The Wary Widow (21 page)

“I’m sorry
—
”

“No, Andrew, sorry isn’t good enough anymore,” she said, her voice rising in anger. “I’ve tolerated this long enough. Ever since Michael came back from the country, you’ve been a different man. You’ve stopped showing me any sort of affection — you won’t even kiss my cheek, for heaven’s sake!”

“Elizabeth, please, I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I thought that night in the garden counted for something, Andrew.”

That got Andrew’s full attention, and he realized there were tears in Elizabeth’s eyes. Dear God, what had Michael done while he was away? He was supposed to have looked after her, and made her think he was
him
. Not defile the girl that was to be his wife.

He almost laughed at the hypocrisy of his thoughts, but he was too frustrated, and just a little curious as to what happened between them.

“The garden, yes...when I...” He hoped his fishing wouldn’t raise any red flags in Elizabeth’s mind.

“When you kissed me!” she shouted. “And touched me! Good Lord, Andrew, have you been with so many women that you cannot even remember when you were with your own fiancé?”

Oh, God.
“Elizabeth, you must keep your voice down.”

“I will not!”

“Do you wish for the whole of your household to know what we did in the garden?” he asked, desperate to calm her.

“I want
you
to remember,” she finally said and her voice cracked as if she were holding back tears.

Damn it, but he felt sorry for her. He was acting like a cad, and she had done nothing to deserve such indifference. He didn’t want to hurt her, and he didn’t want to spend his life pining away for a woman who had made it clear she didn’t want him—at least, not under the circumstances.

It was time he faced facts and moved on with the life he’d been given. He took Elizabeth by the shoulders and looked into her blue eyes. Then he kissed her on the forehead and pulled her into an embrace.

“I remember, Elizabeth,” he said quietly. “I remember.”

Twenty-One

           
Chloe blinked her eyes open, unsure of where she was or how she’d gotten there. It took her a moment to realize she was in the bed she and Gracie shared. Her mother sat in the chair next to her.

           
“Good morning,” she said with a little smile as she brushed a wild curl from Chloe’s forehead. “We wondered when you were going to wake up.”

           
“What happened?” Chloe asked, pushing herself up against the pillows.

           
“You took quite a spill on the dance floor. It was lucky Louis was there to catch you.”

           
The previous night’s events slowly came back to her. Louis. She’d been dancing with Louis. And she’d been so happy—happier than she’d been in quite some time.

           
She vaguely remembered being brought back home in a carriage and being looked over by the local doctor. But she couldn’t remember anything past that.

           
“I was so warm,” she recalled, putting a hand to her forehead.

           
“Yes, well, our bodies do funny things sometimes.” Her mother stood to pour a glass of water from the side table and then handed it to Chloe. “Especially when we’re in such a delicate condition.”

           
Chloe choked on the water she’d just sipped, and sputtered, “Delicate condition?” She must have heard her wrong.

           
“Aye, my dear, delicate indeed.”

           
No, it couldn’t be true. She’d made love to Sam ten times at least in their short marriage and nothing ever came of it. How could twice with Andrew have resulted in a child?

           
“But are you certain?”

           
“The doctor is.”

           
She did a quick calculation of her last menses and felt a cold chill pass over her.

           
“Oh, Lord...” What was she going to do?

           
Andrew was about to marry her cousin—they were so close to the wedding, and Chloe was certain that by now he’d have forgotten about her. She wanted to tell him about the baby, but how could she?
And for what reason?
She’d done enough damage, it was time she took control of her life and faced the consequences of her foolish actions.
Even if she had to face them alone.

           
“Chloe dear,” her mother broke into her thoughts. “Is it Andrew’s?”

           
Chloe nodded, feeling ashamed. What must her mother think of her?

           
“Will you tell him?”

           
“No,” she replied, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

           
“But, Chloe-”

           
“I said no!” Chloe felt awful for speaking so forcefully to her mother, since she was in fact angry with herself. “Please, Mama, you mustn’t tell anyone.
At least not yet.
I need time to figure out what I’m going to do.”

           
“What you’re going to do is find a husband.”

           
Her mother’s blunt statement shocked her. “I don’t need a husband-”

           
“No, but your child will need a father. Imagine the ridicule! You cannot raise the child as a bastard.”

           
Her mother was right, of course, but the harshness of the word struck Chloe. A bastard. Good heavens, what had she done?

***

           
“What the hell have you done?”

           
Andrew strode into White’s and straight to the table where his brother sat playing Whist with their mutual friends.

           
Michael’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Come again?”

           
Andrew glanced to the other men at the table and then brought his gaze back to his brother. “A word, if you please.” And then he walked across the room to a more private table tucked away in the corner. Michael wisely joined him moments later.

           
“What is this about?” his brother asked, leaning forward and crossing his arms in front of him on the table.

           
“The garden. What happened in the garden?”

