She gasped and turned back to her brother. “You gave him those ridiculous options?”
“You ran off with him when I forbade it,” her brother said.
“I was twenty-one. I didn’t need your permission to marry him,” she shot back. “You can’t control what I do, Basil. My life is my own, and I’ll do whatever I want with it.”
“You made a foolish decision.”
“No, I didn’t. I made a good one. It just happened to be one you didn’t want me to make. So now you’re punishing Nick for it. You’re an incredibly selfish person, Basil. You think everything is about you. You use people. The only person you care about is yourself, and you expect the rest of us to do your bidding. Well, life doesn’t always go the way you want.” She glanced at Nick. “Did you already pay him the four hundred and twenty-seven pounds?”
Nick nodded.
Satisfied, she turned back to her brother. “He doesn’t owe you anything else. In fact,” she pointed at him, “you owe him a maid’s wages for all of the work he’s done.”
Basil scoffed. “I’m not paying him anything, and you can’t make me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. So that was the game he wanted to play, was it? “All right. Have it your way. Don’t pay him. If you choose that option, then I might let it slip that you do your sneaky little business deals under the name Evermont. Thanks to last night, I have a cordial relationship with Lord and Lady Cadwalader. I don’t mind letting them know how you’re treating one of the most respected dukes in London.”
“As his creditor, I can send this,” he gestured to Nick, “so-called respected duke to debtor’s prison.”
“Not without upsetting many of the influential members of the Ton. Even you, Basil, are vulnerable to the whims of the Ton. Do you really want to incur their wrath?”
Her brother fidgeted from one foot to the other, gritting his teeth as he was probably trying to figure out a way to win, but she knew he was backed into a corner. If there was one thing her brother wanted, it was the Ton’s approval, and even as underhanded as he was, he wasn’t willing to lose it. Unlike Lady Eloise, he wasn’t foolish.
“I’ll release him from paying anything else,” Basil finally conceded, “but I’m not going to pay him for doing some cleaning around here. He deserved that for running off with you to Gretna Green.”
“It was my idea to go to Gretna Green,” she said. “I’m amazed by how stupid you think I am. I never once blindly did anything I didn’t want to do. I married Nick, and I don’t regret it.”
Especially now that she knew Nick hadn’t been sneaking off to visit another lady. He’d been coming here because her brother’s pride was wounded, and he was seeking a way to make Nick suffer for it.
She took a deep breath and released it. Finally, some of her anger was starting to leave. “You’re a miserable person, Basil. I feel sorry for you. You think that getting everyone to bow down to you and do whatever you want is going to make you happy. But in the end, you’re going to be all alone.” She turned to Nick. “Let’s go home.”
She wasn’t going to get anything from her brother. He wasn’t going to reimburse Nick for making him work like a maid. Her brother was too proud. She knew when it was pointless to keep fighting a losing battle. At least she found out Nick wasn’t being unfaithful to her. That in itself was better than any proper restitution her brother might have granted them.
Nick followed her out of the drawing room. The footman hurried to the door and helped Nick into his coat. She wondered if the footman had overheard the whole thing. The servants had always been good about keeping quiet on private matters, but sometimes she couldn’t tell what they’d overheard or not.
In this case, the footman gave her a smile and a wink, and she knew he had, indeed, heard everything. And what was more, he had taken her side in the whole matter. She returned his smile then joined Nick as he left the townhouse.
Nick waited until they were walking down the sidewalk before he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth. Your brother said he’d send me to debtor’s prison if I did, and I didn’t want to live the rest of my life without you.”
She looked up at him in surprise. “You were lying because you didn’t want to live without me?” She’d thought it was because he was afraid of her brother.
“I enjoy being with you. Ever since we left for Gretna Green, my life has been so much better. I would do anything if it means we could be together.”
Her face warmed in pleasure, and she felt the rest of her anger disappear. She slipped her arm around his. “Does that mean you won’t be taking any ladies to your bed in the future?”
“I’d never taken any ladies to bed before we married. I see no reason why I would start now.”
“You didn’t… You haven’t been with anyone but me?”
He stopped and turned to face her. “I thought you knew that.”
“No. You seemed to know exactly what you were doing.” Then, remembering they were still outside, she glanced around them, relieved when she didn’t see anyone nearby.
“I’m good at learning by reading books,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I acquired a book on the subject of intimate matters, and I studied it before we got married.”
He had? She laughed and hugged him. So that was his secret. She would never have guessed it in a million years.
“The book promised if I did what it said, then you’d be happy in bed,” he said. “Also, I didn’t want you to think I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“I never would have guessed you’d only been with me. I’m glad for it, though. Nick, I would rather have you be mediocre in bed and have you all to myself than have you be terrific because you had experience with other ladies.”
He frowned. “You just said I seemed to know what I was doing. That means I’m not mediocre, right?”
She laughed again. “There’s nothing mediocre about the way you make love to me. I was only making a point. I don’t want to share you with anyone.”
