Vexing the Viscount (21 page)

Tia watched Mrs. Abbott's head nod up and down. She felt as if she was in a dream, watching the scene unfold before her from a great distance. The housekeeper sat next to her, then forced the glass of brandy to Tia's lips. She sipped a little down, savoring the warmth it created in her belly. Mrs. Abbott then removed the glass from Tia's hand and slapped her across the cheek.

Tia's head hit the back of the chair. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

“Forcing you out of your daze,” Mrs. Abbott said. “I trust you with his lordship. I don't know if your sister is a good wise woman, but I know you are. Now get over there and take care of him.”

Feeling like she'd been scolded by her mother, Tia hung her head as she walked to the bed.

Mia smiled over at her. “I actually didn't suggest that, but I am quite happy she did it.”

“Do be quiet.” Tia examined his head, putting aside her feelings for him as she scrutinized his injury.

“The cut isn't terrible, but could probably use two stitches. Do you want me to do sew him up?” Mia asked.

“No,” Tia replied. “If he's going to have a scar on his head, it will be from me.”

Hart chuckled in the background. “Other than the cut to his hard head, how is he?”

“He will be all right,” Mia said to her husband. “If he survived boxing with you, he has to have a hard head.”

“He boxed with Hart?” Tia asked as she readied her needle. She hated sewing head injuries, but thankfully her sister was right that the cut was not large. “Hold him down.”

Hart approached the bed and then held onto Braden's head as Tia sewed the wound. “I don't know how you ladies do this,” he said, looking away from the blood.

“You get used to it,” Tia replied. “All done.”

“You don't always get used to it,” Mia said. “I do it because I have no choice.”

“You still get queasy from the blood?” Tia asked her sister.

“Sometimes. With head injuries, always because there is so much blood. I hate it.” Mia took the needle from Tia and set it in some brandy to clean it. “Another reason I was quite pleased that Mrs. Abbott forced you out of your shock. You are far better at this than I.”

“Thank you.” Tia washed the blood out of his hair, then put a patch of linen over the wound to keep it clean. “Now we just have to wait for him to awaken.”

“I am awake. I think,” he said groggily. “What happened? And why does my head hurt like hell?”

Tia took his hand and squeezed it. “You were in a carriage accident.”

“In town?” he mumbled. “Doesn't make sense.”

Hart sat in a chair near the bed. “He's right. It doesn't make sense. There was no extra swaying on the trip to the Eldridges' home this morning. The carriage was in good order. No sign that a wheel was going to break.”

Tia turned her head to Hart. “Why were you at Lady Eldridge's home this morning? Middleton said you were going to a section of town that was inappropriate for women.”

Braden squeezed her hand. “Sweetheart, I needed to ask her if she knew where Jonathon was staying. That is all.”

“Did she?”

“She swears he only sends her coded messages,” Braden said. “But why did the carriage lose a wheel? We did hit a rut, but not a deep one. Bring Mr. Sanders up to me.”

“Braden, you need to rest,” Tia insisted.

“I've taken worse than this,” he replied. “Mrs. Abbott, tell Mr. Nelson I want Sanders up here.”

“Of course, my lord,” she said and quickly left the room.

After a few minutes, Mr. Sanders entered the room with his head bowed down. “I am dreadfully sorry, my lord. I cannot possibly imagine what happened. The carriage was checked before you called for it. I personally inspected the carriage this morning.”

“And the wheels were all right?” Braden asked.

“Absolutely, my lord. Not a one was loose.”

“Could a rut have caused the accident?” Hart spoke up.

Mr. Sanders looked over at Hart. “In the country, I would say yes because they can grow so deep. But in town? I find it highly unlikely. People fill them in as soon as they see them. The chance that a rut just formed and then you hit it would be unusual, to say the least.”

“That seems to be my life lately . . . unusual,” Braden muttered softly. “What about the driver?”

“Townsend has been with us for over a year, my lord. I've never had an issue with him.”

“Was he injured in the fall?”

“No, my lord. He managed to jump down as the carriage tipped. He was very lucky indeed.”

Braden was glad to hear his driver survived without a scratch, unlike him. “Thank you, Mr. Sanders. Please see that the carriage is fixed.”

