A Scandalous Past (Regency Romance, Book 4) (7 page)

“Yes, Higgins?” he asked with a raised
brow.

“Lord Clayworth, you have a
guest
,”
the butler replied as he shut the door behind him.

Another one? He’d never been particularly
social. When had he become so popular? “Well?”

“Lady Staveley is in the blue salon, my
lord, and she…” His voice faded.

Brendan shook his head impatiently. “Spit it
out, Higgins. She what?”

“W-well,” the old man stammered, “she’s
taken over. Ordering everyone about.”

With a sigh, Brendan shook his head. He
wasn’t remotely surprised. Whenever Caroline went anywhere, she
took over. “Well, that’s what she does, Higgins,” he replied,
dismissing his butler, and he started down the corridor. What was
Caroline doing
here
of all places? Didn’t she have someone
else’s life to manipulate and manage? Her pariah of a cousin, for
example?

Brendan opened the door of the blue salon,
and his jaw dropped open. The room was completely barren. No
chairs, no settee, no writing desk. The faded portraits had been
removed from the walls, leaving dark spots where they’d once
hung.  All that was left was an Aubusson rug and dull
draperies, which Caroline was examining.
“This will have to go too,” she said to a harried young maid.
Brendan didn’t know the girl’s name, but she was disheveled from
top to bottom, a weary expression across her rather plain face.

After the day he’d had so far,
this
was beyond the pale. Brendan stepped over the threshold and slammed
the door behind him, causing the glass in the windows to shake.
He’d never known such impertinence in all his days. What did she
think she was doing?

Undaunted, Caroline spun around to greet him
with a welcoming smile.

He glared at her, then nodded curtly at the
maid. “You’re excused.”

When the maid bustled out of the room,
Caroline beamed at him. “Brendan Reese, I absolutely adore
you!”

Caroline quickly crossed the room and threw
her arms around Brendan, hugging him tightly before releasing him
and grinning unrepentantly. “And to think I was so certain that you
would be the most difficult one in the bunch.” Words flew from her
mouth with lightening speed. “Even more so than Robert, and you
know how difficult
he
can be. I must admit, I was worried
about the situation last night—but you pressed forward, didn’t
you!”

“Caro—”

She paid him no attention and continued to
gush, “I did of course have an ulterior motive in calling you down
from Derbyshire, as you’ve probably realized by now. I was beyond
anxious when that awful scene broke out at my ball. And then when
Livvie said she was looking for a man like Kelfield… Well, I
thought for certain it had all been for nothing.”

“Caroline—” he tried again. 

“A man like Kelfield!  Can you believe
it? Nothing could be further from the truth. But you didn’t let him
have her, did you? Wonderful! Marvelous. You have exceeded my
expectations, darling! I knew at the end of last season she was
perfect for you. Not a shrinking violet. A girl that could hold her
own against
you
, when needs be. But when it seemed she was
about to be engaged to that naval captain, it broke my heart. Not
that he didn’t seem like an all right sort, but… Well, he isn’t
you
.”

“Caroline!” he bellowed. What the devil was
she going on about?

She blinked at him, a frown settling on her
pretty face. “Yes, darling?”

“What have you done to my salon?” That was
as good a place as any to start. After all, he was fairly
accustomed to her ramblings. Whenever she was excited, she always
gushed until she ran out of strength. Though he had no idea what
had her so giddy today.

Caroline’s hazel eyes twinkled
mischievously.  “Well, after visiting with Gladys Avery this
morning and she told me the wonderful news, I thought I would come
and congratulate you in person. A note is too informal, don’t you
think?”

Gladys Avery? A cold chill crept along
Brendan’s spine, as the reason for Caroline’s visit began to sink
in. “Too informal?” he echoed.

“I’m so glad you agree,” she gushed. “So,
that butler of yours, who is quite a disagreeable fellow by the
way, brought me in here after I insisted on waiting.  And
honestly, darling, if this is the best room in the house you have
for entertaining, you are in desperate need of a
refurbishment.  Stuffing was actually coming out of the
settee. Did you know that?”

He didn’t know that, actually. It was so
rare that he was in London, or that he entertained. But that was
neither here nor there. What the devil was he doing listening to
this anyway?  “For God’s sake, Caroline, you can’t go around
tearing people’s rooms apart.”

