The Widowed Countess

by Linda Rae Sande

  His mood improved considerably.

  “A baby I intend to spend a good deal of time with,” Clarinda interrupted as she glanced at the mantle clock. “If you two will excuse me, I’m scheduled to meet Lady Torrington in the park at eleven. I need to leave now so she doesn’t wonder as to my whereabouts.”

  Dorothea’s eyes widened. “You’re going outside?” she nearly shouted. “You’ll catch your death!”

  “Mother,” Daniel spoke firmly, his voice held low as he stood to bow. “You will take a footman for protection, I hope?” he asked carefully, not wanting to offend Clarinda. He knew she could take care of herself, but if he was going to let her out of his sight, he wanted to be sure someone was looking after her.

  “Of course, Daniel,” she answered, curtsying. She hurried from the room, feeling an immense sense of relief as she left her in-laws behind. And relief that Daniel hadn’t offered himself as her escort. Clarinda was quite convinced that if he had been her escort, he would complete the kiss he had almost started in the parlor.

  So much for protection.

  Chapter 10

  A Walk in the Park

  “Oh, Adele, you must tell me every bit of gossip you can manage,” Clarinda insisted as she hurried up to meet her friend. The late morning fog was just then lifting from the secluded area of Hyde Park where Adele Grandby had agreed to meet her for a walk. “I cannot imagine having to give up all social engagements for the next few months. I’ll go mad!”

  The other countess gave her an understanding smile. “The time will pass far faster than you can imagine,” she assured her as she linked arms with Clarinda. “Especially since we’re both with child. We’ll pay a visit to the Temple of the Muses when you return from Norwick Park. I expect there are a good deal of books to read on the topic of being with child.” She gave her friend a long look. “I admit I was a bit surprised to get your note this morning,” she said, changing the subject suddenly. “Wasn’t Daniel supposed to arrive today?”

  Rolling her eyes, Clarinda nodded. “Oh, he did,” she said with a sigh. “First thing this morning, in fact.”

  Patting Clarinda’s arm where it was linked with hers, Adele gave her friend a sideways glance. “And?” she prompted, expecting Clarinda to say something on the topic of Daniel Fitzwilliam.

  “What is there to say? As usual, we had a bit of a row ...”

  “Tsk,” Adele sounded with a shake of her head.

  “Then we spoke civilly for nearly a half-hour ...”

  “There is hope!”

  “But he still despises me ...”

  “He does not,” Adele countered, her rebuttal suggesting she actually knew the man personally and had spoken with him only moments before. Actually, she couldn’t recall ever having been introduced to Daniel Fitzwilliam, but then, he hadn’t been to London in several years.

  Clarinda turned to regard Adele. “How do you know he does not?”

  Smiling in her all-knowing, older, wiser woman sort of way, Adele shrugged. “Perhaps you should tell me just why it is you think he despises you,” she suggested, one eyebrow arching up. “What happened, Clare?”

  Inhaling deeply, Clarinda gave Adele a look of resignation. “When I was about to marry David, Daniel called on me, rather incensed to have learned that David and I were betrothed. He wondered how I could agree to marry David when I had already agreed to marry him.”

  The words surprised Adele. She stopped walking and turned to stare at Clarinda. “And, had you? Agreed to marry Daniel, I mean?”

  Clarinda rolled her eyes again. “Of course not!”

  Adele’s brows furrowed. “Why would he claim that you had?” she countered. At Clarinda’s quick shrug, Adele thought a moment. “I hear he looks exactly like his brother,” she commented, keeping a wary eye on Clarinda.

  “He does. They’re twins. Almost identical in appearance,” Clarinda agreed. “But they could not be more different in temperament. Where David is ... was ... carefree and agreeable, Daniel is ... morose and serious.”

