The Revenge of Lord Eberlin (35 page)

“I beg your pardon, have I called at an inconvenient time?” Tobin asked, his voice tight.

“Not at all!” Kate said quickly. “It is just that my mother-in-law is not . . . well. I should go see to her.” She looked pleadingly at Lily as she hurried off.

“What are you doing here?” Lily whispered as Kate disappeared upstairs.

“I might ask the same of you,” he said, his voice soft and low and sliding like a warm bit of honey down her spine.

A footman opened the door from outside. “Carriage in the drive,” he called to another footman inside.

“As it happens,” Lily said, craning her neck to see around Tobin to the door, “I had business in London. You?”

Tobin didn’t respond. He swallowed.

“Are you all right?” she whispered and put her hand on his forearm. She felt him tense, his whole body quivering with it.

Outside, the coachman shouted out to the footmen; one of them picked up an umbrella and hurried outside. “Perhaps we should go into the drawing room,” she said.

Tobin shook his head and swallowed again.

“Tobin, you really must say
something
—”

“I should like to invite you to dine,” he said stiffly, just as the Duke of Darlington walked in behind him. The duke paused, his gaze first on Lily, then on Tobin’s back.

Lily didn’t know what to say. Dining alone at Tiber Park had been a questionable thing to do, but nevertheless, something she had done in relative privacy. In London, it was altogether different. As Kate had cautioned her, gossip traveled faster than light.

“You may bring your friends if you like,” he added, as if reading her thoughts.

“Lady Ashwood?”

The deep voice of Lord Darlington seemed to reverberate in the marble foyer. She looked at Tobin, saw the craving in his eyes, the hard clench of his jaw. “My lord, may I introduce Lord Eberlin,” she said.

Tobin’s gaze held hers a moment before he turned his attention to the duke. The two men stood eye to eye; Tobin gave a curt nod. “Your Grace,” he said.

“My lord.” Darlington looked confused. He shifted his gaze to Lily again.

“His lordship has brought me news from Hadley Green,” Lily said.

“Has he,” the duke drawled skeptically.

“A private message,” Tobin added, and Lily winced.

Lord Darlington’s gaze narrowed slightly. “Then by all means, sir, give your message.” He stepped around Tobin. “Lady Ashwood, you’ll join us for tea, won’t you?” he asked, deliberately excluding Tobin from that offer.

“Thank you,” she said and watched him stride across the foyer, then jog up the stairs.

“I’ve missed you.”

The words were spoken so low that Lily scarcely heard them. She looked at Tobin.

A corner of Tobin’s mouth tipped up and his gaze swept over her as a footman went sailing past them. “I have missed you.”

Her blood began to swell in her veins, and Lily couldn’t help her smile.

“I was quite cross when I found you had gone from Ashwood.” Emotion swam in his eyes—longing, esteem … only a few weeks ago, his eyes had seemed almost dead to her. …

Voices at the top of the stairs signaled that the Darlingtons were coming down for tea.

“I love you, Lily,” he said.

Lily gasped.

“I know the circumstance is not ideal. I know you have come to make a match and you should, you should make a most advantageous match. I know that my past and my illness are not what anyone would want for you. But Lily, I love you.”

Lily’s heart began to beat wildly. “Tobin …”

“Grayson, who is that?” she heard the dowager duchess ask at the top of the stairs.

“You have to go,” she said softly and turned away—but was stopped by the touch of Tobin’s fingers as they tangled in hers. The world seemed to cease moving; Lily was immobilized, unable to move her feet. Nor could she look at Tobin, or the stairs for that matter, and the steady descent of the Darlington family. She could do nothing but stand in that grand foyer and feel Tobin’s heat seeping into her through the tips of his fingers.

“I vow to love you, to cherish you. I will be your prince when you demand it, or sit on a rock and read if you prefer. I am yours, Lily, if you will have me.”

There were so many things she wanted to say, so many things she couldn’t think clearly.

“That is Lord Eberlin,” she heard the duke say.

Tobin put his hat on his head. “Ask for a carriage tomorrow evening,” he murmured. “Have it deliver you to Charing Cross. I’ll meet you there at seven o’clock. Please come, Lily—there is too much left unsaid between us. Seven o’clock.”

And then he was gone. His fingers left hers, and she could feel the cold, damp air as the door closed behind him. She made herself turn around and cast a smile up the stairs.

“Who was that?” the dowager duchess asked again as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

“A friend,” Lily said lightly, avoiding anyone’s gaze.

“Will you come for tea, Lady Ashwood?” the dowager asked.

“Ah … no, thank you,” she said. “I am feeling a little tired, in truth. I should like to lie down before supper.”

“My father always said that one should nap before supper,” the dowager duchess said as she moved carefully past Lily. “Aids in the digestion.”

Lily excused herself and went upstairs. Her heart was still racing; she thought of Tobin standing in that foyer, admitting that he loved her, the way his fist clenched, holding himself in check. She thought of how she loved him. She thought of all she stood to lose, of all the people at Ashwood who depended on her.

Lily had no idea how long she paced, but she was startled when the maid came to help her dress for supper. “Lady Darlington asked that I tell you Lord Christopher
will be dining with the family this evening,” the girl said.

Lily knew precisely what Kate was about, and at any other time in her life, she might have been thrilled. But today, the news was not particularly welcome.

