Nobody's Fool (Marriage by Design Book 2) Read online

  “How much is it?” Emilia asked the owner of the shop.

  “It’s one hundred pounds,” he replied.

  “Oh.”

  Benjamin thought he detected a hint of disappointment in her voice before she handed the ring back to the owner. It was on the tip of Benjamin’s tongue to assure her that one hundred pounds was a perfectly acceptable amount to spend on a ring, but she gestured to a black ring with two diamonds on each side.

  “What about that one?” she asked the owner.

  “You want to try it on?” The owner placed the other ring back in its place and turned to the other ring.

  “How much is it?” she asked.

  “It’s a black onyx from India. Legend has it that the goddess Venus was resting by the Indus River, and as she slept, Cupid, her son, used his enchanted arrows to trim her nails. The parts of her fingernails that fell into the river became precious gems just like this.”

  “Do all gems have a story behind them like this one does?” Benjamin asked, intrigued.

  The owner directed his gaze to him. “There is something special about every gemstone.”

  “There is?”

  The owner nodded. “Legend says that the Holy Grail was made of solid emerald. Garnet is the oldest gemstone in history. In fact, legend says Noah used it to illuminate the ark. In India, rubies are said to be a drop of the heart’s blood from the earth. Diamonds were considered good luck. Julius Caesar used one as a talisman.”

  “It didn’t bring Julius Caesar much luck, did it?” Benjamin joked.

  The owner laughed. “I should say not. He would have been better off with a breastplate and a shield. From what I hear, Napoleon uses a diamond as a talisman as well.”

  “Is he aware that it didn’t help Julius Caesar?”

  “Who can say? But I don’t plan to tell him. We’re better off if he doesn’t succeed.”

  Mindful that his wife was eager to continue her shopping, Benjamin gestured to her. “I don’t want to keep my lovely wife from getting the jewelry of her choice.” He smiled at her. “Forgive the interruption, my dear.”

  She glanced between them then asked the owner, “How much is this ring?” She pointed to the onyx ring he was holding.

  “It’s fifty pounds,” he replied. “Would you like to try it on?”

  She shook her head and turned her attention to the other rings. “What about that one?”

  Benjamin leaned toward her and saw that her interest had gone to the large blue diamond ring.

  “A rare gem,” the owner said. “It’s one of a kind. I only have one of these in the entire store.”

  “Wonderful,” she replied. “How much is it?”

  The owner glanced uneasily at Benjamin. “It’s seven hundred pounds.”

  “I’ll take it,” she said.

  The owner’s eyes grew wide. “Don’t you want to see if it’ll fit first.” Then, in a lower voice, he asked, “Or ask your husband if he can afford it?”

  “The ring is perfect,” she replied. “I must have it. It’s the best one in the entire shop.”

  The owner glanced at Benjamin, who nodded that he was perfectly fine with her having it. If the ring would make her happy, then he wanted her to have it. He didn’t think she would’ve wanted something that large since her other jewelry had been small, but that just went to show how much he still had to learn about her.

  “I should check to see how it fits,” the owner said. “We might need to make adjustments to the band.”

  She shrugged. “We can worry about that later. I want to do more shopping. Do you have a necklace that will match that?”

  “No. As I said, this is the only blue diamond I have in the entire place. I doubt you’ll find one in any other shop in London. They are rare.”

  She nodded. “All right. Then I suppose I’m done here. I have about four more shops to visit before the day is over.” She turned to Benjamin expectantly, her eyebrows raised as if she expected him to do something.

  Taking that as his cue, Benjamin hurried to arrange the issue of payment with the owner, who, though he seemed overwhelmed, put the ring in a protective package and gave it to her.

  When they reached the carriage, she tossed the package in with a box that contained a new hat and sat back in her seat. Once more, her fingers found their way to her hair.

  Benjamin settled beside her. “That is a lovely ring. I had thought you wouldn’t have liked a gemstone that large. The necklace I bought for you has smaller ones in it. Do you think the necklace will be to your liking if you were to see it?”

  Her eyes grew wide. “I just bought all of these things, and you’re worried over whether or not I’ll like the necklace?”

  “Well, it is my wedding gift to you. I want you to be happy with it.”

  She blinked for several long moments as if she didn’t know how to respond.

  “Where would you like to go next?” the footman asked them.

  Benjamin turned his gaze to her.

  She turned her focus back to him. “The price of the ring didn’t bother you?” she asked in a whisper so the footman didn’t hear her.

  “Why should it?” Benjamin replied, surprised she’d ask such a question after seeing his ledger.

  She stared at him for another moment before letting out a sigh and telling the footman, “I’m tired. I think I’ll go home now.”

  “As you wish.” The footman shut the door.

  He frowned. “I thought you wanted to do more shopping.” He distinctly recalled her mentioning four other shops she wanted to go to.

  “My head hurts,” she said and rubbed her forehead. “I just want to go home and lie down.”

  “All right. You can always do more shopping tomorrow.”

  The carriage moved forward, and he couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard her groan.

