by Sadie Bosque
Blake grunted and rubbed his jaw. “I hadn’t thought about that. The ride through the park might not turn out as peaceful as I expected.”
“Probably not,” Annalise agreed. “But you are right. It will go a long way to dispel any unsavory gossip that might be going around about you. About us.”
At that moment, they passed through the park’s gates and turned toward the South Carriage Drive. The park was not packed yet, but there were carriages rolling in every minute. Soon there would be no place to swing a cat, much less for a carriage to pass.
Annalise spun her parasol anxiously in her hands and put on a bright smile. Her wayward husband was back home, and she needed to convey the impression of a radiant bride.
“Do you know,” Blake said conversationally as he slowed the barouche, “this is the exact spot where I decided you would be the lady I married.”
Annalise turned her round eyes on him. “Here?”
Blake nodded. “When we met for the first time during your come-out ball, I was intrigued by you. I wanted to see you again, but you know how that went.” He smirked. “I wasn’t exactly respectable, especially not in your father’s eyes.”
Annalise smiled. Her father was against the match from the start. He had said Blake wasn’t the gentleman ladies married; he was the gentleman ladies had affairs with. Annalise’s mood turned sour. Her father wasn’t wrong about that. It wasn’t until she threatened elopement and her mother was having conniptions that the baron finally gave them his blessing.
“And he was right,” Blake continued. Annalise looked up at him, startled. One side of his mouth kicked up in a smile. “When I came to see you that day, my intentions weren’t exactly honorable. I was looking for a dalliance.”
“You never told me that.”
Blake shook his head. “It wasn’t worth mentioning. That day, when I intercepted you here with Norfolk… I was certain you wouldn’t join me. I just came here to make myself known, to make my interest apparent. But you hopped out of Norfolk’s carriage without a second’s thought.” Blake’s face lit up in a radiant smile. “By the time your toes hit the ground, I was irrevocably in love.”
Annalise’s heart made a tiny leap. He’d never told her that either.
“And there”—Blake pointed to the right—“is the place where I kissed you for the first time. Such a scandalous lady you are.” He tsked and smiled at her.
The same smile she remembered from before, his eyes twinkling with merriment, softening the hard edges of his face. He turned the barouche slightly out of the way of the traffic and halted the vehicle.
“Would you mind repeating the experience?” He turned to her and offered his hand.
Annalise looked at his upturned palm, and laughter bubbled out of her. “You must be jesting.”
“I am utterly serious.”
“Well, I am a respectable matron now. I cannot go around kissing gentlemen in the woods now, can I?” Annalise raised a brow at him, her cheeks heating, her heart fluttering in excitement. Oh, how long it’d been since she spent an afternoon flirting with a man.
“If you don’t go with me now, I shall kiss you right here. In front of everyone.” To put words to action, Blake scooted closer to her on the seat.
“Blake, no. People are watching!” Annalise laughed and swatted at him playfully.
Blake caught her hand and slowly brought it to his lips. “If you insist on being proper,” he said against her glove. “I shall have to act wicked for both of us.”
He kissed her knuckles, her wrist, then moved higher up her arm. A tingly sensation ran up and down her spine. Her heartbeat accelerated, and she had to clench her thighs for an unknown ticklish feeling settled low in her belly.
“Payne!” A loud male voice interrupted Annalise’s frantic thoughts. Thank God!
Blake raised his head, winked at Annalise, and turned to the intruder. His face immediately blanched, and he froze. Annalise craned her neck to see who had startled her husband so. The sun was against them, so the gentleman’s face appeared shadowed. He moved, and she finally saw that it was Viscount St. John, Blake’s friend. He stopped by the side of their barouche on horseback.
“Jarvis,” Blake finally pushed past his lips.
“Lovely to see you out and about. Excellent choice for your first public appearance. Well, second, if we count Kensington’s betrothal ball, which we shan’t.” He finally turned toward Annalise and bowed. “My Lady. Lovely to see you.”
