His Reluctant Lady Page 14

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two days later, a rapping on the drawing room door stirred Agatha from her nap. She sat up in her chair, surprised she’d fallen asleep at her desk while writing. She quickly shoved her papers in the drawer and went to the door. Opening it, her eyes grew wide.

  “Lord Clement?” she asked before the butler could speak.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I came for a visit,” Perry said.

  “Not at all.” She waved him into the room. “Please enter.” Turning to the butler, she added, “Some tea and biscuits.”

  The butler bowed and headed down the hall.

  She gestured to the chair. “Have a seat. If you wanted to see Christopher, he’s at White’s.”

  “Actually, I had hoped to speak with you alone. I have a matter to discuss with you, and I don’t think he’d offer advice I can use.”

  Curious, she settled in the settee across from him and waited for him to set the cane against the arm of the chair before speaking. “What do you wish to discuss?”

  He shot her a sheepish smile. “You’re apt to think it’s silly, but I have no experience when it comes to romancing a lady.” Clearing his throat, he continued, “I would like to propose marriage to your sister.”

  A smile spread across her face. “Wonderful!”

  “But I’m not sure how to best do it. I was wondering if you could offer some words of wisdom? I thought of all the people I could ask, you’d be the best one.”

  Flattered he’d thought so well of her that he’d come to her with this matter, she nodded. “I’ll help in any way I can. Her aunt and I would be delighted to see her marry you.”

  The butler brought the tray of tea and biscuits in and set it on the table. After he left, she poured tea for Perry and handed the cup to him.

  As she poured her cup, she asked, “When are you thinking of proposing?”

  He held the cup in his hands and leaned back in the chair. “I thought Lord Pennella’s ball might be a suitable place. Maybe toward the end of the evening? Unless you think it might be better to do it at a dinner party? Or maybe during another ride at Hyde Park? The only reason I hesitate about the park is because I don’t think she enjoys horses all that much.”

  She sipped her tea and thought over the three options he brought up. “You’re right about the horses. I thought she might enjoy riding more than she does, but I know she loves to ride in a carriage.” She paused and tapped the cup. “The ball might be your best choice.”

  A dinner party might be too intrusive, considering others would be around, and she couldn’t be sure Sophie would say yes. It wouldn’t do good to have her say no in front of people they knew. But a ball would allow him to propose where they could be in a large space with many couples who were busy, and that being the case, if she refused, then no one would be the wiser, saving him potential embarrassment.

  “You’re a good gentleman, aren’t you?” It was really more of a statement than a question. She cleared her throat and smiled. “What I mean is that you had a hand in raising Christopher, and he’s a good husband.” Her cheeks warmed at confessing something so personal to him, but at the same time she was grateful to him for helping Christopher become a gentleman worth marrying.

  Perry chuckled. “You have no idea how much I worried over him when he came under my care. His parents had no moral code. His father was especially notorious for doing whatever he pleased. Christopher was old enough to remember him, too, which didn’t help. He thought I was too stuffy. Still does, in fact.”

  “You’re concerned about him. I think that’s a good trait in a gentleman. It’s much too easy to do whatever one pleases with little regard to others, but you have a real heart for other people.” And deep down, she realized that Christopher did too, though there was that impish spark in him. Whether Christopher wanted to admit it or not, he benefited a lot as Perry’s ward.

  “I don’t know how well I did, to be honest. When he got expelled from Harrow for almost getting involved in a duel, I thought there was no hope for him. I hope you understand it was only out of desperation that I let Roderick put him to work as a stable boy. Nothing I did worked, and I thought he’d end up getting himself killed if I didn’t take drastic measures, but I couldn’t bring myself to enforce the punishment.”

  She almost dropped her cup. “He was expelled?”

  “When he was seventeen.” With a sigh, he looked heavenward. “There were so many times he got in trouble, but that was the worst of it.”

  “I don’t believe it,” she whispered. So that was what Christopher meant about not tending to his studies since he was seventeen. How did something like that stay quiet? There wasn’t a single word about it in the Tittletattle.

  “I hope you aren’t angry with me for not telling you. From what I know, his conduct has been spotless ever since.”

  She forced her attention back to him. “No, I’m not angry. I’m just surprised.” Hoping to ease his mind, she added, “As you said, his conduct ever since has been that of a gentleman.”

  Perry visibly relaxed. “That’s good to hear.” After drinking some tea, he asked, “When I propose to your sister, should I tell her why I wish to marry her or should I just ask?”

  “I suggest telling her why you wish to marry her as long as you want to marry her because you genuinely care for her. I understand a gentleman in your position will need an heir, so that is to be expected.”

  “Oh, getting an heir isn’t my concern. What I want, more than anything else, is a lady who’ll be my companion and lover.” A shy smile crossed his face. “I know it’s rather sentimental to marry for that reason, but I desire a love match.”

  “That’s beautiful,” she whispered. If she did nothing else for as long as she lived, she would make sure Sophie married him! Wealthy, titled, and sincere. Sophie would be hard pressed to find a better husband.

