My Lady's Pleasure

by Julia Justiss

  Teagan’s gaze jerked back to Riverton. “How did you…”

  The minister smiled. “Fine spymaster I’d be if I didn’t know where my operatives were at all times, eh, Fitzwilliams? She’s lovely, and I wish you the best of luck winning her hand. Though, by what I saw at the Insley ball, and by Wilkerson’s news from the docks, I suspect her heart is yours already.” His face sobered. “This is not precisely what you envisioned, I realize. But the work of combating England’s enemies is constant, and vitally important. Can I count on you?”

  I am already proud to call you my friend. Valeria had been ready to stand by him, even as an indigent gamester. Still…Teagan wanted so much for her to know he was now doing something of which she could truly be proud.

  “Would I be able to tell her the truth?”

  “In vague generalities, perhaps. ’Tis not wise for any of us to divulge specifics to our loved ones. As you can understand, not only would we risk inadvertent disclosure, such knowledge would place them at risk.”

  Teagan extended his hand. “When do I begin?”

  Smiling, Riverton shook it. “Shall we discuss it further tomorrow? When I bring back your stallion. Consider him the first payment on what England owes you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  A month later, grubby and bone-weary, Teagan rode Ailainn back to his aunt’s town house in Mount Street. The report he had just delivered to Riverton, painstakingly gathered over many evenings of gaming and not a few heart-stopping nights trailing a man he’d observed with the barkeep to whom he’d given his packets, should lay the groundwork for breaking up the ring that was marketing the stolen dispatches. Riverton had commended him on his work, Teagan recalled with a novel sense of satisfaction.

  Riverton also told him that while he was away, Aunt Charlotte had been staging his reintroduction to the ton. He should expect several months of dinners, balls and receptions, during which Lady Charlotte would manipulate the social connections necessary to guarantee his permanent acceptance. After that, Riverton warned, Teagan’s worst problem would be avoiding the schemes of matchmaking mamas who, assured of his restored status, would be almost as devious as their government traitor in attempting to trap the handsome, newly rich Mr. Fitzwilliams into marriage.

  Recalling how Lady Insley had nearly fainted at the idea of admitting him to her ball, Teagan had difficulty believing the warning. But he’d gladly run a gauntlet far more dangerous than girlish sighs and matchmaking stratagems in exchange for the stature that would allow him to court Valeria Arnold with honor.

  He’d debated penning her a note…but Riverton was correct. ’Twas better not to invite speculation by writing from Dover, nor could he reveal what he was doing there. Instead, he’d concluded, he’d wait until he could journey to Winterpark and speak with her face-to-face…and ask for her hand.

  ’Twas early evening by the time he’d returned Ailainn to the stables, ordered up hot food and water from the kitchen, and proceeded up the stairs to his rooms.

  He sank into one of the leather armchairs, too weary to move, wanting nothing more than a warm bath, a warm meal and sleep. A knock at the door made him look up.

  “Aunt Charlotte!”

  “Welcome home, Teagan!” She walked over and bent as if to hug him, but he fended her off.

  “I’m all over mud and smelling of horse.”

  She gave him a quick hug nonetheless. “As if I care for that! I’m so relieved you are safely back. I know you cannot tell me where you were or what you were doing, but I do know it was most probably dangerous.”

  Teagan gazed up at her anxious face, his respect for her rising another notch. Suddenly he remembered Riverton informing him that the late Lord Darnell had formerly held the position Riverton now occupied. She must have lived with similar uncertainty for years.

  “No wonder you are so circumspect! And no wonder that your husband did not wish to add to your worries by seeing you saddled with an ill-behaved, half-Irish brat.”

  A look of sadness dimmed her face. “That was at least part of his reasoning, I suppose. I never managed to convince him it would be a blessing, not an imposition. But,” she said, her expression clearing, “I disturbed you only to ask if, after you’ve bathed and dined and had a chance to rest, you feel you could accompany me this evening. There’s a rout hosted by some friends of Lord Riverton at which I should like to present you.”

  Teagan had to laugh. “Lord Riverton warned me you’d begun your campaign for my rehabilitation. I suppose we must begin, then. But would your hostess not be inconvenienced by so late an addition to her guest list?”

