Lord Will & Her Grace (13 page)

"It is as I thought," the pretty, petite maid
stated matter-of-factly. "Let us remove that gown before any stains
set."

Sophie knew she was blushing, but refused to
speak as Karine rose from her perch to remove the gown.

"I tried to warn you, mademoiselle, did I
not?" Karine gathered Sophie's dress in her arms and moved to hang
it near the basin, her hips swaying with every step. "But do they
listen? Never. They all think, 'I am a lady and a gentleman would
never dare to compromise me.' Well, it happens every day. Just tell
me you didn't believe him when he told you he was falling in love
with you, did you?"

Sophie blinked.

"Ah, I see that you did. You then, take the
prize of being the most naive of the lot I have served."

Her maid then uttered a long string of French
words that Sophie could only guess were ineptitudes being heaped on
her gullible head.

"And did he play the piano for you, too? I
have heard that he plays remarkably well. He has a special sonata
he uses when he attempts the seduction. Ah, he used that on you
also? Well—at least you had the chance to experience the ultimate
seduction from the ultimate rogue. There are many who would envy
you. But they all hold one important distinction. They are all
married or widowed and therefore not so silly as you. It is said
below stairs at Hinton Arms that he generally prefers petite
beauties with youthful physiques, much like me," Karine added,
looking down to admire her own tiny frame.

Sophie's heart plummeted. "Stop, Karine. Stop
this instant. Not another word."

"But I'm only trying to tell you what you'll
need to—"

"I don't need to win him over. He has
proposed marriage. We're to be wedded as soon as the banns are
read. We have only left to decide if it will be done here or at St.
George's. My aunt told me a long time ago that she had her heart
set on a huge town wedding."

Karine had always been adept at demoralizing
her. This had been the most magnificent night of her life and
instead she now felt deflated. She tried hard not to listen to
Karine. She didn't want the black tentacles of doubt to unfurl in
her consciousness. Had her acceptance of his proposal and their
passionate encounter been nothing more than a forgone conclusion to
him?

"Hmmm…" Karine was lost in thought, her
forehead wrinkled in concentration. "There has to be a reason he
wants to marry. He has had so many women rich, poor, beautiful—all
who would have gladly given anything for a proposal from him. Why
you, I ask. But, actually, it all fits into place."

"Karine, whatever ridiculous notion you are
concocting, I will not listen to it. Lord Will may be an expert in
seduction, and now he can add an expert in making marriage
proposals to his list of roguish qualities—but this proposal will
be his last. We plan to have a long and happy marriage
together."

"Oh, I forgot. But then—you English women are
determined to remain in the comfort of the dark, priding yourselves
in fulfilling their husband's every whim. We French women prefer to
know our demons so we can tame them to make sure they fulfill our
every need."

Sophie sighed and shook her head. "All right
Karine, I see I shall have no peace until you have your say."

Karine lifted her eyebrows and shoulders in
perfect harmony. "Far be it for me to tell you how to live your
life, Mademoiselle Sophie. And you have shown precious little in
the way of gratitude for everything I have done for you…"

There was a long pause as Karine examined her
apron.

Would this night ever end? But she knew if
she did not listen to her devious maid, Sophie would suffer
anxieties all night. "Karine, you know how much I appreciate your
advice and everything you do for me."

Karine dusted the edge of the small table
with her finger. "Perhaps you will show your thanks by allowing me
your new rose-colored cloak?"

Sophie sighed. "Agreed."

"And the matching parasol and reticule you
will never use?"

Tiredly, Sophie waved her acquiescence and
lowered herself before the table and looking glass. Her haggard
appearance startled her.

"Well," Karine said with a lofty tilt to her
petite head, "the Mornington chits's maid told me just last week
that there has been an alarming stream of males demanding
interviews with Lord Will. They are those vulgar sort of men down
from London," she paused and gave a sly wink. "Rosario is an adept
eavesdropper, and she said that she had even overheard the men
demanding vast sums of money from Lord Will, or else…"

"Or else what?"

"Or else, whatever," she said with a Gallic
shrug. "Don't you see? He is marrying you above all those other
ladies because you will be richer than anyone he knows, and he
obviously needs money to pay off moneylenders right now. It is
amazing the lengths a man will go to avoid being maimed for
life."

Sophie closed her eyes and felt the
embodiment of her soul drop to somewhere around her ankles. "He is
a gambler then. A wastrel—another fortune-hunter."

"The very devil himself, if you were to ask
me," Karine added for good measure. "But don't misunderstand me.
You must marry him. But you must also make him well and truly fall
in love with you. When you have him on the tip of your finger, you
can decide what you want to do about it. I would force him to be
your slave, while you dispense favors when the mood strikes you."
She cocked her head to one side and looked over Sophie's physique.
"Personally, I think your chances of success are about one in ten
thousand, but we will at least have some fun—for once—trying. And
we can leave this boring backcountry hole for the amusements of
town before the sea air ruins both of our complexions."

Sophie slowly flexed her hunched shoulders
back. The warmth of William's embrace had left her body, and a
detached calm replaced it. She felt the first ice-cold intention to
exact retribution trickle into her veins and for the first time in
her life, she couldn't stop an action she knew to be sinful. Her
innocence—physical and emotional—had been stripped from her quite
thoroughly and heartlessly and the desire to hurt in return took
root. "Oh, we'll go to London all right. But I'll not marry Lord
Will."

"Are you out of your mind? Of course you will
marry him. You have no choice. He ruined you— and perhaps got you
with child. You'll never find a more suitable match, nor will you
be able to accede to your inheritance," Karine said, then winked.
"And he is an expert lover as well, don't you think?"

