“I will not leave! I am the lady of this house, Myrtle, and I’ll thank you not to forget it.”
“Not anymore, according to this pretty thing, Victoria, so I’ll thank you to shut your gob and leave the room.”
Victoria seethed visibly and shot filthy glares at everyone in the room except the girl beside her. Nathaniel ignored Victoria, stunned as he was by what Myrtle had let slip. Daphne was married to Basil?
“You wed Basil?” His cousin had always admired Daphne and had not taken it well when Nathaniel had proposed to the girl. It made an odd sort of sense, but—”Basil?”
The beauty hesitated. “Well, Basil does adore me, Nathaniel.”
Two sharp raps came, the sound of a cane against the costly ebony side table, and all eyes were drawn to where Myrtle sat.
“Victoria, Daphne, leave. Now.”
Daphne left slowly, with a long, desolate backward glance. Victoria, on the other hand, lingered for a parting shot. With a glare at Willa, she batted her eyes facetiously. “Poor Thaniel. Is a barefoot peasant the best you could do?”
Nathaniel felt Willa’s hand tighten on his, and he realized that he had not released her during all that bitter exchange. “Watch yourself, Mother dear,” he growled. “Remember, I am not a gentleman anymore.”
That apparently hadn’t occurred to her, and she flicked him a surprised look. Whatever she saw in his eyes made her step back. To cover it, she tossed her head and followed Daphne with a grand sweep of skirts.
“That Victoria is a harpy,” muttered Myrtle.
Willa only looked at Nathaniel a little reprovingly. “That was your mother?” she asked.
Her voice was apparently returning but was still husky and low. Even with anger still roiling through him, he found it distractingly alluring.
He smiled wryly at her. “Yes, that was the ever maternal Victoria.”
“You did not introduce me.”
Oh hell. “Willa—”
Myrtle turned to stare at him, surprised. “He didn’t?”
“No. He has barely even explained my presence to the butler.”
“Oh, Thaniel.” The disappointment in Myrtle’s voice was obvious.
Willa remained completely expressionless. Nathaniel squirmed within. “It is not what you think, Myrtle.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you ashamed of this lovely girl, Thaniel? Are you actually ashamed of what your family will think?”
“No,” Nathaniel shot back quickly. “It isn’t Willa I am ashamed of!”
A slow, wide smile lit up Willa’s face. “I knew it. I forgive you.” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek, and Nathaniel caught just a whiff of jasmine and sweet-smelling woman before she released his hand and sat down at the table once more.
She picked up her fork and set upon her eggs, only making a slight face despite the fact that the food must be quite chilled by now. Ever uncomplaining Willa.
Nathaniel picked up the service bell. When a footman immediately appeared, Nathaniel ordered fresh service for all three of them.
Willa watched Nathaniel’s manner with the servants. He had been born to this. Born to his slightest wish being answered. Born to luxury and ease, to life in this vast, elegant house.
Personally, Willa couldn’t look at the miles of polished floors without her knees aching in sympathy for those who must do the hours of waxing required.
Another steaming plate was brought, and Willa was astonished to see that it contained exactly what she had chosen before, in precisely the amount she had first been served, right down to the errant roll.
It was wonderful to be so attended to. Still, she couldn’t help peering around her, having the rather eerie feeling that she was being closely observed.
“Willa, about taking you back to Derryton—” He pushed his food about for a moment, staring at his plate. Willa put down her fork, suddenly not so sure she was hungry after all.
“Yes, Nathaniel?”
“My father is ill.” His voice was so completely without expression that Willa felt his pain all the more deeply. “After we wed, we will stay here for the time being. If I were to leave, even just to accompany you to—”
“Of course,” Willa said softly. “Whatever you require.”
“And I shall be here, too,” Myrtle declared stoutly. “I have far too little time left to waste a moment on Victoria, but I will have fun with Willa.”
Nathaniel sighed. “Myrtle, behave.”
