“Fond? Are you serious? Algernon, even you must be able to see how that wouldn’t be enough for me. I don’t want any man to be merely fond of me. And that was no outburst. That was merely the truth, so please don’t accuse me of being dramatic.”
Algernon held her back as a carriage clattered into the yard, sending a spray of water into the air. When the cascade ceased, he led her forwards again.
“He has not had any other woman on his arm publicly, and I know that he saw his mistress this morning to settle matters between them.”
Sophia stumbled.
“His mistress!”
Her shocked tone had Algernon biting his lip as he caught her arm and stopped her from falling into the dirt.
“Damn my mouth! I’m sorry to cause you sorrow, but I thought you knew about the lovely, but frivolous Angelique. It’s not as though he has kept her a secret.” He steadied her as they carried on over the cobbles.
Sophia refused to let her voice tremble. She shrugged her slender shoulders.
“I should not be surprised by this news. All men have mistresses.”
Algernon snorted.
“I didn’t have one, and I never will.”
Sophia let out her own huff.
“Only because you couldn’t afford one at the time, and now you wouldn’t because you are madly in love with your wife.”
Her brother shook his head quickly.
“I am, but that’s not the reason I didn’t take a mistress when most of my friends did, though I admit that financial constraints would have made it difficult. You are right about my feelings towards Felicity. I would never dishonour her trust and our love for one another by taking another woman.” He stopped speaking for a moment, wondering if he should tell her any more. She looked up at him enquiringly and he decided that the truth couldn’t hurt. She was a grown woman after all. “I had the odd liaison when I was younger, most men do, but I was never interested in having a mistress.”
“You weren’t? Isn’t that a little unusual?” She asked even while her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Algernon shook his head,
“Perhaps, but I have a tale to tell. You recall that weekend when Felicity first kissed me? The weekend she became trapped in the trunk at Fallows. I was sent to school soon after. I was twelve and you would have been about eight.” He waited for her to remember their childhood games. “Well, that weekend was an eye opener in many ways for both myself and for Brendon. We both saw our father taking liberties with two of the Spencer households’ maids on the same day. Bren and I had reached that age where boys will be boys and, before I realized the main participant in the activities, I had thought the tryst a thrilling lark to watch. My opinion soon changed though. Our mother was in the same house telling her friends what a wonderful husband she had, and there he was with the parlour maid, going at it like some rutting animal, not two rooms away. I am not sure if mother ever guessed what he did, but it was awful enough for me to know that Bren had seen him with another of their staff and knew exactly the sort of man he was. I felt totally shamed by my own father.”
Sophia thought her cheeks might smoulder into flames. Her brother had never been so open with her about such matters and his words made her frown at their implication.
“So that was why he was so protective of Felicity and reacted as he did. He thought that you might be like our father!” She knew she was right as soon as the words left her lips. “How could he possibly think that of you?”
Algernon’s expression saddened as he nodded.
“Deep down he knew that I wasn’t like that and never could be, but he explained his feelings to me one day shortly before I married Felicity. ‘Like father, like son.’ The saying is often true. After that, all the times he had thumped me for some supposed indiscretion with his sister seemed to make some sort of sense. I could see it from his point of view, but Brendon had it all wrong. Our father’s infidelities sent me in completely the other direction, and while I won’t deny that before Felicity I had my share of women, I have never taken advantage of my position or even looked at another since marrying. I never wanted to have sordid affairs like that.”
Anger surged afresh in Sophia.
“But Brendon clearly did. Perhaps giving Angelique up is the reason for his less than agreeable temper this afternoon, though why I should care, I don’t know. It’s not as if he is being unfaithful to me.” Disappointment filled her though she knew it shouldn’t. It wasn’t as though he was engaging in a dalliance with one of his staff behind her back.
Algernon frowned down at her.
“You sound as though you care a little too much.”
She let out a brittle laugh.
“Of course I care that he is about to be lonely, but who knows. Perhaps some local widow would like to keep him company while he is at Fallows. There are sure to be a few about, and it’s not as if he has warts on his nose or hair growing from his ears.” She sniffed into the air. “And he can probably make himself companionable if he really wants to.”
Algernon could feel her sorrow even though she attempted to hide it.
“There’s always Lucas Caruthers. I know he considers you a beauty as well as excellent company.” He winced as she instantly scowled up at him.
“Now you are being ridiculous. Lucas might have been a good friend over the past months but that is all he is and will ever be.”
“He has money. Oodles of it apparently. You would want for nought.” Algernon tested her feelings even while knowing his words would not change her mind.
“I’d want for love.” She sighed deeply. “Yes, to have money would be wonderful, I am not so stupid as to disregard a person’s wealth, but I want what you and Felicity have. I want someone whose heart will split in two if I bump my head.” She smiled up at her brother.
He squeezed her arm against his side as they walked into the tavern.
“Then that is what you shall have. If it is in my power to make it possible, I will find you some kind of dowry and you shall marry only for love.”