“Pleasure is all mine, I assure you.” Annalise gave him a tight smile and returned her gaze to her husband.
Blake was acting strangely. St. John was one of his best friends, and yet he was stony and tense. Perhaps he was just annoyed that he’d interrupted their flirtations, but Annalise suspected there was something more to it.
Blake was just about to say something when another barouche stopped beside them. An elderly couple tipped their heads toward Blake. “Payne! Welcome back to London. Do tell us, where have you been hiding all this time?”
Blake briefly turned a regretful smile toward Annalise, and she just smiled in return. The rest of the afternoon would be spent in a similar vein: greeting strangers, recounting the same stories over again.
No more flirtatious gazes, no more kisses.
Annalise was glad for the interruption. She told herself that even as her stomach dropped in disappointment.
Chapter 6
As Annalise left for her nuncheon the next day, Blake welcomed Townsend into his study. Townsend had come to collect the rest of his belongings. He was moving back to his mother’s townhouse until he found other lodgings for himself.
Blake didn’t know where he had spent the previous two nights, and he didn’t ask. He had offered his cousin a room here, so he didn’t have to move around a lot, but the young man refused, citing not wanting to disturb the privacy of a newly reunited couple.
Blake was glad for the answer. He was loath to have Townsend witness the actual state of the relationship between him and his wife.
However, while Townsend was in the house, it was a perfect opportunity to go through the ledgers. Blake needed help to make heads or tails of the current situation on his estates and with his finances. And it would also help Blake understand whether Townsend could be in any way responsible for Blake’s disappearance.
“I noticed you made a few changes to my staff,” Blake said, sitting across from his cousin. “For one, you’ve dismissed my solicitor, Portsmouth.”
“Among others, yes, that’s correct,” Townsend answered, unperturbed. “The man was skimming from you. He, the stewards, and the land managers all stole from you and divided the cut.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?” Blake frowned.
“I checked the ledgers. Apparently, they’ve been doing it for years.”
“For years?” Meaning they’ve been stealing from his late father as well.
“That’s right. And they felt they were untouchable. They thought they could get away with it unscathed.”
“And they would have. If it weren’t for my disappearance,” Blake grumbled.
“I am sure you would’ve eventually caught on,” Townsend said in an offhand manner.
“And I’m sure I wouldn’t,” Blake muttered under his breath.
If it wasn’t for his capture, he would have neglected his lands just like his father apparently had. Blake shook his head in wonder. He remembered how he had worshipped his father and wanted to be just like him. Now, remembering all his father’s teachings, all his father’s doings, he couldn’t understand why. All he saw was destruction. And Blake had been heading in the same direction. If he hadn’t got conked on the head one too many times by the bandits, he would have turned into his old man by now.
“You’ve done an excellent job,” Blake said to his cousin, still leafing through the ledgers. “I believe you’ve made more profit in a year than Father did in his entire life.”
“That’s because he didn’t make a
ny.” Townsend shrugged. “Look, Payne, I can help you with all this if you need. I care for the estate and the tenants, and I am not going to abandon them or you to an unknown fate. And that is why I am here.”
“But?” Blake raised his head and looked steadily into his cousin’s eyes.
“I am glad for your return, truly. I am happy you are healthy and ready to take on your responsibilities. However, I thought I was building a future for myself. Turns out, I wasn’t. And I worked hard and made sacrifices toward that future. So I’d like to get back to building my own life as well. Otherwise, I don’t have a chance of ever having a family of my own.”
“Do you have financial problems, then?” Blake cocked his head to the side. If Townsend was in trouble before he inherited Blake’s estates, it would definitely put him higher on his list of suspects.
“Yes,” Townsend croaked out. “After the death of my father, my mother and I were both dependent upon the generosity of the late Lord Payne. But as you can see, he didn’t have a lot to share.”
Blake bit the inside of his lip. Townsend blamed Blake’s father for his misfortunes, then. Perhaps even Blake.