“Why?” She blinked at him pertly as she chewed.
Nathaniel shook his head. “Fine then. Don’t behave. What do I care?”
She shook her head. “Silly boy. Still trying to fix what isn’t fixable.”
Nathaniel didn’t reply. Instead, he turned to Willa. “Were you given the gown?”
She looked thoughtful. “Yes … my lord.”
Hearing his title from her lips did something odd to Nathaniel. He was having difficulty bringing the two worlds together in his mind.
Nathaniel and Willa on the road were an uncomplicated couple on an uncomplicated journey, where every day was about miles covered and obstacles overcome.
Here he was Lord Reardon, burdened by wealth and disgrace. Willa, with her worn clothing and her elemental kindness, was wildly out of place in this tangle of convoluted debts and disloyalties that was his family.
And all he wanted was to take his sweet girl back onto the road before the poison of this place affected her.
“It is very … fine.” Willa looked solemn. “Thank you for thinking of it.”
“Do you not like it? I thought you would look well in blue. Of course, you’ll be needing other things. A shopping trip for both of us is probably in order, actually.” He wasn’t looking forward to it. “Unless you don’t wish to go out—with me.”
Willa rolled her eyes. “You had best believe I am going out with you. Those bullies do not frighten me.”
Then again, if his mission was to play Lord Treason to the hilt… then he and Willa should be as public as possible. Lord Treason would indeed shamelessly take his bride shopping and would spend enough money to attract attention.
Spending money on Willa didn’t sound so bad. And he would be sure to bring plenty of servants, in case of another Wakefield incident.
“Did you buy the blue gown because you thought I would like it?” she asked thoughtfully, her voice still no more than a breathy whisper. “Or because it would make me look as though I belonged?”
Nathaniel paused. He wasn’t sure why, but the question seemed loaded with importance for her. He shrugged, knowing only to tell her the truth. “I thought the blue would suit you.”
She studied him silently for a moment, then rose from her seat and rounded the table to him. Placing a hand on each side of his face, she tilted his head up and kissed him softly on the lips.
“Excellent answer.” Her whisper danced over his mouth. “Thank you. I will be proud to wear the gown.”
His aching need of the night before, never fully quelled, came rushing through him afresh. He leaned into her for another taste, but she was gone, settling back across the table from him once more. He blinked, then glanced warily toward Myrtle.
The little smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes told him that she had missed nothing, neither Willa’s tender nature nor his own hungry response.
“Interesting.” Her smile was sly. “Very interesting.”
13
Willa went in search of Lily and found her working busily on the hem of the blue silk gown in the bedchamber where Willa had spent the night.
“Hello, miss. I’ve nearly finished.”
“Thank you. Nathaniel, I mean, Lord Reardon is taking me shopping this afternoon, but I’ll likely still need it tonight. I doubt we’ll be purchasing anything so grand as this.”
Lily’s eyes were wide. “Miss, I doubt you’ll be purchasing anything but! You’re going to be milady soon. You must dress the part.”
“Oh, how tedious. I only
wanted some underthings and a few new muslins.”
“Miss—milady—don’t you want to do his lordship proud?”
Willa hadn’t thought about it like that. She stroked the silk, unable to resist the feel of the fine fabric on her fingers. Indeed, she would very much like to do Nathaniel proud.
A light knock came on her door. She pushed away her thoughts and rose to answer it.
A politely smiling Daphne stood there, her arms full.
“Good morning, Miss Trent.”
“Willa, please.”
Daphne gave her a restrained tilt of the lips. “Then I shall be Daphne, of course.”
She held out her burden like an offering. “Lily told me that you were going out to the shops, and I thought you might like something a little more … usual to wear.”
Looking down at herself, Willa had to acknowledge that she would be fortunate to be allowed in the doors wearing such a rag. She would have liked to claim that she’d never really cared about her wardrobe. She hadn’t needed anything fine, not for tending the inn or tramping the fields.
