by Laura Landon
She’d heard all about it from Emily and Portence yesterday when they’d called.
Although they didn’t want to tell her what the gossip mills were saying, she insisted they share what they’d heard. She told them she’d rather know what was being said before she faced everyone, than have to confront her enemies without having time to prepare for their assault.
What she’d heard had made her blood run cold
Time hadn’t dulled the gossipmongers’ tongues. They, of course, had rightly assumed that Benjamin had had a gun pointed at his head. They were certain that even his most compelling arguments hadn’t swayed his father. And of course their sympathies lay with Lord Benjamin. After all, it was a well-known fact that she was totally unsuited to him. Their sympathies lay entirely with him.
Most tragic of all was that with his amazing good looks and the fact that he was the son of a duke, he could have had his pick of any female in the realm. Instead, he’d been forced to marry a pariah. Damaged goods.
“Are you ready to go in, or would you rather the driver continue a little longer?”
His voice startled her. She glanced out the window and realized they’d arrived. “How many times have we driven past Lord Withering’s town house?”
“Four.”
“I must have missed one pass.”
“Should we continue?” he asked. “Or are you ready to go inside?”
Rachael took a steadying breath. “We can go in now.”
“You’re sure?”
Rachael nodded. “It won’t be any easier no matter how many times we drive around the block.”
“I won’t leave you, Rachael. All you have to do is remember to smile, and the gossips will have nothing to talk about except their surprise that we are happy.”
The carriage slowed, then stopped, and Rachael’s stomach churned. He was right. Maybe together they could convince the ton that their marriage wasn’t a sham.
Ben offered her his arm and she stepped to the ground. On legs that trembled beneath her, she made her way to the Earl of Withering’s town house.
People stopped to watch them enter. They stared when they removed their cloaks and handed them to the footmen waiting to take them. They craned their necks when Ben brought Rachael’s hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.
Several whispered sighs filled the room and Rachael couldn’t stop the smile from lighting her face, or the glimmer of emotion that caused a wetness to fill her eyes. She lifted her hand and placed her palm against his cheek.
With a broad smile, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm where she’d touched him. Then, he placed her arm through the crook at his elbow, and together they walked to the ballroom entrance.
The loud murmuring of voices quieted when their names were announced and all eyes turned to look at them. The first faces Rachael saw were Julia Bentley’s and Pauline Somersby’s.
Rachael feared they would give her their backs, but they didn’t. They stepped forward to get an unobstructed view of Rachael and Ben while they stood at the top of the stairs, then they put their heads together and whispered behind their open fans.
Rachael descended the seven stairs to the ballroom, then she and Ben made their way through the crowd to the other side of the room where her friends Emily and Portence were waiting.
Several couples stopped them to congratulate them, and Rachael put a warm smile on her face. She felt as though her smile was frozen in place.
“How are you holding up?” Ben whispered when they out of hearing.
She looked into his face and broadened her smile.
“That’s my lady,” he said as he returned her smile.
At that moment she thought she could master any obstacle. She was certain she could defeat any threat. At least she could if Ben were at her side.
“Oh, Rachael. Lord Benjamin,” Emily and Portence greeted.
“Lady Emily. Lady Portence.” Benjamin bowed to her friends.
Emily and Portence greeted her husband, then they gave Rachael a hug. She hugged them back. She was glad they were here.
“You look lovely,” Emily said. “Doesn’t she, my lord?”
Benjamin smiled at her. “I said those exact words when I first saw her.”
“And you know what I told you. I only look lovely because I’m standing beside the most handsome man in the room.”
Ben laughed the same as he’d laughed at her before they’d left for the ball.
“Do you think it’s possible for one more couple to fit into the ballroom?” Emily asked. “Your attendance has made Lady Withering’s ball the event of the Season.”
“There’s quite a crush,” Rachael said, looking around in search of Julia Bentley. It was always wise to keep one’s adversary in site. Rachael breathed a sigh of relief when she found Julia on the other side of the room surrounded by a group of her friends. That would occupy her for a few moments.
While she was still watching, she noticed Lord Covington come near them. Ben saw him at the same time.
“Lord Covington,” Ben greeted. “Have you met Lady Emily and Lady Portence?”
“No, I’ve not had the pleasure,” he said with a charming grin.
“Ladies, allow me to present Lord Covington,” Ben said.
“My ladies,” Ben’s friend said, bowing slightly.
“My lord,” Emily and Portence answered.
Their small group visited a while longer, then the orchestra began playing the next set.
“Would you care to dance, Lady Portence?” Lord Covington asked.
“I’d love to,” Portence answered.
Rachael was pleased to see Emily’s face light up.
“And may I have the pleasure of the next set, Lady Emily?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Emily said with a beaming smile on her face. Then they watched the couple head for the dance floor.
“While Lady Portence and Covey are dancing,” Ben said, “I’ll get us a glass of Lord Withering’s excellent punch. May I count on you, Lady Emily, to protect my wife until I find a footman and return?”
