by Donna Hatch
Richard stared as the truth of Kensington’s words sank into his heart. “I’ve been a terrible husband. I’ve impugned her honor, questioned her motives, and rejected her in every way. But I do…love…her.” Oddly, that word wasn’t as hard to say as he’d feared. “I’m not throwing her over.”
“Then you’d better spend every moment of every day making sure she knows how you feel and that you’re fortunate to have her.”
“You’re right. I need to stop being suspicious. I need to trust.” He gulped. Could he?
Kensington pinned him with a fierce stare. “If she does love Tristan, then your task is to win her away from him, not turn into a statue and let her think you don’t care.”
“I didn’t mean to, but when I thought she and Tristan…”
“He told me the whole story a few weeks ago when he first arrived in London,” Kensington said. “He swore he’d never touched her after that first kiss in the garden at the house party. He’s angry and hurt you’d think he’d sink so low as to bed your wife. What you did isn’t easily forgiven.”
Richard snorted. “He’d have to have a heart to be hurt.”
Kensington leveled a stare upon him that made Richard shift uneasily. Kensington was right. Regardless of Tristan’s faults, he wouldn’t betray Richard. Throughout their lives, they’d always been there for one another. His brother had been his staunchest supporter, his truest friend..
Though he’d never admit it out loud, Richard missed Tristan. Tristan made him laugh. He knew when Richard was overwhelmed with responsibility and needed a diversion. At those times, they’d gone swimming in the lake, steeple-chased, and climbed the cliffs. After a day of hard and usually dangerous play with his brother, Richard always felt shored up and ready to face the rigors of the title. Tristan would fade into the background until Richard needed him again.
Richard dropped his head into his hands. “I’ve been such a fool.”
“You’re not a fool for loving your wife—just for assuming she’d betray you, and for assuming it of your brother. I’m not sure why, but you seem to have this notion everyone will abandon you.”
Richard raised his head inquiringly.
Kensington nodded, staring at some far off scene only visible to himself. “You said that to me once. Do you remember the fight we got into after your father died?”
“The one outside the hall?”
“No, the one by the lake. I can’t even remember what it was about, but I remember you blackened my eye.”
“I don’t remember what that was about either, except that you were annoying.”
After a brief smile, Kensington continued. “After I picked myself up off the ground, I said you were a lout and I turned and walked away. You shouted at me to go ahead and leave just like everyone else in your life.”
Like Mama. And Father. The same desolation that had gnawed at him as a child returned with brutal force. Richard rested his head in his hands so Kensington wouldn’t see the tears stinging his eyes.
Kensington’s voice hushed. “Now you think your wife will cheat on you or leave you. If she does, it will be because you drove her away.”
Panic arose at the thought of losing her—not because of the scandal or the shame, but because of the emptiness that would consume him if the woman he loved were gone. Richard drew himself up. “I will not lose her. I will not let her go.”
Kensington made a shooing motion. “Then go get her.”
Richard left immediately to win his wife’s heart.
Fog swirled around Richard’s feet as he descended the front steps of White’s Gentlemen’s Club and headed toward the waiting carriage. What offering could he make to Elizabeth? Jewelry? Clothes? A book of poetry? None of those seemed heartfelt enough. The harp had been his ace and he was out of cards.
The lamplighters had already come, the streetlamps casting ghostly glow as darkness mingled with fog. His carriage materialized out of the darkness and Richard got in.
Then, it came to him. The ruby necklace. She’d even asked about it once after seeing his ancestors’ portraits.
Upon reaching home, he gave the orders to a trusted servant to have the ruby and diamond necklace brought from Averston Castle. “I know I’m asking a lot from you,” he said to the servant, “but I’d appreciate it if you’d go immediately. Take at least two other armed riders.”
Elizabeth had already retired by the time he went to check on her, and the following morning had not yet arisen by the time he had to leave for the trial. He only hoped his offer of the necklace wasn’t too late. The servants must have ridden straight through, for the necklace arrived the next evening.
After giving the men his thanks and a bag of coins for their trouble, Richard found Elizabeth playing the harp. He smiled over the crease of concentration in her brow as she played what was no doubt a particularly difficult piece of the music. Then as the music slowed, her face relaxed into absolute serenity. She completed the piece and glanced up. Her cheeks bloomed and she fluttered her hands.
He held up a hand. “No need to be embarrassed. Your playing is lovely.”
“I made a mistake—”
“It was perfect.” He went to her. “I have something I’ve been meaning to give to you.” Confessing that he didn’t want to give it to her until he was certain she’d proved faithful sounded terribly harsh. So he kept his reasons for the delay to himself. After opening the velvet bag, he inverted it into her outstretched hand.
She drew in her breath. Then, in a rather wooden voice, said, “Oh, Richard, it’s lovely.”
Something he could not name touched her expression, but it certainly wasn’t the same joy she’d expressed when he’d given her the harp. “I am honored. Thank you.” Her voice cracked.
She turned her head, made a sound in her throat, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning and practically running out of the room.
Richard stared after her with absolutely no idea what to make of her reaction, but it hadn’t been the one he’d expected. Was it too little, too late?