Unfortunately, she had a true weakness for pretty things. She simply lacked the temperament to wear them delicately.
The items that Daphne handed over to Lily were primarily cover-ups. A redingote of lovely blue silk. A deep green taffeta mantle and one in black. A jumble of scarves and shawls and a small selection of bonnets.
“It is very damp out today, so it will be entirely expected to wear something to completely cover your gown.”
It was a kind thing to say and an even kinder thing to think of. Willa had to smile at her. “Thank you. You are very generous.”
Daphne nodded with polite dignity but did not truly smile. “You are most welcome. I’m… sorry that I reacted so badly to your betrothal. I was simply so surprised. Who could have dreamed he would ever marry?”
She glanced down to Willa’s unadorned fingers. “Have you put your ring away?”
Willa wasn’t prepared for the hurt the question caused. She was sure Nathaniel would remember the betrothal ring soon. In the meantime—”Nathaniel said he wished to select one here in town. There was not much to choose from in Derryton.”
She was surprised at herself. Why such a shocking lie? Perhaps it was the very clumsiness of such a direct question coming from the most ladylike woman Willa had ever seen. Clumsy or snide?
“Oh dear,” Daphne apologized prettily, “I have been rude. I’m sure Thaniel will find something lovely here in town.”
Willa narrowed her eyes. Hmm. The apology was nicely done. Still, Willa was none too sure.
Then Lily entered with another stack of selections and the game was on.
Many things were too short and the redingote wouldn’t even close over Willa’s bust, but at last a mantle from last year proved to be the proper length and generous enough in the fit to cover Willa. With a quick choice of bonnet, Willa was ready to go out.
Even restrained Daphne seemed quite taken with the idea of “starting over” with entirely new things.
“Imagine never having to wear something one is so dreadfully tired of,” she said wistfully. “I declare I’ve worn this very morning dress six times.”
Willa blinked at her. She knew that ladies changed their gowns every hour upon the hour, or so Moira had claimed, but to protest a mere six wearings? That would still amount to less than a day’s use altogether.
What an outlandish way to carry on.
She couldn’t wait to start shopping.
After promising Myrtle final approval on everything he bought for Willa, Nathaniel left her with a quick kiss of gratitude. He had left the house and was halfway across the lawn to the mews when it occurred to him that he should have rung for someone to bring a carriage round. Odd. He had become so used to doing for himself that it seemed a bit ridiculous to tell a servant to tell another servant to tell another servant to hitch the brougham.
He was already nearly there, and it felt good to leave the house, at any rate. Rounding the wall into the cobbled stable yard, Nathaniel saw his cousin Basil leaving the stables.
His cousin was nearly as tall as he but, without any sort of regular activity, tended to be somewhat softer about the middle. Basil was by nature annoying, but Nathaniel considered him harmless. As Nathaniel’s heir, Basil spent his days living off the expectation that he would someday be Lord Reardon, and so he mortgaged himself accordingly. Debt and Basil were very nearly synonymous.
“Hello, Thaniel,” Basil said lazily, but without rancor. “I’d heard you rambled in last night.”
“Hello, Basil.” Nathaniel couldn’t resist. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Oh yes. Daphne.” Basil eyed him a bit warily. “Well, you didn’t want her, old man.”
“I wanted her,” Nathaniel replied a bit grimly. “I simply couldn’t subject her to my disgrace.” Although somehow it didn’t sting the way it should have. Daphne was a pallid watercolor next to the vibrant oil painting that was Willa.
“Hmm, yes. About that…” Basil grimaced. “I hope you aren’t planning on staying too long. I have guests coming in a few days. We’re all to ride north together.”
A corner of Nathaniel’s mouth twisted up. It seemed people couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. “Still the ever hospitable Basil, I see.”
“Well, you know how people get around you. Spoils all the fun for the rest of us, you know.”
