“Good God,” she yelped, struggling to get free. “Alec, let me up.”
“Yes, let her up, so I can get at you,” Fergus said through clenched teeth.
“Edie, sit still for a moment,” Alec ordered. “You’re not arranged correctly.”
Holding her so tightly wasn’t helping matters in that respect.
By this time, Mr. Gilbride had covered his face with one hand and Fergus had taken another threatening step closer.
“Don’t take another step, Fergus,” Alec said in a harsh voice. “I’m warning you.”
Edie tried to wriggle free again. “If you two are going to start pummeling each other, I’d rather not be in the middle of it.” She shoved against Alec’s shoulder without the slightest effect. “Let me go!”
“I’m trying to preserve your modesty, you daft woman,” Alec growled as he attempted to wrestle her skirts down over her legs. “Hold still.”
Her modesty? That had flown out the window several minutes ago, when she’d been insane enough to kiss him.
“What is going on in here? Where is my son?” came a shrill voice, followed by a hasty clatter of heels.
Mrs. Haddon heaved into view on the other side of Alec’s father. She let out a penetrating shriek as she clutched at poor Mr. Gilbride’s arm. “Alasdair, what are you doing? Why are you with that whore?”
“Right, that tears it,” Alec said.
He stood up, bringing Edie with him. He set her carefully on her feet but kept her behind him, protecting her. But she didn’t need protection—she needed to get out of there. Her skirts were twisted around her legs and she’d just discovered her bodice had gone entirely askew, exposing the lace trim of her stays.
Repressing a curse, she turned her back, struggling to straighten herself out while the various members of the Haddon family started yelling at each other.
Another feminine voice cut through the chaos. “Mamma, what’s going on? Why are you screaming—”
The sudden silence that followed that interruption felt louder than the previous bedlam. Her heart sinking—it should be hitting bedrock by now—Edie slowly turned to meet Donella’s wide-eyed gaze. The young woman was stone-faced and deadly pale as she took in the scene, her gaze ultimately snagging on Edie’s still suspicious-looking bodice, rumpled skirts, and no-doubt lopsided coiffure.
Edie went hot with shame. “It’s not what it looks like. Really. Nothing happened.”
No one with a modicum of intelligence could believe that. But if they all pretended to believe it, she and Alec might still escape with their hides intact. Yes, it was all very embarrassing, but if everyone agreed to ignore this little incident, Alec might be able to salvage his honor and Edie her reputation.
“Are you insane?” Fergus thundered. “It’s exactly what it looks like, you . . . you Sassenach. You were seducing my cousin. Not that he seemed to be making an attempt to stop you.”
“So much for taking the sensible way out.” Alec glanced at Edie, one corner of his mouth edging up in a wry smile. “It was a valiant try though, lass, I’ll give you that.”
She gaped back at him. How could he even smile—much less joke—at a time like this?
“She’s a whore,” Mrs. Haddon snarled, apparently recovered from her hysterics and pointing her finger straight at Edie’s chest. “And we should treat her like one.”
“Aunt Glenna, I realize you’ve had a shock and I’m sorry for that,” Alec said in a low, quiet voice that still held a clear warning. “But I’ll not countenance that sort of address.”
His aunt’s face pulled into a harsh grimace. “How could you do this to my daughter? How could you bring your English lightskirt—”
“Not another word, Mamma,” Donella cut in. “I will deal with this situation.”
Mrs. Haddon turned on her daughter. “How can you bear—”
Donella flashed up a hand. “Not another word,” she said in an icy tone.
Surprisingly, her mother clamped her lips shut, although she shot Edie a look that was pure hatred.
Donella flicked another cool glance over Edie, then she calmly regarded her betrothed. Edie stole a look at Alec out of the corner of her eye. He was standing steadfast under his cousin’s gaze, but the color was high on his cheekbones, likely from both anger and embarrassment. They’d both been unforgivably impulsive, but Edie knew he would never have wished to humiliate Donella so thoroughly.
“Alasdair, this is exactly what it appears to be, is it not?” Donella asked.