At supper, the dowager duchess lectured Lord Christopher—Merrick, as he’d invited Lily to call him—on various political issues, as he served in the House of Lords. Over a meal of lamb stew, the duchess lectured beneath the tiara she wore, with two large diamonds that twinkled in the candlelight.

For his part, Merrick was relaxed in his seat, occasionally teasing his mother, and smiling at Lily from time to time as he promised his mother to do better with his votes. Merrick was as handsome as his brother and quite charming in a very quiet way.

“You should be thinking of your future, Merrick,” the dowager said. “You should be concentrating on nuptials. Not politics.”

Merrick winked at Lily. “Then perhaps Lady Ashwood will save me and agree to the happy state of matrimony.”

Lily’s breathing suddenly constricted.

“How can you jest about something so important!” the duchess huffed, and Kate stifled a smile behind a bit of lamb.

“Before you give him your answer, Lady Ashwood,” the duke interjected, “it is my duty to warn you that Merrick is notoriously liberal in his views.”

Merrick laughed.

“We are attending the opera tomorrow evening,” Kate said brightly. “Why don’t you come along, Lily and Merrick?”

“Only if Lady Ashwood promises she will join me,” Merrick said.

“I … thank you. Thank you kindly for the invitation, but regrettably, I have a prior engagement tomorrow evening.”

“I am desolated,” Merrick said mournfully. “Will you abandon me to the clutches of the grandes dames of society with their unmarried daughters? Please say you will cancel your engagement and protect me from them.”

“So dramatic,” the dowager sighed.

“Lady Ashwood, will you leave me alone and defenseless?” Merrick asked playfully.

“Really, Merrick!” the dowager complained. “If you intend to court her, do it properly! Now what is this I hear about reforms?”

Merrick chuckled and happily turned the conversation to the latest political news.

Lily scarcely heard any of it; her thoughts were on the handsome man sitting across from her. The charming man with the title that could save Ashwood and restore it to the crown jewel it once had been.

The next morning, Kate found Lily in the small salon. She entered the room with a bright smile, her green
eyes sparkling, and after exchanging pleasantries, she said, “I hope Merrick didn’t offend you last evening. All of the Christopher men believe themselves to be extraordinarily charming.” She laughed as she sat beside Lily on the settee.

“He didn’t offend me in the least,” Lily said.

“I think,” Kate said, “that he rather esteems you.” She beamed. “Honestly, Lily? I was a bit surprised. I had high hopes, naturally, but Merrick has never shown any particular interest in anyone that I am aware. But he spoke to me last night and said that he found you quite intriguing and inquired into your character.”

Heat began to creep up Lily’s neck.

“He would be an excellent match,” Kate said. “He is quite wealthy in his own right, and he is a viscount.”

“Ah.” Lily couldn’t seem to think. “He is … I am at Ashwood, not London—”

“But Ashwood is so close,” Kate said quickly. “One can reach it in a day.”

She had clearly given this a lot of thought. “Well.” Lily rubbed her palms on her lap. “That is … it’s very interesting.”

Kate smiled curiously at her. “I thought you would be pleased. You know that Merrick is quite sought after in London, and one could not ask for a better match.”

“No, none better,” Lily agreed. She felt as if she might explode at any moment. “It’s just …”

“Never fear,” Kate said and reached for Lily’s hand,
squeezing it fondly. “I will make certain that you are well acquainted. I am confident you will find him the most agreeable, kindest, most thoughtful man.”

Lily smiled.

Kate squeezed her hand again. “I am certain you realize that to disregard the attentions of a member of the Duke of Darlington’s family for someone else could be catastrophic for you. And I would not like to see that happen to you, for I am very much aware of what it is like to be on the outside looking in.” She gave Lily a meaningful look. “You know how these things are done.”

“Yes,” Lily said slowly.

“And really, I think this the perfect solution to all your troubles!”

Lily sorely regretted telling all of her troubles to Kate. “You may be right,” she said, folding her arms.

“Then you will attend the opera with us tonight?” Kate asked. “I will consider it a personal favor.”

She made it impossible! A swell of great disappointment rode through Lily, but she nodded. “Then naturally, I shall.”

“Thank you!” Kate said, smiling brightly. “I will be so very thrilled when I’ve made two of my favorite people happy. I will leave you now,” she said and went out.

Lily stared at the floor. Kate was right, of course. She would never find a more advantageous match. The Darlington family could restore Ashwood ten times
over, and she could provide them with heirs. She had stumbled into a prodigious match, and yet …

She could not imagine life with Merrick, not when she loved Tobin. But couldn’t she come to love Merrick? For if she gambled on Tobin, she stood to lose so much.

She stood to lose everything.

P
redictably, but aggravating nonetheless, Charity did not want to accompany Mr. Howell, Tobin’s secretary, and his wife, to the opera. “The opera?” she scoffed. “I have no interest in the opera.”

Charity was so rarely in society that Tobin thought she might welcome the diversion. “The Howells would like you to join them,” he said stiffly. Could she not see that he needed her to go? Could she not guess why? Could she not, just once, give into his wish?

“Your disgraced sister and your secretary and his timid wife. It’s laughable.”

“It’s not open for debate,” he said sternly, drawing a look of surprise from her. Tobin gripped his hands together. “I understand your unhappiness,” he said. “God help me, I understand it better than anyone. I have spent my adult life trying to make it up to you. But in this one thing, I cannot accommodate you, Charity.”