Scandal of the Season

by Christie Kelley

  “We are managing just fine without all the extra fuss,” Anthony said.

  “Indeed?” Sophie said roughly. “Then why is her back starting to fester? With their help, everyone will get a chance to rest and get a chance to care for her.”

  “I will send a footman to Lady Selby’s house,” his mother said, then left the room.

  “What happened, Somerton?” Sophie demanded.

  He explained everything that had happened regarding Victoria’s kidnapping. “What am I going to do, Sophie?”

  She squeezed his shoulder. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  He stared down at Victoria’s pale face. Seeing her like this was killing him. “They can’t lose her, Sophie. Not now. Not right before Christmas.”

  “I’ll do everything I can.”

  “You don’t understand,” he whispered. “All she wanted to do was give the children a nice Christmas. They can’t lose her now.” He paused as his breath caught in his throat. “I can’t lose her now.”

  He glanced back at his half sister and noticed the tears running down her cheeks. Brushing his own tears aside, he rose and embraced Sophie. “Please save her,” he whispered.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Within an hour, the three ladies Anthony had helped Sophie match were congregating in Victoria’s entranceway. Thankfully, none had come up the stairs to see her just yet. He refused to leave her bedside. Instead, he kept changing the cloth on her forehead to help keep her cool.

  Hearing the murmur of women’s voices, he knew they were coming.

  “What exactly happened?” Lady Selby asked.

  “Victoria was whipped and shot,” Sophie replied in a quiet tone.

  “Who would do such a thing?” Lady Blackburn demanded.

  Anthony smiled slightly. Lady Jennette Blackburn was as demanding as her brother Selby. They entered the room and all three women groaned.

  “So now we know who shot her,” Jennette remarked.

  He turned at her with an icy glare. “Why would you assume I did this to her?”

  The Duchess of Kendal walked up to him, and said, “I most certainly do not think you did this, Lord Somerton. But why are you here?”

  “He saved her life,” Sophie said with a touch of pride in her voice.

  “Sophie,” Anthony said roughly. “Enough of this nonsense. What can you do to help her?”

  “Avis, I need you to organize a schedule for when you all can be here to help her.” Sophie paged through her book of herbs. “Here is what I need.”

  Anthony glanced over as Sophie mixed a variety of herbs and water into a poultice. “Your Grace, will you help me turn her onto her side?”

  Elizabeth glanced back at him with a little frown. “Lord Somerton, it really isn’t appropriate for you to be helping with her. She doesn’t even have a night-rail on.”

  “Elizabeth, do as he says,” Sophie said in a commanding voice.

  Elizabeth walked over and helped roll Victoria onto her side. Anthony tensed when she moaned again.

  “Don’t worry, Somerton,” Sophie said as she applied the poultice. “It still may take a few days, but this will help.”

  She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “I promise.”

  He looked over at his sister and wanted to hug her for all her assistance. But he knew she did not want anyone else to learn about their relationship.

  Avis, Jennette, and Elizabeth left the room to organize their schedules and make certain Maggie was keeping the children under control. Once they left the room, Anthony gave his sister a hug.

  “Is your mother returning?” Sophie asked.

  “Not until morning unless we need her. I also thought with the ladies downstairs it might be best if she left.”

  “True, but at some point she will wish to check on Victoria,” Sophie said, pulling away. “She cares very deeply for Victoria.”

  “Is there anything you don’t know?”

  Sophie looked away pensively. “Unfortunately, there are many things I don’t know.” She walked to her herbs and packed things up again.

  “I believe it might be best to just say she is a concerned neighbor,” he said.

  “Elizabeth will know who she is, Anthony.”

  “But they don’t need to know everything,” he retorted.

  “Some day it might come out.”

  “And some day your secret might be revealed, too.”

  Sophie nodded with a sigh. “I realize that.”

  Sophie walked back down the stairs and found her friends in Victoria’s study discussing the timing of their visits. With Avis and Jennette nursing their babies, they had limited time to spend here. As soon as she entered the room, their questions started.

  “What exactly happened, Sophie?” Avis asked.

  “Why is Somerton upstairs with her…alone!” Elizabeth said.

  “Victoria was kidnapped after she helped Somerton with a small job. It took longer than expected to find her captors. By the time he arrived, she had been whipped.” Sophie glanced down at the floor. “We don’t know if anything else happened to her.”

  “Oh, no,” Jennette whispered.

  “When Somerton arrived, he shot one of the men but another shot him. Victoria fired at that man and killed him.”

  “Then how did she end up hurt?” Avis asked.

  Unsure what to say regarding Lady Farleigh, Sophie decided to be vague. “There was a woman in the room who shot Victoria. Somerton rushed her back here. He and Lady Whitely have been helping her.”

  “Lady Whitely?” Elizabeth said. “She owns the brothel next door!”

  “Yes. But she is a very compassionate lady. You all should treat her with respect.”

  They all murmured their consent.

  “But he shouldn’t still be upstairs with her when she is wearing nothing,” Elizabeth said again. “It will ruin her.”

  Sophie stared at Elizabeth. “It would not be the first time he has seen her naked.”

