Somewhat mollified, Maddie relaxed a bit, but the easy camaraderie they’d shared before she mentioned her brother and Tretham seemed to have dissipated.
“To answer your question,” Christian continued, “I have sent a special messenger to Scotland to warn your brother to stay put until he hears from me again.”
Maddie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “Ever since I spoke with Lady Emily I’ve been worried that Linton might try to return, putting himself in more danger.”
“Of course,” he said simply, though Maddie knew that there was no “of course” about it. He could easily have left Linton to fend for himself. “As for Tretham,” he continued, “I did try to call on him, but he appears to have left town as well. I even attempted to get his servants to tell me where he’s gone but they were unpersuadable.”
Maddie shrugged. “Tretham can take care of himself,” she said, leaning back. “I do not mind telling you that knowing my brother knows to remain hidden relieves my mind greatly.”
He stilled. “I know that,” he said finally. Maddie sensed that he was not thinking about Linton at all. Attempting to change the subject to something more cheerful, she said, “I was pleased that your mother was able to come. I thought she would have to miss it, since she was so lately in Scotland with your sisters.”
There was a question there, and Christian did Maddie the courtesy of answering it. “Yes, she was here for another reason and so was able to attend. I doubt, however, that we will see her at the breakfast.”
“I hadn’t realized that you were estranged from your family,” she said with a gentle smile. “It is sometimes difficult for me to remember that you have a family at all,” she admitted. “You seem so self-sufficient.”
“You think I sprang from the head of my father like Athena?” Christian asked, stroking her arm. “Much as I enjoy the comparison to a god, I am a mere mortal.”
“Does it have something to do with your sister?” she asked, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, not meeting his eyes. “Your estrangement, I mean.”
Christian sighed. Maddie had been so open with him about her relationship with Linton. Had bared her soul about how she felt about her parents’ attitude toward her. He owed her the same kind of honesty. But how could he mar the joy of this day, of all days, with the melancholy of his sister’s death?
He felt Maddie withdraw a little. It was only a slight shift of her body away from him, but he noticed it. “I’m sorry,” she said with diffidence. “I shouldn’t pry. Mama always did say that an overabundance of curiosity would be my downfall.”
She was nervous, he guessed. Pulling her back to sit flush against him, he murmured, “Don’t apologize. You should know. About this, and the whole sordid mess.” He leaned his head back against the squabs of the carriage. “I just don’t want to dwell on so much unhappiness today. Do you understand?”
Maddie relaxed against him. “I do understand,” she said, “but I am your wife now, and a part of your family. You can tell me anything.”
His heart constricted. How the devil had he been so lucky to find a woman like her? How could he possibly have missed seeing this generosity of hers for the past weeks of their friendship?
“You are,” he said, leaning down to kiss her properly. “And I will tell you. I promise. Just not right now.”
The slowing of the carriage punctuated his words.
“Very well,” Maddie said, “but do not try to protect me from the truth. I am strong enough to accept it no matter how melancholy it might be.”
“I know,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Believe me. I do.”
* * *
While Maddie was almost immediately swept away into a group of women that included her cousins and aunts—doubtless to be interrogated about her plans for the redecoration of Gresham House or some such female occupation—Christian found himself alone in the entryway of Essex House with his new papa-in-law.
Since Maddie’s father had made his displeasure about the match known on the day Christian had asked for her hand, there had been little opportunity for the two men to exchange more than a few polite words. Though if he weren’t bound by propriety and a desire to keep Maddie from becoming upset, he would have told the older man exactly what he thought of him.
Perhaps also remembering their previous altercation, Essex cleared his throat. “It was wrong of me,” Lord Essex said curtly. “What I said before about Madeline’s behavior. I was overset by the situation but that is really no excuse.”
Christian, who had been carefully studying the watch fob at his waist, looked up in surprise. He had expected this meeting to be awkward, of course, but he hadn’t expected this.
“I have a problem,” Essex continued, not able to meet Christian’s eyes. “Always have had the devil of a temper, you see. And when Linton and Madeline were children I stopped mixing it with drink. But, while I no longer rail drunkenly, I still have a tendency to rail. And this business with Linton has overset me, I don’t mind telling you.”
“It is hardly surprising,” Christian offered diplomatically. He wasn’t sure that the stress of Linton’s situation was enough of an excuse for what Lord Essex had said to Maddie, but he was making an effort. That was beyond most men with similar temperament issues. “Having your son and heir under suspicion for murder must be quite oversetting.”
Finally looking up, Lord Essex nodded. “It is. But what I said to Madeline. Accusing her of being no better than a common sl—” He stopped, clearly unable to say the words. “Well, it was wrong of me. I know she’s headstrong, but she’s never been one to behave in a wanton matter. I overreacted to the situation, and I insulted you both.”
He went on, “I hope you’ll find it in yourself to forgive me.”
The older man’s eyes were intent as he waited to hear what Christian would say. Christian knew it must have taken a great deal of courage for a man who was accustomed to giving orders and commanding attention to humble himself before a man he had insulted.
