Portrait of a Scandal (17 page)

“Hello, daughter. I ventured out for a stroll and decided to pay a call. I am not interrupting, am I?”

“You could never intrude, Father. In fact, your timing is rather well made,” she said, and looked towards the butler. “Has the cook prepared the luncheon meal for both myself and his Lordship?”

“I believe so, my Lady.”

Again she looked at the letter in her hand. “My husband is regrettably detained and will not be returning home until later. Father, would you like to dine with me? I would hate to see the cook’s efforts go to waste.”

Her father beamed. “I would be honoured, my dear.”

Chapter Eleven

“You’re what?”

“Nellie, your outbursts, while charming to me, could see you and your husband snubbed by society,” her father said drily, as he cut the chicken on his plate.

“You cannot leave London. Parliament is still sitting,” Nellie stated.

“Indeed, but it is of little consequence.”

Nellie sat astonished. “I do not understand.” And she didn’t. He had never before left while the Lords were sitting.

The man who had been the rock of her world looked up, his eyes filled with tiredness. “I grow weary of the city, Nel.”

“Yes. I can understand that. Your feelings are not dissimilar to my own.”

He gave a nod. “Indeed, but your home is here, now. It is time for me to step aside and return to the family seat.”

“Step aside?”

His big, brown eyes softened. “You are a woman now, my dear. You no longer need your father around.”

“Who said such a thing? You are my Papa, and I love you.”

Her father reached out and took her hand in his across the table. “And I love you too, my dear, but it is time for you to see to your own life.”

“You can be a part of that life. I do not believe Thomas would begrudge you that.”

“Nor do I.” His smile gave truth to his words. “But I have come to glimpse, in the short time you have been wed, that you are happy. This is all I need to see.”

“I would be much happier if you were here, too,” she pleaded.

“But I would not.”

Nellie reeled with shock. He would not be happy near her?

He sighed. “My dear, I do not care for this place. I miss Fleurit Park. It is where my best memories reside. Where your mother and I grew to love each other and where you were created and born. I have watched my baby girl grow into a woman, and now I need to let her spread her wings.”

Tears clouded her eyes, so much so that her father became nothing more than a glassy haze.

“I trust you will visit regularly and Thomas’ family seat is but less than a day’s ride from our own. I do not want to burden you, Nel, nor your husband.”

“You would not,” she sobbed.

“
I
would feel it so, and therefore it is not for me to live my child’s life. I need to live the last of mine in a way that best befits me, and that is at Fleurit Park. You have managed the holding more than I have over the last few years, and it is time I took control again. I have seen you settled and now, when my time comes, I can join your mother a content man.”

* * * *

The droning chatter of the men around him was wearing on Thomas’ already thin patience. He wanted to be at home—with his wife. He looked across the dimly lit room of White’s, one of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs in London, to see the sun was well past set. Would Nellie be waiting for him by now, in bed, naked? He hoped so.

“Thomas where are you tonight?” his father scolded, drawing him out of his lustful thoughts.

“Here, where you dictate I should be,” he murmured with irritation. His father had demanded his presence tonight after their weekly estate meeting earlier that day. If they spoke of items of interest, Thomas would surely pay attention, but the earl’s new mistress and Sir Charles’ new carriage were not topics he needed to concern himself with.

Sir Charles barked a laugh. “The boy is nothing but honest with you, Sterling.”

“She will survive without you for one evening, son,” his father said with a shake of his head, then sipped on his brandy.

“You are pleased with your marriage, then?” the duke said, with his keen eye on Thomas. The man had not greeted him with warm regard since he had learnt of Thomas’ tumble with his daughter, Lady Mary, earlier in the year. Thomas couldn’t blame the man, in all honesty.

“I am.”

“The Rake of Sterling has met his match then, has he?” the duke said with a fake smile. “I look forward to meeting her.”

Thomas did his best to conceal the unease brewing inside him. He would hold off that meeting for as long as he was physically able. He wanted this nobleman nowhere near Nellie.

