Wolfishly Yours (12 page)

Lady Sophia’s door squeaked as it opened, and the lady poked her head into the corridor. “Lord Radbourne, Mr. Hadley.” She sighed. “I can’t imagine what would bring the two of you to my bedchamber at this hour.”

Archer snorted. “We got lost.”

She rolled her eyes. “Just find your way back to your own chambers.” Then she turned her glare on Gray. “And, you… Lady Radbourne would like an audience with you first thing in the morning.”

Gray seemed to remember his mother saying something similar when they were at the Longboroughs’. He nodded once.

“Now, sweetheart,” Archer slid closer to their tutor, “Gray got a little foxed. He’s terribly sorry about the entire affair. Lord Eynsford doesn’t really need to hear about this little incident, does he?”

Lady Sophia shook her head. “Certainly you know better than to try to coerce me with your silver tongue, Archer Hadley.”

“What will it take, then?” Archer growled.

“Well, if I was less scrupulous, I might ask for the deed to Bindweed Cottage.” She stepped into the corridor, wrapping her robe tighter about herself. “But I genuinely care for Miss Mayeux and I wouldn’t put my own interests over hers. Besides, you’re wasting your breath.” She smiled like the cat that ate the cream. “I have no intention of writing to Lord Eynsford about this evening’s events.”

Gray breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with Dash too.

“Why not?” Archer narrowed his eyes on the lady. “Certainly it’s not out of the goodness of your heart.”

Gray shoved his brother’s shoulder. Damned dolt. Was he trying to get Lady Sophia to change her mind?

“Because there’s no reason to do so. The Eynsfords have arrived in Bath this very evening.” She looked supremely pleased with herself. “In fact, Lady Radbourne has already paid them a visit. She went as soon as she learned of their arrival, after we returned from the Longboroughs’.”

Archer huffed in indignation. “You told them to come,” he accused.

“Because I knew the two of you would create some scandal? Do you attribute me with a soothsayer’s ability now?” Lady Sophia shook her head. “On the contrary, Lady Eynsford simply wanted to partake of the waters in her delicate state. I had nothing to do with their western sojourn.”

“Blast it to hell,” Archer grumbled, echoing Gray’s thoughts exactly.

Livi stared up at the canopy over her head as the first rays of morning filtered into her chamber. She’d lain awake most of the night. First, wondering what had possessed Gray to enter her room like that. And then worrying over her future.

What was she going to do? As soon as Grandfather broke his fast, he’d learn about what had happened at the Longboroughs’ the night before, what she’d said… And then what? Would she find herself in some Irish convent?

She couldn’t end up in a convent. She just couldn’t. So she was left with a choice—successfully flee England or become the lady her grandfather wanted, assuming it wasn’t already too late for that. Neither option was particularly to her liking. But her choice would have to be made soon because she couldn’t imagine life behind a convent’s walls.

A knock came at her door, and Livi blinked toward the sound. Wasn’t it too early for visitors? Then her mind flashed back to the strange visit Gray had paid her the night before. Had he come back? She pulled the counterpane up to her neck and called, “Come in.”

Sophie stepped over the threshold and frowned. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Relieved that it was her friend and not a hulking Lycan, Livi sat up in bed. “Come in, Sophie. I’m awake.”

Sophie sighed warily and then closed the door behind her. “It’s the earl.” The tutor crossed the floor silently, but each step she took increased Livi’s anxiety tenfold.

Bon
Dieu
! It was too late. “He wants to send me to Ireland?”

Sophie shook her head. “No, no, not yet,” she said soothingly. Then she took Livi’s hand in hers. “Lord Holmesfield’s valet sought me out just a few minutes ago. His lordship is not faring well this morning. I know you’re not close to your grandfather, but I thought you might want to see him.”

Livi’s mouth dropped open. Her grandfather had been sickly ever since she arrived in England, but he had a spine of steel. She couldn’t really imagine him not faring well. “My grandfather?” she asked.

Sophie nodded. “I can’t imagine he’ll receive visitors other than you today.”

“I can’t imagine he’d want to see me.” After all, he hadn’t wanted to spend any time with her since she’d arrived.

But Sophie squeezed her hand. “You are his blood, Livi, no matter how much he blusters.”

“All right,” Livi agreed. If Sophie thought it was necessary, Livi clearly needed to visit with the earl.

***

Gray dropped into a seat at the breakfast table and frowned. Where was his mother? She had made it quite clear she wanted a word with him, and he’d already searched all the main rooms of the house.

