An Affair of Honor

by Amanda Scott

  “Well, of course, she must be married at once,” Clarissa retorted. “Why, there are still dozens of persons in our family who might succumb at any moment, and my poor darling Rory will find herself in the same unhappy situation as you found yourself eight years ago. So that is precisely why we have come. The moment Huntley told us of Aunt’s illness, we knew what must be done.”

  “Huntley told you!” She turned accusing eyes toward his lordship.

  He nodded, his expression still grim. “I rode to Chatham on my way to London, then caught up with them today on the Brighton Road. Thus, we arrived together to be greeted by the news of the elopement. It seems your maid had occasion to enter Aurora’s room and discovered the note propped up on the dressing table. She took it directly to your mother, so I need hardly tell you what sort of scene greeted us upon our arrival.”

  She could well imagine it and glanced ruefully at Lady Agnes, but upon Clarissa’s taking advantage of the brief pause to repeat in shrill tones that she had been most distressed to discover that her darling girl should have been aided and abetted upon such a disastrous course by one in whom a loving parent ought to have been able to place her trust, Nell picked up the cudgels again.

  “To be sure, it might have proved disastrous,” she agreed hotly, “but Rory would have been a good deal happier in the end than she is likely to be now. How her loving parents could have been so lacking in good sense as to contract a marriage for her with someone like Huntley, I shall never understand. And as for all the nonsensical notions you have drummed into her head over the years, Clarissa, well I am thankful, at least, that I have been able—”

  “Thank you, Miss Lindale,” Huntley interrupted harshly. “Your opinions must always be edifying, but you have said more than enough now and would be well advised to hold your tongue.” Nell rounded on him, glaring defiantly, but when he met her gaze and held it, she realized she was no match for him in his present mood and subsided, letting her gaze slip meekly to the carpet. Satisfied, Huntley turned his attention next to the major, who had halted in some bemusement upon the threshold. “Talcott, I believe Lord Crossways has certain matters he wishes to discuss with you.”

  “That’s good,” the major replied, taking Huntley words as his cue to step purposefully toward the group near the fireplace, “because I certainly wish to discuss certain matters with his lordship.” Nell, looking up just then, was astonished to see her sister and brother-in-law greet him with warm smiles. She shot Huntley a look of inquiry, but he had shifted his attention to Jeremy, who had been hovering behind the major, peering curiously over his shoulder, until Talcott had stepped so abruptly away.

  “You may bring a teatray to this room in twenty minutes’ time,” his lordship said brusquely. “If we have any need of your services before then, rest assured that someone will ring.” Flushing to his ears, Jeremy fled, and Kit, still standing near Nell, chuckled at his discomfiture, then confided to Huntley that he would just nip off while the nipping was good.

  “If you think no one will miss me, that is.”

  “They won’t.” Huntley turned to Nell. “And as for you, my girl, I doubt they’ll miss you either for a moment or two, so just you come along with me!”

  Her protests falling on deaf ears, Nell found herself taken firmly by the arm and all but pushed out the door and across the landing to the morning room. Propelling her inside, Huntley then shut the door behind them with a snap. “Now, perhaps you will be good enough to explain this madness to me,” he declared. His tone was quiet, but his eyes flashed with anger, and Nell’s knees felt suddenly weak again.

  There had been a time during all her earlier mental activity when she had actually managed to convince herself that it would be rather a simple matter to explain things to him once the elopement had been accomplished. But looking at him now, she was astonished that she could ever have thought such a ridiculous thing, and for the first time she realized she was truly thankful her plan had failed. To have had to face him with Talcott and Rory halfway to the Border would have been well nigh impossible. But then, she had never before realized he was capable of this sort of calm fury. She had expected him—to use Rory’s apt phrasing—to bellow. And she had never minded his bellowing. Loud words were like thunderstorms. One merely waited for them to blow themselves out. But this quiet anger was another matter entirely. She had suspected a time or two recently that he might not be always as persuadable as she had once thought him to be, but now she knew she could push him only so far as he allowed himself to be pushed. He would tolerate no more. Oddly, instead of frightening or upsetting her, the knowledge seemed to give her an added sense of security. It meant he would not merely capitulate in order to avoid a scene or two. More than that, it meant she could behave naturally with him, could say whatever she wished to say, and he would protect her against her worst self.

