“No!” Simon exclaimed.
At the same time, the Earl shouted. “Don’t be daft, he is going to marry Lady Paulina!”
“No, he is not, Papa!” Lady Paulina said. Her voice was quiet, but firm. “I have told you this already, and I will not change my mind.”
The Earl merely stared at his daughter, and Betsey noticed that he looked back and forth between Lady Paulina and the Marquess of Portam. She thought that she could see the wheels turning in the Earl’s mind, as he came to understand what was happening between them.
“Betsey, you cannot marry the Viscount,” Simon said, a note of pleading in his voice. “He is not a good person, it is inevitable that he will hurt you!”
“What on earth are you talking about, Simon?” Betsey asked, horrified by what he was saying.
“Yes, I should rather like to hear this as well,” Michael said, his voice calm but cold.
Simon spared a derisive look for the Viscount, but then turned his attention to his sister. “There is a young woman named Anne. She used to be a maid at Hillfield, and now she lives in a boarding house in London. With her baby. She has no husband, but a wealthy patron pays her rent and provides for her child.”
Betsey thought that she knew what her brother was implying. After all, he had mentioned rumors such as this before in connection to Michael. She would not give him the satisfaction of saying it, and instead said, “Simon, what does this have to do with anything?”
“Don’t be a fool, Betsey!” Simon said, sounding frustrated. “The Viscount is her patron. He provides for her child, because it is his child! He ruined poor Anne’s reputation, and her life, for a few moments of pleasure.”
“I am terribly sorry to interrupt,” Michael said in a sarcastic tone. “But may I clarify a few things?”
“Yes, I suppose you should, Somerwich,” the Earl said, sounding curious.
“I take it that it was you, Simon, who followed me to the boarding house in London earlier this year?”
Simon merely nodded defiantly at this.
“Well, I will not deny that Anne was a maid at Hillfield, and that I pay for her rent at the boarding house and provide for her daughter. But Mabel is not my child, she is my sister.”
Simon looked taken aback at this, and the Earl of Cublertone seemed to chuckle to himself. Betsey thought that he must have been delighted to learn this scandalous news about Michael’s father, especially since they would no longer be forming a political alliance based on the marriage of their children.
“Anne was young and naïve, and my father took advantage of her. When he discovered that she was expecting his child, he sent her away from Hillfield with nothing. When I found out what he had done, I had no choice but to help her. I could not leave her and my sister to starve.”
Michael turned now to look at Betsey, “I am sorry that I did not tell you about them sooner. I hope that you will not object to my continuing to help them.”
“Oh Michael!” Betsey said. “Of course I do not object! You must help them in any way that you can.”
The Constable cleared his throat loudly, bringing the attention of the assembled company back to himself.
“Yes, well, that is all very interesting and informative,” the Constable said, in a tone that clearly indicated the opposite. “However, I think it best if we move on to the events of the past few days. Mr. Babington, you have confessed that you hired these men to assault the Viscount of Somerwich, is that correct?”
“Yes, but I only did it to protect my sister!”
“Yes, as you have said. But you admit that you hired them. Did the Earl of Cublertone tell you to do this?”
“No, he did not.”
“Did he know anything of your plan before you executed it?”
“No,” Simon said simply.
Betsey felt a pang of sadness as Simon answered these questions. She was angry at him for his actions, and the fact that he had done what he did in order to protect her did not make her any less angry. Still, Simon was her brother, and she loved him. She did not relish the thought of him being sent to gaol, no matter how angry she felt.
Betsey stood up and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek before the Constable led him away with Billy and Dick, who seemed genuinely confused about why they were still under arrest.
“But we only did it for the money, like I said!” Billy repeated, in a bemused tone.
“Yeah,” Dick agreed with Billy. “And we barely even hurt the Viscount, right, My Lord?” He had turned to Michael at these last words.
Michael merely scoffed, and the Constable looked as though he was holding back a laugh as he poked the criminals to keep them moving. He thanked the Earl for allowing him to use the drawing room, and then left with three prisoners in tow.
Betsey sat next to Michael on the sofa, opposite Lady Paulina and the Marquess of Portam. The Earl was seated in an armchair by the hearth, and looked back and forth from one couple to another.
“Now,” the Earl said. “Would someone care to explain to me what is happening here?”
Betsey felt her stomach clench, and her heart beat faster. She was no longer employed by the Earl of Cublertone, and had no reason to be frightened of him any longer. Still she found it difficult not to feel nervous when he was staring her down as he was now.
The Marquess of Portam spoke first. “I know that this is quite unusual, My Lord, but I should like to ask for Lady Paulina’s hand in marriage. I have loved her for many years, and I believe that she loves me as well. I promise that I will always treat her well and do everything in my power to make her happy.”
