Lady Henrietta's Dilemma: Regency Suspense Romance Book 2 (Lords of Sussex) (5 page)

Feeling a slight pressure on her forehead, Esther struggled to open her eyes. 

‘My dear – thank goodness. I thought you would never wake.’ A male voice murmured beside her.

Where was she? What happened?  She opened her eyes to see a dark figure sitting beside her.  She was in bed, a strange bed, in a strange room with a man she knew not. Gently, he lifted her to sitting position, plumping up the satin pillows around her.

‘Who are you? Where am I?’

The figure leant over stroking the auburn locks from her face and forehead. ‘In answer to the first question, I am the Viscount of Palmerston – to you, David Penfold. You are in my abode on the Rue Royale.’

Blinking, she looked into chocolate brown eyes set in a fiercely sculpted face. ‘I – we met—’

‘In the pleasure gardens.
  You cut your foot, and quite badly.’

She struggled up a little further. ‘How long have I been here?’

‘Three days and two nights.  Unfortunately, you fell into a fever … your wound became infected.'

Looking down at the plain cotton nightrail, she turned to him, her eyes stricken.

‘No – t’was not I who attended to your nightrail m’dear … t’was your maid – Lottie.’

He glanced at the plain linen. ‘I would far rather have dressed you in silk and lace, but Lottie insisted on cotton – you perspired greatly.’

A light knock on the door signalled the entrance of Lottie. ‘Ah mistress – you are quite awake; oh thank God, our prayers are answered.’

‘Surely I was not that ill?’

Lottie raised the hem of her apron, dabbing her eyes, ‘Yes you were mistress, His lordship, and I have sat with you.' 

‘His lordship?’
Esther glared at him. ‘Not when I was—’

‘No my sweet one, not when you were
dishabille
.’  He smiled, reaching for her hand, stroking the pale fingers. ‘I seem to remember we did resort to prayer in some crucial hours. However, our good doctor’s an expert in the fevers, and even though yours was so febrile, he brought you through.’

‘And you my lord, why you sat for hours on end, wiping
my mistress’s forehead and sponging her arms.’

Esther bit her lip; it seemed she owed this strange gentleman so much. ‘Forgive me my lord, I do not remember meeting you, but I thank you for your care.’

The viscount raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles, not just kissing the air above them, but her actual skin. The thin scar across his cheek crinkled, as he smiled.  ‘My pleasure; tis not every day I have the chance to nurse such a beautiful creature as yourself.  Why at one point, I thought I was in heaven administering to an angel.’

Esther smiled, even looking like some threatening assailant; he was a charmer. As he kissed her hand again, she felt her stomach quiver. Surprised, her eyes widened; she had never experienced such feelings before with any man. She wondered at his power to move her so, with just a simple kiss of her hand.

‘My lord, I am so grateful to you, but now I must rise and repair to my apartment.’

‘Hah, not so quickly m’dear.
First, we must have Doctor Bastian’s appraisal. Only when you are fully recovered can I allow you to leave.’

‘My lord, I really must; I have to be there when my protector Lord Bruges returns.’  Esther exclaimed.

‘Be that as it may, m’dear; you shall rest until the good doctor sees you. My servant will go immediately to fetch him. He is downstairs.’

‘Downstairs?’

‘Well yes, he is living here until we have you recover.’

Not wanting to appear petulant, Esther sank back into pillows. ‘As you will my lord, I am grateful for your kindness. Why, I must admit to feeling quite weak.’

‘I will have chef prepare a consommé for you, and by the way, please call me by my familiar name, David.’

‘Oh no my lord, I could not possibly be so bold; it is quite inappropriate for me to be that personal.’

‘Be that as it may, I insist. In fact, it would give me the greatest pleasure to hear my name on such beautiful lips.  However, now I leave you to the tender ministrations of your maid.’ With that, he rose, towering over her, a distinguished figure in his black superfine frockcoat and fawn nankeen breeches. As he bent to kiss her forehead, a sapphire and diamond stick pin sparkled from his cravat.  Not wanting to appear aloof, she allowed him to press his lips to her forehead, only to find his touch send sizzling signals down to her thighs. Startled, she looked up, drowning in those dark chocolate eyes.

As the door closed softly behind him, Lottie ran to her side. ‘La
, mistress, he is fair smitten with you. Why he has scarcely left your side.’

‘Lottie first, where is our little Lily?’

‘Oh, she is the most spoilt dog I know. He ordered chicken and liver for her meals. Can you believe it?’

Esther beamed. ‘I am relieved – thank you Lottie
. However, now, I have a question; was I uncovered at any time in the viscount’s presence?’

‘Oh yes you were, on the doctor’s orders, but the viscount was not present. He could have been, but he is such a gentleman
. He took no advantages.’

‘So he was alone with me?’