  “Well? I am waiting.”

  Nell licked suddenly dry lips, willing her heart to stop trying to jump out of her mouth. Protection and security notwithstanding, the next few moments were going to be uncomfortable ones. “I-I thought—”

  “You damned well didn’t think!” he snapped. “You simply assumed that no one but Eleanor Lindale ever had two thoughts worth rubbing together, and so you acted impulsively and senselessly, lending yourself to a damned silly escapade that would—if it had been allowed to succeed—have ruined your niece and ended a very promising military career to boot. And don’t, I beg of you, try to tell me you did it in the name of love!”

  “Well, no one else was doing anything!” Nell snapped back, glad to have aroused him to a more familiar anger. “You left for London to take care of some stupid business or other, and Mama kept saying how thoughtless Aunt Agatha was being to die at such a time, and Kit was wailing about his lot, and Rory was at her wits’ end, and I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t have it that there even was a problem, so naturally I felt it was all left up to me. And I’m sorry if you don’t approve, but it was still the only solution I could think of that might answer the purpose, and I did think the major had agreed to it, and if he—”

  “Draw rein, Nell,” his lordship said more calmly. “Of course I believed you.”

  The words succeeded in bringing her up short. She stared at him searchingly. “But you said—”

  “I know what I said … or rather, I don’t know, but I daresay I didn’t say very much to the purpose. Your news about Lady Agatha was as shocking to me as it must have been to you. If I seemed unresponsive at the time, it was merely that I was thinking as fast as I could, trying to come up with a solution to our problem. Until that moment I had been pretty much contented to leave you to your little strategies, but once Lady Agatha received notice to quit at any moment, the element of speed became a good deal more important than it had previously been.”

  She regarded him suspiciously. “My little strategies?”

  He grinned at her then. “Lord, you must think I’m a nodcock! Did you flatter yourself that you were managing things delicately? I assure you, my dear, you were little less than ham-handed. But you seemed to be going the right way to work with her ladyship, so I had no wish to put a spoke in your wheel.”

  “I see.” Nell sighed. “Then you knew what I was doing all along.”

  “I did, but I confess I thought we’d be grassed, because Talcott seemed less than passionately interested, and I was nearly certain Aurora would refuse to call off the betrothal if she didn’t fancy herself romantically involved with someone else. Your sister’s teachings had been too deeply engrained for anything less than love to dislodge them.”

  “Well, I knew she cared for him and there were times I thought he returned her feelings, but it was not until the night she went free-trading—”

  “That was when I knew we had a chance, too,” Huntley agreed. “But that was also when you dropped the news about Lady Agatha into my lap. I had no chance to confirm my belief about the major that night, and since time was of the essence, I was forced to lea
ve for London without tracking him down. But I hope he wants to marry the naughty puss, because I took a long chance, went straight to Chatham, and pleaded his cause with Lord and Lady Crossways. I knew I’d have better luck than anyone else, and so I did, but it was the very devil of a business.”

  “They agreed to entertain his suit?” Nell’s mouth dropped open. “You must have spoken very well of him indeed, sir.”

  “Not only well enough that they agreed to consider his suit,” Huntley informed her with pardonable pride, “but well enough that Crossways requested that I procure a special license while I was in London.”

  “Merciful heavens!”

