To Wed a Scandalous Spy (17 page)

Willa sighed and clambered out from under the table, putting as cheerful a front on as possible. When she rose to her feet, she saw two very elegant ladies. One was about Moira's age, although that was about all they had in common, and one was considerably older. Older than old Pratt, even.

The lady was quite possibly the oldest person Willa had ever seen. Her face was a maze of wrinkles, as were the hands that crossed each other over the gilded top of her cane. Her costly dress of lavender silk was beaded so copiously that Willa wondered if some of her stoop were not from the weight of her gown.

But her snow-white hair was beautifully twisted atop her head, and her faded blue eyes twinkled with humor. She winked at Willa, as saucy as a jay.

Willa stared at the lady in surprise for a moment. Then, blushing, she curtsied to both ladies and waited for them to introduce themselves. The younger of the ladies drew herself up to stare haughtily down her nose at Willa. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

Willa opened her mouth to answer, but her voice failed her again. She could only shake her head and raise one hand to her throat.

"What are you, some gypsy pauper? Hammil! Hammil, come dispose of this beggar trash at once. How dare you let something like this into my house!"

"Oh, put a sock in it, Victoria." The elder lady hobbled forward to beam at Willa. "Hammil wouldn't let a mouse into your house without an introduction. She must be someone." She gave a chuckle. "I hope she's as much fun as she looks. You lot are such dullards."

She came closer and peered up at Willa. "Well, how about it? Are you any fun?"

Willa had to smile. The woman looked so eager, like a little wrinkled girl about to open a Michaelmas sweet. Willa nodded at the lady and grinned back at her.

The woman nodded brightly. "Oho! How excellent! Now I have someone to play with. You may go now, Victoria, and leave me with my new toy."

"I will not! My dear Aunt Myrtle, I couldn't possibly leave you alone with such a strange creature! Hammil!"

"Get out, Victoria," Aunt Myrtle said, her voice mild, "or I'll write you out of my will."

The lady gave a sniff, and a not very nice look came into her eyes. Willa felt a bit of a chill at the gaze the lady fastened on Aunt Myrtle.

"Very well, Aunt. If you insist. I shall have Hammil set someone at the door, in case the creature attacks." She left, shutting the breakfast room door with an unladylike slam.

"Poisonous female. Despised her from the moment my nephew Randolph brought her home."

Willa wasn't about to voice an opinion at that moment. What sort of madhouse was she in?

"So, pretty girl, who are you and why can't you speak?"

Hmm. How to answer? Charades? There was no paper or ink in the breakfast room.

Willa jumped up to pour both of them a cup of tea. She drank hers down hot and unsweetened, hoping to get a shred of her voice back.

Aunt Myrtle waited, sipping her tea, although from the jiggling of her lavender skirts Willa suspected she was hiding a toe-tapping impatience.

Willa experimented with a throat clearing. Not so bad. She actually made a sound. Aunt Myrtle sat up expectantly.

"Well, speak then, girl!"

"I am Willa Trent. I am here with my husband." Her voice was husky but seemed fine, as long as she didn't strain too hard.

"Mr. Trent? Never heard of him. Besides, this family doesn't have any friends. Excepting that tiresome Sir Danville."

"I'm sorry. I meant to say my fiancé. Nathaniel."

Aunt Myrtle's cup rattled dangerously on its saucer, and Willa jumped to rescue it from the lady's shaking hands.

"Thaniel? Thaniel is marrying?" The blue eyes filled with tears, and the shaking hands fumbled for the cane.

"Are you unwell, madam? Should I call for someone?"

"Horse apples. I'm fine. But get Hammil!"

Willa jumped up, but Hammil entered before she could even reach the door. After passing her with a scathing look, he bowed to Myrtle.

"Yes, madam?"

"Where is Lord Reardon? Never mind. Just fetch him here immediately!" Aunt Myrtle turned back to Willa. "You say you are Thaniel's affianced wife?"

Willa nodded. Aunt Myrtle stared at her with round blue eyes for a long moment. "Since when?"

"Since four days ago."

Aunt Myrtle blinked at her. "How long have you known Thaniel?"

Willa squirmed. "A little more than four days."

