“I do hope it was the latter,” Xavier said. “The duke is a vengeful old crow. Can you imagine what he would do to a man who duped him and stole his money?” Xavier tsked and shook his head. “Although I fear the man who betrayed him would face a most unpleasant outcome even if larceny was not involved. Angering a wealthy and influential duke is never wise, sir. One often finds himself at the end of a hangman’s noose, although he is rarely guilty of the crime of which he has been convicted. Of course, Stanhurst isn’t the type of man who would stoop to lies to rid himself of his enemies.”
Farrin glowered as Xavier took a gulp of coffee. “Show me that you have the map, and we will negotiate.”
Xavier was deliberately slow to set down the cup and withdraw the folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket. He brandished it and tucked it back into his jacket without revealing what was written on it.
“How do I know you have the real map?”
“You are looking for the Black Death, are you not?”
Farrin’s Adam’s apple lurched. He eased back on the bench. “You are mad. The Black Death, indeed. Why would anyone care about the bubonic plague?”
“Perhaps Stanhurst will have an answer.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want to know who hired you to retrieve the map.”
It could be coincidence Lord Geoffrey had been present at the lecture about the Crusades, and that he’d spoken to Farrin of his interest in the ancient group years earlier. Xavier didn’t want to erroneously believe Lord Geoffrey was responsible for placing Regina’s and his families in danger while the true culprit remained a threat.
The muscles in Farrin’s jaw bulged beneath his pale skin. “We’ve never met in person. He sends anonymous letters and money.”
Xavier didn’t believe him for a second. If Farrin revealed his buyer’s identity, he could forfeit the financial reward coming to him.
“If you wish to protect your buyer, I understand. Although you should be more concerned about protecting yourself.”
Farrin’s rust-colored eyebrow hitched up.
“The duke appears to have been delayed, but I can’t imagine it will be much longer.” Xavier narrowed his eyes. “A name for the map.”
“I will consider your proposition.” With one more glance over his shoulder, Farrin rose from the bench and strode toward the back of the establishment. Likely, he would make use of an alley exit.
Once Xavier was convinced Farrin was gone, he left the coffeehouse to return to his rooms. He moved at a quick pace, keeping watch for Farrin’s men and listening for the sound of his squeaky carriage. Xavier arrived at the hotel without encountering either, and a thorough look around the street reassured him that Farrin’s men were no longer stationed outside. But he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he knew Serafine was safe. He hailed a hackney coach to take him to his sister’s home.
“Wait here,” he said to the driver. “I will only be a moment.”
He walked up and down the deserted street several times without finding any signs of danger to his family. Eventually, he returned to the carriage and gave instructions to carry him to Wedmore House. He repeated the same routine until he was satisfied Regina and her family were safe.
The sky was streaked with pink when he returned to the hotel. The Pulteney was abuzz with staff as they went about their morning tasks. Upon reaching his door, he withdrew the pistol from the holster and searched his rooms. They were empty and nothing had been disturbed. When he determined all was well, he collapsed on the bed for a couple of hours sleep before he needed to ready himself for his wedding day.
Joy was placing the last pin in Regina’s hair when Sophia bounded through her chamber door.
“Mr. Vistoire has arrived,” she said. “Aunt Beatrice will keep him company while you finish your toilette.”
Regina’s heart performed a clumsy flip. “He is here now? He isn’t due for another twenty minutes.” She had hoped for more time to mentally prepare herself for their wedding night, or perhaps she hadn’t wished to think about it at all before they spoke their vows. Her trepidation was not due to a lack of enthusiasm, however. Rather, she worried that she might be too eager for his attentions, which she had recently discovered no proper young woman should ever be.
Sophia crossed the room to place her hands on Regina’s shoulders and leaned down to meet her gaze in the mirror. “He is early. I believe that is a good sign.”
Regina smiled at her sister. “It is a good sign he arrived at all, no?”
“There.” Joy stepped back to view her handiwork. “Not a single hair is out of place.”