If he thought his day had started badly Brendon needed to rethink what bad meant. Yes, it was awful that his father had been shot, but after seeing him well enough to make demands, there was clearly not much wrong that a few weeks rest wouldn’t put right. The remainder of his day hadn’t been nearly so easy to get through. Good grief! Had he really punched a prize fighter on his chin? Yes, he had and it was clear that he was lucky to get away with it. Lucas looked as though he could handle himself, but the man had been offensive in the extreme.
Brendon sighed and berated himself inwardly. No, the man hadn’t really done anything to offend, but it all basically came back to one thing. Or one person, if he was honest with himself. Sophia. Sophia! Her name filled his head and his heart as his eyes drank her in.
She sat opposite him, taking small mouthfuls of her dinner, her luscious ruby lips closing around her fork and moving in the most seductive manner. If he didn’t know better he would think she was trying to tempt him. She took a sip of her wine. A dark red droplet remained on her bottom lip and the tip of her tongue lapped it up. Brendon bit back a groan of desire. He wanted to lick that droplet from her lip himself. Damn the woman! How could she be so alluring, so devastatingly attractive, so perfect!
So bloody unattainable.
He recalled all the times that they had been in one another’s company. Too many times to mention and yet he had never noticed her back then. In fact, she had been so annoying in his youth that he had deliberately not noticed her at all, until he had been on the verge of going away to battle, and then he suddenly realized the power something so aggravatingly tantalizing could have over a man.
It seemed as though she had become ravishing overnight. He remembered how his mouth had fallen open with envy of his friend as he had escorted the dark haired temptress to meet him and Felicity. It was only as the two women embraced that he realized she was Algernon’s little sister. And if she was ravishing then, she was simply spectacular
now. And she had made the last year the worst of his life.
For Sophia didn’t want him.
He had heard her say it with his own two ears only the previous year. He had just woken from the stupor following Algernon’s savage punch when she had announced to the whole room that she would never marry him. Algernon’s fist had been a mere tap in comparison to the blow she had delivered with that tempting, but devastating tongue of hers.
Because he had been on the point of asking her. Had literally been about to fall upon his knee in front of her and the whole of his family and beg her to make him the happiest of men. Thank God he hadn’t. He didn’t think he could have borne the embarrassment of her public refusal.
And now she sat opposite him with huge, sad eyes and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. If he tried to converse with her, his big mouth would spill some drivel with which she would very likely berate him. If he remained silent, she thought him taciturn and miserable. If he simply sat there and shovelled the stew into his mouth, she would think him a pig. If he left the food on his plate, he would be fussy. God damn it! How did one go about wooing the woman one wanted so badly that it actually hurt? He didn’t have a clue.
It had been easy with Angelique. She was there for one purpose and one purpose only. Had it only been that morning that she accepted his last gift as she kissed him on his cheek?
‘You are a good man, Brendon Spencer. I will keep your secret, never fear. No word has ever or will ever pass my lips. Take the one you love into your confidence and you will find what you seek. I wish you well, my dear friend.’
And that had been it. A year’s relationship, if one could call it that, over. It hadn’t hurt, it didn’t pain him to leave the woman. If anything, being unencumbered lifted a weight he didn’t know he bore. He just wished Algernon hadn’t said anything to Sophia about it.
He ground his teeth together and glowered at his friend, still disbelieving the man’s confession while unpacking in their shared room.
“You did what?” Brendon had almost shouted in horror.
“It just slipped out. I didn’t think Angelique was a secret. She has been your mistress for almost a year. Word was bound to get about. With her seeing Lucas, I assumed that Sophia knew. I thought she would be pleased that you have given the woman up.” Algernon’s excuse seemed to make some sort of sense.
Brendon’s hands fisted at his sides and dearly wished that he hadn’t promised his mother, his sister, and Sophia that he would never hit Algernon again. The man deserved a good thrashing.
“Bloody hell, Barclay! Are you trying to make me look the worst scoundrel that ever walked the streets of London? No wonder Sophia turned her nose up at me as though I was dung on the sole of her shoe. I won’t be able to look her in the eye at dinner.” He sat down on his bed and immediately regretted it as the mattress dipped and the rough sheets pulled from their moorings.
Algernon sat beside him, his knees almost hitting his chin as the thin wadding dipped even further.
“It’s not as bad as you think. She’s not that naive. She knows that men have needs. But why are you so worried anyway. I thought you didn’t like her, so it doesn’t really matter what she thinks of you.”
Brendon’s eyes widened as his backside brushed the floor and his knees nudged his ears.
“It has nothing to do with whether I like her or not, you idiot.” He lied as he heaved himself into a more upright position while wondering if there were anything supporting the mattress at all. “She’s your sister and she happens to be my sister’s best friend. Do you realize how awkward it could be at family gatherings if we cannot even look at one another? Felicity is about to give birth to my nephew or niece. Sophia’s too. It’s not as though we can avoid one another forever.”
Algernon’s brows furrowed.
“You avoided her for almost a year. Why stop now?”
Brendon struggled out of the sagging mattress and snatched his jacket from the back of the chair. He dragged it over his shoulders.
