Chapter 9
Marianne scanned the crowded ballroom as they swung into another turn. “Robert, I don’t know what else I can tell you. He arrived this afternoon without any notice whatsoever. Six of my friends over for afternoon tea had the good sense and decency to decamp in haste. I’m sure everyone in this room already knows he has appeared virtually out of thin air.”
As they made another turn across the ballroom floor, she perused the room. She could swear she attracted much more attention than usual. What else did the members of Haute Societé have to do than seize the latest scandal to fawn upon?
“When Andrea burst into the room with the kitten, I could see the look of suspicion and disbelief on his face. I knew he thought the child could not be his. But when she turned and looked at him, he instantaneously recognized his likeness in her. Then when she rushed to him and he welcomed her with open arms . . . Well, I was truly beside myself. What am I to do?”
The two of them advanced down the length of the floor again.
Robert firmed his hand at her back. “I’ve not a clue, my dear. But I’ll think upon it over the next few days. He’s not given you any hint of what he wants or expects?”
“None. I’m afraid my life and our plans are now out of our control. At least until Drew makes it clear as to what he expects to happen.”
The two of them suddenly realized the music had stopped. The room had gone silent.
They turned in unison.
On the landing of the ballroom stairs stood the Earl of Reignsfield. Dressed in black, with the exception of his stark white, starched shirt and simply but elegantly tied neckcloth, he epitomized a rake on the prowl, not a hair out of place, not a ruffle displayed, nor a quizzing glass whipped from some unseen pocket.
He was magnificent.
Marianne thought she heard a few males and every female in the room, and there were many, gasp for breath at the sight of him.
The man knew how to make an entrance. Damn his eyes.
Then said eyes locked with hers.
~ ~ ~
It had only taken moments for Drew to discern the location of his wife in the overheated, overcrowded ballroom. While other ladies were underdressed and over-jeweled, his wife had the grace and good sense to be neither.
She wore a rose gown that would push a poet to make comparisons to said flower. Her décolleté, though cut low, was not so deep as to be gauche or indecorous, her hair simply but attractively piled atop her head. And though she wore earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet, none were ostentatious or overbearing. They merely glinted in the candlelight.
She was loveliness personified.
Except for the fact another man’s arms surrounded her.
A man he didn’t recognize held his wife a little too intimately.
He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all.
He descended the stairs with quick steps and came to a halt before her.
“Good evening, madam.” He made a respectful bow. “You look absolutely stunning tonight.” Turning toward her dance partner he added, “And whom may I ask is this gentleman that holds my wife so closely?”
Marianne gasped slightly as heat flushed up her neck and over her cheeks.
In the background, the maestro tapped his baton to rally the orchestra. The music resumed. The couples started to dance, making it inopportune their current location in the center of the floor.
“Shall we leave the floor to the dancers?” Drew took Marianne’s elbow and led her toward a doorway. “Would you like a glass of champagne, darling? I fear it is much too hot to go without refreshment.”
“My lord.” Evidently recovering from her shock, his wife deigned to speak to him. “This is Sir Robert Gentilly, a friend of mine.”
Robert trailed behind them. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, my lord. Marianne . . .”
So they knew each other well enough for the interloper to call her by her Christian name.
“I mean, her ladyship has told me quite a bit about you.”
It couldn’t be much, Drew thought, as she really didn’t know anything about him and he had changed a great deal over the last few years. Working as a mate on a sea-going vessel would do that to a man, especially to one noted for being such a dandy as he had been.
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Drew mumbled as they strode toward the refreshments. If he’d had a quizzing glass, he would have pulled it out and stared down his nose at the man. But, alas, those days were past.
As they neared the fully laden table, a waiter arrived with flutes of champagne. Ignoring their uninvited shadow, Drew took two and handed one to his wife. “Marianne, you didn’t tell me you had plans for the evening.”
Instantaneously, he saw her pale blue eyes blaze, her back straighten. He rather liked this new side of her. It flushed her skin with color and made her even more attractive.
“I made these plans well before your arrival. I saw no need to change them. I’ve been organizing my own affairs very successfully for four years.”
“Be that as it may, I’ve returned and there is much for us to discuss.” With minimum acknowledgement of Robert, he said, “Excuse us, sir. I believe my wife and I need a few minutes alone.”
Gently taking Marianne by the elbow, he led her through the open French doors onto the veranda.
~ ~ ~
“My lord, that was rude.” Marianne turned away from him and placed both hands on the balustrade after setting her champagne glass aside. She had not dressed for the cool breeze that gently ruffled a few strands of her hair that had lost purchase from her hairpins. She shivered slightly from the chill, or possibly the nearness of her newly returned spouse.
“I could have made a scene by basting the man, Marianne. He is by far too familiar with my wife.”
