The Earl's Inconvenient Wife (Regency Collection Book 1) (15 page)

She studied his expression and knew he was struggling to find the right words.  Deciding to say it for him, she spoke up in a soft voice, “You assumed something about me that wasn’t true.”

He sighed, seeming to want to believe her but afraid to.  “
For the past couple of weeks, my attention was required elsewhere.  You inquired about the urgent business I needed to tend to, but I wouldn’t disclose it.  Well, I’ll do so now.  It turns out the steward was embezzling funds.  He didn’t do it while my father lived but for reasons he won’t disclose, he decided to start three years ago when my brother became the earl.  I didn’t find out until I received a letter from Lord Hedwrett demanding the money owed him.  I did some investigating and realized what was going on.  It turned out the steward dug a substantial hole for me.  I’ve been running all over the place to make sure people are happy and the finances are balanced.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s not what you thought you’d get yourself into when you married me.  The problem is that even though a gentleman might have a title, it doesn’t mean he can spend money all the time.  That’s certainly true for me now.”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes
, and for the first time since they married, her heart went out to him.  He hadn’t slept well, that much was evident by the bags under his eyes and his drooping shoulders.  It must have been humbling to have to admit he didn’t have the funds she’d assumed he did.

“I have everything I need,” she softly told him.  “You don’t have to worry I’ll spend anything.”

“I didn’t realize at the time we married what was going on, but if I had and told you, would you have married me?”

“I didn’t want to marry you regardless, so no, I wouldn’t have chosen to marry you.  Even if your steward hadn’t left you with debts, I wouldn’t have chosen you. 
My father saw fit to make sure I had to marry you, so here we are.” She shrugged.  “However, you don’t need to worry.  Now that I know the situation, I’ll act accordingly.”

“Thank you.”

Unsure of what else to say, she nodded.

“I haven’t had a thing to eat since
yesterday evening,” he finally said after a long silence passed between them.  “Mind if we continue this discussion in the house?”

“No, I don’t mind.”

They headed back for the stable, and this time the silence that descended between them didn’t seem so awkward.

Chapter Si
xteen

C
laire brushed her hair after she put on a purple dress, her anxious strokes revealing her apprehension.  It wasn’t that Roderick had been mean to her just now, but since she hadn’t talked to him—
really
talked to him, she couldn’t fight back the butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach.

Marion hurried into the room.  “My lady, let me do that.”

She didn’t realize her hands were trembling until she handed Marion the brush.  She sat in front of the mirror and tried to relax, but her nervousness prevented her from doing so.  She had a good chance to finally get through to Roderick, and as long as she was careful, she wouldn’t ruin it.

Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she watched as Marion’s skilled fingers pinned her hair up in an attractive style.  If she wasn’t so nervous, she’d engage in a c
onversation with the older lady.  But she couldn’t focus on anything except what she was going to tell Roderick.

“All done,” Marion said as she took out Claire’s favorite necklace.  “Would you like to wear this today?”

Claire figured she might as well so she nodded and waited for her to clasp the sapphire necklace around her neck.

“Everything will be fine, my lady,” Marion whispered and patted her shoulder in a reassuring manner.  “Sometimes a kind word can work wonders.”

Claire watched as she left the room.  She wondered how much Marion knew about what was going on.  It wasn’t Marion’s way to pry, but she did observe things from a distance.  No doubt she had to suspect Claire did something to mess up her hair after she’d pinned it up that morning before breakfast.  But to her credit, she kept quiet and wasn’t the type to gossip, something Claire was grateful for, especially today.

Now, however, it wasn’t time to think of what Marion might or might not know
about her dressing up as a stableboy.  She needed to talk to Roderick.  Taking a deep breath, she stood up and lumbered out of the room and down the steps.  She wasn’t sure what to expect from talking to him, but as long as she could see her family, then that’s what mattered.  When she reached the drawing room, she saw that he was at her desk, studying the papers she’d been drawing on.  She rushed over to stop him, but he was too quick for her.

“What are these?” he asked with an amused smile.

She couldn’t tell if he was amused that she was trying to get the papers back or if he was amused at her drawings.  Since she couldn’t reach high enough to get the papers from him, she forced her hands at her sides and groaned.  “They’re to pass the time.”

“Time?” He sorted through the papers.  “These don’t look like clocks to me.”