Betsey could see that Lady Paulina was smiling delightedly at the Marquess’s words. She turned her attention to the Earl, wondering how he would react to this news. She watched him closely and saw that his initial expression of shock was turning quickly to resignation.
“Well,” the Earl said. “I admit that I am not pleased to learn that my plan for you to marry the Viscount of Somerwich has been cast aside, but I can see that there is no hope of changing that.”
“I am sorry, My Lord,” Michael said in a conciliatory tone. “You are correct that there is no hope of changing my mind on this matter. More importantly, it seems clear that Lady Paulina wishes to marry the Marquess. Marrying me would only make her unhappy, and I would not wish unhappiness upon her.”
The Earl muttered something to himself that Betsey thought was, “romantic fool.” But in spite of this, a slight smile played at the corner of his lips. He turned to his daughter and spoke once again.
“Paulina, is this true? Do you wish to marry the Marquess of Portam?” he asked, his eyes searching her face.
“Oh yes, Father! I have always wished to marry the Marquess, and I know that he will make me very happy,” Lady Paulina said, her voice breathless with excitement.
“Well, I suppose I ought to be happy that you do not wish to marry a stable boy,” the Earl said, with a chuckle.
The Earl cast a curious glance at Betsey and Michael as he said this, but Betsey did not care. She felt certain that the Earl would consent to the marriage between the Marquess and Lady Paulina, but she was waiting to hear him say so, explicitly.
It seemed that Lady Paulina and the Marquess of Portam were also waiting for the same thing. They leaned forward, expectant smiles upon their faces, their eyes focused intensely on the Earl.
“Oh, all right then!” the Earl finally said. His tone was a strange combination of exasperation and amusement. “I suppose that we shall have to begin planning your wedding. Portam, I wish that you would have approached me about your wish to marry my daughter as soon as she made her debut. You might have saved us all a lot of trouble.”
“Of course, My Lord,” the Marquess of Portam replied, “I see now that I should have done just that. Unfortunately, I knew of your desire for Lady Paulina to marry the Viscount of Somerwich, and I did not wish to interfere with your plans.”
“Hmph…” the Earl sighed. “Well, I supp
ose that was honorable of you. In any case, that is in the past now.”
Betsey paid no attention to the talk of wedding plans. She could see how delighted Lady Paulina was, and she felt relieved to know that her friend and former mistress was happy at last.
Now that Lady Paulina was engaged to the Marquess of Portam, and Betsey’s relationship with Michael was no longer a secret, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter 30
Michael knew that he must go home to Hillfield and tell his parents that he would not marry Lady Paulina, but rather her former maid. After the day he had experienced, he felt that it was foolish to worry about this final detail, but he could not help but dread the conversation, which he knew would be unpleasant.
He felt reluctant to part company with Betsey, and even considered bringing her to Hillfield to meet his mother and father. It only took a moment of reflection for him to realize that this would have been a terrible idea, so he escorted her back to her parents’ home in Tinsworth first.
As they sat in the back of the carriage, Michael and Betsey could not stop smiling at each other. He studied her face, drinking in her beauty, finally able to look at her properly, no longer needing to hide behind masks, or in moonlit gardens. There were no more stolen glances from across the room while he ought to be looking at someone else—Michael could pay attention to Betsey and only Betsey. I wish that this moment could last forever.
The smile that graced Betsey’s face made her even more beautiful, and she could not seem to stop looking Michael. Michael thought that he would like her to keep looking at him for the rest of his life.
Michael was disappointed to see that after a few minutes, a crease began to form between Betsey’s eyebrows, and her smile faltered.
“Is something wrong, darling?” Michael asked, concerned that he might have done something to make her unhappy.
“I am terribly sorry for what my brother did to you!” Betsey said in a quiet voice, filled with emotion. “I never would have dreamed that he would do such a terrible thing!”
“Oh Betsey,” Michael said in a kind voice. “I agree that Simon owes me an apology, but you did nothing wrong, and you need never apologize to me for his behavior.”
“But he only did what he did because he thought that he was protecting me. If not for me, none of this would have happened!”
“If not for the choice that Simon made, to try to protect you, when you did not need protecting, none of this would have happened,” Michael reassured her.
* * *
Betsey smiled back at Michael, relief flooding over her. She still felt terrible about what Simon had done, and confused about why he had chosen to do it, but at least she knew that Michael did not blame her for her brother’s actions.
“And,” Michael continued, returning her smile and raising an eyebrow, “If not for you, I would not be the happiest that I have ever been in my life.”
Michael was leaning in toward her, and Betsey parted her lips slightly, and felt her heart begin to beat faster. She was suddenly more aware of her body—the way that the fabric of her gown caressed her skin, the cool air that touched her lips, and the loose strand of hair that tickled her neck, all made her think of Michael’s hands, or lips, touching her there.
When his lips touched hers, Betsey sighed with pleasure, returning his kiss eagerly, and opening her lips beneath his. Michael responded enthusiastically, and Betsey felt passion radiating out from his body to hers.
