The Wicked Wager (22 page)

Yet Catherine had been aware of his
lucidity during the incident, and he was amused by her reaction every time they
chanced to meet.

She was mortified and wondered when she
would stop feeling embarrassed in his presence. Her face seemed to be
constantly red since his arrival. One horrid incident had followed another from
the day he had stepped into the house.

Things, instead of improving, had gone from
bad to worse. This last incident had done her in; she lost her courage and
could no longer meet his eyes.

Lord Raikes found her embarrassment
entertaining. He did not care for other women’s opinions and giggles, but
Catherine’s obvious discomfort amused him. He made it a point to search her out
and speak to her, inwardly laughing at her attempts to fend him off and her
comical stance every time she encountered him. She either stared at the ceiling
or examined her toes, looking anywhere but in between.

His mood improved as the day went by, since
all would be revealed within a few days, and he could openly court her.

He tried to make the best of their moments
together, learning as much as he could about her interests. He read more into
what she did not say than what she did.

Meanwhile, Emma behaved beautifully. It was
easier for her, now that she knew him better, to play her part of the devoted
fiancé. Whenever he entered the room, she fluttered her lashes and flirted with
her fan for the benefit of the watching household.

***

Lady Babbage approached Lord Raikes after
dinner.

He carefully wiped all expression of his
face as he engaged her in conversation. He did not have to wait long before she
asked him to join her on the balcony. Still pretending to be polite and unaware
of her reasons, he escorted her outside.

“You seem fond of Emma,” Lady Babbage said
as soon as they were alone.

“Yes, I care about her a great deal,” Lord
Raikes replied.

“When do you plan to marry?”

“When the duke gives us his blessing. I
came here to convince him to shorten the time period of our engagement.”

“I, for one, am glad he has given you so
much time to think things over,” she replied, her tone hinting at something
sinister.

Lord Raikes played along as he answered,
“Why would you wish for something so cruel? It cannot be kind to keep two
lovers apart. We both come from the right backgrounds, and no one would object
to our union.”

“I think my brother is an intelligent man
and he often has good reasons for the things he does.”

Up until that point Lord Raikes had not
believed the woman would actually stoop to trying to destroy a man’s life. He
had no doubts now as to her allusions. She was angry with Richard for defying
her in her request, and she wanted to bring him down rather than have her pride
crushed.

He had hoped she would feel some compassion
and give the earl some warning to leave the grounds for good, instead of
creating such a dangerous situation.

“I would like you to speak plainly,” he
said more crisply than he would have liked.

Lady Babbage paused at the tone, then
misunderstanding the reason for his anger, said, “I know how the long
engagement must irk you and of your impatience with the duke. But let me assure
you that had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it …”She
hesitated and then as if steeling herself said, “I thought it prudent to tell
you before things are too late. You still have a chance, and I think you are a
wonderful man and deserve better. Emma … she is having an affair.”

“I don’t believe it!” he exploded.

“She has him hidden away as the head
gardener. I am sure you have seen her converse with him a few times. I have
lived far longer than you, My Lord. I could tell something was not right the
moment I met him. I discovered that he is far younger than he pretends to be. I
am sure he is no older than you.”

“Nonsense! Why, that man must be sixty, old
enough to be Emma’s father.”

“He is a young man pretending to be a
gardener.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, injecting a hint
of doubt in his voice.

“Yes, I confronted him, and he as good as
told me that I was right. He pleaded his case with me. He does not have such a
strong standing in society as you, My Lord, and he was sure his offer would be
rejected. So he pretended to be the gardener to spend the last few months with
Emma before she got married.”

Lord Raikes wanted to laugh at the lies
spilling out of the woman’s mouth. He stared out into the darkness hoping his
face was too shadowed to read.

“I know how this must distress you, but it
is better you know now than when it is too late,” she said.

“What do you plan to do?” she continued,
wringing her hands together.

“Call him out,” he answered promptly.

“Is that necessary, My Lord?” She could not
keep the eagerness completely out of her voice as she spoke.

“It is the matter of my honour.”

“Would you not rethink, consider Emma?”

Very good acting, he silently applauded
her. He may have believed the woman if he had not been apprised of the
situation beforehand.

He controlled his grin as he curtly
answered, “Emma … I do care about her, and I truly find it hard to believe she
would deceive me so. I confess this whole thing sounds too fantastic. But if it
is true, then by god I want the man to suffer.” He wondered if he had overdone
his despair. He peeked at Lady Babbage and saw her nodding satisfactorily.
Pleased, he continued in the same tone, “But if I do approach him, then he
would be sure to take the coward’s way out and deny the entire thing.
Therefore, I want to catch them red handed so there is no way left for him to
escape.”

“It won’t be easy catching them. They are
extremely clever,” she said, getting annoyed.

“I am sure they will make mistakes. Letters
and meetings are easy to ferret out. They are unaware that I know of their
clandestine behaviour, so I have a fairly good chance.”

“If you cannot get any proof, then what
will you do, My Lord?” she asked irritably. She did not like waiting; anything
could go wrong. The stupid gardener may decide to flee, and she had still not
managed to uncover his identity.

“I won’t wait for more than a week. If I
can gather no proof, then I will simply confront him and be done with it.”