“I said they’re to ‘pass the time’, not pictures of ‘time’.  They aren’t clocks.  They’re flowers.”

His eyebrows furrowed and he studied them.  “Flowers?”

“Yes.  These are the petals, these are the stems, and these are the leaves.” She pointed to the items as she listed them off and noticed the way he squinted, as if he was having trouble picking them out.  With a sigh, she added, “I didn’t say they were well-drawn flowers. They’re just the flowers I saw while walking to the gazebo.”

“Is that why you spent so much time studying them?”

“You’ve seen me on my walks?” she asked, surprised.

He shrugged.  “I ha
ppened to notice you while riding my horse.”

Unexpectedly pleased he had, indeed, noticed her, she cleared her throat. 
“I happen to enjoy drawing, even if I’m no good at it.”

He handed the papers back to her.  “I’m sure you can draw other things well.”

“No, I can’t.  My best work involves flowers.”

She noted the slight curl at the corner of his lips and knew he was struggling to hold in his laughter for her sake.  “I know I’m not good at drawing.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t good at it.”

“There’s no need to lie to me.  I can handle the truth.”

The butler came in and set the tray on the table by the settee and chairs.  Glad for the reprieve from discussing her artistic ability, or rather a lack thereof, she motioned to the settee.  After he left her desk, she put the papers in the drawer, retrieved her sister’s letter, and followed him, not surprised he chose to stand by the chair instead of standing next to the settee.

“You wish to discuss that letter?” Roderick asked her.

Forcing her mind back to him, she handed the letter to him and sat down.  He eased into the chair and opened it.

“Yes.  It’s from my sister,” she began
as she poured tea into their cups.  “We’ve been invited to London.”

He read through the letter and grimaced.  “Tell me she doesn’t really want to marry Lord Hedwrett.”

“Why?  What else is there to know besides the fact that your steward owes him money?”

He sighed and handed it back to her.  “You don’t want to know.  Such things aren’t suitable for a lady’s ears.”

She glanced at the paper in her hands and wondered what Lord Hedwrett could possibly be like.  From the grim tone in Roderick’s voice, she wondered how worried she should be about her sister.

Roderick picked up his cup and sipped it.  “I don’t feel comfortable discussing certain things about Hedwrett, but suffice it to say your sister shouldn’t marry him.  Try to talk her out of it if you can, but if she does marry him, I can’t let you visit her without me.  There’s no telling what he’d do.”

She swallowed the sweet tea and nodded.  “You’ve told me enough to know he’s not the best gentleman for her.  Mister Morris asked her to marry him, but,” she shrugged, “to be honest, she didn’t want him because he didn’t have a title or enough money.  So yes, she values such things more than I do, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love her.  I’d like to see her again.”

He finished drinking his tea and held onto the cup while studying her.  “You will.  I promise.”

She took another sip of her tea.  As long as he was willing to work with her, she figured she might as well ask other things that were troubling her.  “When will I get to see you for more than minutes at a time?”

“I’m surprised you want to see me at all.”

“Even if our marriage isn’t ideal, it’d be nice if I knew my own husband.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you. 
We’ll set out for London tomorrow so you can see your family.  While we’re there, we can also spend some time together.  In fact, we should start spending time together today.  Then we can get to know each other.  What do you think?”

“I’d like that,” she admitted.  “And I won’t go shopping with my sister.”

He gave a nod to indicate he understood before he drank more of his tea.

A long moment passed as she debated to ask the thing that was nagging at her the most, but she had to know.  Even if it was something she didn’t want to hear, she needed to know.  “Are you seeing a mistress?”

“Pardon me?”

“I know it’s common for
gentlemen in your position to do such things, and I wanted to know if you do as well.” Not that she wanted him to, but what could she do to stop him?  She figured she was better off knowing if he did.  That way she could keep enough distance from him so he didn’t end up hurting her.

“No, I don’t have a mistress.  I never have and I never will.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I ass
ure you my time away from home was spent on making sure my steward’s debtors were adequately paid.  I can’t say I enjoyed meeting them, but it was a necessary evil.”

She nodded and drank
the tea, enjoying its warmth.

“While
we’re in London, we can go to Hyde Park for a horse ride or a walk.  Or if you’d prefer, we can visit a museum, see a balloon launch, or go to the theatre.”

“You’ll do these things with me?”
she asked.

