Debauchery and the Earl, page 5
She sat down on the bench her sister had previously occupied, and he lowered himself back to his own, facing her this time. The lantern light coming mostly from the low terrace wall cast shadows along the sharp lines of his cheekbones and made his eyes glint, though whether with humor or something more sinister remained to be seen.
“Your sister is very proud and very stubborn,” he observed.
Josephine nodded. “I should have known she had not given in and told me. For whatever it is worth, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I was charmed to meet you.”
She actually laughed, a short, breathless sound. “Liar. I spoiled your evening.” And then, before she could bite her tongue, “Why did you kiss me?”
He was silent. Then he said, “To teach you a lesson? Or because I was angry at being so easily bested?”
She nodded. “That is what I thought.”
“Mostly,” he added, “I kissed you because I wanted to. The more interesting question is why you kissed me back.”
“I did not!” Her cheeks burned. Everything burned. “You took me by surprise.”
“That is true also. Next time, I shall give you plenty of warning.”
She jumped to her feet. “There will not be a next time, sir,” she said with dignity. “It may be my fault—well, it is my fault—but you have entirely the wrong idea about my sister and me. Good evening.”
She turned on her heel and stalked off, though she had not taken more than a step before she found him beside her. His ungloved fingers closed around her gloved ones and placed them on his arm, holding them there for a moment when she would have pulled free.
“Don’t get in a miff,” he murmured. “I’m only flirting.”
“I do not flirt,” she said dangerously.
“You managed well enough last night.”
“That was to get your attention,” she muttered.
“Well, you succeeded.”
Her gaze flew up to his in astonishment, because just for a moment, she thought he meant more than last night, that she still had his attention, and that idea was somehow overwhelming, intoxicating.
And there were too many people around to ask for clarification, supposing she had the nerve.
His eyes smiled beguilingly down at her. One even fluttered closed so quickly, she could never be sure whether or not he actually winked.
“There you are, Jo,” Aunt Darling said, rustling up to them. “I believe you are promised to Mr. Campbell for this dance.”
Lord Calton relinquished her hand with a bow and with another to Lady Darling, he strolled off, leaving her feeling curiously dazed.
*
Flirting with Josephine Blackwell was unexpectedly fun, although even as he gave in to the inclination, he was aware that he was more than teasing. Whether for the sake of his pathetic male pride or just because she amused him, he wanted her attention. He had been right at Maida. She was different, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on how or why. Nor did he wish to look into the matter too closely. In a few days, he would leave London, either for the continent or for the Wennings’ party, en route to the continent. Although he would like things to be more settled for Helena Blackwell before that.
He had no reason to feel responsible for Helena’s condition, but he could not help the odd notion that Josephine had somehow made him so. He drew the line at marrying Helena himself—that would be disastrous for all concerned—but he did want to see her happily established. And so, he made a point of speaking to her again before the end of the ball.
He chose a moment when her father was in earshot, as well as Lady Darling, to be sure everything was seen to be above board and without scandal.
“We talked about riding in the park one morning, Miss Blackwell. Perhaps you are free the day after tomorrow?”
His aim was to have another opportunity to talk to her, to make her see the reality of her choices going forward, but it had an unexpected benefit that he almost missed.
One of the gentlemen on the fringe of her group jerked his head around. It was only a moment, but the glare in his eyes could have annihilated Bonaparte’s Old Guard. And then, almost before Calton had registered it, he turned back to Sir Joseph Sayle with whom he was in conversation.
Well, Monsieur de Talley. That is interesting.
Chapter Five
“He invited you to go riding?” Josephine said cautiously to her sister the following day. They were seated in the morning room with Aunt Darling, who was dealing with her correspondence while the sisters worked on their embroidery. Well, Helena worked. Josephine mostly stared at hers and thought of other things.
Now, however, she gazed, frowning, at Helena. She had the horrible feeling she recognized the unpleasant twinge in her heart, which felt like the one that had assailed her at the sight of Lord Calton and Helena together on the terrace. But she must be wrong. She could not be jealous of her own sister, and certainly not over Calton.
“Tomorrow morning,” Helena said. “But it is quite proper. He suggested making a party of it. Do you know, I think Lord Calton’s reputation probably lies?”
“It doesn’t,” Aunt Darling said from her desk. “But I never heard that he deflowered innocent girls of good family beneath the noses of their fathers. You will be perfectly safe. For the record, he is also very wealthy, his title is old, and he would make an excellent match. Of course, you will go.” She glanced up. “Both of you, with Fredericks.”
“Why is he not married already?” Helena asked.
Aunt Darling shrugged. “Too interested in his own pleasures, though old Lady Calton implies there is more to it than that. Which is what gives me hope that he might settle down if he chose one—”
“What more?” Josephine asked before she could help herself.
“He had a brother who died at the age of twelve or so.” Aunt Darling looked uncomfortable. “This is not for gossip, just between us. The boy was…different. Looked odd and didn’t grow intellectually as a child should. Calton was very cut-up when he died, and Lady Calton believes he is afraid of siring a child like his brother.”