“Everything looks perfect from this angle,” Sophia agreed. She moved to stand beside the looking glass, ran her gaze over Regina, and applauded. “Brilliant work!”
Joy beamed. “Will there be anything else, miss?”
“No, thank you, Joy,” Regina said. “You’ve truly outdone yourself today.”
The maid bobbed a curtsey before heading for the door. Once Regina and her sister were alone, Sophia whistled. “You look marvelous, Gi. Mother’s diamonds suit you well.”
Regina turned her head from side to side to admire the stunning teardrop jewels crowning her head. “This headpiece was a gift from Papa during their courtship. Mama’s parents wouldn’t allow her to accept it, because they thought it was too extravagant. He saved the gift and presented it to her on their wedding night.”
“How romantic.” Sophia sighed. “And you’ve chosen the perfect gown.”
Regina felt truly beautiful in the lavender chiffon. She moved to the looking glass, so she could get a full view of her gown and hair together.
Sophia picked up the thin book lying on Regina’s side table. “A Proper Lady’s Guide to Marriage: an Essential Handbook for New Brides,” she read aloud. “Please don’t tell me you read this rubbish.”
They had found it earlier in the week when they were searching Uncle Charles’s library.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Regina said. “I thought I might learn something of value to help prepare me for tonight.”
“It is written by a man.” Sophia brandished the brown leather bound book. “I assume the thin volume is reflective of the author’s knowledge on the subject.”
Regina chuckled, appreciating her sister’s unusual candidness. “He could have stopped writing after the first paragraph. I should have stopped reading it.”
Sophia sank on the edge of the bed and flipped the book open to the first page. She sat in silence for a moment then wrinkled her nose. “He makes the marriage bed sound as appealing as snuggling with bedbugs. Consummation is a duty to be endured? The marriage bed is for begetting an heir, and no enjoyment is to be had by either party?” She slammed the book closed and tossed it over her shoulder. “Well, you know what they say, those who fail to please are always the first to criticize those who succeed.”
Regina laughed. “No one says that.”
“They should because it is true.”
“And how would you know what is true when it comes to matters of the heart?”
Sophia grinned. “Aunt Beatrice told me, and before you ask how our spinster aunt has knowledge of such matters, I don’t know. But I believe her.”
“That settles it.” Regina stood and approached the bed to grab her gloves and don them. “If Aunt Beatrice said it, then it must be true.”
Although she was teasing her sister, she trusted their great-aunt over a stranger, too. Besides, it was too late to follow advice from the essential handbook for new brides. She already enjoyed Xavier’s touch, and she didn’t believe it possible she would ever find it unpleasant.
By the time she was ready to join the wedding party below stairs, her nervousness had abated mostly. Sophia stopped her outside the drawing room and tossed her arms around her neck. “I’m sorry Mother and Father aren’t here to see you marry, Gigi. If they were, I believe they would tell you how very proud they are of you for keeping us close and ta
king good care of Auntie and Uncle Charles. I know Evangeline and I are proud to call you our older sister.”
Regina hugged Sophia in return then cradled her cheeks. “Now, tell me the truth. You drew the short stick and were stuck with the task of giving me the talk.”
Sophia laughed. “I did not. I volunteered. How did I do?”
“You were perfect, dearest.”
They embraced once more before entering the drawing room. Xavier stood as she stepped through the threshold. His mouth hung partially open as if he’d been in the middle of speaking and forgotten his words. She suspected she appeared just as stunned by her first glimpse of him. He wore a double-breasted coat the color of rich wine and ivory trousers that could have appeared ostentatious on anyone else, but with his coloring and long, lean body, he was nothing less than striking.
He came forward to take her hand and draw it through the crook of his arm. “Miss Darlington, you look even more lovely than usual.”
She wanted to return the compliment, but she felt everyone’s eyes on her and shyness overtook her. She could be bold and strong, but showing her softer side with onlookers made her feel too vulnerable.
