miss Beacham was that kind of lady,” Chloe replied as she placed her cup on the tray then stood up.
“Me neither.” Helena shook her head. “Regina’s mother spoke so highly of her, too.”
Chloe approached her and leaned forward to peek out the window. “That just goes to prove that her mother doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does.”
“True. I wonder if she’d be disappointed if I told her what Miss Beacham is really like.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t dare! You know Regina’s mother has a tendency to gossip.”
“You’re right,” Helena said. “It’s one thing to tell you. You know how to keep a secret.”
“If you help another gentleman find a wife, will you recommend he dance with Miss Beacham?”
“It would be a waste of time. That lady isn’t looking for a husband.”
“No, but her parents are.”
“Even so, they wouldn’t want their daughter to get married because of a scandal.”
“You’re right. Mr. and Mrs. Beacham wouldn’t.” Chloe followed Helena to the entryway, just in time for the footman to open
the door for Camden.
“We’re ready to leave,” she told the footman.
He bowed and continued to hold the door open, and she and Chloe left the townhouse.
Looking at Camden, Helena explained, “I had the carriage wait for us. Lady Hawkins will be going with us.” After what he went through with Miss Beacham, she thought he’d be relieved, but instead, he seemed disappointed. “Is that all right?”
“Oh, yes, it’s fine.” His gaze went to Chloe, and he gave one of his pained smiles. “Good evening, Lady Hawkins.”
“Good evening, Your Grace,” her friend replied.
Helena wondered what was wrong but decided not to ask. There would be a chance to do so later, and one thing she always believed in, it was biding her time until the moment was right to act.
Once she and Chloe were sitting across from him in the carriage, Helena said, “Lady Hawkins started out as a client but became a good friend last Season. She’s like the sister I never had.”
Chloe’s face glowed at the praise. “I feel the same way about you,” she told her.
As the carriage moved forward, Helena returned her smile then turned her gaze to Camden. She could tell he was nervous. He kept taking deep breaths and trying to find a comfortable position to sit. It probably took all of his willpower to show up tonight.
“I don’t befriend every client I have,” Helena spoke up, hoping to ease some of his tension, “but she’s trustworthy, kind, and steadfast.”
“Did you used to be Miss Boyle?” Camden asked, looking at her.
“Yes.”
“I overheard a gentleman mention he was interested in you, but you married before he had a chance to pay you a visit.”
“Really? Who?”
“Lord Reddington. He’s friends with Lord Davenport.” Camden shifted in the seat. “I don’t know much about it. I just overheard him express his disappointment when he found out you were married.”
“I don’t remember him,” Chloe replied.
It took Helena a moment to recall who Lord Reddington was. “That’s probably because he didn’t want to seem too eager,” she told Chloe. “But you had so many gentlemen surrounding you, it was impossible to know his intentions.” She glanced at Camden. “I usually suggest ladies avoid being so forthcoming in their feelings. Gentlemen, after all, should be the ones to pursue them, not the other way around.”
Love Lessons with the Duke Page 14