She edged up and up, her fingers scrabbling to keep their purchase and her balance as she peered over the windowsill.
And there they were. Right there. Neither was looking her way, but she could see Tumberland’s expression, all stern and serious. No hint of the laughter she’d come to recognize.
Wariness swept over her as she watched this man, so dignified and so regal. So…unfamiliar.
He looked like a stranger, lounging back in his seat with that unreadable, hard expression. He looked…cold. Not like the man on the balcony at all.
That man had been her fantasy come to life, and this man…
This was the man her mother and father and sister were counting on to save them.
“Do you deny it?” Evil asked.
“That there has been some speculation about a match between me and Torrent’s daughter? I rarely comment on rumors and gossip, you ought to know that.”
Louisa glared at him through the window. That was all he had to say on the matter? Couldn’t he have just said No! I could never imagine a life with Margaret, not when I’m so incredibly besotted with her sister? Would that be asking for too much?
Evil laughed as if he’d made a joke. “Fair enough.”
Tumberland made to move. “If that is all—”
“You have not heard my offer yet,” Evil said.
Tumberland sank back into his seat, and once more, his expression told her nothing. “Offer?”
“Yes. You see, I recall what it’s like to be a young man with the world ahead of him.”
Louisa wrinkled her nose at the way he talked. So condescending.
Tumberland turned in her direction and she ducked.
“You are not that much older than me, surely,” Tumberland said. “No need to talk as though you are a grandfather.”
“Ha!” Evil’s laugh held no humor. “I have not even wed yet, myself. But I am older, and I remember what it was to be like you.”
“Oh yes?” Tumberland’s voice was mild but it still made Louisa shiver. There was a hint of danger there she’d never heard in his tone before. It made him sound terribly fierce and magnificently masculine.
If her family and their financial distress weren’t currently the topic at hand she might very well have swooned.
“A man like you must hate the idea of being saddled with a wife just to get the property that he deserves.”
Saddled with a wife! Indignation on Margaret’s behalf swept over her. She might not know the particulars, but certainly no one was trying to saddle Margaret on anyone. They’d seemed to make a good match, that was all. Defensiveness on her father and her sister’s behalf had her justifying the union in her own mind, and that was disconcerting.
She scowled at the brick as she waited for Tumberland’s response. Say something, she willed. Say anything. Defend my family!
The silence that followed was resounding. She gaped up at the window until she could take it no more and then she inched her way up again to see Tumberland leaning forward, his expression thoughtful.
“What exactly do you have in mind?”
Evil chuckled and reached for a snifter. “Ah, I see you’re starting to understand.”
“It’s clear you have some agenda here,” Tumberland said evenly. “Why not show your hand so I may return to your party? I’m afraid I’ve kept some guests waiting for a dance.”
“Of course,” Evil said mildly. “I wouldn’t want to keep you. I just thought you should be aware of a better offer.”
“For the land or the girl?”
She hissed in disbelief at the callous way he was talking about her sister, as if she was just another piece of property to buy and sell.
Evil laughed again. “I’m talking about an option in which you get the land without tying yourself to that family, which, let us face it—is certainly only going to drag you down with their debts.”
“But they own the land,” Tumberland said, accepting the glass of brandy that Evil handed over.
Louisa caught the friendly gesture as she peeked over once more.
“Torrent won’t own it for long,” Evil said. Even from this angle Louisa could see his smirk. “That land, along with one of his more valuable London properties will be in my hands shortly.”
“If he cannot make a payment,” Tumberland added.
Louisa’s mouth went dry and a flash of fear had her scrambling to keep her footing as her feet slid beneath her.
Her father—her poor father. How bad had their situation gotten? How dire were their straits?
She bit her lip as tears stung her eyes but she forced herself to focus.
“Precisely,” Evil was saying. “In the very near future I expect to own most of Torrent’s properties and his income.” He said this as if it were a brag, as if this was something to be proud of. “If you just give it some time—make no commitments one way or the other, I can promise you I will make it worth your while.”
“And how is that?”
Evil’s laugh held a note of triumph that made Louisa’s stomach turn.
“I will give you a far better price for the land, and—” He leaned forward. “There would be no strings attached in terms of a wife.”
Louisa tried to swallow but her throat was dry. Tumberland’s expression was utterly unreadable and his silence was terrifying.
How could he not be raging against this man? Why would he not be defending her family? Could he not see how manipulative and backhanded Lord Everley was being?
Finally, Tumberland came to stand, and Louisa scrabbled with her hold all over again to keep both men in her sights, ready to duck back down at a moment’s notice.
“That is quite the offer, Everley,” he said, his voice so smooth and unperturbed, like they’d just been discussing the weather and not her family and their financial downfall.
Turn back, she mentally shouted at Tumberland as he headed toward the door. Do not let him get away with this. Put him in his place.
“Well?” Evil sounded almost as impatient as she felt as they both watched Tumberland walk away, like he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Well, what?”
“Will you consider my offer?” Lord Evil fairly snapped with impatience now. Clearly he was not used to dealing with men who did not cower before him.
