“Yes, well, you did. And it’s much too late to change that.”
“Edward, please. I love you.”
His green eyes were as cold and smooth as emeralds.
“How do I know that isn’t a lie, too? That every word you’ve ever said to me wasn’t a lie?”
“I had no idea that you invited George here, or that you had been roommates at Eton.” She lifted her chin and met his eyes, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I was planning to tell you everything tonight. To confess and beg your forgiveness for the deception.”
“Well, isn’t that convenient timing. And yet, I am unmoved. Don’t you think that was something you should have shared before you invited me into your bed?”
His words hurt more than if he had stabbed her with a knife.
This was it. It was too late. Their relationship could never be repaired. She blinked to dispel her tears and took deep breaths until she was calm and as devoid of emotion as he was.
“I plan to leave as soon as possible, so I want my payment.”
His gaze narrowed, and she took a step back from him. Something flickered in his eyes, and then the light left them altogether and they were back to emerald stone.
“You’ll have your money by morning. Then you can leave and never return.” He turned and strode for the door, then looked back at her over his shoulder. “Unless you find that you are with child. Then you will return here and marry me. Not because I have any interest in you, but because I uphold my responsibilities. I will raise my child, should that be the consequence I am meant to bear for being foolish enough to trust you.”
He shut the door softly behind him and, unable to continue to hold herself up any longer, Isa slid to the floor.
Edward lifted the brandy decanter and was surprised to see that it was empty. It had been full when he had entered his father’s study earlier, and yet it hadn’t been nearly enough to dull the ache of Isa’s betrayal. The mantel clock struck two. Surely the guests had headed up to their rooms. Where were his parents?
He stumbled into the corridor and headed for the staircase. After missing the first step, he had to concentrate to place his foot on the stair. Bloody stupid house with staircases everywhere. It was damned inconvenient to have to negotiate a staircase every time you wanted to go to another room. He carefully moved his foot to the next step, then another and another, until he finally reached the floor where the library was. His parents had better be there, because he wasn’t certain he could make it all the way to their bedchamber.
He pushed his way through the door, and thankfully his mother was there. “Edward. Where have you been? I was worried.”
“First, I listened while Miss Winthrop…” No, that wasn’t right. “While Lady Isabella lied to me, and then I went to Father’s study and drank all of his brandy.”
She touched her hand to his cheek. “Edward. You are in disarray.”
“You would be, too, if the woman you thought you loved turned out to be a lying whore.”
“Edward! Do not speak about Isabella in that manner.” Mother led him over to the settee and pushed him down before taking the seat next to him. The faint scent of honeysuckle drifted to him. He couldn’t escape her. Even in his own home she was still there, haunting him.
“You don’t understand.”
“What don’t we understand?” Father asked. Edward hadn’t noticed him before.
“That our engagement wasn’t real,” he said.
“What?” He wasn’t sure which parent said that. They were so close they were practically one person anyway. They were always together. Just as he had thought he would be with Isa.
“I offered to pay her to pretend to be my fiancée so you and the ladies at the house party would leave me alone. But then I fell in love with her and wanted her to marry me, but she’s a liar, and I can’t marry a liar.”
All of a sudden, the angry face of his father was inches from him. “What did you just say?”
“I paid her to be my fiancée. Well, actually, I haven’t paid her yet. I need to borrow a thousand pounds.” He glanced around. His heart still hurt. “Is there any more brandy around here?”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Nick, calm down. We’ll work this out.”
He sensed movement, then Mother touched his cheek and turned his face toward her. “Edward. Why did you ask Isabella to pose as your fiancée?”
“Because it seemed like a good idea. And she needed the money. And then I loved her. But she lied to me. To all of us, so I can’t marry her now. Unless she has my baby.”
Mother’s face dropped into her hands, then his father grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him off the settee.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Give me a reason not to kill you.”
“Nick, this isn’t helping.” She put her face in front of his. “Why did you do it, Edward?”
“Because I didn’t want to get married, but then I did, and now I don’t again.” His father let go, and he flopped back onto the settee. The back of his head smashed into something, but he didn’t mind since the pain distracted him from his aching heart.
Mother sat next to him. “Edward, Isabella did not set out to deceive you. She had already been posing as someone else for years before you met her. It’s not her fault. You, on the other hand, set out to deliberately deceive us. So your father and I and Isabella are the injured parties in this, not you.”
“Stop defending her,” he shouted at his mother. He didn’t want to talk about Isa anymore. It hurt too much.
All of a sudden, he was lifted off the settee again and thrown into the corridor. “Never speak to your mother like that again, or I assure you they will be your last words. I want you out of my house by noon tomorrow. I will give you the thousand pounds, but only because it is owed to Isabella. You will pay me back. You will find your own place to live and pay for it yourself, because I am no longer going to support you.”