  ***

  Emilia sat in the chair in her bedchamber, dumbfounded as her lady’s maid put all of her purchases away. She’d come up here under the pretense of a headache. Benjamin assumed she was lying down. There was a cool damp cloth on the plate beside her bed, but she refused to go to it. Her head was just fine. It was the rest of her that was in turmoil.

  She didn’t understand the struggle going on within her. When she and Benjamin had left the townhouse, she’d been determined to spend a ridiculous amount of money. She’d been doing just fine until the purchase of the blue diamond ring. She’d thought for sure Benjamin wasn’t going to allow it. The cost was so absurd for something she was only going to put on her finger. She kept waiting for Benjamin to put a stop to her shopping. But he’d only smiled at her in that devoted way of his that told her she could spend as much as she wanted and he wouldn’t stop her. He would probably let her bankrupt his estate if he thought it’d make her happy.

  She put her face in her hands. Just what was she going to do about him? He didn’t care if she was ugly. He didn’t care if she was picky. He didn’t care if she was argumentative. He didn’t care if she was a spendthrift. None of that had dissuaded him from falling in love with her.

  What was wrong with him? Any other gentleman would have been making the arrangements for her to go to another townhouse by now.

  “Lady Valentine,” her lady’s maid spoke, “would you like to lie down in the bed?”

  Emilia lifted her face from her hands then put her hands on her lap. “No, I’d rather sit.”

  “Would you like me to bring you some tea?”

  “No, I’m fine.” When she noticed that her lady’s maid had finished putting everything away, she added, “Thank you. You may leave.”

  Her lady’s maid nodded and left the bedchamber, softly shutting the door behind her.

  Out of curiosity, Emilia went to the jewelry box and opened the lid. The blue diamond sparkled up at her in the candlelight. It was a beautiful ring. It was huge, too. She’d never owned a ring with a gem that large on it.

  She took the ring out and wondered why Benjamin would allow her to get
something so impractical and expensive. Her father would have forced her to send the thing right back to the shop if she’d brought something like this home when she lived with him.

  The thing was pretty. Whoever made it had a good eye for fashion. It wasn’t her typical style. Lilly always said that smaller gemstones did far more to enhance a lady’s beauty because it drew attention to her face and neck. A large gemstone, she’d argued, made the person look at the jewelry itself, rather than the lady it was supposed to show off.

  Lady Cadwalader wore a lot of large gemstones. She did that to display her husband’s wealth, though Lilly once joked that in Lady Cadwalader’s case, it was good those jewels pulled attention from her face since she wasn’t all that attractive. Despite the situation Emilia found herself in, she chuckled. Yes, it’d been mean to say such a thing about Lady Cadwalader, but the busybody wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person in London.

  With a sigh, Emilia went to the vanity and sat in front of the mirror. She slid the ring on her finger. It was a little tight, but she managed to fit it. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. If she couldn’t fit it at all, she’d have an easier time of returning it. But since it did fit, it only emphasized the moral dilemma she was going through. Was it right to keep this when she’d only gotten it in hopes that Benjamin would get rid of her?

  She looked at her reflection in the mirror and noted the way the ring sparkled. At the time she told the owner she wanted it, she’d only been thinking of the price, but the more she looked at it, the more she really did like it. Lilly and Kitty would like it, too. Despite how large the diamond was, it didn’t detract from her hands. Perhaps it was cut in such a way as to complement a lady’s fingers.

  She should return it. It was seven hundred pounds. Even if Benjamin was wealthy, the ring wasn’t the least bit practical. However, she did have two gowns she could wear this with. Maybe three if she kept one of the gowns she’d bought today.

  She shook her head. No. Returning it was the only sensible thing to do. She couldn’t keep this thing. Even if it was a beautiful ring.

  She groaned. She needed to talk to her friends. Only then could she come up with a good excuse to tell Benjamin he must return it.

  That settled it. She would see them tomorrow. Decision made, she took the ring off and returned it to the jewelry box. Then she headed to the room off to the side to look for parchment. When she noted there was none in the small writing desk, she left the bedchamber. There was some in the drawing room. She recalled the stack of it when Benjamin sent the gentleman who made furniture those missives.

  To her surprise, Benjamin was reading a book when she entered the room. She thought he might want to go to White’s for a couple of hours while she was upstairs. She recalled how happy he seemed to be while he was at the gentleman’s club. Why did he insist on staying here? Was he really that interested in being with her?

  When he noticed her, he leapt out of his chair with surprising grace. She didn’t know why she assumed he would trip over something if he moved so fast, but she’d assumed the table in front of the chair would have gotten in his way.

  “Do you feel better?” he asked.

  Recalling the excuse she’d used to spend some time alone to gather her thoughts, she nodded. “Yes, the headache is gone.”

  “Would you like some tea, or perhaps something to eat?”

  Noticing that he was following her around the desk, she said, “I thought I’d write a missive to my friends. I was thinking of paying them a visit tomorrow.” Never mind telling him why.

  “You can invite them here. I don’t mind if they come over.”

  “Oh, well, I was hoping to spend time alone with them.” She cleared her throat. “Sometimes ladies like to get together and talk without gentlemen around.”

  His eyes lit up with understanding. “Like gentlemen do at White’s.”

  “Yes.”