Aunt Myrtle's eyes grew narrow, and Willa got the feeling that this little bird of a woman could face down a raptor if necessary. She herself had seen jays fiercely drive falcons from the vicinity of their nests.

"Would you mind explaining how that came to be?" The woman's voice was suddenly cool.

"Ah, well, I shot his horse with a slingshot, or rather a hornets' nest, quite by accident of course, and there was this rock in the road, worse luck, since I doubt there was another rock within miles, and it was growing darker, and he was so terribly heavy, and I fell asleep waiting for the hornets to settle." Willa ended this recitation quite breathless and inhaled deeply. She tried not to show her nervousness but feared that her clenched hands gave her away.

"So he proposed to you? Having never touched you? Just because you slept by his unconscious body?" Aunt Myrtle nodded. "Yes, of course he did. And then he brought you home, just as he should. Well, you've had him for a while, now. What do you think of him?"

Willa smiled softly. "Oh, I've taken quite a fancy to him. He is great fun."

Aunt Myrtle blinked. "Fun? Goodness, girl, these days Thaniel is as serious as they come. For months I've tried to make that boy perk up."

"Really?" True, his eyes were sometimes sad, although not as sad as they had been. "Why, he makes me laugh all the time. Like the time he told me not to call him 'darling.' And when I made him listen to stories about my home village. He is riotously funny."

Aunt Myrtle's jaw actually hung open a bit as she regarded Willa with obvious disbelief. For a moment Willa wondered if perhaps they were not talking about the same person after all. Then a deep voice from the doorway made her jump up with a happy smile on her face.

"Myrtle, my love, how are you this morning?" Nathaniel started forward with a small smile on his face but stopped when he saw Willa. "Aha. I see you have met Willa."

"Thaniel, darling, get your manly self over here and give your old auntie a good-morning kiss."

Nathaniel looked past Willa to Aunt Myrtle once again. He knew she would never speak ill of him to anyone, and a little of the aching tension left his shoulders.

Taking Willa's hand in his, he took her with him to greet Aunt Myrtle. "Myrtle, darling, I would like to present the future Lady Reardon… my affianced wife."

Willa shot him such a look of surprise that Nathaniel realized he had never said the words out loud before. Strange, but they seemed natural enough at the moment.

"Your
what
?"

That indignant screech came from the doorway. They all turned to see an appalled Victoria standing with a very lovely young blond woman.

"Hello, Daphne," he said stiffly. "You look well."

"Thaniel, you—you're
engaged
?" Daphne's gaze was wide and hurt. Damn. He had not thought she would be here. Of course she felt betrayed. After all, he had insisted on breaking their own engagement.

"Victoria, take yourself and that washed-out wife of Basil's out of here this instant. You are making me lose my appetite. At my age, I dasn't skip a meal, for it may be my last." Aunt Myrtle was using that mildly bored tone, the one that the family recognized as deadly anger.

"I will not leave! I am the lady of this house, Myrtle, and I'll thank you not to forget it."

"Not anymore, according to this pretty thing, Victoria, so I'll thank you to shut your gob and leave the room."

Victoria seethed visibly and shot filthy glares at everyone in the room except the girl beside her. Nathaniel ignored Victoria, stunned as he was by what Myrtle had let slip. Daphne was married to Basil?

"You wed Basil?" His cousin had always admired Daphne and had not taken it well when Nathaniel had proposed to the girl. It made an odd sort of sense, but— "
Basil
?"

The beauty hesitated. "Well, Basil does adore me, Nathaniel."

Two sharp raps came, the sound of a cane against the costly ebony side table, and all eyes were drawn to where Myrtle sat.

"Victoria, Daphne, leave. Now."

Daphne left slowly, with a long, desolate backward glance. Victoria, on the other hand, lingered for a parting shot. With a glare at Willa, she batted her eyes facetiously. "Poor Thaniel. Is a barefoot peasant the best you could do?"

Nathaniel felt Willa's hand tighten on his, and he realized that he had not released her during all that bitter exchange. "Watch yourself, Mother dear," he growled. "Remember, I am not a gentleman anymore."

That apparently hadn't occurred to her, and she flicked him a surprised look. Whatever she saw in his eyes made her step back. To cover it, she tossed her head and followed Daphne with a grand sweep of skirts.

"That Victoria is a harpy," muttered Myrtle.