His father stepped over him and stormed up the staircase.
Then Mother came into the corridor. “You need to leave, Edward. I can’t fix this for you. You’ll have to fix it yourself.”
And then she left, too.
Chapter Seventeen
Edward attempted to stretch, but his head was stuck at an angle against something hard. He opened his eyes, then closed them immediately. It was too bright. He opened one eye slightly and saw a closed door and a painting of his mother’s dog that had traveled with her from the Bahamas. He was in the corridor outside the library.
He sat up abruptly, then leaned back against the wall until his head stopped spinning. Everything that happened the previous night came crashing back into his mind. He deserved the pounding pain and more. He had yelled at his mother and told Isa to leave. He had to figure out a way to fix everything. Mother was correct that Isa hadn’t had any choice about deceiving him. She had been pretending to be someone else for a long time, and she had done it to help her brother, and not because she had deliberately set out to deceive him.
First things first. He needed to take a bath. He carefully lifted himself to his feet and glanced at the clock in the library. It was only seven o’clock. He still had time.
Once he completed the harrowing trip to his bedchamber, he rang for his valet and ordered a bath. Then he found the toothpaste and brushed his teeth three times, hoping it would quell the brandy fumes. He bathed as quickly as possible and dressed even faster, then went down the corridor to Isa’s chamber.
He knocked, but there was no answer. Not even a growl or yip from Biscuit. He didn’t want to wake her, but he had to make sure she was all right. He pushed down on the latch and opened the door. The room was empty. She was gone. She hadn’t even waited for the money.
He checked the wardrobe, just in case, but everything was gone. Biscuit was gone. Her books were gone. She was gone. The only sign that she had ever been there was the faint smell of honeysuckle, which he couldn’t seem to avoid.
He dashed down the staircase, across the corridor to the opposite side, and up another staircase to reach Thornbrook’s room.
He knocked, then knocked harder when there was no response.
“Go away.”
“Thornbrook? Are you alone?”
“Kenworth?”
“Yes. Can I come in?”
There was a thump, then a curse, and Thornbrook opened the door. He was stark naked.
“I didn’t expect to see you up and about this early after the…everything that happened last night.”
“And I didn’t expect to see so much of you.”
He grinned.
“I need your help. Can you meet me in the stables in half an hour?”
“I’ll try.”
Next, Edward went in search of his mother, who, predictably, he found in the library.
“Mother, I’m sorry for everything I said to you last night.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I have a plan to win Isa back, but I need your help.”
“Does your father know you’re here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to see him next.”
She nodded. “What do you need from me?”
“Can you find out where Isa is?”
“Yes.” She glanced away, and he got the feeling she already knew her whereabouts.
“Will you please tell me? I need to talk to her.”
“Are you going to apologize to her and attempt to win her back, or do you just want to torture her some more?”
“I plan to apologize and pray that she’ll take me back.”
She smiled and touched his cheek. “Lord Stowe took her with him to the inn. It is early, so I suspect they are still there.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her cheek and rushed down to his father’s study. After a deep, fortifying breath, he knocked on the door.
“Enter.”
Edward pushed the door open.
Father stood as soon as he saw him. “What are you doing here? I distinctly remember disowning you last night.”
“You did. But I wish to apologize first.” He met his father’s eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the fake engagement. It didn’t take long for me to realize it was a mistake, and I had planned to propose properly to Isa last night, but then George arrived and, well… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a scene or ruin Mother’s dinner party. And I never meant to be such a disappointment to you.”
“Edward, you are not a disappointment to me.”
“I’m not?”
Father shook his head. “I admit your actions are sometimes disappointing, but we all make mistakes. Even I have. The important thing is that you find a way to make up for them.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible. Why would she ever forgive me?”
He leaned against his desk. “Because it’s obvious that she loves you.”
“It is?” Edward wasn’t so sure anymore. Father hadn’t seen her after he had left her bedchamber last night.
“If you don’t believe that, you’re an even bigger blockhead than I thought.”
Father was right. She did love him. She had said so. He just had to figure out a way to remind her of that. “I need your help. I don’t know what to do, what to say, how to get her to even listen to me, but I have to get her back.”
Father crossed his arms. “That’s simple. You’re going to have to grovel. A lot.”
“You think that will work?”
“It worked with your mother.”
“Somehow I cannot picture you groveling.” He smiled at the thought.
Father laughed. “Trust me. I’ve had to grovel more than once. Just ask your mother.”
So Edward wasn’t the only one who had made a muddle of things, and perhaps his father hadn’t always been as perfect as he seemed. Edward knew firsthand how good his parents’ relationship was, so if even his father had to grovel every once in a while, maybe there was a chance Isa could forgive him.