Chapter Forty-One
Elizabeth stood in front of her mirror admiring the ruby necklace and wiping the tears trailing down her cheeks. She barely managed to control her impulse to throw her arms around him and kiss him. Instead, she’d fled the room to avoid revealing too much of her emotions. He’d probably think her mad for making such a fuss over a few old jewels. Her pride still stung that he’d waited so long to give her a traditional wedding gift, but he’d given it now. That meant the world to her.
He’d given the rubies to her as a symbol that he accepted her as his wife. Mrs. Brown had implied that the necklace had been given as a gift when the wedding was a love match. Yet she feared to read too much into the gesture. There was a difference between loving her, and merely accepting her. Still, his acceptance brought a rush of heady pleasure.
After fingering the necklace, Elizabeth placed it in a jewel case on her dressing table. Tomorrow, she’d instruct Maggie to have it locked in the family safe until she could wear it the next time they had dinner together. Tonight, she’d keep it near, knowing it symbolized how far she and Richard had come in their relationship and vowing to keep it safe always.
That night, she fell asleep dreaming of lying in Richard’s arms.
In the morning, her necklace had vanished.
Elizabeth stared in disbelief. When Maggie entered, Elizabeth turned urgently to her abigail. “Maggie, did you put my necklace in the family safe?”
Maggie’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. “No, milady.”
Elizabeth pressed her hands to either side of her face. “Oh, no. This cannot be. I left it here last night when I went to bed and now it’s gone.”
Maggie was all business. “Perhaps it fell off. I’ll look for it.”
They pulled the furniture away from the walls, scoured the floors, and then searched the pockets of everything Elizabeth owned in case she’d simply misplaced it. Nothing.
“It’s g
one.” Elizabeth slumped onto the counterpane on the bed and threw an arm over her eyes. “What will I ever tell Lord Averston? I lost a priceless family heirloom only hours after he entrusted it to me.”
Even worse, he’d see the loss as a slight to his offering.
A new, more sinister, thought struck her: a thief had been in her room as she slept. The violation left her decidedly unsettled. She rubbed her hands over her arms and cast a glance in every direction.
Jittery at the thought of an intruder, and loath to face Richard and confess the news, she dawdled over her morning toiletry. By the time she forced herself to go to breakfast, Richard had already left for the trial.
Elizabeth summoned Cooper. “I need your help most urgently.”
“Anythin’ m’lady.”
“My husband has given me a diamond and ruby necklace. You can see it in many family portraits here and at the country estate. I left it in my room last night, and this morning it disappeared. I need your help recovering it.”
He paused. “I don’ recall noticing no necklace in no portraits, m’lady.”
She led him to the drawing room and found a painting of the sixth Countess Averston wearing the necklace.
He peered at it, whistled in appreciation and nodded. “Leave it’ to me, m’lady. I’ll find it for ye.”
That evening, Elizabeth wore a pale blue gown and her favorite pearls, hoping Richard wouldn’t notice. He came home late, but found her in the library curled up with a book.
“Good evening, my lady.” His gaze fell to her neck as he bent to kiss her cheek. “I’d hoped to see you wearing the rubies.”
Elizabeth nearly stammered, “My red gown needed cleaning, and I didn’t feel the rubies would do with a blue gown. Besides, I dined alone tonight; it didn’t seem appropriate to get so dressed up.”
He paused a heartbeat, then, “I see.”
Her face burned at her deception.
“You might be interested to know I tried to contact Tristan today,” Richard said. “His valet informed me he was out, but I had just seen him enter only moments before I arrived. He clearly does not wish to see me. Reconciliation may be difficult for the time being.”
Compassion edged through her discomfort and Elizabeth put a hand over his. “I’m sorry. Mayhap he just needs time.”
“He’s an irresponsible whelp. I’m better off not knowing of his escapades.” His curtness did not quite conceal the pain of rejection in his eyes. As if to protect himself from revealing too much, he stood and bade her good night.
Elizabeth sat alone in the room, torn between wanting to help heal the rift between brothers, and not wishing to do anything that might endanger Richard’s fragile trust. The loss of the rubies already stood between them; if she were to contact Tristan and beg him to allow Richard to make amends, she might add another wedge in her relationship. Yet how could she do nothing?
Cooper entered. “M’lady, I thin’ I know who stole the rubies, but I can’t prove it.”
“Did you find them?”
“No. He might have already sold them.”
She pressed her hand over her eyes. “Keep trying. Sooner or later, my husband will learn they are missing. He might blame you or one of the others who are reformed.”
She briefly entertained the idea of having a copy made, but couldn’t bring herself to commit such a deception. How long could she keep making up excuses before Richard learned the truth? When that happened, she would completely lose his trust.
Chapter Forty-Two
Richard left House of the Lords with Jenison and headed toward the street to their waiting carriages. “I don’t see how the others can be so uncertain,” Richard said. “The evidence against Einsburgh is convincing.”
“I agree. With any luck, they’ll come around.” As they waited for their carriages, Jenison patted his chest. “Time to make peace with the lady.”
“Make peace? Is something amiss?”
“She’s unhappy with me. It’s gone on too long, and I’d rather have her smile at me than prove I’m right.”
