“And how will my partnering with her help? She’ll only gain false hope. I don’t want to increase her pain.” The idea of causing her pain was new to him. One couldn’t be blamed for where his affection lay—or didn’t lie—nor for any sort of decision made from the circumstances before them.
If only he was able to leave. That would solve the matter with no additional pain to either party. In theory, he could. He had made his appearance. He’d danced with a number of partners, too, but this one night he must remain until the last guest retired.
With the wedding early the next morning, he hoped that wouldn’t be too late into the night.
After he and Ringley went back inside, Markham glanced about the guests to see who he hadn’t danced with. Of course, his gaze landed on Mattie who was participating in the lively country dance with the son of a neighbor. She was smiling, her step light, but there was no joy about her. He knew her well enough to see what other’s might not.
Once more, he wanted to leave. Being in that room and dancing with everyone but her was subjecting her to more gossip than a single dance would. He waited until that set finished and she stood with Clara, then approached. “May I have the next dance?”
Clara’s eyes grew even rounder than her gaping mouth.
Surprise dashed across Mattie’s features before she replied politely, “Yes, of course.”
Somehow, he’d expected to see a different expression in her eyes, one more like happiness. He offered his arm. “Walk with me while we wait.”
They strolled side by side, but he was very aware of the people around them, so he was cautious to speak. “The bride-to-be and her groom are quite joyful tonight.”
“Lavinia has a horrible case of nerves, wanting everything to go smoothly tonight and tomorrow.”
“Because of that, I considered staying away tonight, but that wouldn’t look right.”
“Who cares how it appears? You would have broken your mother and Lavinia’s hearts.”
Much like he’d been told he was breaking Mattie’s, he silently added. “True, and we don’t want broken hearts at a wedding.”
They were on the opposite side of the room from the door outside, so he chose another escape. “Would you like a glass of punch? I think that room is quieter.”
“I would like that.”
He was correct in that the room had only a few people in it. He poured two cups and led Mattie to a table near the corner, where they took a seat. He glanced at her to read her expression, but she had her eyes trained on the cup in her lap. “Are you enjoying the dancing?”
“Of course.” She spoke softly, quite unusual for her.
“I’m glad. We’ll have our dance whenever you wish.”
She said nothing, the final clue he needed to indicate her mood. She was miserable.
“I’ve been scolded for my behavior by my sister and soon to be brother-in-law.”
When Mattie didn’t even look up, he continued. “I’ve treated you ill. I’m sorry for that.”
“You’ve treated me no differently than normal. Whatever others are saying, please don’t think it came from me.” Her gloved hands trembled where they rested on the table and he fought to not reach for them.
“I think we both know differently—not that the complaint came from you, but about my behavior. I enjoyed the other afternoon with you. And not simply because our scheme was successful in avoiding the others.”
“My mother spied us in the garden.”
“I suspected as much. If it had been my mother, she would have scolded me directly. Isn’t that what we wanted—to be seen behaving innocently and properly?”
“My parents don’t wish to scold you,” she said, “they hope to encourage you.”
He chuckled at the irony. “They’ve forgotten I’m the miscreant?”
“It would seem so. Or perhaps wicked behavior is much more palatable in a duke’s heir.”
“I’d never imagine your mother could think that way.”
“Nor I, but what else would explain her this week? After so many years of warning me to avoid you, she’s delighted at every moment we spend together.”
“I’m sorry to have put you in this situation. And I know I’m encouraging her by sitting here now, but I couldn’t let you continue to think I was avoiding you.”
“Of course not. You, as host, have many duties to attend to.”
That wasn’t what he meant, but he didn’t want to argue with her. She would never be a duty to him. He wanted to squeeze her hand and take away her sadness. Instead, he gulped some punch.
“Did—did Lavinia say something to you?” she asked.
He didn’t need to ask what she meant. Now he must decide whether to admit what he knew or lie to her, something he’d never allow himself to do. He cleared his throat before answering. “Yes.”
Mattie’s shoulders hunched as if she wanted to disappear within herself.
“I won’t embarrass you with statements of being honored or flattered by what she said about your feelings for me. It’s true, though. I couldn’t choose a better wife, if I planned to marry.”
Blast it, that was harsher than simply saying he was flattered. Now she had the right to ask why he didn’t plan to marry, given the fact he’d one day need an heir. It was better that he explain himself, but this was hardly the place to do it.
This was likely the only chance he’d have to do so, however, and he’d do anything to end Mattie’s pain. Keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard, he began.
“Do you recall my engagement?”
Now she looked up, her brow furled.
“I thought not. It was nearly eleven years ago. You might not have heard at the time since you and Lavinia were both young.” He momentarily lost his nerve and rose. He reached for her glass. “Let me refresh our drinks.”
He wished for something stronger than punch to steel his nerves. While he felt Mattie was a good friend, he rarely spoke of Lady Susan to anyone. He didn’t want their pity. Yet of all people, Mattie was least likely to pity him.
