“You're glad of it simply because I got Gwendolyn to bed,” he replied and Shauna chuckled.
“That could be the case,” she lay her head on his shoulder and then tried to focus on the others in the room. “I'm sure you have a glorious amount of tales to tell me.”
“Top secret,” Wesley replied, pouring himself a drink. As predicted, Lola was still at work, and the Lord and Lady of the house had gone out to a late supper. Matheson and Corrigan were in the library, no doubt finding the good cigars. “Although I can tell you that your husband took little persuading to come here.”
“I was going to send for you,” Aaron said. “First thing.”
“The King's birthday celebration could not be ignored,” Shauna asked. “It seems he is more desperate every year for people to attend, and so even us, the widowed ladies, get invitations.”
“I suppose it is good to know that you are included,” Aaron said. “Although my concern is that he could be trying to make alliances, and that is why. If you were truly widowed, and the wife of a dead Lord, you could marry high.”
“I would not marry again if you were really dead,” Shauna answered strongly.
“I would want you too,” he said softly. “I would want you to be taken care of.”
“Your family would take care of me, as they are now,” Shauna replied. “There is no reason to marry again when my heart would not be with my husband. My first marriage was for love and I intend it to be my last.”
“What did I do to deserve you?” he asked, lovingly. Just then, the front door opened.
“And then, he said my line! He forgets his own and he speaks mine, the arrogant...” Lola was saying loudly.
“Lola, my children are asleep,” came Harold's calm voice from behind her. “And you've told us already. At least six times.”
“But do you understand how terrible that is?” she half shrieked. Clearly, the couple had picked Lola up from the theater, and she had not stopped regaling them of the tales ever since. Wesley finished his drink, putting it on the cabinet, and leaned back. Unlike his counterparts, he preferred a quiet discovery.
“Yes, we understand,” Annabelle closed the door behind her with a soft smile. “And we understand how you will ream him out six ways to Sunday, and how it will possibly be a better show next time than what happened tonight or any other night.”
“He has no idea what he's...” Lola was only silenced by turning into the grand room, and seeing a few more faces than when she had left. She stopped talking for just a moment, taking a deep breath and registering the shock.
Then the trained stage actress continued on.
“Aaron, can you believe that? It was John, do you remember John? He used to things like that when we were Romeo and Juliet, and now that we are King and Queen, he does it again! I'll push him off his throne.”
She simultaneously crossed the floor to go to her husband, opening her arms, while still talking.
He drew her close, kissing her forehead.
“Hello, love.”
“Hello,” she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to see them there, with no announcement. “I'm angry.”
“I see that,” he replied. “Do you want a drink?”
“Not particularly,” she replied, settling on the arm of his chair.
“I seem to remember John doing this in the past,” Aaron managed, smiling wildly at his feisty childhood best friend. “Why didn't you consider stealing one of his lines and getting on with it?”
“Because I'm a professional,” Lola cried. “I would never do such a thing. Although I may arrange to unscrew his throne tomorrow so he falls to the floor as he sits during the opening scene.”
Aaron snorted as Lola accepted a cup of tea from the flustered maid, who had clearly heard the yelling. Tea was always a nice way of calming anyone down, even if it didn't work for long. To her credit, the maid curtsied to her rightful Lord, and then vanished.
Aaron raised an eyebrow at Wesley, who shrugged. If the servants were discreet, there was no problem. It was only when they weren't that their lives became tricky.
“Anyways, what are you doing here?” Lola asked, settled at last. “This is risky.”
“I'll say,” Harold said, greeting his best friend in half shock. “There had better be a good reason for this.”
“The King's Birthday?” Aaron answered.
“Not a good reason,” Harold replied. “Although we were just discussing the ladies having to attend unescorted.”
“I didn't want you to go through that unescorted,” Wesley said, softly in Lola's ear. “I know how cruel those nobles can be.”
“You don't know the half of it,” Lola replied. “I don't mind so much, I'm used to people saying things to me...but....Oh, I must be tired.”
“But what?” Wesley asked, uncomfortable with the tone in her voice. “What did they say? Who said something to you?”
“Nobody worth mentioning,” Lola said. “But the other day I was at a party and someone said that they remembered...when the Rippon title was grand. I spilled my drink on them.”
“Before or after?” Aaron inquired.
“After,” Lola said, clearly not too bothered. “Don't worry, Wesley. I can listen to cruel comments without my heart breaking. I am an actress, after all. I'm not a good match, I knew that.”
“You are the best match to me,” he assured her. “If you tell me who said that...”
“Don't worry,” she rested a hand on his thigh. “We're home together. Have a drink, we have no cares tonight.”
“You weren't...actually planning on attending the ball, were you?” Harold asked Aaron. “I understand your presence for moral support but...”
“Wesley, most brilliant mind in the navy, seems to think he has a plan to sneak me around town,” Aaron answered. “Don't you, Wesley?”
“I got you in here undetected, didn't I?” Wesley asked, as he poured another drink. “That's enough for one night.”