  All three women slapped their hands over their mouths. Avis was the first to recover.

  “Victoria? With a man?”

  “Were any of you any different?” Sophie said knowingly.

  “Well, no,” Jennette sputtered. “But she always was the voice of reason. Telling us it was sinful to lie with a man without marriage.”

  “And yet, it did not stop you, did it?”

  All three women giggled and shook their heads.

  “Victoria and Somerton,” Elizabeth whispered with a grin. “Do you think he loves her?”

  “Did you not see the fierce look on his face?” Avis replied. “That is a rake in love.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  After two more days of watching Victoria’s fever continue, Anthony thought he might go mad. By the fourth day, her fever had increased. She fought delirium and dreams that he couldn’t understand and wasn’t sure he wanted to. Based on what he’d heard, Mrs. Perkins was not a pleasant woman when Victoria returned home with nothing to pawn.

  The few things he heard about his mother made him happier. At least there, Victoria was safe and warm. Anthony replaced the cloth on her forehead with a cooler one.

  Sophie entered the room, glanced at Victoria and bit her lip. “Her fever still hasn’t broken?”

  “No.” He wanted to rail at his sister. She had promised him that Victoria would be all right. But now, Victoria looked paler than before and had barely eaten anything in days.

  “Did she drink the broth?”

  “Maggie did her best.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “She was so thin to start with, Sophie.”

  “She will put weight on once she recovers.” She stopped him before he said the words on his mind. “Do not even think it, Anthony. She will survive this.”

  He prayed his sister was right.

  “Will you be all right if I leave for a few minutes? I want to go through my herb book and see if there is anything else I can try. I shall only be downstairs.”

 
“Go. It’s quiet in here.” While he had been here most of the time, he always made sure he was here at night. Since Sophie had no husband to return to, she stayed the night with him. The room and entire house had a different feel to it. Eerily quiet with the children in bed.

  Soon after Sophie left, the delirium started again. Only this time, he was the subject of her dreams.

  “Somerton,” she whispered. “More secrets, more lies.”

  “Shh, Victoria,” he said, wiping her brow again with the cold water.

  “I can’t love him,” she mumbled. “Wrong.”

  His eyes started to water. “No, Victoria. It’s right.”

  “I’m all wrong. Liar. Thief.”

  “I don’t care about that.” He picked her hand up to his mouth and kissed her hand. He stopped and kissed it again. Her hand felt warmer than before. Then he felt her brow and noticed she seemed even hotter.

  “Sophie!” he shouted.

  He heard the soft footfalls of her quick step. “What is it?”

  “Her fever is getting worse.”

  “Ice,” Sophie muttered. “We need to ice her down completely.”

  They had waited to try this method to see if her fever would break on its own. Neither was sure this would work. But Sophie had convinced him to try it if her fever worsened.

  “Maggie,” he shouted and then waited for her to arrive.

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “Go to Lady Whitely and ask her for as much ice as she has.”

  Maggie’s face went pallid. “Yes, my lord.”

  “I will go get some more blankets,” Sophie said hesitantly. “Anthony, I have no idea if this will work.”

  “I know. Just get the blankets.”

  Victoria writhed on the bed as her delirium returned worse than the last time. Anthony went back to the bed and stared down at the woman he loved more than he ever thought possible.

  “You will not die,” he ordered.

  She moaned softly.

  “Do you hear me, Victoria? You are not to die.” He clasped her hot hand in his. “I just couldn’t bare it,” he whispered.

  Within minutes, his mother returned with Sophie and Maggie. Sophie put a blanket over Victoria and placed chopped ice chips all over her.

  “How long do we wait?” he asked his sister.

  “Five to ten minutes.”

  Sophie paced the room as the minutes ticked away while Anthony sat at Victoria’s bedside. Every minute or two, he would touch her forehead for any sign of a reduction in her fever. After ten minutes, they removed the ice. Victoria shivered and groaned.

  “I cannot tell if this helped,” Sophie admitted with tears in her eyes. She covered her mouth with her trembling hand. “I’ve tried everything I know. I’m sorry.”

  Anthony closed his eyes against the pain of knowing there was nothing left to do for her. The other women slowly left the room as if understanding he needed to be alone with Victoria. Returning to his chair, he fought the exhaustion tempting him to sleep. After an hour of fighting, he closed his eyes for a moment but prayed she would not pass while he slept for a few minutes.

  Victoria slowly blinked her eyes open. The room was dim with only the light from the fireplace and one candle. Her lips cracked when she smiled seeing Somerton sleeping in the chair next to her.

  Very little of the past few days remained in her mind. She remembered being shot but only hazy things after that. She knew Somerton had been here and Sophie, too. Victoria frowned but she was certain Lady Whitely had been in the room a few times. She moved her left arm slightly but groaned in pain.

  “Victoria.” Somerton immediately awoke and stared down at her. “Are you still delirious?”

  “I don’t think so.” Her voice sounded raspy to her ears. She tried to smile again but her lips were so cracked they hurt.

  He felt her forehead and grinned. “Your fever is down.”

  “How long have I been here? I cannot remember how many days it has been.”

