His Impetuous Deputante (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time - Book 1)

by Charles, Jane

  Taylor took her hand in his.

  “There is a good chance Phillipa won’t marry either. Society is too cruel and judgmental to see the beauty of her face and heart.” Lady Phoebe sighed and slumped, putting her elbows back on her knees.

  “I don’t believe I’ve met your other sisters.” Taylor encouraged her to continue. “What would society perceive to be wrong?”

  Lady Phoebe tilted her head to look at him but did not adjust her posture. “When she was five she fell from a tree and fractured her hip, or maybe it was her upper leg. No doctor could ever really tell us.” She turned and looked back out at the gardens. “It never healed correctly and now she has a limp. There are times she is in horrible pain, too. We moved her bedroom to the main floor of the house because stairs are just too difficult for her.”

  Felding had never told him about this. All Taylor ever really knew was that Felding had four sisters. On the few times Taylor had visited the home on the holidays, the sisters were much younger and he barely noticed them about. “And this is the reason you won’t marry?” he prompted.

  “Mother and Phillipa will need someone to look after them. I refuse to leave it to a servant.”

  “Your brother will see that they are taken care of, I am sure of that.” Taylor hated the idea of Lady Phoebe putting herself on the shelf.

  “This is perfectly fine, until he is married. No new, young bride wants to be saddled with the care of her husband’s family. That is a time in her life when she should be blissfully happy without a care in the world.” Phoebe straightened once again and looked at him. “Don’t you agree?”

  “I am not sure I do agree. I don’t see how it is fair to you.”

  Phoebe shrugged then stretched her arms above her head. Taylor looked away. The fabric against her full breasts was distracting, especially since she was apparently cold. He shrugged off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

  “Why are Martin and Richard the only ones married? What do the rest of you have against the institution?”

  Instead of confiding that he too had been married, he decided not to answer the question. “I know for a fact Noah is going to take your feelings into consideration when an arrangement is made. I also don’t think marriage for you is out of the question. Your brother could choose a wife who would love nothing better than to spend her days with your mother and sister. Or, you could marry a gentleman who would be more than happy to take them into his household or live in theirs.”

  “I am sure Noah will do his best and if I do find myself married that doesn’t mean I will be happy.”

  “I know there are a number of marriages in society that leave a lot to be desired, but there are also couples who are very happy. Take Martin and Janine for example.”

  “I believe they are an exception. I don’t expect to be so lucky.”

  Taylor eyed her suspiciously. He hadn’t seen her disheartened before. When talking of marriage, she had been happy, not a care in the world, confident she wouldn’t be forced into something she didn’t want. Tonight she sang a different tune and Taylor began to wonder if she had found herself attracted to someone who didn’t return the sentiment. He didn’t think there was a man alive who wouldn’t return her affection.

  “Has someone caught your attention, Lady Phoebe?” He asked, almost afraid of her answer. He didn’t want to think of her with another.

  She didn’t look up as she traced circles in the dirt with her uninjured foot. “It is not important.”

  “There is someone,” he tried to tease and failed. “You can’t tell me he doesn’t return your affection.” Taylor immediately hated the man for having her affection.

  “I would really rather not discuss it. He doesn’t return my affections, as you put it, so there is nothing left to discuss.”

  The pain in her voice wasn’t missed by Taylor. Maybe not tonight, but one day he would learn the name of the man, though he wasn’t sure what he would do with the information.

  Silence followed, each lost in their own thoughts of wishing for what could not be.

  “You never answered my question,” she interrupted the silence.

  “Which question was that?” He was afraid they were back to discussing marriage.

  “Why do you avoid marriage?”

  “But I don’t.” This was all he would offer on the subject.

  She looked at him confused. “I haven’t seen you spend any time pursuing young ladies.”

  “That is because I spend all my time rescuing you,” he tried to tease her, and again failed.

  “I am sorry. I never meant to ruin the Season for you.” The sincerity of her words tore at his heart, as well as the sadness. “In truth, however, you are about the only person who has made this Season bearable.”

  Her statement surprised him. “I was under the impression you were irritated with my being underfoot.”

  She sighed heavily. “On reflection, I am well aware of how you have saved me from horrible circumstances.”

  Taylor chuckled. It was nice she recognized the error of her ways. Then again, she had said the same before, and then proceeded in her normal reckless fashion.

  “But it is more than that.”

  “How so?” He wondered where this was going.

  “You are the only one I didn’t worry about having an ulterior motive.”

  Taylor didn’t like it that she saw him as safe, in a brotherly type fashion, but he had expected it. “So you don’t think I find you attractive?” He tried to tease her once again.

  She flashed him a disbelieving look, the same he had seen her give others when they professed a declaration. “You know exactly what I mean. You are the one gentleman I have spent time with who doesn’t need anything from me, or what I could bring to a marriage. If you weren’t watching out for me on Noah’s behalf, I wouldn’t have anyone I could trust.”

  Taylor was humbled. Even if he couldn’t have her, he was pleased that she felt this way. He had never had the trust or friendship of a woman before. Other than Heather, but that hadn’t occurred until after their marriage. This was nice. “You have friends. Surely you trust them.”

