Lilly considered it for a moment. Part of her wanted to say no, to run from the room and let her anger and fear control her. But another part of her, the part of her that had learned so very much from watching Effie Darrow and the way she maneuvered through the world, demanded more of herself than that. “We can certainly try, I think. I should leave you to rest. No doubt, the doctor instructed just that.”
“Of course, he did. That’s all they ever say. Rest. You’ve lost a limb, you must rest. You’ve had a child, you must rest. You’ve eaten bad pudding, you must rest!” Elizabeth groused. “Worthless men!”
“Men or doctors?”
“Both, in most cases,” she said. “Though I do think I rather like your husband. Viscount Seaburn seems to be cut from a very different cloth than most… and he is entirely taken with you.”
Lilly blushed with pleasure and with the undeniable wish for it to be true. “He and I have an arrangement.”
“My dear, you have much more than an arrangement. He cares for you… far more deeply than either of you realize, I think.”
“I will check on you later,” Lilly said and rose, heading for the door. As she reached it, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Why do you think he cares so much?”
“It’s quite obvious really. The way that he looks at you, the fact that he risked life and limb without even a thought to his own safety when he knew you to be in danger… my dear, you matter to him. Not only your safety but also your happiness.”
Lilly nodded and then let herself out of the room. She was deep in thought as she made her way back to the chamber she and her husband shared. As she entered, she could hear him in the bedchamber beyond the sitting room speaking softly. It sounded very much like another person was in there weeping.
Opening the door, she entered to find Val standing shame faced before his valet who was eyeing the boots her husband had worn that morning and sobbing copiously.
“For God’s sake, pull yourself together, man. It’s only a pair of boots.”
“No, my lord. It isn’t just a pair of boots. These are Hessians made by Hoby himself… Wellington’s own bootmaker, my lord,” the valet said, as if he were holding a holy relic.
Oh, this was not good, Lilly realized. The man was on the verge of handing in his resignation.
“It was terribly thoughtless of him to scuff them so badly,” she offered. “I know you’ve worked so very hard on seeing to it that he is turned out as a gentleman should be.”
The little valet puffed out his chest. “Indeed, your ladyship. I have worked at it tirelessly and without complaint.”
Val coughed and Lilly shot him a warning glare before she continued. “Go downstairs, have cook get you a nice spot of bracing tea… you can tell her to add a touch of brandy to it on my orders. And perhaps some of her lovely teacakes. Take yourself a nice rest and then you may see about repairing the damage. If they cannot be repaired, then we will have them replaced and see that they are properly disposed of.”
The valet sniffed and gave a nod. “Thank you, my lady. You are so very, very kind.”
When the man had gone, she wheeled on her husband. “Do not be unkind to him!”
“Unkind to him? The man falls to pieces at the slightest thing! If I scuff a boot, he’s in tears, if I tear a shirt, he’s worrying about it incessantly. He clenches his fists while I tie my cravat because he thinks the knot lacks appropriate sophistication,” Val said, clearly exasperated.
“He takes pride in his work. His job, and any future employment that he might ever obtain should you decide to throw him off, is dependent upon how others see you. You don’t know what it’s like, Val, to be a servant. To have so little and to know how capriciously it can be taken away,” she admonished softly.
*
Val said nothing for the longest time, just let the softly uttered scold ruminate for a moment or two. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” she asked, as she moved to the small dressing table that had been arranged for her.
Val watched as she removed the pins from her hair, letting the abundance of dark waves down. The style had not survived the runaway carriage intact, but the tumbled appearance of it had appealed to him. Of course, so did watching her drag the silver-backed brush through the lustrous mass of it.
“Make me stop behaving like a selfish braying ass with a softly spoken word or two,” he replied.
She didn’t smile, but her lips did turn up ever so slightly as she tried to keep from it. “Is that what you were doing?”
“We both know it was. In truth, I’d never thought about what my appearance means to him… only what it means to me. And in the future, I shall endeavor to do better.”
She let out a sigh and placed the brush back on the table. “I’m certainly glad you’ve seen reason. I don’t think I have it in me to be at odds with anyone else today.”
“And are you still at odds with my grandmother?” he asked.
“Not entirely,” she answered. “We have reached a truce, however.”
Val nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. He made no effort to hide how intently he watched every move she made. In fact, he didn’t think he was capable of such artifice in the face of what seemed to be his complete and utter infatuation with her.
“What?” she demanded, eyeing him in the mirror.
“I enjoy watching you,” he admitted. Of course, if he were entirely honest, he would admit that he would enjoy touching her much more. “It’s been a trying day. No one would question it if you were to spend the remainder of the afternoon in bed.”
“I’m not so fragile that every little occurrence must send me seeking my bed to rest and recuperate,” she admonished.
“I said no one would question it, Lilly. I never said you’d be resting… or that you’d be alone,” he replied.
Her lips parted in surprise and he could see the blush stealing over her cheeks.
“Oh,” she said.