Willa only looked at Nathaniel a little reprovingly. "That was your mother?" she asked.

Her voice was apparently returning but was still husky and low. Even with anger still roiling through him, he found it distractingly alluring.

He smiled wryly at her. "Yes, that was the ever maternal Victoria."

"You did not introduce me."

Oh hell
. "Willa—"

Myrtle turned to stare at him, surprised. "He didn't?"

"No. He has barely even explained my presence to the butler."

"Oh, Thaniel." The disappointment in Myrtle's voice was obvious.

Willa remained completely expressionless. Nathaniel squirmed within. "It is not what you think, Myrtle."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you ashamed of this lovely girl, Thaniel? Are you actually ashamed of what your family will think?"

"No," Nathaniel shot back quickly. "It isn't Willa I am ashamed of!"

A slow, wide smile lit up Willa's face. "I knew it. I forgive you." She planted a quick kiss on his cheek, and Nathaniel caught just a whiff of jasmine and sweet-smelling woman before she released his hand and sat down at the table once more.

She picked up her fork and set upon her eggs, only making a slight face despite the fact that the food must be quite chilled by now. Ever uncomplaining Willa.

Nathaniel picked up the service bell. When a footman immediately appeared, Nathaniel ordered fresh service for all three of them.

Willa watched Nathaniel's manner with the servants. He had been born to this. Born to his slightest wish being answered. Born to luxury and ease, to life in this vast, elegant house.

Personally, Willa couldn't look at the miles of polished floors without her knees aching in sympathy for those who must do the hours of waxing required.

Another steaming plate was brought, and Willa was astonished to see that it contained exactly what she had chosen before, in precisely the amount she had first been served, right down to the errant roll.

It was wonderful to be so attended to. Still, she couldn't help peering around her, having the rather eerie feeling that she was being closely observed.

"Willa, about taking you back to Derryton—" He pushed his food about for a moment, staring at his plate. Willa put down her fork, suddenly not so sure she was hungry after all.

"Yes, Nathaniel?"

"My father is ill." His voice was so completely without expression that Willa felt his pain all the more deeply. "After we wed, we will stay here for the time being. If I were to leave, even just to accompany you to—"

"Of course," Willa said softly. "Whatever you require."

"And I shall be here, too," Myrtle declared stoutly. "I have far too little time left to waste a moment on Victoria, but I will have fun with Willa."

Nathaniel sighed. "Myrtle, behave."

"Why?" She blinked at him pertly as she chewed.

Nathaniel shook his head. "Fine then. Don't behave. What do I care?"

She shook her head. "Silly boy. Still trying to fix what isn't fixable."

Nathaniel didn't reply. Instead, he turned to Willa. "Were you given the gown?"

She looked thoughtful. "Yes… my lord."

Hearing his title from her lips did something odd to Nathaniel. He was having difficulty bringing the two worlds together in his mind.

Nathaniel and Willa on the road were an uncomplicated couple on an uncomplicated journey, where every day was about miles covered and obstacles overcome.

Here he was Lord Reardon, burdened by wealth and disgrace. Willa, with her worn clothing and her elemental kindness, was wildly out of place in this tangle of convoluted debts and disloyalties that was his family.

And all he wanted was to take his sweet girl back onto the road before the poison of this place affected her.

"It is very… fine." Willa looked solemn. "Thank you for thinking of it."

"Do you not like it? I thought you would look well in blue. Of course, you'll be needing other things. A shopping trip for both of us is probably in order, actually." He wasn't looking forward to it. "Unless you don't wish to go out—with me."

Willa rolled her eyes. "You had best believe I am going out with you. Those bullies do not frighten me."

Then again, if his mission was to play Lord Treason to the hilt… then he and Willa should be as public as possible. Lord Treason would indeed shamelessly take his bride shopping and would spend enough money to attract attention.

Spending money on Willa didn't sound so bad. And he would be sure to bring plenty of servants, in case of another Wakefield incident.

"Did you buy the blue gown because you thought I would like it?" she asked thoughtfully, her voice still no more than a breathy whisper. "Or because it would make me look as though I belonged?"

Nathaniel paused. He wasn't sure why, but the question seemed loaded with importance for her. He shrugged, knowing only to tell her the truth. "I thought the blue would suit you."