How to Plan a Wedding for a Royal Spy (19 page)

Will bowed. “Indeed. I will call on Lord Reese first thing in the morning, if that meets with your approval.”

“No, that's ridiculous,” Evie cried, jumping up from the sofa. Eden pulled her back down and commenced whispering to her in an urgent tone.

Beaumont once more came to life, heaving a great sigh. Will didn't think he could ever like the man, but now he felt a reluctant sympathy. There was no doubt he cared for Evie a great deal. Not only had he suddenly lost her, he'd just been thoroughly and publicly humiliated.

With immense dignity, Beaumont walked over to the chaise. Evie looked up at him, her face chalk white. Tears trickled from beneath her spectacles.

“Evelyn, I must ask you a question,” he said in a gentle voice. “And I beg, like your mother, that you tell me the truth.”

She sucked in a breath and nodded. Will's gut pulled tight at the dawning of hope on her wan-looking features. Surely she didn't still want to marry the man, not after what had just happened?

“Ask me anything,” she said.

Beaumont paused for a moment, as if collecting himself. “Are you in love with Captain Endicott?”

Evie's mouth dropped open. Clearly, that had not been the question she was expecting.

“Evelyn, I need your answer,” Beaumont gently prompted after several long seconds of tense silence.

She glanced at Will, looking both flummoxed and distraught. He forced himself to remain impassive, not letting her see how much he wanted her to say
yes
. She had to make this decision for herself. He would
not
press or force her.

In truth, he didn't have a clue what he should say anyway, even if she did want his guidance. The entire situation was the biggest mess he'd ever found himself in, including being captured by the French back in the Peninsula.

Evie blinked a few times and then looked back at Michael. “I . . . I don't know how to answer that,” she said.

Beaumont's head bowed for a few seconds, then he gave her a small, sad smile. “You just did, my dear. Evelyn, allow me to express my undying loyalty and respect. I will always honor our friendship, and I hope you will do the same.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he turned to Will. “Captain Endicott, let me be the first to congratulate you. I only hope you truly deserve so fine and noble a lady as Miss Whitney.”

That gracious response stunned Will into silence. He managed a bow, although he suspected he looked like a dumbstruck fool.

After a polite nod to Lady Reese, Beaumont left the room, his dignity intact. In his wake, Evie was practically vibrating with furious tears, Eden was dividing her evilest glares between Will and her mother, and Lady Reese was smiling at Will with odiously triumphant satisfaction. As for Alec . . . he was taking in the whole mad scene like he was watching a performance at Astley's.

Evie moved first, throwing off her sister's arms and jumping to her feet. She propped her hands on her hips and glared at her mother. “I'll never forgive you for this, Mamma. I could have smoothed things over with Michael. Instead, you made fools out of all of us.”

Lady Reese starched up to her haughtiest stance. “You are beside yourself, Evelyn, and don't know what you're saying. I'm doing my best to save your reputation, something you seem to have little care for yourself.”

“Oh, curse it,” Evie shouted, stamping her neatly shod foot. It was so unexpected and so bloody endearing that Will almost burst into laughter.

“Eden, take your sister to her room,” Lady Reese snapped. “Stay with her until I come up.”

“I don't need a blasted escort,” Evie raged. She whirled on her heel and ran from the room, not sparing even one glance for Will. Though that rather stung, at least she didn't seem to be blaming him for the evening's debacle. At least not yet.

Eden threw Will an enigmatic glance and swiftly followed her sister. As she went through the doorway, she deliberately shoved past Alec.

“Out of my way, you great lummox,” she ordered. Alec hadn't even been in her way, but he politely murmured an apology nonetheless.

“Captain Endicott,” Lady Reese said, once more resorting to formalities. “I will tell my husband to receive you at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Yes, my lady, it is.”

She seemed to breathe out a tiny sigh of relief, and her hauteur gave way to a tentative smile. “Thank you. Welcome to the family, William. I will see you tomorrow.”

Will could only gape after her, stunned by her rapid-fire changes in demeanor. It seemed to be a trait shared by all the ladies in the family, now that he thought about it.

