His Reluctant Lady Read online

  “You’re a good lady, Agatha.”

  The door opened and Agatha forced a polite smile as she followed Christopher into the house.

  “Is my cousin receiving company at the moment?” Christopher asked.

  The footman nodded. “If you’ll follow me…” He turned and led them to the drawing room.

  “It feels strange to be so formal in a place I used to live,” Christopher commented.

  “Well, it’s not your home anymore,” Agatha softly replied.

  “True. My place is with you now and will always be.”

  “I’ll tell Lord Clement you’re here,” the footman said.

  “Tell him not to jump up and down with joy lest he shows some enthusiasm,” Christopher called out as he left.

  Giving her husband a nudge in the side, Agatha shook her head. “Manners, Christopher.”

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. I had to do it. For old time’s sake.”

  She sighed but held her tongue and sat beside him on the settee. As she scanned the room, she noted that it lacked any real warmth. The same had been true for her drawing room before Christopher moved in and added a couple of his items to it. She hadn’t thought about it until now, but she realized how lonely she’d been before he came into her life. Looking at Perry’s drawing room, she realized he experienced the same loneliness she had. Even if Christopher hadn’t been the ideal ward, he’d eased that loneliness.

  When she heard the familiar tapping of Perry’s cane, she turned her attention to the doorway where Perry greeted them. “Agatha, I hope you’re making sure Christopher behaves himself,” he greeted as he sat across from them.

  The butler placed tea and biscuits between them while Christopher did his part to look appalled. “Making sure I behave myself? Agatha’s my wife, not my mother. If I wanted to be mothered for the rest of my life, I would have stayed here with you.”

  Agatha shook her head and hoped Christopher understood that now wasn’t the time to make jests. With a tentative smile, she picked up the teapot and poured the gentlemen some tea, though she doubted Perry would feel like drinking tea after he heard the news. He’d most likely want some brandy instead.

  After the butler left, she began, “I wish I could say that our being here is to bring you a good report, but I’m afraid that isn’t the case.” She handed them their cups.

  “You don’t need to say it,” Perry replied, sitting back in his chair. “Your sister has decided to marry someone else.”

  “Oh, so you heard?” she ventured.

  “No, but I figured there was no other reason you’d come by with bad news.”

  “I’m terribly sorry. There is no excusing her behavior. She’s lost her wits.”

  “I don’t blame her.”

  “You don’t?”

  Perry shrugged and sipped his tea. “I’ve gotten used to it. Every time I fancy a lady, she goes off running to another gentleman. Your sister’s not the first one who’s done it.”

  Agatha glanced at Christopher who said, “He thinks it’s his cane that repels them.”

  “If my limp was the result of an injury, it’d be one thing,” Perry said, taking another sip of his tea. “But this is hereditary. What lady wants to pass on a limp to her child?”

  “Christopher doesn’t have a limp,” Agatha replied.

  “It doesn’t happen to everyone in the family, but there’s no telling if someone will end up with it or not until you see if their legs are of even length or not.”

  “Even so, you have wealth and a title. Ladies will overlook a limp.” She stirred some sugar into her tea. “And besides, it’s not like you have a something that can’t be overcome. A limp is easy to adapt to.”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling him, but he won’t listen to me,” Christopher said and gulped his tea. “Well, now that we’ve come to deliver the news, I suppose we should get going.”

  “Christopher,” she warned, shooting him a pointed look.

  “No, he’s right.” Perry finished his tea and set it on the tray. “You have better things to do than stay here. I should go to White’s.”

  “But,” Agatha glanced at the two gentlemen as they rose to their feet, “I enjoy our conversations. Perhaps we might go for a horse ride.”

  “Actually, I’m in the mood for chess.”

  “Christopher can play chess.”

  “I don’t like to play chess,” Christopher added as he helped her to her feet.

  “You don’t have to like it to play it,” she replied, wondering why he insisted on being so heartless.

