His Reluctant Lady Read online

  Ethan hesitated to speak, something that was unusual for him.

  “Is the duke right to be concerned? Is there something going on between you and Lady Richfield?”

  “No, there isn’t anything going on. She’s a friend.”

  “Good.”

  “I happen to love my wife, even if her father can’t stand the sight of me.”

  Christopher turned his gaze to Lady Richfield who had been watching him. Pleased, he shot her one of his most charming smiles and chuckled when she quickly looked away. “I had the opportunity to dance with her,” he told Ethan. “Something about her fascinates me.”

  “You’d be better off pursuing her sister.”

  “Miss Garrison?” He grimaced. “She holds no interest for me.”

  “Well, Lady Richfield is opposed to marriage. Pursue another lady.”

  “Ethan, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you, it’s that people are only opposed to marriage until the right person comes along. All she needs is a gentleman to come along and give her a reason to want to be married.”

  “And you think you’re that gentleman?”

  Ignoring the amusement in Ethan’s tone, he offered a solemn nod. “I do. She’s meant for me.”

  “She is a wealthy countess who’s a widow. She has no use for an untitled gentleman who can’t give her a substantial amount of money.”

  “But I can give her the benefit of my company,” Christopher countered, not to be dissuaded by his friend’s words. Lady Richfield was a passionate lady who would make a most desirable companion. Her wit and beauty lured him to her. He suspected she was interested in him as well, but it seemed that she like to be pursued, and he was more than happy to oblige her. “I believe she and I will be very well matched together,” he added, once again turning his eyes in her direction.

  Ethan snorted. “You underestimate her determination to remain unmarried.”

  “I don’t mind proving you wrong.”

  “Few gentlemen are as arrogant as you, Christopher.”

  “Arrogant? I’m hurt.” When Ethan rolled his eyes, he added, “I tell you, I am. I’m not arrogant. I’m confident.”

  After a long moment, Ethan said, “You’re determined to be the gentleman who breaks through her wall. So what do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to arrange it so that she and I will meet again.”

  “Do I dare mention that you’ll be there when I arrange this meeting?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you. I think she would like knowing I’d be part of this arranged meeting, but if you think a surprise is better, then I encourage you to do it. You know her better than I do.”

  “All right. Look for an invite.”

  “Thank you.”

  Satisfied, Christopher bowed. He caught another glance at Lady Richfield and smiled. It was just a matter of time before she’d be his wife.

  ***

  Because of her beauty, he was compelled to follow her across the room. She didn’t notice him, but he did everything he could to remain out of sight. He stayed to the shadows as much as the soft candlelight would allow. The others at the ball ignored him, content to stick to their world of gossip and idle chatter. She, however, passed them all as if in her own world. What could she be thinking? He wanted to ask, and yet, he couldn’t give himself away. Not as long as the curse bound him to silence, making him a spectator. Always a spectator. Never a participant.

  Agatha tilted her head to the side to work the kinks out of her neck. She set the quill down and looked at the five pages in front of her that marked the beginning of her next novel. The clock in the hall struck midnight. She’d written enough for the night. After she tucked her papers safely away in the drawer of her desk, she picked up her candelabra. She went to the side of the room and pulled the cord. Then she waited by the door for her lady’s maid to come to her.

  Bianca hurried down the hall, holding her candle in front of her. “Are you ready for bed, my lady?”

  “Yes.” Agatha held up the candelabra and guided them down the hall and up the stairs to her bedchamber. “I was thinking of wearing the green morning dress for breakfast. Be sure to notify Cook that I don’t want to wake before ten, so he shouldn’t get the meal ready until eleven.”

  “Will do, my lady.”

