Cavern of Pleasures Trio

by Brown, Em

  Her stomach twisted, but she forced a nonchalant shrug as she turned to him. “Now you know.”

  His gaze narrowed at her. “I see. I was mistaken about our time at the inn, then.”

  She raised her brows. “Your pardon? What is there to mistake?”

  A muscle rippled along his jaw. He stepped towards her.

  “Though I did fear that you would repent our time,” he continued.

  “Nay, I do not repent it,” she said with forced gaiety, “but what more needs to be addressed? We amused ourselves, you and I, but one could hardly expect the affair to continue?”

  He was still advancing towards her, so she turned to leave, but his arm blocked her path, trapping her between the bookcase and his body.

  “Amused ourselves?” he echoed. “Is that how you see our time together?”

  Her heart thumped furiously. “La, sir, how else would one see it? You of all people should understand.”

  “It meant more to me than mere amusement.”

  Gertie shut her eyes. If she looked into his gaze, her armor would crack and she would find herself a crumpled heap at his feet.

  His statement hurt more than anything. It was the last thing she wanted to hear him say. She would have done better had he confessed that he had taken her to bed in error.

  “Gertie...”

  She felt her legs tremble beneath her at the caress of her name.

  He leaned in towards her. “I counted the days until we would meet.”

  Her eyes flew open. “I am a married woman.”

  “That did not stop you at the inn.”

  “Things have changed.”

  He straightened, and she took that opportunity to escape from him. She leaned over the writing desk for support.

  “You have had a change of heart,” he noted.

  She nodded. He grasped both her arms and turned her to him.

  “I don’t believe it,” he said.

  “You may—you may disbelieve all you wish. It does not change my situation.”

  His nearness consumed the breathable air about her. She had to put some distance between them.

  “I can change it. What do you wish of me? I will grant it.”

  She shook her head. “You cannot. Nor do I wish you to.”

  “Gertie!”

  For the first time she heard the desperation.

  “I think it best,” she said with a trembling voice, “that you not seek my audience anymore.”

  “Why? I would be the Cicisbeo to you and demand naught from you.”

  “But I do not wish it.”

  His grasp tightened about her arms. Her head was beginning to spin.

  “Gertie, if you knew the depths of my affection–”

  She shook her head violently. “Cease! I wish to hear no more. I wish for you not to trouble me! I wish not to see you!”

  With a cry, she wrenched herself free. She yanked open the door and fled out of the room. Despite the tears clouding her eyes, she made her way out into the yard behind the asylum. Beneath an elm tree, she sobbed as her heart broke in twain.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “PHINEAS? PHINEAS!”

  Phineas looked over his tea at Georgina, who had invited herself over in hopes of coaxing him to attend her on her visit to the milliner.

  “Phineas, you are not yourself,” his sister said, biting into a crumpet. “Robert had said as much but I could hardly believe it. What can possibly ruffle our dear brother?”

  He made no response. His mind still dwelled in the orphan asylum and his last exchange with Gertie. She had stunned him. He who had never been for a loss of words had been rendered speechless. He had expected some resistance from her, but her vehemence had disconcerted him. Still, he was not ready to submit to her professed wish. There had to be a way to win her over, but he was at a loss over how.

  “I require your services,” Georgina continued, “for I insist on being properly dressed if I am to give testimony at the crim con. Rather, I wish to shine beautifully.”

  Phineas put down his tea. Perhaps there was a way to Gertie through Lady Athena...

  Gibbons entered the room. “Lord Barclay, a lady is here to see you.”

  Phineas leaped to his feet. The Countess! At last! She had realized her affection for him. But the woman waiting for him in the hall was not Gertie. Despite the veil covering her face, he could tell from her form it was not whom he desired. Her robe l’anglaise fitted her petite frame too smartly.

  “May we speak in private, Lord Barclay?” the woman asked.

  “I have never denied a woman a request for privacy,” Barclay returned, though he sensed a foreboding tenor to the prospect. He showed her into his study. “May I offer you–”

  She shook her head. “I will not be long.”

  Standing by his writing table, he waited for her to begin. She lifted her veil to reveal young, soft features, a pleasing but not extraordinary countenance with high cheekbones, thick eyebrows, and small lips. He did not recognize her physiognomy, but she revealed herself soon enough.

  “Gertie must not know that I came to see you.”

  He bowed. “You must be the Marchioness of Dunnesford.”

  She appraised him from head to foot and seemed somewhat impressed.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

  She hesitated. “Gertie knows not that I am here, but she told me everything. About you. And her.”

  “Indeed,” he said, unimpressed. He knew the affection Gertie bore the Marchioness, but if the Lady Aubrey was such a good friend, why was she here?

  His tone must have surprised her for she elaborated, “Gertie is my dearest friend. I will not see her harmed.”

  “Ah, the lioness has come to threaten the wolf to keep his distance. I am glad that Gertie—Lady Lowry has at least one protector.”

  “Yes, but...”

  “You need not have wasted your time, my lady.”

  He made a movement to show her out the door.

  “It pains me to see her in such despair,” she insisted. “And if you care for her as much as I, you will not wish to cause her more grief.”