Sophia joined Aunt Beatrice on the settee. Evangeline and Joy had claimed two chairs. As agreed last night, Claudine was staying above stairs in the guest room to keep her presence at Wedmore House secret.
The vicar stood in front of the fireplace, waiting to perform the nuptials. Crispin, who was acting as a witness to their marriage along with Aunt Beatrice, had taken up position behind the settee.
Vicar Burnett held out his hand palm up, inviting Regina and Xavier to come forward. “Shall we begin?”
He led them through their vows, and before his words pronouncing them husband and wife sank in, Regina was signing her name to the parish registry. Xavier accepted the quill from her, dipped the tip in the inkwell, and scrawled his name on the page. While still bent over the book, he aimed a sideways glance at her. “The deed is done, Mrs. Vistoire, and I am a lucky man.”
A small jolt passed through her at the sound of her new address.
The wedding party, minus the vicar who had other responsibilities to attend, retired to the dining room for a small breakfast. Regina hadn’t swallowed her last bite before Aunt Beatrice was shooing her upstairs to change her gown, so she and Xavier could be on their way. Evangeline and Sophia accompanied her to her chambers and helped pack a valise for overnight.
“We will be back tomorrow,” she promised.
Evangeline rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and shook her head. “Enjoy your newlywed status. There is no need to rush back. We will be all right.”
“I would feel better if we stayed together at least until the troubles with Farrin and Claudine are settled.” She nibbled her lip as she contemplated the wisdom in leaving even for one night. “Perhaps we should stay—”
“Go,” her sisters said at the same time.
Sophia closed the valise and lifted it from the bed. “You only get one wedding night, and you are not spending it at Wedmore House.” Without further debate, Sophia marched out the chamber door with Regina’s belongings. Regina resigned herself to spending the night away from her beloved family and trailed behind her.
A hackney coach was waiting outside when they reconvened in the drawing room. Crispin had already gone, and Claudine had come out of hiding. Cupid was sprawled on her lap, basking in the joy of a good belly scratch, and Aunt Beatrice had returned to her knitting. After taking a deep fortifying breath, Regina said good-bye to her family and accepted her new husband’s escort to the coach.
Once she was settled on the bench, Xavier climbed in beside her and drew the curtains. The door closed, and he gathered her to him and captured her lips with his. He gently nipped her mouth several times before cradling the back of her head and deepening the kiss. A smoldering fire lit in her lower belly as her breath rushed from her lungs. He leisurely swept the tip of his tongue across her mouth, and she parted her lips on a sigh. His tongue brushed against hers in a loving, seductive stroke that left her tingly all over. He eased back, breaking contact, but seemed to have second thoughts and pressed his lips to hers for one last lingering kiss.
“Sweet Mary, Mother of God,” he muttered then leaned against the seatback and drew her against his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and covered his heart with her hand. It knocked beneath her palm, strong enough to be felt even through layers of clothing.
“What happens now?” she asked.
He chuckled, jostling her slightly. “It is still morning, and you are a new bride. I don’t wish to be thought of as uncivilized, so I will refrain from answering that question. Would you care to take a stroll once we reach the hotel?”
She sat up. “No, I meant what happens with Farrin. How will we reach him to let him know we have the map? I assume you took it to the hotel last night. It was missing when I returned to the library.”
His posture grew rigid. “I never agreed to allow you to meet Farrin.”
“I wasn’t asking for permission. You need me and I am coming with you. I refuse to sit around worrying while you meet with him alone. What if he takes you again?”
“There is no reason to worry. I met with him last night. I expect he has gone into hiding for a time to avoid a confrontation with Stanhurst.”
Regina felt like she’d been hit with a boulder. “You met with him last night? Xavier, anything could have happened to you, and I might have never learned your fate.” Tears blurred her vision, and she pressed her hand against the ache in her chest. How could he disregard her wishes so easily?
“Regina, please don’t cry.”
His request made the tears come faster.