“So, I took it upon myself to try and turn my leisure into labor,” Townsend continued. “I know your father was of the opinion that labor was for a lower class, but some of us couldn’t afford leisure. I painted, sold my art, acquired quite a collection from my earnings, and auctioned it off to make some profit, so I could do it all over again. But after I inherited the title, I put everything I had into this endeavor. I needed to succeed in this, to make this profitable, to make it so I could care for the people depending on me. And now that you are back, I am at a loss. Again. And I need to care for my mother and her seven cats.”
“Seven cats?” Blake frowned in incomprehension. What did cats have anything to do with it?
“Apologies, my mother’s cat bore six kittens last night. I am a bit shaken by the experience. Feral little things too. Now I not only have my family to worry about but this cat’s family. And since we don’t have many servants… But I digress. You don’t need kittens by any chance, do you?”
“No, I really don’t.”
“Too bad. I wouldn’t want to drown them, but I might have to. Or next year, we shall have eighteen of them. Apologies for veering off-topic. This was just fresh on my mind.”
Blake cleared his throat. “Yes. Well, I studied the books before your arrival, and I’ve noticed that you invested quite a large sum of money at the very beginning. That was how you managed to turn a profit. Where did you get the money from if you were in tight straits?”
Townsend shifted in his seat. “I sold my art collection. And my own paintings. Selling my own art was how I managed a living before. But as I inherited the Payne title, I couldn’t continue my art machinations, so I put it to better use.”
Blake nodded. “Townsend, I understand your predicament, believe me. And I am grateful that you’ve managed to make the Payne title profitable again, and I shall repay you for that. Gladly. Let us work out a deal. You help me get the hang of my newly found responsibilities. Help me keep up with your novelties and investments, and I shall buy your art collection back for you. I shall even invest in your future projects. It is what you’ve sacrificed for the estate; it is what you deserve.”
Townsend’s eyes widened. “You’d do that?”
“I’d do that.” Blake nodded. “It is just, after all, and I am all for finding justice.”
* * *
“Annalise, what a surprise!” Caroline called.
Annalise turned as Caroline entered the drawing room, held out both arms, and smiled. “I thought I wouldn’t see you for days, possibly weeks, now that your husband has returned.”
Caroline looked Annalise up and down as if searching for some sign of trouble. Well, she wouldn’t find it on her clothing. Annalise’s troubles consisted of her inner turmoil. But then, she’d never told Caroline about the true state of her marriage. She’d never told anyone aside from Lavinia, but the high society had a way of finding out. As an unmarried lady, however, Caroline was kept in the dark from the most unsavory gossip.
“I just wanted to see you and let you know not to worry about me,” Annalise said with a smile. “The last time you saw me, I was such a mess.” She shook her head.
“Come, let’s sit.” Caroline led her to a settee and sat next to her. “I ordered some sandwiches and tea. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I am starving.”
Annalise stifled a laugh. For a very lean and fit lady, Caroline ate a lot. Poor Lavinia always envied that. She ate almost as much, but she kept getting softer and rounder, while Caroline stayed the same.
“How are you, dear? How is your husband?”
“I am well. Not perfect, but as well as can be expected. Aren’t Lavinia and Olivia going to come too? It’s time for a nuncheon, isn’t it?” Annalise looked around for a clock but couldn’t find one in the large room.
“Lavinia sent a note with her apologies today. She said she came down with a cold.”
Annalise frowned. She doubted that what Lavinia had was a cold. She worried that her friend’s father was in one of his moods again. Since he’d remarried a few years ago, things had become better for Lavinia. Her stepmother, although not much older than Lavinia, seemed to have a way to draw attention away from her stepdaughter, but it didn’t always work.
“What about Olivia?”
“Oh, she should be here any minute. But you know Livvie, she’s probably going to be late,” Caroline said with a smile.