  He looked at her sharply. “Madam, I would disavow my soul to ease her suffering. But you will be relieved to know that she has already sworn off further association with me.”

  The Marchioness winced. “I know. She told me of her dialogue with you at the orphan asylum. But I think—I suspect you are not the sort of man to give up easily. And you must understand that the more you pursue her, the more she is pained.”

  “I have no intention of making a public spectacle if that is what you fear. If she has entrusted you with her confidence, then there is but the three of us who have any knowledge of what occurred.”

  “That is not what I meant. You do not understand...”

  He raised his brows, feeling his patience wearing thin as the last memory of Gertie brought back the pain of her words.

  “Lady Lowry would have me believe that my presence is loathsome to her,” he said. “You will not convince me where she has failed. Lady Lowry—Gertie has a perturbing affinity for the martyr. I intend to persuade her from it.”

  “You must not!”

  His irritation rose. Though he knew the Marchioness to act out of her love for Gertie, he did not appreciate her meddling. “I think the one who fails to understand is you.”

  She had a tortured look on her face. “Please cease your efforts where Gertie is concerned.”

  “Madam, I think there is no more that needs be discussed.”

  He headed for the door with every intention of having Gibbons escort her out. He could have provided her a set-down for her interference, but only the knowledge of her friendship with Gertie stayed him from making any biting remarks.

  “She is with child.”

  His hand felt heavy upon the handle of the door as the words sunk in.

  “Your child,” Lady Aubrey added.

  With slow deliberation, he turned to f
ace her. She looked ready to cry.

  “Are you certain?” he asked, his voice near a whisper.

  “Certain she is with child or certain it is yours?”

  Needing time to think, he walked away from the door towards the window.

  “She is certain,” she said. “Of both.”

  “Does Alexander know?”

  “He knows nothing. And he will not have reason to believe the child not to be his.”

  The realization began to sink in. No wonder Gertie had rebuffed him with such passion.

  “So you see that it is fruitless to seek her out,” Lady Aubrey stated.

  He put a hand to the back of his neck. The world had shifted beneath his feet. All the thoughts and hopes he had harbored were no longer germane. The Cruelty of Fate.

  “She will not endanger the future of her child.”

  “I know,” he acknowledged. He knew what this child meant to Gertie. He spoke, but his voice reached his ears as if emanating from someone else. “Nor would I ask her to.”

  The Marchioness released an audible sigh. She walked over and put a hand upon his arm.

  “You are a good man. I suspected as much for Gertie would not have fallen in love with a man who was not.”

  He nearly choked and could not help a grimace as he looked down at the Marchioness. “But not enough to wish to be with me.”

  “You must not think thusly. I wish with all my heart that she could have both you and the child. She deserves so much more happiness than she has had.”

  He took a deep breath, but it only made his chest ache.

  “I can see that you love her.”

  He winced and said with some bitterness. “That does not matter now.”

  “It always matters.”

  A sentimental and womanly statement, he thought dismissively.

  “If it would have made Gertie happy, I would have professed it to the world,” he said. “But as such, it shall remain locked in my bosom.”

  Feeling the weight of sadness, she glanced down at her hands.

  “I take it that I am not to know this child of mine?” he asked.

  “Alas...” She replaced the veil over her face. “I should depart. If I could...if you should ever require anything of me, Lord Barclay, I would be only too glad to be of service.”

  He grasped her hand before she could leave. “If you find an opportunity, if you could convey—tell Gertie I wish her well. I wish her all the happiness.”

  The Marchioness nodded. She sauntered to the door and left without further word. Phineas stared at the floor, the rug upon it a colorful blur before his eyes. A range of emotions—anger, despair, and sorrow— threatened to assault him. How dare Gertie try to keep this child from him? How dare she sacrifice her own happiness for this child? How dare she allow Alexander to believe the child to be his own?

  The last thought made the hairs on his neck stand on end. But with his outrage came compassion and sympathy for what Gertie endured. As he recalled their last exchange, he realized her pain. He had been too taken aback by her rejection at the time to recognize how much she suffered. The grief hung heavy upon his heart as he thought of her agony, but she had a consolation—a child that she could love. He had nothing.

  “Phineas?”

  He looked up to see Georgina standing at the door. He must have looked a sorry sight for she hurried to his side.

  “Phineas, who was that woman? What did she have to say to you?”

  “I had but met her acquaintance today.”

  “And who is she?”

  “I will not reveal her.” He sprang to his feet. “Come, did you not to intend to seek my company to the milliner?”

  She eyed him skeptically.

  “One must always look her best in a crim con suit, eh?” he prodded.

  Georgina agreed and they set off for the shops in Mayfair, but it proved a futile distraction. He could not stop thinking of Gertie and how she was now forever lost to him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  GERTIE WATCHED AS THE serving maid poured the burgundy into Alexander’s glass. It was one of the finest bottles she could procure, and she expected that Alexander would take to it favorably.

  “The Herrefords have an heir—two, in fact, as Lady Herreford produced twins,” Belinda remarked over dinner.

  Alexander scowled and reached for the wine. Gertie kept her gaze to her soup.

