Emily matched Theo’s smile and then leaned in for a hug. “Thank you for being a true friend.”
When they parted, Theo sat back and looked carefully at Emily. “Considering how distraught you were, I am assuming you have yet to inform your husband of this morning’s events.”
Emily started worrying the cloth between her fingers and couldn’t bring herself to look Theo in the eye. “He tried to convince me to tell him what was wrong, but I was afraid of what he might do if I told him.”
Theo gasped. “Emily! You cannot mean you thought Cooper would take retribution on you?”
Looking up, shocked by her friend’s suggestion, Emily shook her head. “No! I merely meant that I worried he might do bodily harm to Lord Wilton and end up in no little amount of trouble. One simply can’t go about hitting other peers of the realm, and there is little doubt in my mind that Cooper would do just that.”
Theo sighed. “Yes, I do see your point. It is a very Cooper-like thing to do. Honestly, any one of those Lustful Lords would behave the same under those circumstances.” She hesitated. “However, I do believe you need to tell your husband what has occurred.”
Emily chewed her lower lip, still unsure. “I-I don’t know.”
Theo took hold of her hands and squeezed them gently. “He needs to know. If he found out from some other source, or worse, some other version of the story, he would be furious. Furious, and very hurt that you did not trust him enough to tell him.”
Emily’s doubt faded as she thought about their growing trust. It was like a delicate bud, waiting, hoping to burst free and flower into something beautiful. If she went to him, trusted him to act in their—not merely her—best interests, that bud could find its full potential.
She wanted to experience that beauty. She’d tasted moments of it when she let Cooper have his way with her body. When she trusted her pleasure to his care—be it tender or rough. The warmth that suffused her body and seeped into her soul was fast becoming a craving—no, a basic need—for her well-being.
And with that, she was decided. “You’re right. I need to tell him. When I do, could you and Stonemere be nearby? I still fear that he may give in to his temper and do something regrettable. I know he trusts and respects your husband, and would listen to him in the heat of the moment.”
Theo gave her hands another squeeze. “Of course. Let us go find our husbands and deal with this directly. You will feel better once this is done.”
Emily stood and nodded. Theo was right. Even making the decision to tell him had settled the turmoil in her stomach.
Cooper stood talking with Stone and Linc by the fire. Wolf and Flint had gone out shooting, claiming they felt cooped up in the house.
Linc suddenly excused himself, and Cooper and Stone turned to see him head into the hall. A moment later, a soft, feminine giggle sounded from the same direction Linc had gone.
Stone shook his head and turned back to Cooper. “And how are things with your wife? Have you made progress?”
Doubt swelled where only hours before had been a small flame of hope. The carriage ride to the house party had made him sure he and Emily would sort things out. That she was coming to trust him. But then he’d seen her scurrying from the library, followed by that overdecorated lothario, and the man had had the nerve to make that comment about his wife…a comment that reeked of sexual overtones. Not to mention her refusal to speak with him when he saw her in their chamber. She had seemed unwell, and the mystery combined with her obvious distress had him on edge.
“I thought things were going well. She was responding so well when we were alone. I had even begun to think I was truly earning her trust, but then this morning after our ride, I saw her leave the library followed by Wilton, who had the gall to straighten his clothing and insinuate something untoward had occurred. My wife has far too much integrity for me to believe what that man attempted to imply, but for a moment there, I wavered. I wanted to storm after her and demand an explanation. Now I merely feel as though I am standing on a precipice, waiting for something to push me over the edge. And the hell of it is I am not sure of what waits for me on the other side. Is it the happiness of a warm marital bed? Or the dark misery of loneliness?”
Stone grunted. “Welcome to the fold, my friend. Being in love can be a scary thing until you are assured of its return.”
“There you two are.” Theo walked in with Emily trailing just behind her.