  “I wouldn’t want to play with him anyway,” Perry assured her, grabbing his cane and winked. “He’s not very good at the game.”

  “Then maybe I can play a game,” she offered. “I might not have played in a year, but I wasn’t bad at it.”

  Christopher steered her toward the door. “Unless you’re as good as Lord Roderick, you’ll be wasting his time.”

  “He’s right,” Perry told her, keeping their pace as they slowly made their way to the door, Agatha’s steps the most reluctant ones in the group. “Please don’t trouble yourself on my account. This development didn’t shock me. In fact, I’m surprised your sister even accepted my proposal.”

  “And who knows?” Christopher added as they passed through the doorway. “Next time, he might even make it to the wedding day before the lady runs off.”

  She gasped. Even if he had a teasing gleam in his eye, he had no right to say that!

  “Don’t take what he says to heart,” Perry said. “I know that, deep down, he only wants what’s best for me. He says what he can to startle you. Shocking people is what he does for amusement.”

  She glared at Christopher. “Well, I’m not amused.”

  Christopher sighed and turned to his cousin as the footman opened the front door. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry we had to come by to tell you her sister eloped with another gentleman.”

  Agatha inwardly groaned. That didn’t sound at all like an appropriate apology.

  “That came out wrong,” Christopher said before she could protest. “I meant that I’m sorry Miss Garrison accepted your proposal then ran off. The least she could have done was told you before she left.”

  Agatha relaxed. That was good, and he seemed sincere as he said it, which was even better. It looked like he did care about Perry, even if he had trouble coming out and saying it.

  “I’d rather she ran off now instead of at the altar,” Perry said and looked at Agatha. “I’m fine. Truly, I am.”

  Knowing there was nothing else she could do, she released her breath. “I’m sorry.”

  Once Perry indicated his thanks, Christopher led her down the townhouse steps and to the carriage. After he settled beside her, he held her hands and smiled. “You are far more caring than you’d have others believe.”

  “My heart’s not made of stone,” she replied as the driver urged the horses forward. “Though I have to wonder if yours is. I can’t believe the things I was hearing in there.”

  “My cousin didn’t want us to linger there. When he’s upset, he prefers to be alone. Leaving was what he wanted us to do.”

  She considered his words and decided a gentleman might want to be left alone after hearing his intended ran away with another gentleman. “All right. I suppose you weren’t the heartless cad you seemed to be back there.”

  Chuckling, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her. “I’ll see what I can do about finding him a wife.”

  “You will?”

  “Yes, I will. It’ll be all right. You’ll see.”

  “And you’ll find him a nice, reputable lady, preferably one who’s in her first Season? One who’ll do him a lot of good?”

  “You sure do ask a lot.”

  “Christopher!”

  He pulled her closer to him and kissed her, his tongue brushing hers in a most sensual way. She melted against him and forgot what they’d been talking about.

&nbs
p; Chapter Twenty-Three

  A week later

  “Agatha, you must believe me,” Sophie said, her eyes pleading with her sister to understand. “Mister Landry is a wonderful husband. I’m very fortunate to be married to him.”

  Agatha glanced at their aunt who hadn’t touched the tea she’d been offered though she looked relieved.

  Agatha shifted on the settee in their aunt’s drawing room so she could get a better look at her sister. “Are you aware that Mister Landry needs money?”

  “Yes, I am,” her sister replied. “And I knew he needed money before I married him. He told me.”

  Agatha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You married him knowing full well that he only wanted to marry you for your money?”

  “He didn’t deceive me. I appreciated his honesty.”

  “But Lord Clement was honest with you as well, and he didn’t want to marry you to obtain wealth.”

  Sophie finished her tea and set the cup on the table so she could reach for her sister’s hands. “I could never fall in love with Lord Clement. He’s nice but I have nothing in common with him. I wouldn’t know what to talk about, and I want someone I can talk to. Mister Landry makes me laugh and enjoy life.”