Alec pushed off from the doorframe and strolled into the room, now deafeningly quiet after the exit of the combatants. “Well, that was entertaining,” he said. “I suppose I should offer you congratulations.”

“I'd rather you offered me a drink,” Will said. “Let's get the hell out of here.”

“Splendid idea. And while we're having that drink, perhaps we can chat about the best way to break the happy news to your father. That and how to tell your new fiancée that you're spying on her.”

Will shot a glare at his cousin. “Bugger off, you great lummox.”

Alec laughed and followed him from the library.

“You're certain you can do this?” Evie tried not to sound as skeptical as she felt.

Eden curled her lip. “Really, Evie, do you think anyone would believe
I
would wear this gown?”

“It's rather rude of you to put it quite that way. You look perfectly lovely to me.”

Eden peered at her reflection in Evie's dressing-table mirror, grumpily adjusting the high-cut bodice. “Oh, well, it'll have to do,” she said with a sigh. “I'd better join Mamma before she gets suspicious. She wanted to leave for Lady Talwin's gala by nine o'clock.”

Strictly speaking,
Evie
was joining their mother, since Eden was supposedly laid up in the bed with a sudden and severe cold. Evie had tried earlier to convince Mamma to allow her to stay at home this evening, but Mamma had refused. She'd assumed, rightly, that Evie was doing everything she could to avoid Will. She also assumed, rightly, that Evie would do everything she could to repair her relationship with Michael, including slipping out of the house to see him.

Thwarted at every turn, Evie had finally come up with a plan. It was a desperate one to be sure, but the circumstances called for it.

“Turn around and let me do a final check,” Evie said, twirling a finger in the air.

Eden rolled her eyes but complied, spinning in a slow, graceful arc that made the skirts of the pale blue gown bell out around her ankles. As far as Evie was concerned, it was a perfectly lovely dress—cut to flatter without revealing an excessive amount of bosom, dignified without being dowdy, its color pleasing without screaming for attention. It was one of her favorites, but the long-suffering look on her sister's face made her opinion of it clear.

Eden tended to favor gowns with low-cut bodices in jewel-like tones that made her stand out from the crowd. Her style of dress, coupled with her vivacious personality, all but ensured that Eden would draw everyone's eye and guaranteed a cluster of suitors hanging about, ready to be plucked like low-hanging fruit. Evie didn't begrudge her twin's popularity for a moment, but she sometimes wondered how they could be so much alike and yet so different.

Rising from her dressing table, Evie tucked an errant lock of hair back under the silver-spangled band that helped to contain Eden's thick hair in the smooth chignon at the back of her head. Evie squinted—her second-best pair of spectacles tended to blur at the edge of the lenses—but finally nodded her approval.

“You'll do,” she said. “Even Mamma won't know it's not me.”

Eden snorted as she pushed Evie's best pair of spectacles higher on her nose. “When we dress and act the same, Mamma can never tell us apart. Neither can Papa. Only our dear brother and a few of the staff at Maywood Manor have ever developed the trick of figuring out who's who.” She picked up the cream silk shawl draped at the end of Evie's bed and flung it over her shoulders. “Just remember to stay in my bed for at least fifteen minutes after we're gone. You know how often Mamma forgets her reticule or fan and makes poor John Coachman return to the house to fetch it.”

Evie nodded. She was wearing one of her sister's extravagant, lace-trimmed dressing gowns, although she'd kept her stays, chemise, and stockings on underneath. And she'd already given their lady's maid the night off, just to be safe.

“And be careful,” Eden added in a stern voice. “What will you do if Michael isn't at his rooms at Albany House? It's one thing to go sneaking through Mayfair, but it's quite another to go into St. Giles at night alone.” She tugged on her lower lip, suddenly looking worried. “I don't know, Evie. Perhaps you shouldn't do this.”

“You would do it without a second thought.”

“That's different.”

Evie tried not to feel
too
annoyed. Her sister only wished to protect her. “Different because you're brave and I'm not?” she asked, trying for a wry smile.