Pressing his advantage, Val rose and walked toward her. Pushing her hair aside, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the delicate skin of her neck. “Unless, of course, you have a better idea for how we ought to spend the afternoon?”
She let out a soft sigh. “I really can’t think of one.”
“Then come to bed and let me convince you properly.”
“There is nothing proper about the manner in which you would do so,” she replied.
“I should certainly hope not,” he said, as he wound the ties of her morning dress about his fingers and tugged. When they pulled free, the dress sagged from her shoulders, dipping low to reveal the lace edged straps of her chemise and the top of her stays.
Lilly rose then, the gown falling to the floor as she turned to face him. “I don’t want to think about anything else… not about your family or about my own.”
Val pulled her against him, dropping his head until his lips brushed against hers. “Then I will endeavor to make you forget everything except what passes between us.” With that, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Val dressed, his movements quiet but not furtive. It wasn’t so much that he wanted to sneak away while she slept, but that he felt she needed the rest. Regardless of her protestations to the contrary and the fact that he thought her anything but fragile, she’d had more than one shock and far more turmoil than any one person should have to endure in a very short number of days. To that end, as he opened the door and stepped into the corridor, he closed the door as softly as possible and made for the stairs.
As he neared the foot of the stairs, his grandmother appeared in the doorway of the drawing room. “Where are you off to?” she demanded imperiously.
“To see someone who might be able to put an end to this business with Elsworth and Marchebanks.”
She nodded. “So we’ll be ruined tomorrow.”
“We were ruined already, only no one else knew it.”
She sighed heavily. “
I would have liked to have an opportunity to introduce Lillian to society before it all went to pieces.”
“You mean you wanted to set them all on their ears,” he scolded. “You’re as rebellious as I ever was.”
“That, too… but not entirely. I would have liked to see her conquer them all. Wouldn’t you?”
“She wouldn’t have. And not because she lacks the poise, charm, beauty or intelligence to do so, but because some people are so blinded and so bound by their prejudice, it wouldn’t matter who or what she is… only the manner of her birth,” he pointed out. “Besides, she doesn’t care for that sort. Nor should she. She’s worth ten of any one of them.”
The old woman eyed him speculatively. “Well, I see you’ve done it.”
“Done what?” he asked.
She cackled. “Why, you’ve fallen head over heels in love with her, you dolt!”
A denial sprang hot and quick to his lips. But he stopped himself before uttering it aloud. It had been automatic, to deny it, to pretend he was unaffected by her, unchanged by the vows they had made. But he wasn’t. So instead, he said to his grandmother, “There are worse fates than to love one’s wife,” he said.
“So there are,” she replied. “Go and see if your worthless cousin can be saved.”
“It’s not too late to ship him to Jamaica, you know.”
“It is,” she said. “He transgressed not only against his family, but against his countrymen and his king. For that, he must pay the consequences.”
Val nodded, paused briefly to press a kiss to her weathered cheek and then left the house. He made his way toward the waiting carriage at the end of the street. It was unmarked, but Highcliff was inside. He’d sent word to Val earlier, heavily coded, that relayed everything he had learned and arranging their current rendezvous point.
“You’re looking shockingly pleased with yourself,” Highcliff noted.
“We have the identities of all the parties involved, the Hound has found the name of the ship and will intercede there. All that’s left is for the guilty parties to be apprehended,” Val stated.
Highcliff laughed. “And no doubt that accounts for your very satisfied expression. You may lie to others, Seaburn, but you cannot lie to me. You are a man growing all too satisfied with his married state.”
“A fact I do not deny… but it hardly warrants conversation at this point. Have you got eyes on the warehouse?”
“I do. I’ve got a bevy of men surrounding it, as we speak. Last word arrived half-past the hour… they’re all in place.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Val demanded.
Highcliff sighed. “You’re certain? If we take them into custody while Elsworth is present, there’s no getting out of it for the lot of you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Val said. “It has to happen this way. We can’t risk Marchebanks, either of them, getting away.”
“Then let’s get it over with,” Highcliff said as he tapped on the roof of the coach and it lurched forward.
*
Lilly reached out, but her hand encountered nothing but cool sheets. Clearly, he had been up for some time. Opening her eyes, she peered about the room and found it as empty as the bed beside her. Getting up, she moved toward her dressing table and quickly dragged a brush through her hair.
“Resting. Spending the day in bed,” she muttered under her breath. “And all the while, he’s plotting and planning to do something reckless and dangerous, no doubt.”
Fashioning her hair into a braid, she hastily pinned it up and then dressed in one of the cast-off wool dresses that the dowager duchess had previously insisted she wear. Clad in the shapeless and rather hideous garment, she retrieved an equally unflattering pelisse from the wardrobe, along with an ugly bonnet. Suitably armored, she made her way down the hall to her mother’s room.
Knocking briefly, she entered even as the welcome was being called out.
The woman on the bed gaped at her. “What in heaven’s name are you wearing?”
“Something that will hopefully allow me to blend into the shadows. Are you up for an outing?” Lilly asked.
