“Bah, I have no worries that you will act as the debauchee once married. Chloe will never behave as Beatrice did. And I do not consider you married even though the law says you are. The law and the church. That marriage is long dead, and it is just a matter of when you see the knot untied legally and finally. As to that, it can be as soon as you wish, as I have found two men who can swear that your wife was their lover before she married you. Embarrassing for you, but a perfect way to get the marriage made null and void.”
“I believe I can tolerate a little more embarrassment as concerns Beatrice. And I doubt I am the only man who was fooled into thinking the woman he bedded was an innocent. In fact, that whore who played the virgin so many times proved to me that it can be a hard thing to detect for a certainty. What is it?” he asked when Leo suddenly scowled into his drink.
“Virginity,” Leo muttered and then cursed. “I hate to say this, but I think we need to prove that Chloe still has hers.”
“I did not take it. We—”
“I know. I was thinking of Anthony. She has had him in her care for three years. The world and its mother think Anthony is her sister’s child, and a few do whisper that he might be Chloe’s. If you wed her, that is the rumor that might grow and it might give someone an opportunity to question his legitimacy.”
Julian cursed. “And even if it cannot be proven that Chloe is his mother, the rumor will never fade. It will dog both Chloe and Anthony for the rest of their lives. It is also the sort of thing Arthur will immediately try to do. But we cannot go about announcing to one and all that Chloe is a virgin.”
“We do not need to. We just need to have it documented that she is one and that she has never borne a child before you remove that thin bit of proof.”
“I will—”
“Not touch her? You are betrothed now. You have given your word that you will marry her as soon as you are able. You are both attracted to each other. Are you a saint then to ignore all those things and hold fast to a vow of celibacy until wed? I sure as bloody hell would not be.”
“I know I am betrothed but I am not sure Chloe believes she is.”
“That will pass. You need to let her know that it is not just because you want her in your bed.” Leo held up his hand when Julian started to speak. “I do not ask that you whisper sweet words of undying love unless you discover that you feel them, but you must convince her that you feel more than lust. We come from a long line of families that suffer in bad marriages. The only ones that work are the ones that are not arranged, the ones where there are more than bloodlines, lust, and gain tying them together. If there is not, then our gifts become curses that leave children without mothers or fathers.”
“Ah, yes, her gift. I find that does not trouble me. I may not fully believe in such things, but it truly does not trouble me and I do not fear it. I most certainly would never turn my back on whatever children we might be blessed with just because they had one of those gifts.”
“Considering what we are dealing with now, it might be a good idea if you try harder to believe in Chloe’s gift. Just swear that if she gives you a warning, you heed it. If you wish to ride in one direction and she tells you to go in another, do it. She is unerringly right in her warnings and whether you wish to call it a gift or just simple intuition, heed it.”
“That I can do. If naught else, there really is no other explanation for how she found me in that alley just when I needed help.”
“But there will be no more of those, er, alleys, will there?”
“I told you—I hold to vows given, even marriage ones. In truth, I find myself questioning the honor of any wedded man who claims to hold true to his word yet has a string of mistresses. This year past…” He shook his head. “I can only claim some sort of insanity.”
“Understandable. S’blood, the fact that you held to your vows for as long as you did says a great deal of good about you. Most men would never have done so, not after his wife had taken her first lover. Certainly not after she had borne him a child that he felt was not his. Believe me in this, if I considered you still married and not just tied by law to someone who wants you dead, I would not be taking this so well.”
“You mean you would have ensured that my fine, elegant nose was no longer such a handsome thing?”
Leo grinned. “Among other things.” He sighed and glanced at the door. “Now we must decide who is going to tell Chloe that she must be examined.”
Julian also looked at the door and his heart sank. Making Chloe submit to an examination to prove her purity was not going to make a good start to their lives together. “It needs to be made clear that it is only for Anthony’s sake, to safeguard his rights as my heir.”
“Aye, for Anthony’s sake she just might do it without killing us first.”
Chapter 9
Chloe stared at her hands as the carriage eased its way through the crowded street toward the Winglingtons’ elegant townhouse. She was still too embarrassed by the exam she had undergone mere hours ago to look at Leo and Julian, who sprawled elegantly on the seat opposite her. Although she fully understood the need for proof of her virginity and that she had never borne a child, even agreed with the need for such proof, she hated the fact that both men knew what she had endured that afternoon.
She sighed and looked out the window even though there was little of any interest to look at. It had been humiliating in many ways to be examined so intimately, the state of her innocence legally recorded by two physicians and a midwife, affidavits for other men to read if the need arose. Throughout the ordeal she had continued to remind herself that it was being done for Anthony’s sake. That had not helped all that much, but it had ensured that she did not flee the room.
And now she had to go to a ball, smile and chat as if all was right with her world. Worse, there was a very good chance that she would see Lady Beatrice Kenwood, the woman who still held a legal claim to Julian. How often did a woman meet her betrothed’s wife? she mused. Not that she had yet agreed to the betrothal. Chloe wondered if she had ever had such a trying day. Only those last, heartbreaking hours at her dying sister’s bedside could be considered worse than what she had endured and still had to endure.
