If It Takes A Scandal (Marriage by Bargain Book 4) Read online

  Marriage by Bargain: Book 4

  If It

  Takes A

  Scandal

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  Wedded Bliss Romances, LLC

  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.

  If It Takes A Scandal

  All Rights Reserved.

  Copyright 2017 Ruth Ann Nordin

  V1.0

  Cover Photo images Period images. http://www.periodimages.com/welcome-to-periodimagescom. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Interior Photo images. http://www.dreamstime.com. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  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

  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

  Epilogue

  Other Books in The Marriage By Bargain Series

  Also Available: Her Counterfeit Husband

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  Chapter One

  Author’s Note: Chapters 1-4 take place in July 1818. This is at the same time Taming The Viscountess, Book 3 in this series, starts.

  ***

  It all started with a scandal. And the scandal wasn’t either Lord Durrant or Lady Hedwrett’s doing. Miss Celia Barlow was the one who came up with it.

  Celia had her heart set on marrying Corin St. George, the Earl of Durrant. She wanted to marry him so much, in fact, that she paid someone to help her plan the scandal.

  “At 9:30 this evening at Lord Edon’s ball, I need you to tell Corin that my brother wishes to have a word with him in the den,” Celia told Mr. Stephen Bachman as the two talked in his drawing room.

  Usually, she wouldn’t go to Stephen for something like this, but since she had no one else to help her and she couldn’t perform the scandal alone, she had to resort to paying him to go through with it. He had no morals, so he was easy to convince.

  “Tell him that my brother will meet him in the den soon,” Celia continued. “As you take Corin to that room, spill a drink on his clothes. Make sure it seems like an accident so he doesn’t get suspicious. Convince him to remove his soiled clothes by promising you’re going to get the maid to clean them. If he protests, then have him lock the door in order to assure him no one will find him like that. When you’re done, give me the signal everything is ready. I will make sure someone sees me leave the ballroom. You come with me to the den, but don’t let anyone see you follow me.”

  It wouldn’t do to make others think she was sneaking off to have a secret rendezvous with Stephen. He was the last person she ever wanted to get caught in a scandal with!

  “I’ll go into the den first,” she went on. “When you hear me say, ‘Corin, I didn’t think you were going to be here,’ open the door and let everyone know you caught us in a scandal. Make sure it sounds like we were intimately engaged.”

  “How are you going to get the key to get in if I lock the door to the den?” Stephen asked.

  “I don’t need a key. I can unlock a door with this.” She pulled one of the pins from her hair.

  He looked skeptical. “How do you know how to do that?”

  “Locks aren’t as secure as they seem,” she told him. “Maybe I’ll show you my trick sometime.” She slipped the pin back in her hair. “Do you understand everything you must do to make this work?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m not a simpleton. The whole thing is simple enough. Now, did you bring the money?”

  “I did.” She retrieved two shillings from her reticule and handed them to him. “I’ll give you the other two after I’m betrothed to Corin.”

  He frowned. “Why can’t I have it all right now?”

  “Because I don’t trust you to do your part if you get everything right away.”

  “How do I know you even have the rest of it?”

  She pulled two more shillings out and showed them to him. “Is that sufficient proof?” He reached for them, but she drew her hand back. “Not until Corin is betrothed to me.”

  After a moment, he relented. “Fine.” He slipped the coins into his pocket. “But I better get those before the evening is over.”

  “You will. As soon as you announce the scandal, I’ll be as good as married to Corin.”

  He gave her a nod to let her know he accepted the agreement.

  Satisfied, she left the townhouse and headed on home to get ready for the ball. This was going to be the night when everything in her life would change.

  ***

  Later that evening when he was at Lord Edon’s ball, Stephen stared at the two shillings in his palm of his hand. Two shillings. Well, four total if he followed Celia’s plan. But what if he could make more than four shillings? If his older brother Brad was right, if Corin didn’t want to marry Celia, then what might Corin pay to make sure he wasn’t caught in the scandal with her?

  He slipped the coins into his pocket and dug out his pocket watch. 9:00. From the other side of the ballroom, Celia was dancing with a gentleman who was just as stuffy and overbearing as Brad. She laughed at something he said, but Stephen knew her well enough to know she didn’t care one whit what the gentleman was saying. She was only biding her time until she could proceed with the scandal.

  Stephen scanned the room and saw Celia’s brother dancing with his wife. Another scan of the room showed him Corin talking to a couple of gentlemen who were prominent members of White’s. Lord Steinbeck and Mr. Jasper, if he recalled their names right. Well, it didn’t matter who they were. What mattered was that he had to get Corin away from them and to the den, and it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra time before 9:30 to strike a deal with him.