Immediately, Elizabeth pushed back the covers and rose. “Help me dress… and while you’re at it, tell me what sort of madness we’re about to get ourselves in to.”
“Val has left… and no doubt, he and Lord Highcliff are going to face off against Lord Marchebanks, your aunt, and his cousin.”
“Are we stopping them or helping them?” Elizabeth asked.
Lilly considered her answer for a moment. “A bit of both, I think. Elsworth is an idiot. And a bully. And a complete snob. But what he does reflects on everyone in this house… Val, the dowager duchess.”
“And your future children,” Elizabeth surmised.
Lilly nodded. “He doesn’t understand what it’s like… to spend your life paying for the sins of those who came before you. If I can spare our children that, I would.”
Elizabeth frowned. “You’re not—”
“We’ve been married less than a week!” Lilly said, scandalized.
“And marriage is not necessarily a requirement,” Elizabeth said pointedly.
Lilly blushed. “Duly noted. Regardless, he thinks he’s being noble by letting Elsworth face the consequences of his actions… and while that isn’t necessarily untrue, you and I both know that the consequences will be borne by every member of this family. I cannot let him do this.”
Elizabeth nodded as she donned her own pelisse over her hastily-fastened gown. “Let us hope that we are in time to stop him. Luckily, I think I know where they have likely headed.”
Leaving the guest chamber, they made their way downstairs and found the dowager duchess waiting for them.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“To stop Val from making a terrible mistake,” Lilly said. “Please don’t try to stop us.”
The old woman eyed her speculatively for a moment, before turning to the butler. “Find the pistol muffs. They can’t go out unarmed. I assume you know how to use them?”
“I do,” Elizabeth said.
“Have the carriage readied… the older one without the crest,” the dowager duchess added. “No need in announcing that reinforcements on their way, after all, is there? In these circumstances, I suppose it rather defeats the purpose to announce the presence of the Somers family. Are you certain this is for the best?”
“As certain as possible,” Lilly replied and stepped away to follow the butler into the study to retrieve the guns. It was as she had stepped back into the foyer that she heard the exchange had continued between the dowager duchess and her mother.
“With all due respect, your grace,” Elizabeth answered, “you don’t know what it’s like to live in disgrace. I’d spare all of you that if I could, and my future grandchildren.”
The dowager duchess nodded again. “I defer to your judgment on the matter. Be careful. Anything happens to that girl and Val will see all of our heads roll. He loves her, you know?”
Surely she had misheard. Stepping forward, she saw the challenge in the dowager duchess’ gaze. To the old woman, she said, “There are some conversations that should be left to my husband and me without your meddling.”
The older woman nodded. “Well enough then. Go get him and have that conversation… as soon as it’s safe to do so, of course.”
“Naturally,” Lilly said. With her mother beside her, they headed out toward the carriage that was just being brought around from the mews. “Where are we headed?”
“Whitechapel,” Elizabeth said. “Stay close to me and keep your head down. You don’t want to draw attention to yourself in a place like that.”
Lilly shuddered. No. She certainly did not. “Then let’s go save my husband from his too-noble self.”
“You belong here,” Elizabeth said as they settled into the carriage. “In Mayfair. It seems as if you were born to this world.”
“That was Effie,” Lilly said. “She drilled etiq
uette and deportment into us until there was no room left for our hoydenish tendencies… well, for my hoydenish tendencies. Willa never had those. She was always proper. Always well-behaved. I was the problem child.”
“I don’t think you were,” Elizabeth said. “I think perhaps you were the troubled child. And it’s my fault.”
Lilly considered that. “I was, I suppose. But I don’t think you were at fault. I think, despite my earlier behavior, that you did the best you could under the circumstances. If there was any doubt that Marchebanks was deadly… well, Mr. Littleton would have put that to rest.”
“Mr. Littleton?”
“The solicitor that was handling the false bequest from the Dowager Duchess of Templeton which was supposed to have come from your aunt,” Lilly replied. “They killed him. He was a kind man, or so it seemed.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Mr. Littleton had been my father’s solicitor before—well, before. I don’t even know if he’s still alive, my father.”
“He is,” Lilly answered. “I saw him from a distance in the park. We didn’t speak, but he looked at me. Or through me. Once all this is settled, we’ll get things sorted out. But you needn’t speak to anyone in your family if you don’t wish to. They certainly did nothing to earn your forgiveness.”
“And I’ve done nothing to earn yours,” Elizabeth replied.
Lilly sighed. “The truth helps. And you’ve given me that.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Let’s go get your husband before he destroys himself socially.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Val crouched in the shadows behind a stack of crates and barrels. They had not been in the warehouse on his last visit. Everything had been prepared to load the ship docked at St. Katherine’s. On the one hand, they had much less time to avert disaster, on the other, it at least provided cover and allowed them to get close enough to listen to the conversation between the three key players.
“Why can’t we just send the shipment on to India as planned?” Elsworth demanded.
Barefoot in Hyde Park (The Hellion Club Book 2) Page 21
