With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) (33 page)

"So she keeps telling me," answered
Jonathan, a martyred expression on his face.

Blanks met Glee's gaze again, this time with
no nervousness. "Have you talked to Mrs. A. today?"

"Not yet. Should you like for me to?"

"There's no harm in trying," Blanks
said.

She moved away.

"Wait!" he cried.

She turned back, a quizzing look on her
face.

"I'll come with you." He turned to Jonathan.
"We won't be a moment."

It took some time to locate Mrs. A. because
she was cleaning inside a suite of offices on the first floor. Glee
walked up to her as she was dusting a desk top. "Do you remember
me, Mildred?"

Her eyes distrustful, Mildred glanced from
Glee to Blanks. "What do ye want with me?"

"You know," Glee said softly.

Blanks stepped forward. "We're not free from
worry over the life you provide for your son. Do you not think the
boy deserves a full belly and his own bed to lie in every
night?"

She smirked. "Yer the nob what pays for our
supper every day?"

Blanks nodded.

"I thank ye for me son, but don't waste yer
money on me."

"Food lacks the allure of liquor, I
perceive," Blanks said.

She nodded.

"Then Archie may come to live with us in the
not-too-distant future—since you have so little regard for
preserving your own life," Blanks said to the lad's frail
mother.

Glee gasped. How could Blanks be so
insensitive? She raked her eyes over the thin woman with gaunt
face. His words, unfortunately, were likely true. Though lean of
years, Mrs. A. looked to be at death's door.

"I've talked to 'im about comin' to live
with ye," Mrs. A. said. "As much as I 'ated the idea of me lad
leavin', I urged 'im to go live with ye, but 'e won't leave 'is
mum. I'm all me boy's ever 'ad."

Glee's heart went out to Mrs. A. What a
sacrifice she had been willing to make for the sake of her son. A
pity she was not strong enough to make the ultimate, life-saving
sacrifice of giving up her gin.

Glee's gaze settled on Blanks. He swallowed,
and the muscle of his cheek tightened. The woman's words, oddly,
must have had a profound impact on him. There was sadness on his
face, but there was something else too, something Glee was unable
to understand.

"And you're still not willing to come into
service with us?" Glee asked. Even from two feet away, she caught
the stench of stale gin.

Mrs. A. turned cold eyes on Glee. "If. . .if
I was a stronger person, I would. But I cannot and nevermore will
be able to walk a straight and narrow line."

Blanks took Glee's hand. "Then it seems
we've nothing more to say to you, Mrs. A."

Glee shot her husband a worried glance. He
squeezed her hand before climbing back up to Willowby's floor.

In Willowby's office, Blanks apologized to
his brother. "You must pardon my ill manners. I've been a dreadful
host, but I shall make it up to you. Should you like to go to the
Pump Room?"

Glee slipped her arm into Jonathan's. "Yes,
really Jonathan, you must sign the book."

"Of course, I should be pleased to go
there," he said, "but I lack my brother's facility for making and
keeping friends. I fear no one will care one way or the other if
I'm in Bath."

"Pooh!" Glee said. "I don't believe you for
a moment. You have far too many good qualities to recommend
you."

As they left the building, Glee was struck
over the fact that though Jonathan was coddled by loving parents,
his confidence did not extend beyond Sutton Hall; whereas, Blanks
had absolutely no confidence at Sutton Hall but a great deal of it
away from there.

She watched with some degree of sadness as
Blanks mounted his bay for the trip to the Pump Room, wishing he
and Jonathan had changed places.

Chapter 29

Once at the Pump Room, Glee basked in the
thrill of Blanks's possession. She was unable to remove herself
from his side or to prevent herself from gazing wondrously into his
beloved face while touching, feeling him in every way she
could.

The twins, dressed identically in buff
breeches and chocolate-colored coats, happened into the lofty
chamber while they were there and joined their little circle,
bowing and issuing greetings to Jonathan.

"I must tell you our dear brother shall
bring us a great deal of pride," Glee said to the twins.
"Jonathan's an author! Very soon we shall be able to read his
treatise in the Edinburgh Review."

