An Affair of Honor (32 page)

“Draw rein, Nell,” his lordship said more calmly. “Of course I believed you.”

The words succeeded in bringing her up short. She stared at him searchingly. “But you said—”

“I know what I said … or rather, I don’t know, but I daresay I didn’t say very much to the purpose. Your news about Lady Agatha was as shocking to me as it must have been to you. If I seemed unresponsive at the time, it was merely that I was thinking as fast as I could, trying to come up with a solution to our problem. Until that moment I had been pretty much contented to leave you to your little strategies, but once Lady Agatha received notice to quit at any moment, the element of speed became a good deal more important than it had previously been.”

She regarded him suspiciously. “My little strategies?”

He grinned at her then. “Lord, you must think I’m a nodcock! Did you flatter yourself that you were managing things delicately? I assure you, my dear, you were little less than ham-handed. But you seemed to be going the right way to work with her ladyship, so I had no wish to put a spoke in your wheel.”

“I see.” Nell sighed. “Then you knew what I was doing all along.”

“I did, but I confess I thought we’d be grassed, because Talcott seemed less than passionately interested, and I was nearly certain Aurora would refuse to call off the betrothal if she didn’t fancy herself romantically involved with someone else. Your sister’s teachings had been too deeply engrained for anything less than love to dislodge them.”

“Well, I knew she cared for him and there were times I thought he returned her feelings, but it was not until the night she went free-trading—”

“That was when I knew we had a chance, too,” Huntley agreed. “But that was also when you dropped the news about Lady Agatha into my lap. I had no chance to confirm my belief about the major that night, and since time was of the essence, I was forced to leave for London without tracking him down. But I hope he wants to marry the naughty puss, because I took a long chance, went straight to Chatham, and pleaded his cause with Lord and Lady Crossways. I knew I’d have better luck than anyone else, and so I did, but it was the very devil of a business.”

“They agreed to entertain his suit?” Nell’s mouth dropped open. “You must have spoken very well of him indeed, sir.”

“Not only well enough that they agreed to consider his suit,” Huntley informed her with pardonable pride, “but well enough that Crossways requested that I procure a special license while I was in London.”

“Merciful heavens!”

“Exactly so,” he agreed, taking her firmly by the shoulders and giving her a little shake. The stern look had returned to his eyes. “You see, little goose, you are not the only one with a brain in your head. There are others who may be trusted to have an idea from time to time. And, if I may be permitted to say so, better ideas than yours. If I had had the slightest notion that you would attempt anything so cork-brained as this elopement of yours, I’d never have left town without at least speaking to Talcott. Thank God, he had better sense than the both of you, for I’ve not a doubt in the world that it was he who scotched your little plan. I’m only astonished he let it go so far as it did.”

“He didn’t,” she admitted, staring at his waistcoat buttons. “Rory thought she could bring him ’round her thumb, and told me she had already convinced him it was the only course of action left to them. In fact, he had told her he would have nothing to do with it. He was waiting for us today only because he feared she might go to meet him by herself.”

“That should have been the only way for her to get there,” he said, regarding her somberly. “You’d no business to encourage her, let alone to go with her. I thought you had better sense than that, Nell. You disappointed me.”

It was as if he had slapped her. Tightness clutched at the back of her throat, but even so, the sudden tears welling into her eyes caught her by surprise. She gasped a little, trying to stifle them, and Huntley’s grip on her arms tightened.

“Nell, what is it?”

His quick sympathy steadied her, but it also reminded her of his weakness for feminine tears. Since it seemed only too likely that he had been gearing up to bellow at her some more, it occurred to her that that weakness might well be turned to good account. Consequently, she squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears spill over onto her cheeks. Then she looked up at him reproachfully.

“I n-never meant to m-make you so angry,” she stammered.

But instead of reassuring her as she had every right to expect him to do, Huntley looked searchingly at her for a long moment, then gave her another shake, forcefully enough this time to bring her teeth snapping together. “Don’t you dare to cry, my girl,” he ordered sternly, “for it won’t do you the slightest good. You are no languishing miss, and if you think for one moment that I mean to encourage you to cultivate vinaigrettes and lace handkerchieves, then you’d best think again. I won’t have it, Nell. Control yourself at once!”

Her eyes widened, the tears ceasing as if by magic. “Well, I like that!” she said. “I suppose I have as great a right as anyone else to cry when people say hurtful things to me.”

Sudden amusement lit his eyes. “I said nothing you did not deserve to hear, and since weepy females instill nothing less in me than a desire to box their ears, I should not advise you to attempt such tactics.”

“I suppose that is why you positively quail at the sight of Mama’s vinaigrette,” Nell accused. “And why your mama and sister can twist you ’round their thumbs with similar tactics.”

“Since it would be highly improper of me to box either your mama’s or my mama’s ears, the situation is very different. As for my sister, if you think she weeps, you much mistake the matter. She shrieks. Incessantly. And if she lived with me, I should not stand such uncivil behavior for very long before putting an end to it. So, consider yourself forewarned.”

“Forewarned, my lord?” She stared at him, almost afraid to think what he might mean by such words. Her heart seemed to have jumped into her throat again, but she did not think for one moment that fear had put it there. Unless it was fear that he didn’t mean what she couldn’t help hoping he meant.

“I had thought that if we could contrive to straighten out this mess, you might consent to return with me to Huntley Green as my wife.”

“As your wife?”

“Of course, little goose, unless you’ve a preference for some other position.”

She stared up at him, searching his face for some small indication that he might not mean what he was saying. There was nothing in his expression but that which made her heart beat faster. She decided to put him to the test. “I was persuaded you would be too angry with me to … to consider such a course. Are you certain you want me for your wife?”

