The Earl's Scandalous Wife (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Paula stared at her brother as he played chess with Perry.  Perhaps it’d been a bad idea to sit by the fire and try to read a book.  She had a hard time not wanting to break down and cry or scream in frustration.  Most of the time, she retreated to her bedchamber.  But she’d been hiding for most of the seven days her brother had been there and was tired of it.  What she really wanted was to be close to Perry.  And unfortunately, to do that, she had to see her brother.

At the moment, Perry was explaining why Napoleon lost at Waterloo.  Stewart did a lot of nodding and agreed with everything Perry said.

“Napoleon wasn’t prepared,” Perry concluded as he moved his pawn across the board.  “I suspect he thought he was invincible.  Once that happens, people are inevitably bound to fail.”

“What an astute observation,” Stewart commended then moved his own pawn.  “I didn’t see how he could keep winning all the time.”

Paula gritted her teeth and forced her eyes back on the book in her lap.  Her brother had no interest in politics—or chess.  He was flattering Perry with the same
sickening sweetness that he used on the Duke of Leavenshire.  No wonder it was hard to eat whenever he was around.  Her stomach growled, but she just couldn’t swallow much.  And it only got worse with each passing day.  She could feel the tension building up inside her and worried she wasn’t going to make it another week before she snapped.

Coming down here was a bad idea.  She should get to the
safety of her bedchamber.  She got ready to shut the book when Perry approached her.

“I need to tend to personal business.  I won’t be long,” he said.

She indicated she understood.  Too bad she didn’t think to leave before he left.  Now she had to be alone with her brother.

Stewart stood up and walked over to the decanter.  “Am I right to assume you’ve been avoiding me?”

“You’re not here to see me, so what do you care?”

“Come now, Paula.  You mustn’t be so harsh.”

Despite her better judgment, she turned to face him as he settled back into the chair.  “Harsh?  You’ve been blackmailing me.”

He waved his hand dismissively. 
“You don’t have anything to worry about.  I’m not going to require you to give me money for my silence anymore.”

Hardly daring to believe her ears, she stood up and went over to him so she could make sure he wasn’t joking.  “You’re not?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Why did you suddenly have a change of heart?”

“A gentleman can live like a king in this place.  Your husband has more money than he’ll ever use.  The last thing I want to do is ruin it for you.  If I ruin it for you, I’ll ruin it for me.” He drank the brandy and winked.  “Your husband is the greatest friend I ever had.”

She frowned.
  “You think he’s boring.  I can tell by the way you try not to yawn when he talks.”

“My dear sister, he can be as boring as he wants
when he has all this.” He motioned to the room then picked up a scone from the tray by the small table next to him.  “I will do everything I can to make sure Perry never finds out about your past.  And as it turns out, I don’t need you to get money.  When we went horse riding earlier this week, he told me he likes to give money to family and friends.  And when I say ‘give’, I mean he won’t expect me to pay it back.”

It took a moment for his meaning to dawn on her.  “You’re going to ask him for money?”

“A mere two-hundred pounds.  He won’t even miss it.”

“But you won’t stop at two-hundred pounds.  You’ll demand more.”

“I won’t demand, Paula.” He bit into his scone and swallowed it before taking a sip of his brandy.  “I don’t have to demand anything.  That’s the beauty of this whole thing.  You married him, which immediately brings me into his good graces.  All I have to do is pretend to like him and he’ll give me what I ask for.  And better yet, I’ll get to come by for visits and be treated like a king.  I’m telling you, Paula, you married the best gentleman possible.”

She clenched the book in her hands.  “You’re going to use him.”

He grimaced.  “That’s such an unpleasant way of putting it.”

“Then how would you say it?”

“I am going to enable him to get more money by letting him give me money.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know, but it’s what he says he does and I’ll go along with it.”

She doubted Perry came out and said it like that, but since she hadn’t heard the conversation, she couldn’t effectively argue the point.

“Did I miss anything interesting?” Perry asked from behind her.

She spun around in time to see
him entering the room.  She opened her mouth to tell Perry what they’d been discussing but saw the way her brother’s eyebrows rose and thought better of it.

“I
was just telling my sister that it’s wonderful you two have a love match,” Stewart finally said.  “You don’t often hear of such marriages anymore.”

“No, you don’t.” Perry turned to her and smiled.
“Which is why I’m a fortunate gentleman.”

“It’s good to see someone who knows my sister’s worth.”

“I need to go,” she mumbled and hurried out of the room, ignoring Perry as he called for her.

If she stayed any longer, she was going to throw up.  She just knew it.  It’d been a terrible mistake to
join Perry and Stewart.  Lifting her skirt, she raced up the stairs and didn’t stop until she was back in the comfort and safety of her bedchamber.  And her tears were already falling by the time she slammed the door.

***

That evening, Paula decided to go without dinner.  Instead, she sat in front of her vanity, dressed in one of the beautiful gowns Perry had bought her.  When she looked at her reflection, she saw the lady he created: someone lovely, someone honest, someone true.  But it was all a charade, and she couldn’t go to the dining room and act as if everything was all right.