Nodding briskly, Christian said, “I will forgive you, but I’m afraid it’s a conditional forgiveness.”
Essex’s graying brows furrowed. “And what is that condition?”
“That you apologize to Madeline,” Christian said firmly. “With all due respect, I don’t give a hang about your insult to me. My anger that day was about the way you treated your daughter, my lord.”
Lord Essex pursed his lips, but did not disagree.
“Make things right with your daughter,” Christian told him, “and that will right things between us.”
Of course, he had no idea what Maddie’s response would be to her father’s apology. But there would be no amity between them if Lord Essex didn’t make the effort. For both their sakes, Christian hoped that they were able to reconcile in the event that something untoward happened to Lord Linton. Because if something occurred to harm the heir to the Essex earldom, the entire family would need to pull together.
* * *
Maddie was on her way upstairs to her bedchamber to ensure she’d left nothing behind, when a feminine cough from a little-used parlor door drew her attention. To her surprise she saw Miss Amelia Snowe hovering there.
“May I help you?” Maddie asked, not quite sure what to say. After the other girl’s outburst at her betrothal ball, Maddie had put the blond beauty out of her thoughts. She’d been busy with wedding plans and the like. Her erstwhile nemesis hadn’t really figured into that.
At least the other girl had the grace to blush, Maddie thought wryly.
“I apologize for intruding upon your wedding breakfast,” Amelia said, looking a bit sheepish. “I did tell the footman that I could wait if necessary.”
She looked about the small room. “I have a suspicion he put me here and forgot about me.”
“The servants are quite busy today,” Maddie said with a slight inclination of her head. Then, not wishing to prolong the interview, she got to the heart of the matter. �
��What brings you here, Amelia? We are hardly friends enough to warrant your coming here to wish me happy.”
To Maddie’s relief, Amelia seemed to appreciate her plain speaking. “You are correct, of course, Lady … Gresham,” she said, pausing to remember her new title. “Especially after my outburst at your betrothal ball.”
Maddie was rather shocked the other girl would bring it up, but she supposed it was brave in its way.
“Think nothing of it,” she said, feeling magnanimous. “We all have days where we wish a large hole would open up in the ground and swallow us up.”
Amelia looked relieved. “You are more kind than I deserve,” she said quietly. “I’ve been perfectly wretched to you and your cousins. I have little excuse for it, except to say that I feel a great deal of unease about my own position in society. After all, I haven’t your titled family, or the knowledge that my mother was once considered the toast of London.”
She went on, “In any event, I do wish you to know that I am sorry for my ill behavior. And I hope that even if you cannot find it in yourself to forgive me, you will at least allow me to tell you what I’ve come here to say.”
At Maddie’s nod, her blue eyes looked troubled. “I acknowledge that today is perhaps not the best of days to reveal this to you. I wish I’d known yesterday so that you might have been able to take action before the wedding, but I cannot help that now.”
Feeling a shiver of fear slide down her spine, Maddie turned and shut the door of the little chamber.
“What is it you wish to tell me, Miss Snowe?” If the other girl had something to say that might affect her marriage, she wished to know it sooner rather than later.
“Lady Gresham,” Amelia said, for once looking sincere, “I dislike being the bearer of such tidings, but it has come to my attention that your new husband, Lord Gresham, was seen visiting a … a house of ill repute earlier this week.”
Maddie felt the color drain from her cheeks. “How do you know such a thing?” she demanded of Amelia. After all, young ladies were hardly in the habit of loitering in the neighborhoods where brothels plied their trade.
Amelia looked at the floor. “I overheard my brother mentioning it to one of his male friends.”
Maddie’s ears began to ring. “And do you know which establishment my husband is said to have visited?” she demanded, trying like mad to keep her voice from breaking.
The thought that Christian might have gone from her bed to a mistress would have been bad enough. But a brothel was even worse than that. At least if he kept a mistress she might be able to rationalize that he was using the visit to break things off. With a brothel, there would not be the sort of arrangement as one had with a mistress. She felt her stomach lurch at the thought.
“I think my brother said it was the Hidden Pearl,” Amelia said, looking ill herself. “I remember because I thought it an eloquent name for such a vile place.”
The Hidden Pearl? Maddie thought back. She could have sworn she’d heard someone speak about the place before. Someone not related to Christian. She searched her memory, desperate to make the connection. The only other men she was around were her father and her brother. Both of whom were … Wait. She suddenly remembered that she’d overheard Tretham and one of the other men at Lady Emily’s card party discussing the place.
Put together with her gut instinct that told her that despite his flaws, Christian would not be so crass as to visit a brothel for the usual reasons so soon after taking her virginity, the information made Maddie angry for another reason altogether.
The devious man was investigating the case without her. And had not bothered to share whatever he’d learned with her.
Still annoyed, but not heartbroken as she’d felt when Amelia first disclosed her awful news, Maddie turned back to her unwelcome visitor.
“Miss Snowe,” she said, her anger giving her a resolve she’d not been feeling earlier in the day. “I must thank you for informing me of this. If you only knew how much this helps me.”
