With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) (11 page)

His voice chilled. "Yes, my father remarried
the day his year of mourning was up." His eyes narrowed. "My
step-mother delivered him another son eight months later. Jonathan
and I were born twenty-eight months apart."

He held his father responsible for his
mother's death!
Immediately upon hearing his words, Glee
understood how his mother's death must have preyed on the
motherless boy throughout the years of his childhood. Was that why
he abhorred marriage? Why he did not want children? Did he fear the
pain of losing a wife as he had lost his mother?

He offered his arm as he began to stroll
from the room. "We had best join the others, or your brother will
come looking for me with a pistol."

She laughed. "Silly, it's permissible for us
be alone together. We'll be husband and wife in two days."

He winced. "Must you remind me?"

At least he was now able to joke about it in
front of her. That was a significant improvement. She laughed, then
stood on her toes and reached up to kiss him. It was a chaste kiss,
one he did not return. "Thank you for my wedding present."

* * *

Gregory had come to realize Glee's leaving
Bath had allowed him to ease into his acceptance of the
inevitability of their marriage. He had actually adjusted to the
idea. Perhaps their marriage would be for the best. At least now
his fortune was secure, and he would gladly bestow the lion's share
of it on Glee. And Glee had assured him she would not interfere
with his pleasures. It wouldn't really be like getting shackled.
After all, they weren't going to share a bed. They would remain
good friends. Nothing more.

If only Jonathan doesn't get suspicious,
Gregory thought. He had written to both Sutton Hall and to
Jonathan's lodgings in London to inform his brother of his upcoming
wedding. It was a courtesy he did not extend to his step-mother.
There was no love between her and Gregory, and only Gregory's sense
of obligation kept the roof of Sutton Hall over her head. Of
course, Sutton Hall would be his and Glee's once they were married.
A pity Glee was too kindhearted to throw the mean-spirited woman
out. He had little doubt were the tables turned, Aurora wouldn't
hesitate to give him the boot.

But she was his father's widow, his
brother's mother. And it wasn't as if there was not an abundance of
rooms at Sutton Hall. He supposed he would always be saddled with
the dreadful woman.

But he didn't have to invite her to his
wedding.

To Gregory's great surprise, Jonathan showed
up at Hornsby Manor late in the afternoon the day before the
wedding.

"I'm honored that you've come for our
wedding," Gregory said, putting an arm around his much shorter
brother. "I must introduce you to my lovely Miss Pembroke." If he
ever was going to be convincing of his devotion to Glee, it had
better be now, Gregory thought. Jonathan must never get wind that
his and Glee's marriage was to be a sham.

He found her in the library, where she was
reading. She glanced at them, then stood up and came forward.
Oddly, Gregory was proud of her. She looked particularly delicate
in her mint green dress as she gracefully glided toward them, her
hand outstretched, a smile on her lovely face.

"You must be Jonathan," she said to his
brother. "Even though you and Bl. . .Gregory are just
half-brothers, I would know you anywhere. You have his chin, as
well as his coloring. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you’ve
come to our wedding. Come, Jonathan," she said, "let's sit and
talk. We've so much news to share with you."

They sat on the facing brocaded sofas before
the fire, and Glee rang for tea.

"You'll have to come visit us after the
wedding," she said to Jonathan. "Blanks—forgive me for not calling
your brother by his Christian name—he's purchased the Harrison
House in Bath for us."

Jonathan's eyes widened. "The one on Queen
Square?"

She nodded.

"I should have known. My brother's not one
to settle for less, though I fail to see why you need a house that
size for just the two of you."

Gregory's stomach dropped. Why must Glee
flaunt his extravagance to his pinch-penny brother? "It's not so
large as you think," Gregory snapped.

"And you must see the lovely new carriage
Blank's has presented me," Glee continued, her eyes sparkling with
mirth.

"I daresay he's got the blunt," Jonathan
said coolly.

Gregory fought his strong desire to stuff
his handkerchief in his affianced's mouth.

After tea, Glee stood up and said, "Come,
dear brother," as she began to stroll from the library, her arm
tucked into Jonathan's. "I must make you known to my family."

