With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) (20 page)

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The best part about giving Glee pointers on
driving a phaeton was putting his arms around her in order to show
her how to correctly hold the ribbons. His wife proved a most apt
pupil. Too good, actually. The next thing he knew, she'd be flying
through Bath.
The woman in red
. His wife. He shuddered.

The thing of it was, he couldn't see any way
he could prevent her from behaving in such a manner. Theirs wasn't,
after all, a conventional marriage. Even if she had said he could
be her master. No matter what she said, he could not bring himself
to take advantage of her. It was clearly not part of their unusual
bargain.

It was during one such maneuver when his
arms caught around Glee's shoulders that she looked into his face
and smiled. "Oh, Blanks, I wish you didn't have to spend so much
time with that cursed solicitor of yours."

"Why?"

"Because I much prefer having you all to
myself."

Good God, why must she provoke his . . .his
physical arousal? Had she no idea what a profound effect she was
having on him? He quickly removed his arms from her. Then he
sputtered out a cough. "There must be any number of things far more
enjoyable that spending time with me. After all, you told me
yourself I was an ogre."

Her lashes dropped. They were so long, they
rested on her pale cheeks. "'Twas most uncharitable of me, and you
must know I didn't mean it."

"Whether you meant it or not, the words rang
true. I've been a beast of a husband."

She shook her head. "Not at all! I've been
the beast. You have only been trying to set me straight. George
would be proud of you."

Ah, George! Yes, indeed, the man George had
become would heartily approve of the new, conscience-burdened
husband of his little sister. In fact, Gregory was becoming exactly
like George.

And that wasn't at all what he wanted.

What, then, did he want? He sat pensively
while he allowed Glee to take the reins for a placid ride through
Bath. He did not want to be married. He never had. He did not want
a wife who thought of herself as one of the bloods. He did not want
for Glee to ever become heavy with child. He wanted his freedom.
Freedom from all the responsibilities that had crashed over him
ever since he exchanged wedding vows with Glee. The maddening
wench!

What, then, were the merits of being free?
he asked himself. He could sleep as late as he wanted. He could
find his pleasure in the beds of other ladies. He would not have to
curb his drinking. He could even once again join Appleton and the
twins in their irrepressible pranks.

Enumerating these things that had brought
him no end of pleasure in the past, made him realize how truly
empty his life had been. Always. He would soon be five and twenty.
It was time he began to act like a man—not a fun-loving schoolboy
down from Oxford.

Marriage was a step in the right direction.
But his marriage, of course, was no real marriage. And Glee, of
course, was not a
real
wife. Then why did he feel so blasted
responsible for her? Why did she elicit such protectiveness in
him?

At nineteen, she was much younger. She could
profit from his vast experience. The thing of it was, he could not
be too demanding of her. It wouldn't do to upset her rather fragile
sensibilities. He had been too heavy-handed in his dealings with
her up to this point. Subtle persuasion was what was called
for.

"I regret that I'm to meet with Willowby
again tomorrow," he said.

He didn't think he would ever forget the way
she looked at him with such stark pain on her face. Did the chit
truly care about him? Good God, but that wouldn't do at all!

Chapter 17

"A pity Blanks has to spend so much time
with that blasted solicitor of his," Appleton lamented as he
offered Glee a cup of water.

Glee took a sip of the water and grimaced.
"Do you realize Blanks hasn't accompanied me here to the Pump Room
one single time since we married?" She decidedly missed him. She
had worn a new dress that shone like polished copper, and she had
collected enough compliments to confirm its success. A pity Blanks
could not witness her success.

"An estate as large as the late Mr.
Blankenship's must be devilishly difficult to administer," Melvin
said in a reassuring voice.

"But I daresay Blanks would rather be
anywhere than at the Pump Room this morning," Appleton added. "He
neither partakes of the water nor tolerates the genteel females who
congregate at these affairs."

"Now that he's married, he don't have to
worry about the females trying to get their clutches into him,"
Elvin said. He tossed a glance at Glee. "Beg your pardon for
digging up dead bones and all that."