Eden dropped her gloves and fan on the bed and rushed over to take Evie's hands. “Darling, you're the bravest person I know. You have to be to put up with Mamma's constant harping and still carry on with your charity work. I just meant that I'm a bit worldlier, and able to respond more, er, actively, if anything should go wrong.”

Evie didn't point out that all the time she'd spent in the stews had exposed her to things Eden probably couldn't imagine. But there was no denying that her twin was physically braver and stronger. When they were children, it had always been Eden who'd taken the dare, climbed the trees, or even bested their brother or one of his friends in a physical contest—despite, perhaps even because of her bad eyesight. Eden might fool most people into thinking she was a beautiful featherhead, but Evie knew differently. Her sister had a strength and depth of character evident to all who knew her well.

“Don't worry,” Evie said, giving her sister's hands a quick squeeze. “I borrowed the housekeeper's stout parasol. It will come in handy should I need to beat someone off.” She grinned to show her sister that the idea of anything like that happening was far-fetched. “I'll be sure to pick a hackney driver who looks respectable, and I'll pay him to wait for me. If worse comes to worst, I can ask Mrs. Rafferty to escort me back from St. Margaret's.”

Eden reluctantly nodded and let her go. She went back to the bed and started to collect her things but sank down onto the soft mattress instead, frowning at Evie over the top of her borrowed spectacles. “I still think you should have talked to Wolf this morning when he came to see Papa. You could have at least tried to explain things to him.”

Evie pressed her forearms tight against her stomach, as if she could hold in the feelings of shame and panic that overwhelmed her every time she thought about last night. Not only her betrayal of Michael, but how she had let Will kiss her in the first place. She still couldn't quite fathom how it had happened or why.

Well, strictly speaking, that wasn't true. Once Will took her into his strong arms and his lips covered hers, all rational thought had dissolved under his touch. She'd been swept away into a beautiful fantasy come true, one she'd been dreaming about for a very long time.

She had to swallow hard before she could answer. “There was no point. I know Will, and there would be no talking him out of it. The only way I can save both of us from an enormous mistake is if I beg Michael's forgiveness
and
convince him that we should still be married.”

“Mamma won't be happy about that,” Eden said dryly. “She seems thrilled that Will has agreed to marry you.”

Her mother's hypocrisy made Evie's stomach burn with acid. “It's so unfair. She barely tolerated Will, and yet now she's pretending to like him because she can't stand the idea of me marrying Michael. I assure you, he would not last long in her good graces once we were married.”

“Oh, I don't know about that,” Eden said. “Will has a future, you know. When I was skulking about downstairs this morning, I heard Mamma and Papa talking about it. He's not rich like Michael, of course, but even Papa seemed pleased.”

Evie waved a dismissive hand. “He was only trying to placate Mamma.”

“I wouldn't be so sure about that. Papa always liked Will.”

“Eden,” she said with exasperation, “Will has no desire to marry me. It would be completely wrong to leg-shackle him because of one little kiss.”

Her sister let out a derisive snort. “It didn't sound like a little kiss, from what Mamma said. According to her, your bodice was practically down around your waist.”

Evie's cheeks turned fiery. That moment when she realized her disheveled state had been one of the worst in her life, especially with the look of anguish in Michael's eyes. That it had followed several of the loveliest moments of her life was truly ironic.

“Will does
not
want to marry me,” she said doggedly.

Her sister studied her thoughtfully, then gave a brisk nod. “Want to know what I think?”

“No.”

“I think you're still in love with Will, and you should marry him.”

Evie gaped at her. “I am not, and I most decidedly
should
not.”

Her sister began swinging her foot like she didn't have a care in the world. “The thing is, Sis, since Wolf's been back, you seem so much more . . . well, alive, I suppose. Things happen around you now. I hate to be critical, but you do rather act like an old lady when you're with Michael. Don't you want more excitement in your life than that?” She waggled her eyebrows in a salacious manner. “Wolf knows how to have fun.”

