by Dawn Brower
“I’m sorry to eat all your cakes and run,” Birdie said, causing Cordelia to look down at the plate and see that both petit fours had indeed been reduced to crumbs. “I was looking through this book and saw something about a particular beetle whose shell reminded me of a ribbon I saw at the notions shop the last time I was here. I’d like to get some before I’m on my way home.”
“Be sure to bring me some next time you come,” Cordelia said. “I’d love to see this beetle ribbon for myself.” They walked together toward the door and Birdie smiled.
“Why don’t you come to the shop with me? I could show it to you myself if they still have it. It’s really very pretty.” She opened the book to a page she had turned down the corner on. Cordelia knew Arthur would have had plenty to say about this if he saw it but at the moment she couldn’t make herself care. “See, it’s this pretty shade of green.”
“Oh, yes, it’s quite nice,” Cordelia said, only half looking at the picture. “I’d love to have a gown that color. Something like that would look lovely with your hair as well.” They had reached the front door by this point and Cordelia opened it. “Wouldn’t you prefer for me to call for the stable master to get your carriage ready?”
“I can walk over myself,” Birdie said, showing off both her independent streak and her impatience at the same time. “I’ll just hold up my skirts so they don’t get muddy. My driver should be somewhere out there. He used to work in our stables so he enjoys spending time around the horses.”
“If you’re sure then,” Cordelia said, her mind more on her husband than her sister for once. She didn’t have time to try and tell her sister that she needed to be more ladylike at the moment, and Birdie probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. “Just don’t let Mrs. Richmond see you, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Of course not, dear sister.” Grinning, Birdie leaned forward and kissed her sister on the cheek. “I’ll come and see you again soon.”
“Please do.” Cordelia lingered by the door long enough to watch her sister go down the steps, then pull up her skirt to the tops of her boots and start across the damp ground toward the stables. Shaking her head, she closed the door. If Mrs. Richmond knew she had so much as seen Birdie stomping around the yard showing off her legs, she would somehow be the one to get the lecture.
Once she was certain her sister was far enough away not to hear anything, Cordelia turned on her heel and headed to the stairs. She held herself back from taking them two at a time, but only just. When she got to Arthur’s bedroom she didn’t bother knocking or listening to see if anyone was still inside, she grabbed the knob and twisted as hard as she could, not surprised to find that it was locked. Not caring what anyone else in the house thought, she pounded on the door as hard as she could. On the other side, she heard footsteps coming toward it and steeled herself for what she was about to see. Arthur opened the door cautiously, his shirt open and pants unbuttoned.
“Cordelia,” he said, sounding breathless. Over his shoulder she could see a young man hurriedly dressing. He looked familiar to Cordelia but she couldn’t quite place him. “Darling, I thought you were visiting with your sister.”
“You promised me you would keep this out of our house!” Arthur flinched at the sound of her raised voice and made a shushing motion at her.
“Calm down,” he said, his voice quiet. “Someone will hear you.”
“I don’t care if the people in town hear me,” Cordelia snapped. “This is honestly the last straw, Arthur! I’ve put up with this long enough. I can’t believe I even agreed to overlook this!”
“Excuse me,” the young man mumbled as he pushed past Arthur and Cordelia. He’d managed to get himself dressed quickly, which made Cordelia wonder how often he’d been doing this. She hardly paid attention to him as he hurried away from the bedroom toward the stairs.
“Please be quiet,” Arthur said. “I don’t want the staff hearing our private business.”
“I’m surprised it’s even private business at this point,” Cordelia snapped. “If you’re bringing your lovers in and out of the house in broad daylight, how do you think the staff hasn’t figured it out already? I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in town knows. What do you think they’re saying about me?”
“Cordelia, please. If we’re going to discuss this, can we please just come into my room?” His voice was pleading at this point and Cordelia folded her arms over her chest.
