A Scandalous Secret (2 page)

Still, to bring Caroline Staveley into the matter was beyond the pale.

“Two months overdue, I might add,” his mother barked.

Be that as it may, what was wrong with Caroline? How could she speak of that situation so openly? And in front of a perfect stranger? Chet gestured to the young girl sitting in a chair opposite his mother. “I hardly think this is the time for
that
discussion.”

Caroline giggled. “Oh, Chet, do you not recognize Cousin Olivia?”

Olivia? Cousin Olivia? Neither the name nor the face was familiar, and he scowled his answer.

Caroline took his arm in hers and led him to the young miss. “Chester Peyton, the Marquess of Astwick. My dear cousin Miss Olivia Danbury. Livvie is staying with Staveley and me for the foreseeable future. Her father, my Uncle Herbert, has taken a post in India, you might remember.”

Chet gulped. He
did
recognize Miss Danbury now. He’d attended a fete the previous year at the girl’s home. She appeared to have matured from the silly chit he’d thought she was then. Suspiciously, he looked from one female face to another. Certainly, Caroline was not offering her cousin up to him on a platter. “And you think she would be a suitable match for me?”

With an unladylike snort, Caroline began to laugh. “For heaven’s sake, darling, you’re old enough to be the girl’s father.”

Wonderful! Just what he needed to hear, and in front of the dragon too.

Before he could speak, Caroline continued with a soft chuckle, “That’s why you thought we were here? No, no, no, Chet. Livvie and I were shopping in Bruton Street when we ran into your mother, and she solicited my aid. Livvie’s just here along for the ride, so to speak. And she’s quite trustworthy.”

Miss Danbury smiled coyly at him. “Besides, my lord, I’m holding out for a duke.”

She was a brazen little thing, not unlike Caroline at that age. After a quick burst of laughter, Caroline sat down herself. “Livvie, don’t tease him so. Chet, darling, you have nothing to worry about as far as Livvie is concerned. She is already spoken for by a very dashing major. Now sit,” she said with a dismissive wave.

Against his better judgment, Chet did just that. He sank into an over-stuffed chair and looked up at the ceiling, hoping for divine intervention in one form or another. A quick bolt of lightning would be nice about now. Or a sudden flood that washed his townhome from its foundation.

Caroline heaved a sigh. “I understand that you’re two months overdue.”

Chet winced. Back to the topic at hand, hmm? Dash it all! What an extremely uncomfortable conversation to have in the first place. He glared at his mother, who met his eyes without remorse. “I just haven’t found the right lady for me.” Though that was a lie, it might as well be the truth.

Caroline offered him a kind smile. “That’s where I come in, darling. If I’d known you were seriously looking for a bride, I would have helped you long before now.”

That’s what he’d been afraid of. Being laughed at was one thing. Being pitied was something else. Chet frowned at her. “Caroline, I can handle this on my own.”

His mother snorted. Loudly. “You had a year, Chester. Now I’m taking matters into my own hands—or rather I’m entrusting your future into Lady Staveley’s hands.”

“There’s no reason Caroline needs to be involved in this,” Chet protested.

Lady Astwick narrowed her eyes into little icy slits. “Actually, Masten is the one who should be paying this debt, but since he’s cloistered himself in Dorset with that wife of his, Lady Staveley will have to do.”

“Mother—” Chet began with annoyance.

But Caroline interrupted him. “I want to help, Chet. Truly. You’ve always been there for my brother, and I see no reason that I shouldn’t return the favor. As far as I’m concerned, you’re family.”

It was hard to be annoyed with Caroline when she so sincerely wanted to help. Truthfully, she was like the little sister he never had. And he had been going about this process alone, with nothing to show for it. Perhaps she could help. Damn it to hell. How low must he have fallen to actually think such a thing? “Where do you want to begin?” he asked warily.

Caroline’s eyes rounded in delight. “With your clothes, darling. We must get you properly outfitted, and if you don’t have a decent valet we must hire you one—or I can always loan you Staveley’s for a while. Heaven knows the man rarely leaves the house.”