“Of course,” Emily said.
Ben kissed Rachael’s forehead, and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “I won’t be long,” he promised, then left.
Rachael watched Ben walk away. His absence bothered her more than she wanted to admit. But she reminded herself that he wouldn’t be gone long. Surely he’d find a footman relatively close.
“I’m so happy for you, Rachael,” Emily said, taking her hand. “Lord Benjamin has formed quite an attachment to you already.”
Rachael looked around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “He’s doing his utmost to make the best of a difficult situation.”
“Have you seen Julia Bentley yet?” Emily asked.
Rachael shook her head. “I’ve seen her, but we haven’t spoken. If my luck holds out, I’ll manage the entire evening without running into her.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Emily said behind her raised glass. “She’s heading this way.”
A lump of dread dropped to the pit of her stomach, but she didn’t have time to do anything but brace herself before Julia was behind her.
“Well, my goodness,” Julia said, stepping close to Rachael. “I can’t believe I am being forced to congratulate you upon your marriage.”
Rachael turned. Julia had her cohorts Pauline and Madeline with her, along with a few other followers who no doubt didn’t want to miss one word of the confrontation.
“Good evening, Julia. Thank you for your well wishes. But don’t feel as if you have to offer them. No one is forcing you.”
“But I must, Rachael. If anyone deserves my congratulations, you do. However did you manage to snare Lord Benjamin Waverley? I can’t imagine the son of a duke looking once in your direction. It isn’t that you’re considered an enviable catch. Perhaps he isn’t aware of your reputation.”
“I doubt that, Julia. You made certain all of London heard.”
Julia look affronted, then she turned to her followers for their sympathetic nods of approval. When she turned back, her snide confidence was more obvious. “I could scarcely ignore what happened at my house party. I felt obligated to inform my friends what you’d done.”
“That wasn’t an obligation you felt. Starting that vindictive gossip fed your vindictive nature.”
“I was hardly being vindictive. And it wasn’t gossip. You can’t deny what you did. I saw the proof myself. So did my mother, and several more of my guests.”
Rachael wanted to give Julia her back, but that would only make Rachael look like a coward. Except at the moment, that’s what she felt like.
“It’s too bad Lord Benjamin wasn’t there to witness your…fall. I’m sure if he had been, he would have considered his choice of wife more carefully. But then, if rumor is correct, you weren’t his choice. Your father bought him for you.”
Julia turned to receive the murmurs of approval from her friends. “I’m sure that marrying off his ruined daughter to the son of a duke cost your father a king’s ransom.”
Rachael’s stomach churned and she felt her legs grow weak beneath her.
“Although, what no one understands,” Julia continued, “is why the Duke of Townsend accepted such an offer? It wasn’t for the money. His Grace is as rich as Croecus. Tell us, Rachael. What did your father offer the Duke of Townsend that was so valuable that he would taint the Townsend name by allowing his son to marry a female whose reputation would tarnish what until now was a pristine family line?”
Rachael felt Emily’s hold tighten on hers, but even having her friend close by didn’t help. She couldn’t find any words to counter Julia’s attack.
Rachael’s lack of a response only emboldened Julia. But what could Rachael say. Every accusation she made was true.
“Surely you don’t mind telling us how you managed to trap one of London’s most eagerly sought bachelors when you had nothing to offer him. We are all dying to know. I’m sure we could all benefit from your—”
“What would benefit you, Lady Julia, is not to rely so heavily on vicious rumors. And to never assume to speak for me.”
Rachael shifted her gaze to the voice that stopped Julia’s words in mid-sentence. Benjamin walked toward them, holding two glasses of champagne. He handed the glasses to one of the men closest to him, and stepped next to her. When he was within reach, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her protectively against him.
“I was hardly speaking for you, Lord Benjamin. Everyone knows that Lady Rachael wasn’t your choice for a wife.”
“Wasn’t she?” he mocked. “Then perhaps you can tell me why I had to repeatedly ask the lady to become my bride? And why she repeatedly refused my offer?”
The gathering was silent.
In a move that caused several females to sigh, Benjamin turned her so Rachael was facing him. With his forefinger beneath her chin, he pressed upward until their gazes locked.
“It wasn’t until she finally consented to become my bride that I knew what it was for my life to be complete.”
With his hand cupping her cheek, he lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead. Then he lifted his head and smiled. His smile was one of the most heart-stopping smiles she’d ever seen.
“Now, if you will excuse us, the orchestra is playing a waltz. I’ve waited a lifetime to dance a waltz with my wife.”
Then, he wrapped his arm around her waist and turned her toward the dance floor. But he stopped as they passed Julia Bentley and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
“If you ever threaten to impugn my wife’s good name or her reputation again, I’ll use ever resource at my disposal to ruin you. Is that understood?”
“Y…Yes, my lord,” Julia stuttered, then she lowered her eyes.
“Smile, Rachael,” he said as they made their way to the middle of the ballroom. “We are being watched.”