Richard nodded at the wise words. “What do you plan to do?”
“Apologize, tell her she’s a gem, and give her these.” He withdrew a bag from a breast pocket and opened it up into his hand.
Richard’s jaw dropped. The Averston rubies lay in Lord Jenison’s palm. Richard blinked, certain he was seeing wrong.
Jenison held them so they caught the light. “Magnificent, aren’t they?”
Richard made a strangled noise.
Lord Jenison gripped his shoulder. “What is it? You look the very devil.”
“That necklace,” he said hoarsely. “Where did you get it?”
“Well, don’t tell her, but I found it at a pawn shop. Got a good price on it. Why?”
“I vow that necklace has been in my family for generations.”
Lord Jenison frowned. “Are you certain?”
Refusing to voice the fear that Elizabeth had simply sold it, he managed, “I have no doubt.”
“I guess you were robbed and they pawned it. Hmm. Puts me in a bad spot. No matter. It’s yours. Here.” He handed them to Richard.
“I will, of course, reimburse you for the purchase price. I’ll send you a bank draft first thing in the morning.”
Jenison ran a hand over his thinning hair. “Seems bad form to make you buy back your own jewels. No, don’t pay me for them. That will teach me to buy from a pawn. Should have gone to my regular jeweler. Hmm. I need something to take to my wife as an offering.” He bid Richard a good night and stepped into his coach.
Richard stood waiting for his own carriage, heedless of the mist that gathered into a fine rain. He sorted through many possible explanations. The most obvious was that she’d sold his gift. If she’d needed money, surely she would have come to him. Then again, she kept so many secrets from him—her mother’s abuse, her uncommon friendship with the ’tween stairs maid, her servants’ backgrounds—she probably had other secrets he hadn’t begun to suspect. He’d be foolish to think she would suddenly begin confiding in him.
Regardless, her simply pawning a priceless family heirloom that had symbolized love for centuries, proclaimed her disregard for its significance, or perhaps her disregard for him. Surely she knew he would miss it.
He stopped that line of thought. He needed to start trusting her. After all, she’d never given him any reason to suspect she’d pawned it. Perhaps it had been stolen. They never caught the thief at the ball. Mrs. Brown mentioned some missing silver. Elizabeth might be reluctant to tell Richard of the missing jewels for fear that he’d blame her servants, based on his reaction of thefts during the ball.
He couldn’t miss the obvious implication that she didn’t trust Richard. The thought made his heart sink. His carriage arrived and he climbed in on weighted feet, feeling as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He stared without seeing out the window at the gathering fog. Loss, so stark that his breathing became arduous, crept over him with insidious tentacles. He didn’t deserve her trust. He had much to do to win such a difficult and precious gift. He could start by giving her his trust.
“My lord?”
Richard realized they’d reached Averston House and that the footman was standing with the door open, waiting for him to exit. Gathering himself, Richard entered the house, shed his overcoat and gloves, and headed for his room just as Elizabeth emerged from her bedchambers. Her white silk evening gown clung to her lovely figure.
Her brows raised. “Richard. I’m surprised you’re home in time for dinner.”
With a heavy heart, he took her hand and kissed it. “I would like nothing better than to have dinner with my lovely wife.”
She blinked rapidly. “Oh…”
“Can’t a man have dinner with his wife?”
“Of course. It’s just that you haven’t done it much.”
She was right. He’d been neglectful. He’d been so absorbed in the trial, and his estrangement with Tristan, and hi
s fears about his wife…in other words, he’d been a self-absorbed fool.
“Then it’s high time I made a change. I vow to make an effort to be home to have dinner with you more often.”
“I’d enjoy that.”
He paused, trying to decide how to broach the subject of the rubies. He snatched the first idea that seemed to make sense. “Elizabeth, now that we’re in Town, you may, of course do any shopping you desire. If you need more money—for anything at all—you have only to ask, or charge it and have the bill sent to me.”
Her face pinked and her words came out in a rush. “Oh, that’s not necessary. My pin money and dress allowance was most generous and I have not yet exhausted that. I thank you.”
He rubbed his forehead. What had gone wrong? The only two people he truly cared about wanted no part of him in their lives. And now his wife was keeping secrets.
It was probably his own fault. He should just tell her how he found the rubies and listen to her explanation, if she had one. How did he broach the subject without sounding judgmental and accusing? At worst, she would probably fear he was blaming her for dishonesty, or at best, for accusing her servants. Every phrase that leapt into his head sounded worse than the last. If Richard had been abandoned upon an uninhabited island, his sense of isolation could not have been more profound. Or left him so lost.
He agonized over the subject during dinner. Elizabeth seemed quiet as well. By the time she bade him goodnight and went to bed, he’d completely lost his nerve. Blasted fool! When did he become such a coward?
Perhaps making amends with Tristan would give him the courage to speak to Elizabeth. He took a hansom to Tristan’s bachelor flat. Unable to find him at home, Richard searched for him at a number of clubs but to no avail. His carriage finally stopped at White’s. Though Tristan seldom went to such a respectable gentlemen’s club, Richard had to try.
