Simply Scandalous (24 page)

"It was all perfectly innocent."

"All the more reason the girl deserves the protection of your name," Alex said inexorably. "If she were
guilty, no one would blame you for deserting her. But
an innocent girl-!"

"Well, I didn't kick," said Swale grumpily. "The
minute I saw Captain Cary's face, I knew I was caught.
It's not as though I could rely on my father to extricate me. He's potty about this girl's nose. He'd have taken her part against me and made her family a
generous settlement, I don't doubt."

"And it would serve you right, old man. One simply
doesn't go about the place kissing girls like Juliet
Wayborn! " Alex scolded him. "We live in liberal times,
but the Wayborns are Old County, I'm afraid, like the
Devizes. We don't put up with you lecherous Hanoverian aristocrats trifling with our women. You should be
more careful, Geoffrey. You're fortunate that Sir
Benedict let the foolish girl have her own way. I
wouldn't have done it myself, had I been in his place."

"Oh, Sir Benedict despises me," said Swale. "He was
pleased to let her have her way. He don't want to be
connected to me in anyway, shape, or form."

"Whatever possessed you to kiss her-and at the
local inn, of all places?"

"I had to kiss her," Swale explained. "The sound of
her voice was annoying me. I couldn't very well punch
her in the nose, could I? Especially not that noseit's bloody perfect. Anyway, it was only a kiss."

"That kiss nearly cost you your life. Your freedom,
Geoffrey! "

Swale frowned. "As I have said, I know I was well
caught."

"I expect Miss Wayborn was sorely tempted," Alex
said thoughtfully. "Twenty thousand a year and a
coronet? I believe Iwould marry you for twenty thousand a year!"

"I don't think she was tempted for a moment,"
Swale admitted ruefully.

A smile touched Alex's lips. "But, my dear Swale,
did you not go there to make her fall in love with you?
As I recall-"

"Never mind what you recall!" Swale said quickly.

"Can it be you failed to make yourself agreeable to her?" said Alex, laughing. "Did she not think you a
matrimonial prize? Indeed, I am all astonishment!"

"It was all I could do to convince her I didn't break
her brother's arm," said Swale sullenly. "But I think
I've managed that at least."

"The first step is now gained," said Alex, enjoying
his friend's discomfiture. "The way is open. Don't say
you mean to give up the game entirely?"

Swale summoned his dignity. "I decided it would be
cruel for me to sport with the feelings of such a noble
girl. "

Alex arched a brow. "Then am I to infer that you
remained in Hertfordshire for a week to allow the
noble girl to trifle with yours?"

"You are talking stupid," Swale informed him loftily.
"After the business with the curricle and the farmhouse and the whisky, do you imagine that I was permitted to see the noble girl? I presented myself at the
Vicarage every morning for a week in case there
should be some task I might perform for her, but
there was nothing Miss Wayborn required of me. Sir
Benedict never allowed me to see her."

Alex was astonished. "You mean you placed yourself at her disposal?"

"Certainly," said Swale. "I was responsible for her
injuries, and it seemed reasonable that since I could
walk and she could not, I should help her if I could."

"And she asked nothing of you?" Alex seemed
skeptical.

"She had Captain Cary at her disposal as well, you
understand," Swale said, his resentment apparent.
"She is engaged to Captain Cary, or so her brother informs me. I have not seen it announced anywhere.
H-have you?"

"I don't read the obituaries," Alex said blithely.
"How grateful you must be to Captain Cary! Here I was thinking the lady unaccountably noble, but as she
is already engaged, there could be no question of her
marrying you."

"She has this coat," Swale said bitterly, "a dark blue
coat with wide lapels and gilt buttons. You see what
that means, don't you? Picture it with gold braid and
epaulets, aboard the deck of a ship. I believe she
had that coat made especially to please him!"

"That is a grave accusation indeed!" said Alex, trying
not to laugh.

Swale was scowling ferociously. "The thing is, Alex ...
the thing is, I didn't mind being caught. I mean, I'm going
to be caught one day. Why not by her?"

"My dear Geoffrey," Alex murmured, chuckling.