In the end, it was a good thing that they were quite close to her parents’ home when Michael kissed her. She did not know how much longer she could have gone on kissing him like that without surrendering to her passion. When they finally broke apart, Betsey still felt the heat of his lips against her own. She was glad that it had grown dark during their journey home, so that the flush of her cheeks was less obvious.
When the carriage stopped in front of her parents’ house, Michael got out with her and accompanied her to the front door. Betsey felt anxious about this meeting. Her mother and father had met Michael earlier in the day when Betsey had fetched the constable to break up the altercation with the criminals, but it had been only a brief introduction.
Her mother had known who Michael was and what he meant to Betsey, but her father had heard nothing of him. Both had been shocked when Michael had introduced himself and announced his intention to marry their daughter.
Although her father had given his consent, and both of her parents had congratulated the couple, they had left so quickly for Cublertone, that it hardly felt as though they had met at all. The hour was growing late, and Michael would need to return to Hillfield soon, so this meeting would be short as well. Still, Betsey felt nervous about it, and hoped that her parents would like Michael and approve of him.
When they walked into the house, they found Betsey’s mother and father sitting at the kitchen table. Betsey had the distinct impression that they had just been talking about her, not only because she was the most likely subject of conversation at the moment, but because they suddenly stopped talking when she arrived, and did not make eye contact with each other.
“Hello, Betsey!” Her mother said, her voice more cheerful than usual. “We did not know when to expect you.”
“Hello, Mama,” Betsey said with a smile. “Hello, Papa.”
“Hello, my dear,” her father said, and then seeing Michael, he bowed nervously and said, “My Lord, welcome to our home.”
“Thank you, Mr. Babington,” Michael said, and Betsey thought that she detected a hint of nervousness in his voice as well. She supposed it was not so unusual for him to be a bit nervous around his future father-in-law, but the idea of a Viscount being nervous of her father was so absurd that it made Betsey smile.
“Michael will need to return to Hillfield shortly,” Betsey told her parents, hoping that they would not interpret his short visit as an insult. “He wanted to come in and say hello, especially after such a brief introduction earlier today.”
“Oh, well, that is very kind of you, My Lord,” her mother said, giving a stiff curtsey as she spoke. “I do hope that we did not give you the impression, earlier today that is, that we were not pleased by your intention to marry our Betsey. Only it comes as quite a surprise, you see!”
“Yes, I am sure that it must have been quite a shock. I know that it will be a surprise to my family as well,” Michael said. His manner remained charming as ever, but Betsey noticed a slight edge to his tone when he mentioned his own family.
She knew, of course, that no aristocratic family would be happy to have their son marry a disgraced lady’s maid, but realized that she knew very little about Michael’s family, specifically. Will they accept me eventually, for Michael’s sake?
“I see,” Betsey’s mother said, with a nervous-sounding laugh. “Will your family approve of your marriage plans?”
“I expect that my father will not approve,” Michael said, his voice quiet and stoic. “My mother will only wish for me to be happy, and no one could ever make me happier than Betsey.”
“And you would defy your father?” Betsey’s father asked.
Betsey felt her heart sink. What answer could Michael give to a question such as this that would not offend her father? She looked nervously back and forth between her father and her fiancé, not knowing what to hope for.
Michael looked thoughtful at this. After a moment, he spoke in a quiet voice, “I will defy my father on this matter, if I must. It brings me no joy to defy him, and my dearest hope is to persuade him, but I will not break with Betsey, no matter what he says.”
Betsey felt a wave of relief at this. It was probably the best answer that Michael could possibly have given to her father’s question. A quick glance at her father confirmed that he was satisfied with this answer, even going so far as the offer a brief smile to Michael.
Betsey’s mother, on the other hand, was positively beaming at her daughter and Michael. Betsey knew that while her father appreciated Michael’s insisten
ce that he did not wish to defy his father, her mother was delighted to learn that he loved Betsey too much to ever give her up.
Betsey knew that Michael had little interest in politics, and that this had often been a point of conflict in his relationship with his father. It was ironic, because Betsey felt sure that he would be a wonderful politician, with all of his charm and his ability to make others see things from his point of view.
Chapter 31
Michael left the Babington household feeling that his visit had been a success. He had felt a bit nervous at first, but in fact his conversation with Betsey’s parents had been a pleasant one, and he thought that they had even liked him. Betsey certainly seemed to be pleased, in any case.
His happiness upon leaving Tinsworth soon turned to anxiety. He could not put off telling his parents about his engagement any longer, and he was dreading the conversation. Michael supposed that at thirty years of age, he ought not to fear upsetting his parents, like some sort of child. He tried to convince himself of this on the journey back to his estate.
The Viscount Who Seduced Her (Steamy Historical Regency) Page 25