The Earl's Inconvenient Wife (Regency Collection Book 1) (19 page)

Her mother glanced at her father.  “She’s at the museum with Lord Hedwrett.  Your aunt agreed to act as chaperone.”

“You don’t sound happy about that,” Claire noted, and though she was disappointed her sister wasn’t there, she saw this as the perfect opportunity to learn what her parents thought about him.

Her father finished drinking his tea and set his cup on the tray which rested on the table between them.  “We’re not happy about it.”

“Then why did you permit her to go with him to the museum?” she asked.

“You know Lilly’s always been a willful girl.  If I tell her she can’t see him, she’d find a way to be with him.  God forbid she should run off to Gretna Green.  You know how stubborn she can be.  She wants to do what she’s been advised not to do.  What your mother and I are hoping to do is help her find a more suitable match.  I’ve invited a viscount over tomorrow.  Perhaps she might find him to her liking.”

Claire sipped her tea and studied her parents’ expressions.  “What about Mister Morris?”

“Mister Morris is a fine gentleman.  He’d treat her well,” her father said.

“He has no title,” her mother commented.  “Your father and I hoped you both would find husbands with a title.”

“But is a title that important?” She took another sip from her tea before setting the cup down.  Leaning forward, she continued, “To what extent does a title matter if she’s with someone like Lord Hedwrett?”

“I understand what you’re saying, Claire,” her mother replied.  “And I don’t want her with Lord Hedwrett.”

Claire shot her a pointed look, and her father rested his hand on her mother’s arm.  “Claire, titles are important.  They are a legacy.  Your firstborn son will one day be an earl.  We wanted something similar for your sister.  But,” he squeezed her mother’s arm, “a gentleman with money and no title who treats Lilly well is better than a titled gentleman who won’t.”

Her mother nodded.  “Yes, I know, and you’re right.  However, she also wants to be with a titled gentleman.  You know how she is, Claire.  She wants the finer things in life and to be referred to as a lady.  She refused Mister Morris’ suit by choice.  Your father and I might have hoped you two would marry titled gentlemen, but she hopes for it, too.”

“Yes, she does,” she acknowledged.  And that was the tricky part.  It was what prevented Lilly from marrying Mister Morris last year. 
Marriage isn’t about love,
Lilly had told Claire. 
It’s about being practical and using wise judgment.
  Except her sister wasn’t showing wise judgment, and perhaps that was why she needed to warn her sister about the type of person Lord Hedwrett was.  Maybe she would listen, given the facts.  She rose to her feet.  “I must return home.  My husband will be due back soon, but before I leave, I hope you and Lilly will come to my home for dinner tomorrow.”

They stood up, and her father nodded.  “We’d be delighted.”

After exchanging their good-byes, Claire left the house.  She glanced back one time as she reached the carriage.  Her parents smiled and waved from the doorway, and she returned the gesture before getting into her seat.  As the coachman closed the carriage door, she took a good look at the townhouse they rented.  It had to cost her father a pretty penny to linger in London in hopes of finding her sister well married.  At least they all agreed Lord Hedwrett wasn’t the right choice.  She took comfort in knowing that they wouldn’t agree to such a match, but she knew they were right.  Her sister could be impulsive and headstrong when she wanted something badly enough.  The problem was, how was she going to convince Lilly that she wanted Mister Morris more than a titled gentleman?

Chapter Nineteen

W
hen Claire stepped through the entryway of her townhouse, she hardly had time to greet the butler when her gaze went to her husband who came out of the library and headed in her direction.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Nate said with an excited grin on his face.

Curious, she studied his expression.  Most of the times she’d been around him, he’d been serious, almost to the point where she thought he’d suffer pain if he smiled.  But ever since that day he’d found her in the stable, he’d done a complete turnaround.  It was a very pleasant change, but it still took her by surprise.  Perhaps in the months to come, he’d smile all the time and she would forget how serious he could be.

She waited for the butler to leave before she asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Yes, there is.  You’re beautiful.”

Pleased, she blushed.  “Thank you, my lord, but I thought something happened that prompted you to run over to greet me when I stepped through the door.”

“Oh yes.  There is.  This evening, they’re launching a balloon.”

“A balloon?”

“Yes.  I hear it’s one of the bigger ones.  It should be a sight to see.  Will you go with me?”

“I didn’t think you took delight in such leisurely pursuits.”

