The Earl's Stolen Bride (Marriage by Deceit Book 4) (15 page)

Bracing herself for what was to come, she sipped the soup and waited to see what would happen.  At the moment, her stomach didn’t feel worse, but she wasn’t sure if that was a promising sign or not.  Just because her stomach didn’t protest immediately, it didn’t mean it wouldn’t in another few moments.  She risked taking another sip.

“Why aren’t you eating faster?” her mother whispered.

“I’m eating as fast as I can,” Chloe replied, keeping her voice low.

“The rest of us are almost done.”

“I’ll go faster.”

When her mother went back to her own soup, Chloe forced three spoon’s worth down then pushed the remaining bowl away from her.

“Is something wrong?” Mrs. Harvey asked.  “I can have the butler bring out a new bowl if it’s not hot enough.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Chloe replied.  “I just don’t want to spoil my appetite.” With a weak smile, she gestured to the strawberries.  “I’ve been secretly craving those.”

“Oh, why didn’t you just say so?” The lady beckoned the butler over.  “Give her some.”

“You don’t have to rush the meal for my sake,” Chloe replied.

“Nonsense.  You’re our guest.”

“Francis liked strawberries,” Dr. Harvey added.  “He often wrote about how much he missed them while in India.”

Mrs. Harvey smiled sympathetically at her husband then looked at Chloe.  “He misses Francis’ monthly correspondence.”

Dr. Harvey swallowed the lump in his throat.  “Francis was reliable.  He never failed to write on the first of every month.”

Chloe bit back a sigh.  She didn’t realize this dinner would involve an evening of praise for her departed husband.  She knew the physician thought highly of him, but she had no idea he idolized the gentleman so.  No wonder her parents worried about how he’d perceive her marriage to Orlando.  Though she still had to stop them from managing her life, she couldn’t fault them in this regard.  If Orlando was here, he would understand, just as she did.

The butler put some strawberries on her plate, and Chloe thanked him.  These didn’t look so intimidating.  They were light and refreshing.  Surely, her stomach wouldn’t mind them.  And maybe her stomach wouldn’t have if she hadn’t eaten the soup.  But as soon as she swallowed a bite of the strawberry, she knew this dinner was going to quickly take a turn for the worse.

Her stomach rolled, and she felt the color drain from her face.  If she wasn’t quick, she was going to embarrass not only her parents, but herself as well.  “Please excuse me,” she blurted out then bolted up from her seat.

She rushed out of the room and searched for a water closet.  Surely, someone with Dr. Harvey’s prestige and wealth had a water closet.  But she didn’t know where it was, and the only thing her running did was quicken the process of her stomach rejecting the food she’d just eaten.

In the end, she threw up in a potted plant Dr. Harvey kept in his den.  When she was done, she leaned back against the wall, gasping for breath.  At first, the relief from the nausea was all she could think about.  But then the sound of approaching footsteps alerted her that the worst was yet to come.

Chapter Eighteen

After Chloe rinsed her mouth, Dr. Harvey insisted she recline on the settee.  As much as she wanted to leave this humiliating experience behind her, her strength was slow in returning, so she saw no other recourse but to stay with Dr. Harvey and his wife a while longer.

“How long have you been sick?” Dr. Harvey asked.

Chloe glanced at her parents who were sitting near Mrs. Harvey.  They all sat further away, as Dr. Harvey had suggested, but Chloe caught the worried expression on their faces.  Except for the time her parents weren’t sure if she’d keep her marriage to Orlando a secret, she couldn’t recall them ever worrying over her.

“Chloe?” Dr. Harvey asked.  “Do you understand my question?”

Her gaze went back to him.  “I’m sorry, Dr. Harvey.  Yes, I do.  Um…I’ve felt a slight upset in my stomach all day.  It was just the soup.” She swallowed, hoping she wouldn’t annoy her parents too much by adding, “It was too creamy.  I shouldn’t have eaten it.”

“You said you haven’t felt well all day.  What other things have you been experiencing besides an upset stomach?”

“Nothing.  It’s just been a slight nausea from time to time.  The peppermint tea’s been helping.”

His eyebrows furrowed.  “So today isn’t the first day you’ve felt this way?”

“No.  It’s the first time I…I…” She glanced at the wall where the plant had been.  The butler had removed it shortly after they found her in here.  Her cheeks warmed, and she blinked back her tears.  “I’m sorry, Dr. Harvey.  I’ll have a new plant sent here.”

“I have plenty of plants.  There’s no need to get me another one.  My concern is for your health.  When did you first start feeling sick?”

“I don’t recall exactly.  I think it started after I came back to London.  Maybe it’s been going on for a week.  Perhaps a little longer.”

“And there’s been nothing else wrong?”

She shook her head.

He studied her, and she wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “Has your head hurt?”