Caroline pouted. “I’m not tearing it apart.
I’m
fixing
it. If you’re going to entertain the Averys you
can’t do so in this room. It just wouldn’t do. And since Juliet has
so meticulously refurbished Prestwick Chase, I know just the right
people to help with this mess.” Her hands gestured in a wide
sweeping motion to encompass the whole room.

“It wasn’t a mess until you touched it… And
I have
no
intention of entertaining the Averys.” The less
he saw of them the better.

She pursed her lips. “Blast you, Brendan.
You
are
going to be difficult, after
all.”          

He raked a hand through his hair and began
to pace around the desolate salon. “What are you after, Caroline?”
he asked, though in his heart he already knew the answer. Caroline
Staveley liked nothing better than matchmaking. He’d watched her
over the years, always in awe at her abilities in this realm. She
rarely, if ever, failed.

“You need a wife, Brendan.”

There it was.

He groaned, stopped his pacing, and leveled
her with his iciest stare. “I had one, and I have no intention of
ever replacing her.” Honestly, with everything else he had to worry
about, the last thing he needed was to marry some girl. Not even a
girl who made his pulse race or his breeches embarrassingly
uncomfortable, though finding Miss Avery in Haversham’s arms had
certainly dashed a bucket of cold water on
that
problem.

Caroline crossed the room in just a few
strides, an understanding smile upon her face. “You don’t have to
pretend with me, you know. I remember Marina and I know what she
put you through.”

She was one of the few who did.  But
Brendan didn’t want to have this conversation, so he shook his
head. “Get my salon back the way it was, Caro. Settee missing its
stuffing and all.”

“Be reasonable,” she pleaded. “Livvie is
beside herself with worry for Cordelia—something she doesn’t need
at the moment. And—”

“I am not going to marry or even court some
foolish girl simply to put your cousin’s troubled mind at ease,” he
interrupted, narrowing his eyes on her.  Then he started for
the door. “I trust you can put this room to rights and then see
yourself out.”

Just as he opened the door, just as he was
almost free of her, Caroline’s words stopped him in his tracks. “I
don’t want her to end up like Flora.”

Brendan’s breath whooshed out of him. He
rarely thought about his sweet, naïve sister, ruined by a handsome
rogue, who lost her will to live once the bastard used her. After
the birth of her son, Flora didn’t have any fight in her, and she
simply withered away until there was nothing left of her. He
growled as he looked back over his shoulder at Caroline. “I’m not
Miss Avery’s guardian. She has brothers of her own.”

“None of whom are in Town. Gladys keeps her
locked up in Avery House. She won’t even allow her to correspond
with Livvie, for heaven’s sake. She is so convinced her daughter’s
future will be marred, she doesn’t allow her any freedoms at all.
But Cordelia is clever and determined. If she thinks that scoundrel
is her version of Kelfield, she’ll flee the nest and she’ll be
forever ruined, Brendan, and you know that as well as I.”

Cordelia Avery did seem intent on ruining
herself. He’d seen evidence of it with his very eyes. But what was
he to do about it? She wasn’t anything to him except a lovely
irritant. “I don’t meddle in other’s lives, Caroline.”

She crossed the room to his side, reaching
out her hand to him. “Haversham is fickle. He’ll lose interest in
her as soon as some pretty lightskirt crosses his path, but by that
time it could be too late for Cordelia.”

A muscle twitched in Brendan’s jaw. Miss
Avery was so full of life, just as Flora had been. Damn Caroline
for bringing his late sister into this.

“You took her riding in the park today. If
not to court her, what was your intent?” she asked, her hazel eyes
assessing him.

All he needed was Caroline looking into his
motivations.  He almost winced, but kept his features relaxed.
She would notice that, and he couldn’t risk the questions that
would surely follow. “She caught my interest last night,” he
replied honestly.

A relieved smile lit Caroline’s lips. “I
knew it. I could tell the way you looked at her when you danced.
Oh, darling, I will be happy to help. Whatever you need.”

“My salon back in its original state?” he
asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

She smacked his chest. “Not on your life.
It’ll be perfect in no time.”