  “Sophie, I understand Lord Clement bored you, but his feelings for you were sincere.”

  “Which is why it wasn’t an easy decision to make.” She sighed and glanced at their aunt. “I know you both wanted me to marry someone who had a title, but I’ve seen how happy Christopher makes you, Agatha, and he doesn’t have a title. I can’t recall a time when I’ve seen you happier than you are now.”

  “Well, yes. I am happy.”

  “And Christopher doesn’t bore you, does he?”

  “No.”

  “And doesn’t he make you laugh and enjoy life? Isn’t he fun to talk to?”

  Agatha knew she’d lost the argument. Their aunt wasn’t thrilled with the news but was at least accepting of it. She supposed that was all she could hope for. “Now that Mister Landry has married you and obtained money, how are things? Is he still charming and witty?”

  “He is. He’s a good gentleman, an honorable one. He needed the funds to help pay for his younger sister who’s ill and to get his parents out of debt. I still have some left over, so we’ll be comfortable. And you needn’t worry. He’s good to me.”

  A couple months ago, Agatha never thought she would ask the question but now she had to. “And what about love Sophie? Will he love you?”

  “In time, I believe so. We don’t know each other well enough yet for love, but we are enjoying each other’s company and I think that’s a wonderful beginning.”

  With another look at their aunt who finally sipped her tea, Agatha took a deep breath. The marriage was already done. There was no going back and changing any of it. “I hope that it leads to love,” she finally said.

  Her sister relaxed and she squeezed her hands. “Thank you, Agatha.”

  She squeezed her sister’s hands in return and smiled. “You’ll have to bring him over for a dinner party. Christopher seems to think well of him, so it should be a pleasant evening.”

  “That’s very kind of you.”

  She rose to her feet and retrieved her reticule. “I’ll send you an invite within a week.” She went over to her aunt and hugged her. “I think everything will work out for Sophie,” she whispered.

  Her aunt returned her hug and nodded.

  She bid her good-bye to Sophie and took her leave.

  ***

  Christopher was about to enter White’s when Lord Pennella intersected him. “A word if you will, Mister Robinson?”

  Frowning, Christopher glanced at the entrance which Pennella had successfully blocked. He turned his gaze back to Pennella who, despite his pleasant tone, was clenching his jaw. “I don’t seem to have a choice since you won’t let me go into White’s. How unfortunate it is that I can’t walk through you,” Christopher replied, hoping to ease the situation with a little humor.

  “I’m not amused by your joke, Robinson.”

  After a tense moment of bearing with Pennella’s intense stare, he relented. “All right. Where would you like to talk?”

  “In my carriage.”

  Christopher followed the direction that Pennella gestured to and saw the footman who waited by the open carriage door. Knowing this wasn’t going to be pleasant, he followed Pennella to the carriage. As far as he could remember, Pennella hadn’t killed anyone. He settled in the seat and remained silent as Pennella sat next to him and instructed the footman to tell the driver to take them to Christopher’s townhouse. Christopher breathed a sigh of relief. Good. At least they were going to his home where he’d be safe. He didn’t ask for trouble. Truly, he didn’t, but it seemed that trouble had a way of finding him and this was no exception.

  After the carriage moved forward, Pennella stared straight ahead. Not sure what to say, Christopher decided to keep silent and glanced out the window, reminding himself that he’d be back home soon.

  “Are you aware that Lord Edon sneaks into your townhouse?” Pennella asked, still staring straight ahead.

  No, he hadn’t, though it made sense if Ethan was passing along gossip for Agatha to report to the Tittletattle and handing her novels to the publisher. He chuckled as if the news hadn’t surprised him. “Of course I know Lord Edon enters my townhouse. He’s my friend.”

  “I didn’t say he ‘enters’ your townhouse. I said he ‘sneaks’ into it.”

  He shrugged. “You know how rebellious he is. Entering a townhouse the traditional way would bore him.”

  “You think this is for fun? That he does it for amusement?”