“So what do we do?” he asked.
“You’ll need to come up with some sort of gesture to show her that she can trust you.”
“Such as?”
“Well, I gave the deed to Walsley Manor to your mother to convince her of the sincerity of my feelings.”
Suddenly, Edward knew what he had to do, though he needed to speak to his mother first. Once their plan was in place, Edward went to the stables to finish the preparations. He examined the harnesses. This was the one part of the plan that he had not mentioned to his father. His parents would stop him if they knew what he intended to do.
“Can I help you, my lord?” asked James, their head groom.
“Perhaps. I need to find a harness that can be used to lower me down into a well.”
“I beg your pardon, my lord?”
“You heard me just fine. I think something that I can step into, so my hips are supported, would be best.”
“My lord, a harness is not made to hold weight.”
“No, but it is made to pull the weight of a carriage or wagon, which can be quite heavy, so it ought to be able to hold me.”
“Very well, sir.” He walked down the line of harnesses and bridles until he found what he was looking for. “This is going to be uncomfortable for you, but if you don’t agree with me, I am going to His Grace immediately to foil your plans.”
“I didn’t think you had it in you, James.” Edward grinned at him. “So what are you suggesting?”
“In order to support your weight, at least two of the straps will need to fit between your legs.”
Edward glared at him. “You do know that I am expected to produce an heir, don’t you?”
James grinned back. “You’ll just have to be careful. See here, you’ll put your legs through here and here, where the horse’s ears would normally go, and then we’ll attach the carriage traces here to lower you down.” He continued to share his plan with Edward, but he had tuned out.
“You’re coming with us. I don’t trust anyone else to keep me safe.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Thornbrook ambled into the stables. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going back to the maze, and you and as many grooms as James thinks we need are going to lower me into the well so we can either find the tiara or determine that it is not there.” But Edward was certain it was there. It had to be. All the clues in the journal pointed to it, and he really needed to find it if he had any hope of winning Isa back.
“That doesn’t sound wise,” Thornbrook said.
“Exactly. That’s why I invited you. If I die, they’ll have someone to blame.”
“Excellent.”
“I have to go fetch Miss Winthrop…er…Lady Isabella. Will you stay and supervise the preparations?”
“What makes you think she’ll come back with you?”
“I’ll kidnap her if necessary, but I’m hoping the lure of finding the tiara will be enough to persuade her to return, even if I have to promise not to speak to her.”
Thornbrook slapped him on the back. “Good luck, mate. You’re going to need it.”
Edward requested that his and his father’s horses and the mare that Isa had used be saddled at once. As soon as Father arrived, they took off for the inn. He would do whatever it took to get her to forgive him. He leaped off his horse in front of the inn’s stables and threw his reins and those of the mare toward a groom. A deep breath did nothing to calm him, so he deliberately slowed his steps and waited for Father to catch up with him. He could not rush into the inn and start making demands.
As soon as they entered, the innkeeper approached. “Your Grace, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“I need to speak with one of your guests. Lord Stowe.”
“Of course. Please, make yourself comfortable in the parlor and I will have Lord Stowe summoned.”
“Thank you.” Father settled himself into a chair that faced a window overlooking the street, and Edward paced across the room as he waite
d for his friend. He was certain Isa would refuse to see him, but he hoped Stowe could be convinced to help.
Stowe strode into the room and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I need to see Isa.”
He laughed. “Even if I were willing to allow that, which I’m not, she would never agree to see you.”
Father stood. George noticed him for the first time and immediately bowed. “Your Grace, my apologies. I hadn’t realized you were here.”
“It is no matter.”
“George, please,” Edward said. “You know me. Despite my behavior last night, I love your sister and, even if she doesn’t want to talk to me right now, she needs to come with me to find the tiara. She’s been involved in the investigation all along. In fact, she is the one who figured out most of the clues, so she has to be there when we find it.”
“I don’t think she wants to be anywhere near you.”
“Please, George. If you don’t think she’ll listen to me, then please persuade her to come.”
“Who else will be there?” he asked.
“Father will escort us back to Walsley, and my sister and Thornbrook, as well as several footmen and grooms, will accompany us to the well where we believe the tiara is located.”
George frowned, considering.
“I give you my word that I will return her safely to you.”
George glanced at his father, then back to him. “Very well, if you can convince her to go with you, I will allow it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Isa’s stomach flip-flapped. She slowly descended the staircase and spotted Edward immediately. Her heart made a little jump, and treacherous hope rose within her. If anything, her feelings for him had grown stronger.
Whatever courage she had drummed up when she let George convince her to see Edward again quickly melted away. She hadn’t expected him to seek her out and had hoped to already be on her way home.
How to Bewitch an Earl Page 15
