In The Prince's Bed (30 page)

She nodded. “My grandfather. Until he died six years ago.”

“The two of you must have been very close.”

She stared out at the street that was damp from spring rains. “He was the only one in my family who understood me.”

Which explained why the man had left her a fortune. But it would be Edenmore benefiting from the fruits of her labor, Edenmore profiting from the fortune intended for her own family. “You must enjoy household management, or surely you wouldn’t keep doing it.”

“Actually, I look forward to leaving it all behind.” When she caught him frowning, she added, “Not that I don’t mean to fulfill my wifely duties at your estate—”

“
Our
estate,” he corrected her.

She smiled. “Yes, of course. But managing a staff is a far cry from having to perform half the servants’

duties because there’s too much work to go round. Then there’s the incessant concerns about our debts… I’ll be very happy not to have to worry about
that
anymore.”

“Will you?” he said uneasily. She wouldn’t be leaving her worries and hard work behind. If anything, until he set Edenmore to rights, she’d have more. Because even with her fortune, it would take careful management to do all that must be done.

“Why do you think I read so much poetry? To take my mind off the realities of my life.” She cast him a teasing smile. “But you’ll be happy to know that since I won’t have to worry about such things now, I won’t have to read nearly so much of that stuff you detest.”

Uh-oh. He’d better lay in a large supply of books in verse. He’d need it to soothe her temper when she found out how he’d tricked her.

Blast, blast, blast. He’d assumed that she’d be grateful to be free of her flighty mother and that too-serious idiot Sydney. When she discovered that marrying him had merely forced her to exchange one prison for another, she might not be so grateful. She might even resent having lost Sydney’s wealth and servants and easy life.

He squelched the burst of unfamiliar guilt. All right, so her days might not go quite as she hoped, but at least the nights would be better than anything Sydney could give her. Of that, he was sure. The carriage shuddered to a halt in front of the Merivale town house, jolting her mother awake. Mrs. Merivale blinked and looked around. “Katherine… where… Oh. Forgive me, I must have dozed.” She
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
cast him a bright smile. “You will come in and have some supper, won’t you, Lord Iversley? I daresay Lady Purefoy’s wretched fare was scarcely enough to keep a man’s body and soul together, especially after he spent the day racing about the countryside.”

“Tempting as that sounds, I can only come in for a few minutes,” he said, as his footman hurried down the stairs to open the carriage door.

“Nonsense, I won’t hear of it. Katherine told Cook to prepare some cold viands for our return, and it will take Thomas only a moment to set it out and uncork the wine.”

Alec climbed down from the carriage, then handed the two ladies out. No point in waiting any longer to break the bad news to them. “Actually, I have to be up before dawn’s light. I must return to Suffolk by nightfall tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!” Katherine exclaimed. With a frown, she took the arm he offered her. “But you just returned!”

After her mother took his other arm, he led them both up the stairs. “You forget that I still have my problem with the tillers—I must finish dealing with that. Not to mention that I must prepare my staff and make sure that Edenmore is in a condition suitable for your arrival.”

“You needn’t make a fuss for me,” Katherine protested.

“It’s no fuss, believe me. After we’re married, I want to be able to take you right home and have you be comfortable.”

“Won’t you take a honeymoon trip first?” Mrs. Merivale asked, as they entered the house.

“Perhaps after the spring planting is done, but not right now. As it is, I can barely spare the time to return to London for our wedding later in the week.”

“A week is not enough time to plan a wedding, my lord,” Mrs. Merivale snapped, as Alec handed his hat and great coat to Thomas. “When you said a small ceremony, I didn’t think you meant it. Why, you’re an earl, for heaven’s sake. We should at the very least—”

“I would prefer just ourselves. Fortunately, I’ve already acquired the special license, so as soon as I return from Suffolk we can marry.” Thank God the archbishop happened to have a son in the cavalry who sang Alec’s praises. He glanced down at Katherine. “Is that all right with you?”

