Lorena's heart began beating furiously, and she wondered when the next boat to France was leaving. Surely, she’d do well as a Parisian. She spoke the language. No one would have ever to know she was from England.
“Would you like me to dismiss them?” Sudworth asked, reading her expression.
Lorena shook her head and smiled at him. “I’ll be quite all right.”
Sudworth gave her a look. “You have any trouble, you just say the word, my lady. And if it makes you feel any better, I made them both pay a shilling before they could enter.”
Lorena’s smile had grown at his first words, but when he mentioned the shilling, she couldn’t help but laugh. Before she could think better of it, she wrapped her arms around Sudworth before pulling away and saying, “Thank you.”
He smiled and nodded.
Then she moved around him and headed toward the drawing room with a genuine smile that her butler had given her.
When she entered, she was grateful to see that her aunt and cousin were also present. Aunt Tilda and Maura sat across from the countess and Lady May. Also, a maid had brought tea to her guests. More than ever, she was thankful that Ashwick had hired the staff when he did.
She curtsied to the countess and said, “Lady Ashwick, Lady May. What a pleasure to have you this morning.” Then she moved to a seat between the two couches.
The countess’ expression gave no insight to the reason she’d come. Since Ashwick’s confession, Lorena could now see how indulgences had robbed the countess of her beauty. She looked quite elderly, though she was only in the forties. Still, she’d given Ashwick her eyes, a gray so smooth it looked as though it had been colored by God’s own hand. Lady May was not much older than Lorena but had married a marquess the year of Lorena’s debut. She was pretty, thin, pale, and had the Starr gray eyes as well. Her hair, however, was blond.
“Lady Lorena,” Lady May began while holding her tea. “We’ve come to congratulate you.”
Lorena’s eyes widened and she blinked. “You have?” Those were very last words Lorena would have expected from Lady May or the countess. She’d always believed they’d hated her, but it appeared that now that they were all to be family, they had changed their hearts.
Lorena was glad for this and glanced over at her aunt and Maura. She’d told them about her engagement at dinner the other evening and they’d both been happy for her. Now, her relatives were watching her cautiously.
“Oh, yes,” the countess said. “We’re very glad for you.”
Lorena turned to her and said, “Well, I haven’t said yes yet.”
The countess frowned. “You haven’t? But the papers have already published it.”
“What?” Lorena asked, her heart speeding once again.
“Yes,” May said. “It was in the gossip rag two mornings ago.”
Lorena froze again and shook her head. “That’s impossible.”
“But it was, dear,” the countess went on. “And we must say that though there are many in the ton who would not agree with you, I wholeheartedly stand by your side.” She smiled again.
Lorena narrowed her eyes and confessed, “Well, my lady, I’m not sure any other opinion but yours matters under the circumstances.” She was, after all, marrying her son.
The countess laughed, genuinely pleased, and reached for her tea. “I will say, at first, I was quite shocked by the news, but when I had time to ponder…” She sipped and said, “Well, what else is there for you to do?”
Lorena looked between Lady May and the countess. “So, you found out from the papers?” She couldn’t imagine any mother being glad to hear about her son’s engagement through a paper, but the countess seemed more than glad by the news, which was shocking.
Maybe Genie had been right to force Lorena into going to the party the other night. Perhaps the countess did like her, after all.
Lady May answered Lorena’s question. “We did, as did the rest of the ton.”
Lorena, after noticing how calm her nerves had gone, reached for her own tea and took a sip. Then she smiled at the countess and her soon-to-be cousin.
This is pleasant.
Though she couldn’t understand her aunt and Maura’s quietness. Well, Maura was always quiet, but Aunt Tilda? Never.
“So, what days do you meet?” the countess asked.
Lorena frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“The society, dear,” the countess said. “At first, my friends and I thought it preposterous for such a thing to exist, but then we realized that with women like you off the market, it makes other more eligible daughters available to the gentlemen.”
Lorena choked on her tea.
Lady May went on, “Oh, yes, you would never believe the number of women who thought you would be the one our Emmett married.” She laughed. “They swore my cousin only had eyes for you.”
The countess nodded. “Yes, and I’ve been distraught since the day Ashwick forced me to invite you to that party at his home. Never mind that you burned the building to the ground.” She smiled. “It seems a blessing has come out of this. With your reputation as it is, you might as well accept your future for what it will be.”
“Oh.” Lorena stared at them and turned her head to look at Aunt Matilda and Maura. This meeting had not gone as Lorena thought it would. She’d thought the countess had objections to her engagement, but somehow, this was much worse.
Lady May sipped her tea and said, “I’m surprised you’re not serving cakes, since there’s no need to watch your figure.” Then she did a sweep of Lorena and said, “Though it’s not as though you were watching it to begin with, is it?” An evil gleam was in her eyes.