  “Exactly so,” he agreed, taking her firmly by the shoulders and giving her a little shake. The stern look had returned to his eyes. “You see, little goose, you are not the only one with a brain in your head. There are others who may be trusted to have an idea from time to time. And, if I may be permitted to say so, better ideas than yours. If I had had the slightest notion that you would attempt anything so cork-brained as this elopement of yours, I’d never have left town without at least speaking to Talcott. Thank God, he had better sense than the both of you, for I’ve not a doubt in the world that it was he who scotched your little plan. I’m only astonished he let it go so far as it did.”

  “He didn’t,” she admitted, staring at his waistcoat buttons. “Rory thought she could bring him ’round her thumb, and told me she had already convinced him it was the only course of action left to them. In fact, he had told her he would have nothing to do with it. He was waiting for us today only because he feared she might go to meet him by herself.”

  “That should have been the only way for her to get there,” he said, regarding her somberly. “You’d no business to encourage her, let alone to go with her. I thought you had better sense than that, Nell. You disappointed me.”

  It was as if he had slapped her. Tightness clutched at the back of her throat, but even so, the sudden tears welling into her eyes caught her by surprise. She gasped a little, trying to stifle them, and Huntley’s grip on her arms tightened.

  “Nell, what is it?”

  His quick sympathy steadied her, but it also reminded her of his weakness for feminine tears. Since it seemed only too likely that he had been gearing up to bellow at her some more, it occurred to her that that weakness might well be turned to good account. Consequently, she squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears spill over onto her cheeks. Then she looked up at him reproachfully.

  “I n-never meant to m-make you so angry,” she stammered.

  But instead of reassuring her as she had every right to expect him to do, Huntley looked searchingly at her for a long moment, then gave her another shake, forcefully enough this time to bring her teeth snapping together. “Don’t you dare to cry, my girl,” he ordered sternly, “for it won’t do you the slightest good. You are no languishing miss, and if you think for one moment that I mean to encourage you to cultivate vinaigrettes and lace handkerchieves, then you’d best think again. I won’t have it, Nell. Control yourself at once!”

  Her eyes widened, the tears ceasing as if by magic. “Well, I like that!” she said. “I suppose I have as great a right as anyone else to cry when people say hurtful things to me.”

  Sudden amusement lit his eyes. “I said nothing you did not deserve to hear, and since weepy females instill nothing less in me than a desire to box their ears, I should not advise you to attempt such tactics.”

  “I suppose that is why you positively quail at the sight of Mama’s vinaigrette,” Nell accused. “And why your mama and sister can twist you ’round their thumbs with similar tactics.”

  “Since it would be highly improper of me to box either your mama’s or my mama’s ears, the situation is very different. As for my sister, if you think she weeps, you much mistake the matter. She shrieks. Incessantly. And if she lived with me, I should not stand such uncivil behavior for very long before putting an end to it. So, consider yourself forewarned.”

  “Forewarned, my lord?” She stared at him, almost afraid to think what he might mean by such words. Her heart seemed to have jumped into her throat again, but she did not think for one moment that fear had put it there. Unless it was fear that he didn’t mean what she couldn’t help hoping he meant.

  “I had thought that if we could contrive to straighten out this mess, you might consent to return with me to Huntley Green as my wife.”

  “As your wife?”

  “Of course, little goose, unless you’ve a preference for some other position.”

  She stared up at him, searching his face for some small indication that he might not mean what he was saying. There was nothing in his expression but that which made her heart beat faster. She decided to put him to the test. “I was persuaded you would be too angry with me to … to consider such a course. Are you certain you want me for your wife?”

  “Only if you will solemnly promise never to subject me to such an affecting display of sensibility again,” he said, withdrawing his handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket and dabbing gently at her damp cheeks.

  “It was not the first time,” she reminded him.

  “No, my dear, but I have never before seen that calculating look beneath your tears. Your face, you know, is a tolerable reflection of your thoughts, and I am not so easily manipulated, regardless of what you may previously have believed.”

  “No, sir,” she replied meekly.

  “Much better. However, you have not answered my question.”