“I couldn’t ever be with anyone else. I love you.”
On impulse, she kissed him. “I love you, too.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “And much more now that I know you’re faithful to me.”
He smiled but then glanced around them. “We should probably wait until we’re home before continuing this.” Then, as if he had to make sure, he added, “We will continue this, won’t we?”
“Yes. You’re welcome to my bed. Always and forever.” Recalling something else, she continued, “Nick, remember that night I told you I was having the lady’s time of month?”
“Yes.”
“I lied,” she admitted. “I was so hurt because I thought you had just come from another lady’s bed that I couldn’t be with you that way.”
“That’s understandable.”
“There’s more. The truth is, I’m expecting a child. I won’t be having my lady’s time until August after the baby is born.”
“You’re expecting a child? Already?”
She assured him she was, and he kissed her to express his excitement that she was pregnant.
Once again, mindful that they were still outside, Tara ended the kiss and glanced around, again relieved that no one was around. “Let’s continue this at home.”
He put his hand on her elbow, gave it a gentle squeeze, and then walked her home.
***
When Tara woke up the next morning, there was the absence of heartache that had been her companion over the past few days. It was such a relief to find out she’d been wrong, that Nick hadn’t been running off to spend time with another lady. Instead, her brother had been taking advantage of him. Nick’s motives were to pacify her brother in order to let her keep the rest of her dowry and to stay with her. She mattered to him. He loved her. And only her.
She was currently snuggled up against Nick, and he had his arm around her shoulders. She opened her eyes. Judging by the amount of sunlight coming in through th
e slight part in the drapes, she realized she’d slept in later than she usually did. If she guessed right, it was around nine. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d slept in so late.
She started to get up, but Nick pulled her closer to him. She looked over at him, surprised he was already awake. As of late, he had slept in until after noon. At one point, he hadn’t gone downstairs until around two.
“I thought you were going to sleep in until noon,” she told him before giving him a kiss.
“I slept better last night than I have in a long time,” he replied, giving her a smile that made her heart leap in excitement. “I had a hard time sleeping without you next to me.”
“You did?”
He nodded and squeezed her shoulders. “I got used to sharing a bed with you. I’m glad you let me in here again.”
“If I’d known what was going on, I wouldn’t have forbidden you to come to me.”
“I know. It was my own fault. I should have told you the truth. I should have known that you’d know how to handle your brother.”
She put two fingers over his lips to stop him. “None of it matters now. My brother knows he won’t be able to get away with meddling in our lives in the future. That’s the important thing.”
“One thing I like most about you is that you’re practical. You see things as they are. You don’t try to hide from them. You confront them head on. Believe it or not, you’re braver than some gentlemen I know.”
“I am?”
“Some gentlemen hide from the truth. They pretend it doesn’t exist.” After a moment, he continued, “My father refused to see that the decisions he was making only made his financial situation worse. He couldn’t admit the truth. In the end, I think he died early because his heart couldn’t take the pressure, and my mother and sisters were almost destitute. I didn’t worry so much for me as I did for them. If I’d gone to debtor’s prison, there wasn’t anyone who could have provided for them.” Nick sighed. “I should have known that you would be able to handle your brother. You’re a very intelligent and capable lady. You’re nothing like my father, and I like that most about you.”
“There’s nothing we can’t handle together.”
“I’ll remember that in the future. I promise.”
She smiled. “I’m just glad I’m the only lady in your life.”
“You are. There will never be anyone else.”
She brought her mouth to his and kissed him. With a moan, he pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss. Even though they’d made love twice the night before, she wanted to lose herself in the bliss of making love to him once more. Lovemaking was different when a lady knew her husband loved her. She’d gotten enjoyment from being in bed with him since their wedding night, but it was much better now because she was secure in knowing she was his one and only lover. She wanted to experience that connection with him again before they had to get up for the day.
To her delight, he proceeded to make love to her. She’d already received an orgasm from the previous night. The first one came almost as soon as he’d started touching her, probably because it’d been so long since they’d last been together. But she’d enjoyed a slower build up to the second one, and he’d been in no hurry during that round of lovemaking. He wasn’t in any hurry this time, either, but her body was already satisfied. So, though she wasn’t going to have an orgasm this time, she still got pleasure from being with him, knowing that as he made love to her, she was the only one he was thinking about.
After they were done, he spent more time just holding her and talking to her. She couldn’t recall a time she’d been happier, and, deep down, she knew that things would only get better from here.
Epilogue
A Year Later
“I have good news,” Mr. Reed told Nick as Nick and Tara went into his drawing room. “Your investment is still earning a nice profit.” He stopped at the desk and gestured for them to sit. Once they did, he sat across from them and opened his ledger. “You earned a crown over the past two months.”
