She was a weeping mess by the time he finished, smiling and sobbing and trying her best to mop at the tears on her face. Taking her hands, David guided her back into the day room, easing her down onto the sofa and sitting down beside her.
“There now,” he murmured, using the cuff of his shirt to dab at her face. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. I meant for this to be a good surprise.”
She smiled through her tears and took hold of his hands. “It’s a wonderful surprise … the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me.”
He sighed, relief making his shoulders sag and his brow smooth over. “I’m so glad you like it. It isn’t finished, though. I still have to—”
“David, it’s perfect, every bit of it. Now that you’re finished, I have some things I must tell you. I came here thinking to take you by surprise, but you have managed to outdo me. I can only hope my words will suffice.”
David draped an arm along the back of the couch, his fingertips stroking the nape of her neck as she began.
“My father urged me into the marriage with Randolph because he was wealthy. We were a genteel family and my father owned a bit of land, but it was nothing compared to what your family owns, or what I have inherited. Father wanted higher social standing, and a relative he could approach with his hand outstretched, so of course Randolph seemed like the perfect choice. None of that mattered to me, though. I thought I loved him and that he loved me. My delusion continued for the first few years of our marriage, and my own naiveté was partly to blame. I kept telling myself that it was my fault I couldn’t enjoy his attentions in bed, or that he always seemed annoyed with me. The first time I denied him use of my body, he slapped me. I bit my tongue, and it bled for hours after. As I wept, I told myself I was to blame. My father told me it would be my husband’s job to discipline me if he saw fit. If I was a good wife, I would have nothing to worry about.”
David’s hand tightened at the back of her neck, and he went deathly still. He remained silent, but Regina could see how difficult it was for him to control his reaction to what he’d just heard. She gave him a moment to recover and hoped he would be able to stomach the rest. Only Powell knew the entire truth, and now so would David.
“The first time he beat me with his fists, I packed a valise and fled back to my family. My brother was still a bachelor living at home. I thought he, at least, would defend me. I thought my mother would insist my father allow me to stay. Randolph hadn’t just hit me with his open palm that one time. Over time, his flares of temper had gotten progressively worse. He had gone from occasionally slapping my face, to yanking me about by my hair and hurling me across the room. Once, my face smashed into a door, and it bruised my cheek and jaw. Randolph fussed over me and apologized, but he blamed me for upsetting him. The door had hurt me, not him, and I ought to mind my tongue if I did not want it to happen again. But this time … he punched me and punched me—in my face, my belly, my shoulders, my back. I was in such pain. While I lay abed weeping, my mother asked me what I had done to force Randolph’s hand. You see, it was obvious to her he’d had just cause for beating me.”
“Fucking hell,” David spat, lowering his head and drawing in a few deep, rasping breaths. “Regina … surely you don’t believe that.”
“Not anymore, but I did then. When Randolph came to fetch me back home, I had convinced myself I could be a better wife to him. I would make him happy, and he wouldn’t beat me again. Of course, I’m certain you realize it did not happen the way I’d hoped.”
“Oh, Regina,” he murmured, pulling her to him and holding her close. “My dear, I’m so sorry you endured that. I’m sorry no one was there to defend you.”
“Powell was there,” she said, clinging to the front of his shirt and drawing succor from his nearness. “But he was only a servant and there wasn’t much he could do. Randolph’s accident came as a blessing. It set me free … not just from being under his thumb, but from my previous gullibility. You see, I had loved him, and he’d told me he felt the same … and if that was how love felt, I wanted no part of it.”
“Randolph didn’t love you. He liked the idea of controlling you.”
“I came to see that, but I was still so afraid. My heart led me to trust Randolph, and he hurt me. Thus, my heart could not be trusted. What if I let myself think I had fallen in love again, only to find myself in the clutches of another man like him? I couldn’t survive it.”
David stroked her hair and pressed his lips to her temple. “I understand. It’s all right.”
