by Wolf, Bree
As a new thought registered, Matthew’s eyes opened wide. “Does she know?”
“Beth invited her over,” Tristan said, his eyes as watchful as before. “She should be here any minute.”
The mere thought of seeing Lady Adelaide again warmed Matthew’s heart in such a way that he could not deny that she was exactly what he wanted. Still, he could not act upon his own desires alone. He could not become the man his father had been. “I will marry her,” he finally said, meeting his cousin’s gaze, “but only if she agrees. I will not force her hand. I will not marry her against her will.”
Grinning widely, Tristan sat down leisurely on the corner of his desk. “I would have expected no less from you.”
Chapter Eight – A Good Man
Clutching her grandmother’s arm so tightly she feared it might snap in half, Adelaide ascended the stairs to Lady Elton’s townhouse. The blood rushed in her ears, drowning out all other sounds, including the butler’s greeting. As though she was attached to her grandmother, Adelaide moved whenever the older woman moved, stepping into the large foyer, her eyes almost unseeing.
Only when Lady Elton rushed toward them, a kind smile on her face as though she knew exactly what fears clawed at Adelaide’s heart, did she inhale a deep breath, doing her best to shake off the strange sense of detachment that had befallen her.
“Welcome,” Lady Elton greeted them warmly. “I admit I’ve been waiting by the window.” A wide smile came to her face, making her shine like the sun on a dreary day. “Please follow me to the drawing room.” She looked at Adelaide. “I promise I shall answer all your questions.”
As they turned toward the adjacent room, Adelaide caught a glimpse of Lady Elton’s fair-haired husband currently deep in conversation with another gentleman as they stood close to where one of the back corridors led to the front hall.
Even from a distance, Adelaide could see the tension that seemed to hold the unknown man almost rigid, his head jerking up and down as he listened to Lord Elton. Every once in a while, his right hand would rise and run through his dark brown hair as though for the mere reason of having something to do. Then his gaze suddenly swerved in her direction, and the slow rise and fall of his wide chest stopped as their eyes locked.
If only for a moment.
A gentle smile curled up his lips as he respectfully inclined his head to her. Still, there was a shyness in the way he quickly averted his eyes.
He touched something deep within her.
If only she knew what…and why.
Stepping over the threshold into the drawing room, Adelaide felt a small stab of regret when the doors were closed, effectively ending her rather daring observation of the unknown gentleman. Still, within moments, her mind worked to remind her why they had come, and Adelaide felt her hands grow damp. Her knees trembled, and she was relieved to sink down onto the settee next to her grandmother, their hands still wrapped around one another as though holding on to an anchor. “I received your letter,” she suddenly blurted out, unable to contain her need to know any longer.
Lady Elton smiled at her kindly. “I suspected as much.”
“I’m sorry. I…”
“There’s no need,” Lady Elton said, waving Adelaide’s concerns away. “If it were me, I would feel equally ill at ease. Then allow me to inform you that Mr. Harkin no longer has a claim on you.”
Almost sagging against her grandmother, Adelaide closed her eyes, her head spinning with relief as she forced one deep breath after another into her lungs. Dimly, she became aware that her grandmother was brushing a hand up and down her back, mumbling words of comfort. “I’m all right,” she whispered, looking up and into her grandmother’s concerned eyes. “I’m all right. I simply…”
“I know, dear,” her grandmother whispered, brushing a gentle hand over her cheek. “You’ve had to deal with a lot as of late. It is understandable that you would be overwhelmed.”
Nodding, Adelaide turned her eyes back to Lady Elton. “What happened?” was all she could ask, her mind still too muddled for anything more meaningful.
“As I said before,” Lady Elton began, “we tempted Mr. Harkin into another game. Eventually, he…let’s say, bowed to social pressure and upped the stakes, offering your hand. The friend I mentioned before then won the game and with it your hand.” A soft smile on her face, Lady Elton held Adelaide’s gaze. “All will be well.”
“Thank you,” Adelaide whispered, wondering why this woman was so determined to protect her.
