Secret Pleasures (34 page)

Arianna hugged Melody too tightly and she screamed in protest
.
Even though she no longer suffered from colic or needed her tincture of laudanum, she had learned to make her displeasure known immediately and loudly.

“I’m not going back
.
I can’t
.
I shall leave here on my own
,
but I will not return to Westhaven.”

Melody gave a kick in protest, forcing Arianna to jerk back her chin or be hit.

Ivy scooped Melody into her arms on her way to Darien
.
His face was bruised and swollen
,
but he appeared fairly hearty.

“Whose blood is that?” Ivy said softly.

“Robert’s been shot
.
He wants Miss Maddox to do whatever it is he thinks she does
.
He mentioned anatomy.”

“I’ve never done surgery on a live man before.”

“He won’t be for long
.
Hurry.”

Arianna glanced at Ivy in wide-eyed shock
,
but quickly sprung into motion to chase Darien’s retreating form.

“What happened?
”
Ivy followed, clutching Melody.

Darien swung onto his mount and offered his hand to Arianna
.
She gathered the skirts of Ivy’s too large borrowed dress and managed to settle in the saddle behind him
.

“Someone started shooting at us from the clearing
.
Robert was hit
.
Stay in the house until I return.
”
Darien hardly spared Ivy a parting glance.

“Why would anyone want to shoot Robert?”

“I think he was hit by accident
.
They were aiming for me.
”
He nudged the horse with his heels too hard, sending the stallion up on its hind legs
.
Arianna gripped Darien’s waist tighter
.
They rode off in a mad gallop in the direction of Westhaven’s estate.

There are those that will slander us, condemn us in the most brutal terms.

Ivy turned at the click of the kitchen’s back door
.
The fluttering dread in her heart took shape, turning to solid stone in her stomach
.
Darien would not be back so soon unless the worst had happened
.
Robert was dead
.
Melody sat in a basin of soapy water and gave a little kick, forcing Ivy to return her full attention to her slippery infant.

“Now I understand.”

Ivy startled at the unfamiliar voice
.
Henry Maddox stood in the heated kitchen
.
Ivy had locked the front door
,
but had fetched wood from the back to warm the kitchen for Melody’s bath.

“Excuse me, but I did not hear your knock.
”
Ivy hoped to shame him into leaving immediately
.
Melody beat her hands against the water, obviously charmed with the splash
.

“So which of your disreputable companions loaned you their illegitimate brat
?
I’m sure there are loads of unclaimed bastards lying about.
”
He strolled to the table’s edge to examine Melody.

Ivy whisked her from the water, heedless of the soap that still clung to her fine hair, wrapped her protectively in a towel and pressed her to her breast.

“A girl
.
A future whore in the making
.
I’m sure the mother was quick to dump her.
”
Ivy took a step back from Maddox, whose false smile was unnerving
.
“You know you needn’t go to such lengths to dupe Blackmore
.
He’s not too clever.”

“This is a private residence and I insist that you leave.”

“I’d call it a hovel
,
but I suppose an aging courtesan can’t be too particular, can she
?
You must be desperate to return to Blackmore after all these years.”

“My relationship with Darien is none of your affair.
”
Ivy kept Melody covered from Maddox’s curious gaze
.
She glanced toward the back door, but where would she run with a drenched child in her arms
?

“You two have made it my affair with your little prank last night
.
I might have applauded you if Arianna had returned at a decent hour.”

“Arianna is not here.
”
Melody wiggled from Ivy’s tight embrace, soaking the front of her gown
.
“If that is all?”

“I find it so charming that you two lovebirds are living like beggars on the edge of Westhaven’s estate.
”
He strolled through the humble kitchen, examining it as he would a display at a museum
.
“How appropriate to see the dregs living off the scraps of their betters.”

Ivy stood her ground, keeping silent, not turning her back on Henry Maddox
.
She thought to grab a knife from the kitchen counter
,
but feared doing anything to endanger Melody
.
Surely he would not physically harm either of them
.
All the same, Ivy steeled herself against trembling.

“I only hope my daughter heeded your cautionary tale during her short visit
.
This is no way for a lady of quality to end her days
.
But I think it’s a rather fortunate turn of events for you, is it not
?
You would not want your ploy to win Blackmore back ruined by ugly rumors.”

“I think I have weathered my share of those.”

“Oh, the damage I am capable of has not even begun to be unfurled
.
Infamy is so easy to inflame once it’s caught on
.
And you have made things so easy for me with your extravagant tastes.
”
Henry glanced around the room and laughed
. 
”How the mighty have fallen.”