"You don't say!" Melvin said, turning to
Jonathan. "What's the article on?"

"This first one's on primogeniture."

"Then there's to be more?" Glee queried
happily.

Jonathan looked painfully self conscious.
"I've one under consideration on compulsory education."

"Can't say that I agree with that," Elvin
protested. "Too devilishly expensive, and I daresay our class would
be the one to foot the bill."

"I can't agree with you," his twin
countered.

At this point Melvin and Jonathan struck up
an animated conversation with one another.

It was also at this point Glee glimpsed
Carlotta enter the Pump Room alone. Glee edged even closer to
Blanks, compelled to watch her rival. Dressed in regal purple
velvet, Carlotta glanced at Blanks, colored, then strode to the
other side of the chamber from him. Oddly, this was the first time
Glee had seen Blanks’s mistress since they had wed. Had the widow
left town in order to avoid meeting Blanks in public? She had been
neither at the Pump Room nor the Assembly Rooms these three
weeks.

Glee wondered if Carlotta were terribly in
love with him, but she had only to see the pained look on
Carlotta's face to know how keenly the woman still loved him. And
despite that she despised Carlotta Ennis, Glee felt a unique
empathy for her. After knowing the pleasure of being bedded by him,
Glee realized it would be no easy thing to purge Blanks from her—or
Carlotta's—mind and body.

Assured that Jonathan was engrossed in
conversation with Melvin, Glee looked up and met her husband's
intense gaze. "Come, darling, I should love to take a spin about
the room with you."

They walked some little distance, with
Blanks making no effort to engage her in conversation. His face
stern, he seemed as distant as the moon.

"A pity about Archie," Glee began.

He nodded, no expression evident on his
inscrutable face save for his perpetual half smile. "It's quite
odd, really," he said, more as if he were thinking aloud. "I
believe I'm actually learning from Archie."

"How so?" she asked, caressing Blank's
handsome face with her eyes.

"In some ways I find the lad far richer than
I."

Glee's brows shot up. Whatever could her
husband be talking about? How could the wretched little boy be
wealthy when he had nothing save the few shillings he earned from
Blanks? Then, the realization struck her.
Archie was richer than
poor Blanks.
For Archie possessed something Blanks never had: a
mother. A mother he loved and who loved him. Glee could have wept
for the lonely boy her poor Blanks had been.

On the other hand, she rejoiced that he had
shared such a deeply personal revelation with her.

She squeezed his hand. "Yes, I see it. He
is." Changing her tone, she continued. "I expect we shouldn't force
ourselves on the lad. He really is vastly fortunate."

"We'll keep a watch over him and be there if
the need arises."

"You really think his mother will drink
herself into the grave?"

A muscle in Blanks's jaw twitched. "I'm
certain of it. As much as it pains me to say it, she's one foot in
there already."

Glee's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Blanks,
can we not persuade her to change?"

He patted her hand. "I'm afraid not, my
dear. We can force nothing on her. Any change has to come from her,
and I'm convinced she would rather feel her life slipping away than
change its course."

Glee lowered her moist lashes.

Blanks smiled at her. "It appears you've
made a conquest of my brother. I daresay he appreciates you touting
his literary celebrity."

She shrugged. "I'm a bit out of charity with
Jonathan, if you must know. After all, his sole reason for being in
Bath is to find a means to strip you of your fortune."

"That's as may be, but I value his honesty.
It’s more than his mother ever owned. Her great defense when
maligning me was that
she was only interested in my
good.
"

"Please don't talk about that horrid woman!
I vow, Blanks, I detest her."

He laughed and lifted Glee's hand for
kiss.

Glee's glance caught Carlotta's as her face
went white and she looked away. She
had
seen Blanks
affectionately kiss Glee's hand. Warmth suffused Glee. She might
not own Blanks's heart, but she possessed something very close to
it. Color stung her cheeks as she thought of the closeness they had
shared the night before. She could hardly wait for tonight!