She leaned back to look into his eyes. “It’s not all right. I was afraid of intimacy, but you showed me how wonderful it could be. You have made me happier these few months than I have been my entire life. I am still afraid, but I am done allowing fear to rule my life. I want to know all the joy and love Randolph deprived me of. I want that with you. So … if you wouldn’t mind terribly, I would love for you to ask me again to marry you.”
He smiled, then went off the side of the sofa to one knee, taking one of her hands in both of his. “Regina … will you marry me?”
Returning his smile, she lifted their joined hands to her lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “Yes.”
He stood and pulled her up with him, arms circling her waist. “Thank you for giving me a chance to propose again … the right way.”
“With such a lovely gesture, how could any woman say no?”
“My God, it worked!”
Regina started at the sudden intrusion of another man’s voice, and turned in David’s arms to find someone standing in the doorway. He was tall and slender, with a tumble of glossy brown hair falling into eyes that sparkled with mischief.
“It did,” David replied, one arm still around her as he waved the other man in. “Come, meet my fiancée.”
Regina tensed as the man entered the room, followed by three others. There was a woman with lightly-bronzed skin complemented by inky black hair and large, lovely eyes. Then came a second man who stood slightly shorter than the first, his hair dark like David’s, his eyes a soft and kind brown. On his arm came a brown-haired woman with the slight protrusion of a pregnant belly showing at the front of her gown. It was so minor as to be almost unrecognizable, but when she placed her hand upon it in an unconscious gesture, Regina saw clearly she was in the early stages of pregnancy.
David guided her forward to greet them. “Regina, these are my friends—Dominick Burke and his wife, Calliope, and Hugh Radcliffe and his wife, Evelyn.”
“How do you do?” she murmured.
David’s lips brushed her ear as he whispered, “Nick and Hugh are former gentleman courtesans. Both have recently wed their former clients. So, you and these ladies have much in common.”
Evelyn blushed and took hold of Regina’s arm to pry her away from David. “Forgive him, I’m certain he couldn’t resist the urge to shock you. It is true, however.”
Calliope appeared on her other side, looping one arm through Evelyn’s as they left the men to return to the sofa. They seated her between them, and Calliope patted her hand.
“The three of us are unique among the other ladies of society—oh, well I suppose I should say the four of us. Mustn’t forget about Lucinda. She is Aubrey’s wife, and I know she’ll be elated to meet you.”
Regina furrowed her brow. “And, this Aubrey … he is also …”
“A former courtesan, yes,” Evelyn filled in. “Goodness, now that David is marrying you, there will be so few of them left. He’s done well in his choice of bride. I can tell that already.”
“She must be special if she could bring our dear David to his knees,” Calliope added with a laugh.
“Funny,” Dominick called out from where he stood with the other two men. “People often say the same thing about you, goddess.”
Calliope raised her chin and gave her husband a look filled with hidden secrets and innuendo. “This is true.”
“I’m so sorry to overwhelm you this way,” Evelyn said, drawing Reg
ina’s attention away from the couple making eyes at one another in a most inappropriate fashion. “But Hugh insisted we must accompany David to Lancashire so he and Dominick could assist with his lovely gesture.”
“So romantic,” Calliope sighed, her lips parting in a riveting smile. “I am so glad for you. Dominick and I are only recently wed, but I’ve begun getting to know the other men and their wives, and can tell you … you’ve never had better friends.”
“I like to think of us as more of a family than mere friends,” Evelyn said. “And now that you and David are getting married, you’ll be a part of it.”
Regina felt her eyes brimming with tears, and she cursed her delicate nerves. She had been on edge for weeks, thinking it had to do with her uncertainty over David. But now that things were settled, she wondered if it was her condition making her so prone to tears. Calliope went into her reticule to offer a handkerchief, while Evelyn patted her hand and cooed over her like a mother hen.
