by Olivia Drake
As Maddy finished writing out another reply, she felt compelled to defend her husband. “I was under the impression that Nathan and David were friends as well as brothers. What do you know of the matter, Sophia? Did David ever speak favorably of Nathan?”
Sophia jabbed her needle into the stretched cloth. “My husband had more pressing things on his mind than a brother who had forsaken his duties to the family. Had David not fallen so wretchedly ill, he would have become a great earl someday.”
Her lips compressed, Maddy dipped the tip of the quill into the inkwell. The woman seemed determined to say nothing complimentary about Nathan. Yet Maddy hesitated to criticize Sophia, for the lady had suffered greatly in losing her beloved husband, the father of her two young daughters. Conscious of the woman’s disdain, Maddy had stayed away from the nursery, though she knew Nathan went up there sometimes to visit his nieces.
Indeed, it must be very difficult for Sophia to watch another woman usurp her coveted role as the wife of the heir. All because David had died so young from a tragic illness. That made Maddy wonder about something that had been nagging at the edge of her mind.
She set down her quill and turned to face the other two women. “It must have been a terrible time for you, Sophia. But I have to ask, why wasn’t this family inoculated against the smallpox? After all, the procedure is hardly experimental anymore. These days, many people are inoculated—and especially the nobility, I should think.”
Sophia stared wide-eyed at her, then glanced over at the dowager.
Lady Gilmore uttered a small sound of distress as she glared at Maddy. “Must you ask so many intrusive questions? Must you plague me so! I cannot bear your company another moment!”
The dowager levered herself to her feet with the aid of the cane. Her back hunched, she hobbled out of the morning room.
Maddy sat in stunned confusion. She turned her gaze to Sophia who remained rigidly on the chaise. “What did I say? I—I didn’t mean to upset her. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me, but to her ladyship,” Sophia said coldly. “Shortly after they were married, her husband died of the smallpox from receiving a faulty inoculation. So Grandmamma never allowed them to be administered to her son or her grandchildren. And now, she blames herself for David’s death.”
* * *
The revelation troubled Maddy for the remainder of the day. She was still thinking about it as she readied herself for bed with the assistance of her maid. While Gertie put away clothing, Maddy sat at the dressing table, braiding her long blond hair.
She had regarded the dowager as a haughty, snappish old lady who embodied the snootiness of the upper class. But with this new disclosure, Maddy could see a chink in Lady Gilmore’s armor. The woman was not entirely hard-hearted, after all. How dreadful it must be to suffer the guilt of knowing one had been instrumental in the loss of a beloved grandson.
“I heard a scrap o’ news in the servants’ hall tonight,” Gertie said.
Jolted from her musings, Maddy glanced over at the maidservant, who was folding a petticoat. “News?”
“Ye’re t’ attend the Duke of Houghton’s ball next month.”
“Oh … yes. I had to write out the acceptance note today.”
“What will ye say t’ His Grace? Have ye decided yet?”
Maddy hesitated, then shook her head. “Not precisely. But I’ve ample time to consider it.”
For a moment, the only sound was the closing of a drawer. Then Gertie said in a motherly tone, “Perhaps ye should tell Lord Rowley about this. He’s yer husband and he deserves t’ know.”
Maddy firmed her lips. Increasingly, she didn’t like keeping the secret from Nathan. Yet what could she say to him on this matter? He believed her to be a commoner. That was why he had married her. He would be shocked and likely even angry to learn that she had blue blood, that her mother had been born a lady. Worse, he might even try to stop her from confronting the duke …
“I deserve to know what?” Nathan asked.
Her heart jumped. She looked over, startled to see her husband standing in the doorway of the dressing room. His hands on his lean hips, he wore the jade-green silk robe with its subtle pattern of dragons. The deep V of the collar revealed a swath of broad, bare chest.
How much had he overheard?
Gertie bobbed a curtsy and smiled at him. “Evenin’, milord. I’ll be out o’ yer way right quick.” Grabbing a pile of laundry, she slipped past him and went out into the bedchamber. A moment later, the outer door clicked shut as the maid departed.
