One Night Scandal (17 page)
“Sophie, I would never tell a soul about this.” He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“How can I trust you?” she whispered.
“Other than our rather peculiar first meeting when I told you my name was Nico, I have not lied to you. You know more of my secrets than any other person.”
“Only because I sensed them,” she retorted.
“Because I let you sense them,” he insisted, then kissed the tip of her nose. “You don’t know all my secrets.”
“Indeed?” she said as she rolled on her side. “Tell me a secret that no one else knows about you. And not about Jennette because I already learned that one.”
Nicholas lay back and watched her gray eyes sparkling in the flickering candlelight. Warmth suffused his body. “Very well, but if this gets out, I will be forced to seek vengeance.”
She smiled at him. “Agreed.”
“I hate rats.”
She cocked her head. “Hate or are you scared of them?”
He closed his eyes and remembered what led to his fear. He’d never told a soul about this. “Terrified of the filthy creatures.”
“Why?” Her thumb gently stroked his cheekbone.
“When I was nine, my brother Simon and I were at the estate in the Cotswolds. We were exploring the old dowager house that had fallen into disrepair. As I walked across the room, the floorboards gave out and I fell into the dirt cellar. It was pitch-black and I couldn’t find the stairs.”
“And there were rats in the cellar?” she asked.
He nodded. “Simon couldn’t find anything to help me out. The part of the building where the stairs were had collapsed so he couldn’t get to them. He told me he would run back to the estate to get help.”
“How long did it take him?”
Nicholas squeezed his eyes tighter as the pain returned. “It wasn’t Simon who prolonged my stay in that dank place.”
“Then who?”
“My father,” he muttered, disgusted again with how his father had treated him as a child.
“What?”
“When my father heard that we had disobeyed him, he wanted me to face my penance in that cellar. It took them five hours to return for me. As I sat there, I could hear the rats scuttling across the floor and squeaking.”
“But you might have been seriously hurt!”
“I know, but thankfully I wasn’t. I only had a few scratches from the fall. Still, the sound of those disgusting creatures scared me to death.”
She kissed him softly. “You do realize that they were probably only field mice.”
“I know that now. But when you’re nine and stuck in a dark place with only rodents for company . . .”
She cupped his cheeks and kissed him again. “Shh, I cannot imagine what that must have been like. And I hate your father for putting you through it.”
“So do I,” he murmured before moving his lips to hers. As much as he enjoyed talking with her, desire flared again with a simple kiss.
She pulled back slightly. “You should leave now,” she said breathlessly.
He curled his hand around her neck and brought her closer to him. “You really don’t want me to leave yet.”
“Are you reading
my
mind now?” she said before kissing him deeply.
my
mind now?” she said before kissing him deeply.
Chapter 17
Sophie woke slowly, blinking as she gingerly lifted her head off Nicholas’s chest. She looked down at his sleeping face for several moments. What would it be like to wake every morning next to him? Would they lie together and confess to more secrets about themselves? Would they tire of each other after a few years?
Her lips lifted into a smile. The idea of becoming bored with Nicholas seemed impossible. Her heart told her to forget her intuition and admit her condition to him. He would love their child and hopefully come to love her as well. But something stopped her.
Marrying her would cause untold problems for him. His father would never consent to her becoming the next duchess. The only possible chance of gaining his permission would be to tell him the identity of her father. And that would cause countless issues for her and her family. None of it mattered anyway. His father had threatened to disinherit Nicholas for marrying an unacceptable woman.
If she told him about the baby, nothing would stop him from marrying her. Even if it was the worst thing for him and his family. How could she do that to him?
A wave of queasiness washed over her. She laid her head back down on the pillow and blew out a few deep breaths. Praying she wouldn’t disturb him, she opened her nightstand and pulled out a biscuit she’d hidden there. She chewed the biscuit quickly and then reclined her head on the pillow again.
She stared up at the white ceiling and wondered how her life had become so complicated. While she had apologized to Nicholas for her dreadful assumption regarding Jennette, Sophie would have to speak with Jennette, too. She doubted her hardheaded friend would forgive her so easily.
Warm lips kissed her bare shoulder. She closed her eyes and smiled as delicious shivers raced through her body. Perhaps he was the secret to relieving her upset stomach.
He rolled on his side and looked down at her. He brushed a crumb off the corner of her mouth with a smile. “Eating in bed?”
She needed a good excuse for why she would eat something at this hour. “My stomach had been in knots earlier this evening over you and Jennette. I just could not eat.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “You keep food in your nightstand?”
