The Earl's Scandalous Wife (10 page)

Chapter Ten

The next morning as Perry sat in the den with his feet kicked up on the ottoman, he didn’t feel any better than he had the night before.  In fact, he felt worse.  To Paula’s credit, she hadn’t asked him what was bothering him.  She had to have picked up on his bad mood, but she hadn’t pressed him about it and that was a relief.

He stared at the fireplace, not really seeing the flames flickering as they cast shadows along the room.  The housemaid had been ready to open the drapes when he told her to leave them shut an
d draw him a fire instead.

However, his reprieve was not to be enjoyed for long since Nate showed up within half an hour of his retreat to the den.
  When the footman allowed him in, he glanced in his direction.

“I take it you’re not busy,” Nate joked.

Sighing, he motioned for his friend to come in then turned his attention back to the fire.

Nate picked up the decanter from the table and poured himself a drink.  “You thirsty?”

Perry shook his head.

“I notice you disappeared after Christopher asked to talk to you alone.”

He grimaced.  He should have known Nate would come over to find out what happened.

“You really shouldn’t let him get to you,” Nate said before he took a sip of brandy.

“I don’t try to let him get to me.”

“Yes, you do.  He gains the upper hand every time you talk to him. 
If you had made him muck out stalls or do some other unsavory task while he was your ward, he wouldn’t be the way he is today.  You were always soft on him.”

“Well
thank you, Nate, for pointing out my shortcomings.  Without you to point out how inadequate I am, I don’t know where I’d be.”

“Be sensible.  I’m not trying to point out your shortcomings.”

“You could have fooled me,” he muttered, glancing at his pocket watch and wondering how much longer he’d have to suffer with his friend’s presence before he could kick him out.  Snapping the pocket watch shut, he slipped it back into his pocket.  Why was he waiting?  He didn’t have to put up with anything in his townhouse.  Not for thirty minutes.  Not for ten.  Not even for one.  It was his townhouse, after all.  The one place he was supposed to be able to enjoy some peace.  “Go home, Nate.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise as he sat in the chair across from him.  “I’ve never seen you this upset.  What’s going on?  What did he say?”

“Apparently, when I told you to go home, I was wasting my breath.”

Nate waited for a minute then said, “We’ve been friends since childhood.  If you can confide in anyone, it should be me.” When Perry didn’t respond, he added, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to be hard on you.  I shouldn’t have said you were soft on Christopher while you were his guardian.”

“But it’s true,” he grudgingly admitted.  “I was soft.”

“What happened last night?”

If it’d been anyone but Nate, he wouldn’t have said anything.  The whole ordeal was much too embarrassing.  But it was Nate who asked, and the two had shared everything else that bothered them.  If there was anyone he could trust, it was him.  “All right, I’ll tell you, but it doesn’t go further than this room.”

“Of course not.”

“Christopher gave me this horrible book that he had absolutely no business giving me.  This book supposedly has instructions on how I can,” he rolled his eyes, “satisfy my wife.”

“A book?  Was this a book Lord Edon gave him?”

“I think it came from that rake.  Only someone like him would have a book called
How to Pleasure a Lady
on his bookshelf.”

A few moments passed before Nate said, “It’s actually a good book.”

Perry turned his gaze in his friend’s direction, waiting for him to laugh and tell him he was joking.  But his friend didn’t.  Instead his friend looked alarmingly serious.  “Are you telling me you really do have such a book?”

“I got it shortly after I got married and realized Claire was nervous about consummating the marriage.  I wanted to ease her into it and asked Lord Edon for advice.”

“Oh, you didn’t!”

“If anyo
ne knows how to make the bed pleasurable for a lady, it’s him.”

He grimaced.  And he was friends with Christopher.  There was no escaping him.

“Lord Edon gave me the book,” Nate continued, seeming oblivious to his friend’s discomfort.  “It’s worth reading.”

“I can’t believe this.  You’re actually agreeing with Christopher?”

“I didn’t know Christopher had the book.  I figured he was too arrogant to think he was less than perfect in bed.  He certainly would have everyone believe he’s perfect in every other way.  Frankly, I’m surprised he’d admit such a thing to you.”

“Just how many gentleme
n have this book?”

“I don’t know.  Probably more than either of us imagine.”

Probably.  But even so, it didn’t make him feel any better.

“Don’t be discouraged.  We weren’t born wi
th the kind of bodies ladies have.  How can we possibly know what they’ll like or not like?  It doesn’t take much for us to receive pleasure from the bed.  Well, you know how it is since you’re married now.  Come.” He stood up and walked over to him.  “Let’s go to White’s.  You can’t spend all day holed up in this room.”

“What if I want to?”

“I won’t let you.”

Perry thought about telling his friend to leave but realized the best thing he could do was stop feeling sorry for himself.  “All right.” Grabbing his cane, he stood up.
  “A game of chess would do me good.”

“Unless I win.”

Unable to stop the smirk that crossed his face, he said, “I don’t think you have a chance, but you can give it your best shot.”

***

“My lady, there is a gentleman here to see you.  His name is Mister Leighton.  He says he’s your brother.”