  He picked up a glass of punch and then went over to Corin. “Excuse me,” he interrupted. When the gentlemen stopped talking, he continued, “I was sent over here to get you. Lord Worsley says he has something he wishes to discuss with you in private.” Before Corin could look around the room and find Celia’s brother, he gestured to the hallway outside the ballroom. “He wants to meet you in the den.”

  After a moment, Corin nodded. “All right.” He glanced at the gentlemen he’d been talking to. “I’ll be back soon.”

  Stephen made sure Corin didn’t look in Celia’s brother’s direction as he led him out of the room. “Lord Worsley said it had something to do with an investment.”

  “In that case, we should get Lord Steinbeck and Mr. Jasper.”

  Corin
turned to go back into the ballroom, but Stephen stopped him. “No. He said that I should get you.” When Corin’s eyebrows furrowed, he added, “Maybe this particular investment can only involve two people, or maybe he wishes to give you a larger portion of the profit by not sharing it with the others.”

  Stephen knew so little about investments that he was going off of things Brad had rambled on about from time to time. If he’d thought about it, he would have insisted Celia clarify what he should tell Corin her brother wanted.

  Fortunately, Corin didn’t press the matter further. He continued following Stephen to the den. When they entered the room, Stephen noted that a candle was burning on the desk. It wasn’t enough to light up all of the room, but it was enough to see what they were doing.

  He bumped into Corin and spilled the punch on his clothes. “Forgive me,” he said and hurried to give him a handkerchief.

  The handkerchief, of course, wouldn’t be enough to take care of the mess he’d just made. That was all done on purpose, and it was why he’d taken a full cup of punch in here with him.

  “Hmm…” Stephen set the cup on the desk and watched as Corin tried, unsuccessfully, to dry his frock coat and breeches. “Give me those clothes and I’ll have a maid clean them up so you don’t have to leave the room in such a soiled state. People are likely to talk if they see you like that.” He gestured to the pink liquid already setting into his clothes.

  Corin frowned. “Do you plan to bring Miss Barlow in here?”

  “No. Miss Barlow has nothing to do with this. If it will set your mind at ease, you can always lock the door.”

  “All right.”

  Stephen waited as he removed his frock coat and breeches. Corin pulled out some money and a pocket watch from his pocket. Then he gave Stephen the frock coat and breeches.

  Good. Now that Stephen had his clothing, he was trapped, and that meant it was time to expose the truth. “The fact of the matter is, Miss Barlow wants to come in here and catch you without sufficient clothes on. Then I’m supposed to let her in here and tell everyone you two are engaged in a dalliance.”

  Corin’s face grew bright red, and he reached for his clothes.

  Stephen, being prepared for such a response, dodged him by going behind the desk. “You need to let me finish. I said that was what Miss Barlow wants.”

  Corin pursued him around the desk, but Stephen still managed to get away from him.

  “Give me my clothes back!” Corin yelled.

  “You can’t go out there wearing these,” Stephen argued. “You need the maid to clean them up, but I can help you. I don’t like Miss Barlow. I’m more than willing to betray her. If you give me money, I’ll make sure she never enters this room.”

  Corin’s jaw clenched as he stopped chasing him. “But if I don’t pay you, then you’ll send her in and I’ll be forced to marry her?”

  “Yes, that about sums it up. She paid me two shillings to get you in here and remove some of your clothes.” He gestured to the frock coat and breeches. “She’s due to give me two more shillings once the scandal’s been announced. Now, if you can pay me more than two shillings, I’ll make sure she never enters this room. Then you can avoid marrying her.”

  “You’re a scoundrel.”

  “It is as you say.” When Corin’s frown deepened, he added, “I have extravagant tastes. If my brother gave me more of an allowance, I would never do this, but as it is, my hand is forced. Being nice won’t get me anywhere. Deception, however, will. So what do you say, Lord Durrant? What is your freedom from Miss Barlow worth to you?”

  Corin let out an irritated grunt. “How much do you want?”

  “How much do you have?”

  After a moment of glaring at him, Corin said, “Two and a half shillings.”

  “That’s not much more than what she plans to pay me.” Ignoring the way Corin growled, he added, “Add the pocket watch, and we have a deal.”

  Corin stepped toward him, so Stephen motioned for him to put the money and the pocket watch on the desk. Corin, in turn, dumped the items on the desk, making it no secret that he resented Stephen for what he was doing.

  Stephen quickly collected the money and the pocket watch, tucked them into his pocket, and then headed for the door. “Make sure you lock the door behind you. I’ll let you know when your clothes are safe to put back on.”

  Corin didn’t reply. He just continued to glare at him.

  Well, Stephen couldn’t be surprised. He knew full well that what he’d just done to Corin was underhanded and sneaky. He also knew that Celia wasn’t going to be happy as soon as she found out he’d betrayed her. He glanced at the pocket watch. He had fifteen more minutes. It wasn’t a lot of time. He had to hurry. He didn’t want to be around when she came looking for him.

