Her Sudden Groom (42 page)

“
How do you know?” he asked, swallowing convulsively. Had she been so hurt and he so distant that she’d had to confide in someone else and seek solace from another when it should have been him? He should have been the one to offer her comfort and beg forgiveness for his stupidity. But he’d been so caught up in his own pain, he hadn’t taken time to notice hers. And he’d have had to notice. She wouldn’t have come out and told him. Before their wedding, Marcus had told him as much. Caroline never confided her problems in anyone. That gave him pause. “How do you know?” he barked again, pinning both of them with his gaze.

Less than a minute later the tale was out.

“
That’s why you two were out in the hall disrespecting Father by laughing like jackals while he was dying?”

“
Pardon me, brother,” Elijah shot back angrily. “But if there was any disrespecting going on that night, it was done by you. And the wronged party was not Father, but Caroline. If I know Father, and I think I do, he probably asked you to open the door so he could find out what was so damned amusing. He always did hate to be left out of a joke.”

Alex swallowed the bile in his throat. Elijah was right. Father had asked him to do that very thing. He’d wanted to know what was so amusing, and Alex had refused. And now more than ever, he was glad he had. She’d suffered enough humiliation by having his brothers and mother present. Anger built up inside him. “Why did you two have to do that? Why didn’t you stop after the first line? Or just after it, where I’d suggested Caroline as a potential bride. Why did you have to read it all?”

“
Why did you write it?” Henry countered quietly.

“
Out,” he roared.

Offering no further unsolicited advice, his brothers left the room, leaving him alone with his self-loathing thoughts.

He covered his eyes with his fingers and gave a sharp bark of laughter. He was no better than his fool of a friend Andrew. He may not have done the exact same things, but in essence the result was the same: he’d ruined Caroline.

The soft steps of a servant broke into Alex’s thoughts. “Go away,” he barked. He needed to be alone so he could think of what to do next, not drink more tea and eat biscuits.

“
Will you be attending dinner, my lord?” Johnson called through the door.

Hell’s afire. It was dinnertime. He couldn’t face Caroline at dinner knowing he’d hurt her and couldn’t make it right. “No.”

He waited for the butler’s footsteps to fade down the hall before standing up. He should go up to their room and wait for her. She wasn’t one for lingering in a drawing room any longer than necessary after dinner. She’d be up in an hour, two at most. He’d use that time thinking of what to say and how to make things right.

“
Pardon me, milord,” Annie said, passing him in the hall just outside his room.

He didn’t think he’d ever get used to being called that. He gave her a curt nod in return before stepping inside the room. He let his eyes travel over the furniture. Everything was covered. There wasn’t two inches of surface space that didn’t have a book, instrument, or half finished science project on it. Even the vanity was covered with clutter. Brushes, combs, shaving supplies, hand mirrors, all sorts of things. He sighed. The room was too small. She deserved bigger. Better.

The night of his wedding, his father had requested Alex and Caroline take the master suites and make them their own. He’d refused, of course. He wasn’t comfortable moving into his parents’ chambers while they were both clearly still alive. Now he was the baron, and she the baroness. Those rooms were rightfully theirs now, and Caroline deserved it. Her sitting room alone would be twice the size of this bedchamber.

He’d put it off long enough. Tonight would be the last night they’d sleep in here. By noon tomorrow, this room would just be a passing memory of where they’d slept the first five weeks of their marriage.

He walked to the wardrobe and swung open the door. It was a shame she’d never really gotten a chance to wear all those beautiful gowns Marcus had commissioned for her. She wore black now and would for a year. His eyes scanned the wardrobe. Several brown paper packages rested at the bottom, calling his attention. She was his wife; she had nothing to hide. They’d seen each other naked—and with any luck they’d get to again tonight—there wasn’t anything she’d have in there he couldn’t see. He grabbed the package and pulled off the twine. He turned the bundle over and pushed back the paper, exposing a little black square of neatly folded material.

He walked back to the bed, put the paper down, and unfolded the square. His excitement grew each time he undid another fold. When he was done, he held up the two straps that were about as wide as a quill tip. He did a slow perusal of the transparent garment, taking in the low bodice that formed a perfect V with red trim around the edges and the slits in the side that had to go up nearly to her waist. Desire fired through him. He may have seen her naked, and he might like to again later tonight, but first she could put this on. This he liked.

Tearing his eyes away, he looked to the wardrobe. She had another, one, two, three, no wait, four, identically wrapped packages. His mouth watered. He’d been too preoccupied lately to enjoy Caroline the way he ought. No more. Tonight he’d make love to her until the sun came up. He wouldn’t hold anything back and wouldn’t let her, either. She’d enjoyed it last time. He was certain she had. She might be insecure about letting her inhibitions go and vocalizing her enjoyment, but he’d have to be completely daft not to have realized she was enjoying it. A fool he may be, but daft he was not.

He folded the garment back and tried to put it back in the package as neatly as he could. Before he could even suggest she put that on, he needed to think of what to say to her. She didn’t strike him as the type who could be seduced into giving forgiveness. She was too smart for that. Nor was his sin small and trivial; it was enormous and had caused her great pain.

Collapsing into the only chair in the room, he sat alone with nothing but his thoughts as the clock ticked, the candles melted, and his mind raced.