“That wasn’t avoidance. I am a busy man. I had a lot to do.” He lied again as he shifted from foot to foot.
Algernon raised an eyebrow from his position near the floor.
“Like what? Sitting about at the gun club waiting for your father to get shot so he asks you to take over at Fallows?” He leaned back, trying to find a more comfortable spot while he waited for Brendon’s response.
Brendon turned to the mirror, and combed his fingers through his hair.
“Now you are being ridiculous. I have spent a lot of time going through my investments. Father doesn’t just hand me an allowance. I have to earn my own keep. Nothing is certain in this world and although I will inherit, who knows what that will be worth. You of all people know that these great houses eat money, and father owns six huge estates. When he dies, the death duties will be enormous and I’ll probably end up broke.” He adjusted his cravat and stood back to admire it critically. While his investment scheme was partly true, he had only used it as an excuse. Now he realized that he should perhaps indeed be worried about his inheritance.
Algernon regretted his words already.
“Of course, and I apologise for my ill thought comments. I hadn’t considered the pressure you might be under. I only have the house in London and Sommersford, and Felicity has been most helpful in that respect, though I assure you that I never asked her for a penny.” He referred to his wife’s generous dowry.
Brendon groaned miserably. He had made his friend feel bad when he had no right to.
“Let’s just forget it, shall we. Sophia is a sensible girl and as you say, she knows men have needs.” He tried to keep the blush from his cheeks, but failed miserably. He blundered on in an effort to salve both his own, and his friend’s conscience. “Let us go and have dinner with her. I want to get over this embarrassment as soon as possible. We have another long day tomorrow. I don’t want to spend the rest of the journey feeling like a toad.”
Algernon had grinned as he fought his way out of the bed, glad that Brendon appeared to have forgiven his insensitive words, but his smile dropped as soon as they walked out of the room and saw the look his sister gave his friend.
Sophia walked along the corridor from her own room and gave Brendon a withering glare as she turned to look at her brother.
“Oh, we are eating together? Perhaps I should take my meal in my room. I wouldn’t want to intrude or force my company on those who don’t want it.”
Algernon gripped her arm as she tried to pull away.
“Oh no you don’t. And you can take that look from your face. You have no reason to behave like this,” he whispered down at her.
Sophia glanced over her shoulder as Brendon brought up the rear.
“I don’t? Well, I beg to differ. I don’t want to sit there being compared to his mistress all night. Just the look on his face tells me that he is sorry he has let her go. Perhaps he should have brought her along with him, we could have made a cosy party of four,” she hissed back through thinned lips.
Algernon stopped in the corridor and looked at his friend.
“Would you give Sophia and I a few moments?”
Brendon nodded and strode past.
“Of course. I’ll find us a private table.” He pretended that he hadn’t heard Sophia’s words. His cheeks burned and he wished with every bone in his body that he could tell her the truth. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t bear the humiliation. A fresh wave of her perfume caught his senses as he made his way to the stairs.
Algernon waited until Brendon had disappeared to the bar below before turning back to his sister.
“I am surprised at you, Sophia! I treated you like an adult when confiding in you earlier and you are behaving like a spoiled child. Just because things haven’t turned out the way you had hoped does not give you the right to berate him over his personal choices. The man has done nothing wrong. Brendon saved my life. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him taking such care of me wh
en I was shot on the battlefield. If you can’t be decent to him for anything else, I would have thought you could be grateful for that small service. Or do I mean so little to you?”
Sophia immediately dipped her head as a deep flush spread across her cheeks. How could she have forgotten? Brendon had brought Algernon back to her. Had not only saved her brother but had saved her and their mother from their tyrannical, penny pinching uncle too.
“I am sorry. I spoke without thinking. You are right to chastise me.” She chanced a glance up into her brother’s reproachful eyes.
Algernon leaned forwards and kissed the top of her head.
“I don’t want to tell you off. I know that you are disappointed in him, but you have no reason to be. You said yourself that marrying him would have been a mistake. His liaisons since returning to town cannot possibly affect you.”
She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath.
“You are right, of course. I am being ridiculous. Anyone would think I had a crush on him.” She let out a brittle laugh that she hoped hid the pain in her heart. “Come, I have recovered my good temper and will not embarrass you or him again.” She lifted her chin and walked towards the stairs.
Algernon watched her, a frown creasing his brow as he caught up.
Brendon still stared down at his plate. The mutton stew smelled well enough but he couldn’t force a morsel past his lips. He had made a terrible hash of things and he had no clue as to how to put them right. He glanced up as Sophia suddenly broke the silence that weighed heavily over the table.
“Is the stew not to your liking, Brendon? It is quite rich, but the meat is exceptionally tender and tasty too.” She took another mouthful, her lips moving sensually again.
He put his fork down entirely.
“I seem to have lost my appetite. I keep thinking about my father.” It was a plausible excuse for he couldn’t reveal the true one. Every time he looked at her it felt as though a dagger plunged into his heart.
A Promise of Pure Gardenias Page 7