  “That’s the only reason he does anything. Life is one big ball to him. If he’s not gambling or chasing skirts, he’s sneaking into his friends’ townhouses.”

  “Or maybe he’s doing it so he can spend time with your wife. I saw them talking at my ball.”

  “She talked to a lot of people at your ball,” Christopher replied. “Including you.”

  Pennella finally turned to face him, his eyes cold. “You don’t seem to understand what I am saying. Lord Edon has most likely taken your wife as a lover. I notice he snuck into the townhouse while you were gone.”

  Forcing aside his displeasure in finding out Pennella had been keeping track of his and Agatha’s whereabouts, he chuckled. “And what if they are lovers? At least he’s being discrete.” Not that Christopher believed they were lovers, but there was no sense in letting Pennella know that.

  “I’ve seen the way you look at your wife,” Pennella said. “You’re very much in love with her. As far as you’re concerned, the sun rises and sets at her bidding, and yet you don’t care that she needs another gentleman to keep her satisfied?”

  “Husbands and wives take lovers all the time. Haven’t you been paying attention to the way people behave? This shouldn’t come as a shock to you.”

  Pennella’s spine stiffened. “And I suppose revealing a secret is acceptable? That a gentleman’s oath at White’s is a trivial thing, just like fidelity in a marriage is?”

  Christopher knew he had to be careful in how he answered, and after a quick debate on possible responses, he chose the path that would imply ignorance. “What secret are you alluding to?”

  “Do you take me for a fool?”

  “No.” He maintained eye contact, silently thankful for all those years he’d worked to master the level gaze when telling a lie so he wouldn’t get in trouble with his cousin.

  “I’m not the kind of gentleman you want to cross.”

  “I didn’t cross you.”

  Pennella gripped his knees and took a deep breath. “So you refuse to admit you were the one to tell someone—someone very close to you who works at the Tittletattle—about the wager between me and Davenport?”

  “There were other gentlemen privy to the wager, and who knows who is working at the Tittletattle?”

  “So that’s how you’re going to be abo
ut it, hmm?”

  “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “All right. You want to do this. I’ll do it.” He rested an arm against the back of the seat and leaned toward Christopher.

  It was closer than Christopher was comfortable with, but since he was in a carriage, there was nowhere he could go.

  “If you don’t mind Lord Edon taking your wife, perhaps you won’t mind sharing her with me. I admit she’s very pleasing to the eye. She certainly has curves everywhere a lady ought to have them.”

  Christopher had to fight to keep his expression void of emotion. The moment he showed any signs of weakness, this verbal duel was over. “It has to be her choice, but I won’t stop her from doing what she wants.” And he knew Agatha well enough to know she’d never make love to Pennella, or any other gentleman for that matter.

  “Oh? It’s that simple then, is it? You’d pass your wife around like a lady of ill repute?”

  “I don’t own her. She decides what she’s going to do or not do.”

  The carriage came to a stop, and Christopher gave a silent prayer of thanks. Now maybe this whole thing could be over.

  Pennella glanced out the window and snickered when he saw Agatha’s carriage in front of the townhouse. “It looks like your wife is home. You don’t mind if I invite her in here and tell her that you just offered her to me, do you?”

  He stiffened. Pennella managed to find a weakness. He knew the moment Pennella’s lips turned up into a knowing smile the whole thing was over. “I am not giving you permission to touch her.”

  “Really? It sounded to me as if you just did.”

  The footman opened the door.

  “I believe it’s time we paid your very good looking wife a visit,” Pennella said. “I’ll be sure to tell her you expect her to take lovers.”

  Christopher felt his gut tighten. He didn’t know if she would believe him or Pennella. He swallowed hard, wondering what other course he could have taken to yield a better outcome. Anything he said probably would have brought him to the same place. Pennella was as upset with him as he was with Agatha. This didn’t bode well for either of them. He didn’t know specifically what dark deeds Pennella was known for, but this definitely wasn’t good.