* * *

Gregory, on the other hand, was trying to
think of how he could prevent himself from tasting of Glee's
pleasures that night. Not that he did not want to partake. Glee's
very touch stirred him as no other woman had ever done. He told
himself he should be content with strolling with her, feeling the
pleasure of her arm touching his, hearing her sweet voice, drinking
in the love he now believed she felt toward him. And though he
returned her affection tenfold, he must deny himself her physical
pleasures.

During his long ride in the country this
morning, he had thought that becoming estranged from Glee would
make it easier for him to deny her. But to cut himself off from her
would be to rip out his heart. Even if he could never allow himself
the luxury of making love to Glee, he could never deprive himself
of her company.

She leaned into him, lifting her smiling
face. "Do you think Jonathan heard us last night?"

When she had called out his name? The
evocative memory had the power to rob him of breath.
Gregory
had never sounded so sweet.

He looked down at her. There was no regret
on her face, only a trusting love. "The walls are rather thick," he
murmured, patting her hand. "I've. . . worried that I may have hurt
you." He swallowed hard, unable to look at her.

"I'm a bit sore, but I daresay once I become
accustomed to. . .you, there will be no more soreness."

She dared to hope for what he would be
unable to give her. Such knowledge was akin to impaling himself on
a sword. "Would that I could die in your arms, my love," he
murmured sadly.

"Don't be so morbid," she teased. "I really
cannot bear to think of your demise."

Now he looked at her, long and hard. And he
knew without a doubt, Glee loved him. Which made their abstinence
all the more regrettable. "Nor I yours," he said bitterly.

He saw that Carlotta went to the fountain
for a cup of water. His glance caught Glee following his line of
vision, then she stiffened. He braced for the reference Glee was
sure to make about his former mistress. He waited, but Glee said
nothing. Could it be that previously Glee had not loved him,
therefore had not been jealous of Carlotta? And now that she loved
him she wished to avoid thinking of or discussing Carlotta?

"Since we've assured your fortune, you don't
have to dance attendance on me in public, but I really hope you
don't stop," Glee said.

A pity she was so sure of him. He would have
to prepare her for the inevitable let-down. "You know I don't want
children?"

Glee's hand gripped his arm. "Oh, Blanks, I
hadn't thought. . .Do you think I could have. . ."

"I hope to God not," he said in a rueful
voice.

She gave him an odd look. "It wouldn't be
the end of the world, you know. I suspect, too, your father would
have been pleased to know a grandson assured the unbroken
continuation of his estates."

"Who says it wouldn't be the end of the
world?" he demanded harshly. If Glee were to die on childbed, it
would be the end of his world.

They reached the part of the room where they
had started their walk, and Melvin and Jonathan were so engaged in
their conversation, they did not see Gregory and Glee.

"Another turn about the room, my love?"
Gregory asked.

"I should like it excessively."

They walked some little distance before
either of them spoke again. "You have a most beautiful body,
Blanks," she said with no trace of shyness.

"As do you, my love. A pity I shall have to
abstain from its pleasures."

Her eyes widened, and a look of raw pain
swept over her face as she looked at him, her fingers digging into
his arm. "Surely you tease?"

"I wish I did," he said morosely.

She came to a stop and looked up at him with
watery eyes. "I must know why you say that."

He swallowed and avoided looking at her,
then shook his head.

"It's my inexperience," she said with
shaking voice, a tear slipping from her eye. "Though I thought you
well pleased last night."

He took both her hands and peered earnestly
into her solemn face. "I've never in my life been more well
pleased."

"You're saying that to spare me
embarrassment."

He lifted her hands to his lips. "I'm saying
it because it's true."

Now tears began to spill from her eyes.
"Allow Jonathan to take my phaeton home—to keep it for all I care!
I suddenly find I must leave." Then she turned from Gregory and
hurried from the room.

He fought the urge to go after her. It was
far better this way. Let her adjust to the idea of a chaste
marriage.

* * *

Tears clouding her vision, Glee stormed
through the pedestrians who clogged the pavement of Bath. She
neither spoke to nor made eye contact with anyone. All she could
think of was how miserably she had failed as Blanks's wife. In one
moment's time, her bliss had sunk to despair. Where had she gone
wrong? Now that she'd found her world in Blanks's arms, she could
never return to the icy charade their marriage had been before.