"What I minded was being turned loose as if I were
too small a fish to be bothered with. I'm a big fish! A
bloody big fish!"

"A whale," said his loyal friend.

"That she would spurn me in favor of a Captain
Cary-! That is chiefly what I minded."

Alex's response was forestalled by a sound from the
hall.

"What the devil!" Swale murmured. It sounded
like the door opening and closing. In the next
moment, Bowditch shuffled into the room, dragging
a worn valise.

The sight gave Swale no pleasure. 'Well, Bowditch,
if you have come for your wages, you should know I
have spent them on Madeira. It is cheap, but I find
I require large quantities."

"No, my lord," said Bowditch. "I have come to
resume my duties. I have decided that I am not the
marrying kind."

"Not the marrying kind! " cried Swale. "After all you
put me through? Not the marrying kind, eh? Well, you
might have made the discovery sooner-before you eloped with the ghastly Fifi. Good God, man!" A
sudden thought required him to sit up and set down
his glass. "Don't tell me you've abandoned Miss Wayborn's Fifi somewhere along the road?"

Bowditch assumed an injured expression. "No, my
lord. Mademoiselle Huppert left me for a man she
met on the stage."

"The stagecoach, you mean?"

"No, sir, the stage. Mr. David Rourke may currently
be seen in Drury Lane in the part of Tony Lumpkin
in Mr. Sheridan's excellent production of She Stoops
to Conquer. "

"What about Cary Wayborn's groom?" Swale demanded. "There was an understanding there, I believe, an attachment of long duration."

Bowditch shook his head. "Mr. Corcoran has vowed
never to marry until all three of his late master's children are married themselves. Mademoiselle Huppert
became impatient. Not even Mr. Corcoran's fortune
of ten thousand pounds could induce her to wait."

Swale started in surprise. "What's a bloody groom
doing with ten thousand pounds?"

Bowditch cast his master a look of reproach. "His
late master, Sir Anthony Wayborn, left him a handsome bequest in his will, my lord. Some masters do
value their loyal servants, you know."

"Do they?" Swale retorted. "You may as well know,
Bowditch, that I intend to outlive you."

"Yes, my lord," said Bowditch, withdrawing.

"You don't mean you're letting him stay?" Alex
cried in amazement.

Swale looked at him in equal surprise. "This is his
home, isn't it?"

"It seems to me that half the business is his fault," said
Alex. "If he hadn't run off with the damned Frenchy,
you wouldn't have gotten yourself into this scrape."

"I'm not in a scrape," Swale pointed out.

"Only because Miss Wayborn is already engaged,"
Alex said. "You may wish to stay away from
Hertfordshire-Miss Wayborn may decide she would
rather be the wife of a Marquess than of a mere swaggering Naval officer!"

"I have no intention whatsoever of returning to
Hertfordshire," said Swale. "At the earliest opportunity, I intend to call on my Lord Redfylde."

"That may be impossible," said Alex.

"Why do you say so? His lordship evidently holds me
in such high esteem that he would hazard ten thousand pounds on my skill. Surely, he will consent to
meet me."

"But his lordship is not in London," Alex told him.
"Due to Lady Redfylde's frail health, he has taken a
house in the country."

"Then I shall meet him there," said Swale.

"But my dear Geoffrey," Alex protested, "you can't
shoot him merely for placing a wager on a race. In any
case, you can't shoot him at all. Lady Redfylde is
breeding, you know, and her health is poor."

"Hang Lady Redfylde," said Swale.

Alex sighed. "And you were so chivalrous with Miss
Wayborn-it gave me hope. You cannot challenge
Lord Redfylde. I would not second you if you did."

"I would like to beat him until he admits what he
did," said Swale.

"You can't do that either."

"What can I do?" Swale wanted to know.

