To Catch a Countess (27 page)

“Wake up, Victoria.”

No answer.

The thought of touching her revolted him, but he had no choice. Alexander reached out and shook her shoulder. “Wake up, Tory.”

Her fabulous blue eyes opened. The smile he’d grown to love appeared on her face. “Come to bed, husband,” she murmured, her eyes closing in sleep again.

She’s drunk. His faithless wife was drunk.

*    *    *

“Wake up.”

Victoria heard the voice as if from a great distance. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and then instantly closed them again. The brilliant sunlight streaming through the window blinded her.

“Wake up, I said.” The insistent voice spoke again. Definitely irritated.

Victoria rolled over, opened her eyes, and saw Alexander. She gave him a drowsy smile. “Good morning, husband.”

Alexander stared at her. His grim expression registered in her sleep-befuddled brain.

Victoria sat up and stared back at him. Her husband looked furious. She had no memory of him arriving at the Philbin house, but he must have been there because she was home in her own bed.

Her own bed. Not her husband’s bed, where she always slept.

Was Alexander angry because he had discovered her embarrassing secret? Would he still want her now that he knew she was hopelessly stupid? Did he fear their baby would inherit her disability?

“Get dressed and come to my study,” Alexander ordered.

“Are you angry because you’ve discovered my secret?” Victoria asked, her bottom lip trembling as she struggled against tears.

His right cheek muscle began twitching.

“I can’t help what I am,” Victoria said in her own defense.

His left cheek muscle began twitching.

“Bring your cloak and your reticule,” Alexander said, turning to leave.

“Are we going out before breakfast?” she asked, confused.

“You are going out before breakfast,” he answered, and stalked out of the chamber.

Her husband’s behavior frightened Victoria. Was Alexander infuriated by her stupidity? She should have confessed it before the wedding, but he needn’t fear being embarrassed by her. She hadn’t told anyone about her need for reading lessons. No one but her aunt and her sisters knew of her handicap.

Victoria rose from the bed and dressed. As instructed, she grabbed her reticule and cloak. She had better get this interview over with so they could make peace and resume their lives.

Victoria walked into the study and stopped short. Her male relations—Duke Magnus, Robert, and Rudolf—stood there. All three had censure stamped across their features.

“What is happening?” Victoria asked, giving her husband a confused smile. Why had Alexander sent for her relations? What did he expect they could do about her problem?

“Your family has come to take you away,” Alexander announced. “You are no longer welcome in my home.”

Victoria stumbled back. She felt as if he had kicked her stomach and knocked the breath from her body. “You are making me leave my own home?”

“My home,” Alexander corrected her. “I am suing you for divorce, and if you have the sense of a flea, you will not contest it.”

“Divorce me on what grounds—stupidity?” Victoria asked, her whole body trembling.

“Adultery.”

Victoria gasped and, her hand flying to her breast, fell back two paces. She couldn’t credit what he’d said. “I never did that. How could you think—?”

“I found you naked in another man’s bed,” Alexander said, cocking a brow at her. “I read your lover’s note making the arrangements.”

“You sent me a note to meet you at the Philbin house,” Victoria said, grasping his forearm.

Alexander looked down at her hand and raised his gaze to hers. Victoria read the revulsion in his expression and dropped her trembling hand.

“You met your lover there,” Alexander said. “You carry my child in your body, yet you willingly—” He broke off as if unable to speak the words.

“Listen to me,” Victoria said.

“Enough!” Alexander shouted, cutting her words off.

“Please, Alex, I beg you to listen to me,” Victoria pleaded, tears streaming down her face, dropping to her knees in front of him. “Don’t do this. I love you.”

“Get her out of my sight,” Alexander said to the others, though his voice cracked with emotion.

“What about the girls?” Victoria cried, clutching his legs.

“You are unfit to be anyone’s mother.”

A shriek of unspeakable pain escaped Victoria, doubling her over, sending her brothers-in-law rushing forward. Prince Rudolf reached her first and lifted her into his arms. “Emerson, you are a very great fool.” He walked out the door, carrying his sobbing sister-in-law.