He grimaced slightly, then nodded. “Aye, it is.”
Donella gazed at him for a few moments longer, unnervingly cool and collected. Then she gave a brisk nod. “Thank you for being truthful, Alasdair. I entirely release you from your vows to me. You are free to do as you wish.”
Then she turned on her heel and walked to the door, leaving them all slack-jawed.
Not for long, though, since Mrs. Haddon started shrieking again. Most of it was incoherent, but Edie couldn’t fail to miss the words English and whore.
For the third time, a voice cut through the commotion.
Edie’s mother’s voice.
“Cease that ungodly noise immediately,” Mamma rapped out as she stalked up to them. “You will bring every servant in this household down on our heads. Not to mention Lord Riddick.”
That threat froze them all into near silence, even Mrs. Haddon. Weeping, she subsided against Mr. Gilbride, who supported her by the arm and made little clucking noises, as if trying to soothe a fractious baby.
Fergus recovered first. “I can assure you, Lady Reese, that my uncle will hear all about this from me. Lord Riddick needs to know just how disgracefully his grandson has behaved himself.”
“And I’m sure he will, Mr. Haddon,” Mamma answered in her most aristocratically condescending voice. “But in the appropriate manner and from the appropriate person, which would be Captain Gilbride, not you.”
“How dare you tell us how to conduct our business?” Fergus responded hotly. “You and your daughter, coming up here and ruining everything.”
As insults went, that one was exceedingly mild, especially considering some of the other terms that had been bandied about only a few minutes ago.
“I believe that Lord Riddick has a bad heart, does he not?” Edie’s mother asked.
“That is true, Lady Reese,” Mr. Gilbride said anxiously. “I’m very worried about him.”
“As am I,” said Mamma. “Which is why Captain Gilbride and I will discuss the situation with him.”
“And what am I supposed to do?” Fergus asked. “Just sit around while you and your light—”
A low growl from Alec had Fergus stumbling over the word, but he managed to recover. “Sit around while you and your daughter cut my sister out of her rightful position in this household?”
Mamma’s imperious gaze flashed over to Edie. It was the first time her mother had looked at her since she’d entered the room. “I assure you, Mr. Haddon, I will deal with my daughter in good time. The best thing you can do right now is to escort your mother and sister home and wait to hear from his lordship. There is nothing more you can do tonight.”
“Lady Reese, we have guests about to arrive,” Mr. Gilbride said. “How do we explain this?”
“We will explain that Mrs. Haddon was suddenly taken quite ill, and that her children insisted on returning home with her.”
Given that the woman in question was now leaning heavily against Mr. Gilbride, moaning as if in extremis, it was certainly an excuse that had merit.
“Yes, that makes sense,” Mr. Gilbride said with a relieved smile. He looked at Fergus. “Come, lad. Help me get your mother to the carriage, and then we’ll find your sister.”
Fergus went to take his mother’s other arm, but not before he glared at Alec. “This isn’t over, Cousin. I promise you.”
Alec let out a weary sigh that tore at Edie’s heart. This was all her fault. If she’d only had the brains—and the courage—to l
eave the room when she should have, none of this would have happened. Now she’d blown up Alec’s relationship with his family, not to mention possibly putting his grandfather’s health at risk.
Well done, Edie, and it took you less than a week.
If only Evelyn had been here to keep her straight. Then again, her twin had found herself in a similar situation not that long ago. It would appear that Edie was following in her sister’s footsteps, which was rather mind-boggling.
“Yes, I’ll speak with you later, Fergus,” Alec said.
As Mr. Gilbride and Fergus carted Mrs. Haddon out of the room, Mamma turned and ran a practiced eye over Edie’s gown. She let out a tsk, then expertly rearranged Edie’s bodice and flicked her skirts into some semblance of order.
“You’re respectable enough to get back upstairs,” Mamma said, “but you’ll have to change your dress and have Cora fix your hair. And you’ll need to be quick about it.”
