A Baron for Becky (8 page)

Rose was
suddenly tired of polite circling. “I was saving so that I could
leave this life, start again in another place under another name.
But my last protector cheated me and stole from me.

“I do what I
must, Your Grace. Should I have killed myself when I was disgraced?
I had no skills anyone wanted to buy. I could play the piano, a
little; sew, but others were faster and better; paint, but
indifferently; parse a Latin sentence, but of what use was that in
my circumstances? Should I have starved in the gutter where they
threw me?

“Well, I was
not given that choice. Those who took me from the gutter knew
precisely what I had that others would pay for. As soon as I could,
I began selling it for myself, and I. Will. Not. Be. Ashamed.”

Her vehemence
did not ruffle the duchess’s calm. “We all do what we must, my
dear. I am not judging you. Men have the power in this world, and
women of the gentry are raised to depend on them for our survival.
But you must know that Aldridge cannot offer marriage to a woman
with your history.”

The mere
thought startled a laugh out of Rose. Marriage had never crossed
Aldridge’s mind. Of that she was certain. “His Lordship has offered
me a two-year contract as his mistress,” she said, “with very
favourable terms. If I accept, and if I save carefully, I will
never need to take a protector again.”

“Two years!”
The duchess arched a delicate eyebrow. “Aldridge seldom keeps a
mistress beyond six months. He must be utterly besotted.”

“He has no
thought of marriage,” Rose found herself reassuring the duchess.
“And neither do I. I like him, but do not love him, and I think
only love could make marriage tolerable.”

It was only
partly true. She could easily fall in love with Aldridge... was,
perhaps, beginning to do so already. That way, she knew, led to
heartache, for the duchess was right. Aldridge would never offer
her marriage, or even permanence.

The duchess
nodded, decisively. “You are wise. I think you will be good for
him, Mrs Darling—which is a ridiculous name. May I call you
‘Rose’?” Her Grace’s smile was a wonderful thing, another feature
her son had inherited.

“Would you...”
Rose had never imagined having such a conversation, but there was
something about this woman. Nothing shocked her, and she listened.
“Would you call me Becky? It is my real name.”

“Becky, then.
Becky, as long as you remember that you will never be accepted as a
fit mate for the future Duke of Haverford—which is a great shame,
for you seem to be a fine young woman, but we must live in the
world as it is—you and I shall be friends, and I shall support you
and little Sarah to find the new life you seek when Aldridge is
finished with you. He needs someone like you. He is not happy, poor
boy.”

That squashed
the nascent hope that the duchess’s sponsorship might mean she
could avoid accepting Aldridge’s protection. Still, it was a good
offer. Becky accepted the duchess’s outstretched hands. “Thank you,
Your Grace. I will do my best to make him happy.”

Chapter Five

When Aldridge and Rede
returned to the ladies, only Anne was left. Mama had carried Mrs
Darling off for a private interview. His alarm propelled him up the
stairs to retrieve her, but by the time he reached Mama’s room, she
was alone.

“I hope you did
not frighten Mrs Darling, Mama,” he grumbled.

What had Mama
said to Mrs Darling? What had Mrs Darling said to Mama?

The duchess
just laughed, patted his cheek, and told him he was a naughty boy.
“Now off with you, dearest, and let this old woman seek her
bed.”

Rose must have
gone to bed herself, for she was nowhere to be found, and didn’t
appear again until just before the duchess left in the morning.

Her Grace went
down the line, enfolding each of them in a perfumed hug.

“Take care,
now, Anne,” she said to the countess. “You must eat wisely and
exercise a little each day.”

“Let me know if
you hear from David,” she told Rede. “Jonathan always falls on his
feet, but I cannot help but be a little anxious.”

She hugged Mrs
Darling next, and Mrs Darling looked as surprised as Aldridge.
“Remember, dear,” was all she said, ratcheting Aldridge’s alarm up
another couple of notches.

Aldridge was
last in the line, Her Grace having farewelled the nursery party
upstairs.

“Do not look so
worried,” she told him, patting one cheek while she kissed the
other. He wished she would stop treating him as if he were twelve.
Though knowing Her Grace, that would be the point.

“Relax, dear,”
she told him. “The world is not on your shoulders. Have a little
fun.”

Her Grace might
be the only person in the world who thought his life wasn’t wholly
devoted to fun. Even his father, who had off-loaded almost the
entire work of running the ducal estates, continued to insist
Aldridge was a useless ne’er-do-well with no occupation beyond
enjoying himself.

Mind you,
Aldridge was, himself, at pains to project that impression.

How long would
Mrs Darling be fooled? Aldridge smiled. Not long, probably.

He waved off
his mother’s carriage. Right. Time to bring this long negotiation
to an end. With luck, they could be on the road tomorrow. His
promise to Rede did not extend beyond the boundary of Longford
Court.

“Mrs Darling,”
he murmured, as they went back up the steps to the house, “have you
made a decision? Will you accept my contract?”

Rede overheard,
and held back, letting Anne go into the house without him. “Mrs
Darling has asked me to look over the papers for her, Aldridge. You
don’t mind, do you?”