When he returned, he steeled himself to continue. “My parents and some good friends had a wish that their daughter Lady Susan and I would one day marry. In my case, my father insisted on it, but Lady Susan fell in love with another. On my eighteenth birthday, our engagement was announced. The next day, Lady Susan eloped.”
Stating the facts of the matter were much easier than admitting to the emotions. Admitting that he’d had feelings for Susan when they were really only friends. No one other than Georgie needed to know how he cared for her.
“How awful for you.”
“I recovered, but I have no intention of finding myself in that position again.”
“What position? Being forced to marry where there’s no love?” A slight bitterness had entered her tone.
He knew instantly she referred to herself. He didn’t love Mattie, but he was too fond of her to say so straight out. “I don’t know that I’m capable of love. I’d have to promise something I don’t know that I could fulfill.”
“I see.”
“If only my mother would.” He finished the second cup of punch. “She’s fond of you, you know.”
“Yes, she’d always been very good to me.”
“I believe she’d be as happy as your mother if we cared for each other.” Blast again! He couldn’t prevent himself of making matters worse. “Shall we go back with the others? I fear the longer I sit here rambling, the worse you’ll think of me.”
If what his sister and Ringley said was true, Mattie couldn’t possibly think worse of him, but at least he’d tried to ease her pain.
Chapter 6
Standing at the front of the church beside Lavinia the next morning, Mattie’s hands were shaking almost as badly as the bride’s were. Her excitement for her friend was boundless.
Ringley looked like a cornered mouse being held entranced by the wicked cat—Markham.
Markham, on the other hand, appeared happy and
sad all at once, as though he realized his life would change now that his sister had a new man to champion her. The idea warmed Mattie and was perfectly in character with the man she knew him to be.
After signing the registry, husband and wife left arm-in-arm, and Mattie fell in step next to Markham. For a moment, her thoughts drifted to imagining they were the newlyweds, but she quickly staunched that foolish notion before the pain truth could invade her dreams.
She rode back to Stanhope Abbey in one of the duke’s brougham carriages with Markham, which made it even more difficult not to pretend he loved her. But he’d said quite plainly that he didn’t. It was time for her to grow up and forget about kissing him, or anything more.
Thankfully there were enough guests at the wedding breakfast that Mattie couldn’t spare a moment’s thought on the marquess. She sat with Clara and Selena at a small table covered in white linen, with a bouquet of pink roses as a centerpiece. In between bouts of laughter, Lavinia walked up with a young woman beside her.
“Girls—”
“Yes, Lady Ringley?” Clara said, smiling widely at the use of Lavinia’s married name.
They all laughed.
“This is my friend from London, Miss Charlotte Harrow. Do let her sit with you.”
“Of course,” Selena said, waving at a footman to bring another chair.
“Have you been friends long?” Mattie asked.
“We met—” Charlotte began.
“I’ve known—” Lavinia said over her. After another round of laughter, Lavinia said, “I can see she’ll be quite comfortable with you. I must return to Ringley.”
Charlotte answered the question as she allowed the footman to scoot her chair closer to the table. “We met several years ago in Town at a speech given by a paleontologist.”
Selena’s eyes widened. “I had no idea she had any interest in that.”
“I believe she was more interested in the young scientist who was an assistant to the speaker.” Charlotte grinned. “I’ve never heard her mention fossils again.”
“You live in Town year ’round?” Mattie asked.
“I do. My father’s a barrister.”
Clara looked shocked at the idea. “Don’t you go mad during the winter when everyone is at their country homes?”
“I still have friends to visit in Town. It’s no different to the entertainment you find in the country. You each should come stay a while with me. I’ll show you all the places you miss during the Season and introduce you to my friends.”
“That would be delightful,” Mattie said. “I’ll be so very bored until the spring.”
“The Season just ended,” Selena pointed out.
“And already I’m looking forward to next year.”
Clara leaned close to Charlotte and kept her voice down. “Mattie has suffered a great disappointment and needs the company of new gentlemen.”
Gasping, Mattie whispered harshly. “I did no such thing. Please don’t pity me, Charlotte, or listen to anything these girls say about me. May I write you when I return home and discuss plans with you?”
“I look forward to it,” Charlotte said, and the conversation moved on to other things.
By going to London, Mattie hoped she’d finally find herself in the company of people who knew nothing of her situation with Markham. They didn’t really have a situation, she reminded herself, but Clara’s mention of it said otherwise. As long as people discussed them in the same sentence, Mattie must avoid the company of people she knew.
The last of the guests at Stanhope Abbey left three days after the wedding, and Markham was finally free to return to London. Although he spent little time in their company, Mother insisted he be there as long as their friends stayed.
In addition to the usual business that took him to Town, he wanted to resume his efforts to prove Sir Rollo was a cheat. With Ringley busy setting up house, Markham would call on his friend the Duke of Thornton. Thorny might have ideas that hadn’t occurred to him.
The morning after he arrived in Town, Markham called on Thorny at his home in Mayfair. After filling the duke in with the details of the wedding, and pointedly skipping any pertaining to him and Mattie, he focused on the true reason for his call.