“Really? And here I thought you rather enjoyed my exile.”
“Simply trying to see the humor in a bad situation, old boy, a bad situation.”
“Stop talking, Basil,” Nathaniel said wearily. “You make me want to hit you when you speak.”
Basil stopped talking, but Nathaniel could tell his cousin was positively bursting with more to say.
He sighed. “What is it, Basil?”
Basil shrugged. “Thought you might like to know. The grooms saw someone lurking about the house during the night. An awful scarred creature, to hear them tell it. They tried to catch him, but he was awfully fast on his feet for a crippled beggar. The grooms said he was trying to break into the kitchen window.”
John Day. Blast. Apparently his assumptions about the man had been off.
At least, he’d never left Willa alone with him … had he?
At any rate, it was time to take measures. Nathaniel called for the closed carriage and an extra man to ride guard in front. If he was going to take Willa into the city with him, he could not take chances on putting her in danger. Shaking his head, Nathaniel called to one of the avidly curious stable boys to make sure the extra guard was armed.
It was time to face the city.
The city was more fascinating than Willa could ever have imagined. She had been so desperately weary last evening when they had ridden through it that she hadn’t taken in much past the sooty smell and the fog.
Now they rode in the closed carriage through the streets, turning and twisting down this one and that, until Willa couldn’t have found her way back in a lifetime.
The way was crowded with vehicles and riders and pedestrians alike, with apparently no rules in effect but for the law of get-there-first.
So many people. Intellectually, Willa had understood how crowded the city was, but in reality, the crush of humanity seemed to steal the very air from her lungs.
The noise was relentless. From the clop of horses’ hooves on the cobble, to the creak and rattle of carriage and wagon alike, to the cries and drums of the street vendors, she had never heard such a cacophony.
It was fascinating. She wanted desperately to leap from the brougham and explore every inch.
“You become used to it,” remarked Nathaniel, who was watching her dive from one side to the other so as not to miss a thing.
“Are you used to it?”
He looked around him. “I was once. Not anymore.”
Willa thought of the fresh flood of questions hammering at the dam of her self-control but fought them back. Now was
not the time.
She needed to get Nathaniel alone, make him answer every one with no reprieve, until the holes in their future were all filled in. Until then, she would relish the city and restock her lost wardrobe.
At length they turned down a much wider street, lined with prosperous-looking shops on both sides. Above the storefronts the buildings reached to three and four stories high. Willa had never seen anything like it.
When they lighted from the brougham, she could hardly keep from tilting her head all the way back to peer at the windows so high above her, but the shops pulled her attention as well with all their enticing and curious merchandise.
The first one they entered was a dress shop. The selection seemed sparse until Nathaniel slipped the proprietress a banknote. Then lovely things appeared, seemingly from thin air.
“Oh, Nathaniel. These are very dear,” Willa protested. So she carefully chose a simple morning dress of sprigged muslin, thinking of trimming it herself, but Nathaniel promptly returned it to the proprietress and chose one more resembling the confection she had seen on Daphne today.
“It’s too dear.” She kept her voice to a hiss, but she was scandalized by the cost.
Nathaniel only looked at her curiously and placed another one, in a green stripe, on the counter. Then a pretty Turkish blue walking dress and a matching redingote.
“We’ll start with these and we’ll order more.”
Three new dresses? They were so lovely. Willa very nearly had to wipe her chin. But the cost? “Nathaniel, it simply isn’t—”
Don’t you want to do His Lordship proud?
She smiled at Nathaniel. “It simply isn’t enough,” she said cheerfully.
“That’s my girl.” He winked at her and, after she’d been measured and he’d given direction for delivery in a few days, whisked her off to the glover.
And the milliner.
And the cobbler.
And a shop where Willa was discreetly shown behind a curtained doorway to choose from among the most decadent and fabulous underthings she could ever have imagined.
Celeste Bradley - [Royal Four 01] Page 14