  “Of course. I understand completely. You should see your friends. I want you to do what makes you happy.”

  She didn’t know why his words should make her feel like wincing. She wasn’t being unfaithful to him. It wasn’t like she was running off to a lover. She was only seeing her friends.

  But you’re going to see your friends so you can figure out how to convince him to let you live in another townhouse.

  She pushed the self-accusation aside. She was doing the right thing. He didn’t need to be trapped in a marriage to someone who couldn’t appreciate his sweet nature. Sure, he had a tendency to get somewhat annoying with his constant need to apologize for things that weren’t his fault, but everyone had their faults.

  You certainly have yours.

  Again, she pushed the self-accusation aside and retrieved two pieces of parchment. When she saw that he was standing in front of the desk, she wondered if he was going to watch her write the missives. She wasn’t planning to write anything bad about him, but she was never comfortable when someone watched her as she wrote something.

  “Would you mind asking the butler for some tea?” she asked.

  Looking more than a little happy to do as she wished, he offered a nod and hurried to the rope in the corner of the room. She released her breath and sat at the desk. She’d heard of attentive husbands, but she didn’t think any were as mindful of their wives as Benjamin was.

  And isn’t that a good thing? It means he sincerely cares about you.

  But she didn’t want him to care about her. She wanted the opposite. She wanted him to get disgusted with her. She wanted him to leave her alone.

  Why?

  Because she wasn’t the least bit attracted to him.

  You don’t see even one adorable quality about him?

  She glanced at him. His shirt was too big for his thin frame, and his neck looked almost like the stem of a flower with the cravat being so loose. His waistcoat was a better fit, and his breeches weren’t so bad. He was tall, but his legs were a good fit for the long black boots he wore. Maybe that was why he could jump out of a chair with such ease.

  He pulled the cord and looked in her direction. Startled she’d been caught staring at him, she turned her attention to the inkwell and dipped the quill into it. She didn’t know why her heart should suddenly speed up or her face grow warm.

  Nerves. It was just nerves. She’d spent all day yesterday and today trying to convince him she was unpleasant, but nothing worked. That had to make any lady nervous. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up staying here with him forever.

  “What kind of tea do you want?” Benjamin asked.

  “I don’t care. You decide.”

  She started writing the first missive when he asked, “What if you don’t like the tea I pick?”

  What a silly question. “It’s just tea. It doesn’t matter what kind it is.”

  “Hmm…”

  Noting the uncertainty in his tone, she stopped writing and turned her gaze to him. “What is it?”

  “Well, there was this time at White’s when someone brought the wrong brandy, and it resulted in a very unpleasant dispute.”

  “What happened?”

  “I can’t say. It happened at White’s, and all gentlemen are sworn to secrecy about anything that happens there.”

  Yes, she recalled the ridiculous rules that overbearing Lord Steinbeck had given her and Lilly when they were there disguised as gentlemen. The Book of Shame, indeed! What nonsense.

  “Who cares if someone brought the wrong brandy? Brandy is just brandy.” She’d tested a couple of different flavors while at White’s, and she didn’t think any of them were all that great.

  “Some gentlemen are very particular about their brandy,” Benjamin insisted. “If you give a certain gentleman the wrong kind, it can lead to bad things.”

  “Bad things?”

  He nodded, his expression solemn.

  “But it’s just a drink,” she said.

  “Not to some gentlemen.”

  She twirled the quill in her hand. �
�Were you the gentleman who brought the wrong brandy to this person?”

  His eyes grew wide. “No! Thankfully, that wasn’t me. I would be the laughingstock of London if I had.”

  She furrowed her eyebrows. The gentleman who’d brought the wrong brandy was currently the laughingstock of London? “How long ago did this happen?”

  “Two years ago.”

  Two years ago? She had been paying attention to what the people were doing in London at that time. Was there a particular gentleman who’d suddenly become the object of ridicule? She pressed the top of the quill to her lips as she went through the gossip she’d heard around that time. She distinctly recalled there being a certain gentleman who ended up leaving for America because he’d suddenly become unpopular. She wondered if that was the one. It was too bad she couldn’t recall his name.

  The butler came into the room. “How may I serve you, my lord?”

  Benjamin turned his gaze to her.

  She let out a sigh. “I mean it when I say that you should pick the tea. I like all teas.”

  He shifted from one foot to another. She was beginning to think he was going to insist she choose it when he told the butler, “Bring in black tea for me and my wife.”

  The butler nodded then left the room.

  To put his mind at ease, she told Benjamin, “I like black tea. You made a good choice.”

  He visibly relaxed, and her first instinct was to feel better for him. Her second instinct, however, was to cringe. She’d just missed an opportunity to show him how difficult she could be. She bet if she had acted in a way that played into his fears, he would be trying to get rid of her right now.

  But it would have been cruel to argue with him over something like tea. The goal isn’t to be mean. It’s to show him you’re not a good match for him.

  She forced her attention back to the missives in front of her and continued to write to her friends.

  Chapter Seven

  “Are you sure you don’t want to live with him?” Lilly asked the next day as the three friends sat in her drawing room. “He lets you get whatever you want. Do you know how rare that is in a marriage?”