Rachael placed what she hoped was a convincing smile on her face and pretended that everything was as perfect as it had been before her confrontation with Julia. But she felt like a fraud. Because that’s what she was.
She twirled around the room in the arms of the most handsome man in London and smiled as if her life couldn’t be more perfect. But the face she saw before her was a watery vision blurred by tears that filled her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks.
CHAPTER TEN
Benjamin waited for Rachael to come down to breakfast the morning after the ball. At first he thought she didn’t intend to join him. Not that he blamed her.
He’d failed her.
He knew he had the minute he saw Julia Bentley and her minions surround Rachael like a pack of hungry wolves. He knew they were out for blood and he’d raced across the ballroom floor in his desperation to reach her. But he could tell by the paleness of her features and the frightened look in her eyes that the damage had already been done. Julia Bentley had already said all the hurtful words he’d promised her she wouldn’t have to hear. And all because he’d thoughtlessly abandoned her.
He hadn’t realized the vultures were waiting for an opportune time when she’d be unprotected and they could swoop down for the kill. And they had. They’d done a thorough job of humiliating her.
He’d tried to talk to her last night after they returned home, but she wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened. Even though she put up a brave front and told him that Julia Bentley’s accusations hadn’t bothered her, he knew they had. She was too upset to be consoled. So, they went to bed, and instead of making love to her like he wanted to do, he simply held her all night, hoping she’d relax against him and sleep.
But she didn’t. One hour stretched into another and her body remained as tense and unyielding as it had been when they danced their waltz.
He couldn’t allow her to go through the day, however, without telling her how sorry he was that he’d failed her. If she wasn’t going to come down to him, he’d go up to her.
Ben rose to fill a plate to take to her when she walked through the door.
He turned to face her and noticed her lack of color. There were also dark circles that rimmed her eyes. His guilt became more acute. “Good morning,” he greeted.
“Good morning,” she answered. Her voice sounded almost normal. Almost, but not quite.
He waited for her to make her way to the place where she always sat next to him. When she reached him, he kissed her cheek, then he slid her chair in as she sat.
He went to the side bar to fill her plate like he usually did, but her voice stopped him.
“I’m not hungry,” she said, her voice husky from lack of sleep. Or perhaps because he was certain she’d been crying. “I’ll just have coffee.”
He ignored her orders and put a small portion of food on her plate, then set it in front of her.
She lifted her gaze and looked at him.
“You can’t go without eating. It won’t solve anything.”
“Neither will pretending that it’s possible for me to be accepted as if nothing had happened.”
“Then we’ll talk about what happened and decide how important Julia Bentley’s approval is to you.”
Her eyes opened wide and her expression told him she was angry. “Her approval means nothing to me.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, but she didn’t answer him. Instead, she lowered her gaze and concentrated on her plate.
Her eyes were puffy and slightly red, and he wanted to gather her in his arms and hold her. But that wouldn’t solve anything. They needed to talk about what happened last night.
Ben settled in his chair and refilled his cup. “Eat,” he ordered. “At least take a few bites of food.”
She lifted her fork and stabbed at the piece of sausage on her plate as if it were a viper she needed to kill.
“It’s a good thing that piece of sausage isn’t Julia Bentley,” he said. “The authorities would be on our doorstep to arrest you on charges of murder.”
<
br /> “Stabbing her would be worth any time I had to spend behind bars.”
Ben couldn’t help but laugh. “I agree. But I’d hate to think of being separated from you for as long as they kept you.”
His words stopped her from putting any food in her mouth. “Statements like that aren’t necessary.”
“Why not. I find them to be true.”
The expression on her face told him he needed to explain what he meant. “I don’t know about you,” he began, “but I’ve come to look forward to our morning discussions.”
Her eyebrows rose and she pushed a bite of eggs around on her plate.
“Don’t you?” he asked.
“Perhaps,” she answered as if she wasn’t ready to admit that she looked forward to their conversations, too.
“And,” he said, adding the look he’d used hundreds of times when charming a female he was interested in, “I especially enjoy our nights together.”
“Of course you would,” she said.
“Are you saying you don’t?”
The color rose on her cheeks. “You know I’m not saying that.”
He smiled. “Yes, I know.”
She lowered her gaze and pushed around a bite of sausage.
“And—”
“There’s more?” she interrupted.
“Of course there’s more. Surely you don’t think I only appreciate you for your fine mind and voluptuous body?”
That statement finally broke through her anger and elicited a smile from her. “Voluptuous? I hardly think voluptuous is a word anyone would use to describe me.”
“Well, that’s the word I choose to use.”
She placed her fork on the side of her plate and lifted her coffee to her mouth.
“Aren’t you interested in what else I enjoy?”
She replaced her cup and moved the direction of her eyes until her gaze locked with his. “I’m not interested in what you enjoy as much as I want to know why you’ve chosen to like anything at all about me.”
Ben sat back in his chair and studied her. “And why do you think I shouldn’t?”