His wife still looked as though she might be ill, and Theo seemed to have an overly bright smile on her face, as though she were trying to distract them from Emily’s wan countenance. The worry he’d been fighting to keep in check surged free of his restraints. He crossed to her and took hold of her shoulders. “Emily, are you still feeling unwell?”
“I am, but I hope I shall improve soon.” She offered him a small smile.
Stone and Theo moved closer to them. “Excuse us. My wife wishes to take a walk in the gardens.”
Cooper nodded to them as they moved into the hall. Then Theo stopped and slid the double panel doors closed. He turned to look at his wife, one eyebrow creeping high. Clearly, his wife wished to speak to him in private, and Theo was aiding her in that endeavor. Had she spoken to Theo about what was upsetting her? The idea both soothed and irritated him. He wanted to be her confidant, and yet he trusted Theo to give his wife good counsel when it came to marriage and womanly things. Stone’s wife was headstrong, but loyal and honest to a fault.
“Cooper, I need to tell you something…upsetting.” She hesitated as though gauging his reaction. “Perhaps we should sit?”
He considered her suggestion, but somehow, he felt certain that whatever she was going to tell him would negate sitting almost immediately. “Why don’t you simply tell me what it is you need to share. I doubt sitting will make the news better or worse.”
She placed her palms against his chest and met his gaze with her own. “This morning, there was an incident.”
He couldn’t control the reflexive tensing of his muscles. His whole body went rigid as he waited for what she was going to say. “An incident?”
“Yes. I was in the library when Lord Wilton slipped in behind me and locked the door. He accosted me…attempted to take liberties.” Her voice trailed off as her hands slid from his chest and she spun around, giving him her back.
Fury pounded through his frame, making his flesh and bones vibrate with the need to kill the man who had the nerve to lay hands on his wife. “He dared touch you?”
Emily hunched over herself, and a light tremor seemed to shimmy through her. His own hands still shaking, he turned her back around and hauled her into his arms. “Did he…”
He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Past the fear of what she may have suffered. And he had simply stood there and watched the bastard stroll away. “Did he…hurt you?”
She slipped her arms around him and burrowed closer to him, as though seeking comfort. “No. I managed to injure him enough to affect my release, and then I left the study as quickly as I could manage. Other than that night at the Landstones’ ball, I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.” She pressed her face against his chest.
“Why did you not say something sooner?” He palmed the back of her head with one hand as he stroked along her spine with the other.
She sniffled softly. “I was worried you would do something drastic. Something that might cause more trouble for you than it would right what happened.”
He leaned back and tipped her face up to meet his. “Thank you for telling me. For trusting me with this.”
“But I didn’t—” She bit her lip and tried to look away.
He refused to let her avoid him.
“But I didn’t trust you. Didn’t tell you when you came into our room.” A tear slipped down her cheek, leaving a wet trail.
“And I could see you were upset, yet I did nothing. I didn’t press you. I simply walked away.” He felt ashamed that he’d left her alone to grapple with something so awful. “But you
came to me and have told me now. That is what is important.”
Confusion creased her brow. “It is?”
“Of course.” He smiled softly at her, his heart bursting with love. “Trust is not blind, and it can take time to develop. You may have hesitated, but in the end, you did trust me.” He ached to kiss her. To show her how much this meant to him. But first, he needed to address the matter of his wife’s honor with the cad who had thought he had some claim upon her person. “Now, I need to go speak with Lord Wilton about this matter.”
“But Cooper, you cannot assault him. What if he presses charges?” She clutched at his coat, fear making her hazel eyes huge.
“I merely said I would speak with the man. I shall not lay hands upon him…without provocation.” He tried to reassure her with a smile, but it felt more like a grimace.
“Please, Cooper. No more spectacles. I only wish to leave, and if we never attend another house party or ball, it will be too soon.” She sniffled again, but her eyes were bright with determination.
“Go upstairs and see to the packing. We shall return home at once.” He rubbed her back but then stepped away.
