Johanna Lindsey (19 page)

“He’s changed,” she said simply, letting them interpret for themselves whether that was good or bad. “And it didn’t take me long a’tall to fall in love with him. A wife must stand by her husband through thick and thin,” she reminded them pointedly.

Each of these particular ladies was married or widowed, a couple even had grandchildren. She waited until she saw at least one of them blush slightly before she added, “But no, his father doesn’t know yet that Sebastian has returned.”

“Douglas hasn’t recovered yet?” Alberta asked, indicating that she’d heard of the accident.

“No, his fever lingers.”

“It’s going to be quite a—surprise, when he finds out.”

That was an understatement, but Margaret decided that some optimism was in order and said,

“We’re hoping it will be a pleasant one.”

Abigail arrived to save her from having to answer any more unpleasant questions. If there was one thing Abbie was still quite good at, it was dominating a conversation and keeping it neutral. Though she did mention her delight over Sebastian’s return and marriage.

Beatrice, however, cornered Margaret and whispered, “I think it’s very brave of you to marry such a blackguard.”

Margaret managed not to roll her eyes. Beatrice was considered a very fashionable blonde and an incorrigible gossip. She’d had her London season and had married before it was even over. Already she had two children to show for it.

“Bea, do you even remember Sebastian?” Margaret asked curiously. “As I recall, you moved to Kent with your family not long after he’d already left England. Had you ever met him prior to that?”

“Well, no, actually. But I certainly heard an earful about him this morning when I called on the duchess.”

“I can imagine. But there was nothing brave about my marrying him, I do assure you. He is, quite frankly, one of the most handsome men I’ve ever known. And charming. I really couldn’t help but fall in love with him.”

“Really? But what about Daniel Courtly? They say he’s shattered over this, that he was courting you himself before your trip to Europe, and now’s he’s gone off to London to nurse a broken heart.”

“Nonsense. Daniel and I were just friends. Any courtship involved was purely in his mind. He never once implied he had serious intentions.”

“Goodness, I’ll need to set a few ladies straight on that, then.” Margaret smiled to herself. She hadn’t expected to find a good use for an avid gossip. But then she hadn’t expected to be accused of breaking Daniel’s heart, either.

The ladies stayed for lunch, of course. The hour was that late, they had to be invited. And they lingered afterward. Margaret had no doubt they were hoping for a look at the black sheep of the family, but he remained conspicuously absent.

Her suspicion was confirmed when Alberta said in parting, “I believe a party is in order. Marrying abroad as you did, we missed the prenuptial festivities. No, no, Maggie, you have your hands full here,” she added when Margaret started to look appalled. “I’ll see to everything. Say this Friday at my house?

And no excuses. You and your husband will be the guests of honor.”

“This isn’t the best time for a party, because Douglas isn’t well enough to attend,” Margaret pointed out.

But Alberta was too used to getting her way to agree and simply said, “Nonsense, Douglas might be quite well by then, and if he isn’t, he certainly wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your new husband’

s reintroduction to society.”

Margaret groaned. There was nothing she could say to that. Mentioning that Sebastian probably wouldn’t agree to come was out of the question. You just didn’t say things like that to Alberta Dorrien.

But the dowager duchess did surprise her with one final remark, which she whispered. “I haven’t seen Abbie look so perky in years. Obviously having her grandson home is responsible, so I do hope all

works out well here when Douglas is on his feet again—for her sake.” So did Margaret, with all her heart.

Margaret took a break later that afternoon from sitting at Douglas’s bedside. He still hadn’t awakened, though if he’d done so briefly she might not have noticed, she was so distracted by her own thoughts.

Sebastian figured in those thoughts, too prominently.

It wasn’t the first time Margaret missed having a mother she could talk to about such things. But hers had died so long ago that she had no memories of her. Eleanor had tried to fill the role from time to time, but she’d been too young herself to know how, and anything of a “mature” nature that she’d tried to impart she’d merely picked up from her friends who didn’t know any better either.

So Margaret knew next to nothing about lovemaking that she could state clearly was a fact and not hearsay, other than what she’d gathered from nature. But she knew there was no comparison there.

Animals were governed by a different set of rules or no rules, merely instincts. Yet people had choices, and aside from needing children to carry on lines, they still chose to make love regardless. So they must like it or they wouldn’t keep doing it.

Would she like it? She blushed, remembering how intrigued she’d been by Sebastian’s suggestion of a trade. But she shouldn’t even be thinking about it. She knew in her heart it was wrong to trade sex for money. She’d come up with that blasted money for him somehow!

Besides, she didn’t even like Sebastian, merely found him handsome. She was attracted by his looks. But she was repelled by his personality. And there were her old reasons for not liking him, a dislike that had been compounded since she’d met him again. And yet, what he made her feel…She couldn’t deny that those few minutes in his arms had been sublime and more exciting than anything she’d ever experienced.

Her dratted curiosity was urging her to find out more about those exciting feelings. That was the trouble.

M
ARGARET CAUGHT SEBASTIAN just as Mr. Hobbs let him in. She wasn’t sure how to break the news to him about Alberta’s party, but she did have better news to impart first. But then John followed him in, luggage in hand.

She raised a brow at Sebastian’s valet. “Moving in, when we might not be here another night?”

“Optimism, Lady Margaret. I’m full of it.”

She grinned, liking his attitude. With Mr. Hobbs taking John off to get him settled, she turned to Sebastian, to find him still standing in the open doorway. “We brought your mare with us from White Oaks. Care to go for a ride before dinner?”