Glancing covertly at her two escorts, she surprised herself with an urge to smile. Both men looked as embarrassed as she felt. It had not occurred to her that the men who had ordered the exam could possibly feel as uncomfortable about the whole business as she did. Strangely, their obvious discomfort eased her own. It also reassured her that they had only done what they felt was absolutely necessary to protect Anthony’s place as Julian’s heir. That eased the lingering fear that Julian himself questioned her innocence and had demanded proof of it before he married her.
The one good thing about the whole mortifying business was that it had taken her mind off the Winglingtons’ ball. She heartily disliked such events, but this one was going to be a lot worse than any other she had ever attended. Julian was about to reveal to the world that he was still very much alive. Chloe had no doubt that that would set Arthur and Beatrice after him again. The only question remaining about the result of this plan was just how soon Julian’s enemies would start hunting him again.
It was also going to be a little awkward to be escorted to a ball by a married man. The fact that Leo was with them would be the only thing that might diminish the strength of the gossip that would ensue. Tonight all the attention and the talk would concern Julian’s miraculous rise from the dead, but Chloe knew that protection would not last long. Soon someone would recall that she had entered the ballroom on his arm, and the conjecture about her place in his life would begin. She dreaded it.
When the carriage pulled to a stop, it was Julian who helped her down from the carriage. Chloe was still not sure that his escorting her into the ball was particularly wise, but he had insisted upon it. Aside from the gossip it would cause, it stank too much of a challenge tossed right at Arthur Kenwood’s feet and a well-aimed slap in Lady Beatrice’s beaut
iful face. Chloe did not feel afraid, for she knew that Leo and Julian would keep her safe, but she did not wish to become of too great an interest to Julian’s wife or his uncle. Then she sighed, for she knew there was no escaping that fate. She was a part of all this and even if she had remained at home, Arthur would soon discover just how big a part she had played.
Beneath her hand she felt the tension in Julian’s arm increase as they greeted their host and hostess. The plump Lady Winglington nearly swooned, but the thought of what a social triumph the night would become because of Julian’s surprise resurrection quickly put some steel in her backbone. When Julian was announced, the abrupt silence in the room lasted for barely a moment. The noise that followed told Chloe it was going to be a very long night filled with questions and rumors. She hoped that noise had kept everyone from hearing her name, but feared she would never be that fortunate.
Julian looked toward where Chloe stood with his mother and his sister Phillipa. He had yet to find the words to speak to her concerning the ordeal she had endured to ensure Anthony’s inheritance. To his surprise, it had proven to be an ordeal for him as well. Several times he had had to force himself to just sit and wait, to swallow the strong urge to race up to her bedchamber and rescue her from the embarrassment she had to have been suffering. His only comfort during that time had been that Leo had looked to be suffering as much as he was.
It would be easy to just ignore the whole matter, to pretend it had not happened, but he knew that would be a mistake. Julian had no doubt that, at some point, Chloe must have wondered if he had asked for the exam in order to assure himself that she was pure. That was not a doubt he wanted to let fester. Especially since Chloe had yet to openly agree to marry him. He and Leo considered the betrothal all settled, but it would be nice if Chloe actually voiced her agreement to the arrangement.
“It is good to see you well. Are you fully recovered?”
That deep, smooth voice made every muscle in Julian’s body tense with the need to strike out. He turned to face his uncle. Arthur Kenwood was a handsome man, only fifteen years older than him. The man was fit and strong, had all his hair and a full set of teeth. He needed no padding at his shoulders or his calves to make his elegant clothes fit to perfection. In the man’s steel gray eyes Julian only saw questions and a touch of the hurt his uncle tried to make everyone believe he felt.
Clinging to his uncle’s arm and dabbing at perfectly formed tears with a dainty lace handkerchief was Beatrice, his traitorous wife. Julian ached to do violence to the woman who had left his son to die, and he hated her for that. He had never touched a woman in anger, and he had no intention of allowing Beatrice to make him mar that record. He had always considered a man who hit women to be weak, no more than a cowardly bully, and he would never stoop to that low behavior.
The interest of everyone in the ballroom both irritated and amused him. Even before he had sunk into debauchery, the world and its mother had known what a cuckold he was. They were undoubtedly awaiting some scandalous argument. He did not intend to give them one, but he had no doubt that Beatrice and Arthur would try their best to give the curious crowd a fine show.
“How could you leave us to grieve for you, Julian?” asked Beatrice in a choked voice, as if the strength of her hurt made it difficult to speak.
“Grieve? Somehow I find it difficult to envision you suffering from such an emotion,” he said and nearly smiled when her beautiful hazel eyes began to glitter with fury.
Here was the Beatrice he had come to know. The cold, selfish virago hidden beneath the beauty was getting harder for her to hide. That could only work in their favor.
“Of a certain I grieved,” she said, her voice no longer so soft or trembling. “Despite the humiliations you have heaped upon me this last year, you are still my husband.”