Nathan was still regarding Maddy with a questioning look. Heaven help her. She would have to brazen it out and pray he hadn’t heard the duke’s name mentioned.
She arose from the stool, the braid draped over the shoulder of her nightdress. His gaze flicked to her bosom, where the thin lawn of her gown clung to her breasts. Hoping to distract him, Maddy gave him a mollifying smile. “Gertie’s right, there is something you deserve to know. It concerns a blunder I made today with your grandmother.”
“Blunder?”
“Come, and I’ll tell you.”
Her hips swaying, she sauntered forward and laced her fingers with his, drawing him into the bedchamber. On the canopied bed, the covers had been turned down, the pillows plumped. A branch of candles on a nearby table cast a soft, golden light over the intimate setting. How she longed to be lying there with Nathan, to lose herself in passion.
But if they went to bed, they’d never talk. And she did have something to broach to him. He always departed after they’d made love, so this might be her only opportunity.
Leading him to the fireplace, Maddy bade him sit in a chair. Then she drew a footstool close and sat down, their knees almost touching. “This morning, I asked her ladyship why no one in the family had been protected from the smallpox. That’s when I found out it was her doing.”
A shadow crossed Nathan’s face. He looked away a moment into the gloom beyond the firelight, as if he were thinking of his brother’s needless death. “Ah. Well, you couldn’t have known.”
She breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t mentioned the duke. He must not have heard the entirety of her conversation with Gertie. “I never meant to cause your grandmother pain. I merely thought the nobility would have been inoculated. After all, even I was, as the child of traveling actors.”
Leaning forward, he slipped his fingers inside the loose neckline of her nightgown, stroking lightly over a small, smooth scar on her upper arm. “So that’s what this is. I’d wondered.”
Her skin tingled and her body softened, but Maddy would not allow him to divert her. She caught hold of his wrist to stay the tempting caress of his hand on her bare shoulder. “Nathan, it made me realize you were never inoculated, either. I do hope you’ll rectify that soon.”
“You needn’t fret, darling. If I were to die, you’d be a rich widow.”
His cavalier comment exasperated her. “Don’t be stupid. I would never wish for you to suffer the same fate as your brother.”
“My family would say that fate erred when the good brother died, leaving the bad one to inherit.”
Maddy shook her head at his cynicism. “David may have been a good man, but so are you, Nathan. I suspect David knew that, too. You were friends as well as brothers, were you not? I’ve seen it in your eyes when you’ve spoken of him.”
Nathan sat back in the chair, his expression stony. “I was grateful to him. He covered for me when I hadn’t finished school assignments. He smuggled food to me when I’d been put to bed without supper. But I never did a blasted thing for him in return. So how could it be called friendship?”
That was more than he’d ever admitted to her before. Encouraged, she asked, “Was he ever caught helping you?”
“Sometimes. To his credit, he always accepted the blame, though the earl punished me instead.”
“Then you took David’s thrashings for him. That’s something.”
“It’s nothing.
And my brother was never one to quarrel with Gilmore’s edicts. Unlike me.” Nathan reached out and caressed her cheek. “But I have had my revenge. I have foisted you upon my family.”
His cold smile troubled her, for it was part of the hard shell that hid his inner torment. He had never overcome his past. Returning to England had brought out the wounded little boy in him. “You’re still hurt by your father’s favoritism toward your elder brother, aren’t you?”
A dark frown flitted over his face. Then he moved his hand to the nape of her neck, his fingers stroking, sending pleasurable chills over her skin. “Enough of your foolish talk. That isn’t why I came here.”
Maddy resisted the seductive sensations. He always did this; he shut down the discussion every time she probed his thoughts and feelings. Somehow, she had to break through the wall of his distrust. To encourage him to open his mind and heart to her.
Perhaps she could foster closeness between them by making a confession of her own. She could reveal her own hopes and dreams. She could tell him about her plan to open a shop.
