Gentleman's Guide 01 - His Impetuous Debutante (28 page)

“
Lord Sandlin, let me
start at the beginning, then you will see how I will be perfect for
the role.”

Slowly Taylor sat, curious.

“
You might be interested
to know that I am the younger cousin of Lady Felding. That would be
Phoebe’s mother, in case you haven’t caught on.”

The statement caused Taylor to fall
into the seat, anxious to hear what else she would say next. It
certainly couldn’t be more shocking than what he had just
heard.

“
Years ago I married Lord
Bates. We traveled to America and ended up staying, we liked it so
well.” She took a sip of her wine and Taylor waited. “Two years ago
he died, but I remained in our adopted country. A short time later
I met Patrick Donahue, the man I will marry next year. I will be
returning to America to live with my husband, but first I needed to
come to London to sell off my properties and close out the
estate.”

Taylor finally found his tongue. “Then
why would you offer to be my mistress? I am sure Patrick would not
appreciate the idea.”

“
He would love it.” She
dismissed him with a laugh. “On my way here, I stopped to see
Victoria.”

“
Did you see
Phoebe?”

“
I thought you didn’t
care.” Her left eyebrow arched.

“
Obviously you know
differently. How is my wife?” He did not appreciating her teasing
tone.

Olivia sobered for a bit. “I was only
able to visit for a few hours. No, I didn’t see Phoebe. She was
napping and didn’t emerge from her room before I left. Victoria
confided in me because she is a bit worried because Phoebe seemed
somewhat depressed and had stopped playing the pianoforte. I never
did find out what that meant.”

“
Damn.” He stood again and
began to pace in front of the fireplace. Once again he had been
reminded how Phoebe was suffering from this. This should be one of
the happier times in her life, if not one of the more worrisome,
and she was left to deal with it alone.

“
I know you need a
mistress. You cannot keep turning women down or people will begin
to wonder.”

He stopped pacing and looked at
her.

“
Nobody remembers my
connection to Victoria and, being a widow, I have the option of an
illicit affair. I detest the
ton
and their gossiping tongues, but love the theater
and the balls, and am in need of an escort.” Straightening, she
looked him straight in the eye. “What I am proposing, Lord Sandlin,
is that I become your mistress in name only.”

It took a minute for her words to sink
in. When they did, he threw back his head and laughed. It was the
first time he had felt like laughing since he left
Phoebe.

“
Should I be insulted at
your reaction?” She asked with raised eyebrows.

Taylor relaxed in the chair. “Of
course not. This is perfect. At the risk of building your already
inflated ego, you are a beautiful woman. Perfect for the role. And
now I can stop pretending to look and concentrate on the more
important issues.” He paused and looked at her. “Did Lavins know
your intent when we were introduced?”

“
Did I fail to mention
that his wife, Simone, and I were in boarding school together and
are the best of friends?”

“
My friend confided in
you?” This did not set well. Only a handful of people knew what he
was about and it needed to stay that way or everything could be
ruined and put Phoebe in danger.

“
When I called on Noah
after arriving in London, Richard was visiting, and everything fell
into place.”

*

Phoebe’s buoyant mood deflated as
letters from her friends arrived in the following week. Taylor had
found a mistress and apparently was staying with her until the very
early hours of the morning. They were seen everywhere together at
both day and evening functions. They were constantly by each
other’s side and shared numerous dances. The name Lady Bates rang a
bell but Phoebe couldn’t place her. If the papers were any
indication, the woman was a rare beauty and much sought after, with
a number of men willing to fill Taylor’s role once he tired of her.
As the letters continued for another two weeks and the newspapers
arrived, he showed no sign of tiring. If anything, by all
appearances, he was in love with the woman.

Something was wrong. Taylor was not
supposed to really find a mistress, only act like he was looking
for one. What caused this change? Was her marriage in danger? Had
Taylor given up? Had he found someone he preferred better? That had
always been her fear.

No, she argued with herself. She could
not accept that Taylor would turn to another woman. But, what if he
had? She hadn’t seen or spoken to him in weeks.

To make matters worse, her mother
suggested she no longer leave the house. Her condition could no
longer be hidden, even in the loosest fitting clothes. Lady
Victoria even remarked she had never seen another woman this large
so early. That comment sent Phoebe running to her room in tears.
From that day forward, she refused to see even Lord
Caruthers.

No letters were received from Taylor
in the following weeks and Phoebe decided he was just too busy to
be concerned. She kept telling herself that this was only an act,
until the murderer was caught. But with each letter from her
acquaintances and each newspaper, it was becoming harder and harder
to believe. It had been six weeks and he had only bothered to write
twice, but he had been able to secure a mistress. She stopped
writing to him as well. Though there were pages filled from the
letter she had begun weeks earlier, she couldn’t find anything new
to say. Nor did she have the desire.

Phoebe wandered from room to room
feeling restless. She had never taken kindly to confinement, but
this was extremely irritating. Unable to stand it any longer, she
sat down at her pianoforte and played.

*

“
Finally,” Taylor shouted
as he entered his office. Two of his cousins had been spotted in
Norwich. It wasn’t overly far and he had every intention on going
himself. And the perfect excuse lay on his desk. Lord Blyth was
having a house party at his estate in North Walsham, to which he
and Lady Bates had been invited. It was beyond the pale to openly
take one’s mistress away for the weekend, but he no longer cared
what polite society thought of him. He could care less if he was
ever invited to another ball in his life. As long as Phoebe
remained safe.

