The Earl's Secret Bargain Read online

  He wanted her to look at him the same way she’d looked at him that night at Toplyn’s ball. She’d wanted to be with him, had chosen him, had risked a scandal just to tell him that she wished to marry him. She did all of that because she loved him. And if she loved him then, there had to be a way to gain her love again. But he couldn’t do it while in London. Not with Pennella hovering about like a vulture, ready to take away any chance he had of being happy.

  Toby had to get out of London. Even if his estate was in bad condition, taking Regina there was the best thing he could do for them, for their marriage. He shoved the missive at Pennella. “You can’t control my wife.”

  “You can’t control her either,” Pennella replied, that irritating smirk back on his face.

  “Unlike you, I have no desire to control anyone.”

  Without another look at him, Toby headed out of White’s.

  ***

  That evening, Toby waited at the dining table for nearly an hour before he realized Regina wasn’t going to come down to eat. He could only manage a few bites then gave up. He asked the butler to see to it that her portion of the meal be taken to her room.

  Afterwards, he sat in the den, trying to think of what he could do to make things better. Pennella had him pinned into a corner, and worse, Toby had no idea if Pennella was finished or if he intended to do something else. He leaned back in his chair. He didn’t know what to do. Nothing he’d say would convince her that he hadn’t made a second wager with Pennella, and quite frankly, he wouldn’t have believed it either if he were in her position.

  Feeling as if the weight of the world was pressing on his shoulders, he left the room and trudged up the stairs that took him to his bedchamber. Her bedchamber was connected to his, and while he considered knocking on the door adjoining their rooms, he thought better of it and knocked on the door in the hall instead.

  She opened the door, wearing a covering that hid her nightclothes from him. What he wouldn’t give to see what was under there. But he wasn’t welcome to her room. Not tonight. Possibly never. And before he could even open his mouth to speak, her countenance darkened.

  “I hope you don’t think something’s going to happen between us tonight,” she said.

  Though her voice was tense, he noticed that she was struggling to be polite. Maybe that was a good sign. Or maybe not. It was hard to tell, and he was too exhausted to figure it out.

  “No, I know nothing’s going to happen,” he assured her, slightly pained when she relaxed. “I just wanted to ask if you’d be willing to leave for the country estate tomorrow.”

  “You want to leave London?”

  “I’m tired of all the things that have been happening. With Pennella. The wager and all. And the gossip. Aren’t you tired of it?”

  “My parents are here. They won’t leave until September.”

  He cringed. Good heavens. He couldn’t stay here that long, not with Pennella breathing down his neck.

  She tapped the edge of the door then ventured, “What about leaving in August?”

  Next month. It seemed like such a long time away, but he considered things from her perspective. Her parents were here in London, and after she left, she’d have to spend the entire autumn and winter with him. Those months were bound to be long and painful for her, unless he managed to convince her he was sorry about the first wager and had nothing to do with the second.

  And she was willing to compromise with him. Instead of staying for two more months in London, she was willing to stay for one. The least he could do was meet her halfway. “All right,” he agreed. “But will you please keep something in mind?”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “What’s that?”

  “I’m not making any more wagers. If Pennella writes another missive and claims I did, he’s lying.”

  After a moment, she nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Thank you.”

  Wishing him a good night, she softly closed the door.

  He stood in the hallway for a good minute before he entered his bedchamber. With a heavy sigh, he took off his clothes in a slow and methodical manner. He draped them over a chair then blew out his candle and slipped into bed. He stared at the ceiling for a long time before he finally fell asleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  When Regina woke up the next morning, she thought the wager had been a terrible nightmare. But as she took in her new surroundings, she remembered the Tittletattle and the wedding. She didn’t know whether she should believe Toby or not about the missive Pennella sent yesterday. She wanted to believe him. It was bad enough he made the first wager. It made no sense that he’d do it again, unless he was so desperate for money, he’d do whatever he needed to in order to get it. But her father had already transferred her dowry to his account. Money shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

  She groaned and rolled over in the bed. It wasn’t as comfortable as the one she was used to, but it was better than she thought it’d be, given Toby’s lack of finances. Swallowing, she blinked back her tears. What if he had picked her because he heard her father was one of the wealthiest gentlemen in London? Maybe he wanted to get her father’s money and Pennella’s estate?

  She’d be better off not thinking about it. She’d made a deal with him. In exchange for being a countess and possibly the mother of a future earl, he got her money. It wasn’t a marriage based on love as she’d hoped. It was merely one of convenience. It was a secret bargain they’d made. No one had to know the details of why she agreed to marry him.

  A knock at the door startled her. Toby wouldn’t come in here this morning, would he? It’d surprised her he had knocked on her door last night. Though he hadn’t asked to come to her bed, she wondered if that was what he was hoping for.

  “Who’s there?” she called out as she sat up.

  “Milly, my lady,” her lady’s maid replied.

  Relieved, she slipped out of bed and opened the door. Once she was in her morning dress and her hair was styled, she ventured down the stairs. She couldn’t hide in her room all the time. She still had to go on living. At the very least, she could talk to her mother. What irony. She used to look for reasons not to talk to her mother, and now the prospect brought her surprising comfort. Maybe it was because her mother shared in her pain.

