The Convenient Bride

by Winchester, Catherine

  He dropped his frock coat and seemed frozen in shock for a moment as the implications sank in, then he dashed after Lucy, only to find her door locked. He pounded his fist on the door.

  “Lucy, Lucy let me in!”

  “Go away, I can’t talk to you right now.”

  Max could tell that she was making an effort to remain calm but he could hear the tension in her voice. He wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer though and pounded again.

  “It’s not what you think! Please, let me in!”

  “No! Max, just give me some time alone.”

  He was worried about the wrong conclusions she could reach if she were left alone; he needed to convince her of his innocence before it was too late.

  “I can’t! Lucy, honestly, I have no idea what that was doing in my room.

  “Maxwell, please, if you care about me at all, wait for me in our sitting room. Pounding on my door is only going to make me angry and this will take longer.”

  He knew that he had lost this argument, for if he continued to bang on her door, he was proving that he didn’t care about her. He lowered his fist.

  “I love you, Lucy, please don’t forget that,” he said, reluctantly turning away and taking a seat in the living room.

  When he realised he was still holding the chemise, his first instinct was to hide it out of sight, then he reminded himself that he was innocent and had nothing to hide. He placed it on the ornamental table beside him, determined not to act guilty since he wasn’t.

  The wait seemed interminable and the minutes seemed to crawl by like treacle. He wanted to pace but only guilty men had something to fear. He settled for fidgeting since he was unable to sit still, his gaze drawn every five seconds or so to the clock over the mantelpiece.

  Just over thirty minutes later, he froze as he heard the lock turn in Lucy’s door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lucy felt rather shaky as she emerged, but she felt that she had calmed down enough to talk this over sensibly.

  “Lucy.” Max stood up. “Please, you have to know I didn’t do this.”

  Lucy closed the gap between them and embraced him.

  “I do know.”

  Max gripped her tightly, as if he hadn’t seen her in years rather than minutes, then abruptly he pulled away, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring into her eyes.

  “Do you mean that? Really?”

  Lucy nodded and smiled, then she removed his hands from her shoulders and sat on the small sofa, pulling him down beside her.

  “There have only been a few times in my life when I’ve truly been happy, Max. The first was when my sister, Lorena was born. I liked to pretend that I was her mother and spent as much time in the nursery with her as I could, until the nanny chased me away. And then she died and no one would tell me why. I tried to listen to their conversations but even the adults didn’t seem to know why. She was small but not that small, she was early but only two weeks…”

  Max squeezed her hands.

  “Then I went to France when I was 12 and was having a wonderful time. My cousins were all very kind, and thoroughly approved of my immersing myself in the different culture, enjoying their music and the different foods and the like. Then one day I received a letter, saying that my family were ill with scarlet fever. By the time I got back, only my father was still alive, and I wasn’t even allowed to see him in case I caught it too. Now I feel as though my life is perfect once more, and I can’t quite believe that it isn’t going to be taken from me again.”

  “Lucy, I never-”

  “No, Max, this isn’t your problem, that’s what I’m trying to explain, this is my problem. I’m sorry for how I reacted but I ran because if I had talked to you then, my fear might have made me say something unforgivable.”

  Max nodded. “I think I understand. Thank you for explaining it to me.” He had known that she was damaged from her losses but he had never heard it put in such simple terms before. Of course he understood.

  “And I realise that my reputation doesn’t make it easy for you to trust me either-”

  “Max, I care nothing for your reputation. I know the man that you are and you have never broken a promise to me, but sometimes you might just have to give me time to remember that.”

  Max kissed her, softly and sweetly. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she assured him, but she didn’t seem nearly so pleased that their conflict was over as he did.

  “What else is bothering you?” he asked.

  “Who put it there,” she answered.

  Max hadn’t even stopped to consider that yet and he frowned at the thought.

  “Giles,” the answer came quickly.

  “Max, please, your jealousy over Giles is getting tiresome.”

  “I'm not jealous, Lucy-”

  “Then why, when we have a house full of guests, many of whom we don’t know particularly well, do you single out Giles? Yes, he is a flirt and yes, he can be a little indiscreet at times, but he isn’t malicious, Max, and he has never been inappropriate with me.”

  “He’s probably waiting until we’ve had a terrible row and you’re feeling vulnerable.”

  “Oh Max, don’t be absurd, he isn’t bright enough to be that cunning.”

  “Then who do you think is behind this?” he asked, trying to remain calm in the face of her defence of Giles.

  “I was wondering if perhaps Madam Poisson could be in the area. Most of us have been out of the house all day at the tennis tournament, so it’s conceivable that she could sneak in and have planted that chemise, especially given that we now know she has a rather Machiavellian nature.”

  “How would she get here? No one could miss a carriage and the driveway is almost a mile long, she couldn’t walk that distance and not be noticed by someone. Assuming that she did manage it, the chances of anyone getting past all the household staff unseen, are even lower.”

  “Well someone must have put it there, Max.”

  “I agree, but probably someone who is staying here and can move around without arousing suspicion.”

