by Fiona Miers
Charlotte dropped into the armchair with more grace than a woman of her size should. Raised by a formidable Duchess, Charlotte was a lady in every sense of the word. Her liking of her husband’s marriage bed notwithstanding.
“Why? We weren’t asked to be David’s godparent’s. It was just announced at the Christening,” she answered, giving her husband a playful swat with her hand.
They both turned and looked at Rupert expectantly. Was he meant to act as though it had been a request?
“I would be honoured,” Rupert answered gruffly. Unable to say anything else, he bowed in thanks. How could he be getting so emotional over such a thing? He really was changing. It was a sobering thought and he cringed.
“See?” Charlotte smiled happily at her husband and thanked the maid who had brought in tea, cakes and whiskey.
Rupert saw the alcohol and knew it had been brought in on a tea tray for him. Archie hardly ever drank hard spirits, and never this early in the day. Obviously the butler knew him well. The thought saddened him a little. When had he become predictable? Boring even?
“Whiskey or tea?” Charlotte asked him politely, already reaching for the whiskey bottle.
“Tea please,” Rupert responded before he could stop himself.
After Charlotte’s earlier assault on his person he really needed a whiskey, but was sick of being the man everyone expected him to be. Didn’t they realise there was more to him than what he showed to everyone?
Charlotte’s eyebrows shot up with surprise but she didn’t say anything.
“How do you take it?” she asked politely, pouring the tea into three cups.
“Milk and two sugars please,” he told her with confidence. When was the last time he had actually drank tea? He couldn’t remember, but decided to brazen it out and sat down gratefully into a chair opposite her. Archie sat also, in the chair closest to his wife. He reached for a cake and absently touched Charlotte on the back of the neck.
Rupert watched Charlotte lean into the caress like a flower facing the sun. It only took that one small gesture and Rupert had to look away from his friends. He had never wanted Charlotte, he never thought of her that way. But sometimes Rupert wished he could find what his friends had found. A woman who had the traits of both a wife and a mistress. Someone who would keep his home running, make him laugh, attend to his children, join him in social outings and happily join him in his bed. Charlotte was pregnant for the second time in twelve months and Sarah had just given birth to her second son in less than a two years. There was much bedding going on and his friend’s wives obviously enjoyed it. Sarah had even said as much the year before. Rupert coughed at the memory.
“Have you seen Sarah and Oliver’s new son yet?” Charlotte asked him as she bit into one of the cakes on the tray.
Rupert looked up from his drink. Sometimes he wondered if Charlotte was a mind reader. How could she have known he had been thinking about such things?
“Yes, last week. He looks just like Oliver,” Rupert said, to no one in particular. He had been surprised when he had received a summons to meet the new Lincoln baby. He had never seen a baby that was only a few weeks old before.
Sarah, however, being a vicar’s daughter had been anxious to have the baby Christened at the earliest opportunity and this time, it had been a small, family affair
Even his nieces had been kept away from everyone until they were several months old. It had been amazing. the infant had been rather cross looking, red and wrinkled, but miraculous in it’s perfection as a tiny human being. Rupert would never say this, but the experience had actually made him yearn for a son himself.
Charlotte chuckled loudly.
“Well, who else would he look like?” She asked, smiling as though it would be unusual for a cuckoo to be born into a nest of the ton. Hah!
Rupert stared at Charlotte a moment longer and could barely believe this was the same woman who had once proclaimed she would never marry because a husband would have access to her body. Rupert marvelled at how incredible it was that things could change when someone meets the right person.
“True. His wife is Sarah, after all,” said Rupert. His implication was that any other lady of the ton might have been having an affair, having provided her husband with an heir, but certainly not Sarah, with her impeccable reputation for loyalty. Rupert knew it in his bones.
Charlotte and Archie gave each other a puzzled look.
“No witty rejoinder about the average married lady of the ton?” Archie asked, giving him a quizzical look.
Rupert shook his head. What could he say? How could he joke about arranged marriages and faithless women when Sarah and Charlotte were now his examples and the wives of his closest friends? It would dishonour all of them, not to mention the fact that he didn’t lie well.
“That’s only because of Lizzie,” Charlotte scoffed, giving her husband a knowing look.
“Rupert finally found a widow who didn’t jump directly into bed with him at the first opportunity.”
Rupert gripped the tiny tea cup tight, setting it down lest he break it. It was Charlotte’s intention to get a rise out of him of course, but he still fought the anger, unwilling to let her win.
“I haven’t given up on that widow. She just needs to get to know me better,” Rupert declared, with all the arrogance he possessed. And considering his looks and breeding, that conceit was considerable. So it was quite a blow to his pride when Archie and Charlotte both laughed.
“Well, you have charmed more women that I can count, Rupert. I’m sure it won’t be that difficult.” Archie said quietly, taking a sip of his tea.
Rupert smiled indulgently, Archie had heard about his conquests so frequently that when it came to his wedding night, the virginal Archie had come to him for advice. Rupert had never admitted it, but he had taken it as a huge compliment.