He held his breath. If Katherine preferred a big wedding some weeks hence in Heath’s End, he wasn’t sure he could keep up appearances or hide his true financial state from his skittish intended that long.

“I don’t much care whether we have a large wedding.” Katherine lifted her troubled gaze to him as Thomas took her coat. “But a week really is a short time, especially if you spend part of it in the country. You and Mama still have to speak with Papa’s solicitor and arrange the marriage settlement—”

“Just a formality, my lord,” her mother put in quickly. “But it must be done. And you’ll be delighted to find that Katherine—”

“—has a small dowry,” Katherine finished, casting her mother a dark look.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
He stiffened. So she didn’t trust him enough yet to tell him of her fortune. Meanwhile, he still had to evade questions about his own finances.

Mrs. Merivale and the solicitor wouldn’t much care about his situation, however, as long as he promised Katherine a certain amount of pin money and a sufficient jointure in case he died first and left her a widow. He could promise the latter easily. By the time he died, he intended to have a substantial income. As for pin money, he fully intended to give Katherine a nice portion of the fortune she would inherit. He’d even be willing to offer her mother some of it in exchange for her cooperation. So he could probably manage the meeting with the solicitor without revealing too much of his current state of affairs.

“Of course I’ll meet with your father’s solicitor, and that can be done upon my return. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours. Then we can have a small ceremony here, and afterward—”

“No, no, my lord, how can you think of such a thing?” Mrs. Merivale let out an exasperated sigh. “But there is no use talking to a man about these things when he’s hungry.” She turned to Thomas. “Is the food laid out in the dining room?”

“Yes, madam. I set it out as soon as I heard you drive up.”

She waved her beringed hand toward the dining room. “Katherine, take his lordship off and feed him while I fetch the wine. And do tell your intended how impossible his plan is. Why, the wedding might not even appear in the papers if we do it his way.”

Mrs. Merivale marched off, leaving them no choice but to follow Thomas into the dining room. But as soon as they entered, Katherine turned to the manservant. “That will be all for now, Thomas. I’ll ring if I need you.”

“Very good, miss,” he murmured.

After he left, Katherine faced Alec. “Must you return to Suffolk so soon?”

That caught him off guard. He’d expected complaints about the small wedding. “Believe me, I’d rather stay with you until we marry, but duty calls.” Not wanting to discuss it further, he scanned the room.

“Perhaps I
should
eat something before I go.” He shot her a wicked smile as he headed for the sideboard. “I suddenly have an enormous appetite, thanks to our… er… vigorous activity earlier.”

Though she blushed, she ignored his insinuation as she came up beside him. “What if Mama and I were to go with you to Suffolk?”

He froze as he was picking up a plate. Blast. “That wouldn’t be wise.”

“Why not? You and I could simply marry at your estate. You want a small wedding, and Mama and I need a quick one, no matter what she thinks. There is Mr. Byrne to consider, after all. If we marry at Edenmore, that would all be settled. And we wouldn’t have to be parted.”

No, the parting would come when she saw the condition of his estate, and they wouldn’t even make it to the wedding.

Not good, not good at all. He served himself some cold roast beef, though he’d suddenly lost his appetite. “It’s not practical forusto marry in Suffolk. We’d have to return to London anyway to pay off
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
your debt to Mr. Byrne, and there’s the solicitor to talk to—”

“Surely you could do that tomorrow morning, before you leave. And you said you already got the special license. So why not have the wedding at
your
home?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but Edenmore is in no condition right now for a wedding. And I don’t have time to meet with the solicitor before I leave.”

“All right then, letusgo with you for a visit. Then we’ll return to London for the wedding when you’ve finished your business. Mama and I could see your estate and meet your servants—”

“No,” he said quickly. Too quickly, judging from the suspicion flaring in her face. He gritted his teeth. Her request was perfectly logical, so he must give her an irreproachable answer. “I won’t be able to spend any time entertaining you—”

“You needn’t worry aboutus—we’ll fend for ourselves.”