  As she reached the drawing room, she saw Toby reading the paper. At least it wasn’t the Tittletattle. She almost went past the room when he looked up and noticed her.

  “Did you come down to eat?” he asked, hope in his voice.

  “I did.”

  “Can I join you?”

  She hesitated to say yes. She didn’t want to eat in the same room with him, but servants were all over the place, and who knew if one of them was listening to them right now? After a moment, she consented. She waited for him to come over to her then followed his lead to where they’d be eating.

  She collected her eggs, fruit and bread. Then she sat at the small table. She’d barely eaten the day before, and she was ready to eat everything in sight. But recalling her mother’s rule that ladies should nibble instead of gulping food down, she managed small bites.

  “I’m glad you’re eating this morning,” Toby said.

  “Pardon?” she asked, wondering what would make him say such a silly thing.

  “I heard you didn’t eat anything for dinner, and I don’t think you had much at the wedding breakfast.”

  With a shrug, she ate the portion of egg she’d had on her fork. “I didn’t have an appetite yesterday.” It was a difficult day to get through, probably the most difficult one she’d ever gone through up to this point in her life.

  “I didn’t have much of an appetite either,” he softly replied.

  She glanced at the butler and wondered just how much the servants knew. Did they know she and Toby hadn’t consummated the marriage? Deciding she’d rather assume they didn’t know the details of her and Toby’s personal life, she concentrated on the food. If nothing else, Cook was good.

 
“What do you want to do today?” Toby asked after a long span of silence passed between them.

  “I thought I’d pay my mother a visit.” Noting the disappointment on his face, she asked, “Why?” He couldn’t honestly expect her to spend the day with him.

  “Nothing,” he quickly replied, offering her a smile that she suspected was strained. “I just wondered.”

  “What will you do?” Perhaps go to White’s and make another wager? She bit her tongue so she wouldn’t say it. It wasn’t fair. He might be telling her the truth. It was possible he hadn’t bet on whether or not she’d actually marry him once the whole scandal was exposed.

  “I don’t know,” he slowly replied. “I hadn’t decided yet. Maybe I’ll visit Orlando. See how he’s doing since the lady he’d been hoping to marry decided to marry someone else.”

  She was about to ask which lady he referred to but decided against it. It was enough that they were exchanging pleasantries. Doing more would only expose her to being hurt in case she found out he was making more wagers at her expense.

  Opting to forgo the conversation, she said, “I hope you’ll have a pleasant visit,” then finished the rest of her tea. She rose to her feet. “There’s no need to stand,” she said when he made a move to get up. “I’m restless this morning and need to see my mother right away.”

  Which wasn’t the full truth. Yes, she was restless. But what she really needed was to get out of this townhouse. Because even now, she couldn’t help but be pulled in by the sad look in his eyes. She’d been able to avoid them while she was preoccupied with eating. But now that her hunger was satisfied, she started to pick up on other things around her, especially the way he looked at her as if his entire world was crashing in around him and he didn’t know what he could do about it.

  Steeling herself, she left the room and went to her bedchamber to change. She couldn’t afford to be weak. For all she knew, it was all a pretense to get her to open up to him again. She couldn’t afford to do that until she knew she could trust him. And developing that trust was going to take time, if it ever happened at all.

  If she kept catching him in lies, then she’d never be able to trust him. She tried not to consider that possibility as she walked over to her parents’ townhouse. When she arrived, she was surprised to see Lady Seyton in the drawing room.

  “Regina,” her mother said as she jumped up from the settee and ran over to her. “How are you doing?”

  To her shock, her mother hugged her. Actually hugged her. “I’m fine, Mother,” Regina replied, tentatively hugging her back. She couldn’t recall her mother showing such affection since she was a little girl.

  “Come and sit with us,” her mother encouraged, leading her to the settee and letting her take the spot next to Lady Seyton while she sat in a nearby chair. “Was your husband good to you last night?”

  Regina’s eyes grew wide then she glanced at Lady Seyton who was sipping her tea as if her mother hadn’t just blurted out a very private question in front of her. “Mother, I’m sure we can discuss such things at another time.” Preferably never. She’d rather dig a fork under her fingernail than talk to her mother about matters of a personal nature.

  “I’m sorry. You’re right.” Her mother took out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. “I’m overcome with sorrow on your behalf. I don’t know what I’m saying right now.”

  Well, that made sense. Regina relaxed. She could accept her mother this way as long as she knew it was temporary.

  Lady Seyton set her cup on the tray and turned to Regina. “I hope you don’t mind I stopped by. I wanted to see how your mother was holding up. I know she had her heart set on you marrying under better circumstances.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Lady Seyton,” Regina replied.

  “I told you to call me Helena.”

  Though Regina nodded, she didn’t know if she felt comfortable doing it, let alone thinking it, though she had the other day when she talked to her.

  “Are you really all right?” Regina’s mother asked, studying her face.