* * *

Somehow, Jonathan had not been prepared for
Miss Pembroke's uncommon beauty. She was fair and petite and at
once elicited a protectiveness. She was, quite simply, a diamond of
the first water. Any man would want to marry her. Any man but his
brother. He had not lived his life with Gregory not to know how
strong was his brother's aversion to marriage and to fathering
children.

Clearly, Gregory meant to gain his
inheritance, whatever the cost. Nothing more. Which was not at all
what his blessed father had in mind when stipulating that Gregory
must be wed by his twenty-fifth birthday. Their father wanted
Gregory to lay to rest his rakish ways, to care about the running
of his estates more than the outcome of the races at Newmarket. He
wanted his firstborn to sire an heir.

Jonathan was certain his brother would
continue down his corrupt path, taking Sutton Hall with him. And if
Jonathan had to earn his brother's eternal contempt to prevent that
from happening, so be it.

A marriage wasn't a marriage if it was not
consummated. Jonathan would wager his year's income Gregory had no
intentions of consummating the marriage. Not that Gregory didn't
like bedding beautiful women. He just didn't like bedding beautiful
women of respectable pedigree.

First, Jonathan would do everything in his
power to prevent his brother's marriage from occurring. And if that
failed, he could at least gain Miss Pembroke's confidence and learn
enough to prove in court that his brother's marriage was never
consummated.

The problem was that Miss Pembroke, like so
many others of her sex, was clearly in love with his brother. The
way she looked at Gregory with love in her eyes was no sham. She
could no more conceal her love than she could camouflage her fiery
tresses.

How fortunate that Gregory did not fancy
decent women.

Jonathan kissed Miss Pembroke's dainty white
hand. "Now that I see you, I shall be very jealous of my
brother."

She smiled and looked up adoringly at
Gregory, who lifted her hand to his mouth for a tender kiss. Of
course, it was all an act to fool him. But he knew his brother far
too well to be taken in.

Miss Pembroke's beautiful sister and
sister-in-law were in the nursery cooing over an infant child.
Jonathan could not possibly have determined if the babe was a girl
or boy. As far as he could tell, all babies looked the same. As he
watched the three women—who were unquestionably the three prettiest
women he had ever seen in one gathering—lavishing attention on the
babe, it became clear to him that Miss Pembroke genuinely cared for
her baby niece or nephew. It was also clear that she was cut out to
be an adoring mother. Like his own. A pity his brother would starve
Miss Pembroke's maternal instincts.

Jonathan turned to Gregory. "Even with your
marriage imminent, I cannot fathom you as a father."

The smile on Gregory's face fell. He
swallowed. "I admit I have never longed for an heir as other men
do, but if that is what makes my dearest wife happy, I shall oblige
her." Gregory looked at Glee, whose cheeks grew scarlet.

"I daresay my sister will tell you all the
pain and discomfort of lying-in quickly fades from memory once you
hold your child in your arms," Glee said. "Of course, I was present
at Georgette's birth, and I've yet to recall the ordeal without a
strong desire to avoid such pain." She flashed a smile. "My sister,
Felicity, will become a mother by All Souls Day. She and her
husband are most excited, are you not?" she asked, turning shining
eyes on Felicity.

The girl loved his brother so dearly she
feigned an aversion to childbirth she was far from feeling.
Jonathan's heart went out to Miss Pembroke. What would she have if
she married Gregory? Certainly no babes. A cold, lonely bed. And
the knowledge that her rakish husband found comfort in the beds of
other women, women of a lower class, to be sure. Glee Pembroke
deserved better.

"We cannot fill the nursery fast enough,"
Felicity Moreland said with a laugh.

Jonathan's glance darted to Mrs. Moreland's
tiny waist, and he found it difficult to believe she was
increasing. He envied the woman's fortunate husband. For Felicity
Moreland, with her blonde fairness and shimmering blue eyes, was an
extraordinary beauty. Like her sister.

From the nursery, Miss Pembroke led him to
her brother's study, where the viscount was working with his
steward.

"How good it is to see you again, Jonathan,"
George said as he stood up.