“Venetia is behind this,” Robert said to the earl. “I told you—”

“My sister had nothing to do with my pregnant wife giving herself to another man,” Alexander said. “You speak about Venetia as if she were Satan’s handmaiden.”

“Perhaps she is,” Robert snapped, and walked out of the room.

“Victoria is innocent,” Duke Magnus told the earl. “Whoever engineered this is now living on borrowed time, and as soon as he breathes his last, I will call you out as well.” Then he quit the study.

*    *    *

Hours later, Victoria lay on her bed in her old chamber at the duke’s mansion on Park Lane. She had lost Alexander and the girls. All she had left was her unborn child. Would the babe bring Alexander back to her? Or, at least, make him listen to her explanation?

Wearily, Victoria rose from the bed and donned her robe. She took the note she had received and the note she had written from her reticule. The time had come to face her uncle and her brothers-in-law. They were waiting for an explanation.

Victoria walked down one flight of stairs to her uncle’s office and took a deep, calming breath before knocking. For the first time in her life, she would reveal her stupidity to others. What she had tried to hide had brought her to this sorry moment.

Hearing the duke’s call, Victoria walked into his office. The prince rushed across the room and helped her to the chair in front of her uncle’s desk.

Thankfully, Aunt Roxie sat there, too. Her aunt could verify her stupidity.

“Uncle, you must make Alexander listen to me,” Victoria said, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. “I never did what he said.”

“Alexander is too angry to listen,” Duke Magnus told her. “When time passes, he will be thinking more clearly. Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know what happened,” she said, stifling a sob.

“Were you at the Philbin house?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you go there?”

Victoria glanced at her aunt, who nodded at her to tell them everything. A sob escaped her at the thought of confessing what she had hidden her whole life. What else could she do? She would rather lose her pride than her husband and step-daughters.

“I went to the Philbin house because I am . . . stupid,” Victoria admitted, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “Aunt Roxie can verify this. I cannot read, write, or cipher. The letters and numbers get jumbled inside my head. I felt ashamed to admit my problem to Alexander and wanted to improve myself before I told him. I begged the Philbin brothers to teach me secretly. Both brothers were there for each lesson except yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, child. Revealing your problem must be difficult,” Duke Magnus said, “but your problem does not explain your nakedness in another man’s bed.”

“I received this note but couldn’t read it,” Victoria told him, passing it to him. “Diana Drummond offered to read—”

“I knew Venetia was behind this,” Robert said.

“Let Tory finish,” Duke Magnus said to his son.

“I thought Alexander had somehow learned about my problem,” Victoria continued, watching the duke pass the note to the marquess and the prince. She gave her uncle a second note. “I wrote this for Alexander while Barnaby made me tea.”

She couldn’t control a sob when the duke winced at her writing. Even worse, he handed the note to the prince and the marquess.

“Go on,” the duke said.

“The tea made me drowsy,” Victoria said. “Barnaby suggested I lie down in the next room, and he would call me when Alexander arrived. If you don’t believe me, ask Barnaby.”

“The Philbin brothers have left town,” Duke Magnus told her.

Victoria wrapped her arms around her middle, hung her head in defeat, and wept. She had never felt more miserable in her life.

“Alexander will listen to reason once he calms,” Duke Magnus assured her. “Besides, I have more influence than your husband. My friends at King’s Bench could delay a divorce proceeding for months. I think I can persuade them to give us an informal hearing before they consider adultery charges. That would give you a chance to explain yourself to Alexander.”

“Someone set a trap to make Tory appear unfaithful,” Prince Rudolf said. “Apparently, Barnaby Philbin helped whoever it was.”

“Venetia and her sister-in-law conspired against Tory,” Robert said. “No one will ever convince me otherwise.”

“The widow wants Alex for herself,” Victoria said. “Venetia and she will use this time to poison my husband against me even more. What will happen if he won’t listen or doesn’t believe me?”

“I’m sorry, Tory, but I believe being prepared for the worst is wise,” Duke Magnus said. “According to the law, your baby belongs to his father. No doubt Alexander will take the baby away, and society will shun you for the rest of your life.”