He glanced at the low-cut gown of soft green silk she was wearing, a color she knew complemented her eyes, and just quirked one eyebrow. “Ah, so I am. Mayhap it is I who should grieve,” he murmured and then looked at his uncle. “And am I to kindly thank you for comforting my distraught widow? But wait, you were already comforting her for being deserted by her cruel, uncaring husband, were you not?”
“You should not jest so, nephew,” Arthur said without even glancing at Beatrice when she hissed in fury. “Show a little consideration for your family, if you do not mind.”
“No, I do not mind at all, and I have great consideration for them. My mother and sisters understand why I needed to recover from my wounds in secrecy. They have forgiven me for the deception. Now, if you would both excuse me?” Julian started to turn away but then hesitated for a moment before looking back at his uncle and his wife. “I forgot. I believe I will soon return to Colinsmoor. It would be best, I believe, if you, uncle, and you, Beatrice, were no longer there. Or at Kenwood House. S’truth, I want you and any of your people gone from all my properties aside from the one I have deeded over to Beatrice. A tiny cottage in Kent, I believe. And I shall have my new solicitor send men to be sure that you leave with only what you came with.”
“You cannot throw me out of our home,” snapped Beatrice, casting aside all attempts to act anything but what she was, furious. “What will the world think if you cast your wife out into the street?”
“That I have finally come to my senses? Do not distress yourself, Beatrice. I have no doubt that you will land softly.”
Julian walked away before he said anything more. At the moment the sympathy of the crowd was on his side. His uncle and his wife had not made many friends. But Julian knew that if he spat out the fury churning inside him, that sympathy could wane. Even those who suspected that Arthur and Beatrice had had a hand in his near murder and the need to hide as he healed would frown upon his spitting out accusations and threats at a ball. The fact that he had just thrown both of them out of his house would be readily accepted, for Beatrice had made her unfaithfulness to him common knowledge. That constant humiliation had been one of the things that had driven him into the stews.
He caught sight of Edgar standing near the doors to the rear garden. Edgar patted the left front of his blue brocade coat and Julian almost smiled. He knew that beneath that hand, just inside that elegant coat, was a fine silver flask filled with excellent brandy. A drink was just what he needed to rinse the bitterness from his mouth and mind. Julian followed his friend out into the torchlit garden.
“I think I expected a lot more fire when you finally confronted them,” said Edgar as he handed Julian his flask.
“Neither of them wanted that.” Julian grimaced and took a deep drink before returning the flask to Edgar. “Beatrice could easily have indulged in a fine tantrum, but I believe my uncle keeps her on a tight leash. Dear Uncle Arthur does not wish too much attention drawn to him or to any ill feelings that exist between us. I am not sure why he should concern himself. The whole of society knows he is my wife’s lover and has been for a long while. None of them expects us to behave like loving relatives.”
“True, but appearances must be maintained.”
“It will be interesting to find out what gossip makes the rounds now that I have thrown them both out of my house.”
“They may well leave the ball early so that they can return to Colinsmoor posthaste and rob you blind.”
“They will find that difficult, for there is a large group of burly men waiting there for their return. We got word this morning that the servants have been very helpful in indicating just what belongs to both of them. They may well find all their baggage already packed and set in the drive.”
Edgar laughed but then grew serious. “Arthur will be enraged.”
“I know. I but hope that that rage will cause him to make a serious error.”
“Is your plan to catch him trying to kill you? He has not been caught yet and he does not try to do it by his own hand, either.”
Julian shrugged. “Nothing else we have done has been enough to catch him and charge him with any crime. That leaves us nowhere
to go but to push his back to the wall.”
“All-out war?”
“Yes.” He frowned. “I just worry about how far he will carry it. We have a lot of men to protect everyone, but Arthur is very good at turning men to his side. Yet, what other choice is there? This must be ended.”
“Indeed it must.” Edgar handed him the flask again. “So, has the fair Chloe said she will marry you yet?”
Julian cursed and took another drink. “No. And after what she had to endure today, she may never do so.”
“Distasteful as the business was, she is smart enough to know it was necessary. Chloe would never have agreed to it if she had thought otherwise. You are going to have to dig up whatever charm you used to possess and woo the woman, Julian.”
“It was wooing her that got us into this betrothal.”
“No, it was lust. A shared lusting, I am sure, for you would never have been able to compromise her unless she wanted you to. That might be enough for many women, especially when an earl is the prize, but not for Chloe.”
“I am not going to offer her words of love that I do not feel,” Julian snapped, even though he knew Edgar was right, that he was going to have to do some wooing.
“No one asked you to. But you like her, do you not? And you trust her.”
“Yes, and I am not scared of her gift or that our children will have one. That is not what a woman looks for when a man woos her, however.”
“It will do for Chloe if you make it clear and make her believe it. I have known her for years, and I believe she is not some foolish romantic. She has been thoroughly compromised and knows marriage is the result of that. What she does not want is to marry a man whose only interest in her is to get her into bed. I am sure Leo has told you of how badly so many of the marriages end in their family. Chloe knows it, too, and she needs more than lust or she will do her damnedest to get out of this betrothal. Since you can tell no one about it, as you are still tied to Beatrice, that gives Chloe plenty of opportunity to find her way out of it, too.”
If He’s Wicked Page 12