He cradled her face between his palms and gingerly swiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb. “I am frightened, too. Losing you would kill me, especially when I would be responsible. I brought this mess into your life. It is my duty to clean it up.”
“No, Uncle Charles is responsible.” Trying to will her tears to stop, she caught them with her fingertips and dampened her glove. She was not a sentimental ninny, and she didn’t want to be seen as one. “I’m sure he did not intend to place us in danger when he began his research, but this is his doing. You are in this mess because of him, so if I apply your logic, I should be cleaning up the mess.”
Xavier released her and frowned. “That is nonsense.”
“Yes, it is. I am glad to hear you admit it. From now on, we will face our troubles together.”
He removed his hat and shoved his fingers through his curls with a breathy chuckle. “Fair enough. We will put our heads together from now on.”
She was encouraged by his agreement.
“However,” he said with his green eyes darkening and boring into her, “if I am ever faced with a choice between placing you in danger or risking my own life, I will always choose to save you.”
“You have no concept of the word partnership.”
One dark eyebrow lifted. “That is where you are wrong, ma chérie. I insist my better half stays alive.”
“And I intend to see that my stubborn half does the same.”
Thirty-one
Xavier had taken rooms toward the back of the hotel due to the almost constant rattle of carriages along Albemarle Street. Noise from the busy thoroughfare grew muffled as one of the hotel’s footmen led Regina and Xavier along the dim corridor with her valise in hand. Once inside the apartment, Xavier directed the footman to take his bride’s belongings to the bedchamber and paid him a shilling before he left.
Regina wandered around the space, inspecting her new surroundings. She had barely spoken since their tiff in the carriage. While he understood the reason for her upset, he maintained that he had made the correct decision. Regina was too good for the likes of men like Farrin, and Xavier wanted to keep her ignorant of the evil that existed in her own backyard.
“Does this meet with your approval?” he asked as she trailed her fingers over the s
urface of the marble topped sideboard then checked her glove for dust. She wouldn’t find anything out of place—the maids kept the rooms spotless—but her satisfaction mattered a great deal to him.
“It is nice,” she murmured before moving to the impractical gray silk sofa and plumping a tasseled pillow. She paused to sniff the vase of pink phlox on the side table. “Nice.”
He suppressed a sigh as she wandered past him to reach the bedchamber without looking at him. He stood in the doorway and leaned against the jamb. She walked with a rigidness to her back and limbs that seemed almost painful. He couldn’t decide if she was still angry or simply nervous to be alone with him. Either way, he needed to do something to change the tide, or their first day as husband and wife was going to be a chore for both of them.
“Did you pack your trousers?” he asked, nodding toward the valise sitting beside the wardrobe.
She spun away from the water closet door. “Pardon?”
“I asked if you packed your trousers. The ones you were wearing the night I found you punching a helpless bag of sand.”
“Of course, not. It is our wedding night, and trousers hardly seemed appropriate.”
He came forward with a smile, eager to see her in whatever flimsy night-rail she’d chosen, but now wasn’t the time. “I never did learn what that sandbag did to earn your disfavor, but it must have been something dastardly. Perhaps he misled you?”
She nailed him with a look that would turn him to stone if she had that power.
“Did he refuse your help and act on his own without regard for your feelings?”
“Yes, that is exactly what he did.” Her hands landed on her hips. “Then he had the gall to bait me. Does any of this sound familiar?”
He grinned as he sauntered toward her, stopping with only a couple of inches separating them. “You want me to say I was wrong for meeting Farrin without you.”
Color rose in her cheeks. “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth.
He shrugged one shoulder before moving to the wardrobe and casually opening the doors. “There is only one way to settle this.” He dug inside until he found a pair of buckskins that would be the least likely to fall around her ankles and one of his shirts. He turned back toward her and lifted the pants. “We will settle this like men.”
Secrets to a Gentleman's Heart (Gentlemen of Intrigue Book 1) Page 24