Lorena started to tremble, and Aunt Tilda took her cup. She felt the burning of tears at the back of her eyes and stood. “I…” She cleared her throat when she found it to be strained. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been feeling unwell.” She placed her hand on her head for added effect and at the same time called herself all manner of stupid. How could she have believed herself capable of marrying Ashwick?
Aunt Tilda stood and touched Lorena’s hand. “Allow me…”
“No.” Lorena moved around her. “I’ll be all right. If you’ll excuse me.”
She knew it rude, but she didn’t look back at the countess or Lady May. She couldn’t. The tears were already falling.
She reached the door, her vision blurring, when she found it blocked.
A large hand came to rest on her arm and she looked up, blinking through the tears, to find herself gazing at Ashwick.
And she wondered if her life could get any worse.
Ashwick was glaring at her, and his eyes had darkened to nearly black.
Lorena shrank back in fear, but his grip would not allow for much movement.
“Ashwick?” the countess called, and Lorena realized that not even Emmett’s own mother called him by his given name. “Whatever are you doing in Lady Lorena’s home?”
Lorena looked down because she couldn’t look at him anymore. She tried to flee the room once more, but only managed to get Ashwick to tighten his hold on her.
“Someone brought it to my attention that you were here, Mother.”
Sudworth, Lorena realized.
“Oh?” the countess asked. “Well, I was just here to congratulate Lorena on her Spinsters Society. Lady May and I thought it a good way for her to settle into her life.”
Lorena closed her eyes at the heartache. Ashwick’s mother hated her. She’d never allow him to marry her.
Ashwick said, “Then I’m sorry that she’ll have to disappoint you.”
Lorena stilled.
“What do you mean?” the countess asked.
Lorena placed a hand on Ashwick’s arm just in time for him to look down at her. He was still angry.
She shook her head and said, “No.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Ashwick,” his mother called with the edge of panic in her voice.
Lorena cringed and whispered, “Ashwick,
please. Don’t tell her.”
Ashwick’s eyes had remained on her even as his mother had called his name. He’d said nothing back. It appeared he was ignoring her.
Lorena told him with a broken heart, “We can’t.”
She watched as an expression she’d never seen came to Ashwick’s eyes, a level of anger that she didn’t know existed. His expression cleared, except for his eyes. They were wild and his face was as hard as that statue by the staircase.
He looked otherworldly, like Cronus.
Lorena didn’t know who she feared more for. His mother or herself.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
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Ashwick’s eyes took in the pain he saw reflected in Lorena’s eyes and knew he’d do anything to make sure she never felt pain again.
“Ashwick,” his mother called, almost shouting. “Get your hands off that girl.”
Ashwick’s gaze went to his mother and he felt Lorena stiffen in his hold.
He’d never hated his mother so much.
“This girl,” Ashwick bit out, “is going to make you a dowager.”
If Lorena could stiffen further, she did then.
“What?” May asked, her gray eyes narrowed.
“Lorena and I are engaged,” Ashwick told them.
“No,” the countess said with wide eyes.
When Lorena tried to move away again, Ashwick looked down at her and said, “Stay still.”
She did, but she frowned.
He turned back to his mother. “I plan to marry her, Mother. She will be the Countess of Ashwick.”
“I won’t allow it,” the countess said. “I will not allow this.”
Ashwick stared at his mother and truly wondered what went on in her head. She obviously believed the fact that she’d carried him for a time before abandoning him to a nursemaid gave her some sort of power and influence over him.
And he had to admit, that for most of his life, it had. How many times had he wanted her love? How many times had he begged for her attention, for her to sober and look at him, not through a fog of spirits, but as a mother would a little boy she loved.
He hadn’t wanted much. Only her love, but the Countess of Ashwick had no love to give. It was a tradition that Ashwick was all but ready to break. With Lorena at his side, there would be love in his life. There was already love in his life. Her sweet beautiful love for him.
The countess, whatever power she’d once had, had lost it long ago.
“You have no choice,” Ashwick told her.
“Ashwick,” his mother quickly calmed herself and tried to reason with him. “If you would only stop to think of what your father would say.”
Ashwick laughed a sound that was bitter and cold even to his own ears. Aunt Tilda and Maura grabbed hands as though fearing what he might do. At the moment, Ashwick feared what he would do himself.
“You have the audacity to speak his name?” Ashwick asked her.
“Well,” his mother said, as her sunken face reddened. “Don’t you even care what I think?”
“The only person in the world whose opinion I care for is standing at my side.”
Lorena looked up and he caught the surprise in her eyes. It amazed him that she’d be surprised by such an admission. She was so humble and beautiful. She was everything to him.
“Ashwick!”
He cut his mother off and looked at her. “I would try to explain the depth of my love for Lorena, but I fear that you’d not understand it, Mother.”
The countess sat back in her chair and set her mouth.