What a wonderful idea! “Yes, actually. That was rather thoughtful of you, to bring Sweet Tooth.”

“I have my moments, I suppose.”

He said that so dryly she couldn’t help but laugh. “If we’re not going far, I won’t have to change.”

“Just out to the cliffs. Timothy has a hankering to see the view and will chaperone us.”

“Splendid. Shall we be off, then?”

The ride wasn’t long. It actually took only a few minutes since they ended up having a little friendly competition getting there. It was merely a raised brow on her part that started it, but Sebastian had understood perfectly and obliged her. A race to the cliffs, and she won! How exhilarating. She was laughing when he reached her.

“Well done, Maggie,” he said as he helped her dismount. “I see now why you ride a Thoroughbred. Of course I wasn’t really trying to win,” he added with a grin.

“Of course you weren’t.” She chuckled.

They had dismounted near the edge of the cliff and walked side by side now, leading their horses by the reins. A few hardy wildflowers were surviving the colder season, dotting the grassy area they traversed. Sebastian actually bent down and picked a few, lifted them to his nose, then made a face because they didn’t actually smell sweet, merely earthy. But then with a formal bow and a half grin, he presented the bouquet to her.

“Not as pretty as those you cultivate, but—” He ended with a shrug, even seemed a little embarrassed over his offering.

Margaret was charmed. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

They continued their walk, Sebastian glancing out to sea every so often, Margaret glancing at him surreptitiously. She’d never seen this side of him, relaxed and at ease. Well, actually, she had, when he was with his grandmother, but that was different, strictly for Abigail’s benefit, because he didn’t want to show her The Raven.

“I used to come here as a child and sit for hours watching for ships,” Sebastian said.

“Did you really?” She had to laugh. “So did I!”

“I know.”

She blinked. “What d’you mean, you know?”

“I saw you here once, scampering about just as our young friend here is doing. I was merely riding past. Don’t think you noticed.”

“No, I don’t recall it,” she replied.

They watched Timothy for a moment. The lad noticed and waved at them before tossing a few rocks over the cliff.

With Sebastian behaving so (dare she say it?) charming, she thought it was a good time to mention Alberta’s plans for them. “The duchess is going to give a party for us in a few days. I tried to dissuade her, but she was adamant.”

“Us?”

“Yes, a celebration of our marriage for the neighbors to enjoy.” Sebastian didn’t even try to hide his groan. Margaret was surprised that was his only reaction. He could simply decide not to go.

She changed the subject before he gave the party too much thought. He was being entirely too—

likable today. She really didn’t know what to make of it.

“By the by, this is where your father nearly fell off the cliff.”

“You never explained the details of the other accidents,” Sebastian reminded her, “so you might tell me now.”

“Well, your father claimed he was riding along the cliff, as he often did during his morning outings, and the strap on his saddle came loose. The saddle started to slide and him with it. It would have been minor if he weren’t so close to the cliff’s edge. He went over, caught himself a few feet below on an outcropping, but there was nothing there to get a foothold on or pull himself up with. It wasn’t until a half hour later that someone came by and noticed his horse alone there and went to investigate.” Sebastian was frowning now. “The strap came loose, or was it tampered with?”

“That was the first accident. Hearing about it after the fact made it seem not so alarming, since Douglas was found and was unhurt. He must have been terrified at the time, but once rescued, he brushed it off as bad luck so no one thought to check the saddle afterward.”

“What else?”

“You know that balcony up on the third floor that your mother had built so she could take her tea up there and enjoy the view? Your father still goes up there occasionally. I did too, for that matter, when I was up early enough to watch the sunrise.”

“You’re going to get to the point sometime today, correct?” She could tell from his tone that he was teasing her, but she made a face at him anyway before continuing. “Douglas fell through the floor up there. It just gave way under him. He caught himself on the edge of the hole it made, thank heavens, and pulled himself back up. He could have died from that fall if he hadn’t.”

“And how did he fob off that near-death experience?” Sebastian asked.

“He said some of the floorboards must have rotted after so many years of being exposed to the elements. He now has a servant check the balcony floor regularly.”

“You realize that is a valid explanation?”

“Yes, of course. But I’d been up there just the day before and there was nothing wrong with the floor, no creaking, no odd-looking boards.”

“Anything else?”

“There were a couple of minor falls I’d thought nothing about. Mere bruises he blamed on tripping. Then he was almost run over on one of his trips to London. A passing carriage driving too fast, though the driver never stopped to apologize. Douglas didn’t even mention that one. His own driver brought back the news. But that was one accident too many for me. And Juliette and Denton had gone with him to London that time. That was when I finally began to suspect that some skulduggery was afoot and that Juliette and Denton might be involved.”

“Well, since nothing you’ve mentioned can be looked into after all this time, I’ll have to use other means to investigate. But enough about that. You really are too single-minded, m’dear. I invited you out here to relax and have a little fun, not to discuss unpleasantries.” She was warmed by that “m’dear” when she shouldn’t be. This charming Sebastian really was much too likable.

M
ARGARET AND SEBASTIAN had just returned from their ride and were entering the parlor when she vaguely heard a coach pull up in front of the house. But neither of them could mistake hearing Mr.

Hobbs say, “Welcome home, Lady Juliette.”

Margaret quickly moved out to the entryway. She certainly wasn’t going to warn Juliette that Sebastian had come home. She just wanted to witness the lady’s reaction when she first clapped eyes on Sebastian. If Juliette really was trying to get rid of Douglas so she and Denton could inherit their new titles, then the possibility that the elder son might patch things up with his father would definitely put a wrinkle in her plans.