Tenacious Trents 01 - A Misguided Lord (22 page)

“
She was on her way to see
me, with Julia. She could not live with your father any longer. Not
after what happened.”

Acker slipped into a chair beside his
mother. This was a family secret and he wasn’t sure how he felt
about his friend knowing this truth. Yet, he couldn’t very well ask
Acker to leave. Instead, Clay said nothing. Perhaps the woman
didn’t know as much as she thought.

She sighed and took a drink. “Adele
adored and loved you and your brothers.”

Clay snorted. Sometimes the pain of
her leaving was as fresh as it was the night she left.

“
Did you notice that the
beatings from your father were less after he married
her?”

He’d never told anyone of his father’s
punishments. It was rarely even mentioned when it was just he and
his brothers. But upon reflection, his father had hit him less,
until she was gone. Then it happened more often than ever before.
Until he married Rose.

“
She used to argue fiercely
with your father over the discipline and often, suffered physically
for it. She once told me that she could handle being struck if it
kept him from taking the switch to one of you.”

Her words chilled him to the bone.
“Father had struck Adele?” It never occurred to him that father
would strike his wife. Had he hit his mother or Rose?

“
That isn’t what drove her
away though.” She leveled her eyes on Clayton. “He took the switch
to Julia.”

Anger surged through his veins. Julia
was only two when they left. What reason could he have had for
striking her? He wanted to deny the fact his father would do such a
thing, but his brothers had been hit that young, and father thought
even less of females.

“
Good God,” Acker mumbled.
Clay had forgotten he was even in the room for a moment.

“
How do you know this?”
Clay asked slowly. “How well did you know Adele?”

“
Adele and I made our
coming out together and became fast friends. I married at the end
of my first season, which was a complete surprise since I didn’t
believe I should have even been in London.” She laughed. “I was the
daughter of a poor vicar but my uncle, the Marquess Shelton, made
sure each of us had as many seasons as it took to be
married.”

“
I still miss uncle. His
son is not half the Marquess his father was,” Acker
mused.

“
Go on,” Clay prompted. He
didn’t really care about the family history right now. He wanted to
know what else Lady Acker knew of Adele.

“
Adele was in her seventh
season, and had already put herself on the shelf, not really
wishing to marry anyone because everyone she had met was so
stifling. At the age of five and twenty she had given up meeting
anyone she wished to spend the rest of her life with.” A wistful
look came to Lady Acker’s face and she looked past Clay, as if she
was revisiting another time. “I remember the first time she
encountered you boys.” She looked at Clay. “You were in the park.
It was early, not at all a fashionable time, but Adele and I wished
to visit and stroll. It struck us odd because you weren’t playing,
but watching other children who were allowed to run, yell, and fly
kites.”

They hadn’t been allowed to play. Not
until Adele.

“
Adele learned what she
could of you boys and when she learned your father was a widower,
set out to gain an introduction to him.”

A smile pulled at Clay’s lips. He
remembered the first time his father met Adele. They were in the
park again and she was trying to teach them a game. Even then the
two had argued, but his father had also fallen in love. Or, at
least lust. His father didn’t believe in love. The days that Adele
was with them were the happiest for Clay and his
brothers.

“
All was well at first
until the following spring when he informed her that attending the
Season was no longer necessary and there was no need for her to
even leave the estate. Her duty was to his sons and any future
heirs.”

“
I recall their
arguments.”

“
She was also appalled that
he struck you with a switch, and for minor infractions.”

He had hit them for everything from
failing to get good marks at school to leaving crumbs on the
table.

Lady Acker took another drink. “Adele
tried to shield you boys, and often took the punishment, as I
said.”

Just the thought of his father
striking a woman made him ill.

“
Then he struck
Julia.”

Clay tensed. “I didn’t
know.”

Lady Acker smiled gently. “She didn’t
want you to know for fear of what you would do.”

Clay would have gone to his father, as
he had when John, the youngest was struck. They had horrible fights
when he was young, until he began to fear the punishments too much,
and learned to be just what father expected so they didn’t have to
suffer more than necessary.

“
So she left?”

Lady Acker shook her head. “Not the
first time.”

“
How many times?” Clay
asked quietly, afraid to hear the answer.

“
The second time was
because Julia was crying too much.” Tears came to Lady Acker’s
eyes. “Adele wrote me that morning and said she was leaving that
night because she could not live in that house and stand by while
her husband took a switch to a two-year-old child. She was coming
to me and then would make plans to disappear.”

Clay still wished Adele would not have
left them, but how can he fault her now?

“
She was afraid you would
find out too,” Lady Acker added. “She knew how protective you were
of Julia and was afraid of what you would do.”

Clay nodded. “Why are you telling me
this now?”

The woman straightened and glared at
him. “Because, I just came from visiting with Miss Westin. I know
all about your proposition to her in London and what you
believe.”

“
I was wrong, and I
apologized.”

“
It doesn’t matter. What
matters is you have viewed women in the same manner as your father.
You are quick to judge, quick to punish.”

Clay stood. “I have never punished
anyone.”

“
Not with a switch, but
easily with words and behavior.”

He sank back into his seat. She was
right. He was a bloody, judgmental bastard. Much more like his
father than he ever wanted to be.

“
I had hopes for you and
Miss Westin in London. She deserves better, but I thought she would
be the best person for you.”

In that Lady Acker was
correct.

“
You need someone like
Eleanor in your life.”