Sitting on the stool, Maddy caught hold of his hand and brought it to rest on his knee, entwining their fingers. “If you won’t speak of yourself, then there’s something else I wanted to tell you. I’ve thought long and hard about this ever since we visited your warehouse. And…”
“And?”
He looked at her inquiringly, his expression guarded. What if he scoffed at her? Or forbade her from proceeding with her plan? Yet if ever she hoped to win his trust, she had to take that risk.
“I want you to know the real reason why I sold myself at auction,” she said, “and why I needed the funds. I’ve allowed you to believe my purpose to be merely greed. But the truth is … I’ve long wanted to go into trade. You see, even while I was on stage, it was always my dream to open a shop that caters to women.”
As she spoke, his cool smile faded away and he regarded her with an enigmatic stare. “That’s quite a lot of money for a little dress shop.”
“I intend to sell more than just gowns.” Maddy plunged on, determined to reveal the whole of her vision, even if he believed her mad. “I’ll rent a large space, perhaps on Bond Street, and stock all the things that women purchase, gloves and hats and gowns and shoes and perfumes, even cosmetics. That way, instead of having to visit a dozen different shops, a lady will find everything she needs under one roof.”
Nathan raised a dark eyebrow. For a moment he didn’t say anything and she sat on pins and needles, wondering what he was thinking. He was looking at her as if seeing her in a new light.
“That’s quite the novel concept,” he said. “However, I must point out that rich Londoners are accustomed to specialty shops. They may very well believe the quality of the products will suffer by having the whole lot in one place. A Chinese philosopher named Confucius once said ‘to know everything is to know nothing.’ In your case, to have everything is to be good at nothing.”
“That is why I intend to stock only the finest items,” she asserted. “The shop will be divided into sections, each area devoted to a different specialty. So you see, your concern shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You’ll still have to overcome preconceptions. People don’t like change. They prefer to go along as they’ve always done.”
Just as he and his father were locked in a quarrel that dated back to his childhood. But now was not the time to bring that up. “You’re a businessman. How would you suggest I proceed?”
Nathan steepled his hands beneath his chin. “First and foremost, I’d hire an experienced staff. To accomplish that, I’d offer a higher salary than other shops. It’s the best way to attract skilled employees.”
“Of course! I hadn’t considered that.”
“Then you’ll need advertisements, handbills perhaps. To let the public know what’s unique about your place.”
Excited, Maddy leaned forward on the stool and hugged her knees. “What do you think of offering women a complete transformation? You know, put yourself in the hands of my experts and we’ll change an ugly duckling into a swan.”
“As you did for my sister?”
She blinked in surprise. “You know about that?”
“I know your talents. If a beautiful woman can turn herself into a wrinkled old woman with the use of cosmetics, then concealing a few pit marks ought to be simple.”
The Earl of Gilmore had guessed, too, but before Maddy could mention it, Nathan added in a musing tone, “Swann’s. There’s the perfect name for your shop, Madelyn Swann.”
She smiled back at him. “Yes! I thought so, too. Though perhaps your father won’t be pleased for me to use my maiden name.”
Nathan’s face hardened. “The earl will loathe having his daughter-in-law in trade. He will forbid you to open the establishment. For that reason alone, you must do it. And don’t be surprised if he discourages the ton from patronizing your shop.”
Maddy had never meant to stir up more conflict in the family. But she was glad for Nathan’s support—even if it arose from his animosity toward his father. She simply could not abide the notion of playing the refined lady for the rest of her life. “Actually, I’m hoping to appeal to the wives of wealthy merchants,” she said. “Since they’re not members of the ton, they’ll be eager to rub elbows with a future countess, no matter how scandalous she might be.”
“An excellent strategy.” A smirk deepening his dimples, he began to undo her long braid. “And I suppose you will be wanting me to supply you with the finest Chinese silks, hmm? No wonder you were so eager to poke through the crates in my warehouse.”
Maddy gave him a sultry look from beneath her eyelashes. “Will you? I’ll pay, of course. I don’t expect anything for free.”
