His Reluctant Lady (14 page)

His grin widened and he made love to
her.

Chapter Twelve

“
Hasn’t it been a wonderful
day?” Christopher asked his guardian as they sat at the table for
dinner.

Perry placed his cane against the arm
of his chair and studied him. “You didn’t do anything with Agatha
while you were in her carriage after our dinner party, did
you?”

He gasped and glanced around the room
where the servants stood in hearing distance. “Really, my cousin. I
don’t see why you’d suggest such a thing!” With a self-righteous
huff, he set the napkin on his lap and lifted his chin in the air.
“I’ll have you know that I was a perfect gentleman the whole time.
I merely worried about her health, that was all.”

“
Well, all right, though I
can’t recall ever seeing you so happy.”

“
That’s because you are
letting me marry the most wonderful lady in London despite my age.
I didn’t think you’d approve of a marriage to her because she’s two
years older than me.”

Perry sipped his wine then set his
glass back on the table. “I would have been more concerned if she
had some undesirable trait.”

Lifting his fork and knife so he could
cut into his steak, Christopher asked, “Undesirable
trait?”

“
If she engaged in
scandalous behavior, that would have been a problem.”

He slowly chewed his food and thought
of the scandalsheets Agatha wrote for. His cousin would be appalled
if he knew she did that, but that wasn’t a surprise, considering
how stuffy and boring he was. However, it did make him wonder about
his good friend Lord Roderick. “Roderick married his wife because
of a scandal but you still talk to him.”

“
That was a
misunderstanding, not a true scandal.”

“
It’s why they got married.”
And poor Claire’s fate had been sealed ever since.

“
His wife is an honorable
lady. That event at Lady Cadwalader’s ball was unfortunate, but it
has no bearing on her as a person. She did nothing inappropriate,
nor would she dream of doing so. She’s a lady through and through.
I had hoped you’d find a lady of such notable standing, and as
fortune has it, you have, something I applaud you for, by the
way.”

Christopher hid his grin and settled
for nodding. If his cousin was so delusional that he wanted to
believe ladies were prim and proper all the time, let him. He’d
have a heart attack if he knew the things going on right under his
nose. “I hope Agatha’s sister is boring enough for you,” he
muttered under his breath before he ate another forkful of
steak.

Perry looked up from his plate, his
eyebrows furrowed. “What was that?”

“
Nothing. I merely wondered
how things were going with you and Sophie.”

A smile spread across his face.
“They’re going very well. I plan to see her at Lord Pennella’s
ball.” Christopher tried to cover his chuckle with a cough, but
Perry asked, “What’s so funny?”

Christopher forced his laughter aside
and made eye contact with his guardian who didn’t look the least
bit amused. “You’re going to see the lady you’re courting. And I
bet that’s all you’ll do.”

“
What would you have me
do?”

He shrugged. “Something more
interesting than look at her. Touch her hand. Kiss her cheek.
Better yet, find a quiet little place somewhere and—”

“
Christopher!” He slammed
his hand on the table and glared at him. “I will not have you
speaking this way. We are discussing the way we approach ladies,
ladies with upstanding reputations.” After a moment, he added, “I
hope you kept your hands to yourself in Agatha’s
carriage.”

Undaunted by the silent threat in his
cousin’s voice, he rolled his eyes. “I was a gentleman. Well, at
least I didn’t do anything Agatha protested.”

He took a deep breath and glanced at
the servants. “I feel sorry for her. Really, I do. She’s getting
the short end of the bargain on this one.”

“
Oh, she’ll be fine. We’ll
have lots of fun together.” Just to annoy his guardian further, his
lips curled up into a knowing smile and he added, “Lots and lots of
fun.”

Perry threw his napkin on the table and
rose to his feet, his chair moving back so fast that his cane fell
to the floor. The butler hurried to retrieve the cane and handed it
to him. Perry thanked him and straightened his shoulders. “We will
have no more talk of this, Christopher. I demand it.” Then with a
look at the servants, he continued, “There will be an additional
sum of money in this week’s pay if you keep this conversation
private.”

Christopher watched in amusement as
Perry made a show of lifting his chin as he limped out of the room.
Maybe it was wrong for him to enjoy upsetting his guardian, but
sometimes his guardian’s stuffiness grated on his nerves. He
couldn’t wait to marry Agatha so he could finally be out of his
guardian’s control. Really, all he wanted was to do more than what
Perry did. Mostly, all Perry did was play chess, read dull books,
and sit in front of a roaring fire with his eyes closed and hands
folded on his lap. If he didn’t ride a horse or go to White’s, he’d
have nothing interesting to do.

With a slight shake of his
head, Christopher continued eating his meal. He was glad Agatha
wasn’t so stuffy. Sure, she seemed that way on the surface, but
there was a seductively scandalous side to her that held great
appeal to him. Who knew she wrote for the
Tittletattle
and, more impressively,
took on the alias of a gentleman? It made him wonder what other
things she was hiding? A lady like her probably had another secret
or two to uncover. That was so unlike his guardian who was
transparent. Of all things Agatha was, boring wasn’t one of them,
thankfully. When he married her, he had a feeling that his life
would finally get exciting.

***

“
I think Mister Landry is
looking at me,” Sophie whispered.

Agatha closed her reticule as they left
the seamstress’ shop where she was being fitted for a gown for her
wedding. She had been tempted to go with a solid black color to
mark the occasion but decided on a nice golden one instead. There
was no sense in being dramatic about the whole thing. She and
Christopher both knew the marriage marked the death of her freedom.
Her carefree days were quickly coming to an end, and next time they
read the banns, it would be official.