  As they climbed the steps, Agatha continued, “I was thinking of going to The Temple of the Muses tomorrow at one o’clock. Be sure to let the footman know I’ll require a carriage at that time.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  They reached the top of the steps and went to her bedchamber. Bianca opened the door and Agatha went into the room, relieved Bianca had the foresight to open the window so it was nice and cool in the room. She set the candelabra on the table by her bed and waited for Bianca at the vanity table, her back turned so that Bianca could help her out of her dress. The night had been a long one, true, but it’d been wonderfully productive. She had a feeling that this story was going to be one of her best.

  Once Agatha was in her nightclothes and Bianca left, she blew out her candles and slipped into bed. She closed her eyes and thought over what she’d write next. Soon, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

  ***

  A week later, Agatha was writing her story when the butler came into the library with a note. “This came for you, my lady.”

  She glanced up from her writing and took the letter. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw it was from Lord and Lady Edon. What was Ethan doing sending her an invitation? While she knew him, she didn’t know his wife. She waited until the butler left before she opened the missive. Why was he inviting her to a dinner party? He knew she didn’t like going to them. At the bottom of the invitation, he wrote that he’d appreciate it if she went as a favor to him.

  With a sigh, she set the invitation down and rubbed her eyes. If he requested it as a favor, there had to be a good reason, and after all he’d done for her, she had to go. Picking up a clean piece of paper, she dipped her quill in the inkwell and said she’d attend.

  The footman opened her door, and her eyes grew wide when she saw Sophie come into her room. She bolted out of her chair and hurried to her sister. “Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?” she asked, hoping she blocked Sophie’s view of her desk. If her sister saw what she was writing… She didn’t even want to think about it.

  “My life is at an end!” Sophie pulled a handkerchief out of her reticule and wiped a couple tears from her eyes. “I just heard that Lord Dabney is betrothed.”

  “Oh, oh dear.” This was going to be a long afternoon. “Sit here on the settee, Sophie, and I’ll get some tea. No, we’ll make it sherry.” A broken heart was better with a little sherry. Turning to the footman, she said, “Bring us sherry and a couple of scones.”

  The footman nodded and left.

  Agatha glanced at the desk where pages of her story were in plain view, but she knew she couldn’t do anything about them while her sister was in the room. Forcing her feet forward, she went over to her sister and sat next to her. “Now, tell me. Where did you hear this?”

  “Our aunt told us this morning,” Sophie sniffled as she dabbed more tears from her eyes. “I don’t know what to do. I thought for sure he loved me.”

  “It takes more than a few dances to develop love.”

  “But we had our love of books in common.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Agatha reached for Sophie’s hands and gently held them. “You’ll do better without him. He’s a bore. All he reads are stuffy old novels.” She didn’t care much for his disdain for gothic fiction anyway. Yes, her sister would do much better with someone else.

  “No, I won’t be better off without him. There will be no one for me but Lord Dabney. No one!”

  “Please, Sophie, settle down.”

  “How can I settle down when my life is in shambles?”

  Agatha closed her eyes and reminded herself that her sister had a tendency to exaggerate. When she knew she could be patient, she ope
ned her eyes and smiled. “Sophie, sometimes things aren’t meant to be. This could be a blessing in disguise.”

  Sophie crossed her arms, her lower lip jutting out. “I don’t see what blessing could possibly come from this.”

  “For one, you won’t have to pretend you read books that bore you.”

  “I never said his choice in books bore me.”

  “You didn’t even know who Plato was.”

  Sophie shrugged and muttered, “Anyone could have made that error.”

  “You’ll be happier if you don’t have to pretend to like books you don’t. Think of it, Sophie. He could require you to read those.” She shivered at the thought of having to read the dull literature he loved so much. “You underestimate the misery of marriage. If you were wise, you’d choose someone who won’t be around often. Find a gentleman who will only stay in your house long enough to get an heir. Happy is the lady who will find him running off to live elsewhere for the rest of his life. That is the gentleman you ought to seek. Lord Dabney is too content to be with his books. He’ll never leave to run off to a mistress so you might be spared his attentions.”

  “I wouldn’t want Lord Dabney to run off to a mistress. I’d want him to be with me.”