“That's one way of putting it. No,” she said, raising a hand to forestall her sister. “I don't want to discuss it anymore. I need to try to explain things to Michael, and this is the only way I can think to do it on such short notice. His note said he would be leaving for his father's estate tomorrow, and goodness knows when he'll be back.”

The first thing Evie had done this morning was send a note around to Michael's rooms, but he replied that he was not yet ready to see her. She simply
had
to speak with him tonight, before Mamma got a chance to tell the entire world about her engagement to Will. Evie had managed to convince her parents to wait a few days before they did that, arguing she needed time to get used to the idea. She hated tricking them but what other choice did she have? Will didn't love her, and Evie couldn't imagine anything worse than forcing him into marriage. He'd resent her for the rest of his life—possibly even causing a breach with his powerful father—and that would simply kill her.

“Edie, please, please do this for me,” she begged. “I know it's wrong to involve you in such a deception, but I must see Michael tonight.”

“Oh, silly, don't worry about me,” Eden said, collecting her things. “I get to have all the fun tonight
and
wear your spectacles. I cannot tell you how much I will enjoy being able to see people's faces for once. Although with some of my suitors that's rather more a curse than a blessing.”

Evie had been trying for years to get Eden to wear spectacles in public, but her sister simply refused. Eden was a splendid person in more ways than she could count, but she was just a wee bit vain. “Thank you, darling,” she said. “I will be forever in your debt.”

“Pish. As I said, it'll be fun.”

But as she came to kiss Evie good night, Eden hesitated, looking worried.

“What now?” Evie asked in a resigned voice.

Eden grimaced. “I hate to throw a damper on things, but what if Michael doesn't want to marry you? You have to marry someone, Evie. There was considerable gossip after you and Will
and
Michael didn't return to the party last night. It was rather obvious that something strange was going on, especially since you and Will were gone for quite a spell.”

Evie was well aware of the possibility that Michael would still reject her. “I'll just have to convince him that he doesn't have a choice.”

Her sister shook her head. “I can't wait to hear how you manage that.”

 

 

Will took refuge behind a pillar at the far end of Lady Talwin's baroque ballroom. In the last hour, no fewer than three matchmaking mothers had shown a surprising amount of interest in him, and their daughters had tried to engage him in a flirtation despite the fact that he'd shown not a particle of interest. Perhaps he should blame it on his dress regimentals, which sometimes appeared to have an odd effect on young ladies' mental processes. It certainly wasn't his fortune, since everyone knew he didn't have one. It also didn't help that Alec was going around telling anyone who would listen that Will was a war hero.

In any case, interest from eligible maidens or their mammas was no longer relevant. Not since his haphazardly managed engagement to Evie.

Every time he thought about it, which was reliably every few minutes, a jolt of amazement arced through him. He might be tempted to call it
surprise,
but it wasn't, because in some way it felt ordained. The only surprising part was how easily he'd accepted his change in status, and how some part of him had welcomed it with both relief and anticipation. Evie was not the girl he had expected to marry, but it felt entirely right that she was.

His father, of course, would be irate. Evie would bring only a respectable dowry and very little in the way of useful connections. And she was involved with an organization that could possibly be a hotbed of conspiracy and sedition.

Of course, Evie had not yet agreed to marry him. She'd refused to come downstairs when he called on her mystified father this morning, and that gave Will some cause for concern. Lady Reese had explained it away with glib words about a headache, but that was bollocks. The situation was so bloody awkward it was a miracle they'd been able to discuss the settlements like rational human beings. But Lord Reese had been pleasantly surprised with Will's financial situation—which wasn't a fortune, but certainly a decent competency—and Evie's mother had been downright ecstatic.

After they'd finished, Lady Reese had assured him that Evie was looking forward to seeing him at Lady Talwin's ball. Will knew that was bollocks, too. Evie was furious with him, and it would take a good deal of work to bring her around. But, somehow, he'd do it. He'd work his arse off to give her the happy life she'd envisioned with him as a girl, a life that she richly deserved.

The only remaining problem, as he saw it, was the fact that she might be inadvertently caught up in a conspiracy. If Evie found out he'd been spying on her, she would brain him with a poker and that would be the end of their future together.