“I don’t care who hears me. You broke your promise to me, now I’m breaking mine. I want a divorce immediately and I’ll go to the judge and tell them exactly what you’ve been doing. I’ll just leave out the bit that I’ve known for months.” She turned and started to walk away, but Arthur grabbed her arm in much the same way Victor had in the conservatory. “Let go of me! Why does every man think they can just put their hands on me whenever they like?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Arthur let go of her and she rounded on him.
“Just don’t touch me,” Cordelia said. “I’m through with this charade. It ends this instant. If you won’t grant me the divorce I’m going to make sure everyone knows what you’re up to and the judge will give me the divorce anyhow.”
“Please listen to me for just a moment,” Arthur said. “Then you can do whatever you want.”
“Fine,” Cordelia said, hands on her hips. “I’m listening.”
“My father’s will states that if I don’t remain married I’ll lose everything. My title, the estate, everything I’ve inherited from him will go to charity and I’ll be destitute,” Arthur said. “I’m trying to find a way around it but it takes time. The will is legally binding so far as Mr. Pembroke has been able to see so far, and if a judge found out about my indiscretions he would most certainly rule against me.”
“Spare me your sad story,” Cordelia said. “What about my life? How do you expect me to go on pretending we have a marriage? It seems that you get to do whatever you want and I have to be a good wife and turn a blind eye to it all.”
“I’m thinking of you as well, I promise,” Arthur said. “If I lose everything, you get nothing as well. You can go back to your parents’ house but you won’t get anything from me to hold you over until you can find another husband.”
“I don’t---“
“If you just give me a bit of time to try and find a way to bypass Father’s conditions I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life, even if you find a new husband. I’ve already put it down in my own will that you’ll get everything you need.” He reached out as if to touch her face and Cordelia jerked her head away from him. “Please, Cordelia. I do care for you.”
“If you cared for me at all, you wouldn’t have put me in this position,” she said. “Do whatever you want. I’ll be in town. I don’t want to spend another moment under this roof with you right now.” This time when she turned away Arthur didn’t try to stop her and Cordelia went to her room and snatched a hat from her closet without looking to see if it matched her dress. She crammed it on her head without bothering with a hatpin or considering what it would do to her hair, then picked up her pocketbook and went to the stairs, passing Arthur as she did.
“Don’t do this, Cordelia, please!”
She didn’t answer him as she nearly ran down the stairs, flung open the front door and walked across the yard in much the same fashion as her sister, only without holding up her skirts. She didn’t care about her dress or whether or not Mrs. Richmond saw her, only that she could get away from the estate and Arthur as quickly as possible.
“Pardon me,” she said sharply as she walked into the stable. The stable master jumped up from the chair where he had been sitting. “I need a driver to take me to town at once.”
“I can fetch him for you,” the stable master said. “I believe he’s in the servant’s quarters.” He turned to his apprentice. “Hitch the horse up to milady’s carriage immediately.” To Cordelia he said “If you give us a few minutes we can polish it up for you too.”
/>
“I don’t care what it looks like,” Cordelia said. “It can be covered in mud for all I care. Just get me someone to take me to town and do it now.”
“Yes, ma’am!” The stable master ran for the servant’s quarters while his apprentice hurried the other way to get the carriage ready.
Cordelia stood in the stable, surrounded by the rich smell of the hay and the sharp aroma of the floor of the stalls and tried to hold her breath. As overwhelming as the combined smell was, she wanted to go back to the house even less than she wanted to stay in the stable and she looked around. The horses were beautiful. They were one of the things she would be giving up if she exposed her husband and she stepped forward to brush her fingers across a horse’s face.
It came to her then that her sister was still somewhere in town, looking at fabrics. She couldn’t just wander around Greenley as angry as she was. Who knew what she would let slip if she did. She didn’t want to stay at the estate either. Cordelia racked her brain, trying to figure out where she could go and what she would do in town that wouldn’t put her directly in Birdie’s path.
