No Greater Love (29 page)

He burst into laughter. “I have—oh, believe me, I have.”

They had both forgotten about Marguerite, who had moved over to the window and was watching them, doing her level best to keep her face composed.

“I cannot understand it,” Georgia said. “You might have told me the truth and saved yourself a great deal of trouble and suffering.”

“No, I don’t think the truth would have done at all. It would have been a serious stumbling block in your courtship.”

“My courtship? What courtship?”

“Sweetheart, what in God’s name do you think the last four months have been about?’’

“I have no idea, save that you said you thought I was accustomed to poverty. Which I am, but your deliberately pretending to be impoverished is the strangest notion of a courtship I have ever heard.”

“Well, you have to remember I thought I was battling your love for a poor but handsome farmer. And you did say that my being poor made you more comfortable with me. You wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise to correct your mistaken assumption, and as I wanted to win you over sooner rather than later, I decided to use everything at my disposal. My strategy worked, didn’t it?”

Georgia considered. Little vignettes of their life over the last few months flashed through her mind: Nicholas balancing precariously on a ladder, calling something down over his shoulder to her about a dropped hammer; Nicholas, Raleigh at his heel, swearing fluently under his breath as he tried to dislodge his ax from the block where it had become stuck; Nicholas coming in soaking wet from yet another sojourn on the roof and presenting her with a scraggly bird’s nest as if he had been presenting her with the finest of jewels—which, as far as she was concerned, he had been. And there had been the expression on his face when she had presented him with his shirts, a look first of surprise and then genuine appreciation, this when he could no doubt have ordered as many shirts as he pleased from London. None of the struggling had been necessary and yet he had managed it all with good grace while constantly stoking fires and carrying water and battling with the elements. Would she have fallen in love with him so easily had she not had the advantage of knowing him in that way? Perhaps not.

“Georgia? Don’t tell me after the fact that it was all for naught. Oh, please don’t. I don’t think I could bear it.”

She smiled. “It wasn’t for naught in the least. I have enjoyed the last months in the extreme—save for your illness, but you couldn’t help that. I’ve loved working next to you, seeing our labors bear fruit, and the long winter nights, trying to keep warm in the sitting room, and all the conversations we had, and … oh, all sorts of things. And I think that perhaps you have enjoyed them too. You have, haven’t you?”

“I must confess, there has been something very satisfying about rebuilding this house with my own hands, raw or no. But I think it might be time to hand the hammer over to more competent workers and get on with other things. I do have a business I’ve been neglecting.” He ran his hand through his hair and regarded her carefully. “You have taken the news much better than I ever anticipated, Georgia. Are you truly sure you don’t mind about my not being impoverished?”

Georgia tilted her chin. “It is you I love, Nicholas, not your financial condition. If I could love you when you were impoverished, then I can just as easily love you now that you are rich. I do not think you have much faith in my ability to adjust. I am very flexible, you know. In fact, now that I have had a few minutes to think about it, there is no reason I shouldn’t be pleased that you have money to spend, for now you can lavish it on the house, and we can buy a much larger assortment of plants for the gardens, and maybe even some furniture. We can turn the library into your study, and you will have a nice private place to sit and do your business—Nicholas, what
is
your business?”

“Export,” he said, his gray eyes alight with laughter.

“Oh. You will have to tell me all about it … Good heavens, Nicholas—Binkley! Oh, poor Binkley. Really, you have been most unfair to him, forcing him to live like this for my sake. He does have his standards, you know. I shall have to apologize to him.”

Nicholas grinned. “Oh, don’t do that. Binkley would be most upset. God, how I love you, sweetheart. I’m still not sure how I ever became so damned lucky as to find you.” He took her chin and was just bending his head to kiss her when he was distracted by a discreet cough and glanced over to see Marguerite gazing out the window. “Oh, good Lord. I beg your pardon, Marguerite. I quite forgot you were there.”

“I can understand why you might have. Please, do not concern yourself in the least. I found the period of your forgetfulness most illuminating.”

“Illuminating?” he said dryly. “I should think it would have been the exact opposite. But allow me to introduce my wife. Georgia, Lady Clarke.”