Maybe he would be lucky enough to
catch up to his cousins in Norwich and not have to continue on to
attend the party. Though Taylor didn’t put much stock in luck
anymore, it did give him some hope because he really did not want
to be away from London, cooling his heels in North Walsham if his
cousins weren’t where they were reported to be.

Taylor pulled the foolscap from the
top drawer and quickly penned a not to Lord Blyth advising him that
he had changed his mind and that he and Lady Bates would be happy
to attend the party. He next sent a note to Olivia advising her he
would be by to get her in the morning and hoped it wasn’t too much
of an inconvenience.

*

He wanted to turn right
around and go back home. Not only had his cousins
not
been in Norwich,
nobody there recognized the name or the description. These false
leads, and weeks away from his wife were taking their toll. And, to
make matters worse, this house party was not a normal house party.
Had he been thinking clearly, Taylor would have realized that the
moment he did get the invitation, but these days, he could only
concentrate on his wife and family.

They were escorted into the large
parlor, decorated in reds and golds. Seated around the room were
married gentlemen of the ton, but the ladies on the laps were not
their wives. Why didn’t he remember that Lord Blyth was known for
his perverse idea of a good time, as were the gentlemen in
attendance? He turned to Olivia, an apology on his lips.

“
Don’t worry,” she
whispered. “We will get through this together and out of here as
quickly as possible.” She turned back to the group, a bright smile
on her face and introduced herself to the
ladies.

*

The next week brought
letters from women
claiming
to be her friends and set Phoebe raging. Taylor
had gone away to a weekend party with his mistress. It was clear
from the letters what type of party it was. It was also very clear
that it was common knowledge they had shared a bedchamber
for
three
nights.
How could he do this to her? Had he lied about how he felt? Had he
only used her because he needed an heir? Had he lied about being
forced to marry her? Had he laughed when she had confessed her
silly, girlish feelings? What a fool and a child she was. What a
child he must have thought she was. She paced the room and spotted
the letters she had lovingly written to him. She crumbled and threw
them in the waste can.

The only thing that kept her from
seeking him out and demanding answers was her child. She didn’t
wish to be killed, and she certainly wished for her child’s health.
But, just as soon as it was born, she would confront her husband
and demand answers. If they were not sufficient, then she would
petition the courts. He may have an heir by his thirtieth birthday,
but he may not have a wife.

That day Beethoven was added to her
Hayden pieces. She had been playing for two hours when the door
opened and Noah stalked in.

“
Phoebe, I am
concerned.”

“
I am fine,” she bit
out.

“
You don’t sound fine,” He
gestured to the piano.

Phoebe sighed, stood and walked to the
window. “It is just so hard. I try not to read the papers and I
wish my so-called friends would not write me about
Taylor.”

“
It will all work out, I
promise,”

“
I have my doubts.” She
walked to her door and stood there. “I am tired and would like to
retire.”

Taylor was back in London a week and
the Little Season was drawing to a close when he got word of his
cousins gambling at the Golden Rod, a place they liked to frequent
when in town and an establishment Taylor had spent far too many
hours in over the last month. He prayed it wasn’t just another
rumor as he made his way to the gaming hell and let out a sigh of
relief when he spotted Herbert and Kendrick playing
hazard.

He paid a boy to deliver a message to
Chambers and waited in the shadows of the smoky room. If his
cousins left, he would follow them, but he wouldn’t enter until he
had assistance in bringing them out.

Chambers arrived a half hour later,
Parker, Lavins and Martin with him. Taylor knew that in just a few
short hours this should all be over and he could return to his
wife. As his friends waited, he approached, a hand on each shoulder
and asked them to meet with him by the door.

Without question the two rose. When
they reached their destination, Chambers and Parker grabbed
Herbert, and Lavins and Martin subdued Kendrick. Together, they
escorted the men out of the gaming hell, into the carriage and
later into Taylor’s home where they waited. The two nervously
glanced at each other as the clock struck two in the morning and
footsteps were heard coming from the back of the house. Quietly,
Noah entered the room and took a place beside Taylor. Herbert and
Kendrick shared a confused look.

The questions began.

“
What do you know about my
wife?”

“
What we heard in the
hells and read in the paper,” Herbert answered
defensively.

“
You are aware of the
stipulations in the will.”

Kendrick grinned.

Taylor walked to where he sat and
towered over the man. “Do you assume you will be the one to
inherit?”

The man blanched and the grin fell
from his face. “Nobody knows who will.”

“
Yet, with my wife dead,
you stand a one in three chance, do you not?”

His eyes bugged out. “Is she
dead?”

“
Did you try to kill her?”
Taylor countered.

“
I may want the money, but
I wouldn’t kill anyone for it. Is that what this is
about?”

Taylor turned toward Herbert. “What of
you?”

The man shook his head vehemently.
Drops of sweat formed on his brow.

Taylor turned back to his friends.
“What do you think?”

“
Truthfully,” Parker
offered, his hand stroking his chin. “By reputation, I don’t think
these too have it in them.”

“
No, we don’t,” Kendrick
insisted.

“
They are a bit lily
livered if you ask me,” Martin added his thoughts.

They continued their line of
questioning, and Taylor was surprised they didn’t soil their pants.
After three hours of interrogation, the group agreed these two were
not smart enough to plan and execute the deaths.

“
That leaves Boris. Where
is he?” Taylor demanded.

“
We don’t know,” Herbert
quickly answered.