His Wicked Lady (14 page)

“Oh, you of little faith.” He tapped her nose
in a playful manner. “I can be kind when I want to be. It was your
idea to marry her to Malcolm. She only wanted to know how she can
make him happy.”

“Through patience,” Melissa said, directing
her gaze to Regan. “I know my brother isn’t easy to deal with. The
one thing he needs most is patience.”

Logan snorted. “What he most needs is a good
thwack on the head. It’d give him some common sense. But I advised
Regan to be nice to him. You needn’t worry your pretty little
head.” He patted her head and grinned.

Melissa narrowed her eyes at him then looked
at Regan. “Did he really tell you to be nice to Malcolm?”

“Yes,” Regan assured her. “He did.”

Regan, however, couldn’t help but agree a
good thwack on the head would do Malcolm some good. What gentleman
in his right mind didn’t want to spend time in a lady’s bed? And
how many times had she heard Frederick say most husbands would love
nothing more than to have their wives put her mouth on his
penis?

“I want to make your brother happy,” Regan
told Melissa.

“I know you do. That’s why I picked you to
marry him,” Melissa said and walked over to her. “I know my brother
can be a bit stubborn.”

From behind Melissa, Logan rolled his eyes
and mouthed, A bit stubborn.

Regan managed to refrain from laughing. It
seemed Melissa had a blind spot when it came to her brother, but
that was rather nice. “I thought it’d be helpful to get a
gentleman’s perspective on things. Who knows better how to please a
gentleman than another gentleman?”

“You make a good point,” Melissa replied. “If
you need any help from me, I hope you’ll ask.”

“Of course, I will,” Regan said. “I should
get back to my friend, Miss Everson. She’s watching my son, so I
could come here. I promised her I wouldn’t be gone for long.”

“Logan and I will have to have you and
Malcolm over for dinner. It’d be nice to get better acquainted, and
maybe it’ll help Malcolm adjust to the marriage.”

Regan ignored the way Logan wrapped his hand
around his neck and pretended he was dying. If she paid him any
attention, she would burst into laughter, and Melissa would likely
think she was laughing at her.

“I’d be happy to come to one of your
dinners,” Regan said.

“This will be fun!” Melissa replied, clasping
her hands together. She turned to Logan, who put his hands behind
his back and smiled politely at her. “Won’t it be fun?”

“I’m sure it’ll be an evening to remember,”
he said.

“It will be,” Melissa cheerfully replied,
oblivious to her husband’s lack of enthusiasm.

“Send an invite when you’re ready, and
Malcolm and I will be here,” Regan promised.

Saying her good-byes, Regan curtsied and left
the townhouse, feeling much more positive about the future than she
had since Malcolm had left that morning.

Chapter Twelve

“I
t’s a pleasure to see you again,” Regan called out as Malcolm
passed the drawing room when he came back from White’s.

Malcolm considered continuing on to the den
where he wanted to work on the ledger, but he couldn’t bring
himself to be rude. Even if theirs wasn’t an ideal marriage, the
least he could do was say hello.

He stuck his head into the room, noting she
was sitting on the settee, drinking a cup of tea. She appeared as
if she wasn’t up to anything mischievous. “Good afternoon, Regan.
I’ll see you at dinner.”

He had hoped that would be the end of it, but
she called out, “May I hear about your day?”

He hesitated to answer but then said, “It
would only bore you. I discussed important plans with important
people.”

“Oh, well, if they’re important, I’d love to
hear all about them.” She put the cup of tea on the table in front
of her and turned toward him with an innocent smile.

He frowned. What kind of trickery was
this?

“I’m being honest.” She patted the spot next
to her. “Come. Tell me all about them. I’d like to know what kind
of plans you make.”

“You would?”

“Of course. You’re my husband, and whatever
interests you interests me.”

He wasn’t sure if he could trust her or not.
She seemed to be telling the truth, but for all he knew, she had
something else in mind. What that something could be, he couldn’t
possibly guess. When it came to Regan, nothing was what it
seemed.

“I do know something about money,” she said.
“Who do you think pays the servants and manages the estate’s
investments?”

“A steward.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I do. I’m more than just
a pretty face.” She winked at him.

Now there was the Regan he knew! He felt much
more at ease.

“Are the plans a secret?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then why don’t you share them with me?”

He tapped the edge of the rolled-up
parchment. “Are you being sincere?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t look away from him as she said it,
which meant she had to be telling the truth.

“All right, I’ll do it since you asked,” he
finally agreed.

His plans were good ones. Maybe even the best
he’d ever made. It’d be a shame not to share them. He sat in the
chair across from her and opened the parchment.

“Don’t you want to sit next to me?” she
asked, her lower lip jutting out in a cute pout.

He glanced at the open doorway. The servants
could be anywhere. “Can I trust you not to take advantage of the
situation?”

“I only want to hear about your plans, not
take you to bed,” she assured him as she patted the spot next to
her. “I’ll keep my hands to myself.” She held them up and then
clasped them on her lap. “See?”

Not sure if it was the smartest thing to do,
he stood up and went over to her. “You really want to know
this?”

She chuckled. “Why do you find that so hard
to believe?”

“Because, up to now, the only thing you’ve
been interested in is,” he lowered his voice, “having me in your
bed.”

His comment only seemed to amuse her more.
“Malcolm, you should be pleased your wife finds you attractive. Not
all husbands have that honor. But you are safe. At the moment, my
interest stems solely from your business plans.” She gestured to
the parchment. “Go on.”

Relaxing, he turned his attention back to the
papers in his hands. “I went to White’s to discuss an investment
with Mr. Donald Raleigh. Do you know who he is?”

“The owner of a ship?”

