Wit & Intrigue (An Assignation to Remember Book 1)

by Angela Johnson

  As he pulled her into his arms, Alex placed a kiss on her lips that took her breath away and made her run her hands through his hair.

  They arrived at Covenant Garden Theater in the same carriage as Duke and Duchess Waverly. Debra worried everyone at Mayfair House knew what she and Alex had done before getting dressed for the theater. Although they were married, she wanted their relationship private, which meant she needed to stop blushing. Alex led her to a seat near the front of the box, and they settled in to wait for the program to begin. Even though they both wore gloves, heat entered her cheeks as he played with her fingers. She was hopelessly in love with her husband and found he was with her as well.

  The night couldn’t get better than that moment. She laid her head back and closed her eyes reveling in the beauty of the theater and her almost perfect life, until she heard Lady Margaret and the Duke and Duchess of Apsley’s greetings as they joined the box. Debra sat up and glared at Margaret. It was only proper to give a greeting, even after the woman attempted to injure her permanently. It was a small amount of triumph and pleasure to see the joint anger of Duke and Duchess Waverly and Alex. Thankfully, the curtain opened before anyone could speak further. She moved forward in her seat for a better view of the stage and an attempt at ignoring the added guests.

  Having read the play, she’d anticipated the excitement of a wonderful performance of Romeo and Juliet despite the presence of Margaret. She was drawn in from the moment it started. She cried as Romeo and Juliet fell in love and secretly married. Alex handed her a handkerchief, which made her thankful he was such a gentleman. She jumped in surprise and nervousness during the loud clashing of metal sword fight between the men of Verona. When Romeo killed Tybalt to avenge the death of Mercutio, she was thankful for the intermission because it was inevitable, Romeo would be banished from Verona and she couldn’t handle all the emotions at once.

  Alex leaned over to and patted her hand. “Would you like something to drink or eat?”

  She nodded “I will wait here. I do not mean to be so emotional,” Debra said trying to smile.

  “You are not the only one, my love.”

  “Alexander, please bring a drink for your father and I as well.”

  Debra shivered as a breeze from the auditorium hit her arms. She was wearing one of the new dresses the duchess insisted she purchase, and it was a thin muslin silk. The space between the end of her gloves and her sleeves was cold.

  “We should take a walk while we wait for Alexander,” Duchess Waverly said pulling her to her feet.

  Debra nodded and linked arms with her. They walked out of the box and joined a group of gossiping women. Debra had a hard time paying attention, as she did not know the women and did not know the people they were discussing. It sounded like there were many scandals happening in London, so her absence from society had not made much of an impact.

  Debra looked up as the announcement was made for the second half of the play. She and the duchess turned to go back to the box when she noticed Alex speaking with Lady Margaret. Alex had one glass of punch, when he should have had at least three. She stepped forward to lead Duchess Waverly over to Alex when Margaret leaned forward and kissed him. She was far enough away it looked like the kiss was on his lips.

  Stopping before he saw her, and before she did something she’d regret, Debra turned back to her mother-in-law. Duchess Waverly’s disappointed glare told Debra the tét-a-tét wasn’t missed.

  “The second half will start soon. We should return.” Her manner was graceful, as though she hadn’t seen her son in a compromising situation. Debra thought back to the days where she’d trained to be a countess. Both her mother and Duchess Waverly told her a countess and duchess do not give way to their emotions in public. Perhaps her crying during the play was a breach of this training, but she vowed not to let anyone, especially Margaret see the pain.

  Debra was seated and the curtain was up again before Alex returned. He handed her a glass of punch. She didn’t drink it, as it was a gift from her unfaithful husband. Handing it back to him and ignoring his frown, she sat forward to watch the rest of the performance. When he tried to hold her hand or lovingly rub her fingers, she pulled away.

  When Romeo and Juliet both died, Debra couldn’t control her tears. A part of her seemed to be dying as she remembered Alex and Margaret in the corner. The thought of how she’d foolishly let herself believe he loved her plagued her broken heart and the tears were not for the characters in the play, instead they were for the loss of everything she thought they gained in their marriage.

