Her Perfect Gentleman: A Regency Romance Anthology
Page 34
“As am I.” She searched his face. Was it longing she saw there? “I haven’t had so many companions since I left Oxford.” Something else that could probably be laid at the Duke of Somerset’s door. “Leaving your family behind permanently could not have been easy for you. I am happy Meg and Hawksworth have introduced you to their friends.”
The warmth she felt for him grew hotter. “And you as well. You have made me feel very welcome.”
“That was easy,” he said in a voice only for her. “Not only are you a beautiful lady, you are a delight to dance and speak with.”
It had been a long time since a gentleman had told her she was beautiful. The last man was Aaron. “Thank you. May I say you look vastly handsome.”
Lord Quartus smiled down at her as if she was the only person in the room. The only woman who mattered to him. “And thank you.”
“Grandmamma and Duchess!” Meg exclaimed, as Anna and Quartus were nearing the dining room.
“I think”—Quartus placed his fingers over her hand—“we are about to be entertained.”
After everything Aunt Tatiana had said about duchesses being regal and staid, Anna was at a loss as to how a duchess could be entertaining. “I do not understand.”
“You are about to meet the Dowager Lady Featherton, Meg’s grandmother, and the Duchess of Bridgewater, Lady Featherton’s bosom friend.” He’d placed his lips close to Anna’s ear, causing a pleasurable tingle on her neck. “They were instrumental in Meg and Damon being able to wed.”
That would be an interesting tale. “How so?”
“It is not really my story to tell. Suffice it to say that they foiled my father’s plot.”
A very interesting tale. Perhaps Meg would tell her. “I look forward to meeting them.”
He guided Anna to two chairs near his brother and sister-in-law, yet before she was able to take her seat, a lady who was sixty if she was a day, pointed at her. “You must be the new Duchess of Wharton. You are the image of your mother.”
“That she is, Your Grace.” Father held out a chair for Aunt. “The years have treated you well.”
“John Calder.” The Duchess of Bridgewater held out a be-ringed hand. “I never thought to see you again.”
Going to the older woman, he bowed. “You wouldn’t have if things had turned out differently. I’m very happy in Tortola. As soon as I have Anna settled, I’ll return.”
“I had no idea that my parents moved in such exalted circles,” she said in a low voice.
Quartus led her to two chairs near the head of the table. “I have a feeling that if we simply listen, we’ll learn a great deal.”
“There is nothing those two old ladies don’t know about the ton,” Damon said from her other side.
“Anna, my dear.” Her father’s voice brought her attention back to the older ladies. “May I introduce her grace the Duchess of Bridgewater, and the Dowager Vicountess Featherton? Your Grace, Lady Featherton, my daughter Anna, as you correctly surmised, Duchess of Wharton.”
“I look forward to getting to know you,” the duchess said. “If you ever need help with anything, feel free to call on me.”
The elder Lady Featherton’s eyes warmed. “I do as well, my dear.” She glanced at Papa and chuckled. “We’ll tell you all the secrets you’ll need to know.”
Anna’s aunt closed her eyes as if she was in pain, and her father groaned, she couldn’t hold back a giggle. “I shall look forward to it, my lady.”
If only she had met all these new gentlemen before she had accepted Lord Markville’s request for a set this evening. However, when he had arrived during visiting hours the other day, she had not been certain her card would be full by this evening. Anna sighed to herself. She still could not like the man. He appeared cold, and preoccupied, as if nothing was going the way he wished it would. Even his blue eyes reminded her of the ice pond she had seen at Wharton. Nothing at all like the warm light blue of Quartus’s eyes. Still, there was no real harm in him. She did wonder if he was as stiff on the dance floor as he had been in her drawing room. Then again, she was only standing up with the man. It was not as if she was inundated with gentleman clamoring to dance with her. There must be something about being a duchess that was off putting. She would enjoy herself this evening, and look forward to her outing with Lord Quartus tomorrow. If her feelings for him continued to grow, her hunt for a husband might be short indeed.
It Takes a Hero: Chapter Four
A firm knock on the door of Lady Sarah Martin’s parlor, heralded her brother’s imminent entrance, she tucked the letter she had received from her betrothed between the cushions of the small sofa.
“Sarah.”
Rising quickly, she turned to face Markville, who was several years her senior. “Good morning. What brings you here, and why are you unable to wait until I give you leave to come in?”
Oh dear. Now he was scowling.
“It is my house, and what would you be doing that requires privacy?” He glanced around the room as if she had a lover hidden somewhere.
“Never mind.” If he was not going to make the effort to be polite, she saw no reason to placate him. He had not even explained his reasoning for uprooting her from the country and bringing her to Town. Which was the last place she wished to be. Instead of being allowed to ramble where she wished, and swim in the stream, and breathe clean air, she was forced to be escorted everywhere or remain in the house. “What is it you want?”
“You will have a visitor at ten this morning.”
She gave her head a little shake. “No one knows I’m in Town. How could I possibly have a visitor?”
“I have received an offer of marriage from the Duke of Somerset to his son, Lord Quartus. He is coming to meet you.”