He opened the drawing room doors and found Stone and Theo sitting on a bench nearby. He hesitated and then looked at Theo. “Garden too chilly?”
Stone stood. “Don’t do anything rash.”
Cooper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I merely intend to have a word with him.”
“Very good.” Stone slapped him on the back. “Then you won’t mind a witness.”
Cooper bared his teeth briefly. “If it’s you, certainly not.”
The two men went in search of Lord Wilton.
Chapter 29
Cooper and Stone found Lord Wilton in the stables, fresh off a ride. Typical of the entitled, he handed his sweating and heaving mount off to a groom and didn’t think twice about the poor beast’s condition. His obvious rough handling of such prime horseflesh only added to Cooper’s desire to kill the man. But his little hellion was right. If he wasn’t careful, he would land himself in more trouble than Wilton was worth.
“A word, Lord Wilton.” Cooper stopped the man by blocking his exit.
Even when engaging in outdoor sports, the man was overly adorned. He wore tan riding breeches, tasseled Hessians, and a red velvet riding jacket that sported gold braid trim in a military style that was all affectation. “Perhaps later, Lord Brougham. I am due to clean up, and then I am scheduled to meet with a certain pretty lady in the greenhouse.”
“I think not, my lord.” Cooper all but snarled. “There is the little matter of your morning interlude with my wife to discuss.”
Wilton’s eyebrows rose. “My lord, I assure you anything that occurred was of mutual design.”
Cooper clenched his fists at his sides and resisted the desire to punch the man. “In a different time and place, I would call you out for such an aspersion to my wife’s honor. Be that as it may, I am given to understand your advances were unwelcome. My wife, I was told, made her disinterest quite clear. I warned you earlier that if I discovered you had done anything to upset my wife, I would not hesitate to find you. She is most decidedly upset.”
Wilton placed a hand to his chest. “Why, that sounds remarkably like a threat, my lord.”
Stone took a step closer to Cooper, who merely grunted before returning his focus to his prey. “Not a threat, my lord. A reminder of an earlier promise.”
He shifted out of Lord Wilton’s path as the man tried to barrel past him. Respect for Lord Heathington made him hesitate.
Wilton muttered as he started past, but then he stopped and turned to look at Cooper. “You know, women are fickle creatures. It’s really not your fault if they choose to share their charms with others. And I must say, your wife is rather charming.”
Cooper lunged forward with no warning and punched the taunting fop square in the face. The satisfying crunch of bone and cartilage filled the stable as the nearby horses grew restless. “You bloody bastard!”
Lord Wilton landed on his arse and rolled to his side, clutching his face. “Hell and damnation, you hit me,” he said, somehow surprised that Cooper had followed through on his promise. The words came out muffled and nasally as blood dribbled from between his fingers and onto the hay-strewn floor.
“You’re bloody lucky that is all I’ve done.” With Stone’s urging, Cooper stalked past the bleeding cad and back toward the main house.
Inside, he and Stone went in search of Lord Heathington. It was time to take their leave.
Emily snuggled closer to Cooper as the carriage rumbled along the lane. The heat of his solid body seeped into her clothes and down to her bones. She’d noticed his right hand was swollen and the knuckles mottled as though he’d hit something—or, more aptly, someone. “Thank you for taking me away from there. I did not wish to run into that man again.”
“He will not bother you again, I am quite certain,” Cooper said, and pressed her closer to him with his left arm.
Her stomach dipped a little, but she wanted to tell him what had happened. Wanted to share her story with him. “Lord Wilton paid particular attention to me my first season.”
Cooper stilled next to her, his body strung as tight as the reins of a runaway team of horses.
“For a brief period, I felt like the belle of the ball. It was all so new, and Arthur and I were just out of mourning for our parents.” She took a breath and continued. “I was ignorant of Society’s ways and had no notion that something might not be on the level.”
“Society can be petty and mean to those who do not know its ways,” he agreed.