Lady May was looking around lost.
Ashwick went on, “You could never understand what it is like to love someone with everything that you are. It’s a feeling that holds more power than any title or rank. Lorena is sweet and good—”
“She burned your house down,” the countess said.
“She didn’t.”
Everyone gasped, including Lorena.
“I caught the man who was responsible. I met him in the country along with his partner. He tried to sell me pieces that I already owned. I took the rest of his collection, which holds a value much over what the house was worth. I’ve lost a few sticks and some stone, but I’ve gained the world.”
He turned to Lorena and watched as surprise and delight quickly changed to confusion and outrage.
“You lied to me,” she whispered.
“Later,” he replied for only her ears.
She tried to move away.
He tightened his hold. “Stay still. My mother is still here.”
She stilled but narrowed her eyes. An expression he found to be maddening.
“Lady Lorena informed us when we entered her home that she did not yet accept your proposal.” His cousin was grinning as though she’d won some prize.
His mother smiled as well.
Ashwick looked at Lorena and said, “She’ll marry me.”
Lorena’s eyes narrowed further, but she didn’t disprove his words.
“I’d like to hear the lady say so herself,” the countess pressed, as if aware of their battle.
Ashwick’s heart raced, but he kept that to himself as he stared into Lorena’s eyes.
She was upset, but he hoped she was willing to look past this small lie and accept their love match.
“You lied to me,” she whispered to him.
He leaned forward and said, “You tell my mother yes or I will compromise you.”
Her eyes widened, but then she said, “No one in this room will care. Neither your mother nor your cousin would breathe a word about it, for fear you would have to marry me and my aunt and my cousin would keep their silence if I asked them to do so.”
She was right.
But she’d mistaken his intent.
So, he leaned toward her ear and whispered, “I don’t mean I’d compromise you in this room. I’ll do it somewhere very public and I might not stop at merely a kiss.”
Lorena’s hand tightened on his arm and he felt her breath on his neck come in pants.
He went on, “I’d take you right there in the center of Hyde Park during the fashionable hour. I’d run my hands under your skirts and my tongue—”
Lorena spun around, her feet were obviously unsteady as she swayed on them. Ashwick placed a hand on her hip and grinned.
“I accept Lord Ashwick’s proposal,” she told the room.
Matilda Shaw smiled. “Well, I believe this calls for more tea.”
Maura added, “And perhaps some cakes.”
Lorena laughed, but he didn’t understand why. Then he ushered her to a chair and, taking another, placed it beside her. There was no way he would leave her to suffer his mother alone. He’d had years of practice. Lorena would need time to adjust to her position in his life and learn that only she mattered.
He took her hand, and she smiled at him before facing the room.
Matilda decided to talk about the weather, a neutral topic, and Ashwick thought that wise.
Every now and again, Lorena would look at him and he’d know she hadn’t forgotten about his lie, but they could discuss that later.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
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Lorena spun the moment she reached her dead garden and waited for Ashwick to shut the door behind him before she said, “You knew!” She was forced to shout because of the rain. Her umbrella was positioned over her head and the sound of the downpour beating on it was loud.
Ashwick had slipped under her umbrella the moment the door was closed behind him, leaving him slightly wet, but not completely soaked through. His hair, however, had stuck to his forehead and rain sat on his dark full las
hes as he stared at her with eyes the color of the storm. He was large and gorgeous and just looking at him made Lorena want to run upstairs and let him do with her body as he pleased.
Which was why she’d decided to pull him out into the storm instead. Her hands were occupied by the umbrella, and thus, could not touch him.
Still, through the haze of desire, she narrowed her eyes and said, “You knew.”
“I did,” he told her without an ounce of shame on his face.
She was sure her expression showed both her outrage and her surprise. “So, you saw the man jump out the window?”
He shook his head. “No, but as ridiculous as your story was, I believed you. So, I went searching for him and found him. I found the man. I found the white mask. I made him pay.”
Lorena stilled at his confession.
She felt her face twitching and bit her lower lip, and though she feared just how Ashwick had gone about making him pay, her mind was stuck on the fact that he’d believed her. “You believed me?”
“Yes,” he said in a way that said he hadn’t even hesitated for a second with the decision. He hadn’t thought her mad. He hadn’t thought her a liar. He’d believed her, and Lorena knew right then and there that he truly did love her.
They said nothing as the sounds of the elements around them filled the silence. Thunder and wind whistled through the trees, but Ashwick’s eyes on her seemed to hold a greater power, at least where she was concerned.
His hands settled on her hips and a warmth filled his eyes. “Are you still angry with me?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “You led me to believe I owed you.”
With a strong yank, her body collided with his and he said, “You do.”
Lorena’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
“You do,” he told her with his lips slightly tilted up.
Lady Lorena’s Spinster’s Society ( The Spinster’s Society) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 17