  “Not at all. I told our hosts, the Earl and Countess of Beaulieu, I would bring you along if you’d returned.”

  A niggle of foreboding arose, and Teagan had a vivid image of walking through a throng of richly dressed aristocrats, all of them with heads averted, pointedly ignoring his presence. He’d weathered such humiliation before, but he dreaded having Aunt Charlotte witness—and be grieved by—such a spectacle.

  “Are you certain ’tis a good idea to begin tonight?”

  “Are you too fatigued?”

  He could hide behind that excuse, but he owed it to her to express his reservations honestly. “I am sure your friends would greet me kindly, but I am…somewhat concerned about the welcome I’ll receive from their other guests. I…I don’t want to embarrass you, Aunt Charlotte.”

  Lady Darnell took his hand, mud and all. “Teagan, do you trust Lord Riverton’s strategies and expertise?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Then you mustn’t doubt mine in my own arena. I possess a great deal of social power, and I’ve been wielding all of it on your behalf.” She gave a self-deprecating smile. “I’ve little enough else to show for my life. For weeks now, I have regaled every person of prominence, from Prinny on down, with my delight in having persuaded my dear cousin’s son to take up residence with me. They know I have settled an income on you and named you my heir. No one who wishes to safeguard a position in the ton will dare show you less than extreme cordiality, for all London knows any individual foolish enough to incur my displeasure might as well slink back to whatever provincial backwater from which they sprang. In fact, I rather fear you will be flattered and toadied to a most uncomfortable degree.”

  His mind still worrying over the prospect of his gracious aunt being wounded by slights directed toward him, it took a moment for the information she’d just delivered to register. “You n-named me your heir?” he echoed.

  “Yes. The solicitors completed the paperwork last week. And though I am sure Riverton will see you well compensated for your recent efforts, the income I mentioned is now available for you to draw upon whenever you wish.”

  Surprised and moved, Teagan hardly knew what to say. “You are too generous, Aunt Charlotte. I will be well paid for my work—”

  “Nonsense. I have a large income in my own right from my grandfather the duke, in addition to the very comfortable legacy Darnell left me. Besides, the family owes you that and more. Uncle Montford should have settled an income upon you when you went to Oxford, if he hadn’t been so disagreeably ill-tempered and controlling. You cannot imagine how I regret all those lost years I might have been indulging you in ponies and sweetmeats and all the treasures young lads enjoy.”

  “You would have spoiled me outrageously.”

  “Indeed I should have. Besides, I understand you may soon be wishing to set up a household of your own. No—I shall not tax you about the lady. I do hope you will bring her to meet me soon, though. So will you not accept the income? It would give me so much pleasure.”

  Teagan put his hand to his chin, as if giving her question serious thought. “Now, let me see. Whist, and shall I whistle a fortune down the wind and grieve the heart of a kind lady who’s shown me naught but affection since the moment I turned up, like a bad penny, on her doorstep?”

  Lady Charlotte burst out laughing. “My, but you sound like your papa when you do that!”<
br />
  Teagan’s merriment vanished. “You…knew my father?”

  “Of course! You’re his very image. Impossibly handsome he was, magical with horses, and so charming I vow he could coax the birds into song. Quite frankly, I envied your mama.” Lady Charlotte’s smile faded. “Gwyneth knew what she wanted from the moment she met Michael Fitzwilliams, and he felt the same. ’Tis tragic a love as deep and mutual as theirs ended as it did. But here is Harold with your dinner and your bathwater, so I’ll leave you. Can you be ready by nine? Riverton is calling.”

  Teagan pushed away a vague sense of unease. “Let the games commence,” he said, reaching for the dinner tray.

  Lady Charlotte laughed. “Let them commence indeed! And I have no doubt that you will bring home the laurel wreath of social victory!”

  After his aunt departed, Teagan began eating while the servant set up the hip bath by the fire. But the meal he’d been so hungry for suddenly seemed tasteless.

  Though Lady Charlotte seemed to blame his grandfather for the tragedy that had overcome his parents, Teagan believed a man was accountable for his own actions. Whatever his reasons, Michael Fitzwilliams had abandoned his dying wife and penniless son.