Nick glanced at Tara, wondering if this pleased her, and by the way she nodded, he was assured it did. It’d become their habit that he would speak on her behalf when it came to investing. He couldn’t blame her. Few gentlemen wanted to deal with the wives. So he and Tara would discuss what she wanted him to tell the gentlemen on her behalf.
The gentlemen would probably laugh if they realized she was the one really behind the investing. It was a shame such was the case. Nick was constantly impressed with Tara’s knowledge on the topic. It seemed that her conversations with Lady Steinbeck had been a great benefit to her. Nick had learned some things from Lord Steinbeck, but he wasn’t as interested in the topic so his mind had a tendency to wander. He did, however, make sure he paid careful attention during meetings with gentlemen like Mr. Reed. He wanted to be sure he did things exactly the way Tara wanted.
“Considering the amount of money you are investing,” Mr. Reed continued, “I think you could stand to make a much better profit if you put your money in other ventures. The things you have right now are safe and will yield good profits, but those profits will only be small amounts. If you were to take that money and put it into something with a little more risk, you’d make more. For example,” he handed Nick a paper listing different companies and the profits they’d made during the year, “if you had picked any of these, you would have made at least a pound instead of a crown. That would have doubled your profit.”
Nick held the paper at an angle so Tara could see it. He waited for her to look it over before he glanced at her hand, which was on the arm of the chair. She tapped two fingers on the arm. Tapping two fingers meant no. Tapping one finger meant yes. They had worked out the secret code so as to be subtle, and it worked smoothly.
“I appreciate the information,” Nick replied as he gave the paper back to Mr. Reed, “but I’ll keep the money where it currently is.”
“I thought you might say that,” Mr. Reed replied. “I had to mention it in case you were interested. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t let you know other options were available.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.”
Tara did, too, though he decided not to add that. Tara didn’t like risky ventures. She liked to keep things safe. She wanted to make sure she never lost any of the money she put into any investment, and after all he’d gone through, he happened to agree with her.
Instead of trying for the risky investments, she preferred to keep their expenses down, which was fine with him since he, his mother, and his sisters had been doing that all along. They had only hired a couple of servants, but they still did enough themselves. The latest decision Tara had made involved their four-month-old son, George. She decided she didn’t want a nanny for him, and his mother and sisters were more than happy to take care of him whenever Tara had to go somewhere, such as was the case today.
Once Nick and Tara were done at Mr. Reed’s, they took a stroll back home, and on the way there, they ran into Lord Edon, Mr. Robinson, and Lord Whitney who invited Nick to a card game the next evening. Nick only played cards with them two or three times a month, and it was nice to be able to say yes, knowing that Tara knew he’d actually be at a game. She had no problem supporting him any time he wanted to see his friends, but he preferred to spend most of his time with her.
When they got home, Nick’s mother and sisters were seated around George on the floor of the drawing room, trying to get him interested in the ball they were showing him.
Tara glanced at the clock above the fireplace mantle in the drawing room and shook her head. “You three are terrible,” she said, a chuckle in her voice. “He should be napping right now.”
Nick’s mother looked over at the clock, and her eyes grew wide. “I could have sworn it was eleven just five minutes ago.”
“It can’t be 1:20,” Cress argued. “I think the clock is too fast.”
“The clock is on time,” Nick replied and showed her his pocket watch since
she was the type who liked to see things in order to believe them.
“Well, I don’t know where the time went,” his mother said with a bewildered shake of her head.
“I do,” Augusta replied. “It went to this darling baby.” She picked up the ball and showed it to George who turned to Tara, his arms up. “How do you like that? As soon as his mother returns, he forgets all about his aunts and grandmother.”
The others chuckled as Tara picked him up. He yawned and settled his head on her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t feel left out if I were you,” Nick told his younger sister. “He’s tired. He knows Tara will put him down so he can get some sleep. You three probably didn’t let him rest at all.”
“They’re only young once,” Nick’s mother said. “Before you know it, Cress and Augusta will be married and living with their husbands. It might not seem like it now to you, but you’ll blink and George will be all grown up. The time doesn’t last long enough.”
“Which is why we’ll have more children,” Tara assured her. “And, after Cress and Augusta marry, they’ll have children. You’ll be surrounded by so many grandchildren, you won’t know what to do.”
Nick’s mother chuckled as Nick helped her stand up. “I’ll be more than delighted to be surrounded by a lot of grandchildren,” his mother told her. “You have nothing to worry about there. I love all the time I get to spend with George. It reminds me of how much fun my own children were when they were little.”
“You still like to spend time with us, don’t you?” Augusta asked.
“Of course, I do,” Nick’s mother replied. “But now you, Nick, and Cress know that I’m not an expert on everything.” She gave Tara a pointed look. “It’s nice when others think you know it all.”
Tara laughed. “You’re a very sweet lady who puts others first. It doesn’t matter if people know you aren’t perfect. Besides, no one is perfect.”
“She’s right,” Cress agreed. “In the end, what people most remember is how you made them feel, and George is going to be one very loved little boy.”
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