“No.”

“Have you felt pain anywhere besides your stomach?”

“No.”

“Have you felt tired?”

“Yes, but I haven’t been sleeping as much as I should be at night.”

She ignored the way her mother’s eyebrows furrowed, but what did her mother expect her to do when Orlando was visiting her?  With the number of children her mother had, surely she knew ladies didn’t spend all their time in bed sleeping.

And that was when it occurred to her what was happening.  Not only did it occur to her, but her mother gasped, signaling she’d put the pieces together as well.  In all her rushing around in London, Chloe had forgotten to track the days in her cycle like Helena had suggested, and now that she thought over it, she realized she’d missed her last monthly flow.

Her mother gave her father a nudge in the side then jumped to her feet.  “We should take Chloe home.  Maybe after a good night’s sleep, she’ll be back to her normal self.”

Her father, despite his uncertainty, rose to his feet.

Her mother rushed over to her and cupped her hand under her elbow to help her up.  “I’m sure it’s nothing to be concerned about,” she told Dr. Harvey.  “She’s been at a loss ever since Lord Hawkins’ death.  I’m sure crying at night has taken its toll on her.”

Chloe didn’t know what her mother was trying to do.  It wasn’t like they were going to be able to keep hiding her marriage to Orlando anymore.  In nine—no, in eight—months, it would be self-evident.

Dr. Harvey stopped her mother before she could lead her out of the den.  “She is welcome to stay here for the night.  I can keep an eye on her.”

Her mother laughed, her voice pitched a little too high.  “That’s not necessary.  She just needs a good night’s sleep.”

“All right,” he relented and looked at Chloe, “but if you don’t feel any better tomorrow, I want you to see me.  The sooner we take care of things, the better.”

“That’s very kind of you,” her mother said for her then practically dragged her into the hallway.

Her father followed them out the front door and down the steps of the townhouse.  “What’s going on?” he demanded.

“Not now, dear,” her mother said in a hushed tone.

“This isn’t a bad thing, Mother,” Chloe replied.  “I see no reason to hide it.”

Her mother hushed her.

Chloe went into the carriage and sat by the small window.  Her parents got in soon after.

Her mother waited until the carriage pulled forward before she spoke.  “Why weren’t you careful?” her mother asked.

“I was,” Chloe said.  “Well, that is, I was after Helena explained to me what a sheath is and what it does.  But before then, there was no need to worry about whether or not I got with child.  Orlando and I expected everyone in London to know we’d married.”

“Chloe’s with child?” her father asked.

Her mother put her hand to her forehead.  “This is horrible.  What am I supposed to tell Dr. Harvey?  It wasn’t like Lord Hawkins returned in time to do this.  Then we could at least let others think the child is his.”

“I wouldn’t want his child.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because I didn’t like him, Mother.  And I especially don’t like him now that I know he only married me because I was one of the most attractive ladies in London.  No wonder he never showed an actual interest in me.  He must have seen the way gentlemen came over to me and thought he’d be envied if I was his wife.”

“That can’t be true.”

“I’m hard pressed to believe otherwise.  All he ever talked about were his travels and things he was interested in.  He never asked me anything about myself or what I liked.”

Her mother waved her argument aside.  “Gentlemen are creatures filled with their own importance.  If it doesn’t pertain to them, they don’t pay any attention to it.”

Her father let out a huff, but neither one paid him any mind.

“That’s my point, Mother. 
I
wasn’t important to him.  I didn’t realize it until I was with Orlando and he asked me questions about my childhood, my interests, and my wants.  I don’t care how many people adored Lord Hawkins.  I didn’t.” As an afterthought, she added, “And I don’t want a drawing of him from when he was younger.  I might be pleasant to look at, but he wasn’t.”

Her mother gasped and put her hand up to her mouth.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that his nose was too big for his face and how bright his orange hair was.  And on top of that, he was much too thin.  All it would take was for a good burst of wind to blow him away.”

“You must stop talking of the dead with such disrespect.”

“Even if it’s the truth?”

When her mother didn’t reply, she tapped the roof, and the carriage came to a stop.

“What are you doing?” her mother demanded.

“I’m going to my husband,” Chloe replied.

“You expect my coach driver to take you to Orlando’s when everyone can see you?”

“They’ll know about the marriage soon anyway.  The baby will be born at the end of May.”

The door to the carriage opened, and the footman peered inside.  “Is something wrong?”

“Take me to Lord Reddington’s townhouse,” Chloe told him then added where he lived in case he didn’t know.

“No, you can’t,” her mother protested.

“I can, and I will,” Chloe said.  She’d been wanting to start doing things her own way, and she saw no reason to put it off until tomorrow.  “I’m going to see my husband, Mother.” Then she shot the startled footman an expectant look.

