The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl (20 page)

“
You
.”

Mrs. Knightsbridge’s face went paler than a fish belly. Jamie crossed the room toward her, finger pointed accusingly.

“It was you the whole time, wasn’t it? There is no sister at all!” Jamie stopped just in front of the housekeeper, pointer finger shaking as she vented her frustration.

Mrs. K looked down, red leeching into her blanched cheeks. “Yes. It was me.”

“All those times you told me Wilhelmina was in hiding for her safety, that she wouldn’t send me back, that was really just a cover so you could keep me here to do what you wanted. And what
kills
me is, it worked.” Jamie threw up her hands as she walked to the window. “Now, I’m in love with the guy, I’ve done the deed with him, and I’ve agreed to marry him, and it’s all because you tricked me into having to stay here!”

Mrs. K’s delighted cry whirled Jamie around. The housekeeper clapped her hands and beamed. “Oh, Miss Jamie, how wonderful! I’ll see to it that his lordship procures a special license so you may be wed immediately. I believe St. George’s should do for the ceremony…”

“Wait just one minute,
Wilhelmina
.” Mrs. K winced at her emphatic use of her given name but didn’t lose the triumphant look while Jamie continued. “I am not going to run out and marry him tomorrow. We’ve agreed on some conditions. A long engagement, for starters. And I’ve got to make sure I can be happy here even without Mike. I don’t know much about proper society, but since this is all your fault, you’re going to help me learn, got it?”

The beam toned down to a bright smile. “But, Miss Jamie, that’s what we’ve been doing all along. I shall be happy to continue showing you the ways of polite society.”

Jamie sighed and dropped down on the bed. “Okay. But you need to promise me something right here, right now.”

Her face was dead serious as she pegged Mrs. K with a dark stare. “No more lies. No more manipulation. I want to know that I can trust you. If I ask you to open that portal again, you won’t deny me, no matter what. Understood?”

The housekeeper nodded solemnly. “I do apologize for my duplicity. It was not meant to cause you pain, I promise you that. It was a necessary precaution, one that I regret has caused you harm.”

Jamie nodded slowly. “I understand.”

A knock sounded on the door at that moment. Mrs. K crossed the room to open it.

Two footmen, one of them George, struggled in with the copper tub. It was filled with steaming buckets of water within another ten minutes. It seemed some witch may have foreseen the need for the water to be heating much earlier than she’d let on.

Mrs. K smiled. “I shall send Muriel to you in a few moments. In the meantime, please relax. I know you have some things to ponder.”

That was an understatement. Jamie thanked the housekeeper for the bath and watched as the diminutive woman left the room.

The hot water soothed muscles that were sore from her night’s exercises. Jamie reclined into the warm curve of copper against her back, watching the fire dancing in the grate. Was Mike thinking about the same things she was at that moment? Was he wondering how they could ever pull that off? Was he remembering the way their bodies had fit together so well last night?

“Stop that,” Jamie hissed to her stomach as a curl of warmth grew there. She wasn’t normally ruled by her libido, and she didn’t intend to start.

She grabbed the soap Mrs. K had set alongside the tub and got to scrubbing. As the water cooled, her trepidation grew. How could she possibly marry a man from two hundred years in the past? How could she survive in a time where women were regarded as vessels for men’s pleasure and the propagation of the species? How could she honestly hope to make Mike happy when she couldn’t even manage to remember all of the stupid rules that guided this society? She’d embarrass him. He’d start to hate her—exactly like Logan had when he’d claimed she wasn’t the woman he’d fallen for. She tried to wash all the uncertainty, worry, and fear away, but it would take something much stronger than the lavender-scented suds to do that. She dipped beneath the surface of the water and massaged her scalp with the soap.

C’mon, Jamie,
she said to herself.
Where’s the good feeling? Where’s the everything-is-right-with-the-world calm that goes along with getting clean?

Her toes went pruny and her fingers were raisins before she realized it wasn’t coming.

***

Muriel was full of chatter when she came in to help Jamie rinse her hair and dress. The one-word answers and lack of ebullience didn’t deter Muriel either. She kept up a long stream of talk as she brushed out Jamie’s hair, laced up her stays, and selected a gown for her to wear.

