A Scandalous Adventure

by Lillian Marek

  Then they were interrupted by one of the palace officials.

  He bowed to Max but spoke to Susannah. “Excuse me, Lady Susannah, but there are some visitors who have been waiting for you.”

  “Waiting for me?” She stopped in surprise. “Who…?”

  The visitors were no longer waiting. An older couple stepped into the entrance hall. Their clothes were good, better than good, speaking of both wealth and taste, though a bit travel worn and dusty at the moment. The man—the gentleman—stood tall and straight, with an air of dignity about him. The lady beside him, her dark hair barely flecked with silver, had remarkable blue eyes. Familiar blue eyes. Max looked down at his wife. They were Susannah’s blue eyes.

  “Mama! Papa!” Susannah went flying across the room to their arms. There were hugs and exclamations and assorted inarticulate expressions of relief and delight before she said, “But what on earth are you doing here?”

  “When you told us you will not be able to write to us for a while, what on earth did you think we would do?” Susannah’s mother said acerbically. “Just sit there and wait?”

  “Your mother was imagining all sorts of dire fates when we received Lady Augusta’s letter telling us not to write,” said her father, a bit more gently. “We feared you might have been kidnapped or injured or…” He shook his head instead of finishing. “And then when weeks went by without hearing from you…we didn’t know what to think.”

  “I’m sorry.” Susannah looked stricken. “We thought at first that it would be just a few days, but things got complicated.”

  “We have heard a bit about those complications from Augusta and Olivia,” said the mother, not sounding placated. Having recovered from her relief, she was sounding increasingly irate. She was also ignoring Max, even though he was standing right behind Susannah, and his size meant that he was rarely overlooked.

  Susannah’s parents. Guilt struck him as he looked at them. He had not given enough thought to Susannah’s family, even though she had spoken of them often enough, he remembered, and with fondness.

  In the ordinary way, he would have called on them, asked her father for permission to court her and all that sort of thing. His family would have met with her family. There would have been negotiations, settlements—all the legal and social formalities.

  He just hadn’t thought about any of that. Marrying Susannah had seemed so definitely the right thing to do. Or, if he were to be honest, the situation had offered a reason for him to do exactly what he wanted to do and to avoid all those formalities.

  Susannah—his wife—smiled up at him, and his face relaxed into an answering smile. She took his arm to pull him forward. He clasped a hand over hers. Her parents might see it as a possessive gesture. Well, that is what it was. He was putting them on notice. If only he did not look so disreputable.

  “Mama and Papa, may I present Count Maximillian von Staufer. My husband. Max, these are my parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Penworth.” Susannah sounded half defiant, half placating.

  There was a moment of utter silence. It seemed no one even breathed. Then…

  “Husband?”

  Susannah winced. Her mother’s shriek had probably been heard not only throughout the palace but down in the town as well.

  “Marquess? Your father is a marquess?” Max’s roar was a good bit lower in pitch, but he did not doubt that it still thundered through the hall.

  “How dare you, you blackguard!” Susannah’s father advanced and seized him by the collar, ignoring the fact that Max was thirty years younger, several inches taller, and several stone heavier, all of it muscle.

  “Villain!” cried the mother as she joined in the attack, swinging her parasol at him. He warded off the blow easily enough, but could barely restrain a laugh. He could not help it. It was so like the way Susannah had tried to drive him off with her parasol the day they met. Her mother was just like her.

  “Stop it, all of you.” Susannah pushed her way into the middle, and one of her mother’s blows landed on her head with a sharp crack. “Ouch!”

  That did bring things to a halt.

  Max swung her into his arms, warding off the efforts of her parents to reach her, and pushed back her hair to examine her. “There is no cut, but there may be a bruise.”

  “It’s all right.” She looked up at him, and her eyes as well as her words assured him that all was well.

  He looked up then and announced, “We had best remove ourselves to a less public place.” Still with his arm around Susannah, he led the way into a small waiting room. The footman standing in the hall responded to his glare with alacrity and closed the door on them.

  At his gesture, Lady Penworth seated herself in the largest chair in the room. Lord Penworth stood beside her. Even in their dusty traveling clothes, they were far neater, far more polished than he and Susannah. Max suspected that it wouldn’t have mattered if he were wearing his dress uniform and all his decorations. Susannah’s parents dominated the room. In front of them, Max felt rather like a naughty schoolboy.

  He looked down at Susannah, who was looking more nervous than he had ever seen her before. Taking her hand in his, he whispered, “My warrior countess.” Her head went up, and she smiled up at him.

  They turned to face her parents, but before either of them could speak, her mother did, looking at Max as if he were a pickpocket on trial. “May I ask how it comes about that you claim to be my daughter’s husband when you have known her for what? A few weeks? Not even a month?”

  He reddened slightly at the imperious tone—there was some justice to her complaint—but answered softly enough. In English. He reached for his English, feeling at a disadvantage in a language he did not speak well. “I realize it may…seem…hasty, but everything… It has been not usual.”