Brendan rolled his eyes. At least he
wouldn’t have to think of Marina whenever he walked in here, and if
Caroline was busy refurbishing his salon, perhaps he could keep her
from paying too much attention to his
courtship
with Miss
Avery. There wasn’t a way around
that
situation. Not that
he could see anyway.

***           

Cordie stared up at the yellow canopy over
her bed. She still couldn’t believe that Clayworth hadn’t told her
mother.  Not that she wasn’t grateful—she was. She just
couldn’t understand it. He’d been so furious with her. Very
strange. What did he care anyway?

Was he serious about courting her?

Because she could never accept him. Perhaps
if she didn’t know how abysmally he’d treated Marina, perhaps if
she didn’t know he was incapable of affection, perhaps if Marcus
Gray hadn’t stumbled into her life… But she did know what an awful
husband he’d been, she did know he was cold and unfeeling, and
Marcus Gray had swept her off her feet. It was pointless to
continue worrying about Clayworth or spend any more time thinking
about him.

What she needed to do was focus on
Haversham. Correspondence was out. Her mother was already keeping
an eye on letters coming and going, preventing her any contact with
Livvie. The only time she’d been allowed out of the house without
her mother in the last three weeks was the ride in the park with
Clayworth. But Haversham was clever. Perhaps he’d think of
something.

He knew she was going to Norfolk. What if he
truly didn’t know what he’d do without her over the next fortnight?
What if he came for her? Would he rush her to Scotland? Her mother
would be scandalized by a Gretna Green wedding, but
she
would be Lady Haversham by that time. It wouldn’t matter.

A knock came at her door. Cordie sat bolt
upright. “Yes?”

Her mother bustled inside, wearing the
brightest smile Cordie had seen in a very long time. “You are the
luckiest girl, Cordelia.”

Silently she agreed, though for very
different reasons than she thought her mother did. She stared
blankly at her mother, intent on not giving anything away.

“I’ve never seen a man stare so intently at
a woman before.” She squeezed Cordie’s hands tightly. “I don’t know
what you did to capture Clayworth’s attention, but he appears quite
besotted.”

Besotted? She’d seen the look on the earl’s
face. He was angry and annoyed. Her mother was simply seeing what
she wanted to see.

“Mother, I-I don’t care for Clayworth. Not
one whit. You know how terrible he was to Marina. How could you
want the same thing for me?”

Lady Avery frowned. “Perhaps we were
wrong.”

Cordie leapt off her bed, scowling at her
mother. Of all the things she could say! “Or perhaps you’re
perfectly content with throwing me to the lions. I heard her with
my own ears, Mother. Marina was miserable with him. And I must say,
I see her point. He is void of emotion—”
if one discounted
anger
, “—and I will never accept him. There is nothing you can
do.”

Her mother’s lips pursed in anger.
“Cordelia, I have been too lenient with you in your formative
years. I see that now, but no longer. If—when—Lord Clayworth asks
for your hand, Gregory will accept him. And you will do your
duty.”

When
. Cordie scowled. She would
simply have to make sure he never offered, then.

“We are going to dinner at the Astwicks’,
and I’ll expect you to be on your best behavior.”

“The Astwicks?” They weren’t part of the
Averys’ set. The dowager was one of the most powerful women in
London, a dragon, and an idol of sorts to her mother.

Lady Avery’s bright smile returned. “Isn’t
it wonderful? Your association with Lord Clayworth has opened many
doors.”

Doors Cordie would be just as happy if
they’d remained closed. Clayworth. Did that mean the earl would be
there too? She didn’t think she could look at
him
again.

***           

Brendan walked into the Astwick drawing
room, quickly spotting Chet through the small crowd.  He
crossed the floor in a few strides and nodded to his old friend,
who had his arm around his wife’s waist. Chet beamed when their
eyes met. “So you’re being social after all.”

Brendan shrugged. “It’s so rare that your
mother sends a complimentary note, I didn’t dare refuse.”

Chet’s booming laugh attracted a few eyes,
but the other guests quickly went back to their conversations, all
of them accustomed to Astwick’s always too-loud demeanor. Hannah
smiled, stepped out of her husband’s embrace and touched her lips
to Brendan’s cheek. “Her ladyship is simply ecstatic about your
courtship. She says you were in mourning far too long.”