  “Do you want to stay for the after show? Or do you want me to take you home?” Alex asked.

  “Please take me home.”

  Alex held his arm out for her. She took it, so Margaret wouldn’t have the satisfaction of knowing there was a fight brewing. While they waited for the carriage, Debra didn’t speak. Locking eyes with Duchess Waverly, she knew they had an understanding.

  “Waverly,” the duchess said to her husband, “let us leave Alexander and Debra to ride alone.”

  Waverly looked over as though to see why she would suggest taking a different carriage and must have seen something in their stance or demeanor as he quickly agreed.

  Alex helped Debra into the carriage and sat next to her as if he couldn’t sense the tension. Taking her hand as the footman closed the door, Debra pulled away.

  “Have I done something wrong?”

  Debra waited until the carriage was moving before she answered, her voice a low hiss. “How dare you ask me such a question?”

  His act of innocence angered her further. “What have I done to incur your wrath? I thought we agreed to put the past behind us.”

  With the word past Debra lost her mind. She spoke without thought, putting all aspects of dignity behind her. “When we agreed to leave our problems in the past it meant both of us. Not just me. I realize what you took today was rightfully yours, as I am your wife. And by law I am your property, but I expected you to keep your word. You might not have said the word love as in I love you, but your actions told me you wanted our marriage to be more than a transaction.”

  Alex cut her off as she took a breath to continue her speech. “What are you going on about? When we arrived at the theater, you were happy. What have I done to deserve your censure?”

  “I saw you with Margaret! Your mother saw you with Margaret. I saw the kiss. How could you do this to me and with her?” The last word was meant to be an accusation to cut through his calm demeanor. The look on his face made her stop speaking. He looked near to vomiting.

  Chapter 28

  Alex knew something was wrong when he led Debra out of the theater, but he never imagined she’d seen the private conversation with Margaret. Sputtering as he tried to explain only made him look guilty. It wasn’t what Debra thought.

  “Debra, please let me explain.”

  “I do not want to hear any more lies, Alex. There are many couples in society who do not spend time together. I plan to move back to Woodland Manor. I will not be going to Trenton Hall with you for the winter. If anything comes of this afternoon, I will inform you.”

  Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes toward the top of the carriage and sat forward. He refused to say another word until they were home and in their rooms, until he heard her scoff. Cutting through the words she planned to say, he fought back. “It was not an affair, Debra. She claimed the need to apologize, and therefore cornered me. It would have been shocking to everyone around if I had ignored her.”

  He needed Debra to understand it wasn’t what she thought. He hadn’t kissed Margaret. She hadn’t kissed him. She’d leaned in to do so, but he moved backward. Alex made an effort to let Margaret know he wasn’t interested in her offer.

  Debra cried, which broke his resolve. His voice cracked with the emotion of his wife thinking he could possibly treat her so awful. It truly was a terrible situation to be in. Begging her to understand, he nearly cried. “Debra, please listen to me.
Margaret followed me out of the box. She told me she needed to speak with me. I told her I am in love with my wife. And I let her know the way she treated you was not only indescribable but unforgivable.”

  He heard the disbelief in her laugh. “Take me to Ingram House. I will not stay anywhere with you.”

  “No.”

  Debra turned her red rimmed wet eyes toward him. “Yes.”

  “You made the astute observation regarding the law and marriage. According to the law, you are my property. Therefore, you belong in the same house as me.” He knew he’d taken the wrong course of action the minute he finished the sentence. Debra’s hand came up as she slapped him across the face. Stopping it would mean he didn’t deserve the censure, but he knew he did. His words had been a last attempt at keeping her near him.

  “You are right. I deserved that.” The words sounded cheap as he saw her tears. Alex took her hand. She let him hold it this time. In an effort to show forgiveness, he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers. “Are you still angry?”