  Adele’s eyebrow arched again. She had never thought the Earl of Norwick to be carefree, nor particularly agreeable – the sound of him bellowing to Clarinda the morning he died immediately coming to mind – but then, she hadn’t lived with the man. Adele held her tongue until Clarinda didn’t elaborate. “Is it possible there was a case of mistaken identity? Perhaps Daniel really had asked for your hand, and you only thought him to be David.”

  Clarinda smiled at that. “Daniel accused me of the same thing two years ago.”

  Sighing, Adele shook her head. “But, I take it, he was unable to convince you?”

  Clarinda resumed walking. “I know I have never displayed my anger in your presence, Adele, but David claims I am like a volcano. I hiss, and I spit, and steam comes out of my ears until I finally erupt and leave boiling hot lava dripping over the victims of my rage,” she described, her arms waving about her head to further illustrate her point. “Not very ladylike, I know, but it is my only vice.” This last was said with a great deal of humor.

  “Oh, my, I would not expect such behavior from you, Clare,” the countess claimed, her merriment quite at odds with the stern sound of her voice. “It must take a great deal to set you off, though.”

  Dipping her head slightly, Clarinda allowed a wan smile. “I was never so bad as the day Daniel cornered me in my salon. He was truly hurt, I think, wondering how I could have thrown him over for David. He accused me of marrying David so I would be a countess. I could not believe his impertinence. I ... I blew up. I erupted ... I was so rude, Adele, you would not have recognized me. And then I slapped him very hard across his face and told him never to speak to me again.”

  Adele stopped walking again, her mouth agape at Clarinda’s admission. “You didn’t,” she whispered.

  “I did. Which is why he despises me.”

  Staring at Clarinda for several seconds before she actually believed the younger woman’s claims, Adele sighed and shook her head. “How long has it been? Since you last erupted on him, I mean?” Adele wondered.

  Clarinda sighed, suddenly embarrassed about her behavior. “Two years. And it was just the one time. I remember because David and I had been out for our two-year wedding anniversary at the Clarendon Hotel. Daniel was there with some friends, so David invited him to Norwick House for drinks. That’s when he found me and ...” She shrugged, not sure what else to say. She sighed and resumed walking, her shoulders sagging a bit.

  Adele shook her head and hurried to catch up with the younger countess. “And you apologized.”

  Clarinda’s face displayed a sour look. “I did not. As I said, he despises me.” She closed her eyes, shaking her head as if to clear it. “It would not be so bad if he didn’t look so much like David.”

  “He still does?” Adele queried, thinking that a few years would have changed the two men enough so their features were no longer so identical.

  “I thought I saw a ghost when I went into the breakfast room this morning,” Clarinda claimed, not adding that she had actually seen – and spoken with – a ghost in the middle of the night.

  Adele gave her a knowing look. “Perhaps you two will get on now that David has departed,” she said, a bit too hopefully.

  Clarinda wasn’t about to tell her friend that David hadn’t exactly departed. “Perhaps I will encourage a truce. He’ll have to take on the earldom until this baby is born and old enough to take on the responsibilities. He’ll probably wish to remain in London, at least for the time being,” she reasoned, glad she had Adele as a sounding board just then. Everything seemed far less overwhelming when she spoke of her future out loud. “I will learn to deal with him, I suppose.” She was quiet a few moments, apparently relieved to be done speaking of Daniel. “Since I have provided you with an interesting tale, could you at least pro
vide some gossip?” she wondered, hoping to change the subject.

  “Oh, I do have news, thanks to Grandby,” Adele responded, her suddenly happy expression seeming to cause the fog to clear and the sun to finally make an appearance.

  Clarinda opened her parasol and regarded Adele with an appreciative glance. “Oh, good. I think it’s rather fun to hear the news the men bring home. I do believe they’re the better gossip mongers,” she claimed, remembering Dorothea’s earlier comment. David had been quite decent about sharing the news he heard at White’s every day.

  Adele grinned. “It would seem we’ll need to secure the services of a midwife well in advance. Apparently you and I aren’t the only ones who are in the family way and due to deliver about the same time.”