Ever since Annalise’s come-out, she, Caroline, and Olivia quickly became friends. They were all extremely different, but that’s what made their meetings interesting. Lavinia had turned the trio into a quartet a year later. And even though Annalise was the only married lady of the four, they still had a lot more in common than Annalise would have thought.
“It’s good that you are here, though,” Caroline continued. “It gets quite boring.”
“How is your uncle?” Annalise asked.
The ladies started a new tradition of visiting Caroline every week for nuncheon, because Caroline’s uncle, the man who raised her, had become quite a recluse lately. Ever since then, Caroline, a social butterfly, was stuck in the house most of the time.
Caroline was an outgoing and lively young lady, and Annalise couldn’t fathom how being stuck at home like this affected her spirit with no one to talk to but the servants and her elderly uncle. The only entertainment for Caroline now was the rare balls that her uncle, the marquess, attended or hosted. Annalise felt lucky that the old man had even agreed to attend her betrothal ball. Without Caroline, she would’ve fallen apart even more.
“He is well. But he found a new activity—hounding me to get married.”
Annalise blinked. An unusual request from a man who never let his niece out of the house these days. How was she supposed to find a husband? She knew Caroline’s views on marriage, though. This was something she’d avoided wholeheartedly since her come-out.
“And you still don’t want to?” she asked carefully.
“I don’t see the reason to. I am well provided for by my uncle. And even in case of his eventual demise, I am to inherit a fortune. I don’t see the need to give my husband my entire fortune, the lands, and my freedom. I can take care of myself.”
“What about children?” Analise frowned. The thought of never having children of her own frightened her to death.
“I don’t want children. Being all round and heavy for most of the year, then giving birth, then…” She paused and grimaced. “God knows what comes then, but I don’t think it’s pleasant. And then you have to do it again and again until your husband has an heir and a spare and possibly one more. And if you have daughters, it’s a never-ending cycle, unless, of course, you die and—” She stopped abruptly as she raised her head to Annalise’s face and finally saw her grimace. “Oh, my apologies. I know you want children, and it’s probably not a terrifying notion to
you. But I have always feared the unknown.”
Annalise gave her friend a look that said that she wasn’t fooled for a moment.
“All right, maybe I am not afraid of the unknown, but I am afraid of being split apart as the babe comes out of my—” She clamped her lips shut. “Anyway,” she continued in a more composed tone of voice, and Annalise shouted with laughter.
“Oh, Caro, you lift my mood with your peculiarities.”
“It’s not a peculiarity,” she said defensively. “Why women want to experience such a thing is beyond me.” She shuddered theatrically.
“Children are a blessing.”
“To you, maybe.” Caroline raised a brow slightly. “But not to their nurse who has to listen to their constant whining and crying, has to feed them, bathe them… Do you know they can’t even sit up until they are about—I don’t know, maybe a year old.”
Annalise laughed again. “That is not true. You clearly have not spent any time with children. And how do you know about shouting and crying and everything else you described?”
“Mrs. Pelham told me.”
“Your chaperone?” Annalise widened her eyes.
Caroline’s chaperone, a proper little old spinster, never seemed to talk, much less scare a young lady with such gruesome details.
“Her sister has eight children. I believe that was the reason Mrs. Pelham herself doesn’t have any, although she’d never admit it. She actually tells the stories of the mayhem at her sister’s house as if it’s a blessing.”
Annalise bit back a smile. “I shall wait for Olivia to join me so we can describe the merits of motherhood together.”
“How would either of you know?” Caroline asked in an offhand manner. “You don’t have children, and Olivia is not even married!”
Annalise’s heart squeezed at her words, and she decided to change the subject. “You were saying your uncle wants you to marry?”
“Yes, he’s become a little… paranoid. He is sure that he will be gone soon, and I shall be left all alone in this world, without protection. He is shoving one suitor after another at me. Even went so far as to draft a betrothal contract! I keep telling him I don’t need protection; I have my inheritance.” She shrugged nonchalantly, but Annalise knew that thinking of her uncle’s inevitable demise wasn’t easy for Caroline.