Lottie blushed. ‘No, but he did insist carrying you to the bath. The doctor wanted you bathed in cool water to bring down the fever.’

‘Oh no – was I—

‘Well I covered you with a sheet whilst you were in his arms, and he was so careful to keep you covered, as he laid you in the water.’

‘Oh dear God, it gets worse.’ Esther cried, ‘Have I no dignity left?’

‘Mistress, you were so ill, babbling about your brother and that awful employer.  Why you fair screamed at one point, as if you were fighting him.’

‘Who?
The viscount?’

‘No, that awful man who attacked you.’

‘Did I say his name?’

Oh yes
, over and over again. You pleaded with him to think of his wife and children.’ 

Esther gasped, her heart sinking.

‘You were sobbing and cried out to him not to take your innocence. He must have been such a blackguard. Then you cried out that Lord Vaughan was jealous, that he – he punished you, bruised you.’

‘Oh dear God, did the viscount say anything?’

He muttered something about running them through.  He was indeed fit to burst a blood vessel.´

Esther flushed, wondering what she disclosed in her feverish state. ‘Did I say anything else?’

‘No milady, the viscount kept dousing you with a linen cloth, and soon you quieted. But, he didn’t leave your side – not even during the night hours, t’was he who got you to drink and take a little soup.’

‘Were you present all the time?’

‘No, he ordered me to rest, but not before he called his own maid, who came and sat with him to nurse you.’

Esther felt a little mollified, but still aghast at what she must have revealed.  How could she look at him again? She slipped her feet over the side of the bed. ‘I remember naught of it all.’  As she tried to stand, she felt a stabbing pain in her foot falling back on the bed, as dizziness swept over her.

Uttering a little shriek, Lottie ran to her. ‘Oh mistress, don’t try to get up yet. Let the doctor examine you first. Be patient mistress.’

Taking Lottie’s hands in hers, she said, ‘We have to leave, I have to return to my apartment. Lord Bruges will be here any day now, and you know how jealous he can be. If he found me here, I
would
be ruined in his eyes.  Even a mistress must have a code of conduct, and remain true and loyal to her protector. Can’t you see Lottie, if he found me thus, he would have no other choice than to put us out on the street, nowhere to go, with just the clothes on our backs. I must return – I must.’

Her voice rose, as fear rushed through her body. She knew the horror  of being without bed and board, the horror of being thrown on a man’s mercy, only to find he would readily help, but the price was high – her body.

‘Oh mistress, surely his lordship would not do that, he fairly dotes on you. ‘

‘Yes, but men can grow jealous at the slightest hint of infidelity. You know Lord Bruges is very jealous Lottie, even if I look at another man he believes I am flirting. How would it seem to him if he finds me here? As I said, he would cast me off. Remember we are in Brussels. I repeat we’ll have nowhere to go.’

‘Of course you will,’ a male voice said. ‘I would be privileged to offer you my protection m’dear and your maid.’ The viscount advanced to the bed. ‘There would be no favours asked either. I am not the type to blackmail or ravage a lady.’

Lottie’s hand flew over her mouth, whilst Esther shrank back against the pillows. ‘You know I cannot possibly accept my lord, I must repair to my own apartment. I will remain loyal to my benefactor.’

‘Well said, and you rise high in my estimations, as to your good character.’ He drew a Chippendale chair to the bed, and took her hand gently in his.

‘My lord, you know I cannot claim a good character. Why ladies of quality would hesitate to say my name in decent company.  I am an outcast from the
ton
.’

‘Only because of circumstances m’dear, circumstances that can truly change.’

Esther stared up at him. What did he mean?

The viscount looked at Lottie. ‘Leave us, I wish to speak privately.’

Seeking assurance from Esther, who nodded, the maid left. The viscount followed her, firmly
, closing the door. Returning to his chair, he said, ‘Let me speak frankly. I lost my dear wife some years ago now, and I vowed never to take another. The grief was hard to bear, and I did not want to experience that again.  I wished to remain loyal to her memory and our love. However, I now realize I am lonely Esther, lonely for the company of a good woman. The first instant I saw you. I knew you were the one. You see Esther; you could be her twin.’

Seeing Esther struggling to sit up, he rose, ‘Allow me.’  In a second, he lifted her effortlessly settling her against the pillows, and going to the chaise longue picked up a cashmere shawl. Returning, he draped it gently around her shoulders. Shaking her head, she went to speak, but he put a restraining hand on her shoulder. ‘Hear me out. After these last few days of nursing you, I confess to having
a tendre
for you. Stay here. I can offer you so much.’

Esther caught her breath; he was devastatingly handsome, although in his mid-thirties or so, he was still young.  However, she did not want to be a replacement, as he said, his wife’s twin.  Her heart beat quickened, as she murmured. ‘I thank you for your offer my lord, but I was compelled to be a mistress.
Even so, I am not a harlot flitting from one admirer to another. You have no idea what it is like to be forced to give your body or starve. Lord Bruges saved me from a heartless beast. Yet, I live a life of constant shame.’