Her mother’s attitude was coolly practical, but Edie didn’t miss the irate glimmer in her eye. “Mamma, I’m so dreadfully sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Her mother cast a glance at Alec, who looked both slightly disheveled and outrageously handsome in his kilt and formal jacket. “I believe I know exactly what came over you,” she said in a severe voice.
Alec winced. “Lady Reese, this is all my fault—”
“I very much doubt that,” Mamma interrupted ruthlessly. “But I have neither the time nor the desire to listen to feeble excuses. Not another word from either of you until I speak to Lord Riddick. Tonight will be difficult, but I believe I can manage to get us through it without too much gossip—if his lordship will cooperate.”
“Good luck with that,” Alec muttered under his breath.
As if on cue, the old earl stomped into the library. “What the devil is going on? Glenna is in hysterics, Donella has called for their carriage, and Fergus wouldn’t even speak to me.”
He came to a halt in the center of the room, his gaze going wide as he took in the little group clustered before the chaise.
“Ah, Lord Riddick, there you are,” Mamma said calmly as she glided forward to meet him. “I’m afraid you and I need to have a little chat.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Mamma, hasn’t it occurred to you that it’s just as bad to force Alec to marry me as it would be to Donella?” Edie asked, exasperated.
Her mother batted the objection away with an imperious wave. “It’s a completely different situation, my dear. Captain Gilbride does not want to marry Donella Haddon. He does want to marry you. Now get in bed, and let me tuck you in.”
Edie could feel her eyes bug out at that suggestion. Mamma hadn’t tucked her into bed since, well . . . never. She glanced at Cora, who tried to hide a smirk while she bustled around the bedroom putting away various items of strewn apparel.
Her mother waved her into bed with a shooing motion. “Eden, to bed, now.”
“Oh, all right.” Edie climbed up onto the high mattress. “But I’ll never fall asleep—not with everything so unsettled.”
“Then you can sit up and read for a while,” Mamma said. “But I assure you that nothing is unsettled except for some of the financial details. I just spent another half hour with his lordship discussing what must be done next. I’ll need to consult with your papa about the settlements, of course, but I’ll be sending him a letter by first post tomorrow.”
Edie didn’t even want to think about her father’s response to yet another scandal. “The thing is, Mamma,” she said, halfheartedly tugging the coverlet up around her waist. “I’m not entirely sure that Alec does think it’s a good idea to marry me.”
Her mother’s elegant eyebrows crawled up her forehead. “I don’t mean to quibble, my dear, but he seemed fairly enthusiastic in the library just before dinner.”
Edie’s cheeks started to burn at the memory. “As I tried to tell you, we were just saying good-bye.”
“Most people simply shake hands and leave it at that.”
“Yes, well, we did get a bit carried away, but we’d already decided that honor demanded that he marry Donella. I think we’d both made our peace with that.”
“Clearly not, but in any event it doesn’t matter,” her mother said. “Miss Haddon released the captain from his vow. And I assure you that Gilbride does want to marry you. He raised not a single objection when we discussed the situation with his grandfather.”
“And who raised the issue first? You or Alec?”
“I did, naturally. The poor captain had already been forced to explain why Miss Haddon no longer wished to marry him, and that provoked a rather unfortunate reaction from his grandfather.”
“I can imagine,” Edie said with a sigh. Lord Riddick had refused to look at her for the rest of the evening. “And that’s just my point, Mamma. This is a dreadful situation, and forcing everyone’s hand is simply going to make everything worse.”
“Eden, didn’t Alasdair already tell you that he wished to marry you and not his cousin? I quite got the impression that he had.”
Edie thought back to her conversation with Alec, that afternoon when he’d first kissed her. “He said he rather thought he might want to marry me instead, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement.”
“Pish,” said Mamma. “I’m sure he was stating the matter in a delicate fashion, given the difficulties of his situation at the time.”
Edie almost laughed. There was nothing delicate about Alec Gilbride.
Her mother studied her for a few moments. “My dear child, I’ve never known you to back down from a fight before. Don’t you wish to marry the captain?”
