The Earl's Scandalous Wife (11 page)

Seeing little choice but to comply, she handed it to him.

“Thank you.  That’s not so hard, is it? 
Your husband won’t even miss it.” Before she could respond, he added, “I should take my leave.  I’m sure you have more important things to do than to entertain your brother.” With a smile, he headed for the door.  “I’ll send you a missive when I find something else I want.”

Her heart sank.  Of course, he would.  And now she was going to be obligated to give him anythi
ng he wanted for the rest of their lives.  She knew better than to believe he’d be content with five thousand pounds.  He’d be after her for a lot more than that over the course of his life, and the inkwell was just the beginning.

Chapter Eleven

It was a half hour later when the butler told Paula she had another visitor.  This time it was Agatha.  And even though Paula didn’t feel up to talking to someone else, she didn’t dare say no to someone in Perry’s family.  Turning from the window, Paula told the butler to let her in and asked him to bring more tea and scones. 

She went over to the settee and took the book over to the desk.  When she returned to the settee, Agatha entered the room.  “Good afternoon,” Paula greeted then cleared her throat.  “Will you sit?”

To her surprise Agatha sat on the settee and patted the spot next to her.  “I hope my husband wasn’t the reason Perry ran off in a hurry last night.”

“I don’t
think so,” she replied and settled onto her part of the settee.  “He said he was tired.”

“He could have been tired of Christopher.” With a sigh, she shook her head.  “I told Christopher to mind his tongue.  While I love him dearly, he has no sense of propriety when it comes to social situations, especially when it comes to Perry.  I shouldn’t have allowed the dinner party.  No good could have come from it.
  I hope Perry wasn’t too upset.”

“I think he was fine.  He only said he was tired.  He didn’t say anything about Christopher when we left.  Besides, I got the impression things were usually like that when everyone came together for a dinner party.”

“Well, I suppose they are.  I haven’t been married to Christopher for long, but every time he and Perry get together, Christopher seems to provoke him.”

“I told Perry he shouldn’t give in when he does that.  He’d be better off pretending none of his comments bother him.”

“Christopher has a way of pestering everyone.”

“Even
you?”

“Especially
me.  He kept at me until I agreed to marry him, and one would think it would have gotten easier now that he has me.”

Unable to stop the smile tugging at her lips, she asked, “What does he do to you?”

“He pestered me until I agreed to host a dinner party.  It wasn’t the only thing he’s done.  It’s just the latest.  He’s been moping around all morning because he never got a chance to talk to you.”

“Oh, there’s not much to say.” Relieved the butler returned with fresh tea and scones, she hurried to pour Agatha and herself a cup.  “Please, help yourself to the scones.”

Agatha thanked her and took a scone and the cup she held out to her.

S
ettling back on the settee, she took a sip of her tea as she thought over what to say about her past.  Up to now, Perry hadn’t pressed her for information, and she’d been careful to not say any more than she had to.  She figured the same course of action would be wise with Agatha.

“If you want to tell Christopher more about me, you can tell him that I grew up in the country with my parents and older brother. 
When my father died, my brother went to London and enjoyed a small fortune.” Granted, that fortune came from her father who left it to him for an inheritance.  Then he, in turn, saw it fit to send her and her mother to a small cottage and gave them such a small allowance, it was downright pitiful.  But she didn’t want Agatha to know that.  “When my mother died, he brought me here to London to stay with him.”

“That’s very nice of him.”

“Yes.” Or so it seemed until she realized he had wanted to arrange for her to marry a titled gentleman for financial gain.  “This is my first year in London.  I don’t know anyone.” Well, that wasn’t completely true but she felt no need to disclose that.  “So you see, there really isn’t much to tell.  I’m afraid Christopher will be disappointed.”

Agatha chuckled.  “Nonsense.  He highly esteems you.  So do I.  While I love my sister, she was foolish enough to let a gentleman as
noble as Perry go.”

“Was she the one who was engaged to him?”

“He told you about her?”

“Not much.  He only said he was engaged once but the lady married someone else.” As an afterthought, she said, “He bears her no ill will.”

“I know he doesn’t.  He blames that cane of his, which is silly.  It was her lack of wisdom that led her to elope with someone else.”

“Is she happy with her husband?”

“I hope so.  They left for Ireland shortly after her marriage.  I have yet to receive word on how things are for her.  But that’s of little consequence.  She was foolish to let him go, but fortunately, you were smart enough to marry him.  While other gentlemen merely want a wife to give them an heir, Perry desires a love match.  You can be sure that he wants you, not what you can give him.”

“He’s been very kind to me.  I have no doubt his affections are real.”

Agatha ate a piece of her scone and sipped more tea.  “You care very much for him, don’t you?”

“I do.  It’s hard not to love someone like him.”

“I like you.  You’ll be perfect for him.  He needs to know that his worth is based on who he is instead of focusing on that cane of his.”

Paula nodded when the familiar sound of footsteps and the tapping of a cane
on the hardwood floor outside the drawing room drew her attention to Perry who walked up to the doorway.  “Speaking of him,” she told Agatha as she smiled at him.  “Agatha came by for a visit.”

“It’s always a pleasure to see my cousin’s better half,” he greeted and bowed.

“There’s no need to be so formal with me,” Agatha replied.  “I was just telling Paula that I’m happy you two are married.”

He turned his gaze to Paula.  “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me
.”