“You’ve already made a scene just by coming this evening,” she snipped at him. “I’ve spent more than three years stepping cautiously through the affairs of the ton, keeping rumors and scandal at bay since your dramatic departure . . .”
“About that, Marianne. You should know that I did not depart dramatically or otherwise. I was kidnapped.”
“You were what?” She turned back toward him.
“Just so. I was kidnapped.” He faced her for only a moment, then looked out over the torch-lit gardens. “After I left your rooms in the middle of the night I had a few shots of brandy.”
“It was not an easy path for me either, my lord.” She impolitely interrupted, evidently still irritated by his appearance. “I was outside the merchant class since I married a peer and shunned by the ton since I was a merchant’s daughter. The few lady friends I made you saw at tea today. I met Robert over two years ago. We have been companions ever since, always proper and within the strictures of society. We have discussed our future. Having no idea you were still alive despite our continuing searches for you, we planned to take legal action when the proper amount of time elapsed.”
Drew paused to process this recent development. The fact that she planned to have him declared dead so she could marry Gentilly could complicate things immeasurably. It could mean there was no room in her life for him no matter what he desired.
He put that aside to contemplate later.
“I know it must have been difficult for you, Marianne. And, please, I’m still your husband. Call me Drew.”
“Please continue. I apologize for my rude interruption.” She hesitated. “Drew.”
“Well, I drank too much but I decided I’d go to a hell to drown my sorrows further anyway. I got safely through the front door, down the steps, and up the street but then tripped unceremoniously and fell right into the gutter, evidently much more inebriated than I thought. Some cab driver picked me up and offered to drive me. Realizing I was not in any fit state to go gaming, I asked him to take me to White’s. When the cab finally stopped, I discovered I was not at White’s but at the docks on the river. Some burly men dragged me callously out of the cab and onto a ship. They offered me something to help me feel better, but it must have been drugged as I woke up days later, and we were well out to sea. They kept me drugged for three days.”
“I don’t believe it,” she said, her eyes wide in astonishment.
“I can have someone attest to it.”
“No, I mean I believe what you said happened, but it’s difficult to believe that it could happen in this day and age. You are a lord of the realm. Who would expect them to have the audacity?”
“I’m sure they had no inkling of my current or future rank, nor would they care. They needed a sailor and I happened to be available to press into service. It’s as simple as that.”
“But you were gone so long. Could you not have come home sooner?”
“Well, part of that is truly my fault. You see, I learned about a completely different side of life. No longer the privileged, spoiled dandy, to these men I was just one of the crew and had to earn my keep. I quickly discovered that if I didn’t do my share there were consequences, and they weren’t pretty. Three others were pressed into service at the same time, some not so interested in training for the sea. They would be beaten or starved if they didn’t work. I don’t know whether that is the practice on all merchant ships but it certainly was on the Master’s Mistress. I had no wish to pay such a price, therefore I did what I had to so I could stay alive.”
“Drew.” She placed a gloved hand on his wrist, then looked up into his eyes when he turned his head toward her. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were going through so much.”
Her pale eyes were so dark, almost fathomless in the dim light of the nearby torches. He could feel her sympathy, but he needed to be honest with her. She should know all of the truth even if she might reject him for it.
He continued, “As the first part of our voyage went on I became physically stronger with the everyday toil on board. But scrubbing decks and doing other mundane chores gives one a lot of time to think. You were not happy about our marriage, nor was I. I began to think it might be best if I just disappeared. After all, you would be cared for by my father, so I erroneously thought, and I had no real responsibilities while he lived as technically all my estates were still his.” He set down his champagne glass and took her gloved hand in his own. “I had grown weary of watching him throw away everything that generations of my forebears had accumulated on one wild, quick-money scheme after another. I had no way to stop him, and he had vowed to cut me off from everything if I didn’t promise to give your dowry over to him. Though I swore to myself I would take control of the finances to save the estate, that still meant our marriage might be only a temporary reprieve. I didn’t know what he could possibly do next to gain more funds. I didn’t want to be part of it. I just couldn’t do it any longer. So I bailed out on life as I knew it, on you. I learned to love the sailor’s life, traveled the world, learned many new things, and stayed away for longer than I needed to. I didn’t even have the decency to let you know I still lived. Maybe I thought it unlikely I would survive the journey anyway. Many a man died while aboard that ship.
“Marianne,” he gazed deeply into her eyes, “I can only apologize for leaving you in the lurch as I did. It is a sincere apology but nonetheless, it was ignoble of me. I did expect my father to take care of you, especially since he arranged the marriage. But I am happy and relieved you were smart enough, strong enough, to have your father and others protect your dowry. It was the right thing for you to do and not something I could have done had I remained here. Though, to be honest, I would not have known that at the time.”
