Her Secondhand Groom (11 page)

Lady Sinclair flashed her a knowing smile. “Girls, why don’t you introduce us to your companion?”

“
Oh, I’m sorry.” Celia walked over to Juliet and grabbed her hand. “Juliet, this is Papa’s friend Marcus, Lord Sinclair, and his wife, Emma, Lady Sinclair. They just married a few days ago.”

Lord Sinclair smiled approvingly. “Very good introduction, Celia, but now you need to introduce your guest to us.”

Juliet gave Celia’s hand a slight, reassuring squeeze. The day they’d come to stay at her cottage she’d determined all three of these girls were somewhat lacking in their decorum and manners. Not so much that they were little Heathens or anything, but they certainly could benefit from a few lessons.

“
Marcus, Emma,” Helena said excitedly, coming up to grab Juliet’s other hand. “This is Juliet. She’s our new mothern―”

“
Lady Drakely,” Lord Presumptuous cut in. He ran his fingers through his hair for what had to be at least the sixth time today, by her count, and cleared his throat. “This is the new Lady Drakely.”

“
It’s very nice to meet you,” Lord Sinclair said with a bow.

Juliet was too fascinated by the expressions on all three of the other adults in the room to do more than murmur a greeting to each of them. For a reason she couldn’t fathom, her husband of less than six hours looked rather uncomfortable, almost as if he were about to suffocate from an overly tight cravat. Lord Sinclair stood next to him, his eyes not quite meeting Juliet’s. His face was too scarred for her to be able to have a clear understanding of his expression, but if his eyes were any indication, something was amiss. To his right, his wife stood silent. Far too silent. The laughter that was previously in her eyes was gone.

Juliet’s eyes narrowed behind her thick spectacles. Was that a look of sympathy on the other woman’s face? She shook her head. Juliet might feel she was entitled to a bit of sympathy for her plight of being trapped into a marriage with Lord Presumptuous, but if even his friends thought she was in need of sympathy, she was in a bad way indeed.

“
Would you like to spend the afternoon with us, Emma?” Helena asked.

“
You mean, Lady Sinclair,” Celia corrected.

Lady Sinclair smiled brightly at the three girls. “Of course. And what exactly are you doing?”

“
Well, we just finished eating biscuits and now we’re going up to work on letters,” Celia told her proudly.

“
Indeed? And you would have me come join you?”

Helena giggled. “Yes. You may join us. But only if you promise you’ll not try to teach us anything.”

Lady Sinclair blinked at the little girl, the edges of her mouth barely staying closed. “I won’t. I promise.”

“
Good.” Helena turned to look up at Juliet. “Before Emma married Lord Sinclair she was our governess.” The sour look on her face told Juliet exactly what she thought about that particular arrangement.

Odd. The girls seemed to be apprehensive about Lady Sinclair, who, clearly seemed to be a close acquaintance, helping them learn their letters, but not Juliet. She mentally shrugged. Perhaps that was just because she was new and somewhat of a novelty to them right now. That would wear off soon enough and they’d be happy to have their regular governess back. “All right, girls, let’s go.”

The girls walked down the hall, giggling as they stepped past Lord Sinclair and their father. “I’m not intruding, am I?” Lady Sinclair asked.

Juliet smiled at the other woman. “Not at all. Actually, I’m thankful you volunteered to come. I’m from a large family, so I’m comfortable around children, but it’ll be good for them to have the company of a trusted friend as they become better acquainted with me.”

“
Very well.”

Up in the schoolroom, Juliet helped the girls hold their quills correctly and gave them instructions on how she wanted them to write their letters before she sat down next to Lady Sinclair.

“
He’s not always like that,” Lady Sinclair blurted.

Juliet didn’t know if she wanted to laugh at the woman’s blunt statement or sigh in relief. “How did you know he’s been acting beastly today?”

“
The way he cut Helena off earlier. He never does such a thing. It means he’s hiding something. What? I don’t know, but whatever it is, she knows and he doesn’t want her to tell you.”

Juliet blinked at the woman. “How do you know so much about him?”

“
Caroline.”

“
Who?”

“
Marcus’ cousin. Other than the late Lady Drakely, I’d imagine Caroline knows him best, excluding Marcus, of course.”

“
All right,” Juliet said uncomfortably, not sure what to do with that information.

Lady Sinclair sighed and bit her lip. “All right, I’ll tell you a secret, but you cannot pass it along to anyone else.”

Juliet nodded.

“
When Caroline was younger, she had the biggest
tendre
for Drake I’ve ever witnessed. She was only eight or so when he started visiting Marcus at Ridge Water. Anyway, every time he’d come by, she’d study him the whole time and tell me all about it later.” She shook her head and smiled ruefully. “I learned far more about your husband during those years than I cared to. But alas, Caroline was the sister I always wanted and listening to her wax on for hours about him really wasn’t so bad.” She frowned. “Although I must admit, I could have done without the weeks’ worth of tears she cried after he married Abigail instead of her.”

“
Well, if your friend still has that particular desire, she is more than welcome to come take my place,” Juliet said with a grin.

Lady Sinclair smiled sympathetically at Juliet. “She’s quite happy being married to someone else now. A better match for her, I’d say.”