“Raw egg, sir?” a footman asked, biting back a smirk.

Gray glowered at the servant. “Just coffee. Thank you.”

The footman nodded dutifully. “As you wish.” He placed a cup and saucer in front of Gray before pouring a spot of coffee for him. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Black will do.” Gray took a sip and then regarded the chatty servant. “Has Lady Radbourne come down for breakfast yet?”

The footman shook his head. “I have not seen her ladyship this morning, sir. In fact, you are the first to break your fast.”

“Grayson!” boomed a voice from the doorway.

Gray almost swallowed his tongue in his haste to rise to his feet. “M-morning, Dash.”

His half brother, Dashiel Thorpe, the Marquess of Eynsford, narrowed his golden eyes on Gray and heaved an indignant sigh. “What is to be done with you?”

“Spoke to Mother, I take it?”

Dash stepped into the breakfast room. “Violet stayed with us last night. It was too late for her to return after her visit.”

“And she wanted to see the children,” Gray added.

“Lia and Lucien do adore her.”

Gray snorted. “Between your children and Wes’ marriage, she’s about to come out of her skin wanting more of both. Hordes of grandchildren and married sons.”

With a wicked gleam in his eye, Dash said, “One tends to beget the other.” Then he shrugged. “Perhaps she’s on to something. Madeline has been quite the calming influence on Wes, and I’m certain Cait had the same effect on me. If you were married and bouncing a bundle on your knee, I’m not certain you’d have time to create havoc.”

Gray’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t believe Dash could even suggest such a thing. “So, should I just rush for the border with the next chit I see, like Wes did? Would that make you happy?”

His older brother cracked a smile, which was something of a rarity. “I suppose it depends on who the next chit you see is, and whether or not you’ve doused her with punch in front of all the
ton
.”

A vision of Livi flashed in Gray’s mind, but he shook the thought away. She wasn’t for him. Her grandfather had great plans for her, and none of them included Gray. “That was an accident,” he growled. “And it wasn’t all of the
ton
.”

Dash’s golden brow rose with mild amusement. “You know better than to take that tone with me.”

Gray dropped his gaze to the cooling coffee before him. “The punch was an accident,” he repeated much more softly. Then he chanced a glance at his brother. “But I may have ruined her chances last night.”

Dash turned his attention to the footman. “Leave us.” As soon as the servant was gone, and it was truly just the two of them, Dash leaned forward in his seat. “Your mother told me a very interesting story last night.”

More than just the fact that Gray had dumped a vat of punch on Livi at the Longboroughs’? “Oh?” he asked, afraid of the answer he’d hear.

“Your Miss Mayeux is half Lycan.”

That was hardly news. She’d told him the very same thing almost within seconds of meeting her. “I wouldn’t call her mine,” he said.

Dash chuckled. “If you truly did ruin her chances, I think that’s exactly what I’ll call her. I won’t have you ruin a young girl’s chances and walk away, Grayson.”

Gray shook his head. “I can’t imagine Holmesfield would agree to any such alliance.”

“Neither would Hythe, if he’d been given the choice,” Dash replied. “So Wes took matters into his own hands.”

“Are you saying I should abduct Livi and elope?”

Dash narrowed his eyes on Gray. “I’m saying we have to live by their rules most of the time, but we have our own we must adhere to, as well. That girl shares our lineage. She shares our mark, and I won’t see her hurt at your hands.”

So now Gray was the villain in all of this. “I have no intention of harming her,” he growled, even though he’d already been warned against doing so.

“No,” Dash agreed more amiably than was normal. “Cait seems to think your intentions are something else entirely.”

Cait? What the devil did Cait have to do with any of this? “She’s never even met Livi. How could she possibly know anything about the situation?”

Dash shrugged. “Call it women’s intuition, if you’d like. And though her intuition is compromised due her present condition, I’ve never known my wife to be wrong. Which leads us back to you and your Miss Mayeux.”

“She’s not mine,” Gray said again. “She doesn’t even want to be here, Dash. If she could stow away on a vessel headed for America, she’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“Then I suppose you’ll have to change her mind.”

Was he serious? “All of this so that I won’t have time to create havoc for you? I’d think you’d want to meet the girl before deciding I should abduct and elope with her.”

Dash only grinned. “Do try not to cause another scandal.”