“You both are so wrong. If you think Lizzie is just like every other bored matron, then you are in for a surprise.” Charlotte smiled smugly and bit into a sugary short bread.
“How is she so different?” Rupert asked, succumbing to the delicious looking sweets in front of him. Biting into an apple cake, he almost groaned in pleasure. He really needed to invest in a better chef at his own home.
Elizabeth Symmons may have said no to him once, but how long could that last? For how long could she really hold off? He had never actuallly pursued a woman before, but it couldn’t be very different to a normal conquest. He would just savour it more when he finally won her.
“You mean, apart from the fact that she is present during the Season this year for the sole purpose of remarriage?”
“Well, that doesn’t mean she can’t dally with me.” Rupert argued, setting his jaw.
What would be the problem with that? It had happened to Rupert before. He would bed a widow, who would try to trap him into marriage, only to find him immovable on the subject. The widow would then move on and marry the next suitable person soon after and he, too would be onto the next available lady. That was the best thing about bedding widows and married women. He couldn’t be forced to marry any of them.
“Why would she waste her time?” Charlotte asked him, with a straight face. Well, as straight a face as Charlotte could pull, considering that her eyes were laughing. She never could hide her feelings very well and Rupert frowned at what she was trying to do.
“Charlotte, coming from you, isn’t that a bit redundant?” Rupert was fed up with being fodder for this couple’s amusement. If there was one thing he deplored, it was hypocrisy and here was a woman who had married because she was pregnant!
“What do you mean by that?” Charlotte asked, flushing with discomfort at the obvious implication.
Rupert, seeing the danger, ignored Archie’s angry glare and answered regardless.
“I mean that if a lady like you can indulge before marriage, why wouldn’t your Lizzie?”
Charlotte jumped to her feet and Archie followed just as quickly, placing his hand in the small
of her back to steady her. Rupert followed suit, his anger still rising. Archie put his other hand out to calm her but she shook it off.
“The difference is love, Rupert, which you wouldn’t understand. I have loved Archie for a long time and our actions were because of that fact. Not for any other reason. Until you learn about love, you will never have the privilege of knowing a woman like Elizabeth Symmons!”
Charlotte turned on her heel and walked straight out of the room.
A moment of silence went by and then he heard his friend’s heavy sigh.
“You shouldn’t have said that, Rupert.”
Archie hadn’t moved since Charlotte had left the room but Rupert could see how hard he was fighting to remain standing still.
“I should go.” Rupert announced, feeling foolish. Why did he let his temper get the better of him? Charlotte had only been joking. Did it really bother him that much that he had missed out on a frolic with her friend? Surely not!
“You will not. You just insulted my wife, who is in a delicate condition, for whom I know you care a great deal. Now you and I will have a talk and I want you to tell me what the hell is going on.”
Rupert regarded his stoic and gentle friend in astonishment. He had never heard Archie use such language before.
“Please accept my apologies; I am very sorry indeed for speaking indiscreetly to Lady Charlotte ... um.. the Countess. .” Rupert said stiffly. Unaccustomed as he was to apologizing, this pricked his pride considerably.
“So you should be.” Archie retorted, his arms now calmly tucked behind his back. Rupert wasn’t fooled for a moment. There was a fire still blazing in Archie’s eyes.
His friend continued to look at him expectantly and Rupert sighed. What could he say? That he was jealous of his friend’s marriage? Never, he would rather be thrown out of a carriage at high speed.
“I simply let my temper get the better of me, Archie. The truth is, I find her teasing goes slightly too far at times. But I accept that I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“You’re not telling me the truth, Rupert.”
Rupert sighed loudly, damned if he’d tell Archie the truth. A thought came to him and his mood lightened.
“I’m bored with my latest mistress and I’m a bit frustrated. I’m not accustomed to abstinence, old friend.” Rupert grinned devilishly at Archie, who up until a couple of years ago, had been a virgin.
Archie just stared at him with his cold, assessing brown eyes and said nothing. Rupert swallowed uncomfortably, wondering what his friend could see. Was his loneliness sot obvious?
“Did you get my letter about the latest investment that I think you should place money in?” Archie asked, changing the subject for reasons unknown.
Rupert sighed inwardly, grateful that his friend had obviously chosen to have mercy on him.
Rupert stayed for another half hour, talking to Archie about his latest tips and trading advice, before making his excuses and leaving. Archie had even recommended a new horse breeder who had foals for sale that Rupert had been wanting to buy for years, he later remembered. however, none of this mundane talk distracted Rupert completely from his confusion, but that night, a bottle of whiskey did.
Chapter 4
Lizzie missed the countryside. Her home was there, the place she was happiest and most comfortable. London made her feel stifled and suffocated. She put on her prettiest walking dress, picked up her matching parasol and strode down the front steps of her house. It was a short walk to the nearby park and she desperately needed to see something other than cobblestone roads, the inside of a carriage and ballrooms.
Ten minutes later. she was strolling beneath beautiful oak trees, utterly lost in her own little world. She vaguely sensed someone behind her and unconsciously moved to the left of the path, so the other party could pass if they wanted to do so. Lizzie was feeling peaceful and didn’t bother to stop toeven look and see who was following so closely behind her.