Chet looked down at his clothes. His cravat was a tangled mess, his waistcoat wasn’t buttoned properly, and his jacket was a bit wrinkled. Why hadn’t he noticed any of that before now? Did he always look so haphazard?

“So we’ll meet tomorrow and go shopping, but it must be early. Bethany Carteret has some mysterious project she wants me to help her with later in the day.”

Somehow Chet kept from growling. Damned Carteret. He could go forever without hearing that name or the reminders it conjured up. Had things gone as planned all those years ago, had Earl Carteret possessed one honorable bone in his body, the Scot would now be Chet’s brother-in-law. But nothing in Chet’s life had ever gone as planned.

***

After two whole days in London, Hannah somehow found herself cloistered in a tiny dress shop with her sister-in-law Bethany, Countess Carteret, and the vivacious Viscountess Staveley, who had insisted Hannah call her Caroline as soon as they were introduced. Several hours later, Hannah wished she was almost anywhere else in the world but at the exclusive modiste’s. Why Beth had insisted on this particular outing was a mystery. After all, the bombazine didn’t really bother Hannah very much, and she was the one wearing it, so it was really quite silly to be here in the first place.

Beth pushed a fashion plate in front of Hannah. “You’d look splendid in this.”

Had Beth lost her mind? Hannah frowned at her sister-in-law. The dress was not at all her style. Widows didn’t wear gowns with low cut bodices or frilly flounces, at least not in Hannah’s mind. Besides, the last thing she wanted was to attract attention. She’d be much happier in some quiet corner of the country with her boys, living a peaceful life. But that wasn’t to be. Not according to her brother, at any rate.

Still, after two whole days in London, Hannah had decided Town life wasn’t for her. The naïve country lass from Dumfries-shire who had once dreamed of London’s entertainments had grown up over the last dozen years.

Caroline turned her nose up at the plate as well. “Heavens, Beth, widows don’t wear such things…Now, this—” she placed a new plate in front of Hannah— “is much more appropriate.” And it was. The gown was tasteful and simple, understated.

Happy. Hannah resisted the urge to snort. She hadn’t thought about her own happiness in more years than she could remember. “But I doona belong in this world anymore.”

“Of course you do,” Caroline insisted with a supportive smile. “Just give it time.”

Time was the one thing Hannah had plenty of. In fact, the last two months felt as if time had stood still.

Hannah didn’t even realize she was crying until Caroline brushed a stray tear from her cheek. The viscountess had kind hazel eyes, and Hannah felt an immediate kinship with the lady. “I am sorry, ta be such a waterin’ pot.”

“Completely understandable.”

Hannah held in a half-sob, half-laugh. “Whenever I cry in Carteret House, Jamie and Beth exchange pitiful glances… They doona ken what ta do with me… And my boys, I try so hard ta be strong for them.”

Caroline took Hannah’s hand in her own. “I’m sure you do. And as for James and Beth, well, I’m sure they’re simply worried. That’s how they are.”

Tears fell more rapidly now, and Hannah retrieved a handkerchief from her reticule to dab her eyes. “Jamie’s always been so good ta me, but I’m sure we’re in the way. I doona want ta be a burden, but… Here I doona even ken ye and I’m blatherin’ on…”

With a kind smile, Caroline squeezed her hand. “I don’t mind at all.”

Hannah nodded shakily and more tears fell. “I just miss him so much.” She looked up, as if to the heavens. “Malcolm was my whole life. He treated me better than I deserved and loved our children…” She took a steadying breath. “I doona ken what’s ta be done with my boys. They’re angry and miss their father, and…here I sit in some silly shop, lookin’ at drawings of gowns that I’ll never feel like wearin’.”

With an understanding nod, Caroline offered Hannah another handkerchief. “It’s just that it’s so fresh, darling. You’ll start to feel yourself again. Being around people is the best solution, I’ve always found. It forces you to be human. So order some of these silly gowns and we’ll get you readjusted.”

“Ye’re very kind.”