  “I trust Janine. The rest are using me to get to my brother and the rest of you. Do you think me a fool?” Her voice didn’t betray the way she truly felt of the depressing state.

  “No, Lady Phoebe. You are not a fool,” he agreed in a soft voice. “I hope you never have cause to lose your trust in me.”

  She gave him a soft, warm smile. “I don’t think that could happen.”

  If Taylor didn’t know better, he would have sworn he saw something deeper in her eyes. He wouldn’t disillusion himself. He had a part of her affection and he should be grateful for that. Maybe someday he could move past his own obsession before she found that she could trust him a lot less than she realized. The others wanted her, along with the dowry. Of that, he had no doubt. He wanted only to possess her, pure and simple. He was no better than the rest.

  During the following hours, they talked of lighter matters and gossiped about the ton. When Taylor no longer had an excuse to keep her to himself in the gardens, certain everyone in the house had retired, he scooped her into his arms once again and snuck her back into the house, into her room and deposited her on the bed. He needed to get out of here immediately. Heaven knew he didn’t trust himself given how delectable she looked with her hair mussed while she relaxed against the pillows. He backed to the door and was about to wish her goodnight when the door swung open and Noah stepped in, glowering at them both.

  Chapter 10

  “I could murder you both with my bare hands,” Noah ground out in a whispered tone.

  “It is not what it looks like,” Lady Phoebe objected. Taylor, however, knew when to keep his mouth closed.

  “I am well aware of that. Thank God I am the only one that saw him carry you in here.”

  “He only carried me because I couldn’t walk,” Phoebe retorted defensively.

  Taylor closed his eye
s and said a quick prayer. Phoebe wasn’t helping the situation.

  “And why is that?” Noah asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

  Phoebe blushed. “I went for a stroll and found Taylor with a, um, woman, and when I tried to hurry and leave, I fell, hurting my ankle.”

  Noah raised a questioning eyebrow at Taylor. “As I recall, Mrs. Patterson returned to the party hours ago, alone.”

  “I tried to make him go back, but he wouldn’t leave me sitting there, nor could he carry me back to the house for the world to see,” Phoebe continued defensively. Taylor knew that anything he would offer would be seen as guilt on his part, so he decided just to let Phoebe explain to her brother.

  “So you two have been sitting in the garden this entire time. For the past three hours. Alone.”

  “Yes. And we had a delightful conversation,” Phoebe insisted.

  “Did anyone see you?”

  “Only Mrs. Patterson,” Phoebe offered.

  “Are you sure?” Noah directed the question to Taylor who only nodded his head to affirm.

  “Then you two had better pray that she doesn’t breathe a word.” Noah turned to Taylor. “Now, if you would please leave my sister’s bedroom and join me downstairs.”

  “Gladly,” Taylor answered, trying to appear calm, when he dreaded the meeting to come. He turned toward Phoebe. “I hope your ankle feels better.” He checked the hallway, and then left the room, followed by Noah.

  The house was completely silent when the two men adjourned to Martin’s private study. The room was chosen specifically to avoid being overheard, as it had remained off limits to the guests during the weekend. Both men knew Martin would not mind them being there, given the gravity of the discussion. Helping themselves to his brandy, they took a seat. By outward appearances, Taylor seemed calm and relaxed. Truth be told, he wondered if the friendship they had shared for so many years had been pushed too far.

  Noah appeared calm as well, which made Taylor all the more concerned. He knew Noah too well. The calmer he was, the angrier he felt, and he had been very calm upstairs. Holding the glass, Taylor waited for Noah to begin. Denying and begging for forgiveness for something that hadn’t occurred would not help at this juncture.

  “Taylor, what the hell were you thinking?” Noah finally asked after he took a seat.

  “I was trying to save her some embarrassment,” Taylor responded nonchalantly.

  “By carrying her upstairs to her room? What if someone else would have seen you?”

  “Why do you think I waited until the lights were extinguished?”

  “You know as well as I do that you are more likely to run into people in the halls at that hour.”

  “Would you rather I would have carried her out of the gardens for all to see?”

  Noah sat back and loosened the buttons of his shirt. “What exactly did happen?”

  “Just as she told you. She caught me, this time.” He tried to find humor again, and failed. “Anyway, your sister decided it was safe to stroll alone in the gardens, as everyone believed she was abed, and came across the attempted seduction.”

  Noah sputtered and coughed on his scotch, clearly surprised by this bit of news. “What did she see?” He asked once he’d gained back his powers of speech.

  “She saw a bit of leg. ” Taylor shot him a look, hoping his making light of the situation would transfer to Noah. “Mrs. Patterson’s, not mine.” So far it wasn’t working. “We hadn’t gotten very far when we heard her.”

  “Why didn’t Mrs. Patterson stay and help you escort Phoebe from the garden?”

  Taylor groaned. “She was rather upset with the interruption and stormed off. I half expected to be found, but didn’t know her well enough to know what form of retaliation, if any, she would use.”

  “This is worse than I imagined.”

  “You are imagining the worst.”

  “That all depends on what Mrs. Patterson says, doesn’t it?” Noah shot back.

