The Bargain (13 page)

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Authors: Mary J. Putney

BOOK: The Bargain
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Chapter 13
S
tartled, Jocelyn said feebly, “I beg your pardon?” “You shameless baggage! What's this nonsense about you having married? Just last week you hadn't brought anyone up to scratch!” The countess's eyes narrowed to slits. “Or did you buy a husband, some fortune hunter willing to take you in spite of your sly ways and wicked temper?”
Jocelyn gasped at the wave of vitriol. Though she and the countess had never been fond of each other, they usually maintained at least the appearance of civility. But then, Elvira had never been deprived of a fortune before.
Her aunt was drawing her breath for another barrage when a cool voice cut across the room. “Would you be so kind as to introduce us, Jocelyn?”
She'd forgotten David's presence, but now she stepped aside so that her aunt could see that she had invaded a gentleman's bedroom. Unfortunately, the countess was beyond questions of propriety. The sight of Major Lancaster produced a low growl in the back of her throat.
Wishing she could spare him this scene, Jocelyn said, “David, this is my aunt, the Countess of Cromarty. Aunt Elvira, Major David Lancaster.” She deliberately introduced her aunt to David, knowing that the status-conscious countess would see it as the insult it was.
“So you're the one taking part in this farce,” Elvira bit out. “I've never even heard of you. You're
nobody
!”
David gave the countess an impeccable bow. “Of course you can't approve of the fact that your niece has thrown herself away on someone of no great rank or wealth. With her beauty, birth, and charm, she could look to the highest in the land. Indeed, I have pointed that out to my dear girl many times.”
Looking very tall and very distinguished, he stepped forward and put his arm around Jocelyn's shoulders. “I could not agree with you more about the unsuitability of the match. However, the attachment has stood the test of time. Since our feelings were unaltered, I succumbed to temptation and asked Jocelyn to marry me.”
His dear girl was staring at him with blank astonishment, so he gave her a doting smile and an unobtrusive wink. “It's a tribute to your perception that you realize no man could be good enough for your niece, Lady Cromarty. I can only swear I will spend my life trying to be worthy of her.”
Jocelyn's astonishment almost turned to uncontrollable giggles. With heroic willpower, she cooed, “David, darling, you do say the sweetest things! As if any woman wouldn't be proud to be your wife.” Turning to her aunt, she said soulfully, “Such nobility of nature, such high principles, are beyond price. And the heart of a lion—he is a hero of Waterloo, you know.” She slipped her arm around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder. “I am the most fortunate of women.”
Elvira stared in stupefaction. Whatever she had expected, it was not this picture of mutual adoration. And while she might not have heard of Major Lancaster, he was undeniably a gentleman. “You have been attached for some time?”
“Oh, we have known each other this age,” David said blandly. “But the difference in our stations and the war conspired to keep us apart.” He gave Elvira a seraphic smile. “I hope you will wish us happy.”
“It seems like a deuced hole-in-corner business to me,” Elvira snapped. “No announcement, no banns, no one from the family present. At the very least, you should have invited Willoughby and me. As head of the family, he should have given you away.”
Jocelyn let her mouth droop tragically. “Please tell my uncle I meant no slight. There was simply no time to arrange a larger wedding. David was so ill. Indeed, had his life not been despaired of, I believe that his sense of honor would never have allowed him to marry me.”
Unconvinced, Elvira said, “This is all very pretty, but how did you two meet?”
Deciding the performance had gone on long enough, Jocelyn said firmly, “It was very thoughtful of you to pay your respects, Aunt Elvira, but I cannot allow you to tire my husband any longer.” She stepped away from David to pull the bell cord.
Dudley arrived almost immediately. Jocelyn assumed that close inspection would reveal the shape of a keyhole imprinted on his ear. “Please show the countess downstairs. I am sorry not to accompany you, Aunt, but my husband and I were discussing matters of some importance.” She took David's arm, batting her lashes outrageously.
Routed, the countess turned and brushed by Dudley so quickly her plumes hit him in the face.
Jocelyn waited until the footsteps had died away before collapsing into a chair and giving in to whoops of laughter. “I know now why you didn't die of your wounds, Major,” she gasped. “You were obviously born to be hanged. I have never heard such a string of half-truths in my life. ‘We have known each other this age,' indeed!”
“It's the advantage of legal training, my dear. Any lawyer worth his salt can choose words so effectively that he can convince a reasonable man that black is white. If you think back, you'll see that I didn't actually tell any lies.” David sat on the edge of the bed, a smile lurking. “If I was born to be hanged, you were born for Drury Lane. You entered into the spirit of things rather quickly.”
“It was very bad of me,” Jocelyn said without regret. “But that Aunt Elvira should speak to me so in my own house!”
“Do you always clash?”
“She married my uncle when I was two. I'm told that when we first met, she scooped me up in her arms in an effort to prove her maternal instincts, whereupon I bit her on the nose. Our relationship has been deteriorating ever since.”
He grinned. “Lady Cromarty was right. You're a shameless baggage.”
Jocelyn smiled back, unabashed. “While the desire to buy land was the strongest reason to retain my fortune, honesty compels me to admit that wanting to thwart Aunt Elvira came a close second.” A thought occurred to her. “If we get an annulment, can she contest my inheritance on the grounds that I was never really married?”
David shrugged. “On a given day, anyone can sue anyone for anything. I don't think she would win, but you will want to discuss the whole matter with your solicitor. Is your uncle the sort to challenge you in court? Even if the suit fails, fighting it would be expensive and painful.”
“Willoughby will probably do whatever Elvira wishes. He's a pleasant man, but thoroughly under the cat' s paw.” Uneasily she confronted the possibility of a lawsuit. It was time to consult with John Crandall, her lawyer. At least a civil suit wouldn't be as horrible as a divorce.