“Well...it could be wonderful timing that you are here...” Harold said, leaning forward. “I'm not sure if you've heard the news, but Spain is switching allegiances. Again.”
“No!” Aaron shot forward. “What?”
“Word came from HQ not a few days ago,” Harold admitted. “And while every plan is in place to try and fix it...”
“Aren't you lucky that the specialist in outnumbered and out-planned is here?” Aaron waived to Wesley. “We can help.”
“Don't be silly,” Harold said. “For one thing, it's late and I am far too tired to make sure that I tell you the proper details. Let's at least pick up this discussion in the morning.”
“Aye, Aye Captain,” Aaron said, giving his best friend a cheeky grin. “We don't have to speak of navy matters anymore. We can enjoy things tonight, before the morning turns serious.”
“That is a plan I could get behind,” Harold said, as he got up. “Drink, Annabelle?”
“I will remain in solidarity with my teetotaler brother,” she answered, as she took Harold's place on the couch. When they sat beside each other, the reminder that they were twins was striking. With the exact same coloring and eye shape, they seemed mirrored and gendered images of each other. “How have you been?”
She didn't have to choose not to drink, but Aaron appreciated it. He had long since learned that his fits got worse when he drank, and so he abstained, an odd choice for a pirate. He appreciated his family making it seem as if it were normal, although he sometimes wondered if there was a part of life he was missing out on. Drunken nights and rowdy fun was not something he had ever experienced; a slice of growing up robbed from him.
Wesley seemed to ignore this fact for the night, reaching for a third drink while pouring Lola half of one. She had an appearance in the morning, and knew she had to look bright eyed.
She didn't mind her husband indulging, although it became clear as the night went on that he might be overindulging. She was curious because she rarely saw him overindu
lging. He liked to be in control of his precious mind at all time.
So when they finally decided to head to bed for the night, she was surprised by how tightly he gripped her hand.
“Are you alright?” she asked, and he nodded. Aaron had seen it a thousand times on his ship with the rest of his pirates though, and called out.
“Wesley, Pirate Lord. Can you not handle your liquor?”
“Says the man who is yelling without any,” Wesley answered. “I'll be fine.”
“Have a jolly time, Lola,” Aaron said, as she slipped an arm around her husband's waist.
“If I can handle John saying my line after forgetting his own, I can handle anything,” she answered, guiding Wesley up the stairs. His jaw was screwed shut and she wondered if he was going to be sick. However, as they neared their bedroom, it appeared he had just been concentrating on each step, to make sure he didn't knock her over.
“You made it, you're safe,” she said, as she closed the door behind them. “Are you sure you're alright?”
“I was the one who asked him to come,” Wesley said, as he sank down on to the bed. “I shouldn't have done it. Now that I see him beside Shauna, I remember how much there is to lose. It was a fit of emotions, Lola, a mistake. I don't make emotional mistakes.”
She chose her words carefully, sinking on the bed beside him.
“Nor do you normally tell me your emotions,” she teased him, picking up his hand to hold it in hers. His fingers, long and pale, against her small ones with her exotic skin tone, always fascinated her. They were so different in so many ways, and she knew each day had been a hurdle they survived. “Are you sure you are drunk and you aren't dying?”
“Oh,” he said, letting out a strangled laugh as he lay his head onto the pillow. “The first one, certainly.”
“Mm,” she snuggled up to his side. “Don't worry, Wesley. You'll figure it out.”
“Well, that's just the problem, isn't it?” he asked. “Everyone is expecting that I will. What if I don't? I could bring us all down. We shouldn't have come.”
“You should have,” she said. “We all deserve a little bit of happiness now and again. I have an idea you can claim as your own, if you like.”
“Huh?” he asked, lolling his head to her side.
“It's a mask ball,” she said. “I suspect it's because the King is not doing well and they don't want anyone to know how unwell he is. But that could save us.”
“A full mask?” he asked.
“I think it's up to us, so yes. I could provide several face covering masks from the theater,” Lola said. “That you could approve. That way, neither Shauna nor I have to be unescorted. It's one night of fun, before we return to our lives of loneliness and chaos. Please.”
It may have been because he was drunk; or perhaps because he loved her so very much. Either way, though he leaned over, kissing her full on the lips.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, to anything you ask.”
CHAPTER THREE
The next morning, Lola was up early, as she usually was. Although she could sleep long into the morning, her body was naturally full of energy and awoke before dawn unless there was a desperate sleep debt.
Creeping out of the room, in order to not wake Wesley, who was hiding from the dawn light, she tightened her robe. She wanted a spot of breakfast before she changed and left for the day. She had two appearances, one of them noble, and she didn't think Wesley would be in much shape to attend.
In the dining room, breakfast was already laid out. However, the only person there was Aaron, going back for what looked like his second helping.
“Hello,” she said, as she went to the buffet. “You are up early.”
“I'm not used to being asleep at this time actually,” he replied and she turned to him in half shock.
“Aaron, you are Captain of the ship. You don't have to be on the midnight watch.”
“Of course I don't have to be,” he said. “But that's my choice. I do love the dark night, it's quiet.”