Sophie looked at her quickly.

"Of course, I have no personal knowledge of
this. It is just that his brother was—" Karine blinked her eyes and
hastily looked aside.

"No, I will not have him," Sophie said
quietly. "And I am fairly sure there will be no consequences to our
actions of tonight. It is most likely the wrong time if I am to
believe what the midwife in Wales told me. As to my being ruined,
that will be an obstacle, but not insurmountable. I have the
advantage that everyone already thinks I was ruined when I left
London. So there'll be no awkward scenes explaining myself to the
one I do marry." Sophie paused when she saw Karine's incredulous
expression. "No, I'll not have Lord Will no matter what you
say."

"You are a fool, then," Karine said. "Why do
I always have to serve the imprudent ones? I should have been born
a man so I could have been a valet. It would have been so much more
amusing, listening to their exploits and conquests than the silly
talk of love and respect I must hear from females. Life is to be
lived, mademoiselle, not frittered away in a glass tower. Your
great character will provide cold comfort on winter nights alone in
your bed."

"Karine, you misunderstood me. I did not say
I wouldn't marry. I said I would not marry that spawn of Satan. We
will leave for London, and I'll marry a member of the
ton
,
and I'll inherit my fortune. I'll also become known as the most
sought after, extremely eligible, soon-to-be heiress in all of
London. And you'll help me. If I must marry, it will not be to a
lying, cheating fortune hunter, but to an honest fortune hunter in
the worst case scenario—or to an intelligent, kind, caring
aristocrat who has little need of my riches in the best case. And
I'll make Lord Will rue the day he thought I could so easily be
gulled."

"Well, as long as we return to London, and it
necessitates a lot more shopping, which your plan will, and you
promise to take my advice more seriously, for I've a reputation to
maintain"—and here she sniffed—"then perhaps I'll go along with
your arrangement." Karine's outrageous behavior explored new
heights.

Unfortunately, her maid also had a sense of
fashion and style that was unparalleled, and Sophie would need
Karine if she was to have any chance of attaining success.

Sophie did not say it, but one day she also
hoped to surprise Karine by her London conquests so much so that
the ridiculous maid would literally swoon and grovel her praises.
Sophie smiled in bitterness. Well, perhaps she might be successful
in her retaliation of that lying, scoundrel Lord Will, by living a
phenomenal life, but it was doubtful she would ever wring a word of
praise from that petite loaf of a French maid. One must be
realistic, after all.

Will lay back in the warm soapy bathwater and
rested his head on the edge of the copper tub. There was a
suggestion of a smile about the corners of his mouth as he closed
his eyes.

He felt as satisfied as a well-fed wolf in
his lair.

He had left her reluctantly last night. Her
gown had to be repositioned and her hair repinned. But when he had
departed at the doorway leading from the music room to the terrace,
he had promised, in the most enticing and amusing language, to
return to her the next day. He had gone so far as to name the time
and she had laughed but had not said no. He'd also suggested they
be married by special license because she could very well find
herself in an interesting condition with unamusing speculation from
the
beau monde
.

William smiled again. The possibility of a
child. His child. He almost laughed. By God, he had never imagined
it.

He could not believe his good fortune. Little
had he envisioned two weeks ago finding perfect happiness in this
little piece of England on the edge of nowhere. And suddenly, he
felt strangely detached—as if everything had happened too quickly,
too perfectly to be real. But this tall, bonny Welsh bride was his
and they would be wed as soon as possible.

There was only the slightest twinge of guilt
over his joy in her money. He tried to ignore it.

William opened his eyes at the sound of Jack
Farquhar carrying in a steaming pitcher of water. He leaned forward
to receive the water on his soapy head.

"Why, do my eyes deceive me? Do I detect a
familiar self-satisfied contentment in the air? Or did you just
over imbibe last night and the effects have not worn off?" Jack
busied himself about the chamber, laying out clothes that he had
carried in with him, sharpening the edge of the razor with a
strop.

Will exited the bath and accepted the towels
from his valet who then retrieved a sealed letter from his pocket.
Jack passed the note beneath his nose. "Mmmm… roses. Not very
original, but very nice indeed. I see you have her writing love
notes to you already. Fast lot those Welsh."

Will laughed. "Now, now, I can't have you
besmirching the good name of the future Duchess of Cornwallis. It
would behoove you to get into her good graces." He chuckled at his
double entendre.

Jack's jaw dropped.

"Watch it, old man. You'll catch flies
standing about in that manner," Will continued.

"The poor thing. I actually liked this one,"
Jack said, resuming his activities. The valet sat near Will to
brush lather onto his face. "Well, that's a record. You've bedded
her in less than a fortnight."

"It wasn't all that difficult, especially
when you offer an irresistible proposal." Will felt slightly sick
bantering about with Jack in his usual nonchalant fashion when he
felt anything but. But he knew Jack would burst out laughing if he
acted as seriously happy as he felt.

"It must have been the fan. It works every
time." Jack began scraping the whiskers from Will's face. "So
you're actually going to take on the shackle for this one?
Willingly?"

"Don't be so shocked. It was bound to happen
sooner or later. And by the by, I like her too."

"You're a cheeky devil. You're in it for the
fortune. You can't fool me." The valet shaved the neck area.

"As I treasure my life, I'll not say another
word while you hold that razor."

Jack chuckled and finished the job. He dried
Will's face, and turned to retrieve a cravat while Will toweled off
and buttoned his shirt.