A week, she mused, was not long. In the
meantime she could go to the gardener and say she had a change of heart, and
she no longer intended to turn him in. Perhaps he would feel obliged to perform
a few odd jobs for her.

“You know best, My Lord,” she replied
politely, ending the conversation.

That night Emma and the Earl met Lord
Raikes in his rooms.

They laughed at his attempts to mimic the fierce
tones of an enraged lover he had adopted during his encounter earlier.

The earl got up and pulled Emma upright. He
held her hands and spoke in mock serious tones,

“My dear, I am a lowly gardener. How could
you choose me over
this
man,” he said, throwing Lord Raikes a disgusted
look. “I cannot keep you in luxury the way he can. Noooo … let me go … marry
him,” he said dramatically, throwing his arm over his eyes.

Emma giggled, and Lord Raikes said in a
bored voice, “You will not be rid of her so easily. She chose you, now you can
keep her. Do not try and fend her off to me, though I agree I am richer,
handsomer, and own a larger house.”

“I never said you were handsomer!” the earl
spoke in his normal voice.

Emma fell to her knees and proclaimed
theatrically, partly to divert the two friends from arguing, “My Lord … I mean,
my gardener, I would rather live with you in a tiny hut with roses and ivy than
with this rich, very handsome man … who I admit is a little handsomer than you
…”.

The earl growled, and she quickly
continued,

“I,” she said loudly, “would rather live
with the man I love than …” She clapped her hand to her mouth as she realised
what she had admitted. The earl stilled and searched her eyes. The two seemed
frozen in place.

Lord Raikes inwardly groaned. Did they have
to declare their love in his rooms? He tiptoed towards the door and slipped out
into the hallway.

“Em, did you mean it?”

“What?” she asked nervously.

“That you love me?”

“Do you?” she countered.

“Do you?” he shot back.

“You tell me first.”

“Fine, we will be all night at this
otherwise.” He kneeled down to her level and took her hands.

“I do love you, Em,” he said softly.

“I know,” she grinned and seeing the look
on his face quickly added, “I love you too, Richard.”

“Why did you not tell me before if you knew
how I felt?”

“I could hardly fail to notice it after you
gave up your comforts to be near me. I thought it was understood and did not
have to be stated.”

“I needed to hear it,” he admitted,
gathering her close.

***

Lord Raikes stamped his foot to ward of the
cold. He had forgotten to bring his robe along, and he had no idea how long it
would be before they recalled his existence.

He shifted uncomfortably, wondering what to
do. He decided to take a walk to warm up. Seeing the look on Richard’s face
when Emma had admitted she loved him had made him feel incomplete. He longed
for that love and surety of marriage.

He paused outside Catherine’s door and
stroked the wood. He knew he was in love with her. He could no longer deny it.
He had fallen in love the first time he had set eyes on her … he frowned in
thought … not love at first sight but surely at second sight, since originally
he had mistaken her for a maid.

A few more days of waiting, he thought
angrily. Yet he wondered if each day was adding to her hating him. The more she
believed he was spoken for and flirting with her for the fun of it, the more
she disliked him.

He had seen the growing confusion in her face.
He knew she was torn between her undeniable attraction towards him and her
brain that told her a rake like him deserved no respect, least of all her
heart.

Perhaps it was time to let her in on the
secret. He would speak to the earl and convince him, he decided. She had to be
told.

He did not want to wait for Emma to be
settled and invite her cousin for his courtship. That could take months. But if
she were told now, then he would have a few days to convince her that he was
serious and never intended to have anyone but her.

He paused as his thoughts were interrupted.
He looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar hallway. A door stood ajar,
and Lady Babbage’s voice floated out,

“Prudence, I am pleased you have found a way
to pay me. I confess I am surprised that you managed to do so. I knew the earl
or even the duke would not take you on as a mistress, so I wonder how you
procured the sum.”

“I have sold my mother’s diamond necklace.
The money will be here tomorrow. I sent a man to London today, and he should
return by tomorrow evening. I hope this is the end of it.”

“I did say this would be the last time that
I asked you for anything. Yet I cannot fail to point out that you will start
showing soon. How are you meant to hide that fact from the world? You can keep
my mouth closed, but others will not be so kind.”

“I have a plan, and it is none of your
concern, Lady Babbage.”

“I see, well, I will leave a note in your
work basket tomorrow night when everyone is abed to suggest a time and place. I
will return the letters to you as well when I have the money,” she said coldly.

“You are going to suffer for your deeds,
mark my words.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, it’s an observation. Now, goodnight.”

Lord Raikes softly retraced his steps. He
no longer waited for an invitation to enter his own room, but he did knock and
wait for Emma to put herself straight before he entered.

“I am sorry to intrude on such an occasion,
but I think you should hear this,” Lord Raikes said the moment he was let in.

“That is why she has been ill!” Emma said
shocked, after hearing the details.

“This is brilliant,” the earl said, and
then at Emma’s outraged look he hurriedly explained, “We need to get the note
out of the basket. That is the proof we need. We will meet after everyone has
gone to bed as usual, and then search for the note.”

“She may carry her basket to her room,”
Emma pointed out.

“Not if she expects Lady Babbage to leave a
note. Remember her walking in the corridors at night when we almost got caught?
She may have a habit of doing that to leave messages for her victims. She will
do that tomorrow, and Prudence will leave her basket somewhere other than her
room,” the earl said confidently.