And Tumberland most certainly did not cower. She’d be proud of him if she weren’t so terribly eager to hear what he might say.
“I’m not certain there is anything to consider, Everley.” He stopped and turned and for one terrifying second she thought he looked right at her through the window. But then his gaze was fixed on Everley and she let out a breath. “It seems you have received some faulty information.”
“Is that right?” Everley asked, sounding amused. “So you are not interested in the property? Or perhaps you’ve developed deep feelings for the lovely, insipid Miss Torrent.”
Louisa had to fight the urge to leap through the window and slap the man for speaking about Margaret that way and in such a disdainful tone.
“I’d be careful how you speak about the Torrent family, Everley. They are soon to be my family, too.”
Louisa’s mouth hung open and even Everly seemed stunned for a moment. “Does that mean…you and Margaret?”
“That is exactly what I mean.” Tumberland glared at the man as he reached for the door. “Expect to receive payments from Torrent shortly, Everley. Because I have every intention of marrying his daughter.”
Margaret. They were talking about Margaret.
He was going to marry Margaret!
Louisa’s heart fell into her stomach and for a moment she forgot where she was—just long enough to lose her grip and her balance and to topple backwards with a squeak and an oof.
Chapter Twelve
Lawrence was going to kill her.
First he would kiss her, then he would hold her close, and then he would throttle her.
He’d known she was out there from the start. Or at least, he’d suspe
cted when he heard scurrying outside the window. Luckily, Everley’s hearing didn’t seem to be as good.
“Did you hear something?” Everley asked now as Louisa’s red hair disappeared from view with a squeak.
“No,” he said. “But I’d like to get back to the others now, if you don’t mind.” He held the door open for Everley because there was no way he’d risk Everley going over to the window to investigate.
Everley discovering Louisa beneath his open window was hardly what that family needed.
“If you change your mind,” Everley started as they entered the hall.
“I won’t.”
The other man seemed to be at a loss for words, a pleasant sight after his insufferable smugness just moments ago.
“If you’ll excuse me, I must go.” I must go strangle my bride-to-be.
He left Everley in the billiard room with some gentlemen friends before rushing off.
It took him less than a minute to make his way outside and around the side of the house, just in time to see Louisa brushing dirt off her skirts as she came to stand.
“What on earth were you thinking?” he growled as he came upon her. “You could have been caught. You could have been ruined.”
Her eyes were impossibly wide and too dark for him to read in the shadows. Her voice, however—that was easy enough to decipher. It was filled with hurt and outrage as she said, “You’re going to marry her.”
“What?” he snapped. “Who?”
“You’re going to marry Margaret after you promised me you weren’t going to.” She sniffed and he realized with a dangerous tightness in his chest that she was crying.
Oh Lord, spare him from Louisa’s tears.
They did something to him. Something he hated. It made him feel desperate, which was likely why he went speechless. He gaped at her for a long moment before finally managing, “Are you daft?”
She blinked in surprise, but at least that was better than tears. “Pardon me?” she sniffed with affront.
He exhaled loudly as he reached for her, drawing her out of the dirt and back toward the lawn. “I asked to court you. I told you I have no interest in Margaret—”
“Yes, but you said—”
“I said I’d marry Torrent’s daughter, I didn’t say which one,” he said, his voice sharper than he’d intended.
“Oh.” She stopped walking. “Oh.”
He rolled his eyes heavenward. “Yes. Oh.”
“But he said—”
“Yes, well, Everley said a lot of things, not one of which were meant for your ears.” He turned to her with a meaningful glare.
She had the good grace to blush, at least, though she did not apologize for eavesdropping. “So, does that mean you intend…”
He stared at her. This could not be happening. He hadn’t expected an ordinary courtship with such an extraordinary girl, but even so, surely he was not about to have this conversation like…this.
She tilted her head to the side. “Does that mean you plan to marry me?”
Oh for the love of— “That is the plan, yes.”
Her mouth fell open as she gaped at him. Here, in the dark of night, beside the house of the man who’d love nothing more than to find some sort of leverage over him.
“Could this conversation wait until we’d ensured your reputation has not been utterly destroyed?” he asked.
She didn’t appear to hear him. “So when you said you wished to court me…” She blinked dazedly. “You were very serious.”
“Deadly serious.” He met her gaze evenly and for a heartbeat his irritation with her was tempered by tenderness. What on earth had her family done to her to make it so dashedly difficult for her to see her own worth?
“Why?”
Oh, for heaven’s sake. “Why what?”
“Why me? Why not Margaret?”
How was it possible to find her so very appealing while also so very irritating? Even so, he found that his affection won out, and he managed to ask mildly, “Haven’t we been over this already?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“I…” He heard a noise coming. A giggle and laugh. People moving in the shrubbery. Blast it all, if they did not move quickly they could be caught and then the lengthy, proper, perfect courtship he’d had planned would be replaced by a hasty, embarrassed shotgun wedding.
No, thank you. Not on his watch.