Biting down hard on the inside of her lip, Sarah resisted the urge to throw something large and hard at her brother’s head. She could not, however, hide her exasperation. “Has it escaped your memory that I am already betrothed and have been for almost four years?”
“Not at all.” Markville gave her his I-am-in-charge-of-you-now-look. “You, though, appear to have forgotten that unless your erstwhile fiancé marries you on or before your twenty-first birthday, you agreed to marry where your family chooses. I am that family, and I have decided you will wed Lord Quartus.”
Plopping back down on the sofa, she crossed her arms over her chest. “You are being medieval.”
“No. I am doing exactly as I promised our father I would do.” Flipping his pocket watch open, her brother strolled back to the door. “And if you want your inheritance, you must wed within one month of attaining your majority.” Ah, yes. The inheritance her father and now her brother said she would have, but gave her no other information. Hence, she had no idea what this wonderful inheritance entailed. “I might have taken a different tack if you had come to Town over the years for the Season, or tried to find another husband. You have not. Not to mention that Jeremy Bellingham has not contacted me at all. Aside from that, I plan to wed in the very near future, and I do not desire my wife to have to chaperone you. I met Lord Quartus last evening. He is a very good match for a lady who has made herself a recluse.”
“Does he wish to wed me?” She could not believe that in these modern times a gentleman would consent to marry a woman sight unseen, and at his father’s behest. Even if the father was a duke.
“He will do as he is told.” In that case, this Lord Quartus did not sound like a gentleman she wished to marry. A spineless man was not for her.
Markville lifted the door latch. She had meant to be silent. Instead she blurted out. “Jeremy and I love each other. He will be back in time.”
“Oh?” Her brother said in a voice that made a cold shiver run down her back. “And have you heard from him recently?”
Ignoring the missive hidden in the sofa, she lied, “No, but I know he will come.”
“It may be better for him if he does not. You, of all people know I did not favor this arrangement.”
The door closed behind him, and Sarah placed her hand on her chest, trying to still the beating. All these years she had never given it much thought, but now she was glad that when her father had died she told Jeremy to write to her in care of her old nurse. Taking the letter out, she reviewed the short note.
My darling Sarah,
I have arrived back in England. I must remain in Plymouth for the next week or so sorting out business, but I will be with you before your birthday. Special license in hand. Write to me at the Ship as soon as you receive this letter.
All my love forever,
Yr servant,
Jeremy
Somehow she must send a letter to him warning him not to approach her brother and informing him that she was no longer on her family’s estate in the country. But who could she trust? Not poor Mrs. Potter, her companion. Sarah would have to find someone else to help her escape Markville and marry Jeremy.
She glanced at the gilded mantel clock. There was not much time. She had just over an hour to figure out how to let Lord Quartus down before he arrived.
Quartus presented himself at number twelve St. James Square a few minutes before ten. It was not until he had talked with Meg this morning that he knew it was the residence of Lord Markville. That then, begged the question why the man had not discussed the proposed marriage between Lady Sarah and Quartus last evening when they had been introduced.
The door swung open immediately, and he was faced with a butler every bit as imposing as his father’s. “Lord Quartus I presume.”
He inclined his head the slightest bit. “Indeed.”
The butler bowed. “If you will follow me my lord, Lord Markville is waiting for you.”
The servant led Quartus into a front drawing room where Markville stood, hands clasped behind his back, staring out the window overlooking the square.
“Lord Quartus Trevor, my lord.” Bowing, the butler withdrew, closing the door behind him.
The man turned, and looked at him, but he could tell nothing from Markville’s expression. “Lord Quartus, welcome. Lady Sarah will be down shortly. However, there is a matter I would like to discuss first.”
Was it possible that the marquis did not want his sister to marry him? Quartus raised one brow. “That would be?”
“I have noticed that you are spending a good deal of time with the Duchess of Wharton.”
Now he knew what was bothering Markville. He must think that Quartus would hurt Lady Sarah. “She is a friend of my sister-in-law’s. Naturally, I am frequently in her company.”
“It is good that there is nothing more. I intend to marry the duchess.”
He wondered if Anna knew about Markville’s plans, but before he could respond a lady who looked to be in her late sixties, fluttered into the room, positioning and repositioning the several shawls she wore. “Don’t mind me, my lord.”
Markville looked as if he wanted to roll his eyes. “Mrs. Potter, may I introduce Lord Quartus. My lord, my cousin, Mrs. Potter. She is Lady Sarah’s companion.”
“Lady Sarah will be here straightaway, my lord.” The woman gave Markville a look that reminded Quartus of a wary horse before settling into a chair in the far corner of the room that seemed to have been positioned there just for her.
A moment later, a tall, slender lady with dark brown hair joined them casting a glare at her brother as she walked by him.
“Sarah,” Markville said in a bored tone. “I’m glad you could finally join us. May I introduce Lord Quartus Trevor?”
She held out her hand and he bowed over it, barely touching her fingers with his. Yet he felt none of the warmth or pleasure that he felt when he touched the Duchess of Wharton’s hands. Perhaps it would come. He hoped it would. If not, this would be a very cold and unsatisfying union.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord.”
