The Earl's Scandalous Wife Read online

  The

  Earl’s

  Scandalous

  Wife

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and also represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher.

  The Earl’s Scandalous Wife

  All Rights Reserved.

  Copyright 2014 Ruth Ann Nordin

  V1.0

  Cover Photo images Dreamstime. www.dreamstime.com. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without expressed written consent of the publisher/author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Wedded Bliss Romances, LLC

  http://www.ruthannnordin.com

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Epilogue

  Other Books in the Marriage by Scandal Series

  Standalone Regency

  Complete List of Romances

  Dedication: To everyone who wanted to see Perry find his happily ever after.

  Chapter One

  September 1815

  “No, I can’t,” Miss Paula Leighton protested. She shook her head, her fists clenched at her sides. “I won’t do it, Stewart!”

  Her brother glanced at the closed door and gestured for her to lower her voice. “I won’t have you drawing undue attention to this conversation.”

  “I don’t care if the servants overhear. You have no right to do this.”

  With a groan, he leaned back in the chair and set the quill down on the writing desk. “You should be glad anyone’s willing to marry you at all.”

  She gritted her teeth and turned from him. Had she known that Lord Holloway was going to desert her on the way to Gretna Green, she never would have accepted his hasty proposal. Her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands. It didn’t matter now. Lord Holloway was in her past. She’d never have to deal with him ever again.

  She moved aside the curtain in the drawing room and glanced at the fog that hovered over the London streets. The chill from the light rain only added to the gloomy evening. An evening that fit this discussion far too well.

  “Paula.”

  She sighed and reluctantly turned to face him.

  Stewart stood up and walked over to her. “It really isn’t that bad. The Duke of Leavenshire—”

  “Is a drunken old fool.”

  “Who needs a wife to give him an heir.”

  She forced back the bile that rose up in her throat. “I will never have someone as disgusting as him in my bed. I’ll become another man’s mistress first. You hear that?” She pointed her finger at her brother. “Then I’ll be of no worth to any of the revolting gentlemen you associate with.”

  “Those revolting gentlemen happen to have a lot of money.”

  “I don’t care how much they’re worth! I am not a commodity to be sold at your convenience. I will not marry him, and there’s nothing you can do to make me.”

  She lifted her skirt and fled out of the room before he could say anything else. Didn’t her brother have enough money already? Why must he always be holding out his hand for more? Of all the things he’d done, she never thought he’d try to sell her in a gambling hell. She had a mind to run away. If only she had somewhere that she could go!

  When she made it to her room, she slammed the door and leaned against it, relieved her tears didn’t fall until she was alone. She hated this. She was nothing but a pawn. She had no control over her future. Everything depended on what the gentlemen wanted to do with her. Even if there was a good chance the duke would be dead in ten years, she just couldn’t bring herself to be with him.

  Wiping her tears away, she stumbled to the chair in front of her vanity and collapsed in it. Surely, there was something she could do. No situation was so hopeless that there wasn’t a way out. Taking a deep breath, she struggled to regain her composure. She wouldn’t marry the duke. In fact, her brother wouldn’t choose her husband. She would.

  Her determination quickly replaced her fear. She wiped the rest of her tears away and took a deep breath. No good would come from panicking. What she needed was a plan. Swallowing, she turned her attention to removing the pins from her dark brown hair so it fell down her back in gentle waves. Her hazel eyes stared back at her, still brimming with tears.

  While she brushed her hair, she thought over her options, as limited as those were, and finally came to the conclusion that there was only one way to secure her future. And that was to trap the gentleman of her choice into marriage.

  ***

  “May this be the night you find your bride,” Mister Christopher Robinson sang out.

  Perry Ambrose, the Earl of Clement, looked up from the ledger in time to see his cousin enter the drawing room. He then proceeded to plop down in the seat across from him and put his feet up on his desk. With a sigh, Perry reached over and shoved his feet off.

  “I don’t believe it,” Christopher said, sounding appropriately shocked. “I come here to spread good cheer, and you treat me as if I’m bothering you.”

  Perry turned his attention back to balancing his funds. “You are bothering me.” He ran his finger across the rows where the steward had written down the payment for the servants’ wages. It was strange not to be giving Christopher any more funds. The ledger just didn’t look the same.

  Christopher let out a loud groan and leaned forward. “Haven’t you heard a single thing I’ve said?”

  “Yes,” he replied as he made sure each servant got the correct amount due to them. “You think this will be the evening that I’ll find a bride.”