  Looking into her eyes, Alex saw forgiveness and he hoped love. If he was wrong, she’d let him know. He pulled her to him and kissed her, much as he had earlier that day. When she responded, he deepened the kiss.

  The carriage jostled, but he continued to kiss his wife thinking of the love he held for her. This was the life he wanted, minus the arguments. He kissed her cheek and moved to her ear to whisper the words she needed to hear. As he started to whisper, I love you, the carriage stopped. Instead of the words he hoped to say, with the opening of the carriage door he turned to tell the driver to go around the street block again, but he didn’t recognize the man.

  “What the…” he said as a hand and cloth went over his mouth and nose. His was holding Debra’s hand and tried to pull her closer as he struggled against his assailant, but his mind went foggy as the sweet smell on the cloth took clean air from his body. Giving in, as he had no other options, his body went limp and his mind fell into darkness.

  Chapter 29

  Debra paced the parlor of Mayfair House regretting her last moments with Alex. Torturing herself over her lack of trust in her husband, she wiped at the tears as she wondered where he was and who the masked men were. The carriage stopped mid travel to the townhouse, when they were attacked. As Alex fought to get away, she never considered he’d lose. As his body went limp, Debra tried to keep hold of his hand, but he was ripped away as the men threw her back in the carriage.

  Momentarily stunned as her head hit the opposite side of the carriage, Debra remembered yelling at the abductors while she tried to focus and make sense of the situation. Unfortunately, there was nothing of sense.

  Debra wiped tears from her eyes as she worried over her husband. She listened to Waverly as he recounted the attack, as she’d told him, to the constable. Holding her puppy for comfort, Debra promised if Alex were to come home alive and well, she’d be a good wife and trust him no matter the circumstances. She vowed to forgive him as the butler announced Lady Margaret.

  “Your Grace,” Margaret said rushing into the room toward Alex’s mother. “All of London is speaking about this abduction.”

  Debra didn’t let her finish. She handed Portia to the butler and flew at Lady Margaret. “Get out!”

  “Lady Trenton, I did not see you there,” Margaret said with a simpering smile.

  “Leave! Now!” Debra’s resolve to keep her anger and hurt from Margaret was gone. “I do not want to see you near me or my husband again. I know you are in love with him.”

  “Alex and I should be married. I turned him down with the hopes he would ask a second time. I never had designs to marry Midhurst.” Margaret went from smug to regret in an instant, and if Debra wasn’t worried about her husband, she’d give her attention to the tear stained woman standing before her. But Alex was her priority. Margaret’s regrets could wait.

  “Lady Margaret,” Duke Waverly said with a stern glare, “we do not have time for this. Lady Trenton’s request is valid.”

  Debra waited until she knew the woman was gone before she sat on the sofa. The butler brought Portia to her, and Debra again hugged the puppy trying to calm her nerves. She made the promise again. If he comes back, I will forgive him and never distrust him again. I do not deserve him.

  Debra didn’t sleep. The abduction replayed over and over in her mind until she found her way to the writing table. She wrote in her journal for a portion of the night, but by breakfast her nerves were back on end. Unable to eat anything, Debra stared at the table. Living with regret was torture.

  As she was ready to give up on forcing food, Waverly spoke. “A letter of ransom arrived this morning.”

  “What do they want?”

  “Seventy thousand pounds.”

  Debra looked at her father-in-law. She was blessed to have kind and generous in laws, but the coincidence of the ransom amount being the same as her dowry struck her as odd. “The exact amount of my dowry?”

  Waverly put his newspaper on the table. “Now that is an interesting observation, one I did not think of. Although, I did think the amount was odd.”

  “It must be a coincidence, my dear.” The duchess gave a gentle smile. “How can anyone know what your dowry was outside of family?”

  “It is odd though,” Debra said wandering from the table. “Such a strange amount. Why not fifty thousand or one hundred thousand?”

  Duke Waverly came up beside her and took her arm. “We will not worry about the amount. We will bring Alexander home, and then hopefully find out who is behind the abduction.”

