by Wendy Vella
“I need a drink.” Alex went to the sideboard and poured two glasses of whiskey. Handing one to his brother, he then reseated himself. He had never lied to Ben and was not about to start now.
“Did you hear about Woolly raising Hannah’s dowry?”
Ben nodded as he sipped his drink, his eyes steady on Alex. “The man has my respect in so many ways, but in this he’s an idiot, if you want my opinion.”
Alex grunted his agreement to that. “Hannah told me he wants her married because he believes his heart could stop at any time.”
“Finn told me about his health,” Ben said shaking his head. “Hard to believe anything about that man is not strong.”
“Hannah and he argued, because word spread like fire through society and she was pursued relentlessly last night by men now willing to overlook her less-stellar qualities. Her words, not mine,” Alex added.
“Yes, there is the matter of Hannah’s birth and Woolly coming into his title late after making his money in trade. Some in society turn up their noses at such things, plus…”
Ben stopped speaking as he looked at Alex.
“Plus what?”
“You’re angry, Alex. In fact I’d go so far as saying you’re bloody furious at what I’m telling you.”
“Of course I’m furious. How dare people treat Hannah that way because of her father? She does not deserve it.”
Ben smiled. “No, she does not.”
“I don’t like that smile, brother.”
“It’s interesting to see you so aggravated over this, Alex, when it has been happening since she entered society. Why now, I wonder?”
“I did not realize it was happening,” Alex snapped getting out of his chair again to pace around the room.
“You’re an idiot then, because everyone else did.”
“Ben,” Alex cautioned his brother. “I am not in the best of moods.”
“Shall I take off my jacket then?”
“Shut up and tell me what you were going to add when you said plus.”
“Plus Hannah does not grovel and feed the egos of those who think themselves better than her. Had she, she may have been accepted, is my opinion.”
“She should not need to!”
“Spoken like someone who has never known rejection a day in his life.”
Alex accepted his brother’s words with a grunt of acknowledgement. To his shame, he had not, yet Hannah had and he had done nothing to aid her.
“We accepted her, as did Finn, Phoebe, Will, and Livvy, Alex, and I believe that has helped her from being ostracized, but still, behind our backs, she is slighted.”
He thought about the ugly truth of his brother’s words. She had struggled to be accepted and he had known that, but chose to ignore it as she never appeared upset by the notion. In fact, she was always just Hannah, with her smart mouth and dry wit.
“Now tell me the rest of your story,” Ben said.
“She told her father she did not want her dowry raised. He said he wanted her to have the chance to choose a husband from a selection of men. Hannah told him she will not marry a man who wants her for her father’s money, and that she feels like Woolly is selling her off, and it all became messy.”
“Plenty of fathers have fired off their daughters for the same reason,” Ben mused. “I have to say I’m intrigued, if this all leads back to your walking about London in your shirtsleeves.”
“Bear with me.”
“My ears are yours,” Ben said. “Although we both know mine are shaped in a far superior way.”
Alex rolled his eyes and continued. “She came to my house in the early hours of this morning, and told me that she’d invented a beau to get her father to stop, as that night at the ball Lord McDonald proposed to her.”
“Never say she chose you?” Ben looked at him wide-eyed.
“Yes.”
His brother shook his head. “I suppose you do get that look when you are with her, and I’ve often wondered if she does not feel the same way.”
“What look?”
“Lust.”
“Oh, that one.” Alex did not deny the truth.
“Continue on with your story.” Ben waved a hand in his direction. “I have not been so entertained in days, but before you start, let me just say that I do not like McDonald. There is something nasty about him. Even though women fall over each other fluttering their lashes when he is in the room, I cannot like him.”
“Yes, I’m not sure why I feel this way, but I think he is a threat to Hannah. He was in the park opposite her house when she and Bridgette were flying kites, and then today he was waiting for us when I took her driving.”
“We shall watch him then. Now, pray continue, I need a good laugh.”