Victoria burst into tears again and needed her aunt to help her upstairs.

Chapter 13

There was a hole in her world where Alexander had stood.

Victoria passed the first miserable week in bed, unable to face her empty existence. She alternated between sleeping, weeping, and wondering what her husband and stepdaughters were doing.

During the second week, Victoria roused herself enough to dress. She walked like a sleepwalker through lonely days, her mind traveling through space to journey from Park Lane to Grosvenor Square.

Several times she had almost asked Tinker to read her the
Times
gossip column. Fear of learning her husband had Diana Drummond by his side had kept her from making the request.

On the fourteenth morning after her banishment, Victoria decided to visit Alexander. Sufficient time had elapsed for him to calm himself. Her husband might be more amenable to listening to her explanation.

Victoria donned her black woolen cloak. After pulling the hood up to cover her red hair, she left her uncle’s house. The chill in the air announced the end of autumn. A brisk wind blew dead leaves across her path, and branches showed as stark silhouettes against a dark gray sky.

The gloominess of the November day drained the optimism out of her. The closer Victoria got to Grosvenor Square, the more pessimistic her outlook grew.

Was seeking out her husband the correct course of action? Should she wait until he asked for an explanation? If she waited, would he ever ask for one? Or would he divorce her and take her baby?

Alexander had never cared for her. He only agreed to her aunt’s proposed match to make up for Charles Emerson’s crimes against her family.

Victoria stared at the mansion as she neared it. Reaching the front stairs, she lost her courage and decided that appearing nervous would not help her credibility. Victoria tried to calm herself by walking down the alley that bordered the rear garden.

And then she heard the sound of little girls giggling. Darcy, Fiona, and Aidan were playing in the garden.

The irresistible sound of their laughter drew Victoria like a magnet. She entered the garden through the rear gate and stood in silence watching them. The three nannies sat together on a stone bench and stared at her, apparently uncertain of what to do.

“Mama Tory,” Darcy shrieked, and dashed across the garden. Fiona and Aidan ran two steps behind her.

Victoria knelt to receive their hugs. She drew all three girls close within the circle of her arms.

“I missed you,” Darcy said.

“I missed you, too,” Victoria told her. “I missed all three of you.”

“Where did you go?” Darcy asked.

“I’m staying with Aunt Roxie because she’s been ill,” Victoria lied.

“Will she die?” Fiona asked.

“No, Aunt Roxie will soon recover.”

“I’m happy,” Aidan whispered. “I love Aunt Roxie, but I love you more.”

Again, Victoria clutched all three protectively to her breast. Wondering if she should enter the mansion by the garden door, Victoria raised her gaze to the window of her husband’s study, and her heart sank to her stomach.

Diana Drummond stared down at her.

The garden door crashed open, drawing her attention. Wearing a grim expression, Alexander marched in her direction.

Victoria stood to face him and knew that coming here had been a mistake. She forced herself to smile. “Alex, I—”

“Come, girls.” Ignoring her, Alexander ushered the three little girls away from her. “Your nannies will take you inside for cider.”

Her husband didn’t want her near his daughters. She was carrying his child, and he acted as if she were a leper. He had treated his three former mistresses with more respect.

“Alex, you said a husband and wife belong to each other, no matter what,” Victoria said, following him across the garden. “I must speak with you.”

After his daughters disappeared inside, Alexander turned the full force of his displeasure on her. “You are trespassing on private property,” he warned her. “The nannies will be instructed to take my daughters inside if you show yourself here again.”

“Please, Alex, I beg you to listen to me,” Victoria pleaded, beginning to weep.

“Speak to me through my barrister,” Alexander said, and slammed the door in her face.

Stunned by his vehemence, Victoria stared at the door for a long time. Finally, she turned away and left the garden.

*    *    *

Five excruciatingly long weeks passed. Five months pregnant, Victoria had begun to feel her baby’s movement, especially at night when she lay in bed. Each time she felt that fluttering, the baby banished the loneliness from her heart for just a little while, and she wished her husband could share the moment with her.