She suddenly realized that there was someone she could talk to, and though she was already angry with him she needed to see him at once. Arthur said Victor Pembroke was helping him with his father’s will, and that meant that Victor knew exactly what was going on. The thought ignited a new spark of anger in her chest and she looked around impatiently for the stable master.
I’m going right down there to give him a piece of my mind, she thought as the carriage driver and stable master hurried toward her. I don’t care who hears me this time, I am finished with this nonsense once and for all.
Chapter 7
“Are you all right, sir? You look rather tired.”
“I’m fine,” Victor said, stifling a yawn. “I just got in late last night, that’s all.” He could smell a pot of coffee brewing elsewhere in his office and he raised an eyebrow at his assistant. “Bradley, I thought it forbade you to make any of that ever again.”
“I’m sorry sir, but I’ve developed a taste for it myself.” Bradley handed Victor a stack of papers. “There’s the files you asked for.”
“Thank you.”
“If I might be so nosy, what were you doing that got you in so late?” He grinned at Victor. “Spent too much time at the pub? Took a young lady home?”
“My train got in extremely late from London,” Victor said with a smirk. It seemed he’d gotten quite the reputation in town already and in spite of Bradley’s impertinence he couldn’t quite bring himself to say he’d been somewhere he shouldn’t. The last thing he wanted was to get into a discussion with the boy about his private life. He had always been able to separate it from his work, even if the people he worked with were inclined to gossip about him behind his back. It rarely troubled Victor and often did him some good. There were plenty of women who wanted a man who they knew could please them properly.
“Oh, I see. Is that where you’ve been all this time?”
“Some of it,” Victor said. “I visited with a judge friend of mine, then went and saw my sister. It was a pleasant visit for the most part.”
“Does your sister live in London as well?” Bradley picked up the wastebasket near the side of the desk and started clearing envelopes and wadded-up papers from Victor’s desk. It seemed like everything that had come across the desk since he’d gotten back was garbage and he was grateful to Bradley for taking care of it. Perhaps he would make a good assistant out of him yet.
“She lives just outside London in---“
“Mr. Pembroke!” The secretary rushed in, interrupting him. Victor turned to her with a frown. “I’m sorry sir but there’s a woman here to see you and I told her she’d have to make an appointment but she started coming back on her own.” Before Victor could do so much as ask the woman’s name, Cordelia Whittemore pushed open his office door and glared at him.
“You!”
“It’s fine, Miss Wright,” Victor said, waving her away. “I’ll see Lady Whittemore.” He turned to Bradley. “Could you help Miss Wright clear my schedule of appointments this morning? This matter needs immediate attention.”
“Of course, sir,” both Miss Wright and Bradley said at the same time. They looked at one another then left the office together, Bradley going with a knowing smirk. When the door was closed, Victor started to get up from behind the desk.
“Lady Whittemore, what an honor it is to have you come to visit me. I quite honestly intended to come speak to you at your estate but I only just got in last night.”
“Oh, will you men never tire of hearing your own voices?” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I know about my father-in-law’s will and I know you’ve been keeping Arthur’s secret for him as well. What sort of lawyer would let such a ridiculous condition be set in a will?” Her voice was getting louder with each word and Victor came around the desk, hoping to soothe her.
“You have every right to be angry,” Victor said. “I know in your place I probably would be.”
“You have no idea what you’d do in my place,” Cordelia shouted. “You’ve never even been remotely close to being in my place! Because of you I’m trapped in this, this joke of a marriage until you can find a way to get me out of it that doesn’t leave me begging for coins on the street!”
“I know you’re upset, but may I please get a word in edgewise?” He raised an eyebrow at Cordelia and she continued to look daggers at him but was silent. “First things first, I had nothing to do with this will. My former partner, the owner of this firm, wrote that will with the late Lord Whittemore before I even came to Greenley. I had no part in it, and no knowledge of the thing until Arthur brought it up to me. As it stands, the will is legally binding but I’m working with a friend of mine who is a judge to try and have the condition dismissed as the ravings of a dying man. As my former partner is deceased himself, I have no qualms against telling a judge that he allowed Lord Whittemore to set the condition without considering the legal ramifications of it.” He looked at Cordelia. “Am I being too technical for you?”