Caroline laughed. “That is not a word that is often used to describe me. Meddlesome, interfering, stubborn…those I hear more often. Though I prefer resourceful.”

For the first time that day, Hannah grinned through her tears. “I’ll consider myself warned.”

“Good, because I’ve just decided that I’m going to host a dinner in your honor.”

Bethany returned then, with a stack of more plates to go through. When she saw Hannah’s tear-stained face, she looked at once panicked. “Oh, dearest, are you all right?” She rushed to Hannah’s side.

But Caroline jumped up from her spot and intercepted the countess, which sent her golden brown curls bobbing up and down. “I’m afraid I’ve terrified the poor woman, as I’ve threatened to host a dinner in her honor.”

A horrified expression settled on Bethany’s face. “Dinner?”

“Well, yes, why not?”

Beth shook her head. “
Just
a dinner?”

Caroline giggled. “I think Hannah would enjoy a dinner, don’t you?”

***

Caroline flounced into the library, where she knew she would find her husband. Staveley was nothing if not studious. He sat in a large, overstuffed chair, and was thumbing through some old, ancient tome. She could never understand how he found such things interesting, but he could very easily barricade himself in the library for days if she didn’t insist he rejoin the world of the living.

Entranced in his reading, Staveley absently brushed his light brown hair off his forehead. Caroline smiled when her eyes fell on him. Had she been given a choice all those years ago, she would never have married the quiet, reserved viscount; they didn’t have a thing in common. It was a good thing her brother, Robert, hadn’t given her a choice in the matter. Now, more than decade and three children later, she loved her husband dearly and couldn’t imagine life without his steady influence.

Poor Hannah Campbell. All alone in the world.

Caroline crossed the floor, picked up the heavy tome from her husband’s hands, and dropped it to the floor with a loud thud. Staveley’s brown eyes watched her with amusement. “Are you looking for my attention, dear?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Caroline nodded, then dropped herself across her husband’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve decided to host a dinner party.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “
Just
a dinner party?”

He didn’t have to look so skeptical about the idea. “Yes,
just
a dinner party.”

Staveley wrapped his arms tighter around Caroline and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Whatever will make you happy, my dear, but you must admit that normally your events are on a much grander scale.”

She nodded in agreement. “That is true. But I went shopping today, and—”

“Oh, and how much did that little excursion cost me?”

Caroline playfully thumped his ear with her fingers. “Watch yourself, Staveley, or I’ll go back out tomorrow and spend double what I did today.”

When he simply chuckled at the threat, Caroline leaned her head against his shoulder. She was so fortunate to have him. “As I was saying, David, I went shopping today with Bethany Carteret and Lady Hannah Campbell.”

“Of course… She must have been twelve, thirteen when I first met her. The four of us had gone up Briarstrath.” Staveley didn’t have to say who the four of them were. He could only mean himself, James MacFadyn, Simon Greywood, and Alexander Everett. “She was such a spitfire. Never let James get away with anything.”

“What do you know about the Battle at Vitoria?”

Staveley paused before answering and furrowed his brow in thought. “Just what was in the papers. It was a few months ago. A decisive victory for the Allies. Wellington was in command…And from what James said, that’s where Hannah’s husband was wounded. Cavalry officer with the Scots Greys.”

Caroline nodded sadly. “Major Campbell died a week later, apparently.” She clutched her husband’s lapel in her hands. “I’m so glad to have you, darling.”

Staveley softly brushed his lips across hers. “I’m glad to have you too… Am I to take it that Lady Hannah is the reason for your dinner?”

Her husband knew her very well. Caroline nodded. “She doesn’t know anyone here except for the Carterets, and you know how tiring Beth can be. I can’t very well have a ball or soiree or something. There’d be dancing, and…well, she’s only two months into her mourning. So I think a small dinner would be appropriate, don’t you think so?”

“You would know best, my dear.”

“Do you suppose I could coerce Kelfield into attending? With your sisters, I’ll need to round out my numbers. So even after Clayworth and Astwick, I’m still a man short.”

Staveley’s muscles tensed beneath her. “That’s a very bad idea, Caroline.”