Amelia looked confused. “H-helps?” she asked hesitantly.
“Why, yes,” Maddie said grimly. “This is information that I most certainly needed to know. And I would never have learned it without your help. I have little doubt that my husband would not have told me.” The bounder.
“I suppose not,” Amelia said, looking at Maddie as if she’d just voiced a thirst for human blood. “I’ll just leave you to your…” She paused, as if searching for the right word. “Event,” she finally settled on before hurrying from the room.
Alone, Maddie reflected on how she would approach her new husband with the news that he’d been found out.
Sixteen
When Christian handed Maddie down from the carriage in front of the Gresham town house, he couldn’t help but notice just how quickly she pulled back from his grasp. Perhaps she was feeling a bit of nerves over the night to come, he thought.
“My lord, my lady,” his butler, Yeats, said with as much of a smile as Christian had ever seen him muster. “May I offer you the congratulations of the household. And may I welcome you to your new home, my lady.”
Maddie’s stiffness disappeared at the welcome. “Thank you so much, Mr. Yeats,” she said warmly. “I look forward to learning more about the house and about you and the other people who make it run so smoothly.”
The old man all but blushed. Directing her forward into the entryway, he indicated the line of servants waiting to bid her welcome.
Christian watched, fascinated, as his new wife moved down the line of servants, repeating their names back to them as if attempting to memorize them, and taking care to make some comment to each of them. She would make them an excellent mistress, he concluded. He was somewhat surprised because he had never considered her the domestic sort.
When they’d finished the introductions, Maddie turned back to Christian, and he could almost feel the air around her cool. He’d put her earlier distance down to nerves, but there was very clearly something on her mind.
“Will you show me to my chamber so that I might rest a bit before dinner?” she asked. Her tone was friendly enough, he thought, but nothing like the easy tone she’d used with him that morning between the church and the wedding breakfast.
“Of course,” he said, trying to remember if he’d done or said something that would have changed her manner toward him in the course of the afternoon.
Silently they made their way upstairs, down corridors, until finally they reached the hallway outside their bedchambers.
Opening a door between them, he ushered her in. “This is the sitting room that joins our two chambers,” he said, stepping behind her into the room, where a fire was lit to ward off the chill of the overcast day. “To the left is the door to my dressing room and the bedchamber beyond,” he said, nodding in that direction. “And to the right, you will find your own dressing room and bedchamber.”
He stepped closer to take her hand and lead her toward her rooms. But to his surprise, she pulled her hand from his. “I’m sorry, my lord,” she said coolly. “I’m afraid I am fatigued from the day’s events. I would like nothing more than to have a nice long nap.”
If she weren’t bristling with anger, Christian might have allowed her to retire to her chamber and a refreshing sleep. But she was obviously angry with him over something and he was dashed if he’d start his marriage with a quarrel between them.
He looked at her for a long moment as she waited for him to respond. Her eyes were wary, and her nostrils flared a little, as if she were smelling something bad.
“What have I done?” he asked, finally. He couldn’t think of any transgression he might have committed in the past few hours, but obviously something had happened to set her back up.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her mouth tight.
Women.
“Obviously something has happened to overset you,” he said, thrusting a hand through his hair. The windswept style his valet had so slaved over
that morning had at least lasted this long, he thought wryly. “On our way to the breakfast things were fine, and then after the breakfast you grew distant. Did I do something during the gathering that gave you a disgust of me?”
He saw her inward debate as she stared at him for a long moment.
Finally, she gave a slight shrug. “All right, my lord,” she said tersely. “I will tell you. I had a visit from Miss Amelia Snowe during the wedding breakfast.”
What the…? “Why the devil would she call on you?” he demanded. He’d never been a great fan of the chit. She was pretty enough, but had the disposition of a sour apple. “You are hardly such friends that she would have come to offer her felicitations, I think.”
“She was not making a social call,” Maddie said, her spine ramrod straight. “Though she did apologize for her outburst at the betrothal ball.”
“Are you angry with me because of something I’ve said to her, then?” Christian demanded, trying to understand what the devil Amelia Snowe might have to do with Maddie’s present state of rage.
“Of course not,” she said, waving away his suggestion with an impatient flick of her hand. “Amelia came to inform me of something. Something she would have liked to tell me before the wedding, but that she only just learned.”
Christian felt the prickle of unease between his shoulders. If Maddie were speaking in terms of before the wedding—as in, before the wedding so that she might be able to cry off—this was serious business, indeed.
“And?” he prompted.
“And,” Maddie said with disgust, “she told me that you were seen departing from an establishment called the Hidden Pearl earlier this week.”
Christian pinched the bridge of his nose, struggling to think of how best to explain that visit without digging himself into a deeper hole.
“Well, my lord?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. One small foot tapped impatiently on the Aubusson carpet. “Have you an excuse? A denial? I have little doubt that most men are adept at issuing denials for any number of transgressions. Trips to brothels mere days before their weddings included.”
How to Entice an Earl Page 21