  The butler entered the room with the sherry and scones, sparing Agatha the need to respond. What was there to say to such madness? Her sister hadn’t been forced to endure the marital bed. She couldn’t know any better. Agatha grabbed the decanter and poured her sister a glass of wine. She handed Sophie the glass and encouraged her to drink.

  After Sophie took a couple sips, Agatha asked, “Do you feel better?”

  “No, not really.” With a mournful sigh, she set the glass on the table and waited for the butler to leave before she said, “I need you to help me find a husband.”

  Agatha fought the urge to roll her eyes as she poured herself a glass of sherry. Sophie had no idea what she was asking. She drank some sherry and turned to Sophie. “All right. I’ll help you, but I’m going to help you find a gentleman who at least has a title and is wealthy.”

  “Thank you!”

  Agatha almost dropped her drink when Sophie gave her a big hug. She quickly set her glass down and returned her sister’s hug. “Don’t thank me until you’re married.”

  “All right. I won’t.” She jumped off the settee. “And thank you again!”

  Sighing, Agatha rose to her feet. “When is the next ball you’ve been invited to?”

  “Saturday.”

  “Who is giving the ball?”

  “Lord Clement.”

  Agatha nodded. “I’ll come by to pick you up.”

  She hugged her again. “Oh, thank you!”

  “You’ve already thanked me twice.” Agatha pulled away from her and patted her shoulders.

  “I’ll see you Saturday!”

  Sophie turned to run out of the room, her face glowing with expectation. Well, at least Sophie was no longer crying. She really needed to get a hold on her emotions. It wasn’t healthy for a lady to be so apparent with her feelings. Pushing all thoughts of her sister aside, she turned her attention to her writing.

  Chapter Four

  Christopher arrived at his friend’s townhouse the night of the dinner party. Tonight, he’d get a chance to talk to Lady Richfield. He’d carefully thought through a list of topics that might interest a lady and was confident that one of them would appeal to her. He took a deep breath in an effort to settle his nerves, but it didn’t work. There was no doubt about it. He was excited about seeing her again, and nothing he did would ease the nervous energy coursing through his body. No lady had affected him like this before. What was it about her that made her different?

  That was something he couldn’t answer, at least not until he got to know her better. For now, he’d have to settle for knowing that she was his siren, the one lady who cast a spell over him. He stopped in front of the door and adjusted his cravat. Bracing himself for the evening, he knocked on the door and waited for the footman to answer it.

  When he did, Christopher smiled. “Lord Edon has invited me to his dinner party.”

  “Yes, Mister Robinson. He’s expecting you.”

  After Christopher handed the footman his hat and gloves, the butler led him to the drawing room where seven people were laughing. He saw Lord Roderick was there and grimaced. Lord Roderick had taken sadistic pleasure in making him clean stalls a while back, and Christopher still had a hard time making eye contact with the gentleman. Lord Roderick’s wife, however, was a completely different matter. She was quite pleasant. Too bad for her she ended up with someone as miserable as her husband.

  His gaze went to Mr. and Mrs. Morris then to Ethan’s wife and Ethan’s mother before finally settling on the object of his interest—Lady Richfield. Lady Richfield was, by far, the loveliest lady in the room. He smiled and bowed as the butler announced his arrival to the group. Once the butler left, he found a chair near Lady Richfield and sat down, his heart racing at being so close to her. He guessed she was a year or two older than him, but the age difference was minor enough where it wasn’t noticeable. He rather fancied a lady who had more experience than him anyway. Who knew what fun she could teach him?

  As the butler introduced him to the group, his friend Ethan came down the hall, followed by his scowling father-in-law, the Duke of Rumsey. Christopher wanted to offer a word of encouragement to his friend, but Ethan instructed the butler to show everyone to the dining room.

  Christopher turned his attention to Lady Richfield. When she looked in his direction, he smiled, thinking she got lovelier and lovelier every time he saw her. Just as he opened his mouth to offer to be her escort, she hurried over to the duke.