“Because it would embarrass him to have such an heir,” Helena mused.
“Because he would see his child die,” Josephine said slowly, then, discovering both pairs of eyes on her, she hastily concentrated on her needlework and changed the subject. But however much truth there was in her aunt’s or her own speculations, the story deepened her view of him as someone who cared deeply, however badly he behaved. She could even imagine him avoiding caring by relentless pleasure-seeking. Up to a point, although many experiences formed every character.
She forced herself to consider him in relation to her sister’s problem. Marriage to Lord Calton would, she thought cautiously, be the perfect solution for Helena. He knew the truth and would treat her with respect. And he would, besides, be easy to fall in love with.
So why didn’t she like the idea?
Because he would not be faithful. Or perhaps he would. After all, surely Helena was easy to fall in love with, too? He would have to love her a great deal, for her child would become his heir. And not being of his blood might even be a good thing, from his point of view…
Well, she could not plan for this, she could only watch and help if possible.
So, it was with a sense of excitement, and yet an inexplicable knot in the pit of her stomach, that she set off for Hyde Park the next day, mounted on her old friend, Silver, and accompanied by Helena and Fredericks, their father’s groom.
It was early enough for both streets and park to be quiet, which was fortunate, for Silver was in a frisky mood and clearly wanted to stretch her legs. She kept sidling about, trying to nudge Helena’s Gold and entice her, no doubt, to equally bad behavior.
Waiting for them just inside the Cumberland Gate was Lord Calton, looking casually splendid on a shining black giant of a horse. And emerging from behind him on a chestnut almost as large, Andre de Talley.
“Talley! We didn’t expect to see you, too,” Josephine exclaimed, which neatly left Calton to greet Helena first and allowed Josephine to meet him afterward with mere, off-hand friendliness. Though why something as simple as a mere greeting should be so difficult, she had no idea.
“You and his lordship have become friends?” she asked Talley lightly as they set off up the main path behind Helena and Calton.
Talley shrugged. “Hardly that, though he is amiable and amusing. When he heard I had no mount in England, he offered me the use of one of his, beginning with this morning’s outing. Tell me, is your sister quite well?”
“She is a little under the weather,” Josephine replied. “But not ill.”
“I wondered because she does not look quite her usual ebullient self. And at the ball, I was afraid she was avoiding me.”
“I’m sure she was not,” Josephine said awkwardly. More likely, Helena did not want old friends who knew her well remarking on the changes within her. Even their father had noticed she was looking a little peaky, and Aunt Darling kept trying to tempt her appetite. Silver sidled again, tugging insistently on the reins, and Josephine raised her voice so that the two in front could hear also, “Shall we find somewhere quieter to let them gallop? Silver won’t behave until she does.”
Lord Calton led the way off the main drive and across the park to a more open space. With relief—her hands were getting tired keeping the mare in check—Josephine gave Silver her head and they sped off across the grass. With the rush of the wind in her face and the joy of the gallop, she let go of her anxieties, just for a moment, and enjoyed the exhilaration of the ride.
Even when Lord Calton drew alongside her, she only smiled at him. And when he smiled back with what could only be a shared love of speed, the rest of the world receded into the pleasure of the moment.
Of course, it could only be a moment, for it was not proper for ladies to gallop in the park. She slowed Silver as another path and some people came into view and petted her neck as they came to a standstill.
“She is a fine animal,” Calton said, pulling up beside her. “And you ride very well.”
“For a woman?” she challenged.
“For anyone. But I fear we have left the others behind.”
“Talley will look after Helena. And Fredericks, of course.”
A humorous, half-flirting look entered his eyes.
Don’t dare ask who will look after me…
He said, “I gather Monsieur de Talley is an old friend.”
“Yes, we met in Vienna, during the Congress, and since then seem to keep running into each other. He even turned up in Brighton when we stayed there with my aunt. He was delivering something to the Prince Regent, I believe. And now he seems settled in London.”
“You like him?”
She frowned at him. “We all like him. Including my father. Why?”
“Ask me again later. Tell me, has your sister considered all the possibilities of her situation?”
“To be honest, she seems to be merely panicking and considering nothing very much at all. Which is why I felt obliged to step in, though, of course, I made it worse.”
“No, you didn’t. If we need to, I can arrange for her—with you, if you wish it—to stay abroad for a time and have the child adopted. There could be an invitation from a cousin of mine in Tuscany or another in Switzerland, a chance to improve Miss Blackwell’s health in sun or mountain air.”
She tore her gaze free, staring at Silver’s ears. “Thank you,” she managed, then, “Why are you doing this for us?”
He said nothing until she glanced at him. His lips quirked upward. “You asked for my help.”
“No, I didn’t. I held you up at gunpoint with false accusations and disastrous commands. I thought she must love you.”
“Do you think she still loves the father of her child?”
Josephine nodded, feeling an inconvenient lump in her throat. “She is loyal, and her feelings are deep.”
“Then she was not…taken advantage of?”