“Only if you will solemnly promise never to subject me to such an affecting display of sensibility again,” he said, withdrawing his handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket and dabbing gently at her damp cheeks.

“It was not the first time,” she reminded him.

“No, my dear, but I have never before seen that calculating look beneath your tears. Your face, you know, is a tolerable reflection of your thoughts, and I am not so easily manipulated, regardless of what you may previously have believed.”

“No, sir,” she replied meekly.

“Much better. However, you have not answered my question.”

“Oh, Philip,” she said softly, “I love you so dearly, and I should like to marry you above all things, but are you certain you are not offering for me out of pity, fearing that I shall otherwise be left upon the shelf as a prop to my aging mama?”

“Nell, you
are
a goose,” he said, kissing her lightly. “I’d never do anything so absurd. I love you.” Despite the touch of amusement in his voice, she detected a tightness that she had heard only once before, and looking up at him, she could see the truth of the simple statement reflected in the heat of his gaze. A glow seemed to spread to her very toes, and she could not take her eyes from his. Returning her mesmerized look with a somewhat searching one of his own, Huntley began visibly to relax. He bent to kiss her again, and this time Nell’s response made further conversation impossible for some moments. At last he said, “I fell in love with you eight years ago.”

“Nonsense.” But she softened the effect of the word by caressing his cheek. “You never gave anyone the slightest of hints.”

“My suit would never have prospered,” he said. “It would have been cruel to lead you to believe I felt more than friendship toward you, so long as your family was what it was. Only consider the problems we have had to overcome with Crossways and your sister, merely because Talcott is a younger son. And he has money and property of his own, which I did not have. I was completely dependent upon my father and then, after his death, upon my brother. I was not exaggerating when I said my sole reason for joining the military when I did was to avoid the humiliation of hanging upon his sleeve. It was bad enough to be made dependent upon Papa, but dependence upon my brother was intolerable to me. When I met you in London, I wanted nothing more than to ask permission to fix my interest with you. But I had no way to support you. The best I might have hoped for was an adequate allowance from my family. But your grandfather was a marquess, my dear. Your family would never have considered my suit while I was a mere penniless younger son. They’d have written me off as a fortune hunter. And two years ago, when I came into the property, it never occurred to me that you would not have been married long since, with a brood of children at your knee.”

“I thought much the same about you,” she confessed, smiling up at him, wanting to banish the look of pain that had touched his eyes again as he spoke. “Oh, Philip, how fate does play with us!”

“No more, my love.” His look softened, and he held her close. His hands began to move gently over her body. “We are together at last,” he murmured gruffly against her curls. “Your wretched niece will be well provided for, I think, so we can attend to our own affairs without a qualm.”

Nell sighed with pleasure at the thought, then suddenly wrinkled her brow. “I do worry about Mama,” she said. “She depends a good deal upon me, you know. Do you think perhaps she ought to live with us?”

He made a small choking sound. “I don’t think that will be necessary, love. Lady Agnes will be in good hands.”

“I wish I could be certain of that, but Kit, you know, has not the habit of looking after her.”

“You cannot say the same of Sir Henry.” He looked down at her quizzically.

“Well, of course not,” she retorted, “but he is merely her man of affairs, scarcely as close to her as a daughter.”

“As a husband, however, he will be a deal closer,” Huntley murmured, letting his hands play teasingly across her breasts.

But she pulled away from him in astonishment. “Philip, you must be joking! Sir Henry?”

“Indeed. Not only did I procure one special license at Crossways’ request, but a second at Sir Henry’s. I am a most obliging fellow.”

“Well, for heaven’s sake!” She eyed him innocently. “Two licenses, my lord?”

“Three licenses. And at vast expense, I’ll have you know.”

“Ah,” she said wisely, watching him from under her lashes, “and to think I once thought you a cautious man.”

He chuckled, drawing a finger lightly beneath her chin. “But I
am
cautious, my love. However, I am also sure.”

“Are you, my lord?” He nodded, drawing her into his arms again. “Well, I am also sure, but I am
not
very cautious,” Nell murmured into his waistcoat. “Are you truly persuaded that you wish to be saddled with an impulsive bride?”

“You may be as impulsive as you like, little one,” he said, amused. “I shall endeavor to do what I can to rescue you whenever you fall into the briars.”

“
Just
like a knight in shining armor!” she said soulfully, twinkling up at him. “And to think Rory had quite convinced me that you hadn’t got a romantic bone in your body!”

“I haven’t!” he denied, revolted.

“Fiddlesticks. But you needn’t repine. I shan’t tell a soul. ’Tis the duty of a good wife to protect her husband’s proud name.”

“Does that mean you will marry me, Nell?” His tone was deeply serious again, and there was anxiety in the hazel eyes as he waited for her response. She smiled at him.

“Yes, Philip, I will.”

A fourth-generation Californian of Scottish descent, Amanda Scott is the author of more than fifty romantic novels, many of which appeared on the
USA Today
bestseller list. Her Scottish heritage and love of history (she received undergraduate and graduate degrees in history at Mills College and California State University, San Jose, respectively) inspired her to write historical fiction. Credited by
Library Journal
with starting the Scottish romance subgenre, Scott has also won acclaim for her sparkling Regency romances. She is the recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award (for
Lord Abberley’s Nemesis
, 1986) and the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. She lives in central California with her husband.

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Copyright © 1984 by Lynne Scott-Drennan

Cover design by Mimi Bark

978-1-4804-1551-5

This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media