  Before he could intervene, Ethan’s mother approached him. “It’s good to see you again. I understand Lord Roderick wasn’t very nice to you a couple years ago,” she said with a wink. “However, given how impish you used to be, I’d say that Lord Roderick did you a kindness.”

  Used to her teasing nature, he took no offense at the reminder of that horrible time in his life, though he didn’t much appreciate the way Lord Roderick smirked at him. Lord Roderick might have possessed a title, but he was hardly a gentleman. Christopher settled for a mild shrug, refusing to let him know he could intimidate him, even to this day. He had to deal with Lord Roderick from time to time anyway, thanks to the fact that he was friends with Perry. And Perry had way too much time on his hands to intervene in Christopher’s life. If only Perry had a wife…

  But the likelihood of that happening was slim, considering how much bad luck he had when it came to meeting ladies. It seemed that as soon as any lady took the slightest interest in him, she was whisked off and married to someone else. First, there was Lady Roderick, prior to the scandal that trapped her to Lord Roderick. Then there was Ethan’s wife who was about to make Perry’s acquaintance before Ethan’s mother got in the way. What Perry needed was a full-proof plan to get a wife.

  “Christopher,” Ethan’s mother said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

  His gaze went to Agatha who gave him a triumphant look as the duke led her out of the room. Intrigued, he watched her. He knew he hadn’t mistaken her interest in him at the ball, but he shouldn’t have underestimated her determination to play hard to get. Little did she know that he was up for the challenge. Returning Agatha’s triumphant look with a charming smile, he noted the slight furrow of her eyebrows and knew he had succeeded in making her wonder what he’d do next.

  Satisfied, he turned his attention back to Ethan’s mother and extended his arm toward her. “I’d be honored to escort you to dinner.”

  And so he did. The meal in itself wasn’t all that interesting, but how could it be when Lord Roderick insisted on regaling everyone with his chess maneuvers. The Duke of Rumsey and Mister Morris were more than happy to inflate his conceit even further by congratulating him on his mental prowess. Had it not been for the delicious food, Christopher wouldn’t have been able to stomach the who
le ordeal.

  He’d held out for the hope he might get a chance to talk to Lady Richfield after the meal, but such was not the case. He had to endure more idle chatter between the duke, Lord Roderick, Mister Morris and Ethan in the den before they decided to join the ladies. But to his dismay, Lady Richfield managed to slip out of the house, claiming she didn’t feel well.

  He didn’t believe that excuse for a minute. She was avoiding him. Despite her undeniable attraction to him, she was avoiding him. He had to do something about that. But what? His gaze went to Lady Roderick and a smile formed on his lips. Of course. If there was anyone who could help him, it was Lady Roderick. Lady Richfield might be hesitant to talk to a gentleman, but he suspected she’d be more open to another lady, especially when the lady was as kind and unassuming as Lady Roderick. And he’d make sure to pay her a visit in the very near future because the sooner he did, the sooner he’d break through Lady Richfield’s wall.

  ***

  A week later, Claire Buford, the Lady of Roderick, tapped the edge of the missive and glanced out the drawing room window. She glanced at her husband who held his hands out to one-year-old Perry who waddled toward him.

  “You can do it, son,” he encouraged, waving Perry over to him.

  A smile crossed her face, and she folded the missive and set it on the table. She went over to Nate and sat next to him. “He gets better every day,” she said, pride in her voice.

  “You can’t be surprised since he has me for a father,” Nate replied with a grin. “Though, I will add his mother only enhances the good traits he was born with.”

  “Since you chose to compliment me, I’ll ignore the smug look on your face,” she teased.

  Perry grasped his father’s hands, and Nate let out a cheer. “That’s my son!” He lifted their son onto his lap and turned to her. “How could you think I’m being smug? Is it wrong for a father to appreciate his child?”