He closed his mouth and shut the door.

“You can’t do this,” her mother insisted, still too shocked to be angry, though Chloe had no doubt she’d be angry later.

But Chloe wouldn’t give in.  Not this time.  “Lord Hawkins’ money paid for the footman and the coach driver.  He also paid for this carriage.  As I see it, these things really belong to me.”

The carriage pulled forward, and Chloe was happy to note the driver was turning toward the direction Orlando lived.

“Thomas,” her mother said, turning to her father, “do something!”

“I would,” her father replied as he crossed his arms, “but since I’m a gentleman, I’m too wrapped up in my own importance to pay attention to what’s happening around me.”

Her mother let out a cry of despair, but Chloe ignored her.  She settled back into the seat and focused on the townhouses as they passed them, each one bringing her closer to Orlando.  Even with the argument, she couldn’t help but look forward to seeing him, and now that everyone was going to find out about the marriage, she saw no reason to delay publicly being his wife anymore.

“What are we going to do about Alexander?” her mother asked.  “Dr. Harvey won’t tend to him now.”

Chloe took a look at her mother’s tears and almost relented.  Almost.  But if she backed down now, her mother would have an even firmer grip on her.  No.  If Chloe was going to do this, she had to do it tonight.

“We’ll have to find someone else,” Chloe said.  “Surely, there must be a good physician somewhere in London who won’t care if a scandal touches one of his patient’s family members.  Tomorrow, I’ll start looking for one.”

The carriage came to a stop in front of Orlando’s townhouse, and she hurried out of it before the footman had a chance to open the door.  She rushed up the steps.  She was sure she heard her mother protest, but it was hard to tell for sure over the rapid beating of her heart or her shaky breaths.

She’d never done anything this bold before, and more than her open defiance to her parents, she was now standing in front of a gentleman’s townhouse, a gentleman no one knew she’d married a month ago.

Steadying her nerves, she knocked on the door.  As tempting as it was to look behind her to see if her parents were still there, she didn’t.  She kept her gaze forward, focusing on the door.

Footsteps grew louder from the other side, and instead of feeling more at ease, her tension only increased.  Orlando’s servants would be surprised to see her.  They didn’t know he was married, after all.  But to the footman’s credit, he didn’t give away his surprise when he opened the door.

She cleared her throat.  “I came to see Lord Reddington.”

“May I ask who wishes to see him?”

“His wife.”

After a moment, he nodded and gestured for her to come inside.

She did, and she was greatly relieved when he closed the door.  Now she was separated from the rest of the world, at least for tonight.  Following the footman to the drawing room, she realized this was the first time she’d gotten to see Orlando’s townhouse.  Yes, she’d seen his estate, but it was filled with so much of his family’s history.

In this townhouse, she got a better understanding of Orlando as he really was, and what she learned was that he had a wonderful sense of humor.  The titles of the books he had propped up on his desk made her chuckle.  Next to those were a collection of caricatures he was saving.  One made fun of the latest fashion by embellishing the flaws in the clothes the people were wearing.  Another poked fun at the Prince Regent.

Upon hearing approaching footsteps, she turned toward the doorway, hoping it was Orlando, but it was the butler.  “May I get you something to eat or drink, my lady?” he asked.

“Is there peppermint tea in this house?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have that.”

“As you wish.”

A moment after the butler left, Orlando came running into the room.  “Chloe?” He closed the distance between them and hugged her.  “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said.  “I just found out I’m going to have a baby.”

“But I thought you weren’t.  That’s why we were using the sheath.”

“I lost track of the days.  I conceived while we were at Edmonstone and didn’t realize it.”

“That’s wonderful!” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.  “There’s no one else I’d rather have be the mother of my child.”

She clasped her hands around his and smiled.  “I’m happy about the baby, too.”

“But…?” he asked when her smile faltered.

“Alexander will need a physician who has the same skill Dr. Harvey does.  I can’t hide my pregnancy forever.  Dr. Harvey doesn’t know yet, but he will soon enough.  My parents are right.  He’ll find my marriage to you a rejection of Lord Hawkins, and given his friendship with him, he won’t take care of Alexander anymore.  You should have heard him tonight at dinner.  Dr. Harvey thinks Lord Hawkins was perfect.”

“I know this is difficult for you, but it’s better we deal with this now than when the baby’s born.  We need to let everyone know about our marriage.  I don’t want people to think this child is illegitimate.”

“They won’t.  I’m not going to keep it a secret anymore.  My only concern is what to do about Alexander.  Do you know anyone who might know a good physician?”

The butler came into the room and set the tea on the table.

Orlando waited until he left before turning his attention back to her.  “I’ll ask the gentlemen at White’s when I go there tomorrow.” He slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the settee.  “We’ll find a physician who can take care of your brother.”