  “Five very long days.”

  “Have you been here the entire time?”

  Moving to her bedside, he held her hand in his strong hand. “Almost. I did take a few chances to sleep in Maggie’s bed.”

  “I get shot and you take to another woman’s bed?” she joked, trying not to laugh because of the pain.

  “You know I’m a rake,” he replied with a laugh. He leaned in closer and said, “But not that much of a rake.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “Saving me. Bringing me home.” She blinked back the tears. “Staying with me.”

  “It was my fault that this happened.” He clasped her hand with his strong calloused hand and brought it to his lips. “I should never have offered you money to come with me. I knew you needed money or you never would have attempted to pick a pocket at Avis’s party.”

  “I was so ashamed of what I did.”

  He smiled against her hand. “And you couldn’t even pawn the necklace.”

  “No.”

  “Oh, Victoria,” he said. “Did Hardy or Maldon do anything else to you?”

  Seeing the worry on his face, she squeezed his hand. “No. But if you hadn’t arrived…” She couldn’t think about what they would have done to her.

  “Shh,” he whispered. “You don’t have to say anything more. You should have given Maldon my name.”

  “They still would have raped and then killed me.” She looked at the pained expression on his face and wished she could take that agony away. “What happened to Lady Farleigh?”

  “I have not heard yet.”

  “Have you left this house at all since you brought me here?”

  He shook his head. “I couldn’t take the chance that something would happen while I was gone.”

  Her heart pounded against her chest. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him but there were still so many secrets and lies between them.

  “Did you order me not to die?” she asked softly.

  His cheeks reddened. “I believe I did.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  The sound of soft footsteps forced her to look to the doorway. Sophie and Lady Whitely stood at the threshold with their mouths agape.

  “She’s awake!” Sophie said then came running to the bed. She placed her hand on Victoria’s forehead and smiled. “She’s still a little warm but so much cooler than before.”

  “Thank you for helping me,” Victoria said to Sophie.

  Lady Whitely walked to the end of the bed and gave her a look filled with love. Victoria’s lower lip trembled. Lady Whitely had saved her life twelve years ago, and Victoria had never really appreciated all that the woman had done for her.

  Lady Whitely could have turned her over to the authorities for picking some loose coins out of her pocket. She could have left Victoria out on the street. Instead, Lady Whitely had taken Victoria in and had given her a room and food to eat. Without Lady Whitely, Victoria would probably be a prostitute or worse, already hanged for picking pockets.

  And even if Bronwyn was Somerton’s daughter with the lady, she still deserved Victoria’s thanks.

  “Thank you, Lady Whitely.”

  Lady Whitely moved to Sophie’s position on the bed. She pushed back the hairs on Victoria’s forehead. “I did very little, dear.”

  “You know all that you have done for me. And I have never properly thanked you.”

  Lady Whitely glanced over at Anthony and then back to Victoria. “Hush, you have done an amazing thing for me.”

  There was so much she wanted to say to each person, but her eyes wouldn’t cooperate and quickly she was back to sleep.

  Anthony left Victoria asleep with Avis watching over her and walked downstairs for breakfast. He felt lighter than he had in days. As he passed a mirror, he stopped and looked at himself. He hadn’t shaved in five days, had only washed up at a basin and had barely eaten enough to keep a child alive.

  “You look li
ke hell,” he said to the mirror in the hall.

  “You really do,” his mother said with a smile as she walked down the steps. “Why don’t you go next door and ring for a bath in my room? Get a good meal while you’re there, too.”

  “I think I will take you up on your hospitality.”

  “But the girls cost extra,” she said with a grin.

  “I don’t think I will need any of them again.”

  “Somehow, I had a feeling you would say that.”

  Anthony walked next door and spoke to a footman about having clothes brought over from his home. After a large breakfast of coddled eggs and ham, not only did clothes arrive but also his valet. Huntley shaved him and drew a hot bath.

  Anthony tore off his clothes and tossed them to Huntley.

  “They have blood stains on them.” Huntley grimaced. “And after all this time, I doubt the stains will come out.”

  “I believe you can burn those. After five days of wear, I really don’t want to ever wear them again.”

  He slipped into the hot bath feeling better than he had in days. The steamy water relaxed his tense and cramped muscles. After cleaning off a few days of grime, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

  Everything would be all right now. Once Victoria recovered completely, they would marry. Her friends would help her become accepted in the ton. At some point, she would be with child and give him a beautiful son or daughter of his own.

  And he would teach her to dance all the dances. He wanted her to dance until her feet ached.

  Hearing the door shut, he assumed Huntley had left to get him something.

  “What are you doing bathing in Lady Whitely’s room?”

  Anthony blew out a breath and opened his eyes to see his father staring at him. “I am enjoying a nice hot bath. Whatever are you doing here?”

  “Do not talk to me like that,” his father ordered. “I suppose you had to bathe after being with one of those ladies downstairs. Where is she?”

  He ignored the comment regarding the ladies downstairs. “She is next door with Miss Seaton.”

  “The orphan lady?” His father roamed the room as if it was his own. “Why would she be over there?”