Mr. Sanders bowed and left the room. Tia inhaled a sharp breath. “I cannot take this any longer. You need to get back to the estate.”

“It will be all right, Tia,” Braden cooed.

“No, it will not! Someone is trying to kill you! It is time you took this seriously.” Tia pulled away from him to pace the room. “I cannot do this any longer.”

“Perhaps we should take our leave now,” Hart suggested to Mia.

“Of course.” Mia moved to her sister. “If you need me, send a footman and I will be here quickly.”

“Thank you.”

“Hart, before you leave, fill in one blank for me,” Braden said. “How did you come to bring me home? I thought you were detained by Lady Bunworth.”

“It was odd indeed, Middleton. She offered me her congratulations on my marriage and wanted to know if she could pay a call on Mia. By the time I left the house, you were only a block away. I saw the carriage tip.”

“And why couldn't she say that to you in front of me?” Braden asked.

Hart shrugged. “She said she didn't want to insult you, because she is not comfortable calling on Tia.”

Tia didn't doubt that answer. Personally, she didn't care if Constance ever called upon her. Once her sister left with Hart, Tia sat on the bed next to Braden and stared down at his handsome face. All her emotions bubbled to the surface. “I thought I was going to lose you,” she said to him. “Can we please leave for the estate? You will be safe there.”

“One condition,” he whispered.

“What is it?”

“That you marry me before we leave.”

B
raden's heart stopped as he waited for an answer from her. If he was going to return to the estate, he wanted her on his arm as his wife. She was something worth living for and he wanted to do this properly. No more of his adolescent and rakish ways. He wanted a wife and family. He wanted to prove that he could be a good viscount and provide for his family, tenants, and servants.

She stared at him for what seemed like hours before whispering, “I cannot marry a man who doesn't love me.”

He didn't know what to say. Telling her he loved her right now would make her think he was only saying those words to get her acceptance. But what choice did he have? “Tia, I never wanted to fall in love. I have done it twice and each time it ended in heartache.” He reached up and touched her cheek. “But I couldn't seem to help myself with you. You made me mad. Insanely mad and totally in love with you.”

She blinked and looked away from him. “How do I know you aren't just saying that to get me to marry you?”

“Why should I want to marry you, if not love? You are not an heiress and even if you were, I don't need the money. You are not from an important family. And I don't need those connections either. There is only one thing you have to offer me . . . love. And that is all I want from you.”

Her lips trembled. “I do love you, Braden.”

“I know you do. And I understand why you're hesitant.” He smiled up at her. “Marry me anyway, Tia,” he whispered. “Be my viscountess, the mother of my children, my lover.”

“How do I know you won't have a mistress like Emily's husband?”

He tilted his head and stared at her. “I am done with other women, Tia. I have had my share and several other men's shares as well. Those encounters meant nothing to me. I want you. Only you.”

He watched the conflicting emotions on her face. He wanted to soothe her worry, but only time would prove to her that he was speaking the truth.

Finally, she whispered, “I will marry you.”

He sat up and kissed her softly. “I promise to make you happy.” He broke away as his head started to pound. He put a hand to his temple as if that would make the pain stop.

“Are you all right?”

“I will be. It's just a headache. Why don't you rest with me for a while?”

She smiled down at him. “Only if you promise it will be rest.”

“Agreed.”

She slipped under the covers with him and rested her head on his shoulder. Just having her this close was wreaking havoc with his body. He no longer wanted to rest. Other than a headache, he felt fine. And she felt far too good up against his body.

“What happened when you were young?” she asked softly.

So much for what he had in mind. “What do you mean?” he asked, hoping he would be able to change the topic of conversation.

“After your father died. How did you survive?”

Braden closed his eyes against the memories. If not for meeting Hart, there was no telling how his life might have ended. If she were to be his wife, she should know the truth, no matter how ugly. “After my father died, I had to find work or we would have been evicted. My mother took in sewing, but that didn't bring in enough. Unfortunately, the only kind of work I could find was far from legal.”

“Why didn't your mother contact the viscount?” she asked.

“She was too proud. No one in my father's family was happy to see him marry my mother. She was a woman of no means and not much family. She was the daughter of a baker.”