Chapter 23

Caroline sank down into the plush red settee in the drawing room, exhausted. She’d spent the early afternoon observing some of Alex’s new blooms then came inside to record her findings. Just as she’d finished that, Regina invited her to tea then Edwina asked her to help reorganize part of the library. Then it was time for dinner, which, though she didn’t feel inclined to eat, she still attended. And now it was time for her to find a quiet corner of an often unused drawing room and sit in peace for a few minutes. She loved Alex and his family, and would do anything for them, of course, but just now she needed a little time alone.

She closed her eyes to block out any and all distractions when suddenly one in the form of a light scratching came from the direction of the door.

“
Yes?” she greeted, peeking her head out the door.

“
A letter arrived for you today, my lady.” Johnson held out an piece of tattered and wrinkled parchment.

Caroline plucked it from his fingers and closed the door before turning the folded paper over in her hands. Her brow knit. The writing looked familiar... Almost like...

Her left hand squeezed the paper tighter as the trembling fingers of her right hand worked to break the sloppy wax seal that held the missive closed. On her fourth attempt, she was able to break the seal and willed her trembling hands to unfold the paper. They obeyed. She didn’t know how or why, but somehow she managed to unfold the letter.

Her skin grew warm and her heart raced as her eyes skimmed over the carelessly penned words.

You owe me! I should think ten thousand is a fair amount. I’ll be by to collect on the morrow.

Caroline’s hands tightened around the unaddressed and unsigned note, anger bubbling inside her. Though the sender hadn’t been polite enough to properly style the letter, Caroline knew exactly who it was from and who its intended recipient was.

“
Caroline?”

Carline jumped nearly a foot in the air. She turned her head to meet the warm, concerned gazed of her mother-in-law. When had she come in?

“
Is something wrong?”

Unable to so much as think of anything to say, Caroline dropped her eyes down to the paper that was now rattling in her shaky grasp.

Regina placed a tender, yet firm, hold on Caroline’s right wrist and pulled the paper free from her tight grip. Regina’s lips curled into a sneer as her eyes passed over the words. “Don’t you mind this,” she said, refolding the missive. She threw it on the floor, forgotten.

Caroline nearly fell over trying to bend down to pick up the paper. Don’t mind this? Was Regina mad? She had to mind this. This was too important not to mind.

“
Caroline.” Regina’s soft voice gave her pause. “He’s not coming. Stop worrying. He’s just trying to scare you.”

“
It’s working,” Caroline whispered, her fingers closing around the edge of paper.

“
It shouldn’t.”

Caroline shook her head. Regina didn’t understand.

Regina’s gentle hand descended onto Caroline’s shoulders, gently squeezing. “Look at me. I know you’re distraught right now, but you must realize you’re worrying for nothing. No self-respecting man would show up and demand a bride price for a woman he didn’t even have the power to give into marriage.”

Her words shocked Caroline to core. “You’re right,” she breathed. Biologically, he was her father, but legally speaking, he wasn’t. He’d given that claim up years ago when Uncle Joseph had somehow gotten her father to relinquish his legal claim and adopted Caroline.

“
He’s just trying to scare you,” Regina repeated.

Caroline shivered. That vile man had somehow managed to scare her her whole life, why should now be any different? “What should I do, then?”

“
What do you want to do?” Regina countered, giving Caroline’s shoulders another affectionate squeeze.

“
Burn that blasted letter,” she answered with a shaky laugh.

Regina marched across the room and came back with a three candle candelabra. She set it down on the table then moved the teapot and cups off the silver tea tray that rested in the middle of the table. “Burn it.”

Caroline hadn’t been serious, but now... She looked down at that dratted piece of paper that only served to taunt her. To remind her who she’d once been; what she came from; where she’d once been destined to go. Logic gave way to emotions and she extended the paper forward, letting the hot flame lick at the edge of the paper until a flame consumed the bottom half inch. She dropped it to the tea tray and stood motionlessly beside her mother-in-law as the paper became consumed by flames and shriveled to a little black mess.

“
Do you feel better now?”

“
A little.”

Regina pulled on Caroline’s hand. “Sit with me.”

Caroline sat.

Regina wet her lips, her eyes held a serious gleam. “Caroline, I think it’s time we had a long overdue talk.”

“
I think so, too,” Caroline agreed, remembering what Alex’s father had said to her to day after she married Alex. It was time to know the truth about her mother. And Regina was the only one who would know.

“
How about this, you tell me what you know, then I’ll tell you what I know, then we’ll see if together we can fill in the missing details?” Regina flashed her a mischievous smile. “That’s how scientists would approach this, isn’t it?”

A watery smile tugged on Caroline’s lips. It was very apparent Regina had spent the last thirty or more years in the company of a lover of science. She took a deep breath and rubbed her sweaty hands on her black bombazine skirt. “I don’t know much,” she admitted. “My aunt told me my mother was carrying on an affair with my―my―” she waved a hand in the air, unable to say the word― “and when she found out she was expecting she was forced to quit school and marry him.” She lowered her eyes to study the wooden floor.

“
Is that all you know?” Regina’s soothing voice did nothing to calm Caroline’s sudden onslaught of nerves.

She nodded. What else was there to tell?

Regina fidgeted beside her. “I’m not sure how to word this, so I’m just going to blurt it. I don’t think affair is correct term in this circumstance,” she said with a gulp. “I may have only been her roommate for two months, but it was just long enough to―” She broke off and exhaled. “Caroline, your mother did nothing either she or you should be ashamed of.”

Caroline lost interest in the floor and searched her mother-in-law’s eyes, looking for some sort of clue. What the clue would reveal she didn’t know, but curiosity pressed her to discover it. “What happened?”