Paula’s face warmed in pleasure from his compliment.  It was one thing for him to express hi
s sentiment when they were alone but in front of someone else, it seemed even more endearing.

“Well, I won’t keep you.” Agatha finished
her scone and tea then thanked Paula for a lovely discussion.

Once she left, Perry closed the distance to Paula who rose to her feet.  “I didn’t intend to interrupt your visit,” he said.  “I was going to say hello and then go to the library.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything.  She just came by to apologize about Christopher.”

“There was no need for her to do that.”

“I know, but it was nice of her to be so concerned about everything.”

“That’s how she is.  And patient to a fault since she can put up with my cousin.”

She giggled and kissed his cheek.  “Do you feel better?
”

He nodded and caressed the small of her back.  “Are you upset because I insisted we leave Agatha’s dinner party early?”

“No, but I was concerned about you.”

“You have nothing to worry about.  I was just tired, that’s all.”

“Does your cousin tire you?” she asked, wondering how much he wanted to tell her.

If he didn’t want to say anything, she couldn’t blame him.  Surely, he was entitled to his private thoughts.
  But even so, she longed for someone who would choose to confide in her, to share some private thoughts.  She’d fancied such a thing since childhood when she read books about close friends who trusted each other with their deepest secrets.

“Yes.” With a sigh, Perry turned toward the desk then stopped.  “That’s odd.”

“What is it?”

“I thought there was an inkwell on this desk.”

She didn’t know what shocked her more: the fact that he noticed it at all or the fact that he noticed it right away.  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she forced out, “Was there one?”

“I’m fairly certain of it.”

She held her breath, clasping her hands behind her back and digging her nails into her palms.  He walked over to the desk, and she watched as he opened the drawers.  As much as a part of her wanted to confess and plead with him to forgive her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.  Doing so would only lead to questions.  Why would she do that? he’d ask.  Because her brother was blackmailing her, she’d say.  But why would he do that? he’d ask.  Because he knows once you learn about my past, you won’t love me anymore, she’d say.  What could possibly be so terrible that you’d think I’d stop loving you? he’d ask.  And there was no way she wanted to answer that question.

When he finished looking in the last drawer, he closed it and shook his head.  “I don’t understand it.  I know I put it right there.” He indi
cated to the spot it had been earlier that day.

She swallowed then ventured, “What did it look like?”

“The base was made out of black marble with a gold trim.  The main part of it was made of crystal. It came with a black quill.” He picked it up and showed it to her.  “Here’s the quill.”

Why didn’t she think to hide the quill?  She
’d had plenty of time to do so.  Unsure of what to say, she shrugged, hoping he wouldn’t figure out what happened. “I don’t remember seeing that.” At least that much was true.

“Hmm…” He shook his head then set it back down.  “
I must have put it in the den and forgot.  With everything that’s been happening over the last few days, I’m doing good to remember anything at all.”

Offering a hesitant smile, she said,
“A lot has been going on.”

“I wouldn’t mind it so much except
it was a gift from Nate and Claire.”

“It was a gift?”

“When they had a son, they not only named him after me but they sent me this.”

She
glanced at the spot where the inkwell had been.  “That was nice of them.” So it’d not been just an expensive inkwell.  It’d been something with sentimental value.  She didn’t think it was possible to feel worse about giving her brother the inkwell but she did.  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’ll turn up
.  I’m sure I put it somewhere else and forgot about it.” He turned back to her.  “What would you like to do?”

She’d like to go to her brother’s and find something else she could give him to replace the inkwell, but there was no way she could do it.
  Not now.  She needed to do it at another time, a more convenient time.  “You’re always doing what I want.  Why don’t we do what you want?”

“I love going for a ride on a horse, and I have more than one to ride if you wish.”

“It sounds like fun.  Let’s do it.”

“We’ll both have to change into our riding clothes first,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye.

“You’re right.  Would you like to escort me to my bedchamber?”

“Actually, there’s something I need to tend to first.  Why don’t you go on up and I’ll meet you back down here?”

Nodding her consent, she left the room, eager to do whatever she could to make him happy.  And somehow—someway—she would get that inkwell back.

***

“What do you mean no?” Paula asked her brother the next day when she went to see him at his townhouse.

Stewart didn’t look
up from his desk.  “I mean no.  I didn’t think the answer was that confusing.”

She watched as he dipped his quill into Perry’s inkwell.  “But the one I bought is far more elaborate.  That one is trimmed in gold.  This one is made of gold.” She held the gold inkwell out to him
, but he refused to look at it.  Lowering her voice, she leaned toward him.  “Please, Stewart.  I need to get that inkwell back to my husband.  It was a gift from one of his friends.”

“A deal is a deal.  I want this one.  Not,” he pointed his quill at the gold inkwell, “that one.  You’ll have to return that
to the merchant you bought it from.”

She examined the inkwell in her hands.  The thing cost a good sum of money, a sum that she thought for sure her brother wouldn’t be able to resist.  “This is worth a lot more.”

“Oh, I disagree.  The one you gave me yesterday is much more valuable.  Why don’t you just tell your wealthy husband that you wanted me to have it?  A gift for your older brother is a nice gesture, after all.”

“But it wasn’t a gift,” she hissed.  “It was
compulsion.”

Looking up from the missive he was writing, he smirked.  “It all depends on your perspective.  You forced me into letting you marry someone I didn’t approve of.  How do you think I’m supposed to feel about that?  I was hurt.”