“Right.” He was surprised. He didn’t think
she paid attention to anything beyond which gentleman caught her
fancy. “Mr. Raleigh is going to be traveling to Africa. He thinks
he knows where he can find some caves which have diamonds in them.
We know where some are already, of course, but he thinks he knows
where some haven’t been discovered yet. Last time he went there, a
man from a local tribe pointed him to a lost city that was thought
to be a myth. After listening to Mr. Raleigh, I’m convinced the
city actually exists.”

“The city is where the caves are?”

“Yes. At least, that’s the idea.” He showed
her the parchment. “Warren and I have come up with a proposal on
how we will pay Mr. Raleigh and how we’ll divide up what he brings
back. Mr. Raleigh needs someone to fund this venture.”

“Yes, I gathered that much. He owns a ship,
and he’s the one going. I knew you intended to give him money to
go.”

Oh. Good. Then she was smarter than he had
given her credit for. With ladies, it was hard to tell how much
they understood about investing with ship owners. It was also hard
to tell how much they were paying attention to what he was saying.
He didn’t know why, but his sister had a tendency to let her mind
wander while he explained such things to her.

“When is Mr. Raleigh going to Africa?” Regan
asked.

“In a month. That’s another reason why these
meetings with Warren and his friends are so important, and it’s why
I didn’t have time to meet you before the wedding. Mr. Raleigh has
several gentlemen lined up to offer him money. I wanted to make
sure I was the first one to come to him. Opportunities this
profitable don’t happen all the time. If he’s as successful as I
think he’ll be, I can triple my—well, our—wealth.”

“Ah,” she replied with a nod. “So Warren and
his friends… Who are they?”

“Warren is Lord Steinbeck. His friends are
Sir Willoby and Lord Dunnaby. I know them all by their Christian
names. They’re very influential, especially at White’s. They don’t
befriend just anyone.” And after what Malcolm witnessed at White’s,
it wasn’t an easy thing to match up to their standards. “That
brings me to another point.” He turned toward her. “It’s imperative
we come to an agreement.”

Regan’s eyebrows furrowed. “What kind of
agreement?”

“Now that we’re married, everything you do
affects me. So if you act inappropriately, that could come back to
hurt me. Some people judge a husband by the things his wife does
and says. I know you enjoy,” he searched for the right word,
“mischief, but I’m asking you to please stop. This deal I have with
Warren and his friends is the most important one I’ve made up to
now in my life.”

“I understand. These are the type of
gentlemen who aren’t forgiving when someone misbehaves. You have no
need to worry. I can be good, Malcolm.”

He had no doubt she could. But would she?

With a sigh, she rolled her eyes. “Yes, I
will be good.”

“You knew what I was thinking?”

“It’s not hard to figure it out when you
frown like that.”

Really? He touched his mouth. Was he that
apparent to everyone, or just her?

“Malcolm,” she began, directing his attention
back to her, “I can be good when I want to be. I just don’t often
have a good reason for it. But, as you pointed out, I’m your wife,
and what I do reflects on you. That being the case, I will be on my
best behavior.”

“That would be a tremendous help.”

“Which is why I’m agreeing to do it.”

He smiled. Well, that went much better than
he’d hoped. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He glanced down at his plans. “I need to
rewrite these, so I can give them to Mr. Raleigh tomorrow. Maybe
afterwards, we can go for a stroll in the park.”

“I’d like that. By then Leonard will be up
from his nap. He loves the park.”

Oh, right. Yes, the lad. Of course, they
would go with Leonard. He didn’t know why he thought she meant it
would be just the two of them. “Give me about an hour, and I’ll be
ready,” he said.

“An hour will be fine.”

As he left the room, he couldn’t help but
think that, for once, he didn’t have to dread the thought of seeing
her again.

***

Regan kept fidgeting the entire time she got
ready for the park, and her poor lady’s maid had trouble with her
hair, something Regan kept apologizing for.

Her lady’s maid only laughed and assured her
it was fine, adding, “I don’t mind at all, my lady. It’s just nice
to see you happy. You’ve mourned for Lord Cantrell for a long
time.”

“A part of me will always love him.” He had,
after all, been a wonderful husband and her dearest friend. “But it
is nice to be in love again.”

“Lord Cantrell would want you to fall in
love.”

Regan smiled at her lady’s maid, grateful for
the older lady’s support. It amazed her how easily people were
accepting Malcolm. When Frederick died, she couldn’t imagine ever
opening herself to another gentleman. But there was something about
Malcolm that made her want to be with someone again.

She couldn’t believe Logan’s advice had paid
off so well. She’d have to give him something to thank him for
helping her.

Once her lady’s maid was done, she thanked
her and went to Leonard’s room. When she saw he was awake but still
resting on his daybed, she said, “I’m surprised you didn’t get
up.”

“I was thinking,” he replied, sitting up in
the bed.

She sat next to him. “Oh? What were you
thinking about?”

“About my new father. Is he as important as
he says?”

“He seems to think so.”

She couldn’t bring herself to completely
agree that he was as important as he claimed. Influential, yes.
There was no doubt he had connections, and those connections led to
some fruitful endeavors. Importance, however, was a matter of
perspective. She’d never heard of him before the evening she met
him at the ball. As much as he fancied himself important in London,
it didn’t seem the Ton agreed.

“Your new father,” she began, choosing her
words carefully, “does business well. He understands money. He
knows how to make it and keep it. Those are good traits, and it’ll
be good for both of us.”

“Was my first father good with money?”

“Your first father wasn’t as profitable when
it came to investing, but he did know how to make some money and
keep it. He provided very well for you. You have a secure estate.”
She rubbed her son’s back. “I hope you remember to be wise with
it.”