Not only needed, but wanted. Eleanor
had the ability to make him forget his troubles and concern. She
made him long for lust and passion within a marriage. He wanted to
be free of the chains that bound him to propriety and caused him to
judge others by standards far too high for anyone to meet. He
wanted her so he could bury any remnants of his father that
remained in his life for good. He wanted to feel like he did when
Adele was with them. He wanted his children to know that carefree
happiness. He wanted someone to take care of. He wanted a purpose
other than running his estates and making more money than a person
could spend. And, the only person who could make that happen was
Eleanor. No other woman ever came close.

“
I know.”

Surprise lit on Acker’s
face.

Lady Acker planted a fist on the arm
of the chair. “Well, what do you intend to do about it?”

“
Marry her, if I can ever
manage to get her to speak to me again.”

“
Was your argument so bad
yesterday?” Acker prodded.

Clay grimaced. If only his friend
knew, and thank goodness he didn’t. “It was bad enough. And as
usual, I was the one in the wrong.”

“
I ask again, what do you
plan to do about it?” Lady Acker demanded.

“
I am really not sure.” He
stood and began to pace. “I will give her a day or two and maybe
then she will relent and see me.”

“
Just don’t take too long.”
She wagged a finger at him.

Clay chuckled. “I won’t. But I want to
take care of a few matters first. I don’t want her marrying me
because it will solve her family’s financial difficulties. I need
to figure out how to convince her to marry me because she wants
to.”

Both Acker and his mother
nodded.

“
I will take my leave of
you. I am going to be gone for a few days, until the party is over,
and when I return, I hope Miss Westin will grant me an audience.”
Clay turned toward the door.

Just as his hand touched the doorknob
Lady Acker spoke.

“
One more thing,
Bentley.”

He turned to look at her.

“
Adele and Julia didn’t die
that night.”

He closed his eyes and leaned back
against the door. His biggest fear was the world finding out the
truth. “I know. I recently learned of that myself.”

Her eyebrows arched.

“
Do you know where they
might be?”

She shook her head. “I only received
one letter from her, months later. She and Julia were in Paris and
didn’t expect to ever return to England. It was her goodbye to
me.”

Clay sighed. “Father lost track of
them when Julia turned ten and eight.” He strode back over.
“Please, do not say a word of this to anyone.”

Lady Acker smirked. “If I was going to
say anything I would have by now. Besides, the damage this could do
to your step-mother and Madeline would be horrendous. It is best if
some matters remained buried in the past.”

Relief shot through him. “Thank you,
Lady Acker.”

“
Thank me by winning Miss
Westin.”

For the first time that day Clay felt
like laughing and hope surged. If Lady Acker and her son were
supportive, surely he could win Eleanor. He just had to convince
her to accept him, somehow.

Elle had never been
not at home
to anyone
before in her life, but for the past five days those were the words
she asked Leigh to say to Lord Bentley. She couldn’t face him,
especially not knowing why he wished to see her.

She inched the curtain back from her
front bedchamber window and watched as he mounted his horse.
Somehow he must have sensed her presence because he straightened
and then looked straight up at her. Their eyes met and for a moment
she wanted to open the window and yell down to him to wait. But she
was afraid. What if their meeting was a cold business arrangement
to continue what she had started? She couldn’t endure going to his
bed again and being left cold when he had seen to his need. Until
that moment, their joining had been the most incredible moment of
her life. Elle never dreamed that making love could be so
fulfilling, or that a woman could experience such powerful
magnificent explosions in her body. She wasn’t even sure what they
were called and feared she would never experience such again. But
even if she was tempted, she couldn’t risk her heart only to have
it trampled on and discarded the moment he was done. That had cut
her to the quick. How did mistresses endure being treated in such a
way night after night? Were their hearts made of steel?

Elle knew she should close the curtain
and turn her back on him, but her body had a will of its own and
her eyes remained locked on him.

A slow, sensual smile came to Clay’s
face, as if he knew she had been thinking about their joining. He
raised his fingers to her lips and blew her a kiss before he bowed
his head and rode away. Goodness. What had he meant by that action?
Did he wish to continue their affair?

Her body hummed and came alive with
the thought of being with him again, until the reminder of the
rejection to come cooled her.

It was a chance to raise funds for her
family, but at what cost to her soul? No, she had already lost too
much to Lord Bentley, her heart included, and she wanted it back.
Spending more time with him would make it impossible to ever regain
what she’d foolishly given away.

With a huff she spun from the window
and yanked the curtains closed. How could she possibly love that
man? He was a horrible person to deliver the most delicious kisses.
He was judgmental and arrogant, but truly cared about the poor and
orphaned children in society. He was lofty and fit amongst his
peers easily, yet he was a good friend to Drake, whom she adored
and trusted above anyone else. Why was that man such a
conundrum?

Despite all of the things she did not
like about him, there was deep rooted goodness in Clayton. She
glimpsed it too often and knew it flowed deep with him. It was
probably the reason she fell in love with him. It made no sense
that she would love a gentleman such as he, but she did. Her mother
often told her that we don’t get to choose who we love, but our
heart makes the choice for us, whether it is for the best or not.
Her heart chose Bentley, but it would also be destroyed if she let
him into her life. Though she should meet with him and find out why
he was coming to call, she knew it would hurt too much if he wished
continue their illicit association, nor did she want anything more
permanent because he was honorable, if that was his intention. It
was easier to not speak to or see him again. She simply needed to
forget him and move on with her life. It was safer and today she
would meet with Drake and settle the question of a loan. Then she
would see to her family and pretend she never met Lord
Bentley.