“Of course. I live to amuse you.”
“You’re doing an admirable job.”
“She asked me to play the part. After my initial shock, I agreed, and then after more thought, I realized it would be nice to have a break from matchmaking mothers and their progeny for a season. We are not betrothed, merely showing an interest in each other.”
Ben’s whistle was long.
“She told her father that we had hoped to keep our interest a secret until we were sure of our feelings, due to the fact our lives are so entwined already. Friends, family—”
“Got it.” Ben smiled as Damson entered the room with a laden tray. “Thank God, I’m sure I was faint with hunger.” Ben rose to fill a plate with food. “Would be nice to be off the market for a while,” he mused as he returned to his seat.
“Should you not be lecturing me on the unscrupulous behavior we are showing?” Alex watched his brother bite into a large slice of cake.
“Your intentions are honorable, and what’s more, when it finishes no one need know it was a farce. Furthermore, I hardly see how it could be a trial to have to keep company with the beautiful Miss Wooller. Indeed, if she had asked me I would have agreed in a heartbeat.”
“You obviously don’t know her as well as I do. She is a mouthy hellion, intent on sending me straight to Bedlam.” Alex stomped on the stab of jealousy he felt at the thought of Ben and Hannah anywhere near each other. “You cannot possibly fit any more in that mouth.”
Ben ignored him and continued to shovel in another mouthful. “Don’t tell me love has made you lose your appetite?”
“It could get complicated, Ben,” Alex said, and his tone drew his brother’s eyes.
“Yes, and if I’m being honest, it probably will. But I could not have chosen a better wife for you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous; we would be at each other’s throats the minute the rings were placed on our fingers. And no one said anything about marriage. Rest assured I shall choose a far more comfortable bride when the time comes, which it will not for quite some time.”
“Perhaps, and perhaps not, but I do know that Hannah would never kiss your large feet like others would. In fact, I’d say she’d stomp on them.”
“As I said, not a comfortable woman.”
“But that matters not at the moment, only that I will keep your secret safe and do what I can to aid you in your deception,” Ben said.
“And what do I pay for your silence?” Alex knew there would be something.
“I am to take Miss Keaton driving next week, and want to look my best. You know about those kinds of things, so dress me.”
“I always dress you, and really… Miss Keaton? Doesn’t she simper a lot and say La this and La that at regular intervals.” Alex shook his head, still surprised that his twin had so readily accepted his deception. But then, not much ruffled Ben.
“She’s sweet.”
“Good God, you’re embarrassed.” Alex laughed as his brother’s color heightened. “You are seriously interested in Miss Keaton. Well, well, well. It seems we both have secrets to hold, brother.”
“Hannah, you’re quiet and I want to know why, because you are the second person I know who always has something to say.”
They
were in the little house they had acquired beside Madame Alexander’s, looking through their stock. Hannah had spent the morning smiling so much her cheeks hurt in an attempt to convince Phoebe she was in excellent spirits, but somehow she had not fooled her friend. Lifting her head from the box of buttons she was sorting, Hannah looked at Phoebe, seated a few feet away sorting thread. Due to her delicate condition, she occupied the only chair in the room, while Hannah sat on the floor.
“You can outtalk me, Phoebe.”
“Which is why I said second person.”
“Oh, well then.” Hannah placed some yellow buttons in the box. “I am quiet because I am weary, and because my father and I had an argument.”
“Oh, Hannah, no.”
Phoebe was one of the most beautiful women Hannah had even known, both inside and out, and as she was expecting her second child she was more so at that moment. She wore a simple blue-and-cream-striped dress today, but as usual she looked exquisite with very little effort on her part. Dark honey-colored curls, soft unblemished skin, lovely brown eyes, and her curvaceous body made men drool. She was also extremely sharp-witted and tenacious, a fact people did not often notice until it was too late. Her husband, the Marquess of Levermarch, had made that mistake, but Phoebe had soon rectified that, and after a brief but tumultuous battle of wills, they fell in love and married.