He shrugged and grinned.  “Maybe it’s time I did.”

“Maybe, and who knows what other fun things you might find to do now that you no longer have your nose stuck in one of those boring books in your library,” she teased, unable to resist the urge to be playful.

“I feel it’s fair to warn you that I’ll never find those books boring, but I am finding you more interesting.”

“I’ll accept that.”

Chuckling, he gave her a kiss.  “Did you have a nice visit with your family?”

“Yes, but I just saw my parents.  My sister was at the museum with Lord Hedwrett.”

He grimaced.

If she wasn
’t aware of how horrible Lord Hedwrett was, she’d laugh because every time she said his name, Nate seemed to have an involuntary reaction to show his displeasure.  “I’m worried she’ll marry him,” she softly confessed, not wishing for anyone to overhear her.  “I want to talk to her, but I won’t see her until tomorrow when my family comes over here for dinner.”

He sighed and took her by the elbow so he could lead her to the drawing room.  When he shut the door, he motioned for her to sit on the settee.  After a moment’s hesitation, she obeyed, wondering if there was something more dastardly she’d learn about Lord Hedwrett than what Mister Morris had told her.  Her stomach tightened into a knot as he joined her.

He took her hands in his and gave her a sympathetic look.  “Claire, I know how much you love your sister, but the problem is, you can’t make her act in a certain way.  I want to make sure if your sister marries him, you did everything you could to prevent it.”

“I know I can’t control what she does.”

“But do you understand you shouldn’t feel guilty about it?”  He squeezed her hands and kissed her.  “Be there for her and tell her what you have to but understand she has to make her own decisions, all right?”

She nodded.

A knocking at the door made her jump, and he chuckled.  “It’s all right.  There are no ghosts in this house.” He stood up and answered the door.

She released her breath and relaxed.  From the other side of the door, she saw the butler hand Nate a missive.  She resisted the urge to get up and find out who it was from.  It wasn’t her business unless he wanted her to know, and already, he’d told her more than most husbands probably t
old their wives.  It meant he trusted her, and that made her want to love him all the more.

Nate closed the door and returned to her.  “Lord Hedwrett says he’ll meet wi
th me next week at five.”

“I thought you paid him off.
”

“
I did, but he disagrees.  Don’t worry.  The matter will be resolved soon enough. In the meantime, there’s not much I can do but wait.” He grinned.  “I suppose that’s not so bad.  I’ll be able to do your bidding.”

Noting his playful tone, she smiled, feeling the heaviness of her sister’s situation lift from her shoulders, even if it was for a while.  “Then I insist on seeing that balloon launch you mentioned.”

He gave her a kiss.  “As you wish, but first, I believe it’s time for dinner.”

She giggled as he kissed her neck.  “You don’t seem to be interested in food.”

“I will be,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear.  Lifting his head, he wrapped his arms around her.  “In a moment.”

His lips descended on hers, and she forgot all about eating.

***

It wasn’t until after dinner the next day when Claire got a chance to talk to her sister.  Since Claire asked to talk to Lilly in the drawing room, Nate took her parents to the library.

“All right.  We’re alone.  What’s so important that I can’t play the piano right now?” Lilly asked as she ran her hand over the piano keys.

“Sit down,” Claire suggested, patting the spot next to her on the settee.

Her eyebrows furrowed.  “This must be serious.”

“It is.”

She hesitated for a minute but then joined Claire at the settee.  “Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you have to say?”

“You probably won’t, but I want you to know that what I’m about to tell you, I tell you because I love you.  You’re more than my sister.  You’re my friend.”

With a hesitant smile, she reached out to squeeze her hand.  “You know I feel the same way about you.  So what is this about?  At dinner, your husband seemed friendly.  Are you two still not getting along?”

“We are.  Better than I hoped actually.”

Her smile widened.  “That’s wonderful!”

“I want the same for you.  Lilly, please don’t marry Lord Hedwrett.”

“Oh, that’s what this is about.  I suppose Mister Morris has come by to see you.”

“And what if he did?  He loves you.”

“But he doesn’t have a title.  Claire, look at everything you have.  You are
Lady
Roderick.  Your husband owns this townhouse.” She motioned to the room.  “He doesn’t rent it.  I hear Weston is gorgeous.  You have more rooms than you’ll ever need.  You have so many servants that you can’t remember their names.  You can buy as many gowns as you want whenever you want.”