  Debra nodded and allowed him to lead her back to the table.

  “You should eat something.”

  With the knowledge of Alex’s release at hand, Debra was able to eat a small amount of food. She would closet herself away writing and imaging until Alex was back. Perhaps she’d have another manuscript finished by the time he was home.

  Chapter 30

  “You were not supposed to take him.” Alex woke as a man yelled. A door slammed against what sounded like a brick wall. He was cold and laying on dirt. Rocks digging into his skin. “You were supposed to rob the coach and kill him.”

  The words were muffled by the covering on his head, but Alex was certain the response was an argument against killing him.

  “What do you suppose I do with him? He cannot know I am part of this. If I send him back, I go to prison.”

  His captors came near, making their voices louder. A gruff Irish lilt wafted through the coverings on Alex’s head. “We have an opportunity for more than pocket change and jewelry.”

  “You stupid fool!” the man yelled. Finding himself fully awake, Alex recognized the voice of the angry man. Mr. George Baker, Rilla’s husband, yelled at the abductors.

  “We aren’t fools.” Another voice, this one British, but working class.

  “Listen up London trash. I pulled you out of the gutter and promised you more money than either of you have ever had to pull this job off for me. No one can know I am behind it.”

  Alex heard Baker walking close to him. He was surprised when the coverings came off his eyes adjusting in the dim light. Looking up at his captor, he hoped the scowl in his eyes was as fierce and equal to what Debra could give when she was angry.

  “But as you can see, you have not kept him unconscious and he is now aware of my presence.”

  “Ain’t our fault Govn’r.” The Irish man slurred every word escaping his mouth.

  Baker looked down at Alex and spoke as though he were doing him a favor. “Debra is unharmed.” This knowledge did make Alex feel less stressed. If they’d taken his wife, he’d give them anything they wanted. Baker removed the gag and moved Alex against a wall so he could sit up. Alex’s lungs burned as he was finally able to take deep breaths. The smell in the room made him hurl, but without food in his stomach, nothing came out.

  “Why Baker?” he croaked as the gag had dried his mouth. His tongue felt four sizes too large for his mouth and ea
ch word ended with a bite against its leathery flesh.

  “You should know why. I owe you more than I can pay.”

  “What about the investment?” He’d known when writing the bank draft that money would go to the gambling tables, but a part of him hoped to be wrong.

  Baker laughed, although there wasn’t any cheer or humor within the sound. His face contorted in rage. “There was no investment! I have nothing to return to you. It is gone, all of it.”

  “All you had to do was tell me you cannot pay, and I would have relieved you of the debt.”

  Baker glared at him with a deep hatred. “You tell me now your life is at stake. But if we were sitting in a parlor, you would make certain my debt was known and collected on.”

  “You are wrong,” Alex said in a whisper. “I never told anyone of loaning you the money. I never mentioned it when you sat at the tables gambling away every last sixpence in your purse. Nor did I ever tell anyone I suspected you were behind the blackmail letter to Norwood before my marriage to Debra.”

  The last part of his statement surprised Baker, but he brushed it aside. “I do not care. If you were stuck with a fool wife like Rilla, you would be driven to madness and follow my same path. She has wasted all our money on fripperies. We are no longer solvent. So, now you are set to die, forgiveness of my debt is not necessary. And I will not go to a debtor’s prison.”

  “You never spent any money at the tables?” Alex asked coughing as he spoke. In a regular situation, the cough would be a hint of showing the hypocrisy, but the thirst made it difficult to speak.

  “Well, you have a point there, old chap,” George said with a guilty smile. “I might have some gambling debts needing to be paid off.”

  His chest burned with each breath. “How much is the ransom?”

  George waited to respond as Alex was again coughing. His chest burned with each breath. “Seventy thousand pounds.” He threw the blindfold and gag he’d been holding to the ground before continuing his speech. “You do not need the money. Rilla and I can move away from her family, and perhaps my future children will have something to inherit.”