  “Did she say anything this evening?” Taylor wondered mildly. In all reality, it would be her words that could bring everything down on Phoebe.

  “Not a word. She returned and played a game. But, she did keep watching the door. I believe she was waiting for you.” Noah gave a small smile.

  “Then nobody knows.” Taylor dismissed the entire situation.

  “You were lucky this time. I won’t ask what you did with my sister in a dark garden for three hours.” His statement brought Taylor up short, offended Noah would think anything occurred to be concerned with.

  “Calm down. I believed Phoebe when she said you talked. I also rely on your honor as a friend.”

  “Thank you for your confidence,” Taylor bit out. If only Noah knew his thoughts he would be called out immediately.

  “People are beginning to talk.”

  “There has been talk for some time,” Taylor dismissed again.

  “So far the ton finds it entertaining when Phoebe ends up in questionable circumstances and you always appear in the nick of time to rescue her.”

  “I know. I have heard it.”

  “There are even bets.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Had anyone seen you tonight, the situation would no longer be humorous.” A warning edge came to Noah’s voice.

  Taylor shot up and began pacing. “Don’t you think I know that? Why am I the one who is always there? Don’t you think I know the repercussions of tonight? It would have been just as damaging had I left the garden with her. You know that as well as I do. My only choice was to wait.”

  “I know. I meant no offense.”

  Taylor could tell he didn’t and calmed considerably as he refilled his glass. Sitting back down, he decided not to wait until after the party. “I am leaving London after the weekend.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I need to find a wife. You know the reasons as well as I. My connection to Phoebe has made it more than difficult.” He took another drink and waited for a reaction. He didn’t get one, as Noah continued to stare into the fire slowly burning down. “That is not it alone. I will never find a wife here. You know that. Everyone is afraid my third wife will end up like the others.”

  “I know. I am sorry for that,” Noah finally offered with sadness.

  For an instant Taylor considered broaching the subject of Phoebe, but decided not to press Noah any further. The friendship was on shaky ground this evening. If he offered for Phoebe, Noah would no longer trust him, and they had a long weekend to get through yet.

  “I am sure Parker or Chambers can step in for the rest of the Season.”

  Noah looked up at him. Confusion marred his brows.

  “I want you to know I have used the best judgment with your sister, but she makes it damn hard.”

  “I know you have. She is a reckless girl.” Noah relaxed back in the chair, weariness showed in his eyes.

  “Perhaps you should just marry her off.” Taylor waited for a reaction. It didn’t hurt to test the situation just a bit.

  “I have thought about it. Heaven knows I have received plenty of offers, but the only person she seems to like is you.”

  “No, there is another.”

  “Who? She hasn’t mentioned anyone to me.”

  “She didn’t give a name. She only said it was someone she couldn’t have. I have no clue who she meant.”

  Noah studied him, head cocked as if thinking through something.

  “Do you know who she meant?” Taylor would like to know the name so he could have a talk with the gentlemen. Then again, perhaps not. It all depended on who the man was.

  Noah shook his head and turned away. “No, she has not confided in me.”

  He placed his glass on the sideboard. “Well, we won’t find the answer tonight.” He turned to Taylor, his hands on his hips. “I don’t suppose another lecture would help.”

  Taylor rose, chuckling. “I seriously doubt it.”

  “Good night then.” Noah let himself
out, leaving Taylor to finish his drink in peace. Unfortunately, Taylor never found peace. What had Noah said? “The only person she seems to like is you.” Phoebe had said the same thing. But she only saw him that way because he was not a threat.

  What a mess. Perhaps he should just leave tomorrow and let someone else watch over her. Even as he thought the words, he knew he wouldn’t leave until after the weekend. Whoever thought this would be a safe environment for Phoebe?

  * * *

  Phoebe had tossed and turned a good portion of the night. When she finally woke, dressed and made her way downstairs, the others had already gathered. Taking the stairs slowly, not wishing to put much weight on her ankle, she finally entered the drawing room and made her way to the closest chair.

  “My goodness. You are limping, dear. What happened?” Mrs. Patterson asked from across the room.

  Noah, who had his back to the room, studied the scenery out the window. Taylor leaned on the fireplace mantel and showed only mild interest.

  “Oh it is nothing. I just turned it last night,” she answered and looked away to speak with Janine.

  “How did that happen, dear?” Mrs. Patterson wouldn’t let the matter drop when she knew very well what had occurred.

  Phoebe looked up at her and wondered if a lie would suffice or if she should simply state the truth. She decided on something in the middle. “I went for a short walk before retiring and must have stepped wrong.”

  Phoebe held her breath and waited.

  “You don’t mean to tell me you were taking a walk, alone, in the dark?” Mrs. Patterson persisted.

  “Would you have preferred I was with someone?” Phoebe retorted. “That would not have been very proper, now would it?”

  “Anyone could have come upon you, dear. You really need to be more careful.”

  “It is not as if we are in London, Mrs. Patterson. We are in the country and when I left, everyone was still in the house. I only planned to be out for a short time, and I didn’t wander overly far.” Phoebe looked her directly in the eye, daring her to tell what she knew.