“I will leave you now.” Markville lost no time striding out of the room.
“Well,” Lady Sarah huffed. “It appears I must apologize for my brother.”
His behavior was odd. One would think Markville would wish to become acquainted with his sister’s prospective husband. But Quartus was not about to point out to the lady what she already knew. Calling on his years of being a rector, he set about smoothing her obviously ruffled feathers. “Think nothing of it. I have several brothers and can attest to their forgetting the most important things at the most inappropriate times.”
She smiled briefly, then glanced to her cousin in the corner. “It is a lovely day. Would you like to walk in the square?”
“That sounds wonderful.” He resisted the urge to look at his pocket watch. “But I am afraid I cannot—I apologize. This is very awkward. I had already made an appointment for eleven this morning when I was told to be here at ten.”
“A short stroll, then.” She ducked her head into the hall. “Please bring my spencer, gloves, and bonnet.”
Something was going on, for in no time at all, she practically dragged him out the door and into the square. Once they were far enough away from her brother’s house and from any others who could hear their conversation she came to a halt. “My lord, I am terribly sorry to have wasted your time, but I cannot marry you.”
Unless she had taken him into immediate dislike, which did not seem to be the case, something else was indeed going on. “May I ask the reason?”
She studied him for a few moments. “Can you keep a confidence?”
Quartus would have grinned if she had not appeared so worried. “I am a clergyman, Lady Sarah. Keeping secrets is my . . . stock-in-trade, as it were. Your secret is safe with me.”
“I did not know.” Nodding, she took a breath. “But thank you for telling me. This is very awkward for you see I am already betrothed and have been for four years. But, my brother has never liked the match.” In very short order, she explained how her engagement had come about and the terms of it. “I recently received a letter from my betrothed—”
“However, you are concerned that your brother may attempt to interfere.”
“Precisely. Particularly after what he said this morning. I am even afraid that he will do something to harm . . . my betrothed.”
After hearing the warmth in her voice when she spoke of her as yet unnamed intended, Quartus felt as if he had made an escape. Not from anything in particular, but an escape nonetheless. Perhaps he was not as resolved to a match made by his father as he thought he was. One thing was for certain. He would do everything in his power to help this lady and her lover. “Tell me what I can do to aid you.”
“Well”—her brows drew together for an instant—“I must get a letter to my betrothed as soon as possible. He does not know I am in Town.”
That was easily taken care of. “Consider it done. I shall take you driving tomorrow morning. Bring the missive with you.”
For the first time a smile graced her face. She was very pretty, but nothing in her features affected him the way Anna Wharton did. “What a good idea. That will make my brother think that you are courting me as well.”
It would make the duke think the same thing, which could only be of benefit to Quartus. “That will most likely help.”
They continued to stroll, but this time he did look at his watch. “I only have a few minutes left. Shall I see you home?”
“If you please, and when we return, you may kiss my hand.” She had a wicked twinkle in her eyes. “Markville is sure to hear of it.”
It was clear she did not trust her brother. Yet was there more than his dislike of the match that made her feel threatened? “What do you think your brother would do if he discovered your betrothed was already back in England?”
“I am not sure.” She shook her head. “It is more of a feeling really. As I said, he does not wish me to marry Jeremy, and I believe he will do anything to stop the wedding. I must find a way to either meet Jeremy here or go elsewhere.”
Quartus had heard too many people, particularly women, talk about the ‘feelings’ they got w
hich turned out to be facts to question her conclusions. “By the way, when is your birthday?”
“In three weeks. It is imperative that we work fast.”
“Let me give it some thought.” At this point, he did not have a clue what he would do. Still . . . “Do you mind if I take my sister-in-law into our confidence? She is very good at thinking of solutions.”
Lady Sarah bit her bottom lip. “Are you sure she can be trusted?”
He gave a bark of laughter. “Absolutely. She is convinced everyone should have a love match.”
“Very well.” She glanced at him and a shy smile on her face. “Thank you. Even though you are a rector, I took a chance in trusting you. I find it hard to believe our vicar at home would have kept this to himself.”
She was likely correct. Many vicars did not wish to anger the peers who held their livings. Quartus had always held the belief that a member of the clergy should answer only to God, his conscience, and, perhaps, his bishop. “And I thank you for it.”
Quartus escorted Lady Sarah to her door, and dutifully kissed her fingers in full sight of the butler. “I shall see you in the morning, my lady.”
“Until then, my lord.”
He waited until she was in the house before retrieving Damon’s curricle from the groom walking the horses. As soon as he was finished taking the duchess to the museum, he would speak with Meg about Lady Sarah.
He arrived in Grosvenor’s Square as the church bells struck eleven o’clock. Thanking the Fates that he’d made it in time to take Anna to the museum.
Before he could knock on the door it opened. Anna stood in the hall drawing on a pair of tan leather gloves. She glanced up at him and her smile made him wish she would always look at him as if she would never require another gentleman.
“Good morning.” He bowed as she strolled to him, and he could not resist giving her an answering grin.
“Good day to you.” She placed her hand on his arm, and he had to fight the urge to kiss her and keep on kissing her.