Pursing his lips, the viscount took a deep breath. ‘I applaud Bruges’s chivalry, but you still paid a price, m’dear. I am not offering any bargains. I am offering you my protection. My friend informed me of your history; I know of your father, a baronet, now in the debtors' prison, and your poor mama’s untimely death.  I also am aware of that selfish brother of yours
, and his callous treatment of you.’ To save her further embarrassment, he refrained from speaking of Vaughan’s outrageous behaviour

Esther lowered her eyes, ashamed to meet his gaze. ‘Then you know I had no choice. I tried so hard to take in sewing, school teaching – anything. However, being homeless, I could only seek the position of a governess.
’

The viscount stroked the pale blue veins in her hand. ‘I am aware of that Esther, and I know the heartless rogue who deflowered you.’

Esther bit her lip, nearly drawing blood, as he said those words. Her voice faltered. ‘That night is burnt into my brain and heart. He did not use his strength on me, but warned me he would put me out that very night if I did not submit.’ Tears welled in her eyes, as she said, ‘His wife lay only two doors away; she knew – she knew.’

The viscount took her hand. ‘Please you don’t have to explain, I—’

‘You think I should have refused, denied him, but it was winter; it was snowing, and I felt so alone – so frightened.’ Esther’s voice faltered, as she thought of the women who perished during the winter, flung from their homes on the whim of their lover or husband. She knew of one, a mother of eight children who breathed her last under a stone bridge, all because she objected to him bringing in his lover. She paused, picking at the fringe on the eiderdown. ‘I was a coward; I gave in.’

Tears tumbled down her cheeks. ‘He was a brute; he knew I was a virgin, but he just – he hurt me.’ The
viscount bowed his head, as she continued. ‘After he left me, his wife came to me. She just stood there and said, “You poor – poor girl”, and then she held me in her arms. She told me he took every governess; even the maids were in terror of him. So – I stayed, and we helped each other.  It was at a garden party that I met Lord Bruges.’

She looked at the viscount, who raised his head, and looked at her, the pain darkening his eyes. ‘You make promises to me my lord, but so did he.   He assured me I was entering a happy home, and would be part of a family; just what you are promising. My answer is no, my lord. I thank you for your kind offer, but I must remain loyal to Lord Bruges.  He gave no promises except to care me, and that he does in his own way.’

Sighing, the viscount put her hand gently on the eiderdown, covering it with his own. ‘What can I say Esther. I wish I could banish those memories for you. However, I can help you. They will melt away in time.  I will not force you Esther or upset you by arguing about it. Nevertheless, know this, my home is yours; my protection will hold no bartering. He paused, ‘For the time being my dear; I will treat you as a young sister or dear friend.’ He paused, knowing he was condemning himself to purgatory. Already, he burned for her, but would force himself not to lay a finger on that sweet body until she was ready. He smiled, and rising leant over to kiss her, only to become aware of the curve of her breast. Forcing his hands to his sides, he kissed her on the cheek. ‘See – a young sister.’

Esther looked down, ‘Please; I need time to reflect.’

‘Of course,’ he murmured. ‘Now to practical matters, let us have the good doctor in to give you an appraisal.’

He withdrew with a small
bow; Esther felt regret flood her body.  Never had she met such a more gentle man. Maybe that is where the word came from, a gentle man who treated women with the greatest respect?  How kind he seemed, how patient. She wondered about his wife, what happened to her? He did not talk of children, so perhaps she died in childbirth.  It was a common occurrence, even with the most skilled physician or experienced midwife, so many women died, leaving a grieving husband. 

Hearing voices outside the door, she pulled the sheets up over her chest. Accompanied by a short balding man in a worsted frockcoat, the viscount came to her bedside. ‘Esther, this is Doctor Bastian. He attended you these last three days.

Esther smiled. ‘Thank you doctor.’

The man took her hand feeling for the pulses.
‘My pleasure. Now tell me how you feel?’

‘Much better thank you doctor, the viscount has been an angel, and I owe my recovery to him and your good self.  I feel well enough to return to my apartment,’ she lied, much to Lottie’s horror.

‘That is good to hear mamselle, but from your pulses, I wish to examine your stomach.  Would you give me leave to do so?’

Surprised, Esther nodded, upon which the good doctor carefully slid his hand to her stomach without disturbing the sheets too much.  Keeping her covered, he gently probed and then smiled. ‘Now my little lady I would wish to speak with you alone.’ He turned to the viscount, bowed, and looked at Lottie, ‘If you would be so good as to leave us please? I wish to speak to Mademoiselle Taunton privately. ’