“Yes, we argued over something and have yet to reconcile.”
“What did you argue over?”
Hannah had known their friends and family would find out about their supposed relationship, especially as Phoebe was married to Alex’s eldest brother, but, coward that she was, she’d hoped he would be the one to tell them, or at the very least be there when they heard, as she’d never been very good at hiding anything from her friend.
“The thing is, Phoebe, Alex and I have come to realize—”
“Finally.”
“I beg your pardon?” Hannah looked at her friend.
“You and Alex have finally realized you feel something other than friendship for each other. Although in truth, you were never really friends, more sparring partners.”
Hannah’s jaw actually dropped open as Phoebe continued talking.
“Some of us guessed, you know. It was there in the way you looked at each other, the way you avoided touching, but I knew one day you would realize.”
“Are you quite finished?” Hannah knew her cheeks were flushed. Who else had noted her interest in Alex?
“Is that not what you were going to tell me?” Phoebe said with a raised brow. “I am seldom wrong, and do not believe I am in this instance, so do not attempt to bamboozle me, Hannah Wooller.”
“It would serve you right if you were wrong; you would be mortified to have spouted all that nonsense then.”
Phoebe poked a finger into her hair, pulling a few curls free as she scratched her head. If Hannah had done that she’d look in disarray, but Phoebe’s curls just bounced and settled on her shoulders in silken ringlets, making it look like some elaborate style her maid had spent hours doing.
“I don’t believe I would, Hannah, not when my words are the truth. Besides, I’m not one for being mortified, as you know.”
“What you are is infuriating.” Hannah sighed.
“And you’re trying to distract me. Come now, am I right or not? Have you and Alex finally realized the depth of your feelings for each other?”
Hannah found five red satin buttons and placed them in the box before answering. “Have you thought about writing one of those hideous novels filled with vapid heroines and arrogant heroes? I’m sure you’d be quite good at it.”
“Hannah!”
“All right, and yes, we are at present getting to know each other better and deciding if there is more to our relationship than mere friendship.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Phoebe’s eyes flashed with excitement. “Shame on you for not sharing your exciting news.”
“I’m not really the kind of woman who gets excited, Phoebe, as you very well know. I’m quietly pleased. Is that enough for you?” She felt the weight of her perfidy settle heavily on her shoulders once more. She was lying to her best friend.
“Could you not look a little happier about it? I’m sure you look like you’ve found a three-days-dead rat in your bed, instead of true love.”
“Charming.” Hannah wrinkled her nose. “Everything has changed so quickly, Phoebe, surely you can allow that, and my need to grow accustomed to those changes.”
“Of course, yet I have known you for quite some time now, Hannah, and I believe you are not telling me everything. But I will add to that should you need me or want to unburden yourself, I am, as always, here.”
“I’m fine, Phoebe, really.” Hannah waved her words away. “This business with father and my dowry and the ensuing argument, and now Alex; it’s all just a bit much to deal with. But I shall rally, never fear.”
“Make up with your father, Hannah. No good can come of leaving that to smolder between you,” Phoebe said. “You are both strong-willed, so you need to be the first to bridge the gap between you.”
“Why me?”
“Because I said you had to, so you do.”
“Your husband really does have my sympathies. Imagine living with such a despot. The man must be quite undone.”
“Finn adores me.” Phoebe preened. “Although he did attempt to gag me two days ago when I told him I thought he needed to lower his stirrups because he was bouncing in the saddle.”
Hannah snorted. “I can imagine a man of his age knows the length to have his stirrup leathers, Phoebe.”
“Yes, but I like to annoy him from time to time. It keeps him alert.”
“You are wicked, Lady Levermarch.”
“I try.” Phoebe batted her eyelashes. “Did you see the satin trim on the Duchess of Braithe’s gown last night? I think I will ask one of the seamstresses to attempt that on a few of ours.”