“We can work out a fair bargain, I’m sure. I’ll be happy to be a provider, though I’ll leave the actual dressing of women to you. I much prefer undressing them.”
Reaching around, Nathan began to unfasten the tiny buttons down the back of her nightgown. He was smiling slightly, his green eyes gleaming with wickedness. Her breath caught. She, too, had had enough of talking for one night. As he drew the wispy fabric down her shoulders, she eagerly slid her arms out of the sleeves.
She arose from the stool and the gown slithered to the fine rug. His expression darkened as he gazed up at her nakedness, his hands caressing the curve of her hips. How she loved seeing that passionate admiration on his face as if he were viewing her for the first time.
Maddy held out her hand. “Shall we seal our bargain in bed?”
He stood up at once and subjected her to a deep, drowning kiss that left them both gasping. She could feel the heavy pounding of his heart against her bare bosom. Especially when she untied his robe and rendered him naked, as well. He was all hard muscles and hot skin, the spear of his manhood arousing a keen anticipation in her. They kissed their way across the bedchamber, then he laid her down on the sheets and began to caress her in all the ways that she adored.
Their lovemaking held an enhanced richness for her tonight. Perhaps because she basked in the glow of his approval of her dream. He’d even offered to help her, too. Though he might only be wanting to get back at his father, she fancied it to be more than that. Like her, Nathan was an entrepreneur, and she felt now that they were on equal footing, true partners in this marriage.
A warm ache resided in her heart. Parting her legs to receive him, she reminded herself that this was all he desired from her, this lovely, perfect passion. He would be leaving her forever at the end of the season.
And until then, she must be very careful not to fall in love with her husband.
Chapter 18
Maddy added the final touches to Lady Emily’s face. Then she stepped back to view her handiwork while Nathan’s sister turned her head to and fro, admiring herself in the dressing table mirror. Each unsightly pit had been filled with a tiny dab of putty, her face dusted with powder. A hint of rouge enhanced the girl’s high cheekbones.
Emil
y was in Maddy’s dressing room because the dowager seldom ventured here. Due to her poor eyesight, Lady Gilmore still hadn’t noticed the subtle transformation, and Maddy intended to keep it that way.
“It’s even better than what you did for the other parties,” Emily said, beaming. “Thank you so much!”
The girl’s russet-brown hair had been pinned up with a cluster of blush-pink rosebuds tucked into the curls. Her white silk gown had an off-the-shoulder neckline with demisleeves trimmed in lace. Pale pink ribbons decorated the bodice and the flounces in the skirt.
Pleased, Maddy went to the washstand to rinse her hands. “Every girl should be beautiful at her debut ball. And tonight, you look perfect.”
Gertie removed the protective linen cloth that had been draped across the girl’s shoulders. “Nobody else has milady’s magic touch. I was always ham-fisted with the greasepaint.”
“I had many years of practice in preparing for performances,” Maddy said as she dried her hands, careful not to drip on her own gown of wisteria-blue silk.
Emily fingered the strand of pearls at her throat. “It’s only a shame that the necklace Nathan gave me doesn’t match my gown. Though I suppose Grandmamma would condemn it anyway for being made by heathens.”
Maddy handed the damp towel to the maid. “Heathens?”
“Let me show you. I carry it everywhere for luck, so it’s right here in my reticule.” Seated on the stool, the girl picked up the tiny beaded bag and drew out a dainty necklace, letting it rest in her palm. “My brother brought this for me all the way from China.”
Maddy bent down to examine the tiny jade figurine on a simple gold chain. “Why, it’s a little dragon! How charming!”
“Nathan swore it will bring me good fortune.” The brilliance dimmed in Emily’s expressive hazel eyes. “But I’m afraid it hasn’t helped with Lord Theo. I truly thought he admired me when we danced at Lady Milford’s. Yet he’s never even come to call.”
Emily didn’t know that Lord Dunham had forbidden the relationship. My brother shan’t be permitted to court her. Houghton would never allow his grandson to have any connection to a family that has been tainted by common blood.