“She would be a match for any man, not simply Thomas,” the Earl of Combleton muttered into his glass, no doubt remembering Nellie’s approach to purchasing her new mare.

Thomas’ father chuckled. “Indeed, and I must say, I am more than pleased with Thomas’ choice in a bride. She will raise my grandchildren to be fierce and strong.”

“You make your future kin sound as if they were game roaming the forest,” the duke said, with dry amusement.

Thomas’ father laughed. “To be sure. Time will determine if my prediction is to become truth, but my son loves her and that is a blessing in itself.”

“Love?” the duke said with a snort of laughter. “Surely not.
Lust
is what you mean.”

Thomas instantly bristled at the duke’s words, but they struck a chord. Did he love Nel? He craved her company, her touch, and had never felt as he did with her, while in bed with another woman. Did he truly feel love for the first time in his life? How startling to realise that it was the duke who had pointed this out to him.

Thomas looked the duke in the eye. “No, Your Grace, love is what I feel for my wife. I can now determine the difference.”

The men around him burst into laughter as Thomas offered the duke a one-sided smile, yet the man’s cold regard made him wary. Yes, he would keep Nel away from this man for as long as he could.

* * * *

Thomas pushed his stallion through the dimly lit streets at a steady, sure speed. He had refused his father’s offer to ride in his carriage. While it would be safer at this time of night, he knew his steed would make the journey at a quicker clip.

As he turned down the lane behind his Mount Street townhouse, Thomas was grateful to see a light through the window above the stables. Before he had time to dismount, O’Malley approached, rubbing his eyes. Clearly the boy had heard him approaching but, judging by his weary expression, he had also been asleep. Thomas was in no mood for small talk and it seemed neither was the boy, who led the steed to the stable without a word.

Parker stood at the rear entrance and took the gloves and top hat Thomas handed him. If it were not for the butler’s slight cough, Thomas would have kept walking. He turned and eyed the man, raising an eyebrow, but once he saw the look of concern on Parker’s features, any annoyance he felt disappeared.

“Is everything all right, Parker?”

“I am not sure, my Lord,” the man said, chewing on his bottom lip. Thomas had never seen the man display anything other than complete composure, no matter how dire the situation. Apprehension made him take a step back towards the butler.

“Parker?” he asked, watching his gloves become twisted in the man’s hands.

“Her Ladyship was paid a call today.”

Unease ran down Thomas’ spine. “By whom?” he growled. Had a man come to seek her as his mistress? Thomas would kill any man who dared to touch what was his!

The butler blinked and frowned slightly at him. “Her father, my Lord.”

A relieved breath left him. “Her father?”

“Indeed, my Lord.”

Thomas’ irritation was rebuilding. “Can we not discuss this in the morning, Parker? I am rather drained.”

The man again bit his bottom lip. It seemed this could not wait.

“Then please, say what it is that concerns you.”

His butler sighed. “I would generally not involve myself in matters of family, but her Ladyship was in great distress when her father left.”

Thomas blinked. “Distress?”

“She was crying and sobbing so hard, she forgot we were in the room.”

Thomas spun at the sound of Geoff’s voice, to where he was standing at the servant’s door. “Sobbing? Why?”

“Lord Kilbride announced he was leaving for his country estate. She did not take it well,” Parker added. “Geoff stayed with her while I fetched her maid. Anne took her to her room and she has not left since. She also did not touch the tray of food which was sent up. Anne said she was sleeping.”

Unease gripped him. He did not understand what had upset her so much about her father returning to his ancestral estate. He had always been set to return.

Thomas’ mind traversed over the idea she did not wish to be left with him, and he nodded to both men. “Thank you for informing me of this. It is much appreciated,” Thomas said as he hurried towards the stairs, then took them two at a time.

He did not bother undressing in the closet. He had never required his valet for anything other than dressing, as the art eluded Thomas. He instead went to Nellie’s room, where his heart stopped for a moment. Curled into herself as she lay on her side, his wife was swaddled in her robe. He walked forward and his throat tightened as he noted her puffy eyes and the handkerchief clutched in her hand, which lay on the pillow by her head. Why had it been necessary for him to be away from her today, when she had clearly needed him?