“No, I can’t.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You must swear that what I’m about to tell you, you won’t tell anyone else.”

Leaning forward, Lilly’s eyes met her sister’s.  “Of course.  You know I always keep your secrets.”

Claire nodded.  It was true.  Lilly was good about that.  After she took a deep breath, she lowered h
er voice.  “My husband’s steward was heavily in debt, and he stole money from the estate to compensate for it.  Because of this, we have to be careful with what we buy until he can recover his financial standing.”

Lilly’s jaw dropped.  “I had no idea…”

“No one did.  These titled gentlemen don’t go around advertising their lack of funds.  There’s no way to know.”

“You think Lord Hedwrett might be in a similar predicament?”

“No.  Lilly, that’s not what I meant.  I mean that I’m happy with my husband.  He’s a wonderful gentleman, and it doesn’t matter to me that I can’t buy new dresses for a while.  That’s the kind of marriage I want for you.”

“And you don’t think Lord Hedwrett will give me that?”

“No, I don’t.” She paused as she struggled to find a delicate way of telling her sister what Mister Morris told her.  Fiddling with the skirt of her dress, she blurted out, “I heard Lord Hedwrett charges excessive interest on his loans and even allowed a gentleman of notable influence to ruin his sister.” She held her breath and waited for her sister to respond.

Lilly frowned.  “Did Mister Morris tell you this?”

“Yes, but—”

“How can you be sure Mister Morris isn’t lying?”

“He’s not the type to lie,” Claire replied, surprised her sister would even accuse him of such a thing.

“I don’t know.  I think he might do anything to get me to marry him.”

“But he does it out of love.” When her sister sighed, Claire added, “And if it makes a difference, you’ll be happy to know he told me he’ll be happy to see you with a titled gentleman as long as he treats you well.”

“I know his heart is in the right place.”

“Don’t you care about him?”

“I do.”

“Then why not marry him?” Claire asked.

“He doesn’t have a title, and a title is important.”

Claire realized arguing with her sister wasn’t going to do any good, but she had one option that might work if she was careful.  Inspired, she glanced at the paper on her desk.  “Lilly, will you do something for me, even if it’s something foolish?”

Lilly’s eyebrows furrowed.  “I have to hear what you have in mind before I agree to it.”

“I can’t go into detail, but I want you to see what Lord Hedwrett is like when he doesn’t know you’re around.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

Claire’s lips curled up into a smile.  “You leave that to me.”

“You aren’t thinking of doing something inappropriate, are you?”

“No more inappropriate than what you and our father did that night you two trapped me into marriage with Nate.”

“Oh, you can’t still be angry about that.  Look at how well things turned out.”

“Which is why I need to arrange for us to sneak into Lord Hedwrett’s home.  You’ll see what I mean when the time comes.  In the meantime, I need to write a letter to someone.” Claire stood up and hurried over to her desk before Lilly could argue her way out of it.

Lilly rose to her feet but remained at the settee.  “Who are you writing to?”

“Someone who’s perfect for what I have in mind.  Don’t ask me anything else.”

Though she gave her a cautious look, she crossed her arms and remained quiet as Claire finished writing the letter to Mister Robinson.  If there was anyone who didn’t care enough about propriety to help her, it was him.  There was no way her husband would allow it if he knew, which was why she decided no one, not even Lilly, had to know until the time came for her to act on her plan.  Once she sealed the letter, she gave it to the butler with orders to send it to Weston.

Afterwards, she and Lilly headed for the library, and when she opened the door, she was both delighted and surprised to see that Nate and her father were laughing at something they were reading in a book.  Her mother looked over at her from where she stood with Nate and her father.

With a relieved smile, she hurried over to them.  “I’m glad you’re here,” she told her daughters with a chuckle.  “It’s nice to see Lord Roderick and your father getting along so well, but I couldn’t care less about political strategies.”

“Are you saying my husband is boring?” Claire teased.

“I’m saying political discussions are boring,” she clarified with a twinkle in her eye.

“Then we need to talk them into doing something interesting,” Lilly said.  “We could do charades.”

“Yes, that’s an excellent choice,” her mother said excitedly.  “I’ll mention it to the
gentlemen.”

As her mother headed over to them, Claire gave Lilly a knowing look.  “I was wondering when you’d suggest we play charades.”

“It makes her happy.  The least we can do is play the game,” Lilly mused.

Grinning, Claire and Lilly joined her mother.