Innocence (38 page)

“How were you wrong?”
 

“Lucinda didn’t have to marry in a hurry because Nathaniel was impatient or because the earl was worried Nathaniel would change his mind. It’s because she is with child.”
 

“Lady Lucinda is going to have a baby?”
 

Rebecca nodded excitedly.

“Apparently, she’s not cold and unfeeling like Eleanor at all, which makes me wonder if Eleanor is pretending also, but there’s no way of discovering the truth at present since she’s gone with Michael to Ireland. Although I’m sure she’s
feeling
the cold because of the dreary location, which is quite different to her
being
cold because she lacks feeling, if you understand my meaning.”

The thought of Nathaniel lying with the other woman out of passion was quite unbearable, and Lisa clutched her chest.
 

“But I didn’t think Nathaniel was fond of Lady Lucinda.”
 

“He’s not. He loves
you
. Any fool can see that. Which is why this is such wonderful news.”

“Nathaniel loves me, but he must marry Lady Lucinda because she’s with child, and you think that’s wonderful news?”

“Well, that’s what the earl
wanted
to happen and why he was pushing for the wedding to occur quickly to avoid disgrace. My goodness, Father was
not
impressed with his friend over that, I can tell you.”

Lisa felt faint.

“I would have thought he’d be more displeased with Nathaniel.”
 

“He’s not too happy with him either because he wasn’t willing to wait, though at least Nathaniel is trying to do the honourable thing.”

“By going to the King to ask permission to marry?”
 

“Yes.” Rebecca beamed. “But Father received word the King was indisposed with some ailment, so Nathaniel’s meeting with the sovereign has been delayed, which is when Father decided to go after him and try to change his mind. Nathaniel is quite determined, so we must hurry if we are to prevent him from making a terrible mistake!”

Lisa stared in dismay.

“Rebecca, it’s not a mistake. If Lady Lucinda is with child, then the honourable thing for Nathaniel to do is to
marry
her.”
 

By her calculations, Lady Lucinda must be fairly advanced in her confinement, as Nathaniel had not left Worthington Hall while she was in residence. Unless, of course, Lucinda had visited on an occasion Lisa wasn’t aware of, and she had taken advantage of the opportunity to seduce him.

Lisa’s anger roused towards her rival at the bitter thought, but then she reminded herself—
painfully—
Nathaniel must have played his part. His precautions clearly hadn’t worked in that instance.

“Lisa.” Rebecca spoke slowly, as if to a child. “Nathaniel can’t marry Lady Lucinda. She was wed to Mr Hornsby, the youngest son of Baron Wilmot, almost a week ago.”

“What?” Lisa startled. “Why would she do that?”

“Because he’s the father of her child, of course. It wasn’t as if the earl could pass it off as anyone else’s once the deception was uncovered.”

“Mr Hornsby is the father of Lady Lucinda’s baby?”

“Yes. He’s very handsome, by all accounts, but not at all suitable to be wed to the daughter of an earl. He’s not a lord, has only a very modest living, and was destined for the church, though I’m not sure if they’ll have him now.”
 

“Lady Lucinda fell in love with a curate?” Lisa’s words ended on a squeak.

“I’m not sure
love
had anything to do with it.”
 

Rebecca smirked, the expression reminding Lisa so much of Nathaniel she blinked in surprise.
 

“I don’t think Lucinda had any intention of ending up the wife of a prospective parson—not that Mr Hornsby seems particularly suitable for the role—or with child for that matter.
 

“Fortunately, Hugh was suspicious about the earl’s sudden insistence the wedding occur straight away. He and Nathaniel went to confront Lady Lucinda after discovering your true identity. She tried to deny there’d been any impropriety but eventually bowed to pressure and confessed all.
 

“Nathaniel was furious the earl was intending to pass the babe off as his, and Lord Gladstone had no choice but to release Nathaniel from his obligation. At the same time, he agreed to support Father’s political cause in exchange for Nathaniel’s and Hugh’s discretion regarding his daughter’s
in
discretion.”