As Regina dabbed at her cheeks, David caught her eye from where he stood with his friends, who were jostling him and pounding his back while offering their congratulations. He looked at her and smiled, seeming unconcerned about the tears she shed. He had to know what had brought on such an emotional response. In the span of a few months, their arrangement had filled so many of the empty places in her life. It had offered her love, and the child she longed for. Their marriage would give her a mother and sisters-in-law. It would give her the friends she’d been forced to go without for so long.
As she fell into conversation with the two women, Regina reminded herself to pull Powell aside later to thank him … and to inform him that he’d been right after all.
David glanced up from the pair of tiny feet and slender ankles draped across his lap to find Powell hovering in the open doorway of the drawing room connected to what had once been Regina’s bedchamber. As of this morning, she was now Mrs. David Graham, and would take up residence with him the moment their time of isolation from the rest of the world had ended.
They had agreed to wed as soon as humanly possible, with Regina having no care for the scandal it would cause for her to marry a mere few months after her first husband’s death. She no longer wanted the world to think their child had been sired by Randolph, and was willing to let people gossip about the beginnings of her and David’s relationship to keep their child from being presumed a Hurst.
They had spoken their vows in a small ceremony with only his mother, the twins, Powell, and the courtesans and their wives in attendance. Even Benedict had made the journey from London, though he remained sullen and silent after the ceremony and during the wedding breakfast. The tension between him and Nick was thicker than ever, and the two barely exchanged a word.
David had spoken to him briefly the night before, with Benedict offering an apology for his behavior at Boodles, but still giving no explanation. David hadn’t pressed him for any.
He and Regina would spend a few weeks here alone before having her things moved to his residence—wanting their privacy but realizing that an actual wedding trip was going to have to wait. There were matters here that needed his attention, and it seemed he would be faced with one of them on his bloody wedding night.
“Begging your pardon, Mr. Graham. Forgive the interruption, but it can’t be helped.”
“What is it, Powell?” Regina asked, annoyance creating tiny lines between her eyebrows.
She had just kicked off her slippers, confessing to being exhausted after a long day of entertaining their small wedding party. David had been in the process of making her pliant so he could debauch her and consummate their marriage.
“That visitor we anticipated is here. Now.”
David perked up at that. “Is he, now?”
Regina frowned and tried to sit up, but David pressed his thumb to the arch of her foot, making her relax against the cushion at her back. “Who’s here?”
“Your cousin-in-law,” David replied, never breaking Powell’s gaze. “He knows about the wedding?”
“It would seem so, sir.”
“Good. Bring him here and tell him Regina’s husband will receive him.”
Regina gaped at him as Powell left to do his bidding. “What on earth is going on? Surely you don’t intend to speak with Tobias on our wedding night!”
He went on rubbing her foot, his gaze returning to the half-open door. “Oh, but I do. Today marks our new beginning, my dear. I’ll not have him intruding upon our lives going forward. I am your husband now, and that means your problems are mine to solve … or grind into dust if it comes to it.”
She groaned when he found a particularly tender spot near the ball of her foot, then sighed as he circled and pressed to ease the tension. “You keep that up, I’ll let you do whatever you like.”
He spared her a glance and a sly smile. “Oh, I intend to the moment this matter has been handled to my satisfaction.”
David and Powell had shared a few drinks a week before the wedding, and the man had filled him in on the persistence of one, Tobias Hurst. Apparently, the man had been harassing Regina for funds, and had even laid his hands on her during his last visit. David had anticipated the man’s visit and instructed Powell to inform him the moment Tobias turned up their doorstep, no matter when.
Thus, the presence of her spineless cousin-in-law in this private drawing room. Regina moved to sit up and pull her feet off his lap, but David rested a hand on her ankle to keep her from going. He would be damned if Tobias Hurst disturbed her more than he already had.
“Mr. Hurst, I presume?” David said, looking the man over from head to toe and allowing his face to show the results of his assessment. He was unimpressive and obviously as much a coward as his cousin had been. “I take it you have come to congratulate Regina on her marriage. You are a bit late, but we can forgive such a lapse in manners, can we not, my dear?”