“Of course.” He sighed and touched her knee, surprising her.  “I haven’t been fair to you.  I need to take time to know you.”

She smiled.  “I’d like that.”

He checked his pocket watch and stood up, holding his hand out to her.  “I’m afraid I haven’t eaten yet.  Would you keep me company while I do so, Lady Roderick?”

Shocked that he referred to her as
Lady Roderick
, she stared at him, unable to determine what to say.

“Is that a no?”

Forcing aside her surprise, she put her cup on the tray and stood up.  “No.  Yes.  I mean, yes.  I’ll be happy to keep you company during the meal.”

He smiled and extended his arm to her.

Still surprised, but pleased, by his change of heart, she accepted his arm and went to the dining room with him.

***

Nate glanced up from his baked eggs.  Across from him, Claire ate some fruit.  Both of them had changed after coming into the house, and he was relieved to see her wearing a dress again.  Though he was tired from his lack of sleep the night before, he was also happy.  Today seemed to be the turning point for him and his wife. He felt much better now that he’d taken the time to talk to her.  Really talk to her.  And though he’d never admit it, he should have taken Perry’s advice sooner.

Clearing his throat,
he said, “Would you like to take a walk after we eat?”

“Yes.  It’ll be nice to have some company for a change.”

“If you want to take some paper along, you can draw the things you see during the walk.”

She took a sip of her tea and offered a slight smile.  “I could do that, but then you couldn’t guess what the drawings are supposed to be.”

Surprised she had a sense of humor, he grinned.  “I bet I could.  There’s a gazebo where we can sit.  Let’s go there, and when you draw something, I’ll guess what it is.”

“That doesn’t sound very interesting.”

“Then how would you make it interesting?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

He ate his last portion of eggs and swallowed the rest of his tea before he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and straightened his back.  “I have an idea.  If I’m correct about what you draw, you have to do whatever I want, and if I’m wrong, I have to do anything you want.”

“I could lie.  I could say I didn’t draw whatever you guess.”

“When I made the suggestion, I assumed you’d act honorably, but if you prefer mischief, then I suggest you write down what you draw before I guess.  That way I can be sure you aren’t trying to get me to do your bidding.”

She bit her lower lip.  “What kind of things would we have to do for each other?”

Amused at her worried tone, he said, “Nothing embarrassing.  Perhaps you could have me draw something.  Then you can see how badly I can draw.”

“You tried you
r hand at art?”

“Not necessarily art, but I’ve scribbled on occasion when I was bored.”

“Scribbled?”

He shrugged
.  “I didn’t try to draw anything in particular.”

“Oh.”

He studied her as she finished the strawberries on the plate.  “You’re disappointed?”

She wiped her mouth with the napkin and set it on the table.  “No.  All right, a little.  I thought Lord Clement was exaggerating when he said you were serious all the time.”

“He told you I’m serious?”

“All the time,” she emphasized.

Though her tone was grim, he detected a twinkle in her eye.  Intrigued, he motioned to the footman that they were done with breakfast.  “I suppose we’ll see how accurate he is when we take that walk.  Bring your drawing pad.”

Once she collected her drawing pad and graph
ite pencil, they went outside.  As they started down the path that would take them to the south side of the manor, he breathed in the fresh air, noting it was an ideal day for a walk.  The sun was out, the clouds white and fluffy, and the air cool enough to enjoy the day.

He caught sight of a rabbit hopping along the grounds and turned to his wife.  “What about him?”

She stopped walking.  “Who?”

“That rabbit.  Have you ever tried to draw animals?”

A slight grimace crossed her face.  “Yes.  Not successfully.  I told you flowers are my best work.”

“I remember you saying that, but truly, how bad can you be?” Considering how bad she was at drawing flowers, he didn’t think she could do much worse.

“You don’t want to know,” she mumbled and continued her walk.

Following her until he caught up to her, he said, “You can’t know what I want or don’t want to know.  Maybe I really want to see you draw a rabbit.”

“You’ll laugh at it.”

He chuckled.  “Why don’t you draw one when we get to the gazebo, and I’ll see if I can guess that’s what it is?”

“But you already know what it is because you’re asking me to draw it.”

“I didn’t say to make it your first drawing.  Just draw it at some point.  If you are as bad as you say, then I won’t be able to pick out which one it is.” She seemed to be considering it, so he added, “I’ll try to draw one, too.”