“Don’t worry, it won’t attract the mice. Besides, I have two cats that roam the house and keep the mice in line.”
“If you say so.” He groaned. “I should leave before we’re discovered.”
She raked her hand through his thick chestnut hair. “You should,” she said with a sigh.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I won’t leave.”
“But you truly must,” she whispered. “I shall be ruined if you stay.”
“Ruining you is one of my favorite things to do.” He bent forward and kissed her softly. “But alas, I shall leave.”
She didn’t want him to depart yet. “Nicholas, what am I to say to Jennette? She’s bound to tell the others what I said and they shall all hate me for it.”
He wiped away a tear from her cheek. “I’ve known Jennette since she was a child. She is wild and unpredictable but one of the most tolerant women I know. Jennette will forgive you.”
“How can you be so certain? You know how stubborn she can be. What I said to her was dreadful.”
“She’s your friend. And if you speak with her tomorrow, or rather, today, she will understand.”
“I can’t tell her everything!” Why couldn’t he understand that? “I can’t tell her that I made that foolish assumption because you love her.”
He looked away from her. “Yes, you can.”
“She won’t believe me,” Sophie said bitterly. “She will think I’m mad.”
“I told her how I had felt about her,” he mumbled.
Sophie’s hand stilled on his cheek. “You told her?”
“Yes,” he answered, blowing out a long sigh.
She bit down on her lip. “That must have been incredibly difficult.”
“Jennette is a gracious woman and understood without making me feel pitied.”
She felt terrible about this mess she’d caused. Her damned jealousy was the reason. “I’m sorry my actions caused you to have to confess to her.”
“I should have done it a long time ago.”
She nodded but knew it would not have made a difference. Jennette was meant to be with Blackburn, not Nicholas. She wondered how he felt about Jennette now. Did he still love her? She wanted him to be happy and find a woman who could make him happy and feel loved. But she still had no idea who was destined for Nicholas. The only thing she knew was . . . it would not be her. She could not let him make such a terrible mistake. Marrying her would make him an outcast.
“Can you make a distraction so I can leave here without being seen?” he asked as he clamored out of bed.
Not trusting her stomach, she stayed in the bed and watched him dress. “I will call the footman upstairs and then you can go out the front door.”
“It will be locked,” he said flatly. “I shall go out the way I came in.”
“Be careful,” she whispered.
He turned and looked down at her intensely. “Always.”
Sophie blew out a long breath before knocking on Jennette’s front door. A footman opened the door and led her into the receiving salon. She bit her lip in anticipation of Jennette’s arrival. Instead of sitting on the settee, she paced the room.
“Are you here to apologize?”
Sophie turned at the sound of Jennette’s cold voice. “Yes, I am. Jennette, I am dreadfully sorry for the accusation I mistakenly hurled at you yesterday. Will you please accept my apology?”
Jennette slowly walked into the room. “On one condition.”
“Oh?”
Jennette smiled. “That you tell me how you came to that odd conclusion.”
“Of course,” Sophie said and proceeded to tell Jennette everything that led her to such a disastrous supposition.
A heavy silence filled the room as Jennette waited for the footman to bring the tea and then leave. Once he was gone, she said, “Nicholas paid a call on me yesterday. He told me he had loved me. It was before Blackburn, but I don’t understand why he never came to me.”
“You were his dearest friend’s younger sister. He may have felt Selby would have thought it unseemly. He may have been concerned you would reject him.”
“Perhaps.” Jennette frowned slightly. “Did you ever see him for me?”
Sophie smiled and shook her head. “No. I only ever saw Blackburn for you. He is your perfect match.”
Jennette poured tea and then sat back with a sigh. “Oh, did you hear about Lady Cantwell?”
“What about her?”
“I heard from Avis that Lady Cantwell died in her sleep last night.” Jennette sipped her tea. “I didn’t think she was so near death. She always seemed so cantankerous. I never thought about her dying.”
“She’s dead?” Sophie’s mind whirled. Why hadn’t she known? Why hadn’t she seen it coming?
“You had no idea? She was one of your clients. I would have thought you would sense something like this.”
So would Sophie. Why didn’t she sense this? Was this yet another example of her abilities slipping away from her?
Even as she left Jennette’s home, her mind continued to spin with thoughts of Lady Cantwell’s death. The carriage rolled down the streets of Mayfair. Sophie had never lost a client before now but she was convinced she should have seen it coming. The last three times Sophie had read Lady Cantwell, she’d seen the same thing—blackness. Could that have been the sign she should have been looking for?