Nellie had not shown any form of vulnerability in the time he had known her, but clearly her father had upset her greatly with the news of his departure from London. It pained Thomas to think he was not enough in her mind. Especially since tonight he had come to the realisation that he truly loved her.

Thomas placed his candle down on the writing desk and disrobed. He went to the bed and removed the handkerchief from Nellie’s hand. He slid under the sheets and watched her face for a time, unable to think of her as anything other than beautiful, regardless of her puffy eyes and tearstained cheeks.

He raised a finger to her cheek and wiped the moisture from her smooth skin, then tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

Nellie’s eyes fluttered open and her lips arched into a soft smile. “You’re home,” she mumbled.

“I am,” he said, his voice tight with emotion. He loved her. He truly did.

She gave a nod as more tears leaked from her eyes. The sight broke his heart.

“Why do you cry?”

She shook her head and reached for him. Thomas went willingly, allowing her lips to find his with a slow and gentle kiss. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

Thomas had worried she might be regretting their marriage, but her actions pushed away any fears. She held him with need and in that moment, he suddenly felt closer to her than he ever had before. He gave her what she seemed to be seeking—comfort and love. He poured all the love he felt for her into every touch of his body to hers.

He placed his hands under her robe and was pleased to feel she wore nothing underneath. Thomas slowly removed the garment, undoing the buttons at his leisure and following the path of her now exposed skin with his lips. She moaned beneath him and murmured words he couldn’t understand, but it did not matter. No words were needed to explain how he felt at that moment.

Once her creamy skin lay bare to his eyes and touch, Thomas worked his way back up her body, kissing every inch of skin, then rose to look into her eyes. Tears still streamed from them and he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but she raised a finger to his lips and shook her head.

“Make love to me, Thomas.”

He closed his eyes for a moment at her whispered words. As she shaped the outline of his lips and moved to trace the curve of his face with her finger, he forced his gaze back to hers. Was that love he saw in her eyes? Was it possible she felt the same way about him as he did her?

Thomas didn’t know, and now was not the time to ask. He needed to show how he felt. He captured her lips with his and for the first time, he didn’t close his eyes when they kissed. He watched her, just as she watched him. He roamed his hands over her body, shaping her breasts, her hips and her thighs. He settled between those lush thighs and broke the kiss, but didn’t look away from her. Their focus remained on each other. Thomas pushed forward and her eyelids drooped but did not close. Instead, she moaned as he seated his throbbing cock in her tight and moist pussy. Slowly he rocked his hips, but this was like no sex they had had before. He was in no mind to find completion, nor heighten it for either of them—he simply wanted to be with her, to love her. And for the first time, that was what he did. He made love to his wife.

* * * *

The hoot of an owl was the only sound Nellie could hear as she looked out at the sleeping city. She could not sleep, not after what Thomas and she had shared only hours ago. Her father thought her happy and she was, but the notion of him leaving, and of allowing him to fend for himself, scared her. Would he return to the bottle? Would she be too late to save him next time, and even if she could, would she risk the life she now had with Thomas?

“That was a heavy sigh, my dear.”

Nellie turned at the soft sound of her husband’s voice. He rose to rest against the headboard, his naked chest sculptured in the moonlight.

“I did not even know I made a sound.”

He offered a half smile. “You have been standing by the window now for a good half an hour. You will catch a chill. Please come back to bed.”

She looked down at her naked flesh, for the first time realising that she was indeed quite cold. She went to him and snuggled up against the heat of his body. It instantly warmed her.

His chin rested on her head. “What was it that had you so deep in thought?”

“I was thinking of my father.”

“Ah,” Thomas murmured. “Why is that?”

She sighed. “Father paid a call today and stayed for the noon meal, as you could not. He informed me of his intention to return to the family estate directly, and not remain with the other lords sitting in parliament.”