“What if he hadn’t won?” her grandmother asked, and Lady Elton’s gaze moved to her. “What if something had gone wrong? What if another had won? Or even Mr. Harkin again?” Despite the positive outcome of the previous night, worry hung on her grandmother’s face.
A devious smile lit up Lady Elton’s face. “Let’s just say we ensured that that wouldn’t happen.”
A deep chuckle escaped her grandmother’s lips, and her eyes lit up with renewed vigour. “You cheated,” she stated, open admiration in her voice.
Despite the large smile on her face, Lady Elton batted her eyelashes innocently. “I would never say that,” she replied before her voice dropped to a whisper, “nor would I deny it.”
Both women laughed, and Adelaide wondered at the obvious connection between Lady Elton and her grandmother. For a reason she could not understand, there was not only mutual trust between them, but also a deeper understanding that eluded Adelaide. And yet, both women had known each other less than a year.
“Breathe, dear,” her grandmother instructed, taking Adelaide’s hand. “You look pale.”
Doing as she was bid, Adelaide once more turned her gaze to Lady Elton. “Thank you again for what you did. Again. Whenever I’ve needed a friend, you have always been there. I hope one day I will be able to repay you for your kindness.”
Smiling, Lady Elton held her gaze, and yet, it seemed to darken with something Adelaide could not understand. “There is no need, Lady Adelaide. It was my pleasure. After all, family…and friends protect each other. You don’t owe me anything. All I want is for you to be happy.”
Overwhelmed by such kind words, Adelaide did not know what to say. All she knew was that she was blessed to have these two devoted women in her life who did not hesitate to do all within their power to protect her.
When Adelaide’s attention returned from her inward reflection, she took note of the looks being cast back and forth between Lady Elton and her grandmother. Something silent was passing between them, and judging from the concern darkening their eyes, it was nothing good. What were they keeping from her?
“Is something wrong?” Adelaide finally asked, unable to bear the renewed doubts any longer. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Lady Elton sighed. “There is nothing wrong,” she replied. “At least not yet.”
Adelaide frowned. “What do you mean?”
Once again, her grandmother took her hand, her eyes gentle as they looked into hers. “What she means is that no one can say when your father might act rashly again and give your hand to a man without thinking.” Squeezing her hand, her grandmother sighed, “I’m afraid you will not be truly safe, my dear, until you marry.”
“I know,” Adelaide whispered, wishing she could ignore that fact, “but I−” Her voice broke off as she took note of the strange way her grandmother glanced at Lady Elton. Looking back and forth between the two women, Adelaide felt her blood run cold as her eyes widened with sudden realisation. “You want me to marry,” she breathed, feeling her head spinning as though it were not attached. “Now?”
Reaching for both her hands, her grandmother held them tightly, her soft and yet determined gaze imploring Adelaide to understand. “It is the only way to keep you safe from men like Mr. Harkin and Lord Arlton.”
Terror gripped Adelaide’s heart, squeezing it within an inch of her life. “Who?” she asked, her voice trembling as her eyes drifted to Lady Elton.
“The man who won your hand l
ast night.”
Panic surged through Adelaide’s being at the thought of being married off to a stranger. Shooting to her feet, she tried to put some distance between herself and the other two women. Her breath came in heavy pants as she tried to fight down the overwhelming panic reaching out its talons for her. Her gaze travelled to the window, then the door before it returned to the settee and her grandmother.
Rising to her feet, Lady Elton came toward her, gently drawing Adelaide’s hands into her own. Her kind blue eyes sought to meet hers as she squeezed her hands reassuringly. “Please listen.”
Swallowing, Adelaide nodded, knowing very well that she had very little choice in the matter.
“The man I spoke of,” Lady Elton began, “is a cousin of my husband’s. He is a good man. I assure you that he is kind and loyal, decent and honourable. He would never hurt you. You’d be safe with him.”
“Equally important,” her grandmother added from the settee, a teasing chuckle on her lips, “he is not an old man, but has a handsome young face with piercing green eyes.”