The only people she’d ever seen just darkness for were Lady Cantwell and . . . Nicholas.
“Oh, God,” she whispered in the empty carriage. “Is Nicholas next?”
The Duke of Belford tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk, waiting for Witham to arrive. Far too much time had passed since their last meeting. He needed Nicholas married off soon. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief as another coughing fit struck him. Pulling away the white cloth, red specks dotted the linen. Every day more blood appeared. He feared his physician was overly optimistic in his assessment that he would have a year to live.
The only thing he still did not have in order was his wastrel son. He’d be damned if he let Nicholas ruin everything he’d built.
“Lord Witham, Your Grace,” his butler announced from the threshold.
“Witham, come in here,” the duke ordered.
“Yes, Your Grace.” Witham almost ran into the room. “I am sorry to be late, Your Grace.”
“Just tell me what you have discovered. Since I have not heard any rumors, am I to assume your daughter has not publicly kissed him yet?”
Witham sank to the chair across from him. “I am sorry, Your Grace. We had everything planned for the Tilsons’ party but your son never attended.”
The duke frowned. “Where did he go that night?”
“The man I have following him told me he attended a small dinner party at Miss Reynard’s home. The Selbys, Blackburns, Kendals, and Somertons were in attendance, too.”
He hated to admit that other than Lord Somerton, Nicholas did keep excellent company. And since Somerton’s marriage to that little nothing of a woman, he had settled into marriage nicely. “So Miss Reynard is a friend to them?”
“Yes, Your Grace. She is acquainted with the wives.”
This explained why Nicholas thought her to be acceptable. But friends did not make the woman in the duke’s eyes. “Do you know if he has spent any other time with Miss Reynard?”
Witham’s beady eyes slid downward. “Yes, Your Grace.”
“Well speak up, man. When?”
“Two nights ago, my man followed him back to Miss Reynard’s home. Your son entered the house through an open window in the back of the house. He stayed until half past three.”
Damn that boy. He would never learn. “The Middletons’ ball is tonight. I will make certain Nicholas attends. You make sure your daughter is caught in a compromising position with him. If not, you may find my son’s interests lie elsewhere.”
“Yes, Your Grace. Justine will do everything in her power to entice him.”
“No, I want you to arrange this personally. Do not leave it up to your dim-witted daughter to attempt to entice him.”
“What do you want me to do?”
The duke sat back for a moment and then smiled. After explaining everything to Witham, he waved his hand in dismissal to the viscount. Now he just had to determine a reason why Nicholas had to attend that ball tonight. As Witham departed, he had his butler send a note to Nicholas.
Nicholas sat down and stared at his father. He had spoken with his father’s physician several days ago and understood that consumption was slowly killing him. If he was a better person he would feel some pity for the man. But after a childhood filled with nothing but scorn, Nicholas felt numb toward him.
“I need you to do me a favor,” the old duke then coughed.
The hair on Nicholas’s neck stood up. “What favor?”
“It has nothing to do with marriage, Nicholas.” His father handed him a sealed note. “I would like this personally delivered to Lord Middleton this evening at his ball.”
“Why tonight?”
“Because Middleton is busy this afternoon and he needs to see it before tomorrow. If I leave this up to a footman, Middleton won’t get it in time. It’s about an investment we both have. He needs to act on it tomorrow morning or it will be too late and he will lose money. You will need to wait for a reply.”
Nicholas studied his father. Consumption had taken its toll on the duke. His father had always been a tall, strong man, but now, he appeared feeble. A cane hooked onto the corner of his desk.
“Will you do it?” he asked.
“Of course, Father.” Nicholas couldn’t remember the last time he’d called the old duke that. After tucking the note into his jacket, he rose. “I take it that is all?”
“No, sit down, Nicholas. There is one more thing I would like to discuss with you.”
“Oh?” Nicholas sat back down and waited.
“I have heard a rumor that you are getting far too close with this Miss Reynard. Some people say she is a matchmaker and if that is the only reason you are in her company, then I approve, as long as her match is someone on my list. However, if there is more to this, you had best realize keeping a mistress after you marry requires discretion.”
Nicholas shot to his feet. “What I do and with whom is my business, sir.”
“True, as long as you do not care about the money you might lose.”
Nicholas smiled slightly. “And if I don’t?”
“Then expect a hard first few years as duke. The estates have been bringing in far less income the past few years. You will need every pound just to maintain them. I promise you won’t get a penny from me.”
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