“That’s not the point, Mamma. I’m afraid Alec doesn’t know his own mind. He might think he’s fond of me, but it could have more to do with the fact that he doesn’t want to marry Donella. You have to admit that this is all rather convenient.”
Mamma looked puzzled. “It’s not like you to be so uncertain about yourself, Eden. It’s most disconcerting.”
“Imagine how I feel,” Edie said with a sigh.
It wasn’t like her at all, and that’s what was bothering her. Because as much as she wanted to marry Alec, and she would no longer deny that, she wasn’t sure that he did know what he truly wanted. Until only a few weeks ago they’d barely been able to tolerate each other’s company. Yes, Edie had always felt a ridiculously strong pull toward him, but that hadn’t stopped them from fighting like cats and dogs. The truce between them was very new and too fragile a base on which to build a life together.
“I’m just not sure that he loves me, Mamma. Besides, we haven’t even had a chance to talk about all this. You sent me out of the room when you and Alec talked to Lord Riddick, and then he and I barely had a chance to exchange two words for the rest of the night.”
In fact, after she’d changed, she’d had to cool her heels in one of the private family drawing rooms for half an hour while Mamma and Alec talked to Lord Riddick. A harassed-looking Mr. Gilbride had finally arrived to escort her to the main drawing room where the guests were assembled before dinner. Mr. Graham, the branch chief, had been puzzled by Donella’s absence, and all the guests had surely sensed the awkward, if not downright hostile, atmosphere at the party. Mr. Gilbride and Mamma had done their best to steer the conversation away from any talk of the supposed impending marriage, but it had been one of the most gruesome social encounters Edie had ever attended.
Even worse, she’d been seated at the opposite end of the table from Alec, who, like his grandfather, had spent most of the night glowering. The few times he’d glanced at Edie, it was with so somber an expression that she felt sick. She’d spent most of dinner convincing herself that Alec had concluded that he wanted to marry her as little as he wanted to marry Donella.
“Well, as I suggested earlier, my dear, you must convince him that his feelings for you are very strong indeed,” her mother said. “After tonight’s little incident, I doubt you’ll have any trouble
with that.”
Edie didn’t know whether to laugh or tear her hair out. “Mamma, that’s an appalling attitude.”
“Nonsense.” She leaned over and kissed Edie on the forehead. “Now, go to sleep. You can have a nice little chat with Alasdair tomorrow. When you do, I’m sure you’ll find out that everything’s just fine.”
“From your point of view, anyway,” Edie said drily. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you planned it all to work out this way.”
“One might say the same of you, my dear,” her mother said, tapping her cheek.
“Touché,” Edie muttered.
“Stop fretting and go to sleep.”
“Yes, Mamma.”
Edie waited until the door was closed, and her mother’s footsteps faded. Then she slid out of bed and groped around for her slippers.
“I suppose you’ll be wanting this,” Cora said in a resigned voice, holding up her dressing gown.
“Do you mean to say I don’t have to argue with you over this?” Edie asked as she pulled on the wrapper.
“Would you actually listen to me?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Then I’ll save my breath to cool my porridge. Just be sure you don’t get caught.”
“I never get caught, Cora.”
“Tell that to Captain Gilbride—and Sir Malcolm Bannister,” Cora said.
Edie winced at the reminder. “I have to speak with him tonight before everything spins completely out of control. By tomorrow it might be too late to put a stop to any sort of announcement.”
“He’d be barmy not to want to marry you, Miss Edie. Just be careful and don’t stay too long. Oh, and take a candle so you can see where you’re going.”
Cora’s vote of confidence made Edie’s throat go tight with emotion, so she simply gave her maid a grateful smile before slipping out to the hall. She paused there and listened but heard only an echoing silence. Picking up her skirts, she ghosted down the hall toward the east wing where Alec had his set of rooms. It took a good ten minutes of traversing stairways and corridors to reach them, as well as ducking into an alcove to avoid being spotted by his valet. Edie blew out her candle and hid behind the marble bust that inhabited the alcove, heart pounding, until the man passed by without seeing her.
How to Marry a Royal Highlander Page 23