“Mrs. Symmons,” Lizzie was astonished to see that Rupert stood in front of her and greeted her with a bow.
Lizzie stopped, shocked. She looked around, unable to decide exactly what to do. Thoughts whirled through her head.
Where had he come from?
He was alone. She was alone.
Had he planned this somehow?
He couldn’t really be here for her could he?
“The Honourable Mr. Willoughby? Good day,” she returned, curtsying finally and slowly.
“Please, call me Rupert.” he invited her, out of breath as he spoke. “I really don’t like my last name,” he added, with a charming smile.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” Lizzie exclaimed, surprised by his forwardness.
She had never had a gentleman pursue her with such dishonourable intentions before. It was quite disconcerting how effective he was at the task. Lizzie could feel her heart beating twice as fast as it should have been and her body had tightened in all sorts of unusual places.
She began to walk along the path again, faster than before, Rupert trailing at her heels.
“Why ever not? Charlotte does.” He pointed out amiably, pulling up beside her and matching her pace with his long legs.
Lizzie slowed and let him walk beside her. It was true, Charlotte did call him by his first name, but she had known him for most of her life. Also, Rupert wasn’t trying to get Charlotte into bed like he was with her.
“The Countess has known you for many years. But I have not. No, I don’t think so.” Lizzie said slowly, twirling her parasol and watching as two children raced across the park ahead of their governess. Such a beautiful scene, one for which she wished so desperately.
“For how long were you married, Mrs. Symmons, before your husband’s untimely demise?” Rupert asked, his question taking her by surprise.
“Eleven months.” Lizzie replied, still watching the children. The scene before her was such a wonderful sight to her eyes, but for her, it was like a double edged sword. She loved to watch children, happy and healthy, running about her, but doing that left a hollow feeling in her belly. The scene gave her such pleasure as children invariably did and yet it left her with a sad, empty yearning. When would she have children of her own? She often wondered.
“And you were happy?”
“Yes and no,” Lizzie answered, honestly again. She had decided that being herself as much as possible was the best way to handle this rather intimidating gentleman. He would soon back off from his pursuit of her when he realized what sort of lady she was. Surely he would soon turn his pursuit to a lady more willing than she. The thought saddened her a little and Lizzie focused her mind back on the question he had asked.
“We had a good marriage as far as most modern marriages are measured. But he was a little too wild. He was always gambling and drinking with his army friends.” Lizzie explained, looking directly into Rupert’s eyes for the first time since he had happened upon her.
My goodness, but he was handsome.
“Ahh.” Rupert listened, nodding and making hand gestures that encouraged her to continue talking.
“When I marry this time, I really need a gentleman who will be happy to spend more nights at home with me. And I want a man who likes children, who wants an active role in their lives,” she explained, not sure why she was revealing such information to a man who had so casually propositioned her.
Lizzie began walking again, then stopped, wanting to look at Rupert one more time. Why was he so incredibly handsome? It was completely unfair.
Rupert gave her a charismatic smile, then laughed. The sound was musical, with the headiness of sweet sherry about it.
“These aren’t a lot of men who actively want to play a part in their children’s upbringing, Mrs Symmons. My father certainly didn’t in our case and my brother certainly doesn’t with his children.”
Lizzie watched Rupert’s grimace and wondered what he had been thinking to unknowingly reveal such displeasure. Squashing the urge to contain her curiosity as
any wellbred lady should, she asked a question.
“What were you thinking about, just then?” Lizzie asked, pointing her finger at his face in one of the most unladylike gestures she had ever dared to do.
As quick as a flash, the look was gone and a haughtiness reserved for the ton’s elite appeared in its place. Lizzie wanted to pound the man on his over sized chest.
“Nothing of consequence,” Rupert lied. Lizzie stared at him a moment longer and called him on the untruth.
“Liar,” she pronounced him and with a flip of her hand, continued walking.
****
Rupert stood still for a full ten seconds, frozen in shock. No one had ever had the gall to say such a thing to him and no woman had ever walked away from him before. Ridiculous situation!
It took him a moment or two to catch up with her even with his considerably longer legs. Lizzie had moved quite further ahead, because he had been too shocked by her pronouncement to follow for immediately. He knew he should be furious that she would say such a thing to him, but the problem was, that it was actually true and therefore, he had no grounds to be angry with her.
They ambled along at a slower pace, her shorter legs making him walk at a pace he would never have usually maintained.
Lizzie stopped at a park bench and sat down. Staring aimlessly out at the view, she sighed with what appeared to be happiness.
Rupert watched her uneasily. He was being ignored and he did not like the feeling. He had never been ignored, not once in his life. Lizzie was as happy and relaxed as though he weren’t standing over her, all six foot four inches of him.
He cleared his throat audibly, but she didn’t open her eyes.
Rupert set his jaw against the anger setting in. He considered walking off and leaving her alone, but that wouldn’t suit his purpose.
“Elizabeth,” he growled, unable to bear being ignored a moment longer. How humiliating, and him the ton’s most popular rake.
Lizzie’s eyes snapped open.