“Who would have thought you'd love the quiet,” she sat down, a steaming hot plate of food in front of her. Although she was tired, she liked it when she got herself up in the mornings. At 11am, she felt as if she had wasted half the day if she didn't wake up.
“How's Wesley?”
“Well, he chose the side of the bed to vomit on just before dawn, so...” Lola grinned. “I've never seen him drunk, actually. He was full of emotions and love. It was charming...when he wasn't vomiting.”
“He doesn't do it often,” Aaron admitted. “He's usually pretty secretive about it, if I'm honest with you. He doesn't like others to see him out of control.”
“This I know,” Lola replied. “I think he was feeling pressured, to keep everyone safe. I told him that it was not all on his shoulders, that he shouldn't worry...”
“You know your husband,” Aaron said. “He would worry if everything was perfect.”
“Mm,” Lola looked down at her plate. “I wonder if I could relieve some of that worry.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked her, picking up an odd note in her voice.
“Just that...I don't know, it's silly,” she said. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
“Lola, may I remind you we've been the closest of friends since childhood? Whatever is on your mind, you can tell me.”
She let out a sigh.
“That was not the first time someone said something to me,” she said. “And I doubt it will be the last. I don't want him to worry about his title, about its future. He will have to, obviously, if we continue being married. And what about our children? When we are gone, and they inherit, what will they say to the child of an actress and an earl? Will they accept them?”
“Are you pregnant?” Aaron asked, confused.
“No, but I should consider that soon,” Lola replied. “Our time is running out, Aaron. I can't have children forever, and we haven't even considered these things. An actress mother who travels and a pirate lord father whose never home?”
“You are anticipating a change,” he said, as he took a sip of tea.
“One way or another, something has to change,” she replied.
“Lola, you love Wesley with all your heart,” he said. “And he loves you. I don't think he cares much about the title or continuing the line, or what people say. Focus on making each other happy, and forget the rest. If I had learned that earlier, I would have married Shauna 10 years ago.”
“A peasant married to a Lord is nowhere near as scandalous as an actress,” she pointed out.
“Well, currently I'm dead, so no one is saying anything to her face,” Aaron said. “But they may if I was alive.”
Lola sighed, covering her face.
“Never mind, Aaron. I'm just tired today.”
“You're not,” he said. “I know this is your heart. But I know Wesley is also your heart, Lola, and don't deny that. You did know from the moment you met him that it was not going to be an easy marriage.”
“I did know that,” she said. “I just ...expected it to get easier as time went on.”
“Is it not easier now?” he asked. “Then when you were two street urchins exchanging pleasantness?”
She resisted the urge to throw something at him.
“It's different,” she replied, at last. “It's a different kind of difficult.”
“That's just the process of life,” he replied. “Go on, you have a full day. I'd join you, if I could.”
“I know you would,” she replied. “Can you tell Wesley where I've gone though, if he wants to join me? I'll leave instructions.”
“Of course,” Aaron replied. “I plan to spend my day succumbing to Gwendolyn's every whim. Even if it means playing the same card game for several hours in a row.”
She smiled.
“You're a good father,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and then heading back upstairs to get dressed.
It turned out that Wesley was
already awake when she entered the room, hiding his face from the dawn light.
“Lola, please shut the curtains,” he managed and she smiled, complying.
“Good morning,” she said, sinking onto the end of the bed. “I'm just going out. There's the ribbon cutting ceremony at the library and then there's the cricket tournament trophy presentation at noon.”
“Ugh,” he managed to pull his face out from under the pillow. “I should accompany you. That's the whole reason, isn't it?”
“Not if you're going to vomit on their shoes,” she teased, as he hauled himself up.
“Don't be ridiculous. I'm a pirate, I'm used to this.”
“Please don't tell them that either,” she replied, as he splashed cold water on his face. “I would be delighted if you came. Do you have anything to wear?”
“Er---” that made him pause.
“I'll just go ask Aaron then,” she said, standing up. “For something that isn't pirate-y and presentable.”
“Please,” said the pirate first mate, realizing that slipping back into noble life was going to take more than he thought. He had been ready to leave it all behind, but Lola had showed him how life was worth living all those years ago, and how a title could protect them from any scandal. “My head.”
“I could also bring you a hair of the dog,” she suggested and he raised an eyebrow.
“How exactly do you know that term?”
“Do you honestly think I'm that innocent?” she teased him. “I may have learned a thing or two about life on the stage.”
“I prefer to think of you as my perfectly innocent, angel of a wife,” he answered and she giggled, heading out of the room to find Aaron once again.
The rest of the house was starting to wake up, and Lola reveled in the energy as she gathered the things Wesley needed. There were the sounds of children laughing; of the men excited for breakfast, and of the women speaking to their servants, ordering breakfasts to their room.
Lola glanced at the clock, knowing that she needed to leave shortly. She had only a few minutes to gather Wesley a proper outfit, and he would have to get dressed at lightning speed.
How To Love A Fake Prince Page 22
