His Wicked Lady (19 page)

“Since when is it wrong to want to satisfy
your wife?” Mr. Christopher Robinson asked, eager—as always—to
defend his friend.

Malcolm sighed. There was no reasoning with
either Robinson or Edon. They were lost causes.

Warren groaned. “Wives aren’t for pleasure.
They are for necessity. They are to give us an heir and a spare.
That is all. They receive satisfaction when they get to spend our
money.

“What’s sad,” Logan began, “is that you
actually believe that. But when you marry, you’ll find things are
much better if you look for ways to make her time in bed
pleasurable. It’s downright selfish to think only of your own
satisfaction.”

“I won’t aim to be satisfied,” Warren said.
“All I’m going to aim for are two sons. That’s it.” He motioned to
Malcolm, who sank lower into the chair. “Gentlemen like us have
more important things to do than worry about spending time in bed.
We have fortunes to acquire.”

“Usually, I’d agree with Lord Steinbeck,”
Lord Roderick spoke up. “But in this case, he couldn’t be more
wrong. I find I concentrate much better on investing when I’m
satisfied in bed, and a large part of being satisfied is knowing my
wife has enjoyed herself as well.”

Robinson gasped. “Roderick, for the first
time since I’ve known you, you actually made good sense.”

Roderick rolled his eyes.

“No, I mean it,” Robinson insisted. “It’s
refreshing to hear you agree with me for a change.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Warren
said. “Lord Roderick, you wanted to see more upstanding gentlemen
in this club. You voted for Mr. Jasper to be a member.”

“Yes, I did,” Roderick admitted, “and I stand
by my decision. But I don’t see what that has to do with having a
happy marriage. A good marriage is best for London. It prevents a
lot of scandals.”

“Regardless,” Warren said, turning his
attention back to Edon, “I want this book banned from White’s. You
can hand it out anywhere else but here.”

“I won’t do that unless the majority vote for
it,” Edon replied.

“Yes, that’s a splendid idea,” Robinson
agreed. “We’ll put it to a vote.”

Warren didn’t look at all happy with the
outcome, but since the other gentlemen, who had gathered around
them, agreed to a vote, the decision was made.

“Good,” Robinson said, a pleased smile on his
face. “We’ll vote on it then.”

“Not now,” Warren replied. “We need to give
everyone notice we’ll be voting on this.”

Robinson smirked. “He’s only saying that
because he knows he’ll lose if we vote right now.”

Malcolm rubbed his forehead. He was in danger
of getting a headache, especially since Logan was the reason they
were having the debate about the book. When it came to Logan,
nothing turned out well.

Warren scowled at Robinson. “It’s important
every member in this establishment has a chance to vote.”

“Fine,” Roderick said. “Everyone who wants to
vote on the book may do so on Wednesday. Four days should be enough
time for everyone to get a notice about the vote. Then on Thursday,
we’ll count the votes. Whatever the decision ends up being, we’ll
abide by it. Agreed?”

Warren nodded. “Agreed.”

“Good.” Roderick turned to his friend, Lord
Clement. “Let’s play chess. I’ve had enough of this ridiculous
debate.”

Malcolm rose to his feet. He needed to get
out of here. If Logan did anything else to embarrass him, he just
might end up throwing him down a well to get rid of him, once and
for all. While no one was looking, he slipped out of White’s and
hurried on home.

Chapter Sixteen

R
egan and Leonard had just returned from visiting Eloise’s when
Malcolm entered the townhouse, mumbling something under his breath
about how terrible his life was. Frowning, she left the drawing
room, her son at her heels, in time to intercept him before he went
up the stairs.

“Mind if I ask what’s troubling you?” she
asked. When he hesitated, she added, “Did I do something to upset
you?”

He waited until the footman left before
answering. “No. Your behavior has been impeccable. Ideal, even. I
have no complaints there. It’s just,” he sighed, “every time I
remember I couldn’t save my sister from marriage to that…that…” He
glanced at Leonard. “Never mind what he is. The fact of the matter
is, I couldn’t save her from the marriage, and because of that, I
have to live with the consequences of my failure every day of my
life.”

She glanced at Leonard, sure this would be
one of those discussions best done without him there. “Go on back
to the drawing room and work on your drawing.”

Though her son looked disappointed, he
obeyed.

She turned back to Malcolm. “Would you like
to talk in a more private area?”

“What about Leonard? Is it safe to leave him
unattended?”

“The butler can watch him. Why don’t we talk
in the den?”

“All right.”

Once she summoned the butler, Malcolm went
with her to the den. He plopped in the chair, his head thrown back,
and stared at the ceiling as if he’d lost his dearest friend in all
the world.

“Do you need some brandy?” she asked, ready
to head over to the decanter.

“No. Brandy won’t help me. Nothing will help.
I’m stuck with my loathsome brother-in-law until I die. There’s no
getting rid of him.”

She went over to the chair next to his and
sat down. “What did Logan do to upset you?”

“I think the better question is, what doesn’t
he do to upset me? I honestly think he looks for ways to annoy me.
All I want is to stay out of trouble. I don’t want to be involved
in any scandalous activities. I want a simple and quiet life where
I can go to White’s without being embarrassed. Is that too much to
ask?”

“No, it’s not,” she softly replied, thinking
of the things she’d done to potentially embarrass him.

He was so unlike Frederick. Frederick found
humor in everything, often saying if a gentleman took life too
seriously, he was going to miss out the best it had to offer. She’d
taken it for granted others were like him or that Malcolm would be
happier if he’d adopt the same attitude Frederick had.