  All his youth his Montford relations had drilled into him how much he resembled his irresponsible wastrel of a father. Having Aunt Charlotte, who had actually known the man, confirm the resemblance disturbed him more than he wished to admit.

  A few hours later Teagan stood with Lord Riverton at the foot of the stairs, waiting for his aunt to descend. As she appeared on the landing, he heard Riverton’s intake of breath and smiled. In her gown of frosted lavender silk, which brought out the blue of her eyes, Lady Charlotte did indeed look magnificent.

  With the dignity of a queen, she slowly descended the stairs to take the hand Riverton offered. “Charlotte,” the earl said, gazing into her eyes. “How is it you contrive to look younger and more beautiful every time I see you?”

  Blushing a little, his aunt laughed. “Really, Mark, were we not such old friends, I would accuse you of flirting. At the least, ’tis bald-faced flattery.”

  “’Tis the Lord’s own truth,” Riverton responded. “To me, you still look every inch the beauty who took the ton by storm at her come-out ball.”

  “Stuff and nonsense,” she reproved, tapping him with her fan. “I vow you don’t even remember that night.”

  “Do I not?” Riverton replied. “You wore a gown of celestial blue satin over an open robe of white, with a wreath of white rosebuds in your hair. I thought you the most exquisite creature I’d ever beheld.”

  The teasing look on his aunt’s face faded. “Y-you do remember,” she faltered.

  “Every moment,” Riverton affirmed, his voice intense.

  So that is how the land lies, Teagan thought, his smile broadening.

  A blush tinging her cheeks, his aunt turned toward Teagan. “I expect we mustn’t keep the horses standing. Teagan, you will give me your arm?”

  “Of course, Aunt Charlotte.” He threw the older man an apologetic glance as his aunt, after according Riverton a rather nervous smile, passed him to take Teagan’s hand.

  Teagan thought he heard the earl sigh, and then they were descending the stairs to the carriage.

  “Are you acquainted with our hosts this evening, Teagan?” Lord Riverton asked as they entered the vehicle.

  “Lord Beaulieu,” Teagan said, trying to place the name. “Ah, he’s the ‘Puzzlebreaker’ who founded that club devoted to the solution of mathematical problems?”

  “Yes. An interesting and intelligent man,” Riverton replied. “Also an associate of mine.”

  Teagan glanced up at Riverton, who gave him a slight nod. Another member of Riverton’s network, he surmised.

  “His wife is a lovely lady, formerly widow of Viscount Charleton,” Lady Charlotte said. “I was particularly glad you were able to join us this evening, for this will be her last public entertainment. She’s in a delicate condition and is about to leave London for her confinement.”

  “First child,” Riverton said with a laugh. “Beaulieu is so nervous, you’d think he were about to give birth.”

  “As well he should be nervous,” Lady Charlotte replied sharply. “So many things can go wrong.”

  She averted her face, and Lord Riverton reached over to touch her hand. “I’m sorry, Charlotte,” he said quietly. “That was poorly said.”

  She shook her head slightly and turned to the window. “Ah, we’ve arrived. What a crush of carriages!”

  Teagan had seldom seen his imperturbable employer so at a loss for words, and felt a sympathetic pang. With a hopeless shrug at Teagan, Riverton turned to help Lady Charlotte descend from the carriage.

  Then they were caught up in the throng and borne along to the receiving line. Lady Charlotte again took Teagan’s arm, presenting him to her acquaintances as they waited.

  Had it not been so bitterly ironic, Teagan might have laughed out loud. His aunt’s prediction had been only too correct. Gentlemen who a month previous would scarcely have accorded him a glance, much less a word, lingered to shake his hand, two of them insinuating they would be delighted to introduce his name as a prospective member of their club. Matrons who had shunned his gaze and crossed the street to avoid subjecting their innocent offspring to the contagion of his proximity now flocked around him as if he’d discovered the secret location of the fountain of youth, their blushing daughters in tow. Before he’d met his hosts, he’d been pressed to sign a dozen dance cards.

  All this courtesy was being extended, he thought with faint contempt, to a man who had reportedly just returned from a spate of gaming at the spas along the coast. Wealth and sponsorship were indeed splendid launderers of character, it appeared.