It was well for Juliet that she liked her apartment
at Wayborn Hall, for it was only by going into it and
closing the door that she could escape the society of
her aunt Lady Elkins. How that lady had learned of
her niece's tete-a-tete with Lord Swale at Brisby's
Farm was never clear to Juliet, for Juliet was certain
that Benedict had never spoken of it, but know of it
she did, and in the two weeks that followed Juliet's arrival at her childhood home, the widow never ceased
scolding her niece. Not even the presence of Miss Cynthia Cary, who had accompanied her cousin into
Surrey, could stop her ladyship's tongue. On this
subject, her energy was boundless and her voice so strident that it made Juliet long for the days when her
aunt was too weak to lift her head from the pillow.

Aunt Elinor's favorite venue was the small parlor
where the ladies gathered for tea every afternoon.

"I wish I were your guardian, Juliet. I would have
made you marry Lord Swale! " A dreamy smile would
smooth her aging face. "Lord and Lady Swale! Marchioness of Swale! You are a wicked girl indeed to be depriving me of the pleasure of being the aunt of a
marchioness."

Juliet always endured her aunt's displeasure in silence, but Cynthia usually felt obliged to defend her
cousin. "But, my lady," she protested, "if you knew
Lord Swale, you would not for a moment consider
such a thing. If you had seen him drink his soup
from the bowl like a savage ..." Cynthia shuddered
delicately. "He has a cruel, black temper, you know,
ma'am, and besides, he insulted poor Juliet in so
monstrous a fashion-"

"Would you say it was an insult?" Lady Elkins retorted. "Twenty thousand a year for a mere baronet's
daughter and a marquisate besides? Make sure of it,
Juliet; if his lordship kissed you, it is because he secretly wished to marry you but was too shy to ask!"

Juliet laughed heartily at this. The notion of Swale
being shy was too absurd. As for his secretly wishing
to marry her ... no, indeed. Swale's idea of a partner in life was Lady Serena.

"Depend upon it, my dear," said Lady Elkins. "He
must be wild in love with you."

"Indeed, it would be a miracle if he did not hate
me," said Juliet. "I blamed him for the attack on
Cary, and I was wrong. I blamed his Bowditch, when
all along it was my Fifi-wrong again! Then, was I to
force him to marry me against his own expressed
wishes?"

"He is so awful in appearance," Cynthia said with
a shudder. "Truly, Lady Elkins! A horrible giant with
long red hair like a Viking marauder."

Lady Elkins rounded on her angrily. "What do his
looks signify, Miss Cary? He has twenty thousand a
year! That is my idea of handsome!"

"Oh, my dear aunt," Juliet murmured, chuckling.

"Do you suppose that your uncle, Sir Thomas, was
handsome? He was a respectable gentleman of large
fortune. I considered myself very lucky to get him. He
was forty-three years my senior and in very frail health,
but he made me comfortable in life before he died.
So comfortable, indeed, that I never considered marrying again. That is my idea of a good husband."

Cynthia's eyes stood out like cornflower blossoms
on stems. "But, Lady Elkins," she could not help exclaiming, "you would not want your niece to marry
an ... an old man!"

"That is my point exactly, miss," Lady Elkins
snapped. "Lord Swale is not old. I consider your reasons for rejecting him very trivial, Miss Juliet! "

"I did not reject him," said Juliet. "The marriage was
proposed by other people, not ourselves. I would never
use my honor as an excuse to make a man marry me.
I am sure my uncle, Sir Thomas, was not forced to
marry Miss Elinor Wayborn."

"No, indeed," Lady Elkins sniffed. "He had a falling
out with his nephew and decided to disoblige him by
marrying me. He hoped to have a son and so dash the
impertinent young man's hope of succeeding to his
title, but that, of course, proved impossible, and the
ungrateful nephew triumphed after all."

Lady Elkins spoke matter-of-factly, as though there
was nothing unseemly about a marriage entered into
out of spite on the gentleman's side and greed on the
lady's, but Cynthia was appalled. Juliet, who knew her
aunt's history, still could not hear the facts without
wincing.

"The man I marry will have a better reason for
marrying me," she said firmly. "And I shall have a
better reason for marrying him. Swale never dishonored me. Why then, should he be forced to marry me? And if he had dishonored me, do you suppose
there would be any force on earth that could compel
me to accept him as my husband?"