But it wasn’t right of her to change Malcolm.
Malcolm had a right to want to protect his reputation. Granted, it
was a little bit amusing he considered everything he did of the
greatest importance, but she supposed given all the faults a
gentleman could have, this was one she could live with. He could be
worse.

Malcolm let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his
eyes. “It was bad enough that Logan came up to me at White’s, but
then he made it a point to keep bothering me in front of Warren and
Robert. The only saving grace was that they knew I’d never condone
the kind of book Logan reads for entertainment.” He shuddered. “It
was just awful.”

“I’m sorry, Malcolm,” she said.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. You
can’t control what that loathsome cad does.”

“No, I meant I’m sorry for all the times I
did something to upset you. You know, taking your hand and leading
you to the dance floor, talking to you too long in front of
Warren’s, coming to your townhouse uninvited, and not telling you
it was really me you were marrying. Then the things I did the
morning after we married while we were eating.”

“It turned out all right,” he said. “Besides,
you are nowhere as horrible as Logan is. At least your things were
harmless.”

“Does that mean you forgive me?”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “I thought you
understood I already did.”

“It’s nice to know for sure.”

“You’re nothing like my dimwitted
brother-in-law. He torments me relentlessly. To him, it’s a
challenge to see if he can irk me more today than he did yesterday.
He knows what he does upsets me, and he keeps doing it. Whereas
with you, once you understood certain things bothered me, you
stopped. You respect me, whereas he doesn’t.” He closed his eyes
and groaned. “If it weren’t for my sister and nephew, I’d never
deal with him.”

“Is it a good idea to go to their dinner
party this evening?” Regan asked. “We can always tell them we won’t
be able to make it.”

“No. If I don’t go, I’ll never hear the end
of it. He’ll see it as a victory.” He straightened in his chair. “I
have to go whether I want to or not.”

After a moment of staring straight ahead, he
ran his fingers through his dark hair. Her fingers itched to do the
same. He had marvelous hair for a gentleman. It was rich in color
and texture. There were many other things she wanted to do to him,
as well, but unless he allowed it, she couldn’t.

“I should get ready for the dreadful event,”
Malcolm finally said and rose to his feet. “Afterwards, I think
I’ll spend some time with Leonard. Do you mind if I explain the
importance of not being a reckless spender?”

Despite the serious conversation they’d been
having, she caught herself chuckling. “He’s only four, Malcolm. I
doubt he’ll understand what you’re talking about.”

“He might not understand everything I tell
him, but he might grasp a piece of it. I can later take that piece
and build upon it with other conversations.”

“You may instruct him as you see fit,” she
replied. “I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“I won’t.”

She waited until he left the den before she
returned to her son. She supposed her heart should have been
lighter since he’d forgiven her for all the things she’d done to
upset him, but it wasn’t. In many ways, she experienced regret. She
had no idea the things she’d thought were harmless had impacted him
so deeply. He was a sensitive soul.

She was beginning to suspect his show of
pride covered up his feeling of insecurity. Logan was right when he
suggested she appeal to Malcolm’s self-confidence. Yes, it was a
way in. The method had worked wonderfully in getting Malcolm to
open up to her.

But it hadn’t made him more prideful, as
Logan thought it’d do. What it had done was shown him that someone
respected him. Respect, as it turned out, was the way to his heart.
In the future, she would be mindful to watch what she said and did,
so she could honor that.

***

By the time Regan was ready to go to Melissa
and Logan’s dinner party, she found Malcolm in the drawing room
with Leonard. He had set out chess pieces on the table, some of
which were on one side while the others had been delegated to the
floor in a neat pile. Curious, she kept quiet as she peered in to
see what they were doing.

“So now you have your favorite pieces,”
Malcolm told Leonard. “The King, the Queen, two Knights, and two
Bishops. You’ve already been reckless with the ones you didn’t
like, which is all right. As long as you have enough money here,”
he gestured to the pieces on the table, “your wealth is still
secure. However, it’s important to save some of these aside while
you’re making investments. Investments allow you to retrieve back
some of the pieces you already lost. But, and this is the tricky
part, you will need to decide how much to spend. If you spend
everything on one investment, you could lose all your pieces. For
example, let’s say you want to get a Rook. Which of these pieces
are you willing to lose?”

“None,” Leonard said.

“But you have to pick one.”

“I like them all.”

“What about a Knight or a Bishop? You already
have two of each of those.”

Amused, Regan watched as Leonard studied the
six pieces in front of him. She bit her tongue so she wouldn’t
laugh. This was too adorable. Who but Malcolm would think to make a
lesson on money from chess pieces?

After a long pause, Leonard shook his head.
“I like all of them.”

“But the whole point in making money is to be
willing to risk some of it for a bigger return,” Malcolm said. “Why
not risk the Knight? Of all the pieces, he is the least
important.”

“But I like him. He’s a horse.”

“All right. If you don’t want to chance
losing a Knight, then what about one of the Bishops?”

He shook his head. “But I like them. They
remind me of fire.”

“Fire?”

“On a candle. Like when Mother tucks me into
bed. There’s always a candle.” Leonard pointed to the King and
Queen. “I’ll give up one of these.”

“But those are very important. They represent
the most valuable things you have in your estate. That is your
land,” Malcolm pointed to the King, “and this is your manor,” he
pointed to the Queen. “Even if you lose everything else, you must
keep these.”

At that moment, Leonard looked over at Regan.
“Mother, which one should I give up?”

Having been exposed, she went over to them
and sat down and asked, “What do the Bishops and Knights
represent?”

“Money in various amounts,” Malcolm said.
“The Bishops are higher amounts than the Knights. For the sake of
this discussion, I’m not going to be specific. I just want him to
understand the importance of being careful with things he can’t
afford to lose.”