  After being kindly greeted by the earl and his countess, he was borne off by Lady Charlotte, who insisted on claiming him for the first dance.

  As he returned her afterward to Riverton’s waiting arm, Holden Insley called a greeting.

  “Mr. Fitzwilliams, may I join the multitude—” Insley waved at the eager crowd already pressing up to them “—in congratulating you on your recent good fortune!”

  “Thank you, Holden. I must admit I’m finding the change a bit…overwhelming.”

  “I cannot think of anyone more deserving of good fortune. I had best release you, though,” he said with a chuckle, “before some impatient matron with a daughter to present stabs me to death with a quill from her ostrich plume headdress.”

  He walked off, leaving Teagan to parry the enthusiastic greetings of several such matrons. After signing yet another dance card and extracting himself from the lady’s clinging hand, he attempted to head toward the refreshment room, where he’d seen Riverton disappear.

  “Well, well, Jester! If you’ve not landed on your feet like the proverbial tomcat.”

  Teagan looked up to see Rafe Crandall blocking his path, swaying slightly, the equally inebriated Wexley behind him. “Stap me, if I didn’t damn well nearly swallow my teeth t’other day when Winslow—family’s all to pieces, y’know, and three daughters to marry off—put up your name for membership at White’s!” He raised a champagne glass to Teagan, slopping some of the contents. “I shall try to win some of that new blunt off you, eh? Though I do think it blasted unfair, don’t you, Wexley? Doxies already hang over Jester. Now that he’s rich, all the hothouse flowers in London’ll be rubbin’ their petals up against ’im, too.”

  “Unfair,” Wexley echoed, shaking his head and almost losing his balance.

  “Watch out. Those virginal buds’ll be wantin’ to lure you not to pleasurin’, but to the parson’s mousetrap!”

  Had he really spent most of the last ten years in such company as this? Teagan thought with a grimace of distaste. “Thanks for the warning, Rafe. I’ll be on my guard.”

  “See that you are.” Crandall wagged a finger in Teagan’s face before moving out of his way. “Bad enough t’see you redeemed. If I heard you was to be
leg-shackled, ’twould be enough to make a fellow lose his lunch.”

  As the evening progressed, however, Teagan began to wonder if he might not prefer Rafe’s company, after all. He’d lost count of the effusive matrons who’d greeted him and the profusion of tongue-tied maidens who’d been thrust before him, with whom he’d attempted to carry on a stilted, mostly one-sided conversation.

  No wonder Valeria wanted no part of this, he thought. For a moment, the urgent desire to gaze on her lovely, intelligent face, hear her musical voice and her witty commentary, filled him with a wave of acute longing.

  The strong sense of being watched pulled him from his reverie. He glanced up to find the Earl of Montford staring at him, a sardonic look on his face.

  Teagan stiffened. “Cousin,” he said, nodding.

  Montford didn’t return the courtesy. Before Teagan could summon up a properly piquing comment, yet another eager matron rushed up to introduce her daughter and solicit his signature on her dance card.

  Montford watched until the pair walked away. “My, what a spectacle. But I’m not as easy to gull. Blood will out. I’ll wager those little fillies making eyes at you wouldn’t be so eager to jump into harness if they knew how quickly your dear papa abandoned your mama. You may have induced Lady Charlotte to cover your sins and endow you with funds—or should I say ‘seduced’?—but—”

  Riverton seemed to materialize out of nowhere, to clamp a hand on the earl’s arm. “Montford,” he interrupted in a low, steely voice, “if you want to keep all your teeth, I advise you not to complete that sentence.”

  Montford gave Teagan a resentful glance, but fell silent.

  “I expect you to treat your cousin, if not with friendliness, at least with courtesy,” Riverton added.

  After a long moment, Montford turned to give Teagan the minutest of bows. “Cousin. Since you’ve brought your watchdog, I suppose I must comply.”

  “You would be advised to remember what this watchdog watched,” Riverton said, his tone still menacing. “Recall also that I possess fewer scruples than your noble cousin. Indeed, I must insist that you stroll with me. There seems to be a small matter of which you need reminding.”