“
Agatha?” Sophie whispered,
giving her sister a light jab in the side.

Forcing her mind off of Christopher,
she turned her attention to her sister. “What?”

“
Look.”

Sophie handed Agatha her closed fan,
and Agatha accepted it. When her sister motioned for her to look at
the mirror on the edge of it, she turned the fan so that she could
lift it up and see the people behind them. “Why am I doing this?”
she asked as they slowly stepped away from the shop.

“
Mister Landry. He’s
reclining on the bench behind us.”

Adjusting the fan so she could see the
gentleman who was watching them, she shrugged. “So?”

“
So?” Leaning closer to her,
she said, “He was there when we entered the shop, and he’s still
there. I caught his eye earlier. He’s still looking at me. I think
I caught his attention.”

Lowering the fan, Agatha took a moment
to inspect the back of her sister’s dress. Well, at least there was
nothing out of place. So he wasn’t watching her sister because she
was inadequately dressed. That was good. But even so, there was
nothing to be done about this. “Pay him no mind.”

Sophie picked up her pace as Agatha
proceeded to stroll down the street. “Pay him no mind? But I think
he’s interested in me.”

With a shrug, she handed the fan back
to her. “So?”

“
So? He’s attractive and
nice.”

“
You don’t even know
him.”

“
I danced with him a couple
of times. Not at the same ball, of course, but I am acquainted with
him.”

Good heavens! Her sister was taking a
fancy to Mister Landry? She had to set things straight before this
got out of hand. “Sophie, be reasonable. You have attracted the
attention of a titled gentleman. Lord Clement is wealthy,
intelligent and kind, three things that are hard to find in an
earl. You can’t do better than him.”

“
But I don’t love
him.”

“
Love?” She let out a
bewildered laugh and rolled her eyes. “What does love have to do
with anything? No one marries for love. They marry for some kind of
advantage. Whether that advantage be an heir, money, alliances, or
something else is up for debate, but there’s always an
advantage.”

“
Are you marrying
Christopher for an advantage?”

“
Of course.” And that clever
devil knew exactly how to work things to his benefit. “I wouldn’t
marry him otherwise.”

“
What advantage do you
seek?”

Noting the spark of interest in her
sister’s eyes, Agatha groaned. “Must you delight in
gossip?”

“
I’m only curious. You’re a
wealthy widow. You have everything you already want. What advantage
can he possibly offer you?”

“
You worry too much about
other people. What you ought to do is worry about your future. If
you’re not careful, you’ll jeopardize everything we’ve worked so
hard for. Do you think it’s easy to secure a marriage with an earl
of Clement’s standing? Not a single bad mark against him. That’s an
impressive feat.”

“
He’s boring.”

“
Oh, he is not!”

“
Yes, he is. I hardly know
what to say to him. I can barely recall what we’ve already talked
about. But I remember what Mister Landry has said, and I have found
some of his jokes quite delightful.”

“
Sophie, listen to yourself!
So Clement’s not an enthusiastic conversationalist? If that’s the
worst of his sins, you’ll do well. When he talks, just smile and
nod while your mind wanders. I doubt he’ll know you’re not
listening. If he bores you, suggest he go to White’s or excuse
yourself and go to a different room. There are ways around a boring
gentleman.”

“
But I want to laugh and
talk to the gentleman I marry.”

Agatha forced aside the urge to rub her
forehead. Why didn’t her sister see logic in anything? Why did she
have to be guided by her emotions? “Your mild infatuation with
Mister Landry will come to a pass, just as it did with Lord Dabney.
You don’t even think about him anymore, do you?”

“
Well, no.”

“
See? These feelings you
have for Mister Landry are the same ones you had for Lord Dabney.
They’re here today and gone tomorrow. Now,” she continued, patting
her sister’s arm, “let’s figure out what jewelry you’ll wear to
Lord Pennella’s upcoming ball. I’ll be buying them, so you needn’t
worry about what our aunt will say.”

Her sister glanced over her shoulder
but stopped when Agatha cleared her throat. “All right.”

Relieved, she led her sister to a shop
which sold the best jewelry in London.

Chapter Thirteen

Agatha glanced at the clock in her
drawing room before turning her attention back to the scene she was
writing. She didn’t have much time. She promised her sister and
aunt that she’d have dinner with them, and if she didn’t get to
work, she’d never finish this chapter. Dipping the quill into the
inkwell, she reread the last paragraph and bit her lower lip. What
should she write next? After a minute passed, she finally figured
out the next sentence and jotted it down.

She managed to write a couple more
sentences when a knock on the closed door interrupted her. Gasping,
she tried to cover the papers lying on the desk before she
remembered she had locked the door so no one could walk in on her.
Releasing her breath, she called out that she would be there in a
moment and quickly shoved the papers into the drawer. She closed it
and rose to her feet.

Taking a deep breath to calm her
pounding heart, she smoothed out her dress and headed for the door.
Goodness but she was on edge these days. She swore it was her
impending marriage that did it. It was hard to think clearly when
the wedding was a mere week away.

Putting a polite smile on her face, she
opened the door, her smile faltering when she saw Christopher
standing next to her butler. “What are you doing here?” she asked,
not waiting for the butler to introduce him.

Christopher’s eyebrows rose. “I missed
you and wished to see you.”

Ignoring the strange flutter in her
chest, she said, “I have important things to do today.”

“
I won’t be long. I merely
wanted to sit for a few minutes and admire your beauty.”

She stared at him, wondering if he was
teasing her or being serious. He had a wicked grin on his face yet
his voice seemed sincere. She shook her head but opened the door
further and waved him in. He was such a strange gentleman. She
didn’t know what to make of him.