He was rational
enough to know he should not mind. If he’d met Mrs Darling in
London, and she had a bit of Town bronze, he’d be dealing with a
solicitor experienced in such matters, and would think nothing of
it. However much he would prefer his relatives stay out of his
business, Mrs Darling had a right to good advice.

“Of course
not,” he assured Rede. “I am willing to make changes, of course.
But I hope we can settle this today.”

Rede looked
pointedly at Aldridge’s fall and snickered. “This way, Mrs
Darling.”

Instead of
following them into the house, Aldridge crossed the porch to the
outside door of the estate office. It opened. Good. On the other
side of the room, an interior door let onto the study, and he
opened it a crack before Rede showed Mrs Darling to a seat.

“I have had a
look through,” Rede said, “and it is a fair contract, on the whole.
I would like to make a couple of suggestions, however.”

“Go on.”

“The contract
specifies a nurse for Sarah. I suggest changing that to a
governess. Anne tells me she is a bright little girl. You have been
teaching her yourself, I understand, and I expect you will
continue. But your time will be at my cousin’s disposal, and a
governess will provide structure and continuity.”

Aldridge
nodded. Perhaps Rede’s intervention was a good thing.

“Also,” Rede
continued, “as she grows older, you will want to hire other
teachers for particular skills. I suggest you broaden the bit about
teachers for you to include her.”

That was fair.
Aldridge had no objection to that.

“And I would
write in a clause that says you have the hiring and firing of
staff. You will know best what you want, particularly for Sarah,
and you will be more comfortable if they answer to you.

“The
town-house. Make sure you have the right to refuse one that is
unsuitable, and for God’s sake, reserve full control of its
decoration. I have seen Aldridge’s bedchamber in the heir’s wing at
Haverford House.” Rede lingered meaningfully on the word
‘seen’.

“What is wrong
with his bedchamber?” Mrs Darling asked. Aldridge wanted to know,
too. He’d spent a lot of thought and effort getting it just the way
he wanted it.

“It is clearly
designed for one thing, and one thing only,” Rede said. “And
sleeping is not that thing.”

Yes, true. And
none the worse for that, Aldridge thought.

“You do not
want your daughter to grow up in a fornicatorium,” Rede continued,
“if you will excuse my blunt language, Mrs Darling.”

“Decoration,”
Mrs Darling said, firmly. “Is there anything else, Lord
Chirbury?”

“It is a
two-year contract, and if you wish to leave early, you do not keep
the house.”

“Yes,” Mrs
Darling acknowledged. “That is fair, is it not?”

“Add a clause
to say, if he wishes to dismiss you early, you do keep the house,
and also any quarterly payments owed to the end of the term.”

Really?
Aldridge bristled. Whose cousin did Rede think he was? But on
reflection, it was fair enough.

Rede hadn’t
finished. “He has given himself right of renewal at the end of the
two years. Make that ‘renewal upon mutual agreement.’”

Aldridge
shifted uneasily and caught himself in the movement. Again, a fair
clause. And one that would not affect him, besides. He’d never kept
a mistress even a year, let alone longer, nor ever given one reason
to want to leave him.

“You have
written a note about... er... intimate services.” For the first
time, Rede sounded a little embarrassed.

“Yes. Aldridge
said he would not require... that is to say, I would have the right
to...”

“Yes, quite,”
Rede interrupted. “Mrs Darling, such a clause... it would be
unenforceable in law, you understand. Property rights are one
thing, but the courts would hold that anything Aldridge does to a
woman under his protection—mistress, wife, sister, or child—short
of causing serious bodily harm, is perfectly acceptable.”

At that,
Aldridge very nearly opened the door. He would never hurt any
woman, let alone one he had in his keeping. The idea! But Rede was
still talking.

“But you do
need not worry on that account. Aldridge, whatever you might have
heard about him, is a good man. I have never known him to break a
promise, nor deliberately hurt a woman or child. He is a careless
son of a devil, though. Don’t give him your heart, Mrs
Darling.”

“I have no
heart left, Lord Chirbury. But thank you.”

The two in the
study were silent after that exchange. Aldridge didn’t want Mrs
Darling’s heart, or anyone else’s. Having his lovers profess such
feelings left him embarrassed and slightly guilty, as if he owed
them an apology for retaining his own. Certainly, if he were
capable of this kind of love (and he rather thought he wasn’t),
he’d not be offering it to a woman he had purchased. He’d
cheerfully share the rest of his anatomy, though. One part, in
particular, thought it had waited long enough.

In the next
room, Rede said, “One last thing. Your name. The contract should
bear your full legal name, though I well understand your wish to
bear a working name while you are active in the
demi-monde
.
I think it unlikely in the extreme you will need to sue Aldridge,
but if anything happened to him, you might end up fighting his
father, and in that, you will need all the advantages you can
get.”

“Let us pray
that never happens,” answered Mrs Darling.

Aldridge should
have thought of that. He had no intention of breaching the
agreement, but Rede was right again. Life was a chancy thing, and
His Grace would spurn her without blinking an eye. Or insist on
taking his son’s place, the old
rouê
.

“Very well, if
you have no questions? No? Then we just need a fair copy written,
and you and Aldridge can sign before witnesses.” Rede pitched his
voice to carry a little further. “Aldridge? If you have finished
eavesdropping, how about joining us and writing out the new copy of
this contract?”