“After all,” Muriel said as she pulled her last set of petticoats on over Jamie’s head, “it is not every day that an earl weds a lady with no connections or family.”

“Muriel, we kind of want to keep it secret right now, okay?” Jamie felt bad asking. Muriel was clearly swept away by the romantic idea, and she didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings, but honestly, the situation wasn’t feeling that wonderful to Jamie yet. There were still way too many variables for her to be as ecstatic as Muriel was.

“Oh,” Muriel said. Her face fell as she brought the pale pink gown to Jamie. “I am sorry, miss.”

“No, it’s okay.” Jamie took the dress. “We’ve got to get some things settled first, that’s all. I promise you, you will be the first person to know when it’s time to shout it from the rooftops.”

That seemed to placate her. “Thank you, miss.” She smiled and helped Jamie into the gown.

Jamie sat in front of the mirror, as she did every day, and waited as Muriel put pins in her hair. As she watched the thin hands expertly separate and twist strands of hair, fixing them securely to the crown of her head, she was impressed with Muriel’s talent. The maid really was great at what she did.

“Hey, Muriel, you’d probably make a lot of money doing hair in my time.”

Muriel paused, three pins hanging from her mouth. “Really?” she slurred around them.

“Yeah. You’d have to learn some of the modern tools, blow dryers, flat irons, that kind of thing. And hair coloring. You’d need to learn that. But honestly, I think you’d pick it up, no problem. You’re really good at it.”

A surprised grin crossed her face. She nearly lost the two pins still hanging from her lips. “Thank you, Miss Jamie!”

Jamie winced a little when the maid’s excitement nearly cost her a patch of scalp. It was worth it to make Muriel feel good. Someone should be happy today, and Jamie wasn’t sure if she could put her worries aside enough for it to be her.

Jamie ended up being late to breakfast because of her prolonged soak. She hoped Mike was still there. She wanted to see him, despite her worries and concerns. Maybe he could help her put them to rest.

As luck would have it, she passed him on his way out of the dining room.

“Hey,” Jamie said breathlessly. “Sorry I’m late. I needed a bath.”

His smile was tender as he looked down into her eyes. “Good morning, Miss Marten. I trust you slept well?” His brow quirked slightly.

She rolled her eyes with a wry grin. “Yeah. Great, thanks for asking.”

He clasped his hands behind him, and a ripple of want went through her at the way his tailored coat fit his muscular form. “I must meet with my solicitor this morning. Would you care to ride out with me this afternoon? It is a fair day, and I thought a ride in my phaeton would be quite the thing.”

She smiled. “Sounds great to me.”

Mike glanced around surreptitiously and then brushed a kiss across her lips. He lifted his head, and with a smile said, “Until later, my love.”

Her pulse fluttered like crazy as he walked away. She didn’t even pretend not to check him out as he left. What a man. What the hell was she going to do with him?

Baron stuck with her while she ate breakfast. She felt guilty about abandoning the dog last night. She wasn’t sure where he’d ended up sleeping after he woke Muriel, but since he made a point to stay with Jamie every night, she was pretty sure it wasn’t as comfy as her bed was. She gave him extra ham to make up for it. She thought he forgave her.

Jamie walked in the garden with the hound after breakfast, still trying to wrap her brain around things. She tried to think of herself as Jamie Axelby, Countess of Dunnington, but it didn’t work. When she’d dreamed of marrying Logan, she’d always thought she’d hyphenate. Jamie Marten-Camp had a ring to it. Then again, Jamie Marten-Axelby sounded nice. But there was no way she could get away with hyphenating her name in this time. Women’s lib was still way off in the future. She’d have to have Mike’s permission to do anything. No one would do business with her; no one would take her seriously on her own merits. She couldn’t write music and get paid for it. She wasn’t worth as much as a person here as she had been at home.

What
a
lowering
thought.
She’d never been someone with huge self-esteem anyway, but the thought of needing a man’s permission if she wanted to set up a bank account really hit her hard.

She flopped down onto her bench, trying to slouch, but the damn stays wouldn’t let her. She sighed instead.

“Baron, this is really tough.” The dog licked her hand, trying to find any remnants of breakfast. “It’s easy for you, isn’t it? Doesn’t bother you where you are or who’s there, as long as you’ve got a warm bed, lots of food, and cuddles, huh?”