"I cannot agree with you, Timothy, about
Blanks not wishing to be here," Glee countered. "Blanks enjoys
meeting his friends and keeping abreast of the happenings in the
city. I feel quite guilty for sounding so vexed with him. My poor
Blanks is missing out on all the fun." Her glance skimmed over the
faces of the trio. "Thanks to you three, I don't have to be
divorced from society." While watching them, she noticed Miss
Aggremont and a bespectacled companion enter the Pump Room.

"Oh, look," Glee whispered. "There's Miss
Aggremont with Miss Arbuckle. Allow me to prove to you Miss
Aggremont is a most worthy target for Tuesday night's
assembly."

Glee made eye contact with the young lady
who thought she was an Incomparable. "Oh, Miss Aggremont!"

The woman being addressed cast a glance at
Glee, then a briefer glance at the three undistinguished men and,
with her mousy female friend, walked the short distance to
Glee.

Miss Aggremont was several inches taller
than Glee with a pleasantly rounded body, blonde hair and a face,
that while flawless, missed the mark of being beautiful. Perhaps
her best feature was her unerring sense of style. She dressed with
excellent taste in a steel blue gown and matching pelisse trimmed
with white fur.

Turning to the unremarkable young brunette
woman who accompanied her, Miss Aggremont said, "Miss Arbuckle, you
are acquainted with my dear friend Miss Pembroke, are you not? Her
brother, you must know, is Lord Sedgewick."

"Actually, I'm no longer Miss Pembroke,"
Glee said to Miss Arbuckle, of whom Glee was genuinely fond. The
two had met at the lending library and had a great many common
interests. “As it happens, Miss Arbuckle and I have met,” Glee
said, seething that Miss Aggremont surrounded herself with plain
companions. Giving Miss Arbuckle a sincere smile, Glee added, "I've
recently married Mr. Blankenship."

"Oh, I had quite forgotten," Miss Aggremont
remarked, still making no acknowledgment of the twins or
Appleton.

"You do know Mr. Appleton and the Misters
Steffington, do you not?" Glee asked the ladies.

Miss Aggremont haughtily looked down the
bridge of her nose at the gentlemen. "I don't recall." Then she did
not give them another second's notice.

Seething over Miss Aggremont's
unfriendliness, Glee performed the introductions. Of course, Glee
thought, Miss Aggremont wouldn't put herself out over mere
misters,
none of whom were regarded as particularly
handsome. Now, if one of them were possessed of a title, a brightly
smiling Miss Aggremont would have tripped all over herself
hastening to greet them.

This time, Miss Aggremont met them with an
incredibly bored demeanor and quickly made an excuse to leave the
little gathering to seek more important personages.

Melvin smiled after she left. "I daresay the
woman was singularly unimpressed over the three of us! Now, if one
of us were possessed of a title, such as
Lord
Sedgewick,
she'd no doubt still be here excessively enjoying our company."

No wonder Melvin was Glee's favorite. His
thoughts did so mirror her own.

"How can you malign Miss Aggremont so?"
Appleton asked. "Did you not see how lovely were her blue
eyes?"

Glee and the twins exchanged amused
smiles.

"Daresay, she's above our touch," Elvin
muttered.

"You grossly discredit yourself," Glee
chided. "It is Miss Aggremont who's not worthy of any of you." It
truly was Miss Aggremont's loss that she failed to realize the
worth of Glee's dear male friends, each of whom was as solid as
Gibraltar. Just because they were reticent with women—other than
Glee—and dressed with unremarkable, quiet good taste, women like
Sally Aggremont slighted them.

Glee silently perused their clothing. The
twins dressed the same in fawn breeches tucked into shiny black
Hessians, with shirts made of very fine linen, and well-cut
tailcoats. Only the color of the tailcoat distinguished them. Elvin
wore navy, his brother brown. Each tied his cravat very simply in
the hunting style. Timothy Appleton, like the twins, wore fawn
breeches and Hessians and a navy tailcoat.

So busy was she building up the men's
confidence, Glee did not notice when Mr. Jefferson strolled across
the Pump Room to seek her out.