He averted his gaze, unsettled by the disappointment in her face. Mechanically, he heaped food on his plate, hardly noticing what he put there. It got harder by the moment to deceive her. Yet deceive her he must. “I’m sorry, but it would be too much a distraction for me.
You
can take care of yourself, but your mother would be bored. And I must focus on dealing with the spring planting. I can’t manage guests right now.”

A heavy silence fell. After a few moments, he could stand it no longer. Setting down his plate, he faced her. “You do understand, don’t you?”

Her eyes were unnaturally bright. “Alec, I know you said there should be no rules betweenus, but I wish you’d agree to at least one rule.”

The abrupt change of subject set off alarm bells. “And what might that be?”

“That we are always honest with each other.”

Blast. “I
am
being honest with you.”

With an arch of one brow, she searched his face, and he forced himself to meet her gaze boldly. He
was
being honest, at least about this. She and her mother would be a distraction, and he wouldn’t be able to entertain them.

And they’d find out that you have no money.

Perhaps he should tell her the truth. He grew tired of the lies and evasions, of trying to think one step ahead of her clever mind. Perhaps if he laid the situation out for her, she’d accept he had no choice, and the deception would all be over.

Or she would refuse to marry him.

He dared not take that chance. “You’ll see Edenmore soon enough, you know. There’s no need to rush.”

Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
A stubborn look spread over her face. “Alec, I need your promise. Can you swear to be honest with me and never hide anything from me after we’re married?”

Thathe could promise. Because after they married, there’d be no reason to hide anything—although he wasn’t looking forward to the storm that would follow all his revelations.

“Yes, I promise,” he said solemnly. “I swear on my mother’s grave that once we’re married, I’ll always be honest with you and not hide anything.”

Some of the stiffness left her posture. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Why did he suspect that his answer hadn’t completely satisfied her? “Any other rules you wish to foist on me? An agreement not to wear fustian at dinner, a promise never to smoke in bed, that sort of thing?”

A smile tugged at her lips. “No, I think the honesty thing will be quite enough.” She glanced away. “And as long as we’re being honest, I suppose I should tell you that Sydney proposed marriage to me this evening. He promised to tell his mother and everything if I would only agree to marry him.”

His gut twisted into a knot. “Did he?”

“Yes. Before you arrived at the party.”

He chose his words carefully. “And what answer did you give him?”

She shifted her gaze to his. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

Why was she telling him this? To remind him that she had other choices? Or show him how much she’d given up to be with him?

He chose to believe the latter. Drawing her close, he stared at her country-girl face with its sunny freckles and trembling mouth and vulnerable eyes. “Listen to me, Katherine, and listen well. I will do my best to keep you from regretting your choice. I promise to be a good husband to you. You needn’t fear on that score.”

She searched his face. “And I promise to be a good wife. I only hope that you and I agree on what that is.”

“I’m sure we do,” he said as he enfolded her in his arms.

Though she let him hold her, he wasn’t certain he’d convinced her. Never mind. He only had to keep her content until he got her to the altar, and that would come within the week. He was in the final stretch of the race. Nothing short of an act of God could stop him from reaching the finish line now.

Chapter Twenty-three

Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

Remember that women are unpredictable.

Just when you think you have them under

your thumb, they will appear where you

least expect, wagging their tongues.

—Anonymous,
A Rake’s Rhetorick

“You know that you’ve lost your mind, don’t you?” Katherine’s mother said two days later from across the hired carriage.

“I know.”

She really did. The closer they traveled to a tiny village called Fenbridge, the more insane this trip seemed. Yet she had to make it. She had to find out what Alec was hiding. Because she
knew
he was hiding something. Otherwise, why not let them go with him to Suffolk? Her stomach tightening with every mile, she stared out at the forest they passed. His reluctance simply made no sense. If he was so eager to bring her home with him to begin their life together, why not do it at once?