Elvira's visit had made her think of the future. “What will you do after you are free of our improbable marriage?”
“I'm not sure. Return to the army, probably. The thought of garrison duty doesn't excite me, but I'm not sure what else I'd be qualified to do.” He smiled without humor. “Of course, the army might not want me. There are bound to be troop reductions now that Bonaparte is gone for good.”
She scowled. “It seems so unfair that the men who saved England will be discarded like . . . like old shoes now that they are not needed.”
“Life is a good deal more comfortable if one doesn't expect it to be fair.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Dudley entered. “Dr. Kinlock is here to see Major Lancaster.”
Moving with his usual impatience, Kinlock entered on the butler's heels. His bushy eyebrows raised at the cozy scene in front of him. “I thought I'd better stop by early today, but it looks like my concern for your welfare was misplaced.”
David rose at the surgeon's entrance. “I may not be ready for riding or twenty-mile marches for another few weeks, but I feel well. Whole.”
Kinlock grinned. “Your opinion doesn't count, Major. I'm the doctor, so I'll tell you whether or not you're well.”
Seeing that the surgeon wanted to perform an examination, Jocelyn rose. “I'll see you later, Major Lancaster. Shall I ask my lawyer to call on us tomorrow?”
He sighed. “The sooner the better, I suppose.”
As she left, she realized that she'd spent much longer with David than she had intended. He was very easy company. A pity that she couldn't adopt him as a brother, but that would make Sally Lancaster her sister, which would never do.
David and Kinlock both admired the elegance of Jocelyn's departing figure as she glided from the room. “She's a braw bonnie lassie,” the surgeon said in one of his stronger Scottish accents before he began poking and prodding his patient.
After a thorough examination that included listening to the heart through a rolled tube of heavy paper, Kinlock said, “You have the constitution of an ox, Major. The surgical incision is nearly closed with no sign of infection and you've come through the opium withdrawal without damage. I'll admit that I was quite concerned yesterday.”
“So was I,” David said wryly.
“I won't waste my breath on instructions for your convalescence since you will do as you please no matter what I say.” The surgeon scowled from under his bushy brows. “I trust that you have enough sense to eat well, rest often, and not push yourself beyond your strength?”
“Don't worry. I've had some experience with wounds and recovery. I won't do anything foolish.” He regarded the surgeon gravely. “I owe you more than I can ever repay. I hope you know how much I appreciate what you have done.”
“Don't thank me, thank your sister. When everyone else had given up on you, she didn't. She's a fearsome lass. Had me trembling in my boots.” Kinlock smiled, warmth in his eyes. “I did nothing special, except to examine you closely. Unfortunately, the doctors at the York Hospital had already decided you were hopeless.”
“You undervalue your own skills.” David tied the sash of his robe, glad the examination was over. The fact that he was healing well didn't mean that poking didn't hurt. “I presume you won't be calling again?”
“I'll remove the sutures next week, but apart from that, you have no need of me, Major.” Kinlock closed his medical bag with a snap. “I must be off to Bart's. I have several surgeries to perform today.”
David offered his hand. “It's been a pleasure.”
The surgeon's grip was powerful. “The pleasure was mine. Among all the failures of a physician's life, it is rewarding to have a splendid success now and then.” He gave a quick, boyish grin. “Besides, Lady Jocelyn has already paid the outrageous bill I sent her. It will keep my free surgery supplied with medicines for the next year. Good day to you.”
After Kinlock left, David stretched out on the bed, careful of his still-sore back. So Lady Jocelyn had even paid the medical bill. The money itself might be insignificant to a woman of great wealth, but it was another sign of her good sportsmanship in the face of the jest fate had played on her. She was a lady in every sense of the word.
He closed his eyes, feeling enormously weary. She was everything he had dreamed of in a woman, she was his wife—and he was helping to rid her of his unwelcome presence. He was a damned fool.
But he had no choice, really. The Lady Jocelyn Kendal, only and wealthy daughter of an earl, was not for a half-pay officer without property or prospects.
When Sally Lancaster entered her brother's room in midafternoon, she was so delighted to see him up and well that she barely refrained from giving him a hug altogether too energetic for an invalid. She settled for grabbing his hands and holding them tightly. “You're going to be all right now, aren't you?”
He chuckled. “As of this morning, I am far too healthy to interest Dr. Kinlock any longer. A few weeks of serious eating and I should be as good as new. And I owe it all to you, Sally. Everyone else had given up, me included. But you didn't.”
She smiled teasingly. “I helped you for my own benefit, David. Who else would tolerate me as well as you do?”
“Plenty of men would be delighted to do so.” He gestured for her to take a seat. “Now that you have an independent income and don't need to teach, what do you want to do? Have you ever considered marriage?”
Surprised at the question, she said, “Surely the annuity will be canceled, since dear Lady Jocelyn didn't get the dead husband she had bargained for.”
“We discussed that earlier today. She does not intend to revoke the settlement. The marriage accomplished her goal, which was to retain her fortune. My continued existence is a complication, but not one that was covered in our agreement.”
“Is marriage just a matter of contract law?” Sally asked indignantly. “That woman has ice in her veins.”
David's brows drew together at her vehemence. “Do you dislike Lady Jocelyn?”
Remembering that her brother hadn't seen the blasted woman's true nature, Sally said stiffly, “We've had little opportunity to become acquainted.” She searched for something positive to say about her sister-in-law. “Lady Jocelyn has been most considerate about the use of her house and her servants. She also very kindly sent me a note this morning to inform me that you had recovered from the opium withdrawal, which was a great relief.”

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