“Ringley made me aware of a man, Sir Rollo Walford, who wins uncommonly often at the gaming hells. Do you know him?”
“He was pointed out to me once, with a suggestion I never play against him. What does Ringley know?”
“We played Vingt-et-un against him. He wins more than odds allow, whether he’s banker or not.”
“That’s curious. He must be using several methods. Why do you mention him?”
“I promised Ringley I’d have the man banned from the clubs. It seems Sir Rollo left a friend of his with pockets to let.”
“How do you plan to go about it, and how does it involve me?” the duke asked.
“I need a compatriot. Catching him counting cards might be easy enough, but it’s unprovable. I suspect he also shorts the bank when he sells it to another player. If there are two of us buying the bank and actually counting it each time, we can catch him.”
“A recount after several hands would be hard to show a shortage in, unless one wrote down each win for the bank. You don’t think he’ll question your note-taking?”
“I plan to do the addition in my head.”
“All those plays…you can keep track from one change of banker to the next?”
Markham nodded. “What I need is a second man to take some of the action away from Sir Rollo and anyone working with him. Additional pontoons will improve the odds of taking over as banker and being able to count the money.”
“I understand. When do you plan to begin?”
“Tonight, if you’re free. The sooner I accomplish this, the sooner I can enjoy my own pursuits again.”
“Very well. Where will he be?”
“I’m not certain. Shall we meet outside White’s and see where the evening takes us?”
“Excellent. I’ll see you there.”
The trip to London in her father’s carriage was terribly tiring, but Mattie’s energy returned when she arrived at Charlotte’s home.
Charlotte rushed out the door to greet her on the front steps. “I’m so pleased you’ve taken my offer. I told Lady Adam St. Peters of your coming and she invited us to dine this evening. Is that too soon? Should I suggest we plan another night?”
Following her inside, Mattie removed her hat and gloves. “Tonight will be fine. I’m excited to meet your friends.”
“Excellent. I’ll send word right away.”
After a short nap, Mattie had her maid restyle her hair for evening, and then help her decide what to wear. She hadn’t asked Charlotte who else they might meet, so she wasn’t sure how formally to dress. Lord Adam was a duke’s son, Charlotte had informed her, so Mattie used that as her guide in choosing a pale yellow gown with lace at the hem.
While Mattie sat as still as possible so her maid could style her hair, Charlotte—already dressed, her hair simply styled—began to tell her all about her friends.
“Lord Adam and Mary Jane—Lady Adam, I should say—are brother and sister-in-law to the Duke of Thornton, and they have another close friend, the Duke of Noblegreen. Both men are unmarried.”
“You don’t believe I came here solely to find a husband, do you?”
“Why else would you come? Oh, I don’t mean to suggest you are taking advantage of my friendship, but if a lady can’t introduce her friends to the gentlemen of her acquaintance, she’s not much of a friend, I say. Especially if those gentlemen are nobility. My grandfather was an earl and I spend much time with my Lumley cousins, the children of the present Earl of Bridgethorpe, so you’ll find them all suitable prospects.”
Mattie laughed, then cringed when a hairpin scraped her scalp. “Ouch. Charlotte, I do think we’ll be the best of friends. If you ever choose to marry, I’ll be happy to help you find a husband.”
“I see Lavinia tol
d you much about me.”
“Not too much,” Mattie admitted. “Only that you prefer political meetings to balls. It can’t be true. Those meetings are so dull!”
“And I find it dull standing among strangers who have nothing to say beyond how lovely the weather is.”
When her maid set down the hairbrush, Mattie rose. “I see your point. I enjoy the challenge of discovering who I can encourage to dance with me. I rarely have intelligent conversation, unless someone like Lord Markham is there.”
“He’s a handsome one, isn’t he? Those fine eyes and gentle smile. Lavinia mentioned he was returning to London. Is he the reason you’re here?”
Mattie was shocked, both that Markham had come here, and that Charlotte would presume such a thing. “That’s twice you’ve suggested I’m only here to meet men. I thought you honestly wanted me to come.”
Charlotte shook her head, her gaze downcast. “Forgive me. I’m quite blunt in my manner and have been told I’m off-putting. I look forward to a long friendship with you, but we must have some challenge before us to keep the visit entertaining. Now, was I right? Do you care for Lord Markham?”
“May I tell you while we’re in the carriage? If I begin now, we might never reach your friends’ home.”
Chapter 7
On the ride to Lord Adam’s home, Mattie gave her new friend the abbreviated version of the recent events involving Markham, which took them right to the door of the town house they’d been invited to. Not dissimilar to her father’s town house, this was in an area more in demand, with a parkland in the lot down the road.
Lady Adam St. Peters greeted Mattie with a hug. “Call me Mary Jane, please. A friend to Charlotte is most certainly a friend to me.”
“As I told you, Mattie, she’s quite excited to meet you,” Charlotte said.
“I’m an old married woman now,” Mary Jane said with a self-mocking laugh. “I no longer attend the majority of assemblies, so I don’t meet as many new people as I wish. I’m always happy to make a new friend.”
When a Rogue Falls Page 55