  “I’m as good as I can be, all things considered,” she assured her mother. “It’s been a long week, but I managed to get a good night’s rest and feel a little better this morning.” She paused and listened for any sounds that might be coming from her father’s den. “Is Father here?”

  “No. He went to meet a business partner. Something about a ship ready to set sail.”

  That might be just as well. Her father was much too happy about the marriage, and she couldn’t share in his enthusiasm. “I hope it proves profitable.”

  “These things often do. So,” her mother poured her a cup of tea, “will you be staying in London now that you’re married?”

  Regina accepted the cup. “We discussed it, and we’ll stay until August.”

  “Pardon me for intervening,” Lady Seyton—Helena—spoke up, “but I overheard some rather unsettling things about Lord Pennella.” She clasped her hands in her lap and slowly released her breath. “I’ve never had any dealings with him, but he’s not known for being a gracious loser.”

  “You mean he wanted to marry Regina?” her mother asked.

  “I don’t know if he wanted to marry her or not. But from what I heard, there was a confrontation yesterday between your husband,” Helena glanced at Regina, “and Lord Pennella. I wasn’t given the details, but I heard the gentlemen at White’s took your husband’s side. Something like that won’t sit well with Lord Pennella. I’m not sure staying in London would be best.”

  “Surely, Lord Pennella wouldn’t do anything to harm either Toby or Regina,” her mother said.

  “Not physically,” Helena replied. “But there are ways people can get revenge if they so desire.”

  Regina’s eyebrows furrowed. Would sending a missive to a husband on his wedding day telling him he won a second wager constitute as revenge? Her hand tightened on the cup, and she bit her lower lip. It made sense. But was that the truth, or had Toby really made another wager? How she wished she could figure out what was really going on. If only there was something definite she could put her finger on. She closed her eyes and exhaled. All this thinking in circles was giving her a headache.

  “Drink up, dear,” her mother encouraged. To Helena, she explained, “Regina is apt to get headaches from time to time.”

  Regina opened her eyes and took a sip of the soothing liquid. It was a mixture of peppermint and green tea. Her mother often made that for her when she wasn’t feeling well. She wondered if her mother knew she’d be coming by for a visit today.

  Helena smiled and rested her hand on Regina’s arm. “You need to do what’s best for you, of course. No one can fault you for being upset.” She rose to her feet. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she told Regina’s mother.

  “You’re welcome to stop in anytime,” her mother replied.

  Regina sipped more tea as her mother showed Helena to the door. Already the warm liquid was relaxing her, and she felt the beginning of her headache ease.

  When her mother returned, she closed the door and sat on the settee. “Helena stopped by to give me my money back. She didn’t feel right getting paid when it wasn’t her lessons that helped you secure a husband.”

  “That was nice of her.”

  “Yes, it was.” Leaning toward her, she asked in a softer voice, “Are you really all right, dear? Was last night horrible?”

  Figuring her mother wouldn’t relent until she answered, she finally decided to tell her what happened. “I didn’t spend the night with Toby, nor did he insist on it. He only came to my bedchamber to ask if I’d leave London today, and I said no, that I wanted to spend at least one more month with you and Father.”

  Her mother breathed a sigh of relief. “Your father was so sure that Toby wouldn’t touch you without your permission, but as a lady, I worried. Granted, your father’s always been gentle with me, but I hear not all gentlemen are. Some even take what they want without caring one way or another what th
e lady wants.” She dabbed her eyes again.

  “I told you good news, so why are you still fighting back tears?”

  “Because I misjudged Lord Pennella. Helena didn’t just come over to give me the money back. She also wanted to assure me that you were much better off with Toby. Apparently, Lord Pennella wasn’t the gentleman I esteemed him to be. I only hope that your father is right about Toby and that Toby will be good to you.”

  “I hope that, too,” she whispered and finished the rest of her tea.

  “I would like nothing more than for you to stay in London awhile longer.”

  Sensing there was more her mother wanted to say, she looked at her. “But?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” She wrapped the handkerchief around her fingers. “What if Helena’s right? What if Lord Pennella tries to do something to come between you and Toby? What if he tries to make things worse?”

  “How can he make things worse?”

  After a moment, her mother shrugged. “I’m not sure. What I’ve learned long ago is that things can always get worse. Regina, this marriage might not have happened the way we wished, but now that you are married, I’d like for you to be as happy as possible. When your father and I married, it helped that we had the first few months of our marriage to be by ourselves. Maybe if you and Toby go to the country, things will get better.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “Then you demand your own home. There’s no reason why you have to live under the same roof as him.”

  Regina considered her mother’s words and decided she had nothing to lose. “All right. I’ll leave London.”

  Her mother hugged her again, this time openly crying.

  “I thought you’d be happy I was doing this,” Regina replied.

  “I am, but I’m going to miss you. You’ll always be my little girl, no matter how old you get or how many children you have.”

  “Mother, what is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing’s wrong, dear. I just want the best for you, and it’s my fault you’re stuck in this predicament. If I wasn’t pushing you so hard to get married to a titled gentleman, you might be happily betrothed right now.”