From where she sat in the drawing room, Paula lowered the book she’d been reading
and turned to the butler who stood in the doorway.  She knew Stewart would be coming by but had hoped he wouldn’t realize she’d returned from Gretna Green yet.  She fought the wave of nausea that threatened to make her lunch come up.  How she wished Perry had taken her directly to his country estate.

“Should I send him in?” the butler asked.

She hesitated to say yes but knew it’d be better to see him now, while Perry was at White’s.  Reluctantly setting her book on the settee next to her, she rose to her feet and nodded.  She clasped her hands together.  This wasn’t going to be pleasant.  But at least she wasn’t living in the same house with him anymore.

When Stewart entered, she forced herself to ask the butler to bring them tea and scones.  As soon as he left, she gave her brother a look that demanded he hold his tongue until she was ready to talk.  To her surprise, he sat in the chair across from the
settee and leaned back, crossing his arms and ankles.

Releasing her breath, she slowly sat on the
settee and glanced at her book.  Actually, it was Perry’s book.  It was about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.  She’d always wanted to read about it, but her brother wouldn’t let her, saying that she’d do better to learn how to paint or play pretty music.

They waited in an awkward silence as the butler set the tea and sco
nes on the table between them.

“Please close the door on your way out,” she told the butler.
  She waited until the butler obeyed before she poured the tea, noting the way her hands shook.  “All right, Stewart.  We’re alone.  What did you wish to discuss?” She held out his cup to him, determined to act braver than she felt.

He took the cup, his eyebrow raised.  “You did fairly well for yourself.”

Clearing her throat, she picked up her cup and forced herself to drink some tea, ignoring the way it nearly burned her tongue.  “Lord Clement is a good husband.”

“It seems that he’s doing well, too.” He scanned the room then turned his piercing blue eyes in her direction.

She hated it when he did that.  She always felt like she was a small child under his careful inspection.

“Or is all this wealth a mere pretense?” he pressed.

Sipping more tea, she debated how to answer.  “He’s an earl,” she finally hedged.

“A title doesn’t mean anything.  There are plenty of poor earls out there.”

She shrugged.

“But Lord Clement isn’t one of them, is he?”
He leaned forward and put his cup on the table, not bothering to take a single sip from it.  “I never would have believed you were so clever.  You managed to defy me and secure your own financial future with a single kiss.  I have to admit I’m impressed.”

She shifted uncomfortably in the seat.  While she wished he’d just get on with what he wanted, she also knew she didn
’t want to hear it.  Glancing out the window, she relaxed when she didn’t see Perry.  She’d seen him leave after he told her he was going to White’s and assumed he’d be coming back the same way he left.  With any luck, Stewart would be gone by then, but in order for that to happen, she needed to get him to talk.

Her gaze met his.  “What do you want?”

One corner of his lips curled up.  “He’s not here, is he?”

“Did you wish to talk to him?”

“No.  My business isn’t with him.  It’s with you.”

Here it came.  Gripping the cup in her hand, she managed a tense, “Oh?”

“I have a feeling you didn’t tell the happy bridegroom what you did before you came into his life.  And from what I learned about him, his past is as boring and untarnished as a fresh layer of snow.  It also appears that you didn’t only secure a gentleman of means, but you captured his heart as well.  Word is that he adores you.”

“How can you know that?”

“I’ve been asking questions here and there.” When she didn’t reply, he continued, “I know you, Paula.  You don’t care about his money.  You would have picked a pauper if he would have saved you from the Duke of Leavenshire.  You want to be loved.  You want a gentleman who’ll do anything to be with you.  And it seems to me, you have that in Lord Clement.  It’d be a shame to see you lose that.  Lord Clement prides himself on living a holy life.  What would happen if he found out about you and Lord Holloway?”

She closed her eyes.  This was worse than she expected.  She thought he might mock her or scream at her.  Never once did she think he might
demand money in payment for his silence. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she asked, “How much do you want for your silence?”

“Five thousand pounds.”

She nearly fell off the settee.  “Five thousand…?” She shook her head.  “My husband checks his accounts carefully.  He’ll notice the money is missing.”

“You didn’t let me finish.  I don’t mean that you have to pay me everything at once.  I happen to like the idea of getting a little bit at a time.  Ten pounds here.  Fifteen pounds there.  Small amounts.”

“How do you propose I do that?  Don’t you think he’s going to wonder where these small amounts are going to?”

“Not if you
’re creative.  Ladies need clothes and personal items.  Just give me the money from the amount he gives you or buy things that you credit to his account at different stores.  I’m partial to gold.  You could buy me a gold pocket watch.  I also wouldn’t mind finer clothing than what I currently own or a chair as nice as the one I’m sitting on.  You do enough transactions like that in addition to little amounts of money, and the total will add up in no time.”

Sh
e released her breath.  It was safer to go about paying him that way instead of doing it all at once.  If she was careful, then Perry wouldn’t find out.  “All right.  I’ll do it.”

“I thought you’d agree
.” He stood up and motioned to the inkwell on the desk.  “Is that trimmed in gold or does it just look like it?”

Reluctant, she
went over to the desk and picked it up, inspecting it.  “It probably is.”

“It’s a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  Your husband has wonderful taste.  I’ll take it as your first payment.”