  He slipped out of the room. Behind him, he heard Corin lock the door. Stephen rushed down the hallway and dodged the ballroom, choosing to go to the entrance. He fully intended to hightail it right on out of the townhouse. But on his way to the door, he caught sight of Celia.

  With a gasp, he grabbed the arm of the first person he found. This person just happened to be Lady Hedwrett. He hunched down beside her so that Celia didn’t see his face.

  “What are you doing?” Lady Hedwrett asked.

  “I need your help,” he whispered and led her down the hall.

  She tried to pull away from him, but he held onto her arm and hurried her down the hall in the direction of the den. If he didn’t get Lady Hedwrett in there, Celia was sure to go in there. Then Corin would want his money back, and Stephen wasn’t about to lose it. He had promised Corin that Celia wouldn’t be the one trapping him in the den. He’d made no other promises than that.

  “You can’t do this,” Lady Hedwrett argued as she struggled to get away from him. “Unhand me at once!”

  He reached the den and used his foot to pound on the door. “Your clothes are ready.”

  Lady Hedwrett pushed against him. “You and your friend will not lay a hand on me! I will not be your dalliance for the evening.”

  He shushed her, but she gave him a good slap across the cheek and then kicked him in the shin. He gritted his teeth and dropped the clothes. “I didn’t bring you here for that,” he hissed. Catching sight of Celia heading toward them, he added, “Just be quiet and everything will be fine.”

  She made another move to slap him when the door opened.

  “What are you doing to her?” Corin demanded, gesturing to Lady Hedwrett.

  Aware that Celia was almost within hearing distance, Stephen shoved Corin’s clothes at Lady Hedwrett and then pushed her into Corin’s arms. The two tumbled into the room. She lost her balance when she tripped over the hem of her gown, and the two fell to the floor just as Celia showed up in the doorway.

  “Uh, uh…” Stephen quickly cleared his throat and yelled, “Scandal! Scandal! Lady Hedwrett and Lord Durrant are in a compromising position!”

  A gentleman and lady who happened to be near the hall hurried in their direction.

  Celia turned to Stephen. “What are you doing?”

  “Lord Durrant paid me more than you did,” Stephen replied. As Lady Hedwrett and Corin struggled to get up, he told the couple heading for them, “Lady Hedwrett has Lord Durrant’s clothes, and I caught them on the floor together, entangled in each other’s arms.”

  The gentleman and lady pushed past Celia in time for Lady Hedwrett to throw the clothes at Corin.

  The lady let out a startled cry. “I can’t believe my eyes.”

  “Don’t look,” the gentleman told her as he turned her away from the den. “Your behavior is disgraceful,” he snapped at Lady Hedwrett and Corin. “Absolutely disgraceful. I know this is Lord Edon’s townhouse, but even so, you shouldn’t treat this as your private passion pit.”

  Celia grabbed Stephen by the ear and pulled him toward her. “How could you do this to me?” she hissed. “I am your sister’s friend. Have you no sense of loyalty?”

  “No, I do
n’t,” he told her as he straightened up. “I’m only after things I can benefit from.”

  She set her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to speak when someone came up to them and barked, “What did you do?”

  Stephen and Celia looked over at the gentleman, and Stephen’s eyes grew wide when he realized the gentleman was Celia’s brother, Lord Worsley himself.

  “I’m not doing anything,” Celia said.

  “Don’t lie to me,” he snapped, gesturing to Corin, who was frantically trying to put his breeches on. “I know this was your doing.” His expression darkened. “I have never been so upset with you in my entire life. You’re not going to get away with this.”

  “I’m not even in there with him,” she replied. “Lady Hedwrett is.”

  “Just because things didn’t turn out the way you hoped, I know you’re behind this scandal.”

  As the two continued to argue, Stephen slipped around them and hurried off down the hall, glad other people were heading toward the den to see what the commotion was about. The last thing he needed was for Celia or Corin to catch up to him and demand he pay them back.

  Chapter Two

  Face hot with a mixture of rage and embarrassment, Corin clasped his frock coat over his private area even though his breeches were finally on.

  “What did you do that for?” he hissed at Lady Hedwrett.

  She smoothed out her gown and snapped, “I didn’t do anything. You and that cad got me into this horrible predicament.”

  He gasped. How dare she! “You were holding my clothes, and you threw yourself at me as soon as I opened the door.”

  “I was pushed at you.”

  “A likely story.”

  “You’re the one at fault here. You arranged for that cad to drag me in here for a dalliance with you.”

  “Dalliance?”

  She nodded. “I’d like to know how much you paid him. Or were you planning to each have a turn with me?”