Despite Lord Sedgewick's wild ways, Jonathan
had always liked him. But the man who now stood in front of him
bore little resemblance to the irresponsible fellow he had been
before his marriage. The viscount he had known would never have
bothered meeting with his steward for he would have been too busy
drinking and gambling and bedding loose women. That he was
obviously content at Hornsby was indeed a surprise.

If only his brother
could
be more
like Sedgewick. If Gregory could only do what their father had
wanted him to do. But Gregory could no more change his ways than a
leopard could change its spots. A more inflexible man than Gregory
had never been born.

The three of them left Sedgewick with his
steward and went for a walk around the park. It would be difficult
to malign his brother while he was present, but Jonathan must lay
the foundation. "While I envy you your beautiful betrothed,"
Jonathan said to his brother, who was holding the hand of his
affianced, "I cannot help but pity poor Miss Pembroke." He turned
to her. "Though you've known my brother most of your life, I
daresay you cannot truly know of his character. Else you wouldn't
have him."

Gregory's eyes went cold as he
contemptuously studied his brother.

Glee laughed. "I assure you I know all of
your brother's vices, but I'm convinced that with maturity—and
marriage—he will change for the better. You'll be proud of
him."

They had nearly completed the circle around
the park and now faced Hornsby Manor. It was a magnificent
house—truly fit for a peer of the realm—with its aged brick and
many wings jutting from the regal edifice. How proud their father
would have been to align his family with such a noble house. If
only Gregory weren't so blasted stubborn! He was no more flexible
in his opinions than an iron sword. Jonathan knew with a conviction
as strong as truth that even Miss Pembroke's many attributes had
failed to capture his brother's prurient heart. "My brother has
brought me pride in many ways. His athletic feats are still talked
of at Oxford."

"I'm afraid, my love, Jonathan is exactly
like our father was," Gregory said to Glee. "He tends to judge me
with the eyes of a disappointed father. Papa wanted me to be like
him. To tend to the estates at Sutton Hall. To be a faithful
husband and sire hoards of children to carry on our respectable
family name."

"What you have cited are things Miss
Pembroke must also desire," Jonathan said, giving Glee a furtive
look.

She lowered her lashes. "If you think to
make me change my mind, dear brother, you must think again. I have
loved Bl--Gregory all my life. Nothing will make me cry off." Color
hiked up her fair cheeks.

Just as he thought. He was, indeed,
powerless to prevent the marriage. Jonathan would have to wait
until Gregory's poor wife was prostrate from his ill treatment.
Then Jonathan would secure the information he needed to challenge
his father's will.

Jonathan offered them a smile he was far
from feeling. "I shall leave you two lovebirds alone. Daresay I
need to clean up properly before supper. It's at five of the clock,
is it not?"

"Yes," Glee said.

"I'm sure you'll want to rest after your
tiresome journey, too," Gregory added.

"Mother's resting as we speak," Jonathan
answered.

* * *

Gregory stiffened as he watched his brother
enter the house. Aurora was here though he had not invited her. He
had wanted only those who would wish him well—those he loved and
those who cared for him—at his wedding. Though it was not to be a
conventional marriage, it would be Gregory's only marriage. A most
solemn—and sacred—occasion. And he did not want wish his she-devil
of a stepmother here.

* * *

"Are you all right, Blanks?" Glee asked,
concern in her voice. Her beloved's face had gone white, and it
frightened her.

"Never been better," he said as he turned to
her, a grin pinching his tanned cheek.

She colored. It was beastly embarrassing to
face him after she had blathered of her devotion to him.
I have
loved Gregory all my life.
Why had she allowed those words to
slip from her tongue? Now Blanks would know what a scheming hoyden
she was.

But to her complete surprise, Blanks swept
her up into his powerful arms and gave her a hearty—though
passionless—kiss. Then he set her down.

His handsome face was all smiles, his dark
eyes glittering. "You were magnificent! Perhaps it
was
my
lucky day the day you forced me into marriage.
I have loved
Gregory all my life!
What a clever thing to say! I commend you
on your ability to think under pressure. I can see you'll do well
convincing my brother ours is a love match."