His Reluctant Lady (20 page)

He held the cup in his hands and leaned
back in the chair. “I thought Lord Pennella’s ball might be a
suitable place. Maybe toward the end of the evening? Unless you
think it might be better to do it at a dinner party? Or maybe
during another ride at Hyde Park? The only reason I hesitate about
the park is because I don’t think she enjoys horses all that
much.”

She sipped her tea and thought over the
three options he brought up. “You’re right about the horses. I
thought she might enjoy riding more than she does, but I know she
loves to ride in a carriage.” She paused and tapped the cup. “The
ball might be your best choice.”

A dinner party might be too intrusive,
considering others would be around, and she couldn’t be sure Sophie
would say yes. It wouldn’t do good to have her say no in front of
people they knew. But a ball would allow him to propose where they
could be in a large space with many couples who were busy, and that
being the case, if she refused, then no one would be the wiser,
saving him potential embarrassment.

“
You’re a good gentleman,
aren’t you?” It was really more of a statement than a question. She
cleared her throat and smiled. “What I mean is that you had a hand
in raising Christopher, and he’s a good husband.” Her cheeks warmed
at confessing something so personal to him, but at the same time
she was grateful to him for helping Christopher become a gentleman
worth marrying.

Perry chuckled. “You have no idea how
much I worried over him when he came under my care. His parents had
no moral code. His father was especially notorious for doing
whatever he pleased. Christopher was old enough to remember him,
too, which didn’t help. He thought I was too stuffy. Still does, in
fact.”

“
You’re concerned about him.
I think that’s a good trait in a gentleman. It’s much too easy to
do whatever one pleases with little regard to others, but you have
a real heart for other people.” And deep down, she realized that
Christopher did too, though there was that impish spark in him.
Whether Christopher wanted to admit it or not, he benefited a lot
as Perry’s ward.

“
I don’t know how well I
did, to be honest. When he got expelled from Harrow for almost
getting involved in a duel, I thought there was no hope for him. I
hope you understand it was only out of desperation that I let
Roderick put him to work as a stable boy. Nothing I did worked, and
I thought he’d end up getting himself killed if I didn’t take
drastic measures, but I couldn’t bring myself to enforce the
punishment.”

She almost dropped her cup. “He was
expelled?”

“
When he was seventeen.”
With a sigh, he looked heavenward. “There were so many times he got
in trouble, but that was the worst of it.”

“
I don’t believe it,” she
whispered. So that was what Christopher meant about not tending to
his studies since he was seventeen. How did something like that
stay quiet? There wasn’t a single word about it in the
Tittletattle
.

“
I hope you aren’t angry
with me for not telling you. From what I know, his conduct has been
spotless ever since.”

She forced her attention back to him.
“No, I’m not angry. I’m just surprised.” Hoping to ease his mind,
she added, “As you said, his conduct ever since has been that of a
gentleman.”

Perry visibly relaxed. “That’s good to
hear.” After drinking some tea, he asked, “When I propose to your
sister, should I tell her why I wish to marry her or should I just
ask?”

“
I suggest telling her why
you wish to marry her as long as you want to marry her because you
genuinely care for her. I understand a gentleman in your position
will need an heir, so that is to be expected.”

“
Oh, getting an heir isn’t
my concern. What I want, more than anything else, is a lady who’ll
be my companion and lover.” A shy smile crossed his face. “I know
it’s rather sentimental to marry for that reason, but I desire a
love match.”

“
That’s beautiful,” she
whispered. If she did nothing else for as long as she lived, she
would make sure Sophie married him! Wealthy, titled, and sincere.
Sophie would be hard pressed to find a better husband.

“
Should I not have an heir,
then Christopher will inherit my title. I don’t know if he told you
that.”

“
I hope you have an heir.
You’ve been good for Christopher. I have no doubt you’d be a good
father, too.”

“
Thank you.”

She bowed her head to indicate he was
welcome.

He finished his tea and rose to his
feet. “I won’t trouble you further.”

“
It was no trouble,” she
quickly assured him as she stood up. “I’m glad you stopped
by.”

He grabbed his cane then took a deep
breath. “Lord Pennella’s ball is only two days away. I’ll know your
sister’s answer soon enough.”

“
Well, she couldn’t find a
better husband than you.”

“
I hope this isn’t the way
it sounds,” a familiar voice said.

Agatha inclined her head in
Christopher’s direction as he entered the room. “You hope what
doesn’t sound what way?”

He stood beside her and shot her a
playful grin. “If I was the jealous sort, I’d say it sounds like
you’re telling my overbearing cousin that he’s an ideal husband. I
assume, of course, that you mean he’s only ideal for your sister
while I am ideal for you.”

“
You can assume whatever you
want,” she replied, a slight smile betraying her serious
tone.

Christopher turned to Perry. “She’s
wonderfully intelligent and witty. I told you she was
perfect.”

“
So you did,” Perry said.
“I’ll take my leave. I’ll see you both at Lord Pennella’s
ball.”

Christopher summoned the butler to see
him out before he turned his attention to her. “What did he
want?”

She motioned for him to sit with her on
the settee and picked up a biscuit. “He asked if I would forsake
you and run away with him.”

“
Oh?” He settled beside her
and accepted the biscuit she offered him.

She took a bite and swallowed it before
she nodded. “Yes, he was very serious.”

“
Of course you told him no
because I’ve ruined you for all other gentlemen.”