She ruffled his ears.

What was stopping her? Honestly? She had told Mike she was going to give this a shot, and dammit, that was exactly what she was going to do. They deserved a chance to be together.

“Thanks, dog.” She stood and marched purposefully back into the house. She needed to dress for their ride, and she wanted to look her best. Better go ahead and get started. Mike would be back in only a couple of hours, the perfect amount of time to dress to impress society. She hoped.

Mrs. K joined Muriel in dressing Jamie to the nines for her carriage outing with Mike. The housekeeper produced a lilac carriage dress, high-necked with a pointed collar and a lilac ribbon-belt. Muriel piled Jamie’s hair atop her head again, arranging curls to spill temptingly around her face. They perched a white chip-straw hat on top of the curls, pinning it securely atop her head. Mrs. K wrapped a darker purple shawl around her shoulders, tiny tassels dangling from the corners.

“There.” Mrs. K stepped back to admire their handiwork. “No one shall fault your appearance.”

Jamie took as deep a breath as she could. No wonder women were always passing out in the olden days. They couldn’t breathe in these damn deathtraps. Just when she thought she’d gotten used to them, Muriel would cinch them just a little bit tighter. “But what if I do something wrong while I’m out there and somebody sees me? I don’t want Mike’s reputation to suffer because of me.”

“It is simple, Miss Jamie.” Jamie replayed Mrs. K’s words as she descended the stairs to meet Mike, whose face had lit up charmingly at the sight of her. “Be polite. Do not speak with anyone to whom you are not acquainted. Let his lordship guide you. He will not lead you astray.”

“Miss Marten.” He held a hand out to Jamie, and she put her gloved one in his. “You are looking quite fine.”

“You are as well, my lord,” she said with a bashful smile. “Thank you for taking me riding.”

“It is my pleasure.” He pulled her hand through the crook of his arm and led her out the front door to his waiting phaeton.

The gleaming black carriage had a beautiful brown leather seat, which Mike handed her up to. It was surprisingly comfortable, and she was much happier to sit behind the horses than on them. The beasts stamped their feet as Mike climbed in beside her.

“Are you ready?” he asked her with a grin.

“Let’s go, chief. Wagons roll!” Jamie pointed ahead with a laugh as Mike flicked the reins and they were off.

She was grateful for the thick purple shawl that coordinated with her outfit so well. The early spring wind was a little chilly atop the high carriage. She wished she could cuddle closer to Mike, enjoying some of his body heat, but she wasn’t willing to embarrass him. She was testing herself to see if she could do this the right way. So far, so cold, so good.

The horses’ hooves clattered against the cobbled streets as they made their way to the park. Mike nodded to a few gentlemen on horseback but, fortunately, didn’t stop to talk. Jamie breathed a little easier when the phaeton turned into the park’s entrance. There were fewer people around to worry about embarrassing herself in front of.

“Are you enjoying the air?” Mike asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s a little chilly, but it’s good to get out of the house. And the company is pretty nice too.” She winked at him, and he chuckled.

“I must agree. Very pleasant company indeed.”

A second or two passed as they rounded a corner in the path. Jamie realized that she didn’t know as much about her earl as she should.

“We haven’t really talked about family, you know. Do you have any?”

His face darkened slightly. “My mother and father have both passed on. I have no siblings. There are some distant cousins on my father’s side, one of which is my heir. They reside near the Scottish border.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, running her fingers along the embroidered edge of her shawl. “My parents are both dead too.”

Mike looked at her. “We seem to be more alike than not, Miss Marten.”

Jamie nodded, a half smile on her face. “Guess so, my lord.”

After that, they fell into a companionable silence, the only noise the horses’ hooves on the gravel pathways. Jamie scooted a tiny bit closer to Mike, hoping she was still far enough away for polite society. Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to snuggle up under his arm, pressing her cheek against his chest. She sighed inwardly and pulled the purple shawl tighter around her shoulders. It would have to be enough for here and now. She could do this. It wasn’t that bad, honestly. She just had to mind her manners and everything would be fine.

They rode for quite a while. When they rounded a bend, deep in the park, Jamie spied a hound being walked by a uniformed footman. The dog was the same dark gray-blue as Baron but with a splash of white across its nose.