“You started the rumor that I broke my engagement to Darien to become his father’s mistress.
”
Ivy nodded
.
At least she now knew humanity in general was not completely twisted, just Henry Maddox in particular
.
She should have realized someone with something to gain had first painted her with the brush of a harlot
.
“Well done.
”

Maddox obviously wanted the recognition
.
Let him gloat and then maybe he would just leave
.
Protecting Melody was her only interest.

“I had to make sure that love-sick fool did not try and rekindle his torch
.
But Blackmore has proved a disaster in any event
.
Things would have been so much simpler for everyone if he had married my oldest daughter as was agreed upon.”

“Darien never agreed to anything.”

“But you did, didn’t you
?
And my little fib was not far from the truth
.
I don’t suppose the duke paid you so handsomely for so many years unless you were gifted with a talent for the profession.
”
He eyed Ivy in an insulting manner
.

“If you have finished chronicling my illustrious career, you must excuse me
.
One of my illegitimate brood needs a nappy.
”
Lord help her, but she squeezed Melody, praying for a long wail, receiving nothing but a happy grunt
.
Ivy strode to the kitchen door intending to climb the narrow steps and lock the bedroom door
.
Surely then he would leave
.

She tensed as she passed him
,
but he made no move to stop her.

“You are awfully fond of the brat
.
Whose is it?”

“The Prince of Wales
.
He and his latest mistress had a bit of a tiff and he needed a fill in.”

“I’m speaking of the child’s mother
.
Or was Dr. Ferguson mistaken in his diagnosis?”

Ivy stopped on the third step and turned to face Henry, peering at him through the rails of the nearly enclosed staircase
.

“You are acquainted with my physician
?
I did not realize you were experiencing female complications, Henry.”

“Dr. Ferguson is taken with the luxurious lives of his exclusive London patients
.
Unfortunately, they dismiss him when his news is bad
.
He does not feel remiss in sharing his diagnosis with someone who is more appreciative of the information.”

“I did not dismiss the good doctor.
”
Ivy tried to remember the last time she had been visited by Dr. Ferguson
.
Recently enough for him to confirm that she had not given birth to Melody.

“Which makes him even more valuable to me
.
But the proof was in your lack of product with the very virile
Duke of Huntingdon
.
He has an illegitimate son he spawned in his teens
.
Or did
n’t
you know?”

“I would be very careful in defaming the
D
uke of Huntingdon
.
He remains one of the most powerful men in all of Britain
.
Or did
n’t
you know?
”
Ivy chilled that Maddox had discovered
Lucas
. 
She must warn Marcus that his most closely held secret had been compromised
.
Indeed, Marcus could likely frighten off the likes of Maddox, but what could Ivy do to save herself and her daughter from cruel speculation
?
They were easy prey.

“And you are as fit and trim as a girl
.
No wonder Darien is so smitten
.
Does he know you are barren?”

She clutched Melody to her chest
.
If she ran upstairs and slammed the door, Maddox would know he came entirely too close to the truth.

Maddox smiled as if he had just bagged a stag
.
“You seem so fond of the child
.
I sense there is a fascinating tale behind her history and how she came to be with you?”

“She’s my daughter
.
Dr. Ferguson no doubt took your bribe because he is a charlatan.”

“Perhaps.
”
Maddox nodded
.
“Or perhaps not
.
But do not worry
.
I shall find out
.
I hope I am correct, and that you are infertile, because then I shall not insist that you leave your besotted suitor
.
I cannot risk Blackmore deciding to actually marry you and you bearing a son
.
Of course, I would insist it was another’s and start rumors, so any said offspring would be tormented the entirety of his short life.”

Ivy blinked and pursed her lips against telling him that Melody was not hers so he would leave her alone, but she dared not
.
She would not deny Melody
.

“You’re hiding something
.
I can see it in the tilt of your eyes.
”
Maddox rubbed his chin
.
“I shall find out
,
you know.”

“There is nothing to discover except that my child was born out of wedlock
.
That is scandal enough
.
I did not plan to expose her to that kind of scrutiny
.
I shall raise her abroad.
”
Ivy hoped that little taste of the truth would satisfy him.

“Well, take Blackmore with you
.
I can’t have him going on another bender after your departure
.
He has done enough damage
.
He tried to shoot me this morning.
”
Henry turned away from her and examined the rustic fireplace with a sneer.

“He did not
.
He would not hurt Robert.
”
Ivy regretted her words the instant Maddox swung around to face her, a grin on his face
.
Surely he wasn’t going to try and blame Darien for the shooting at the hunt
.
But why wouldn’t he
?
Ivy suspected he
had
often arranged events to his advantage.