  “Not usual.” Lord Penworth snorted, and his whiskers quivered. “That’s putting a pretty face on it. My daughter accompanies an elderly relative to a spa and ends up married to some upstart German fortune hunter. We’ll see about that!”

  “Papa, stop it!”

  Despite his anger at the insult, Max could not entirely suppress his smile. Susannah was leaping to his defense. But it was for him to speak now. Respectfully, he reminded himself. Respectfully. This was his wife’s father he was addressing. He clicked his heels and made a stiff bow to the marquess. “My lord,” he began. That was, he remembered, the way the English addressed their noblemen. “My lord, I must make assurances to you that my family is of the highest nobility. No one who knows me would speak of me so.”

  “Bah!” Lord Penworth waved a hand dismissively and turned to his daughter. “You seem to have gotten tangled up in some sort of mess here, but don’t worry. We will take you home, and if there has been any sort of marriage, which I seriously doubt, we will have it annulled.”

  “No!” Susannah’s cry was almost drowned out by Max’s roar. He put his arm around her shoulders to hold her close by his side and was relieved to feel her arm wrap around his waist. For a moment he had feared…but no. She was his.

  “Please, Phillip, this will not help.” Lady Penworth reached out a hand to her husband, who went to her at once. She closed her eyes and seemed to be trying to collect herself. Finally, she lifted her head and sighed. “Susannah, we sent you with Augusta and Olivia so you could keep them out of trouble. What on earth has happened?”

  “I know I should have stopped them, Mama, but…”

  “No, it was entirely my fault,” Max interrupted. “I never should have permitted this, this playacting in the first place. And when I saw the danger, I should have insisted that they leave.”

  “Oh no, that is not fair.” Susannah seized his arm and looked up at him. “You know it is not. You tried to send us away and we refused to leave.” She smiled brilliantly at him before she turned back to her parents. “And it really has been wonderfully exciting. I wouldn’t h
ave missed it for anything.”

  That seemed to bring her parents to a halt, and eventually, the whole story was told. It could not be said that the Penworths were pleased, but they were no longer out for Max’s blood. At least, not immediately.

  Finally, Lady Penworth said, “We are all tired, and I know that I, for one, am sorely in need of a bath.” She did not say anything about the others, but the way her eyes flicked over them implied that their need was even greater than hers. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion when we are all more ourselves.”

  They might continue to discuss it as long as Susannah’s parents wished, but it would change nothing. Susannah was his wife, and his wife she would remain. Max did not care if her father was a marquess or a merchant. He did not care how sudden their marriage might appear. All that was unimportant. He and Susannah were bound together in ways far beyond laws and customs. They had faced danger together already. She was his warrior countess. They would defy the whole world if they had to.

  Max rang, and a servant appeared instantly, probably having spent the interim with his ear glued to the door. Lord and Lady Penworth were escorted to their quarters. Susannah started toward her old room, adjoining Olivia’s, but Max held her back. With an unexpected spurt of pride and possessiveness, he led her to his apartments.

  * * *

  It was an odd feeling. She was no longer Susannah Tremaine. She was now Susannah Staufer, Countess von Staufer, and she no longer had to obey her parents. She would listen to them, of course, and consider what they said, but she was no longer required to do as they said. Not that they had ever tried to make her do something she disliked, except maybe be polite to boring guests, but still…

  Now she was Countess von Staufer.

  People would have to obey her.

  That heady feeling floated her through a bath scented with elder flowers. It was a truly appreciated bath after all the riding she had done over the past few days, to say nothing of the other unaccustomed activity. The tub was so deep that when she leaned back, the water came up almost to her chin. She lay back and let her limbs just float in the hot water. Her head rested on the rim of the tub while a maid brushed her hair to get all the dust and dirt and tangles out of it.

  The feel of the brush on her scalp was so soothing, and the water was so warm, that she closed her eyes drowsily to enjoy the luxury of it all. The rhythm of the brushing changed slightly, becoming firmer and more regular. Hypnotically regular.

  A deep laugh made her eyes pop open. “Do not go to sleep, liebling. We must dress and dine with your parents and with the prince.”

  She sat up with a start, splashing water all over, she was sure, and gasping as she tried to cover herself, which only made Max laugh more. It was just as well that he was not dressed yet either, since the splashes splattered him and the towel that was his only covering. She pointed this out, and he laughed some more.

  Then he leaned over and covered her mouth with his, and she stopped worrying about the water. She stopped worrying about anything.

  Eventually they were dressed. Her clothes had been brought over from her old room, so to give herself confidence, she wore one of her favorite dresses, a green and blue plaid taffeta dinner gown. Her hair, however, was styled differently. A new maid dressed it in a chignon high on her head, covered with a pearl-studded snood and surrounded by a wreath of ribbons and pearls.

  It was all very odd. She was herself and not herself, both at the same time. The new coiffure was more mature than her usual ringlets, and so was suitable for the Countess von Staufer, but the dress belonged to Susannah Tremaine. She had worn it any number of times in London and while visiting her older, married sisters—and even back in Baden. She felt as if she were two people at once.