  Her face brightening, Clarinda was about to ask who else was expecting when Adele added, “Lord Barrings told his contingent of card players that Mary is expecting.” Her arched eyebrow suggested there might be some scandal associated with the pregnancy.

  “And, why is that so hard to believe?” Clarinda wondered. She barely knew Lord Barrings, although she had met his wife in various drawing rooms when she called on others.

  Adele’s lips thinned. “She is at least as old as me!” she claimed. “And she has been heard to claim she dislikes what happens in a marriage bed. One can only surmise that Lord Barrings’ mistress must have taught him some skills he could employ to convince her otherwise.” This last was spoken in a whisper, as if they might be overheard despite being the only people in the area of the park where they were walking.

  “Or that she was as bored as everyone else at Christmastime,” Clarinda countered, her eyebrows cocked mischievously.

  Adele paused mid-step. “What did you say?”

  Clarinda inexplicably blushed. “Well, what else are married couples supposed to do when they’re stuck indoors for days on end because of a snowstorm?”

  It was Adele Grandby’s turn to blush. “Oh, my. I’d quite forgotten about that. Grandby and I were at his house in the country ...” She suddenly clammed up, her eyes widening.

  “What is it?” Clarinda wondered, not sure if she should remain amused or be concerned for her friend.

  “Last night, when Grandby came home for dinner, he ... he was quite ... excited. He figured it out, Clare,” she said in a quiet voice. “From what was said at White’s, I think, and something he remembered telling me, about how I looked – as if I’d had too many cakes at teatime – and that snowstorm ... he knows I’m with child and he’s ... beside himself with excitement. He bought me the most exquisite necklace, Clare.” She reached up to undo the top button of her pelisse, opening the neckline so the gold and sapphire necklace shown over her morning gown. “I haven’t taken it off since Grandby gave it to me last night during dinner.”

  “Adele! It’s gorgeous!” Clarinda exclaimed, one gloved hand going to her lips. “It has to be from Stedman and Vardon. The gold filigree is exquisite,” she murmured in awe.

  “And there are two more, although I haven’t yet opened them,” Adele confided. “He must have spent a fortune or two.”

  “Or three.” Clarinda was shaking her head, suddenly wondering why David hadn’t bestowed a piece of jewelry on her person when he figured out she was carrying his child. “And, of course, Grandby is excited. The godfather will finally be a real father,” she added with a grin. “How long has he known then?” she wondered.

  Adele shook her head. “He only figured it out while he was at White’s last night. He left there earlier than usual – which must have caused quite a stir among the regulars – so that he could stop at the jewelers on his way home.” She rebuttoned her mantle, another blush coloring her face.

  Clarinda noticed. “Adele! You’re blushing!” She gasped. “You haven’t taken it off since he gave it to you, which means you wore it to bed.” Her eyes widened. Before she could even wonder if Adele had worn anything else when she went to bed, Adele arched an elegant eyebrow.

  “Have you ever worn a piece of jewelry and nothing else to bed?” the older countess asked conspiratorially. “It’s divine, I tell you.” She sighed.

  Clarinda moaned, as much from jealousy as from the thought that she would never again experience what Adele had only the night before. “I have not. But I will be sure that when this mourning period is over, and I have the opportunity to be a merry widow – should I wish – that wearing a divine necklace to bed will be my first order of business.”

  Adele giggled, thinking there were still two more such necklaces for her to wear to bed at some point in the future – as well as several others in her jewelry box. “You won’t regret it,” she murmured with a sideways glance at Clarinda. “You won’t regret it at all.”

  Chapter 11

  Pillow Talk

  Clarinda inhaled deeply, reveling in the familiar scent of David as she settled into the pillows. I should have worn a necklace, she thought. A smile spread over her lips. “I was wondering when you would visit me again,” she said, opening her eyes slowly to find David leaning over her. “I missed you this morning,” she murmured, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek. She pulled his head down to brush her lips over his. The kiss was brief, but it was enough to satisfy her just then.