  “I said more than that.” Leaning back in his chair, he threw his head back. “Why do I even try? You obviously don’t want to get married.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Then why aren’t you married yet?” Before Perry could open his mouth, he added, “Don’t tell me it’s because of your cane. No one cares about that blasted cane except for you.”

  “That’s not true.” Irritated, he slammed the ledger shut.

  “Sure, it is. You blame it for everything. You really should have been more upset when Agatha’s sister eloped with another gentleman.”

  “I’m not going to get upset with Agatha’s sister. That wouldn’t accomplish anything. What’s done is done.” He gathered the ledger and rose to his feet. “I have to get ready for the ball.”

  “Oh good. Then you haven’t given up on finding a wife.”

  “Nate’s going to be there.”

  He grimaced. “What other possible chess maneuvers can you and Lord Ironfist debate for hours?”

  “His name is Nate,” he co
rrected, “and I do more than talk about chess.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You also talk about laws and wars.” He made a big show of gagging.

  “Well, it’s much better than the kind of things you and Lord Edon talk about.”

  “His name is Ethan,” Christopher pointed out and put his feet back up on the desk. “And he has some good ideas that even you could benefit from. For example, he thinks you should create a scandal. Then a lady will have to marry you.”

  “He would recommend something like that.” He poked Christopher’s legs with his cane. “Get your feet off my desk.”

  “I’m not doing any harm to it.”

  “Your heels scuff up the surface, and,” he pointedly added while his cane tapped the inkwell close by, “I always worry you’ll knock that over again.”

  “What’s so special about an inkwell? You have them all over the house. If I got careless, you could replace it.”

  “No, I can’t. That one was a gift from Nate and Claire.”

  “Well, if it’s from Claire, I’ll be happy to ensure no harm comes to it.” He set his feet back on the floor and leaned over to inspect it. “Are you aware there’s a nick on the corner here?” He ran his thumb along the edge of the base.

  “It happened right after I got it. You came storming in here one morning while I was about to dip the quill into the ink and spouted off something about some lady’s baby not being yours no matter what anyone said. In my state of shock, I knocked it to the floor.”

  Christopher threw back his head and laughed. “I forgot all about that prank.”

  “It wasn’t funny.”

  “Oh, it was hilarious. I thought you were going to faint. I almost called for the butler to bring in the smelling salts.”

  “I don’t think your wife would think that was funny if you’d done that to her.”

  He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “I made that up before I met her.”

  Grunting, Perry nudged his cousin in the leg again, this time using a bit more force. “I’m not amused, Christopher. Even now, I find it lacking in good taste.”

  He had hoped Christopher would put aside such nonsense when he married Agatha. Agatha was, after all, very much a lady—dignified and proper in every way. What she saw in Christopher, Perry would never understand.

  “You know what you need?” Christopher asked as he headed over to him.

  “I need you to start taking life seriously.”

  “No. That would be boring for everyone, especially you. What you need is to laugh more. There’s nothing wrong with taking a moment to see the humor in a situation. Really,” he pointed to the ledger in Perry’s hand, “life is more than tallying up numbers.”

  “I’m making sure my financial house is in order.”

  “And while that is commendable,” he began with a mock yawn, “it’s boring. You need to have fun. Enjoy life. Embrace the moment while you have it. Stop watching life pass you by. Get out there and make it happen.”

  “Your way of having fun has required me to scramble funds together to get you out of trouble. And this,” he held up the ledger, “was very much needed in order to make sure I had the money to pay off gentlemen so they wouldn’t hunt you down in the country and demand a duel.”

  “Granted, I might have upset a couple of them—”

  “Might have?”

  “All I did was tell them the truth. It’s not my problem they couldn’t handle it.”

  “Telling someone his wife looks like something that’s been vomited up on the beach is not appropriate,” Perry said, thinking of the gentleman’s wife. “No matter how true it is. I hope you remember that there’s a way to be tactful, and even better, there are some things you should never say.”

  “He provoked me.”

  “What he did was irrelevant.”

  “Unlike you, I don’t just sit by and let other people get away with insulting my friends.”

  “There’s a way to defend your friends without resorting to insults.”

  Christopher shrugged but said, “As much as I enjoy these little lectures, that’s not why I came over here.”

  “Oh?”

  “I am here on your behalf. You need a wife, and the sooner you get one, the sooner you will have something better to do than to go over that ledger or play chess or talk of war and laws. Which brings me to my earlier statement. Ethan’s right. You need to create a scandal. It’s the only way you’re going to get married.”

  He grimaced. “You are not to talk to Ethan about me. At all!”

  “Don’t be upset. It’s not like he actually cares about your boring life or anything.”