Lisa’s mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out.

“Nathaniel doesn’t have to marry Lady Lucinda,” she eventually whispered.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
 

Rebecca smiled, though Lisa wasn’t quite ready to accept her words as gospel. In hindsight, it appeared the conclusions the girl had drawn from the snippets of information she had been told or overheard, and then written in her letter, were vastly incorrect. Lisa could not be sure the information she was currently imparting was any more accurate.

“How do you know all this?” she asked, suspicion and hope warring within her.

“Well . . .” Rebecca leaned in conspiratorially. “After you left, I began to ponder. Even though I was in the dark as to what had gone on between you and my brother, one thing was apparent. Gentlemen treat servants differently than ladies of our class. So I asked my maid, Agatha, to enlighten me. At first, she was reluctant to discuss such matters with me, but I can be very persistent when I want something, and she told me everything she knew, which wasn’t much. So I had the brilliant idea to ask one of the maids that you’d roomed with what she knew of such things, and she told me everything I wanted to know . . . and a few things I didn’t.

“Oh, Lisa.” Rebecca reached to pat her arm, her eyes shiny with tears. “I’m so sorry about the way my brother treated you though, in his defence, he did have that horrid footman who’d accosted you banished, and then he rescued you from that awful ruffian in the village, riding away with you upon his black stallion. I can’t say I blame you for succumbing to his charms after he behaved so gallantly. If I’d found myself at risk of violent death and Lord McGivern had rescued me in such a heroic manner, I’m not at all sure I’d have been able to resist him either, though I might be able to now I know what’s involved.”

Rebecca pulled a face, and Lisa felt a blush heating her cheeks. It appeared that whoever had been called upon to relieve Nathaniel’s sister of her ignorance—Lisa’s money was on Sally—had spared little in the telling.

“Yes, well.” Lisa stammered, needing a moment to compose her scattered thoughts. “What I need to know is how you came by your knowledge of Lady Lucinda’s news, and how you can be sure Nathaniel is free of both her and his obligations to the Earl of Gladstone?”

“I was at the wedding.”

“Lady Lucinda’s wedding to Mr Hornsby?”
 

Lisa was doubtful Thomas would risk his daughter being tainted by association to such a scandal.

“It was a condition of the earl’s continued support for Father’s political aspirations,” Rebecca said. “He’s probably hoping that having the Duke and Duchess of Worthington present at the nuptials, and allowing their daughter to stand up with the bride, will go some way towards buffering his reputation once news of the scandal becomes common knowledge.”

“But how did you learn of Nathaniel’s and Hugh’s visit to Lady Lucinda?”
 

Rebecca smiled smugly. “Having discovered what a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and information was lurking right beneath my nose, I asked my maid to talk to Lucinda’s maid and find out what she knew, and I can tell you, Betsy was a wealth of information.”

Lisa was tempted to ask if she didn’t rightly mean gossip, but as she was currently the grateful recipient of the most wonderful news—even if it came to her via a disreputable process—she refrained.

“So it’s true.”
 

“Yes, yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Nathaniel has been released from all obligations, and there is no impediment to Father getting that bill he’s so excited about passed through Parliament, well, other than all the lords, landowners, and politicians who are afraid it will be to their detriment if they can’t keep exploiting slaves and child labour. Plus there could still be a scandal if Nathaniel is disinherited, but there’s no need for that now, though we must hurry.”

“Nathaniel is free to marry?” Lisa interrupted Rebecca’s ramblings.

“As long as the King approves, which is why, as soon as I received your letter containing the astonishing news your mother was a princess and related to our very own sovereign—rendering your ineligibility irrelevant, I am sure—I rushed here to collect you so we could travel to London to stop Nathaniel from making an unnecessary sacrifice.”