Adelaide frowned. “You’ve met him before?”
“In passing,” her grandmother replied as she stepped toward them. “As have you.”
“I have?”
Her grandmother nodded. “As far as I know you’ve never spoken to him, but I’ve seen him look at you now and then.”
At her grandmother’s words, Adelaide felt her insides twist and turn. As much as she had always tried, she had never managed to completely ignore the leering way some men tended to look at her. It never failed to bring on a sickening feeling.
“Not like that,” her grandmother said, her knowing eyes holding Adelaide’s. “He looked at you…in awe and admiration. Sometimes even shyly as though he deemed himself unworthy of you.”
Lady Elton nodded. “Matthew is a wonderful man, and I promise you you have nothing to fear from him.”
“Matthew,” Adelaide mumbled, liking the gentle sound of his name on her lips. Dimly, she remembered the stranger she had seen with Lord Elton upon entering the house, and she wondered if he could be the one her grandmother and Lady Elton were urging her to marry. There had been a shyness in his gaze that had made him feel safe, and he had been handsome indeed. But above all, he had seemed truly kind.
Adelaide’s heart calmed a little when she looked up and met Lady Elton’s gaze once more.
“I beg you to consider this,” the young woman all but pleaded as though her own happiness depended on this as well. “Consider the consequences of your decision. I know that it is not fair, but it is what it is, and next time, we might not be able to protect you.”
Swallowing, Adelaide nodded, knowing Lady Elton’s words to be true. Had she not feared such a situation ever since her coming out? That her father would choose a man her heart rejected?
As though reading her mind, Lady Elton asked, “Does your heart belong to another?”
“It does not,” Adelaide whispered with a sigh, remembering the dream she had once harboured in her heart of finding true love. A dream she had given up upon long ago. Even before her coming out.
Life could be a harsh teacher.
“Then perhaps,” Lady Elton said, a little smile playing on her lips, “in time, Baron Whitworth, Matthew, will claim it as his…in exchange for his own.”
Adelaide inhaled a shuddering breath, not knowing whether it was fear or hope that made her heart tremble. Still, she could not keep herself from whispering his name once more, its sound soft and gentle, making her wonder if the man who carried it possessed an equally tender soul.
Meeting Lady Elton’s gaze, Adelaide nodded. “Then I will marry him,” she whispered, feeling all dread fall away.
Almost.
What if he learnt of her secret? Would he still be kind to her then? Or would he turn on her?
Adelaide prayed that she would never find out.
Chapter Nine – A Lady’s Consent
Staring at his cousin’s note, Matthew felt as though he had strayed into a dream.
He blinked his eyes.
Still, the words remained.
“She agreed,” he whispered, unable to believe that it could be true. Lifting his head, he stared out the window at the slowly blossoming gardens. “She agreed.”
Stumbling a few steps across the room toward the armchair in the corner, Matthew sank into it, his gaze still distant as he recalled Lady Adelaide’s soft features. When he had seen her that morning at Tristan’s townhouse, the air had been knocked from his lungs. Like a fool, he had stared at her, taken with the power of his emotions as they had surged to the surface.
Certainly, he had seen her before, but only from a distance, and it had been a long while since he had last laid eyes on her. She had lost nothing of her loveliness. Unfortunately, her gaze had been as fearful as he recalled, not that he could blame her.
Now, Matthew understood even better than he had then why she always seemed to shrink away from the world. In a strange way, it was something that connected them. The way she looked at others with mistrust was not unlike the way he looked at himself, full of doubt and concern, expecting only the worst.
Matthew scoffed, realising that oddly enough they seemed to complement one another.
Glancing back down at the short note, he inhaled a deep breath.
I shall procure a special license so that you can be married within three days’ time.
Certainly, it was wise to remove Lady Adelaide from her father’s influence as soon as possible. Matthew, however, could not help but feel overwhelmed at the thought of marrying the woman he had admired from afar with such haste. They had never even spoken to each other. He had yet to hear the sound of her voice.