  Perry rubbed his forehead. If anyone could give him a headache, it was Christopher.

  “It’s not hard to create a scandal. All you need to do is find a lady you like and kiss her. But do it in public where everyone else can see.” Perry shook his head and opened his mouth to protest but he quickly added, “If kissing a lady makes you nervous, then hug her or touch her inappropriately. Brush your hand over her breast. That’ll do it. Plus, you’ll like the experience.”

  “It’s time for you to go.”

  Christopher followed him as he headed for the door. Thankfully, his cousin had the foresight to close the door so none of the servants overheard them. Not that the servants hadn’t heard some scandalous things while Christopher was living there, but Perry really didn’t care to expose them to more. Christopher made it to the door first and jumped in front of it. How Perry wished that he didn’t need a cane to walk. All it ever did was slow him down when he wanted to get away from his cousin.

  “Before you reject the idea,” Christopher began, “at least consider it. You’ve been trying to get a wife for how long? Four…five…years? And each Season is worse than the one before. Do you know what people are saying? They’re calling you ‘The Earl Who Can’t Find a Wife’. This is the year you can prove them wrong.”

  Despite what his cousin thought, Perry was very much aware that some people called him that, but he refused to let it bother him. Most of those busybodies were miserable in their marriages. “It’s better to be alone than to have to seek happiness outside the marital bed. Now, move aside so I can put this ledger where it belongs.”

  “Find a lady you like and create a scandal with her. I’m telling you, Perry, there’s nothing wrong with taking control of your destiny instead of letting life just happen to you.”

  “Will you please move?” Perry stared at him, unwilling to break eye contact. He forced his jaw to relax. “Now,” he added when Christopher didn’t budge.

  After a moment, Christopher stepped to the side.

  “Feel free to see yourself out,” Perry said as he limped out of the drawing room.

  “At this rate, I’ll never leave London,” his cousin muttered.

  Though Perry had no idea what he meant, he figured he was better off not knowing. Instead, he climbed the stairs, aware that Christopher left the townhouse. There was no denying how quiet it was now that his cousin was married. Sometimes, especially at times like this, he enjoyed the silence. He didn’t need to be reminded that every attempt he made at finding a wife had failed, and it irritated him to no end that Christopher felt the need to keep bringing it up.

  It wasn’t like Christopher was personally involved in seeing to it that he married. Christopher had his own life to live, and now that Perry was no longer his guardian, Christopher didn’t need him around. One day Christopher would inherit his title. Why he couldn’t be content with that, Perry didn’t know.

  But there were times when Perry would be lying if he didn’t admit that what he wanted most was to have a wife—someone who would be his other half, someone who would complete him.

  Chapter Two

  Paula listened carefully to the two gentlemen talking on the street below her bedchamber window. Since she spent most of her time in her room, she made it a habit of opening the window and listening as people passed by.

  Sometimes
she could make out parts of their conversation, and in this instance, one of the gentlemen had a loud enough voice that it was easy to hear what he was saying, something she was grateful for on this particular day. There was a ball that night at Toplyn Hall.

  Her brother never told her where he was going, but after lunch, he had asked his valet to have his best outfit ready for the evening. She bet he was going to the ball. And she further guessed he was going in hopes of finding a wealthy lady. God help the lady who married him.

  Well, that wasn’t her problem. Her problem was getting out of the horrible marriage to the Duke of Leavenshire, and in order to do that, she needed to find another gentleman to marry. As it was, she wasn’t going to find anyone unless she got out of the townhouse. Up to now, her brother had insisted on keeping her home. Probably because he worried she’d run away. But she wasn’t stupid. There was nowhere she could go without the protection of a gentleman who would stand between her and her brother. It was a gentleman’s world and ladies had to abide by their rules. And she could abide by their rules…as long as she found a loophole.

  She closed her window and slipped out of her bedchamber. This time of day her brother would either be in the drawing room or in his bedchamber. Hopefully, it’d be the drawing room. She wouldn’t get a chance to talk to him otherwise.

  By the time she reached the drawing room, she heard two distinct male voices. Before the gentlemen saw her, she pressed her back to the wall in the corridor, glancing around to make sure none of the servants were in sight. Good. No one saw her. She turned her ear to the closed door.

  “You don’t need to convince me that this will be a suitable match,” the Duke of Leavenshire said. “I already told you her past is of no consequence to me.”

  “I’m just glad her activities didn’t result in a bastard,” her brother replied over the sound of the decanter being placed on a tray. “Had the gentleman she’d been dallying with been a loudmouth, her reputation would have been ruined.”

  “A gentleman is expected to engage in such pursuits with a lady.”