“Yes, I discovered that.” She sighed but pressed on with her tale. “It had been weeks of him dancing with me and fetching me punch, and then he convinced me to go for a garden stroll during the Stantons’ annual ball. I was nervous, but felt sure he was seeking a private word with me to ask for my hand. I fancied myself in love with him. But then all that happened, as you might expect, is that he pawed at me and tried to steal a kiss. I was so naïve. I rebuffed him but did not believe that would deter his suit.”
Her husband turned his head and pressed a sweet kiss to her temple. “I wonder what the sweet, tenderhearted Emily was like?”
She swatted his chest. “Do be serious. And I am still sweet and tenderhearted, I’ll have you know.”
He tipped her face up to meet his. “I know you are, my sweet hellion,” he said, and then he gently kissed her.
After a few precious moments, he pulled back. With a thoughtful look on his face, he reached up with his injured hand and caressed her cheek.
Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she let the love she had been fighting to suppress to bubble up. “At the next ball, another girl pulled me aside and tried to warn me. She told me of her mistreatment at his hands, but I was too arrogant to listen.”
He leaned in again and kissed her once on each cheek. “Too stubborn and starry-eyed, perhaps, but never arrogant.”
Mayhap her husband was right. Was she being too hard on herself? But she continued her tale. “Shortly after, on a night I expected once more for him to declare himself—if not in words, then perhaps with multiple dances—I was utterly crushed. He walked right past me without even a tip of his head in acknowledgment, and approached an American heiress who was visiting. It might as well have been the cut direct. Very few men danced with me after that.”
“A ballroom full of fools.” He tut-tutted.
“Emotionally distraught, I retreated to the ladies’ retiring room and hid behind one of the changing screens. I happened to overhear a group of other debutantes gossiping about Lord Wilton and the apparent bet in White’s betting book concerning his ability to relieve me of my virtue. They also made a point to make some disparaging remarks on my clothing and general appearance. It was the night I learned that I could trust no one in Society.”
“And then I come along and ruin you at the Landstones’ ball.” He grunted and muttered a curse
. “How you were able to forgive me, I’ll never understand.”
She bit her lip and admitted both to him and herself the truth she’d always known. “That night was not your fault, and had you not ruined me, I most certainly would have been hauled off and questioned, which would have ruined me anyway. You merely gave me the protection of your name and a safe place to land in the midst of the chaos I had created. While I likely would have survived a questioning and ruination, undoubtedly I would not be as content sitting alone in a house with my brother as I am with you.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely as the carriage continued to roll along. They kissed and reveled in their freshly renewed closeness, neither making a move to escalate the intimacy, nor to part.
Emily would have happily ridden in the carriage forever, cuddled with her husband, but it seemed he had other plans.
Chapter 30
It was late when they arrived home. Emily yawned, having just woken up from a nap. It had proven hard to fight the pull of sleep as the carriage gently swayed and her husband’s warmth seeped into her clothing.
Cooper exited the vehicle and then turned to her and offered his hand. She lifted her skirts, perhaps more than was truly required, to alight from the carriage. Her two feet had barely hit the ground when he bent over and tucked his shoulder into her stomach. The next thing she knew, she was tossed over said shoulder and being hauled into the house like a sack of grain.
“Cooper! What are you doing? Put me down this instant.” She pounded a fist lightly on his back.
“To the victor go the spoils. I am the victor, and you, my little hellion, are the spoils!” he announced gleefully as he took the stairs to his bedroom two at a time.
“Robert Cooper, you put me down before I break my neck,” she said again, but ruined her demand with wild laughter.
He ignored her feeble demands and carried her past the housekeeper and at least two upstairs maids before he replaced her on her feet inside his bedroom. She smoothed her skirts out and attempted to readjust her corset, which had not appreciated his theatrics. An awkward moment of hesitation stretched as she tried to decide what she should do.
Taming His Hellion Countess Page 20