“You mean forced?” Josephine asked bluntly. “I don’t believe so. I saw no signs of distress until…she suspected her condition. On the contrary, she was happy to be home in England, enjoyed the gaiety of Brighton. And, you know, my father did not bring us up in complete ignorance.”
He nodded. Helena and Talley came into view, their horses walking together in apparent harmony.
“She doesn’t gallop anymore,” Josephine said sadly.
“She will again.”
Galloping hooves from the other direction had them turning to face a solitary rider. He seemed to be about to pass them by at some distance, but then changed direction and came toward them, slowing to a walk.
Although he looked familiar, it took Josephine a moment to place him.
“Mr. Gough,” Calton said, “good morning.”
“My lord. Miss Josephine. A beautiful autumnal morning for a ride, is it not?”
Gough, of course. She had danced with him, and he had warned her about entitled aristocrats like Lord Calton.
“I never took you for an early riser, my lord,” Gough added with a smile.
Calton raised one aristocratic eyebrow. “I would be surprised if you took me for anything at all.”
Gough laughed and waved to the approaching Talley and Helena. They rode on all together at a more sedate pace. Calton, after his possible set-down, appeared to accept Gough’s presence and even made conversation that kept the man beside him and Josephine. It crossed Josephine’s mind that Calton was somehow protecting Helena by doing so, for she had the feeling he did not care for Mr. Gough.
“Where do you stable your horses?” Calton asked him as they approached the park gate once more.
“Oh, over at the livery stable by St. Paul’s. It has changed hands recently—I believe one of the Gorses took it over—and it suits me well enough while I have rooms.”
Calton nodded. “Then since we go in a different direction, we’ll bid you good morning here.”
It was almost a dismissal, and Mr. Gough clearly felt it as such for he flushed but could only bow and murmur farewells before heading eastward and leaving Calton, as it were, in possession of the field.
“You don’t like him,” Josephine observed.
“Do you?”
“I scarcely know him.”
Calton said no more on the subject. For the rest of the short distance back to Aunt Darling’s house, they rode in a group, indulging in amiable banter, which even Helena joined in.
At the front door, before it was even opened, Calton dismounted and to Josephine’s surprise, turned immediately to help her. She hesitated, frowning, for although she couldn’t say so, it was really Helena who needed help. But there was Talley, also dismounting to help, leaving Fredericks with nothing to do.
While Josephine observed, Calton merely grasped her by the waist and lifted her to the ground. For an instant, she could not move. Surprise seemed to have paralyzed her. Or perhaps it was the same awareness of his nearness, of the remembered heat and scent of his body that deprived her of breath.
She could not step away because of Silver at her back. A flush spread from his firm hands through her whole body. One could drown in those fascinating blue eyes. One could want to.
His hands slid away, and he stepped back, tipping his hat. “Miss Josephine.”
She hurried up the steps, mostly because Helena took her arm. She did not actually stumble, though, at the front door, she turned and looked back over her shoulder. Calton swung up into the saddle with easy grace, saying something to Talley that made the Frenchman smile.
Then the door closed behind her, and she wondered what on earth had just happened.
*
Calton knew what had happened. In his room at Renwick’s Hotel, he had deliberately made her aware of her own desires and his. And now she was remembering. It was a complication he did not need in his life, so why her confused wonder should please him, he had no idea. Not that it meant anything. Desires came and went as he knew only too well. So, he kept his mind on the main problem he had taken it upon himself to solve.
“Has Miss Josephine always been so much livelier than her sister?” he asked Andre de Talley.
Tally frowned. “No. To be honest, I am worried about Miss Blackwell’s health. Josephine used to be in her shadow, and now it seems to be the other way around.”
“I think you cheered her a little.”
A rueful smile flickered across Talley’s lips. “Do you think so? Something—” He broke off, shaking his head and cursing under his breath in French.
“Did you talk to her about her health?” Calton asked innocently.
“No, not after the usual courtesies. One cannot tell a lady she is losing her looks.”
“One certainly does not need to put it like that.”
Talley glared. “It is not even true. Her beauty merely grows…wraith-like.”
Calton remained silent, but it seemed the Frenchman was not yet ready to confide, and intrusive questions would only alienate him at this point. So, he changed the subject. “Feel free to borrow the horse whenever you wish.”
“Thank you, you are very kind. Tell me about this Gough fellow.”
“A friend of the family,” Calton said casually, “should probably warn Lady Darling or Mr. Blackwell if he continues to sniff around them. But I suppose they will be off to join the Wennings’ party next week.”
“I suppose they will,” Talley said gloomily.
“You have not been invited? Being in diplomatic circles, I assumed you would know the Wennings well.”
“I do know them. But my particular diplomatic circle is the one that does the work. In short, I do not have leave.”
“Ah.” Calton changed the subject again and made a mental note to interfere with Talley’s superiors.
*
The Honorable Mr. Cyril Gough was shown into Mrs. Reddington’s private sitting room without a quibble. She sat in a comfortable chair, wrapped in a voluminous silk robe while her maid polished her nails. At sight of him, her hand curled, hiding her nails from the maid, whom she dismissed with a bored wave of the same hand.