           
Michael’s cheeks turned pink. Good God, he’d never seen his brother blush before. This was certain to be interesting.

           
“What do you mean?” he asked, his words painfully slow.

           
“If the redness in your cheeks is any indication, you know exactly what I mean.” Andrew leaned back with an exasperated sigh. “Damn it, Michael, I don’t care that you took liberties with her, but you could have at least told me! She blindsided me this afternoon and I had no idea what to say.”

           
Michael shook his head. “I’m sorry, Drew, I should have told you. I just didn’t know how.”

           
“Then tell me now, for God’s sake.”

           
His brother took a deep breath. “We took a walk in the garden during the Lockwood masquerade.” Michael’s eyes grew wistful as he said, “She came dressed as a wood nymph.”

           
“I don’t care how she was dressed,” Andrew assured him. “What did you do?”

           
“Right...well, you had been gone for several days already, and frankly, I don’t know how you’ve refused her advances for this long. She’s bloody persistent.”
           
Andrew felt his jaw twitch. If his brother didn’t hurry up with his story, he was going to have to beat it out of him.

           
“Anyway, there we were, in the moonlight, me in my domino and her with those sparkling eyes, and
..
.”

           
“And what?” Andrew practically screamed.

           
“Well, you don’t need all the details, do you? I’m not usually one to kiss and tell.”

           
Andrew clenched his fists tight to keep from wringing his brother’s neck. “Fine. Are there any other instances I should know about?”

           
Michael stiffened and clamped his mouth shut. Andrew shook his head. Clearly his brother had taken many liberties in his charade.
But why?
He could have treated her, as he said, coolly and with indifference, and Elizabeth never would have been the wiser.

           
Good Lord, this was a mess of monumental proportions.

           
“Well, then,” Andrew said, standing from his chair. “Thank you for taking such excellent care of my fiancée while I was away.”

           
“Don’t be sarcastic with me, Andrew. You’re the one who
hied
off to Essex to be with the girl’s cousin. God help us if any of this gets out. I was just doing my duty by you.”
           
“Rather thoroughly.”

           
Michael stood and leaned across the table, his brown eyes suddenly very intent. “I don’t understand,” he began in a grave whisper, “how you can look in those blue eyes and not feel anything. How you can be engaged to her and not have the slightest desire to kiss those lips. How you can hear her plead for your affection and ignore her. I certainly couldn’t, and you cannot fault me for that.”

           
Andrew stood glued to his spot as his brother stalked back across the room, collected his coat, and left the club.

           
Oh, my God. He’s fallen in love with Elizabeth.

***

           
The following afternoon, Chloe sat with her mother and Gracie in the kitchen, snapping the ends off of beans. Gracie stared absently out the window, her embroidery resting on her lap as her mother darned a pair of old stockings. A light breeze blew through the open door and brought with it a pleasant male voice.

           
“Good afternoon, ladies,” the voice said, and all three women looked up to see Louis in the front doorway.

           
Chloe immediately stood and self-consciously brushed falling strands of hair from her face.

           
“Louis!” she exclaimed. “We weren’t expecting you.”

           
“Should I come back another time?”

           
“Of course not, Mr.
Maltby
,” her mother cut in. “You are welcome here anytime.”

           
He smiled a sweet smile and stepped through the open door. As he did so, Chloe noticed he held a small bunch of wildflowers in his hand.

           
“I wanted to see how you were doing after the other night,” he said to Chloe, “and to bring you these.”

           
Chloe took the proffered flowers, feeling a bit unnerved. “I’ll just put these in water.” She started toward the cupboards, but her mother intercepted her.

           
“No need, dearest,” she said, snatching the bunch from her hand. “I’m sure I can do that for you.”

           
“In that case, may I steal your daughter away for the afternoon?” Louis asked, looking hopeful.

           
Chloe nearly groaned aloud.
Neither her mother nor Louis sought to conceal their intentions, and
she found herself rather annoyed.
Especially with her mother.
Her mother, who knew of her condition and still wanted to pawn her off on another man. For heaven’s sake, she hadn’t seen Louis in years! And she’d spent less than an hour in his company since he’d been back.

           
“Yes, yes, go! Gracie can finish the beans, can’t you, dear?”

           
Gracie tried to hide her amusement, but did not succeed. Chloe wanted to throttle her for finding humor in her misery, but she supposed she had no choice now. So she pulled her shawl from the hook by the door and preceded Louis to the outside.

           
He followed in silence for a minute, before coming up beside her and matching her brisk stride.

           
“You seem to be feeling much better, Chloe,” he said quietly.

           
“I am, thank you...much better.”

           
“Good,” Louis said, and Chloe noted how happy her simple declaration had made him.

           
He led her to his curricle, waiting by the side of the road, and lifted her onto the seat. They rode in silence while Louis drove the horses down the main road and then turned off onto a narrow lane.