  “And who would you think that person is? Aside from Giles.”

  Max sighed knowing that he wasn’t going to change her mind at the moment. “Well, I suppose it’s possible that Marie knows one of our guests, I'm far from the only gentleman she entertained.”

  “You think someone could be acting on her behalf?”

  Max shrugged. “I don’t see why any of our guests would have a grudge against us, do you?”

  “Well, no. Perhaps the staff? Some of them did come from London with us; Marie could have offered them money before we left, in return for causing trouble.”

  The clock over the mantle gave a small chime.

  “Well, I think that figuring out who is responsible will have to wait,” Max said. “Our guests will be waiting for us.”

  Lucy nodded and stood. “And let’s try to imply that we have spent the last hour in very pleasurable pursuits, I don’t want whoever did this to think that it worked.”

  Max nodded and picked the chemise up.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Putting this back where we found it. Perhaps whoever left it will come back to check whether it has been discovered yet, or not,” Max went into his bedroom and returned a few seconds later, sans chemise and now wearing his frock coat. He held his arm out for Lucy. “Now my darling, let’s try and put this out of our minds for a few hours and have a pleasant evening.”

  Instead of taking his arm, Lucy took ahold of his lapels and pulled him down for a sinfully enjoyable kiss, which not only served to help relax her after the turmoil of the past hour, but also left them looking ever so slightly rumpled.

  “I’m terribly sorry we’re late,” Lucy said with a beatific smile as they swept into the parlour. “I had a little trouble with my gown.”

  She could see a few people exchanging knowing glances, so she knew her lie had been taken in the correct vein. Her kiss-reddened lips an
d Max’s satisfied smile, only added weight to their story.

  Having obviously been waiting for them, the butler rang the bell to signal dinner and the couples filed through to the dining room. Max and Lucy had to sit at opposite ends of the table, but their earlier kiss had ignited both their passions and they couldn’t help but exchange a few ardent glances around the candelabrum.

  She tried to look for any odd behaviour among her guests but everyone seemed to be acting normally. Given Max’s suspicions, she paid special attention to Giles but he seemed as carefree as he usually was, flirting with the ladies on either side of him, regardless that Mrs Booth was married and that Miss Martin only seemed to have eyes for someone else. Giles caught Lucy’s eye and smiled a few times but that was customary for him.

  After dinner the ladies withdrew to the drawing room and Miss Steadman regaled them with a few songs on the pianoforte, at which she was very talented. Then Miss Beaumont took a turn and after her first song, the gentlemen joined them. Max took a seat next to Lucy and kissed her briefly, then they sat politely as Miss Beaumont played. She wasn’t as proficient as Miss Steadman, but she had a more melodic voice.

  She noticed Max paying more attention to their guests than usual, probably looking for any unusual behaviour, as she had been. When finally it was an acceptable hour, they excused themselves to go to bed. Some joined them while others stayed up, playing cards or talking.

  “You know,” Lucy said as Max, changed and ready for bed, joined her in her bedroom. “We might have overlooked a suspect in the chemise saga?”

  Max could tell from her tone that she wasn’t being completely serious.

  “Oh?” he said, stripping off his night shirt as he climbed into the bed.

  “Well it is Mrs Porter’s chemise, and she is the type of lady to buy scandalous underwear. Perhaps she left it as an invitation and when you return it to her…”

  Max smiled at the idea. “Or, what if Mr Porter left it? I’m given to understand that he purchased the scandalous underwear in question. Perhaps he wants to tempt me away, so that he can ravage you all night long.”

  Lucy laughed. “I’m afraid that no amount of teasing is going to help us decide how to return it without embarrassment.”

  “Well for now it stays there,” he said. “If whoever put it there doesn’t take it back, we’ll post it on to them after the guests have left.”

  That sounded reasonable to Lucy. “How long do you think it’s been there for?”

  “There’s no way to tell. I generally only use the dressing room, the bed never needs making and the maids don’t bother to light a fire in there anymore. I think they last changed the linens and dusted a few days ago, so it will probably be another few days before they discover it.”

  “So I suppose we just have to wait and see what happens now,” Lucy sighed.

  Max’s hands began to wander. “I can think of a few ways to pass the time.”

  ***

  The next day Lucy headed to the orphanage for the day, although she made sure that the ladies had enough to occupy them. Most of the gentlemen felt like riding and once they were all sorted with their own or borrowed mounts, Max headed to the study.

  He knew that detectives existed but he didn’t know how one went about finding and hiring one, so instead he wrote to his London solicitor and asked him to organise an investigation into the actions and history of Madam Marie Poisson and Giles Gibson. He gave them Marie’s address and since he didn’t know many details about Giles, he explained that he was related to the Northumberland Gibsons.

  It wasn’t an awful lot of information to go on and he was surprised to realise that he didn’t know more about Marie. Every piece of information that he thought he knew however, he suspected was probably false. He knew she wasn’t French and therefore, had not been born in Paris, he assumed that even her name was a lie, and she had given her age as 20 but he thought she looked older (it could have been from living a difficult life, or she could just as easily be lying about her age).