"How very good it is to see you without your
husband," he said, bowing. "For taking a turn about the room with
you would make me the happiest of men."

He proffered his arm.

She gave him a long look. How unfortunate
that he was such an ungallant when the man was so very good looking
with his stylishly cropped dark brown hair, handsome face and
quality clothing—except for today's waistcoat, which was of bright
orange satin. She gazed into his sparkling eyes. Really! The man
felt absolutely no guilt over taking a lady's earrings because of a
mere twenty-five pound debt.

Tossing a baleful glance at Appleton, Glee
took Mr. Jefferson's arm.

Though her demeanor indicated she was not
overjoyed at the prospect of walking with Mr. Jefferson, Glee
actually was thankful of the opportunity to discuss her missing
earrings with him. With only that thought in mind, she wasted no
time on pleasantries. "May I hope you have come here to return my
earrings?"

"My lovely Mrs. Blankenship, you may hope
for anything you like, but you'll only get the earrings when I get
the kiss."

She scowled at him. "You are behaving in a
most ungallant fashion. I've a mind to tell my husband of your
wicked proposal. I assure you he would hasten to pay the
twenty-five pounds."

If only she had the confidence that Blanks
would
make everything right while at the same time forgiving
her. The thing of it was that his gift of the earrings showed
uncommon thoughtfulness, and he would likely be so offended of her
careless disregard for the gift he would never speak to her again.
Oh dear.

If only she hadn't purchased the phaeton,
she'd easily have had the twenty-five pounds with which to repay
Mr. Jefferson. After all, Blanks's allotment to her had been more
than generous.

She had foolishly and utterly wasted the
money. And she had so wanted to impress Blanks's with her capable
management of the household and her own affairs.

"I doubt you will allow your husband to know
that—in just your first two weeks of marriage—you have run through
the money he generously gave you to last the entire quarter."
Jefferson lowered his voice and gave her a sly smile. "No matter
how well you may pleasure your husband, my dear Mrs. Blankenship, I
am persuaded he would be excessively displeased over the loss of
your earrings. Such a pity to start off your marriage in so
negative a fashion."

Glee gave a cold stare to the man who walked
beside her. "How do you know about the
generous
allowance my
husband settled on me?"

Jefferson smiled. "Because you have just
confirmed it, my dear."

Her eyes narrowed. "You are altogether quite
odious, Mr. Jefferson, and whatever gives you the idea I've spent
all my money?"

"Because you purchased a phaeton that cost
two-hundred-seventy-five pounds," he said smugly.

She came to an abrupt halt and spun around
to face him. "How do you know what my phaeton cost?"

He shrugged. "Bath is a small town in which
information is easily transferred."

"If you would only be kind enough to wait
until the next quarter," she said, tucking her arm into his and
continuing the promenade, "I'll pay you double the amount of money
owed," she pleaded.

"I have more money than I need."

"Yet you need the kisses of a happily
married woman?"

He was spared from having to answer for he
looked up as they came abreast of the Misses Aggremont and
Arbuckle, who circled the room in the counter direction. Miss
Aggremont smiled happily at him.

He and Glee nodded as they passed the
women.

Once they were well past the ladies,
Jefferson bent to speak softly. "I believe Miss Aggremont is out of
charity with you, Mrs. Blankenship. First, you snared the juiciest
plum on the Marriage Mart, and now you appear to have captured me.
With your husband's departure from the Mart, I daresay I'm the
juiciest morsel left."

"A pity we cannot add modesty to those
attributes that make you so highly sought after," she said
dryly.

He slanted a glance at her. "If the rest of
your body is as saucy as your tongue, I envy your husband."

She held her head high and emanated a
confidence she lacked. "He has no complaints."

"Then you won't want to test him. It being
so early in your marriage."

That wretched man could read her like the
pages of a book! "What is it you want from me?" she demanded.

"I told you. I want a kiss."

"I don't see how I can oblige you. I cannot
kiss you in public, and to meet you in a clandestine fashion could
bring down on me irreparable harm."

"
If
you were to be seen. The trick,
my dear, is to escape detection."