He swallowed, reminding himself that she, too, had to be taken aback by these sudden developments. Did she fear him? He wondered. Did she think of him as the lesser of two evils?
The thought twisted his insides painfully, and although he knew he ought to take a step back and release her from her commitment to him, he could not. Selfishly, he realised that his cousin had been right. He wanted her. He wanted her more than he had ever realised when he had harboured no hope in his heart to win hers…let alone her hand.
Rising from the chair, Matthew put away the note, steeling himself for what lay ahead. In order to see Lady Adelaide protected−at least from her father’s influence−he needed to take the first step and call on Lord Radcliff, inform the man that he would marry his daughter in three days.
Although the thought of facing Lady Adelaide made him nervous, Matthew felt nothing but anger when he thought of her father, fuelled even more by the resentment and disappointment he harboured toward his own. Emotions he had not yet been able to lay to rest.
Stalking to the earl’s townhouse, Matthew asked to speak to the man right away as the matter he needed to discuss was of utmost importance and concerned the man’s daughter. When the butler returned, he bade him to follow. Falling into step behind the elderly man, Matthew glanced around the house. It lay as still and dead as his own, poisoned by the men who had done nothing but bring suffering to their families.
Unexpectedly, light footsteps echoed to his ears before a soft giggle travelled through the still air.
Turning his head, Matthew found himself looking at a little girl with dark curls framing her laughing face. As she beheld him, she stopped in her tracks, a finger coming to her lips as she cocked her head in innocent perusal of him.
“Hello,” Matthew greeted her, surprised to see her and wondering who she was. “I bid you a good day.”
“My lord,” the butler said, the look in the old man’s eyes urging him to follow. “Lord Radcliff is expecting you in his study.”
With a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, the little girl held out her skirts in a child-like attempt at a courtesy. “G’day, my lord.”
Unable not to, Matthew smiled before his ears detected more footsteps echoing closer. A moment later, Lady Adelaide swept around the corner, he
r gaze fixed on the little girl. “Tillie, I’ve asked you not to run off by yourself,” she chided the little girl. Her eyes, however, remained gentle, and Matthew could see a smile tickling the corners of her mouth as she looked down at the mischievously grinning girl.
The sound of Lady Adelaide’s voice made his blood sing, and he stared in open-mouthed wonder.
Placing a gentle hand on the girl’s head, she leaned down to look into her eyes. “We do not want to disturb his lordship, remember? Will you promise to be quiet?”
The little girl−Tillie−sighed in a fairly annoyed way for such a young child before her eyes shifted back to Matthew, their depth twinkling with curiosity.
Noticing the girl’s distraction, Lady Adelaide gazed over her shoulder. Upon seeing him standing there, she all but jumped back in fear, hand to her chest as her breath came in rapid bursts, her eyes widening as she recognised him. “My Lord Whitworth!”
Matthew almost cringed as his title flew from her lips, feeling that it misrepresented him in a strange way. Deep down, he realised he wanted her to know him as Matthew, plain and simple and honest.
“My lord,” the butler pressed once more, impatience in his voice.
At the interruption, Lady Adelaide took a step back, her hand coming to rest on Tillie’s shoulder as she urged the young girl back the corridor they had come. Her hands trembled as she held his gaze, and Matthew wondered what she saw when she looked at him. Did she see someone here to protect her? Or did she see in him a man like her father, forcing her hand? After all, the choice had not truly been hers, had it? Would she have agreed to marry him if she had had any other option?
With a last glance Lady Adelaide disappeared around the corner, and Matthew heaved a deep breath, trying his best to gather his wits. There would be time later to dwell on how to put her at ease. But for now, he first needed to ensure that she would be his to protect.
After a short knock, the butler opened the door to the earl’s study, bidding him to enter. As Matthew crossed the threshold, he felt assaulted by the stench of spirits that lingered on the air. Judging from the earl’s dishevelled and stained clothing, he seemed to be the most likely source. His eyes were blood-shot as he lifted his head to gaze upon his visitor through squinted eyes. “Who are you?” he drawled, wiping a forearm over his sweat-streaked face.