Lisa’s smile faded. “Nathaniel has gone to the King to renounce his titles and heritage so we can be married.”

Startled by the noise of a throat being cleared, both girls looked up to see Lisa’s father standing in the doorway to the drawing room.

“Papa.” Lisa stood. “You’re awake.”

“And a good thing, too.” He arched a brow. “Lady Rebecca, I presume.” He bowed in Rebecca’s direction and she rose to offer her curtsy.

“Sir George. I’ve heard many wonderful things about you from my father. It’s so lovely to finally meet you.”

“Likewise, my lady,” he said politely, but Lisa could tell he was not to be diverted.

“Rebecca has come to visit me.” She stated the obvious, ignoring the outrageous fact the girl had done so without her father’s permission and with only her elderly aunt as chaperone.

“Indeed. Before we address that little matter, there’s a question I’d like answered. Why would the Marquis of Marsden deem it necessary to relinquish his titles in order to marry
my
daughter, a young lady with whom I’d been led to believe he’d not even passed the time of day?”

Chapter 34

Stipulations

“Anneliese?” her father repeated when the silence following his query lasted for some time.

“Well, it’s like this.” Rebecca answered for her, and Lisa shot her a grateful look, silently praying the impetuous girl would not say anything to complicate matters further.

“Nathaniel couldn’t help but notice Anneliese, and he subconsciously discerned she was a lady of quality despite her servant’s guise. Being a true gentleman, his protective urges were triggered, and he sought to keep her safe, though from a discreet distance while maintaining perfect propriety, of course.”

“Of course.”
 

Her father’s dry response did little to boost Lisa’s confidence.

“It’s true, Papa,” she said, defending Nathaniel’s original intentions towards her while ignoring their eventual outcome. “I didn’t want to worry you with such distressing revelations, but I’m afraid I encountered some
dangers
in my role as a maid and pastry chef. Nathaniel was determined to keep me safe. He endeavoured to keep things on a perfectly respectable level, well, respectable for a lord dealing with a servant, I suppose . . .”

“But he fell madly in love with Lisa,” Rebecca interjected. “And as soon as he heard she was not a commoner but one of our class, he went straight to the King to renounce his titles so they can marry.”
 

Lisa’s father frowned. “I thought you wrote to Anneliese that your brother was to marry Lady Lucinda Gladstone?”

“Oh, well, about that.” Rebecca looked uncomfortable. “I may have jumped to a conclusion or two, but I can assure you Nathaniel does
not
have to marry Lady Lucinda—she was married to Mr Hornsby a week ago, but that’s another story—and he has most definitely gone to London to see the King about relinquishing his inheritance.”

“So he can marry
my
daughter?”
 

Smiling broadly, Rebecca nodded.

“You’ve said nothing of this since your return, Anneliese. Has the man even proposed?”
 

“Before I left Worthington Hall, but I refused.”
 

“You don’t want to marry him?”

“No, I do!”
 

“But she didn’t want Nathaniel to have to give up his titles and inheritance on account of her not thinking she was suitable,” Rebecca said. “Lisa thought he had to marry Lady Lucinda to ensure the Earl of Gladstone’s support for the important bill my father is trying to get passed through the House of Lords—but he didn’t—and now we know that Lisa is more than suitable to marry Nathaniel on account of her mother having been a French princess, so we really must hurry to London to stop him from making a terrible mistake.”

Lisa’s father eyed them both for a long moment before speaking.
 

“Lady Rebecca, thank you so much for your elucidating comments, but now I think it’s time for me to speak with my daughter in private. Mrs Waters will show you to your room, as I’m sure you’d like a chance to freshen up after your long journey. We can discuss this further over dinner.”

“Of course, Sir George,” Rebecca said. “But I think I’d best go check on Great Aunt Mildred first. It’s probably time for her to wake from her afternoon nap, and she can be a little troublesome when she doesn’t know where she is.”