“Yes, and Alex noted it because he asked me about it also,” Hannah said.
“Did I hear my name mentioned?”
Watching Alex prowl into the room was both good and bad for Hannah. She was to be spared further interrogation by Phoebe, but now she would have to act as if she cared for him openly. And this is of your own making, she reminded herself. Her eyes felt itchy, because she had not slept a great deal of late, what with the blackmailer wanting to meet her and this business with her father and Alex. Then there were the kisses that played on her mind continually.
“I’ve come to make sure you are both actually working, and not gossiping.”
“Unlike men,” Phoebe said, “we can do both.”
“Ah, there she is, the lovely Miss Wooller, and seated on the floor of all places.”
Hannah sent him a warning look that had him smiling.
“I have just learned of your blossoming friendship, Alex, and I have to say I am very pleased about this change in circumstances,” Phoebe said.
“As am I, darling sister-in-law.” Alex kissed Phoebe’s cheek before coming to stand before Hannah. Bracing his hands on his hips, he looked down at her, then bending, he blocked Phoebe from her sight. Hannah sent him another warning look, but he ignored it and kissed her on the lips.
“I told you to stop doing that,” Hannah whispered.
“Authenticity is everything in the art of deception, my sweet.”
Hannah inhaled as he ran a finger across her lips before standing upright once more and walking to a bench at the rear of the room, where he started looking through a sheaf of papers.
“Now you look like you’re besotted,” Phoebe said, her face smug. “I can quite believe you are in love now.”
“No one mentioned love—”
“You didn’t before?” Alex interrupted Hannah.
“I said she was quiet and pale, and that she should be smiling in her excitement, not scowling.”
“Phoebe, Alex does not need to hear this.”
“Oh but I do, my sweet. What’
s more, I have been excited and smiling in a besotted manner, therefore I think it only fair you should too.”
He was shrugging out of his jacket, laying it carefully to one side. Hannah then watched him roll up the sleeves of his pristine white shirt. She saw muscled forearms sprinkled with hair leading to hands with long fingers and blunt pared nails. His waistcoat was deep green satin and the fabric pulled over the muscles running down both sides of his spine as he bent to retrieve something from the floor.
“That’s a very subdued waistcoat for you, Alex,” Phoebe said.
“I thought it would mark the transition into the next phase of my life,” he said, smiling at Hannah in such a way that she almost believed he was in love with her. How was he such a good actor when she was failing miserably?
“I’m not really the excited type,” Hannah felt she needed to say to cover her lack of enthusiasm. “My happiness just simmers silently inside of me.”
“That sounds hard on the digestion,” Phoebe said, getting to her feet. “But I suppose everyone experiences things differently. I like the world to experience life alongside me.”
“As they do, my dear sister-in-law,” Alex drawled.
Phoebe poked out her tongue. “I never professed to be the silent type, and yes I do shriek and laugh like a man, but at least everyone knows exactly what I’m thinking.”
“And we would have you no other way.”
“Have you told your brothers of this new development in your relationship, Alex?”
“Ben knows Phoebe, but not Finn. I shall leave that to you.”
“Excellent! How wonderful that I know something he does not. Now, what shall you wear to the Dillinger dinner, Hannah? Thea told me they are expecting many guests, and it will be a grand affair.”
“Lord, I’d forgotten about that.”
“See, Phoebe, she is displaying all the signs of a woman in love. Memory loss, silences.”
“Yes, thank you, Alex, you may return to whatever it is you are pretending to do, while we”—Hannah waved a hand at Phoebe—“do all the work.”
“Harsh but true. I cannot be the brains as well as the brawn, darling.”
Phoebe snorted and Hannah rolled her eyes and to her surprise felt herself starting to relax. This was how they always spent their time together. Plenty of banter and laughter, and she had not thought to have it again for some time, but as they continued to converse, discussing the business and what needed to be done, she found comfort in the very people she should be uncomfortable with.