  “Should I not have an heir, then Christopher will inherit my title. I don’t know if he told you that.”

  “I hope you have an heir. You’ve been good for Christopher. I have no doubt you’d be a good father, too.”

  “Thank you.”

  She bowed her head to indicate he was welcome.

  He finished his tea and rose to his feet. “I won’t trouble you further.”

  “It was no trouble,” she quickly assured him as she stood up. “I’m glad you stopped by.”

  He grabbed his cane then took a deep breath. “Lord Pennella’s ball is only two days away. I’ll know your sister’s answer soon enough.”

  “Well, she couldn’t find a better husband than you.”

  “I hope this isn’t the way it sounds,” a familiar voice said.

  Agatha inclined her head in Christopher’s direction as he entered the room. “You hope what doesn’t sound what way?”

  He stood beside her and shot her a playful grin. “If I was the jealous sort, I’d say it sounds like you’re telling my overbearing cousin that he’s an ideal husband. I assume, of course, that you mean he’s only ideal for your sister while I am ideal for you.”

  “You can assume whatever you want,” she replied, a slight smile betraying her serious tone.

  Christopher turned to Perry. “She’s wonderfully intelligent and witty. I told you she was perfect.”

  “So you did,” Perry said. “I’ll take my leave. I’ll see you both at Lord Pennella’s ball.”

  Christopher summoned the butler to see him out before he turned his attention to her. “What did he want?”

  She motioned for him to sit with her on the settee and picked up a biscuit. “He asked if I would forsake you and run away with him.”

  “Oh?” He settled beside her and accepted the biscuit she offered him.

  She took a bite and swallowed it before she nodded. “Yes, he was very serious.”

  “Of course you told him no because I’ve ruined you for all other gentlemen.”

  She chuckled and finished her biscuit. “No. But I did decline his offer
because I didn’t think he could handle my secrets. He seemed much too honorable to accept a wife capable of scandal.”

  “In that case, I should thank him for being as lackluster as he is.”

  She nodded as he ate his biscuit. “You should. Instead of being with me, he’ll have to settle for my sister. In fact, he will propose to her.”

  “Agatha, I know you mean well, but I wouldn’t get his hopes up.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You really didn’t noticed how bored your sister’s been at Hyde Park?”

  “She doesn’t care for riding horses. She wasn’t at ease.”

  “No, it was more than that. She was bored. My cousin was doing all the talking and she had to pinch herself to stay awake.”

  “Nonsense.”

  “You saw her yawn.”

  “I’ve been known to yawn, even when I’m not bored.”

  “That might be true, but she was bored. There was no denying it. A lady can’t confine herself to marriage with a gentleman who bores her. She needs a reason to want to see him, even if they share a marriage of convenience. Meals are more palatable when you can share a decent conversation with the other person.”

  “Perry is a good person,” she insisted. “He has everything she could want. He has money, a title, a good heart, a—”

  He shook his head. “I might not know Sophie very well, but I remember how she responded to the gentlemen at the balls. She seemed more interested in the ones who were more,” he shrugged, “exciting to talk to.”

  “I know you don’t think Perry is exciting to talk to but he is.”

  After he ate another biscuit, he wiped his fingers on a cloth napkin and turned to face her. “Well, I get bored just talking about him. Let’s talk about something more interesting, like you. What would you like to do today?”

  “I was hoping to write.”

  “Is that what you were doing when my cousin came over?”

  “Actually, it was.”

  “So tell me, is there anything I can do to help you write?”

  He traced her lips with his finger, his gaze holding hers in a way that made her heart race in excitement. She didn’t understand him at all. How could he affect her in such a way? She broke eye contact with him and reached for the teapot and poured more tea into her cup.

  “Oh come on, Agatha,” he said, rubbing her back. “Why don’t you just tell me what you write? I promise I can handle it.”

  She considered what he said and figured he probably could. She needed to start giving him the benefit of the doubt. He’d surprised her so far in how easily he accepted everything else about her. Why not this as well?

  Nodding, she lifted her cup halfway to her lips then glanced at the door. “Will you close the door?” She sipped the hot liquid. She waited for him to do it and offered her cup to him as he sat beside her. “Would you like some tea?”

  “No thank you.” He leaned toward her and asked in a seductive voice that made her weak in the knees, “What do you write?”

  She released her breath. “All right. I’ll tell you. I write gothic horror.”

  “Am I right in assuming you don’t use your real name?”

  “You’re right to assume that.”

  “In that case, have you written anything I’ve read?”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I happen to read gothic horror. I have some books in my bedchamber.”

  “You do?”

  “You should come to my room and check out my collection. One of your books might be there.”

  “No, they wouldn’t,” she replied and sipped more tea, relieved and overjoyed to learn he really did read the kind of stories she wrote, that he hadn’t just been telling her that while they were at Hyde Park.

  “How can you be sure of that?”

  “Because none of my books have been published yet.” She finished her tea. “I have Ethan submit my books to the publisher because I don’t want anyone finding out I write them.”