“He must have loved her very much if he chose to marry her.”

“No,” he said harshly. “He didn't love her at all. She was with child.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “How sad.”

“My father's family was certain she was attempting to wring an offer out of him. Most didn't believe she was having his child.”

Tia pushed against him to look down at him. “Well, that is hardly fair.”

“Was it? Look at me, Tia. Do I look like Jonathon? Do I look like any of the previous viscounts?”

She glanced away. “Your coloring could have come from some ancient relative,” she said softly.

“Or it came from my real father.”

“Did she ever speak of it?”

Braden shook his head. “No. I think she wanted to believe I was my father's son. I wanted to believe it too,” he admitted, more to himself than to her.

“I'm sorry. Do you have any idea who he might be?”

“None at all. At this point, it doesn't matter, except that I feel horrible for inheriting over Jonathon when he is likely the true heir.” He had never told a soul what he just admitted to her.

“But there is nothing you can do about it.” She reached out to caress his check. He snatched her hand and kissed the palm. “This was your parents' decision.”

“I know that, which is in part why I decided I had to change myself. I could no longer be the self-absorbed man who only cared about his own pleasure. If I was going to inherit, I promised my mother I would be a good viscount. An example to all those born into a title who do everything they can to ruin themselves and their titles.”

She smiled down at him. “I'm sure she would have been very proud of you. But how did you learn to box?”

He tilted his head back and laughed. “That would be all Hart's fault. I met him when I was seventeen. We didn't agree on a few things and got into a fight. I have never taken a beating as he gave me that day. So I asked him to show me how to fight.”

“What did you argue over?”

Braden rolled his eyes at her. “A woman, of course.”

“Of course,” she said with a laugh. “I shouldn't have expected anything different from you.”

“Exactly. After that we became friends.” He rolled her over on her back. “Now, I have had enough talking about my past. I am feeling very well rested.”

She giggled softly. “Are you now? As your wise woman, I should tell you to rest more.”

“As my betrothed, you should be welcoming my advances,” he replied.

“I do welcome them,” she said with a sigh when he kissed her neck.

Tia woke a few hours later to find Braden's arm wrapped around her waist, holding her against his hard chest. She savored the sensation of his warmth. But she wondered if she'd made the right decision. Marrying him would be difficult, only because of their very public relationship. Everyone would know that she'd been his mistress.

Did that matter?

The more time she spent in London, the less she liked the majority of the people she met. Out in the country, most people wouldn't know what happened in town. They would be happy that their wise woman had decided to marry and have children. And then there was the idea of children.

She had always wanted children. Now her children would be proper ladies and gentlemen. They would go to good schools or have excellent tutors to learn far more than she had been taught by her father. Her son would be viscount one day. Hopefully, not for a very long time, though.

It was the right thing to do, she decided.

“Stop fretting,” Braden whispered in her ear before kissing her lobe. “Everything will be fine.”

She turned in his arms to face him. “Now why would you think I'm fretting?”

He smiled. “You bite down on your lower lip. It's very adorable.”

“I do not do that,” she said with a laugh.

“Trust me, you do.”

“How are you feeling?” she asked, looking at the bandages.

“Head still hurts a bit, but it's better.”

Tia bit her lower lip. “Who do you think is doing this?”

He touched her lip as if to remind her to stop biting down on it. “Honestly, I can only think of two people with a motive.”

“Jonathon and Alistair,” she said softly. It made no sense to her. She knew Jonathon and had met Alistair twice. Jonathon was no killer. He was far too kindhearted for that. And he never seemed interested in the title when they had talked at the estate. He'd even told her what a burden it was on his brother.

Alistair, while he needed money, also didn't seem the type to kill over a title. He couldn't possibly imagine that he would ever have a chance to inherit. And all suspicion would be on him if he did.

“What do you think?” he asked, caressing her lip with his thumb.

“I can't imagine either of them doing such a thing.”

Braden nodded. “I can't either. Of course, if Jonathon is still eating opium, then he might be a little mad from it. A madman who needs money is a dangerous thing.”

“True.” Tia went silent in thought for a moment. “Who inherits after Alistair?”