***

Livi waited until her grandfather called, “Enter,” before she pushed open his door. She stepped inside his chambers as a series of coughs wracked his frame.

“Would you like water, Grandfather?”

The earl snorted. “So you can drown me?” He gestured toward a seat beside his bed. “Sit. I want to hear how the musicale turned out last night.”

Bon
Dieu
! There wasn’t a thing she could say about last night that he wouldn’t get upset over. “There isn’t much to tell,” she hedged.

“Horrid affairs,” he agreed. “But they are necessary if you’re to fit in among society.”

Livi cringed, remembering the events of the previous evening. When her grandfather learned what really happened, he’d be furious. Perhaps she could soften him up a little before the whole ugly truth hit his ears. “I can see that, though I didn’t really get a chance to socialize last night.”

The earl grunted. “What of Sophia Cole? Do you feel she is helping you?”

At that Livi nodded earnestly. “She is doing her best for me.”

“The question is whether or not her best is good enough. Has she helped you meet important people?”

Livi wasn’t certain who was important and who wasn’t, but she figured her grandfather would approve of one name. “I met the Duchess of Hythe yesterday.”

A series of coughs escaped the earl, but then his pallor looked a little better and he sat up straighter in bed. “Her Grace would be a good advocate for you.” Then he rubbed his chin. “You should keep your distance from her grandsons, though,” he warned. “Degenerates, both of them.”

Livi nodded. “Lady Sophia said something similar.”

“Good. Then her judgment is sound.” Her grandfather sighed as he stared at her. “I am sorry Grace isn’t here to lead you through this.”

A twinge of pain squeezed Livi’s heart at his words. “I’ve had to find my way through most things without
Maman
.”

“Raised by wild men instead,” the earl whispered. “Philippe should have sent you to me years ago, while your grandmother was still alive and would have known what to do for you.”

He seemed so sincere that Livi couldn’t help squeezing her grandfather’s hand. “Papa did the best he could.”

He agreed with a curt nod. “Your father and I have never agreed on anything, except for our love for Grace. We loved her in different ways, of course, but one is just as strong as the other. I’m sure he did the best for you that he was able to do. But I could have done more. I have more connections. Access to more influential men with full purses.”

Papa’s purse was plenty full with all of his enterprises, though Livi thought better than to say as much. And she was slightly taken aback by her grandfather’s musings. The earl truly did seem to care for her interests, which surprised Livi more than a little. She swiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m here now, Grandfather, and I’ll listen to everything Lady Sophia says.”

“See that you do.” He actually smiled at her. “If I’m feeling up to it, I’ll go to the Assembly Room with you this evening.”

And hear firsthand what had happened the night before? Livi almost blanched. She shook her head, more forcefully than was necessary. He might care for her interests, but he might think her best interests included a convent if he learned what she’d said at the Longboroughs’. “You should rest, Grandfather. I’m sure I’ll be fine with Lady Sophia and Lady Radbourne.”

“I might need a few days to get over this illness,” he said with a nod as he lay back against his pillows. Then he raised his head and said, “You’ll make me proud. I’m certain of it.”

He had faith in her? Her heart felt like it was expanding to twice its size as tears pricked the backs of her lashes. “I’ll make you proud,” she whispered. But his eyes were closing and she wasn’t even sure he heard her.

Livi would make him proud, even if she had to marry the most boring old peer who ever dared to enter an assembly room. And she would begin her search that night. After all, such a life had to be better than one spent behind convent walls. And hopefully, before her grandfather learned of her blunder at the Longboroughs’, she could have a suitable suitor in the wings. If so, her grandfather wouldn’t send her off to Ireland, would he? She hoped not.

Livi stepped out of his room and closed the door behind her. She could do this. She could. She was made of strong stuff. Now she just needed to prove it to everyone else. She searched the house until she found Lady Sophia in the yellow sitting room, where she sat embroidering. “I need you to make me perfect,” she said.

Sophia finished her stitch and looked up, not even taken aback by Livi’s statement.

“Can you make me graceful? And elegant?” Livi fiddled nervously with the sleeve of her dress.

“Has something happened that I’m not aware of, Livi?” Sophie asked. She set her embroidery to the side and regarded Livi with a most serious look.

“Not really,” Livi prevaricated. She couldn’t tell Sophie that she wanted to make her grandfather proud. “I just want to be the best I can be tonight. Teach me everything,” she said as she sat down beside Sophie.

“Everything is a bit much for one day. We may need reinforcements.”