“Come along, Louisa,” he said quietly, tugging on her arm as he led her toward a side door.
“Please just tell me why—”
“I prefer you,” he growled, not even bothering to hide his irritation. “Now get in there.”
He shoved her inside the door none-too-gently before slamming it shut behind her.
In the silence that followed, he blinked up at the night sky.
Well, that had…not gone according to plan.
He straightened his cravat as he headed toward the sound of revelers in the garden. Since he’d kissed Louisa earlier, his head had been spinning with the romantic ways she deserved to be wooed, courted, and then proposed to.
And just like that he’d ruined them all.
I prefer you…
Yes, that was precisely the eloquent sonnet she deserved. He sighed and shook his head as he turned the corner and re-entered the fray. He’d certainly have to try and do better than that the next time he saw her if he stood any chance of making her fall for him the way he was losing his wits over her.
He snatched up a champagne glass and downed it in one go. He’d talk to her father first, and then, he’d set in place a plan of action.
Once she was thoroughly smitten, he would propose to her.
Again.
Though next time he’d do better. I prefer you.
Heaven knew he couldn’t do much worse.
Chapter Thirteen
Delilah’s nose was wrinkled delicately in distaste, like she’d just smelled something sour. “He said he prefers you?”
“Those exact words?” Prudence added.
Louisa nodded.
“How did he say it?” Addie asked.
Louisa sighed. “He sort of shouted it at me.”
“In a pleasant manner?” Prudence asked, confusion written all over her face.
Louisa shook her head. It hadn’t been pleasant at all. It might have been if she hadn’t been such a turkey. Eavesdropping and spying and then accusing him of lying about his intentions.
She picked at some lint on her skirt as she stewed in her own misery. If he hadn’t come to his sense about her earlier in the night, he must have realized it now. She wasn’t fit to be his wife, and definitely not adequate marchioness material.
“Well, that is…nice,” Addie said hesitantly.
Delilah wrinkled her brow at Addie in clear disbelief. “He said he preferred her. As if she was the least objectionable option. Hardly swoonworthy now is it?”
“But the things he said earlier on the balcony,” Prudence interrupted. “That was rather lovely.”
She hadn’t told them about the kiss. Not even Addie. The kiss was her secret. It wasn’t often she had a real fantasy to carry around with her and that kiss was one she cherished.
Every other moment of the evening, however, had been subject to an intense amount of scrutiny—by herself and her friends. Less than twenty-four hours had passed and a large portion of that had been spent rehashing his words.
“I still cannot believe you tried to eavesdrop outside Everley’s window,” Addie said with a sigh. Reggie in her lap laughed as though this news was a joke.
“I told you, I had to,” Louisa said.
Addie tilted her head to the side, her gaze filled with disbelief. “Did you, though?”
Louisa sniffed as she reached for a sugary treat from the box that Tolston had sent over for Addie. “I wish you would let that part go, already.”
“I wish you’d learned more while you were out there,” Prudence said.
They all turned to her in surprise an
d Prudence shrugged. “What? If she was risking her neck to find out something scandalous about Lord Everley, I wish she’d learnt more than what we could already have surmised.”
Louisa’s brows arched. “You knew that Everley held my father’s debts?”
“Do not be so crass.” Prudence shifted noisily. “I merely meant that your family’s financial troubles are not a secret—”
“They aren’t?”
Prudence’s answering look held a note of pity. “Everley’s involvement is interesting but not criminal.”
“Why, Prudence,” Delilah teased. “When did you become an expert on what is criminal?”
Prudence sniffed in that superior way of hers. “Do not be ridiculous. You all knew what I meant.”
“Indeed,” Addie said. “Although, knowing that he uses his power to manipulate and control, this could help the investigation.”
“See?” Louisa said brightly.
All three of the other ladies shot her a glare in return. It seemed even these three diverse women were all of one mind when it came to Louisa’s eavesdropping, and that was that she should not have done it.
Louisa was inclined to agree, if she were being honest.
Things between her and Tumberland had ended so nicely after that kiss.
That kiss.
Was it possible she was still swooning over a kiss?
Yes. She absolutely was. Her eyes fluttered shut as she allowed herself another moment to revel in the way he’d looked at her just before he’d closed his lips over hers…
“Did you hear me, Louisa?” Delilah asked.
Louisa’s eyes snapped open. “Uh…”
“I said you must be thrilled.” The way Delilah said it sounded less jubilant than inquisitive. The others were all giving her a similar look.
“To have a marquess who wishes to court you…” Prudence looked at her carefully. Almost warily. “That is rather…unexpected. Is it not?”
Oh drat. “You all don’t believe he means it either!”
“No, no,” Addie said quickly. “That’s not it at all.”
Louisa shook her head. “Of course you don’t. Why would he want me—?”
“Oh please,” Delilah said with a roll of her eyes. “Enough with that. I could very easily understand him wanting you. Preferring you even.” She gestured toward Louisa with one hand. “You might not resemble your sister, but you are beautiful in your own right.”
The School of Charm: Books 1-5 Page 25