  Having included all the information that he knew to be true about Marie and Giles, he sealed the letter and had sent a messenger off to London with it. He had no idea how long an investigation such as this should take but he had little choice but to be patient, so he tried to put it out of his mind as he joined his father in the library, where the older man was reading the morning paper.

  Max was surprised to receive a reply just two days later, but the letter only confirmed that the solicitor had engaged the services of Pennington Investigations and that Mr Pennington would be communicating directly with Max from this point onward.

  Another letter arrived the following day from Mr Pennington. The details were few but he confirmed that following a search of Madam Poisson’s rooms, they had confirmed that she was living there with a gentleman and were at present attempting to identify him. They had also discovered an address in Wiltshire among Madam Poisson’s possessions and a man had duly been dispatched to that region to discover what he could.

  As yet there was no news on Giles Gibson but another gentleman had been dispatched to Northumberland, to make discreet enquiries among Giles’ friends and family.

  Max was impressed with the speed and professionalism of the service (illegal searches aside) and wrote back, thanking Mr Pennington.

  ***

  That afternoon, Lucy discovered a hair comb, inlaid with mother of pearl amongst her combs, which were kept in her dressing table.

  “Whitaker, do you know where this comb came from?”

  The lady’s maid put down the dress she was laying out and came over. “I found that in the sitting room, Ma’am. I didn’t recognise it but I thought that it had to be one of yours.”

  “Our private sitting room, you mean?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Thank you.”

  Whitaker returned to the dress while Lucy pondered the strange comb, brushing out her hair all but forgotten, as her suspicious mind seized on reasons why Max must be having an affair.

  This was the second item belonging to a lady that had been discovered in under a week, both in rooms where only she, Max and the servants should enter. She couldn’t honestly believe that anyone wanted to cause them to argue, which meant that both items must have been left by accident, which meant that one or two women had been in Max’s bedroom and their private sitting room.

  Max had plenty of time to engage in illicit meetings since, with so many people in the house, they weren’t spending an awful lot of time together at the moment. Then of course, Lucy was out of the house for two days a week, helping at the orphanage.

  But assuming that Max had invited a woman into their quarters, would he really be so careless as to let the women leave her belongings behind? Unless she had intentionally left the items to be discovered, hoping that Lucy would discover the affair. But the chemise had belonged to Mrs Porter, who seemed to be very happily married.

  And besides, Max had a whole house in which to carry on an affair, as well as the estate cottages and the Dower House; why would he invite her to their rooms, where he was most likely to be discovered?

  Or perhaps he resented not being able to discuss his assignations with Lucy these days, and this was his way of letting her know that he was seeing someone.

  But when had he found the time? It was true that Lucy hadn’t been with him much during the day but he had been spending a lot of time with his father, as well as his sister, May.

  Perhaps the comb belonged to May or his mother; it wouldn’t be untoward for one of them to be in their sitting room. Only Lucy had known both women for years and had never known either of them to own an item like this.

  She rested her elbows on the table and cradled her head in her hands. An image of Max from last night entered her mind, how loving he had been. Even if he did have the time and inclination for an affair, Lucy was keeping him worn out. Did Max really have the energy left for another woman?

  And could he really be so heartless?r />
  No, that wasn’t the boy she’d fallen in love with.

  Max could be fickle but he wasn’t cruel. He could be irresponsible but he had never broken his word to her. He could be careless but he wasn’t a liar.

  “Are you all right, Ma’am?” Whitaker asked, looking worried.

  Lucy raised her head and smiled at the maid in the mirror. “Yes, fine, thank you, just a small headache.” She picked up the comb and held it out to Whitaker. “I must have picked this up, meaning to find its owner and forgotten. Could you ask around the other lady’s maids and see if anyone claims it?”

  “Of course, Ma’am.” She took the comb. “Can I get you anything for your head?”

  “Thank you but it’s passing now. What dress did we choose for this evening?”

  “The lilac,” Whitaker said, gesturing to where the gown was now hanging.

  “I think I would prefer the midnight blue gown, if it’s not too much trouble.” Lucy said.

  “Not at all, Ma’am.”

  The blue dress was far more striking, lower cut around the neck and showed her figure off to its best advantage. Given that someone in this house clearly bore an ill will towards her and Max, she felt that she needed to look her best tonight.

  ***

  Lucy found a few moments before dinner to talk to Max, and she could tell from his expression that he was both surprised and appalled by the comb discovery. Max had many talents and although he had a pretty good poker face, acting wasn’t one of his skills and the fear in her heart, that somehow she would lose him, eased a little more.

  Seeing how worried she had been, Max took her in his arms and held her tightly.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything until I had something to tell you, but I’ve employed a firm of detectives in London. They’re looking into Marie, her current movements and her history.” He decided not to tell her about investigating Giles, unless they discovered something incriminating. “If she has anything to do with this, they’ll find out.”

  “That’s good thinking,” she held him tightly. “I hope they don’t discover a connection to our staff though, I would hate to think that one of them was behind this.”