“I have no idea. We would have to go back deep into the family history to determine that. My understanding is our grandfather was the only surviving male in the family. We would have to go back to his father.”

“Well, I want you to rest, so why don't we do that in bed? You tell me what books to get and I'll go find them.” Excitement gripped her. At least they had something to occupy their minds so they wouldn't go mad.

“I'm afraid most of the books are at Middleton Hall. You could try to find a family Bible in the library.”

Slightly deflated, she sighed. “Of course the books on the family would be at the estate. I should have realized that. It's another reason for us to get back there as soon as possible.”

He leaned back and chuckled. “I thought you didn't want to return to the estate. People will expect that you will take up your wise woman duties again.”

She leaned over him and kissed him softly. “I understand. My holiday if over. I'm looking forward to returning to my duties there. I've missed them all more than I thought possible before I left. Besides, I'm rather tired of only nursing you.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, you are a dreadful patient. I tell you to rest and you make love to me,” she said with a giggle. “You need to learn to listen to your wise woman.”

“I shall do my best.”

“You stay here. I'll look for some books. Do you want to dine up here tonight?”

“That sounds lovely.”

She dressed quickly and bounded down the stairs. She informed Nelson of Braden's progress and their desire to dine in his bedchamber. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment, but Nelson only nodded. Walking down to the hall, she wondered what the butler must think of her. And why was it bothering her now? She'd been here for over a fortnight.

She strolled into the library and then stopped. There were hundreds of book here. How would she find what she was looking for without assistance? “Nelson, do you have a minute?” she called out.

“Of course, miss.”

Once he entered the room, she said, “I am trying to help out his lordship with some books about his family. Do you know of anything regarding the prior generations of his family?”

Nelson's white brows furrowed. “Hmm, there is at least one family Bible here.” He scanned the shelves before pulling two books down. “Here are two of them. Be very careful with the second one, it must be at least two hundred years old.”

“Thank you.”

“Wait, here is a family history written by one of his grandmothers.” Nelson stood on the ladder and reached up to the highest shelf for it.

“How did you know where all these books were?”

“I catalogued the library for the previous viscount. He was fastidious regarding his library. The estate has some wonderful books on the family history.”

“Excellent. I am quite sure his lordship will be pleased to hear it.” Tia slipped back upstairs to find Braden dressed and sitting on the bed. “Why are you dressed? You have nowhere to go.”

“I would like to be decent when they bring up the food. I'm famished.”

“Well, that is always a good sign.” She placed the books on the beds. “Did you know that Nelson catalogued the library here? He said we should be happy to find more books on your family history when we arrive home.” Home? That beautiful old house would soon be her home.

“I was not aware Mr. Nelson took care of the books too. I need to know more about the house and the estate. Since he has been here for thirty years, I should utilize his knowledge more.”

“I agree.”

They each took a book and started to leaf through it. Tia stared at all the names and wondered what his relatives would think of him marrying her. They would probably all be horrified to learn he was marrying the estate's wise woman. And yet, staring over at him, she no longer cared what anyone thought of her, save Braden.

“This one only goes back to my grandfather,” he said, closing the book. “Anything in yours?”

Tia went back to her book. “It goes back much further, but I'm confused about one thing.”

“What is it?” He leaned in closer and stared down at the same page.

“Right here,” she said, pointing to a page. “It says Lady Violet Tavers, Viscountess Middleton in her own right, married Randolph Haverty, who took her name.”

“That makes no sense. Why would she have inherited the title?”

“I have no idea. Shouldn't that be in the letter of patent?”

“Yes, but that is most likely at the estate. Perhaps there was a special reason that enabled her to inherit. It's just so uncommon.” He sat back against the pillows and picked up the last book on family history.

A knock sounded, announcing food had finally arrived. A footman entered the room and stopped when he saw them both lounging on the bed with books in their hands. “Where would you like this, my lord?”

“Right here on the bed.”

Tia almost laughed at the gaped expression on the poor boy's face. They must have scandalized him.

The footman carefully placed the tray on the bed. “Is there anything else, my lord?”

“No, that will be all. Thank you.”

As soon as the door closed behind him, they both broke out into laughter.