“What a delightful surprise,” Marguerite said with a smile. “Your husband is an old friend of my husband’s family. I am pleased to see he is so happy in his marriage.”

Georgia blushed. “You must think our situation most peculiar.’’

“I think the situation is one of the most enchanting I have ever come across. I am a great devotee of love matches, having made one myself. But this marriage positively shines with originality, and as I am also a great admirer of originality, I am doubly enchanted. Nicholas, you really must bring your wife to London. Not only is she a beauty, she is unaffected. Jacqueline would spit with fury, for Georgia is bound to be an instant success, and all of Jacqueline’s rumor-mongering would instantly be dispelled.”

“Marguerite, I have told you, Georgia is not interested in—” Nicholas began, but Georgia interrupted him.

“I beg your pardon, Nicholas, but I would like to speak for myself,” Georgia said, turning to Marguerite. “I did not mean to eavesdrop, for I am forever scolding Nicholas’ cousin for the practice, but I overheard what you said about Lady Raven and the stories she is spreading about Nicholas. I do not know what they are, but I do know what she is capable of, for I spent nearly a year in her employ, and she can be very vicious. I cannot stand by and let her once again drag Nicholas’ name through the mud, most certainly not on my account.”

“Georgia, it is
not
on your account,” Nicholas said with frustration.

“Even if it is not, if I can help by going to London, then I shall. But I am afraid I have no proper education in such matters, Lady Clarke. You have already seen how appalling my manners are. I would not want to do Nicholas any more damage.”

“Your manners are charming, and as I said, unaffected. I find you infinitely refreshing, my dear Georgia. And if you decide to come up to London, then I shall be more than happy to help you in any way that I can, not that I can see anything that needs improving.”

“Oh, but there is, for I am not the least respectable! I fear making a terrible fool of myself and embarrassing Nicholas. But thank you so much for offering to help me. Between yourself and Nicholas and Binkley, I should find a way to manage.”

“And who is this Binkley I keep hearing about?”

“My manservant,” Nicholas said. “And before you throw yourself headlong into this foolish scheme, Georgia, I must caution you, the situation is a great deal more complicated than you realize. You have no idea what you would have to face. If you thought Christmas services were bad, London during the Season would be a hundred times worse. I will not put you through that.”

“I am much stronger than you think, Nicholas. And if Jacqueline is saying damaging things about you, then you must stand up for yourself. Furthermore, it would be better if I was at your side while you do it, for I will not have it said about you that you married a … a whore. I won’t, for it only damages your reputation more.”

“Georgia—”

“I can do anything I set my mind to, and if I set it to being a lady, then that is what I will be, even if I wasn’t born to the part.”

Marguerite clapped her hands together. “Bravo, my dear! An excellent speech! You see, I knew you had fine judgment, Nicholas. I believe you may have outdone yourself in your choice of wife. What say you now?”

“I say that I stand firm in my position. I will not drag Georgia through a bed of scandal.”

Georgia stubbornly dug in. “Nicholas, look at what you have already gone through because of that dreadful woman. And it is no good using me for an excuse, for I am more than willing to help you.”

“Georgia, I don’t want your help in this. For the love of God, can’t you see that I’m doing everything I can to keep you out of it? Jacqueline has already done you enough damage. I will not see her hurt you any more.”

“And can’t you see that she hurts me by hurting you? Nicholas, you are the bravest man I have ever known, and you have fought many difficult battles and won. Why do you shy from this one?”

“It is a very good question,” Marguerite said. “Have you an answer for us?”

Nicholas raked his hand through his hair with a noise that sounded remarkably like a smothered curse.

“Nicholas?” Georgia echoed.

“It’s a damned conspiracy,” he said. “One would think the two of you were working together.’’

“Not working together,” Marguerite said, “but we both care about you. Nicholas, I only came down because I could not bear to see my sister start up the same old stories and create new ones. My intentions were to warn you and to discover the truth of the matter for myself.”

“Your
sister
?” Georgia said, appalled. “Lady Raven is your sister?”