  “And they have been wed but a year,” Belinda added. “I wonder if you should consult a physician, Alexander?”

  It had been the first time the Dowager Lowry had contemplated the possibility that the lack of an offspring might be attributable to her son.

  “He must first need plow the right field,” Sarah muttered as she watched her soup sliding off the spoon.

  Alexander glared at his sister. Sarah responded with a defiant look.

  “I beg your pardon?” Belinda asked.

  “I have no wish to marry Mr. Rowland,” Sarah declared.

  By the look in her sister-in-law’s eyes, Gertie realized what her sister intended to employ.

  “No one else has asked for your hand,” Alexander responded evenly.

  “Because you have discouraged them all!”

  “Mr. Rowland is a good prospect,” Belinda defended.

  Sarah grimaced. “I bear him no affection! I loathe his presence!”

  “He will care for you well,” Alexander said. “I have no wish to discuss this further. The matter is settled.”

  “You care only that he has money that you might lavish your mistress with gifts!”

  Alexander became livid as Belinda’s eyes grew wide.

  “Mistress?” Belinda echoed.

  “He has entertained her for nearly a six-month,” Sarah supplied. “Lowry has no heir because Alexander has been sowing his seed elsewhere.”

  The nostrils of the Dowager flared. She turned to Alexander, who finished off his glass.

  “You would bring such disgrace upon our family?” Belinda demanded. Gertie had never seen her in such a state of anger. “Have you no shame? No regard for the Lowry name?”

  Alexander poured himself another glass. “It is of no significance.”

  “No significance? You would leave Lowry without an heir? Do you realize who shall rule over us if you should die? Your duty–”

  “I know my duty.”

  “This is unacceptable. Who is this strumpet?” Belinda turned to her daughter. “How long have you known of this and not spoken of it to me?”

  Sarah avoided her gaze.

  Belinda turned her accusatory glare at Gertie. “Have you known all this time?”

  “Lowry will have an heir,” Alexander stated. “If you but possessed a little patience, mother...”

  “Patience? It has been three years. I have been naught but patient! And to think how much effort I have expended to assist the family—how much it tries my nerves to think our future has not been secured—yet you deliberately deny me ease of mind.”

  An uneasy silence descended over the dinner table. Alexander ground his teeth and poured himself more of the wine.

  The dinner could not end soon enough, but Gertie was satisfied that Alexander had consumed more than half the bottle. After dinner, he secluded himself in his study. Gertie sighed with relief for if he had taken himself to Blake’s, who knew when he might return. She sat in her bedchambers, waiting for Alexander’s footsteps in the hall. She would open her door as he entered his chambers and invite him into her bed.

  But when she finally heard his footsteps, she found herself without the will.

  “Come along, Gertie,” she coaxed herself. “It will be no different than before.”

  Which was a lie for Phineas Barclay had changed everything. How she missed him! She had not seen or heard from him since she last saw him at the orphan asylum.

  The child. Her unborn child. She placed a hand to her belly. Finding resolve, she rose to her feet. The door to her chambers swung open then, and in its frame stoo
d her husband. From the glassy look in his eyes, she surmised that he had had more to drink. Wordlessly she waited for him to approach, her heart quickening but not from anticipation. He staggered towards her.

  She closed her eyes as he kissed her, slobbering over her face. Even when he hadn’t been inebriated, his kisses could not compare to those of Barclay. She tried her best not to push him away and allowed him to stumble her into her bed. He fell on top of her and began pulling up her skirts. Closing her eyes, she turned to her memories of Barclay in an attempt to transport herself away from the moment. How her body had craved for his touch and all the wonderful ways he could make her feel...There would never be another like him.

  Her eyes flew open upon feeling penetration. Above her, Alexander grunted and huffed as if from arduous exertion. Her saving grace was that it did not take Alexander long to finish. He collapsed on top of her. She pushed him off. She reached under her bed to pull out the chamber pot and retched.

  THE DOWAGER LOWRY HUMMED as she worked upon her embroidery in the drawing room. Gertie noticed Belinda had been in good spirits ever since Gertie had announced that her menses had not come. She had waited only a sennight after that first night with Alexander. As soon as she had made her announcement, he had ceased to visit her bedchambers. Gertie hoped that he had retained his mistress over his mother’s objections for she wanted no more of his attentions.

  “As I shall have more money than matter to spend it upon, I think I shall choose the most expensive of gowns,” Sarah declared as she sullenly leafed through a collection of wedding gown plates.

  Gertie, knitting a cap for the baby, said nothing. She felt sorry for Sarah, but her sister-in-law’s despondency and self-pity had made her more cross with Gertie.

  The butler entered the room to state that a Mrs. Georgina Westmoreland was here to see Lady Lowry.

  “Absolutely not,” Belinda replied. “Who does that woman presume she is coming into a respectable household?”

  “I will see her,” Gertie declared, drawing gasps from the two other women.

  “You will not allow that woman another moment in our house.”

  Gertie gazed at Belinda without uncertainty. A calm had come over her in the last sennight. It was as if the strength of Lady Athena had finally seeped into the bones of Gertie Farrington.