A tear slid down her cheek.
No matter how much her brother acquired, he always wanted more, and in his whole entire life, he was never satisfied.  No matter how much he got.  Their father had left a sizable inheritance upon his death, and though Stewart was instructed to leave Paula and their mother a decent monthly allowance, they barely saw enough to get them through.  He wasn’t hurting for money.  He was living comfortably and could for the rest of his life. But it just wasn’t good enough.

Her hands shook and mor
e tears fell.  The only way to protect Perry was to tell him about Lord Holloway.  Once she did, her brother wouldn’t be able to use Perry.  She had no choice.

Perry
was going to hate her.  Not only did she have a tainted past, but she’d lied and stolen from him. She brought the handkerchief up to her face and wiped her eyes, but it was no use.  She couldn’t stop crying, and the more she tried to stop, the faster the tears came.

Even in his disappointment, he’d be kind.  He’d probably find her a cottage to spend the rest of her life in and, unlike Stewart,
he would make sure she had enough of an allowance to live comfortably.  But she’d be away from him.  He wouldn’t hold her or kiss her anymore.  He wouldn’t come to her bed to make love to her.  She’d have to live without his love.

She was such a fool to think her past wouldn’t catch up to her—to think that she could have any kind of future with someone
like Perry.  She should have run off before they reached Gretna Green.  She could have spared herself and Perry so much pain.

A light tapping on the door of her bedchamber made her temporarily stop crying.  She stood up and
walked to the door.  After a shaky breath, she managed, “Perry?” But then it occurred to her that Perry would use the door connecting their bedchambers, not the one that led to the hallway.

“My lady,” her lady’s maid began, “I came to tell you that Mister Robinson and his wife have arrived.”

Mister Robinson?  Oh, Christopher!  “I’ll be down shortly,” she called out.

“Do you want me to help you, my lady?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She went to the basin and poured water in it then washed her face.  The wate
r felt cold against her hot cheeks.  Looking in the mirror, she realized everyone would be able to tell she’d been crying.  Her blotchy red cheeks and puffy eyes weren’t going to go away for at least a half hour.

Her first thought was to make up some excuse and wait until no one could
see she’d been crying to come down, but that would be another lie and she was tired of lying.  She’d just have to go down there and face everyone.  Pulling a new handkerchief out of her vanity drawer, she wiped her face again then left the room.

***

“We would have waited for an invitation if we believed one was coming,” Christopher said as he stepped out of the carriage.

Perry glanced over his shoulder to see if Stewart or Paula had come outside to greet his cousin and wife, but the stairs le
ading up to the manor were still vacant.  Turning his attention to Agatha as Christopher helped her out, he bowed a greeting.  “I’m glad to see you.  And,” glancing at Christopher, “you, too.”

Christoph
er looked around then pointed to himself.  “You mean me?”

On impulse, Perry
decided to do something he hadn’t done since Christopher’s parents died.  He hugged him.

Christopher
pulled away from him.  “Are you dying?”

“
Of course not.  I’m just happy to see you.”

“We need to get a doctor,” Christopher told Agatha.

Laughing, Perry patted him on the shoulder.  “I don’t need a doctor.  I’m doing fine.  I was going to ask you to come visit.  Having you here will be good.”

“All right.  Who are you and what did you do with Perry?”

“Just be glad he’s happy to see you,” Agatha told Christopher and smiled at Perry.  “I take it things are going well with Paula.”

“They are.  I can’t remember a time when I’ve been happier,” Perry replied.

“I don’t think your wife would agree with you,” Christopher muttered in Perry’s ear.

Perry leaned on his cane as he turned to the stairs, surprised when he saw that Paula had been crying.  He thought she and Stewart had an argument while they were alone earlier that day, but he didn’t realize it upset her so much that she cried.  Why didn’t he think to have the butler go in with something to eat?  Having someone else in the room would have prevented them from talking about anything personal.

“Why do you constantly resist reading that book?” Christopher whispered, his tone indicating his surprise.

Le
ave it to Christopher to assume Paula was crying because she wasn’t satisfied in bed.  Sighing, Perry glared at him.  “This has nothing to do with the book.  I’ll explain later.”

“Paula,” Agatha said as she hurried over to her, “what’s wrong?”

Stewart chose that moment to glide down the steps as if he didn’t have a care in the world.  “I hear we have more guests.”

Christopher glanced from Paula to Stewart, his eyes growing wide.

“Christopher, this is Paula’s brother, Stewart Leighton.”

“Yes,” Christopher slowly said, “I remember him.”

Right.  Christopher was there to cheer Paula on for her quick thinking when she managed to avoid having to talk to her brother at the ball where they met.  “He wished to congratulate Paula and me on our marriage so I wanted to invite him for a visit.”

Christopher’s gaze went back to Paula.  “I see.”

Perry had to hand it to Christopher.  He was quickly figuring out that she was crying because of her brother.  And that might make it easier to pin Stewart down.

Agatha wrapped her arm around Paula’s and led her back inside, talking to her in low, soothing tones. 
It was definitely good that Christopher and Agatha had arrived.  Paula needed a lady she could confide in, and being a lady, Agatha would have a better way of comforting her than Perry did.  Perry had tried everything but it wasn’t enough.