“
Do you know anyone else who’d like the opportunity to be Lady Drakely?” There was really no reason for her to ask such an inane question, but she liked talking to Lady Sinclair.

“
I’m sorry. The only other person besides Caroline that I’ve known who wanted to marry him did.”

Juliet nodded slowly. Likely he was different back then, less haughty, perhaps.

Lady Sinclair reached her hand forward and squeezed Juliet’s arm. “I know he’s a little hard to approach at first, but give him time. He’s actually a very genuine and loving man.”

It was all Juliet could do not to snort at that statement. She doubted that man loved anyone but himself. She sighed. That wasn’t true, and it was very unkind for her to think such a thought. Though it was clear Lord Presumptuous had no real affection for her, she should not assume he had no great affection for his daughters.

A delicate cough caught Juliet’s attention. She looked over and met Lady Sinclair’s green gaze. “I know you’re not happy as things are right now, but I am. Caroline is and always will be my friend, but I’d like to think of you as a friend, as well.” She glanced away to look over at the girls for a moment. “I didn’t know the late Lady Drakely very well, but since our husbands are such good friends, I’d like us to be friends, too.”

Juliet smiled at her. “I’d like that very much.”

“
Excellent! Then as my new friend, you must start calling me Emma at once.”

“
Very well. And you must call me Juliet.” Even if her husband seemed a beast, he had made a good choice in choosing Lord Sinclair for a friend. She rather liked his wife and that was a welcome emotion under the circumstances.

Chapter 9

“
Has your brain crawled out your ear?” Marcus asked before the door to Patrick’s study closed.

“
No.” Patrick plopped himself down in the chair behind his desk as gracefully as a pig flopping into a mud puddle. He shot his friend a self-deprecating smile. “My brain is still lodged in my skull. The only difference is, it’s no longer functioning in the same manner it once did. Instead of making rational and logical decisions, it would seem its sole purpose has become to ensure my skull does not implode.”

Marcus shook his head. “What exactly have you done?”

“
Taken a bride.”

“
Yes, that much I already know.”

Patrick shifted to get more comfortable in his chair. “What do you want to know?”

“
Why did you marry that woman?”

Patrick blinked. Surely Marcus of all people would not be so superficial to see only Juliet’s not-quite-so-fetching looks. “She has a brain.”

“
Yes, something you seem to lack at the moment. Perhaps she’ll share hers with you.” He flashed Patrick a grin. “What I meant was why did you choose her?”

“
I already told you. She has a fine education,” Patrick said smoothly. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. “Besides, the girls seem to like her.”

“
Let me make sure I have this correct,” Marcus said, crossing his arms. “Since I last saw you―only a week ago―you have already remarried?”

Patrick nodded and brought his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers. “Unlike you, I don’t hesitate to marry the woman I want.”

Marcus winced at his words. “Are you actually trying to convince me you wanted to marry her?”

“
Of course.”

Marcus’ sharp grey eyes impaled him. “Why?”

“
I already told you,” Patrick said defensively. “Besides, what makes you think I should consult with you before I do anything?”

“
Because it’s becoming apparent you need to consult with someone before you make decisions.” He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. “That woman has feelings, Patrick. And I know you think your intentions are good, but they’re not and you’re going to hurt her.”

“
You would know all about that sort of thing, wouldn’t you?”

“
My actions are not for you to judge,” Marcus snapped. “And if they were, you’d realize what I was trying to do was with someone else’s best interest in mind. What you’re doing is completely self-serving.”

Patrick shook his head. “No it’s not. Actually, it’s one of those rare situations in life where everyone emerges a winner. My daughters get both a mother and a governess, and Juliet gets a husband. Not only does she get a husband, but she gets a title, a nice place to live, and a sizable amount of pin money. I fail to see how she got bamboozled in the least.”

“
She did.”

Patrick blinked owlishly at his friend’s firm tone. How could Marcus possibly think Juliet got swindled? “How so?”

“
Because you’re using her,” Marcus said flatly.

“
I disagree.” Patrick brought his tanned hands out from behind his head and folded them on his stomach. “She’s being compensated for her efforts.”

“
Is she? Then I suppose in addition to the generous salary you’re giving her, she’ll also be spending her nights in that little dusty room that’s positioned next to the schoolroom, and taking her evening meal there, too?”

“
Absolutely not,” Patrick said with a shake of his head. “She is still a viscountess. She’ll have her morning meal with me, then spend her day with the girls, and then rejoin me for dinner.”

“
And she’s game for this...this...” He waved one scarred hand in the air. “I can’t even think of a word for it, Patrick.” Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “She did know about this arrangement before she agreed to marry you, didn’t she?”

Patrick’s face heated with shame.

“
She didn’t,” Marcus concluded aloud before Patrick could comment. “And I always thought Alex Banks was the most obtuse man in existence,” he mumbled under his breath.

Patrick lowered his eyes. That was yet another way he’d made a hash of things with Juliet. The day he’d gone to talk to her father, he’d brushed her off in the hallway, then she’d come out to talk to him and― And what? His eyes narrowed. What
had
she come outside for? Something wasn’t right, but what?