  “Considering Ethan’s reputation I can see why you’d choose him for the task.”

  “We keep our friendship private, but I only reported scandals for him in the Tittletattle before he got married and in return, he submitted my books to the publisher.”

  He grinned. “I can’t help but wonder how many other secrets you have.”

  “One more.” Since he so easily accepted the other things she’d just told him, she saw no reason not to reveal the last thing. “Remember that day we met at the ball?”

  “Of course, I do. That was the day my life got interesting.”

  A chuckle rose in her throat. “Well, as it turns out, we met before that.”

  “We did?”

  “Earlier that day. I was with Ethan at the Western Exchange.”

  “Impossible. Ethan was talking with a gentleman as he was on his way to a,” he gasped, “publisher. By heavens, that gentleman was you?”

  Feeling somewhat smug at knowing she fooled him so well, she smiled. “Yes, it was.”

  “But how did you pull it off? You made such a convincing gentleman. I did the best I could with Claire, but that husband of hers knew she was a lady right away.”

  “What?” Now it was her turn to be shocked.

  “It was nothing. Claire didn’t like Lord Ironfist when they first married and wished to escape the estate so she could return here to London. The only way she could get out of there was if she was disguised as a stable boy. But then her husband returned to the estate early and found her. I ended up emptying chamber pots because of that.” He sighed. “I bet if you’d been there, he never would have figured it out. Claire would have ridden out of there. You do better disguises than I do.”

  She burst out laughing and set the cup down so she could turn toward him. “So that’s why you emptied chamber pots.”

  “Rather cruel of her husband to do that, wasn’t it? I only meant to help her. The poor lady missed her family and he didn’t bother to pay attention to her. I don’t know what else he expected.” He took Agatha’s hands in his and squeezed them. “You know what my problem is? Sometimes I care too much. I couldn’t help but try to rescue her.”

  “No wonder you call him Lord Ironfist.”

  “Yes, now you know why.”

  “Hearing you did that doesn’t surprise me as much as you expected. What does surprise me, however, is that Claire went along with it.”

  “She’s much more fun than he is.”

  “Oh?” An eyebrow rose.

  “We’re just friends, like you and Ethan. You are the only lady I desire.” He lowered his head and kissed her. “Now, may I read what you’ve done so far in the story you’ve been writing?”

  “Well…” As unnerving as it was to know he’d be reading her work, she didn’t have anyone to discuss her work with who made it a habit of reading gothic horror. “All right.”

  She rose from the settee and headed over to the desk. After she took out the papers, she organized them and handed him all but the ones that were part of the chapter she was working on. “I’m halfway into it.”

  He stood up and pulled her into his embrace. “Thank you for trusting me enough to read it.”

  “If I can’t trust you, then I can’t trust anyone.”

  “I don’t take that for granted,” he replied then gave her a kiss that took her breath away. “Now, I’m going to take this to my bedchamber and read it while you continue writing.”

  As he turned to leave, she said, “I hate to disappoint you, but there are no intimate scenes in the book.”

  He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Pardon me?”

  “If you’re hoping to satisfy some of your needs while up there, I wanted to warn you that you’d get no inspiration from my book.”

  He stared at her for a moment then chuckled. “Oh, that’s what you think I’m going up there for. Well,” he walked back to her, “as it turns out, I haven’t taken care of any needs since we married.”


  “I thought since you haven’t come to my bed that…” Intentionally pausing, she shrugged and sat at her desk. “Never mind.”

  “I’ve been a pillar of strength.”

  “I’m impressed. I honestly didn’t think you could do it. Of course, the wager isn’t over yet.”

  “Not until you come to my bed and demand I satisfy your needs.”

  She smirked and dipped her quill in the inkwell. “You’ll be waiting forever if that’s your plan.”

  “I almost feel sorry for you, my love.” He leaned over and kissed her, and she pretended not to notice the way her heartbeat raced. “You’re not used to losing and this time you’re going to lose miserably. Or maybe not so miserably. Losing will mean moaning in pleasure, after all.”

  She snorted and turned her attention to the paper in front of her. “It’s sad when a gentleman entertains such strong delusions. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to cure you of that.”

  With a chuckle, he headed out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “It’s no trouble at all,” Agatha assured her aunt two evenings later as she stood in her aunt’s drawing room. “I have a feeling tonight is going to end very well for Sophie.”

  Her aunt glanced at Christopher who shrugged.

  “I can’t give away everything, but there’s a certain earl who’s taken a fancy to her, and he plans to propose to her at the ball.”

  “An earl?” her aunt asked.

  “Yes, and if she’s smart, she’ll accept.”

  “Is this the same earl she rode a horse with at Hyde Park?”

  “Yes. He’ll make a good husband.”

  Her aunt slowly nodded.

  Sensing her hesitation, Agatha asked, “Does that bother you?”

  “No, of course not. I want Sophie to marry well. If her husband is a good gentleman, then it’s all the better but…”

  “But?”

  “I haven’t heard of that particular gentleman for some time. Lately, all she talks about is Mister Landry.”