“But then you know about Arthur,” Cordelia said, completely ignoring his jab at her. “You know why he’s trying to divorce me.”
“I know he wants to divorce you,” Victor said. “He’s never said why. I’ve heard rumors, though. That was why I’ve been trying to talk to you alone. I wanted to know if there was any truth to the rumor and I wanted to ask you directly. But discreetly, just in case you didn’t know.” He looked at her closely. Around the edges of Cordelia’s anger he could see something more. Dread, perhaps, or fear. “You do know, then.”
“What exactly is it that you think you know?” Cordelia was suddenly cautious and Victor went around her to lock the door, not wanting anyone to come in and hear them talking, even by accident. “What are you doing?”
“I said our conversation was to be private but you never know what sort of woman might come barging in shouting at me about legal matters.” It was a weak attempt to make her smile but the very corners of Cordelia’s mouth twitched anyway and she forced them down into a frown again. “Now then, let’s clear the air. I’ll tell you what it is I’ve heard and you can confirm or deny it as you see fit. Keep in mind that if I’m to help you I’ll need the truth in the end, though.”
“All right,” Cordelia said. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and for a moment Victor was struck by the almost lacy look of her lashes against her lower lids. When she opened them again, the chocolate brown color was warm enough to drown in. “Tell me.”
“I’m sure it’s no secret to anyone that I frequent the pub here in town,” he said. “As well as the pub in the neighboring city and Elston, where your sister Bridget and the General live.”
“Yes,” Cordelia said, rolling her eyes. “My sister has told me about your leisure activities. It’s none of my concern what you do in your free time.”
“I don’t just hang about in pubs for the beer, if that’s what you�
�re thinking,” Victor said, annoyed that he had to prove his innocence to yet another person. “They’re a great source of information and people let quite a lot slip when they’re drunk.”
“I’m aware,” she said, frost coating her words. “Please continue.”
“I heard from a gentleman here in town that Arthur has been seen in the company of young men,” Victor said. “Several different young men, I’m afraid. He brings them to drink and they leave together, and no one is sure where they go exactly but there have been plenty of inferences.”
“I’m sure there have. And I’m fairly certain I know where they go,” she said, though now the cold tone of her voice was directed at the man who was not in the room instead of the man who stood before her. It was a relief, in a way. He hadn’t been alone with Cordelia since she ordered him out of her house and for her to be mad at someone else was a welcome change. “I’m telling you this in confidence, Mr. Pembroke. I don’t wish to hear it spread around town.”
“I’m a lawyer,” he said. “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s keeping secrets.” He made a schoolyard ‘cross my heart’ gesture over his chest and relief washed over him as Cordelia burst out laughing. She immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “That was completely inappropriate of me. I don’t know what came over me, I honestly don’t.”
“You’re under a fair amount of stress,” Victor said, smiling at her. “We sometimes do strange things under stress. Please feel free to speak your mind in front of me. Rest assured I won’t tell anyone outside this room.”
“I walked in on him today,” Cordelia said, lowering her voice so that he had to come a little closer to her. “With another man. He brought him into our house and was with him in his bedroom.” She looked away a little. “A very young man. He wasn’t completely dressed.”
“Ah,” Victor said. “I see.”
“It’s not the first time,” she went on, and now her words were coming out in a rush. “When we first got married we had some, well, problems and I assumed it was my fault, but then I moved into the manor and things seemed better. I didn’t even think twice when he said we should have separate rooms, everyone in my family does, but when I went to see if he needed anything I walked in on him and another man again.” Her face was beet red as she spoke this time. “The young man was on his knees and---“