“She is, and I have no more liking for her than you, so you needn’t worry in the least about offending me. However, you told me a story earlier on the verge of the road when neither of us realized the identity of the other. Now that I know your connection to the family, I find myself greatly disturbed. I am correct in believing the man in question is Lord Raven?”

Georgia bit her lip, knowing what was coming. “Yes. You are correct.”

“And the person you suspect of mischief is my sister, is it not?”

Georgia bowed her head.

“And so. It is as I thought. Please, my dear, do not feel bad. I admire you for your concern. And if you are correct, then a very great mischief has been done indeed, and must be corrected.”

“Georgia, what is this?” Nicholas asked, his voice suddenly sharp.

“I met Lady Clarke earlier,” she said. “I was gathering herbs for your uncle, and as she expressed an interest, I told her I was seeking a remedy for monkshood. It is a poison, Nicholas. According to Mr. Jerome, your uncle has been ingesting it since the onset of his illness.”

“Sweet Christ,” Nicholas whispered, the blood leaving his face. “She’s been poisoning him?”

Georgia gripped her hands together, feeling terrible. But she could not deny the facts. “Mr. Jerome was very clear on the fact that Jacqueline had prescribed your uncle’s medicinal tisane and mixed it herself. Perhaps her inclusion of a pinch of monkshood was intended as a cure.”

“Jacqueline would know its poisonous properties well enough,” Marguerite said as calmly as she could manage.

“Oh, dear God in heaven,” Nicholas said. “But why? Why would she do such a thing? She surely wouldn’t want him dead, for then all control of the properties would pass away from her to Cyril.”

“But you must understand that it’s not a large enough dosage to kill. Only a tiny amount, enough to incapacitate. I could not convince Mr. Jerome to let me offer another remedy. Jacqueline has him convinced her tisane is keeping your uncle alive, and his first loyalty is to Lord Raven.”

“How could she do such a spiteful thing!” Nicholas said furiously. “The poor man—poisoned by his own wife!”

“I have always wondered,” Marguerite said, thoughtfully tapping her mouth, “whether Jacqueline had not had a hand in her first husband’s death.”

“Oh, surely not!” Georgia said, shocked.

“I have no actual proof, and I have never mentioned my suspicions to another soul, but you must understand how angry and bitter she was about her marriage.”

“He was a wealthy tradesman, was he not?” Nicholas asked, frowning.

“Yes, and a great deal older than she. It was an illadvised marriage, and loveless.”

“Was she forced to it?” Georgia asked, thinking of herself and Baggie.

“Oh, no. It was her own choice. She thought to escape what she considered the shackles of her family. Jacqueline married Francis Humphrey because she thought she would rise in the world. It did not happen as she had anticipated.”

Nicholas ran his hand over the arm of his chair. “Do enlighten us some more, Marguerite,” he said, examining his fingertip as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

“You must remember that we grew up under straitened circumstances, Nicholas. Jacqueline always felt deprived of what she saw as her correct position in life.’’

“She was lucky that your father managed to get you out of France at all,” Nicholas said tightly. “As I remember hearing, it was an extremely close call.”

“Yes, it is true. And I am fortunate, for I was too young to remember, whereas my sisters could never forget. Perhaps that was part of the trouble with Jacqueline. She never forgot for a moment what it had been like being the daughter of the respected Comte de Give, living in a grand chateau with many servants, beautiful clothes, plentiful food. But here in England there were so many refugees, and without money, a title meant nothing. Our father lost his health, and our mother supported us by working. We lived above the shop and we all helped out. But Jacqueline resented having to work at all, and she made life very difficult for everyone.”

“Why do I find that so very easy to believe?” Nicholas said. “Was there ever a time that Jacqueline didn’t make life difficult?”

Marguerite smiled and shrugged. “Not that I can remember, but my father said the de Gives always bred true and she was the image of
grand-mere.
I don’t believe he meant it as a compliment. We tried to get along, but Jacqueline never failed to find something to complain about, or some way of taking out her petty jealousies, especially on our sister, who had the misfortune to be beautiful and also blessed with a sweet temperament. Jacqueline did not grow into her looks until later, and was awkward and bad-tempered as a child, so it only made the situation worse. At least I was young enough that Jacqueline usually ignored me. She never considered me competition.”