  She was staring at herself in the cheval mirror, still trying to decide who she was, when Max came in behind her. She met his eyes in the mirror, his laughing eyes. Then he reached around and hung a creation of diamonds and pearls around her neck—teardrop pearls hanging from looped chains of diamonds.

  She was still staring round-eyed at herself in the mirror when he finished fastening the clasp.

  “What on earth…?”

  “It is one of the family jewels,” he said with a shrug. “Aunt Magda sent it in case you wanted to wear it while we are here.”

  Susannah began to laugh. “And it will show my father that you are not a fortune hunter?”

  His smile was only a trifle shamefaced. “That too,” he said. “I must speak with you before we go down.” He led her into the sitting room and seated her on the sofa. He sat beside her and took her hand in his, playing with her fingers before he began to speak. “I had not realized that your father is a marquess. I thought…”

  “What did you think?” She was quite curious by now, since she had never before seen Max so unsure of himself.

  He still did not look her in the face, but his mouth twisted in a wry smile. “I thought it was Lady Augusta who was the important one, and perhaps Lady Olivia. You were so protective of them, so very proper that I thought…” He laughed slightly and finally looked at her. “I thought you were their companion.”

  “You thought I was a servant?”

  “No, not a servant.” He shook his head to assure her. “Obviously you are a lady, but I thought perhaps…fallen on hard times…” His voice trailed off uncomfortably.

  Suddenly things began to make much more sense. She drew in a startled breath and then began to laugh. “You thought I was all alone in the world, or at least from a poor family. You thought you needed to protect me. That is why you were so insistent that we marry right away.”

  He stiffened and turned his head away. “I had feared that you would be offended. I should, I suppose, be glad that you find it amusing.”

  “My parents will…” She stopped laughing and paused. “No, perhaps it would be better if we do not tell my parents what you thought.”

  Scowling down at his feet, he folded his arms. “I do not like that I have put myself in this position with your family. I should have gone to your father, asked permission to approach you… I did not give you the respect that you deserve. It is right that he is angry with me.”

  She patted his arm. “Well, if it is any consolation to you, I thought you were one of those noblemen who decorate a court, living on sinecures and gifts. I had no idea that you practically ruled a kingdom of your own.”

  His head snapped up in shock. “You thought me a parasite?”

  “No, no. Not that bad.” She waved a hand dismissively. “I just didn’t know how important you are.”

  “But anyone could have told you… Our estates cover almost a third of Sigmaringen. Everyone knows of the Staufer family. How could you not know? And if you did not know, you could have asked.” He looked outraged.

  She responded to his distress with a shrug. “Well, if we were in England, everyone would know of my family. You could have asked as well.” Another thought struck her. “You aren’t sorry, are you? That we are married, I mean.”

  “Never that.” He reached over, picked her up, and pulled her onto his lap. “Never that. I am sorry that your parents are upset. I did not wish to offend them. But I am glad that I did not ask about your family. If we had to go through all the formality, it would have been weeks—months—before we could be wed.”

  For the next few minutes, they exchanged unspoken assurances that the existing situation was just what they wanted.

  Max sighed and rested his forehead on Susannah’s. “Your father, is he only rich or is he also important in England’s government?”

  “Papa? He doesn’t hold any office, but they are always sending him off on diplomatic missions. That sort of thing.”

  Max nodded. “When you said his title, I thought I recognized the name. I must tell the prince.”

  Thirty-nine

  When Max and Susannah re
ached the drawing room, it was clear that Lady Penworth had not mellowed. She was standing by the fire, which did not seem to be warming her in the slightest, and addressed Max in icy tones. “Lord Penworth is with the prince. They wish you to join them.”

  Max bowed and fled.

  Oh, he bowed politely and murmured courteous phrases, but Susannah knew flight when she saw it. She watched him vanish through the door with envy. He was going to have the easier task. Papa was easier to manage than Mama. She put on a serene smile and turned back to face her mother. At least she was trying for a serene smile. She was not sure she was successful.

  Lady Penworth shook her head. “Come sit down, my dear. We must talk calmly about this situation.”

  Susannah knew her mother’s “calm” talks. They generally consisted of an explanation of why what you had done or were planning to do was foolish, and why you should do as Mother wished instead.

  Mama smiled gently. “Susannah, I know you. You have always been an eminently sensible girl. I realize that I was being unfair to you, sending you off with Augusta and Olivia and expecting you to keep them in check. But you have always managed to take care of the younger ones and keep them within the bounds of propriety. I hadn’t realized how difficult it would be for you to manage Augusta, who is so much older. And I know she can be a bit headstrong. We will forget about that.”

  She patted Susannah on the hand. “Now please tell me that this, this marriage of yours is only a joke, part of the bizarre masquerade you have all been engaged in.”

  This was not going to be easy. “No, Mama. It is perfectly real.”

  “You are married to a man you have known for only a few weeks?” Mama’s voice was rising. “I cannot believe you would do something so outlandish, so utterly lacking in common sense. One of your sisters, perhaps, but you?”

  A reputation for propriety could be something of a nuisance. “I know it all seems terribly hasty, but Max was just trying to protect me.”

  “Protect you? Protect you from what, precisely?”