He released her hand. “I will need a few days to get acclimated. Then we can sit down and discuss what we are to do next. There is still a great deal I need to tell you and many questions I have about you and what has happened during my absence. I can hardly take in that I have a daughter. She is beautiful and I thank you for that. I regret not being here to help you through the ordeal but am happy it went well.
“I’ll leave you now to the ball so you may return to Gentilly and enjoy the remainder of the evening. Thank you for hearing me out.” He turned to leave.
“But, Drew.” Marianne placed a hand on his sleeve as he turned to go. “All of these people will have questions. What should I tell them? How do I explain your absence?”
“I’ve caused you enough distress, Marianne. Tell them whatever will make it easier on you. I will corroborate your story in whatever way necessary.”
When she dropped her hand, Drew strode through the French doors without looking back. There was so much more to say but it would have to wait.
He ignored Robert Gentilly hovering near the portal. He doubted the man could have heard much. He and Marianne were not speaking loudly and the noise in the buffet area was almost deafening with clinking glasses and plates.
He would deal with the supposed usurper to his marriage at a later date.
~ ~ ~
Marianne stood looking out over the garden. She wished her thoughts were as serene as the scene before her. The lighted torches and the scent of newly budding flowers gave the feel of a fairyland. From somewhere deep among the plantings, she could hear fragments of conversations, a muffled giggle, or a deep voice.
Why did her life seem so complex when others’ lives seemed so structured, so mundane?
Her feelings shattered like storm waves smashing on the rocks at the ocean’s edge. Drew was no longer the man she remembered, the flighty fop, the ton’s dandy. Now he exuded a mature, very attractive, masculine presence. A lion of a man. She could still feel the vibration of his voice, now a deep baritone instead of the tenuous tenor, through her body. She could still breathe in the scent of him, some exotic fragrance he must have acquired in his travels, along with his very male essence.
And the look in his eyes, the heat, the knowing, made her want to forget everything and throw herself into his arms, to learn everything he now knew.
This was not who she was. She was not a flirtatious, flighty female who changed course in midstream over a seemingly better option. Robert had been with her for two years, steady as a rock.
She would have to figure out exactly what Drew wanted and how she was going to regain control of her life.
She felt a presence behind her but knew Drew had not returned. The scent was all wrong. This was Robert’s scent, one of inexpensive soap and male.
“Will he let you be, let you go?”
She turned to face him, only now realizing how much shorter he was than her husband. “We’ve not even begun to discuss that, Robert. He’s only returned today. There’s been no time and I’m sure we will need legal counsel before we can truly settle things.”
“Well, you’ll need to make sure your interests are protected. He must give you back your dowry. And he should probably give you the town house too. After all, you did not leave precipitously. He owes you, and he owes you a great deal.”
Marianne wasn’t so sure of that since she had heard his side of the story. Kidnapped. It must have been frightful. To be on board an unknown ship travelling to an unknown location with a crew of men he’d never met before. Yet he’d survived and thrived. At least he looked very much like he thrived. But there must be some ramifications from such a traumatic episode. What really were his thoughts now that he had returned to find her waiting and with a daughter, his daughter?
“Marianne.” Robert shattered her reverie. “Let’s forget all of this for tonight. The music is still playing. Come, let us have another dance before supper is served.” Taking her hand, he tugged gently to lead her back indoors.
She went with him, watching from behind as he led her through the crowd, his shoulders not so broad nor his hips so slender. He wore no padding, not being so vain, but there was scant muscle to speak of either. And his body in profile already showed the beginnings of a paunch despite hours supposedly spent at Angelo’s training with the sword. Not anywhere near middle age at one score and ten, yet he already showed a softness in physique that did not bode well for his long-term health.
Back in the ballroom Marianne returned to where they had left Lady Summersborne before the earl had made his dramatic entrance.
Vanessa whispered to her as they stood watching the dancers start a cotillion. “Where have you been? The entire ton is speculating as to what is going on with you and Reignsfield. Has he left?” Vanessa took out her fan, unfurled it and waved it slowly in front of her face.
“Yes, moments ago,” Marianne whispered back. “There is so much going on. I’m so confused. I just cannot believe what he told me.”
“Do you think he’s lying?” Lady Summersborne whispered from behind her fan.
“Oh, no,” Marianne said in alarm. “I’m sure he’s telling the truth. But it’s so very fantastic it’s hard to take in.”
“Well, I’ve got to hear all of it but obviously not here. I’ll come by in my carriage in a few days and we’ll go for a ride in the park. We can talk privately but show the ton that everything is quite all right despite the earl’s dramatic return. Go dance with Robert so everyone will know nothing is amiss.” She closed her fan and shooed the two of them away.