  “Oh, Philip,” she said softly, “I love you so dearly, and I should like to marry you above all things, but are you certain you are not offering for me out of pity, fearing that I shall otherwise be left upon the shelf as a prop to my aging mama?”

  “Nell, you are a goose,” he said, kissing her lightly. “I’d never do anything so absurd. I love you.” Despite the touch of amusement in his voice, she detected a tightness that she had heard only once before, and looking up at him, she could see the truth of the simple statement reflected in the heat of his gaze. A glow seemed to spread to her very toes, and she could not take her eyes from his. Returning her mesmerized look with a somewhat searching one of his own, Huntley began visibly to relax. He bent to kiss her again, and this time Nell’s response made further conversation impossible for some moments. At last he said, “I fell in love with you eight years ago.”

  “Nonsense.” But she softened the effect of the word by caressing his cheek. “You never gave anyone the slightest of hints.”

  “My suit would never have prospered,” he said. “It would have been cruel to lead you to believe I felt more than friendship toward you, so long as your family was what it was. Only consider the problems we have had to overcome with Crossways and your sister, merely because Talcott is a younger son. And he has money and property of his own, which I did not have. I was completely dependent upon my father and then, after his death, upon my brother. I was not exaggerating when I said my sole reason for joining the military when I did was to avoid the humiliation of hanging upon his sleeve. It was bad enough to be made dependent upon Papa, but dependence upon my brother was intolerable to me. When I met you in London, I wanted nothing more than to ask permission to fix my interest with you. But I had no way to support you. The best I might have hoped for was an adequate allowance from my family. But your grandfather was a marquess, my dear. Your family would never have considered my suit while I was a mere penniless younger son. They’d have written me off as a fortune hunter. And two years ago, when I came into the property, it never occurred to me that you would not have been married long since, with a brood of children at your knee.”

  “I thought much the same about you,” she confessed, smiling up at him, wanting to banish the look of pain that had touched his eyes again as he spoke. “Oh, Philip, how fate does play with us!”

  “No more, my love.” His look softened, and he held her close. His hands began to move gently over her body. “We are together at last,” he
murmured gruffly against her curls. “Your wretched niece will be well provided for, I think, so we can attend to our own affairs without a qualm.”

  Nell sighed with pleasure at the thought, then suddenly wrinkled her brow. “I do worry about Mama,” she said. “She depends a good deal upon me, you know. Do you think perhaps she ought to live with us?”

  He made a small choking sound. “I don’t think that will be necessary, love. Lady Agnes will be in good hands.”

  “I wish I could be certain of that, but Kit, you know, has not the habit of looking after her.”

  “You cannot say the same of Sir Henry.” He looked down at her quizzically.

  “Well, of course not,” she retorted, “but he is merely her man of affairs, scarcely as close to her as a daughter.”

  “As a husband, however, he will be a deal closer,” Huntley murmured, letting his hands play teasingly across her breasts.

  But she pulled away from him in astonishment. “Philip, you must be joking! Sir Henry?”

  “Indeed. Not only did I procure one special license at Crossways’ request, but a second at Sir Henry’s. I am a most obliging fellow.”

  “Well, for heaven’s sake!” She eyed him innocently. “Two licenses, my lord?”

  “Three licenses. And at vast expense, I’ll have you know.”

  “Ah,” she said wisely, watching him from under her lashes, “and to think I once thought you a cautious man.”

  He chuckled, drawing a finger lightly beneath her chin. “But I am cautious, my love. However, I am also sure.”

  “Are you, my lord?” He nodded, drawing her into his arms again. “Well, I am also sure, but I am not very cautious,” Nell murmured into his waistcoat. “Are you truly persuaded that you wish to be saddled with an impulsive bride?”

  “You may be as impulsive as you like, little one,” he said, amused. “I shall endeavor to do what I can to rescue you whenever you fall into the briars.”