She chuckled and finished her biscuit.
“No. But I did decline his offer because I didn’t think he could
handle my secrets. He seemed much too honorable to accept a wife
capable of scandal.”

“
In that case, I should
thank him for being as lackluster as he is.”

She nodded as he ate his biscuit. “You
should. Instead of being with me, he’ll have to settle for my
sister. In fact, he will propose to her.”

“
Agatha, I know you mean
well, but I wouldn’t get his hopes up.”

“
I don’t
understand.”

“
You really didn’t noticed
how bored your sister’s been at Hyde Park?”

“
She doesn’t care for riding
horses. She wasn’t at ease.”

“
No, it was more than that.
She was bored. My cousin was doing all the talking and she had to
pinch herself to stay awake.”

“
Nonsense.”

“
You saw her
yawn.”

“
I’ve been known to yawn,
even when I’m not bored.”

“
That might be true, but she
was bored. There was no denying it. A lady can’t confine herself to
marriage with a gentleman who bores her. She needs a reason to want
to see him, even if they share a marriage of convenience. Meals are
more palatable when you can share a decent conversation with the
other person.”

“
Perry is a good person,”
she insisted. “He has everything she could want. He has money, a
title, a good heart, a—”

He shook his head. “I might not know
Sophie very well, but I remember how she responded to the gentlemen
at the balls. She seemed more interested in the ones who were
more,” he shrugged, “exciting to talk to.”

“
I know you don’t think
Perry is exciting to talk to but he is.”

After he ate another biscuit, he wiped
his fingers on a cloth napkin and turned to face her. “Well, I get
bored just talking about him. Let’s talk about something more
interesting, like you. What would you like to do today?”

“
I was hoping to
write.”

“
Is that what you were doing
when my cousin came over?”

“
Actually, it
was.”

“
So tell me, is there
anything I can do to help you write?”

He traced her lips with his finger, his
gaze holding hers in a way that made her heart race in excitement.
She didn’t understand him at all. How could he affect her in such a
way? She broke eye contact with him and reached for the teapot and
poured more tea into her cup.

“
Oh come on, Agatha,” he
said, rubbing her back. “Why don’t you just tell me what you write?
I promise I can handle it.”

She considered what he said and figured
he probably could. She needed to start giving him the benefit of
the doubt. He’d surprised her so far in how easily he accepted
everything else about her. Why not this as well?

Nodding, she lifted her cup halfway to
her lips then glanced at the door. “Will you close the door?” She
sipped the hot liquid. She waited for him to do it and offered her
cup to him as he sat beside her. “Would you like some
tea?”

“
No thank you.” He leaned
toward her and asked in a seductive voice that made her weak in the
knees, “What do you write?”

She released her breath. “All right.
I’ll tell you. I write gothic horror.”

“
Am I right in assuming you
don’t use your real name?”

“
You’re right to assume
that.”

“
In that case, have you
written anything I’ve read?”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you
mean?”

“
I happen to read gothic
horror. I have some books in my bedchamber.”

“
You do?”

“
You should come to my room
and check out my collection. One of your books might be
there.”

“
No, they wouldn’t,” she
replied and sipped more tea, relieved and overjoyed to learn he
really did read the kind of stories she wrote, that he hadn’t just
been telling her that while they were at Hyde Park.

“
How can you be sure of
that?”

“
Because none of my books
have been published yet.” She finished her tea. “I have Ethan
submit my books to the publisher because I don’t want anyone
finding out I write them.”

“
Considering Ethan’s
reputation I can see why you’d choose him for the task.”

“
We keep our friendship
private, but I only reported scandals for him in the
Tittletattle
before he
got married and in return, he submitted my books to the
publisher.”

He grinned. “I can’t help but wonder
how many other secrets you have.”

“
One more.” Since he so
easily accepted the other things she’d just told him, she saw no
reason not to reveal the last thing. “Remember that day we met at
the ball?”

“
Of course, I do. That was
the day my life got interesting.”

A chuckle rose in her throat. “Well, as
it turns out, we met before that.”

“
We did?”

“
Earlier that day. I was
with Ethan at the Western Exchange.”

“
Impossible. Ethan was
talking with a gentleman as he was on his way to a,” he gasped,
“publisher. By heavens, that gentleman was you?”

Feeling somewhat smug at knowing she
fooled him so well, she smiled. “Yes, it was.”

“
But how did you pull it
off? You made such a convincing gentleman. I did the best I could
with Claire, but that husband of hers knew she was a lady right
away.”

“
What?” Now it was her turn
to be shocked.

“
It was nothing. Claire
didn’t like Lord Ironfist when they first married and wished to
escape the estate so she could return here to London. The only way
she could get out of there was if she was disguised as a stable
boy. But then her husband returned to the estate early and found
her. I ended up emptying chamber pots because of that.” He sighed.
“I bet if you’d been there, he never would have figured it out.
Claire would have ridden out of there. You do better disguises than
I do.”

She burst out laughing and set the cup
down so she could turn toward him. “So that’s why you emptied
chamber pots.”

“
Rather cruel of her husband
to do that, wasn’t it? I only meant to help her. The poor lady
missed her family and he didn’t bother to pay attention to her. I
don’t know what else he expected.” He took Agatha’s hands in his
and squeezed them. “You know what my problem is? Sometimes I care
too much. I couldn’t help but try to rescue her.”

“
No wonder you call him Lord
Ironfist.”

“
Yes, now you know
why.”

“
Hearing you did that
doesn’t surprise me as much as you expected. What does surprise me,
however, is that Claire went along with it.”