“Perhaps,” Regina said, remaining cool and composed.
Tobias sneered at her before turning his attention to David. “So, you’re the pretty fop who earned himself my cousin’s fortune today.”
David frowned, feigning confusion. “Your cousin … forgive me, but I was under the impression that Randolph is dead. Is he not dead some months past, my dear?”
“Quite,” Regina offered.
“I did not come here to play your games, Graham,” Tobias spat. “I’m sure you cannot know what a conniving strumpet you’ve married, but I have come to tell you—”
“Powell.”
The single word from David was enough to spur the footman into action. He moved so swiftly Tobias never saw or heard him coming. One arm was wrenched behind his back at an unnatural angle, and a sweep of Powell’s foot drove him to his knees. Tobias was forced to bend at the waist, howling and squirming, but Powell merely twisted his wrist and pulled, pushing the other man’s face into the carpet and rendering him motionless.
“Much better,” David said, as casually as if they discussed the weather. “Now, you will listen and keep your mouth closed unless instructed to speak. Powell will break your arm if you fail to follow my direction. There, you see? It would seem you did come to play my game. You have threatened and disturbed my wife, and now interrupt my wedding night. Surely you can imagine how vexing such an inconvenience is, so I will make this brief. Randolph Hurst’s money and estate became Regina’s upon his death per the terms of his will. Out of the kindness of her heart, she offered you a generous stipend to live on, knowing that the late Mr. Hurst had been responsible for your upkeep. Perhaps she did it out of obligation rather than kindness, but the point is … the money was hers to do with as she pleased, and for reasons I cannot understand she chose to give a bit of it to you. However, all that money, all that land, everything your cousin owned … why, I do believe it belongs to me now. It’s mine to do with as I see fit.”
Tobias flinched and opened his mouth to speak, but his words died on a gurgle and a sharp, pained wail as Powell wrenched and twisted the arm. He fell
silent then, his pitiful, whining breaths the only sound emitting from him as he drooled into the carpet.
“Now, then,” David continued. “I am a generous man, and am more than willing to allow the Hurst estate to continue to provide your living at the yearly amount decided upon by my wife and her solicitor. I find it to be a fair sum, and more than a wastrel like you deserves. However, there are stipulations to my generosity. Would you like to hear them? Oh, and you may speak now.”
“Yes, damn you,” Tobias growled, one dark eye glowering at David from beneath his tousled hair.
“It’s quite simple, really. If you return to this house, or otherwise accost my wife in any way, I will cut you off without a farthing for the rest of your days. You see, Regina felt herself responsible for you because you were her relative by marriage. But you and I aren’t related, are we? Which means I have no interest in keeping you supplied with horseflesh, women, and liquor. So, I suggest you keep your distance and manage your funds better. Agreed?”
“Agreed!” Tobias spat, face now the color of a plum as he grunted and snorted his rage.
“Before you go, I would request that you apologize to my wife for the inconvenience you have caused her. Make it pretty.”
Tobias glowered at him, and for a moment David thought he wouldn’t comply. But, one squeeze of Powell’s hand at his wrist, and the man opened his mouth. “I beg your pardon for any offense I may have caused you in the past, cousin. You have my word it will not happen again.”
“Well done,” David murmured, turning to Regina. “Was that good enough, my dear, or would you like it a bit more poetic?”
Regina’s pinched lips and quivering shoulders hinted at her amusement, but she hid it well. “It will do, I suppose.”
“Very well. Oh, one more thing, Tobias. I have been generous, yet you don’t seem very grateful. A simple ‘thank you, Mr. Graham’ will do.”
“Thank you … Mr. Graham,” Tobias managed from behind clenched teeth.
At David’s nod, Powell let him up, clapping a hand on his shoulder and steering him toward the door.
Taming of the Rake (The Gentleman Courtesans Book 4) Page 24