  “I apologize for not paying you my usual visit this morning, my love,” David replied before he seemed to take his own deep breath. “But Daniel arrived unexpectedly early, and I thought perhaps it would be best if I made myself scarce.” He reached out with a finger and drew Clarinda’s profile in the air next to her where she lay, deciding not to admit he’d spent the morning with his brother instead of her.

  Some things were just more important.

  Rolling her eyes, Clarinda sighed. “What an impossible man,” she said with a huff. “How could you two grow up in the same house?” she wondered then, her brow suddenly furrowing so the little wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows. “How did your mother put up with you?”

  David moved his finger from the side of her face to the wrinkle, pushing on it much as Daniel had done earlier. His attention was on the little wrinkle as Clarinda’s eyes tracked his hand and nearly crossed as he pressed his finger against her brow. “She complained bitterly, I assure you,” David murmured absently. “Do you know, this little spot here quite made me fall in love with you,” he said quietly, his finger gentling the wrinkle until Clarinda relaxed her brows and the fold disappeared.

  Clarinda stared at him for a long moment. Hadn’t Daniel said something about her wrinkle this morning? He seemed quite fascinated by the annoying fold in her forehead. “Your brother said something to that effect,” she commented, trying to remember Daniel’s exact words.

  “I stole you from him, you know,” David said suddenly, pulling his finger away now that the wrinkle was gone.

  It nearly reappeared as Clarinda regarded him in surprise. “What did you say?” she countered, remembering Daniel’s earlier accusation about his brother having stole her from him.

  “I stole you from him. I knew you cared for him, but I wanted you for myself, so I took you away from him,” David explained, the tone of his voice suggesting he might have felt regret over what he had done to his brother.

  Clarinda couldn’t help but notice he wasn’t apologizing, though. “And how could you steal me from him if I only wanted you?” she countered, her smile returning as if she’d outmaneuvered him.

  “You wanted him, actually,” David accused as he straightened on the bed, his shoulders slumping in a way Clarinda had never seen him do before.

  Shocked at the statement and his suddenly sagging self, Clarinda raised herself on her elbows. The wrinkle between her brows had returned, deeper than before. “What makes you say that?”

  Her late husband shrugged. “You really couldn’t tell the two of us apart, so it was rather easy for me to sweep you off your
feet.”

  Clarinda’s face split into a huge grin. “I can, too, tell the two of you apart, you bounder,” she claimed. “Daniel’s hair is darker than yours. He has a scar by his eye. And he has that little ...” She reached up and pointed a finger between David’s eyebrows. “Fold between his brows,” she finished.

  David reached up and captured her wrist in one hand so he could kiss the finger that had been poking him. “You recognize the differences now, but you couldn’t back then,” he accused in a teasing voice. “And, no, I am not sorry I stole you from him. But it’s his turn to have a happy life, Clare. So, I do hope you two can settle your differences so the four of you can make a life together.”

  Clarinda’s eyes widened. “Are you claiming you pretended to be him when you were courting me? Or was he courting me and you just pretended to be him?”

  David cocked his head to one side as if he was trying to figure out which way things had been all those years ago. “No. You were betrothed to me, but I think you truly loved him first,” he answered as he lay a hand over her belly, giving it a gentle pat. “Remember, we supposedly didn’t love each other when we married. We barely knew each other, in fact,” he added, as if he was just then realizing how lucky they had been to have their betrothal turn into a celebrated love match. He wasn’t about to admit he had felt affection for her long before their wedding day.

  Lowering herself back into the pillows, Clarinda regarded David for a very long time, her hands clasping together over the top of his. There was something very comforting about having his hand right there, but his words were at odds with his behavior. “That was, what? Four years ago?” she countered. “We certainly know each other now.” She sighed again, suddenly feeling very sleepy. “I miss you so much,” she whispered. “I don’t know how I could ever love another as much as I do you.”