Chapter Twenty-Two
“We know our brother can be difficult,” Ellie said, tucking an errant red curl behind her ear.
“It’s true,” Olivia said.
Grace sat in the parlor with Ian’s two sisters. A maid had brought in a tea tray, and the girls were nibbling tea cakes. Ian’s sisters looked lovely in pale pink and yellow muslin morning dresses. Ellie’s red hair was styled in loose curls, and Olivia’s golden hair was in a braided coronet.
It had been two weeks since Ian had taken her to the Raven Club—two weeks since they’d make love beneath the window overlooking the casino floor. Since then, they’d fallen into a routine. Ian was busy during the day and would leave each evening for the club, and Grace wouldn’t question his whereabouts. He’d return after midnight, slip into bed, and make passionate love to her. He was attentive and gentle in bed but unapproachable and distant in the day. It was maddening.
It was a routine, but an uncomfortable one. They never discussed his plans for the Raven Club, and she hadn’t visited the place since he’d invited her there in an effort to show her what the club meant to him. Her heart and mind were in tumult. She’d loved him, but he’d never told her he loved her.
She feared that Ian Swift loved only his club.
She’d grown terribly lonely in the big house. Grace had explored each room, the music conservatory, the ballroom with its chinoiserie décor, and she’d read a dozen books in the library. Mrs. Smithson was kind, as were all the servants, but they kept their distance from the new mistress. The servants had a repertoire that seemed odd to Grace, but it had been so long since she’d lived in a house with a full staff that she didn’t question it. With not much to do—her work for the widowed milliner had ceased upon her marriage—she was lonely and happy to visit Ian’s sisters.
“Ian is difficult, but we have seen changes in him since he met you,” Olivia said, drawing Grace’s attention back to the girls seated across from her.
Grace raised her teacup and took a sip of the oolong brew. “Oh?”
“He’s happier. He hasn’t taken us to Gunter’s since we were in leading strings,” Olivia said.
“Not that long.” Ellie frowned at her young sister.
“It certainly felt like it,” Olivia said.
Ellie set down her teacup. “Our point is that he smiles more, jests with us, is easy to talk to. It’s due to you.”
Grace felt uncomfortable beneath the girls’ hopeful expressions, and she smoothed the skirt of her blue silk walking dress. Ian rarely talked to her. Brooks would show up on the doorstep for Ian in the afternoon, and they’d discuss business in the study for hours. If she came across Ian in the vestibule or outside a room, he’d politely inquire about her day, then go on with his business. He’d leave in the evening for the club, but when he slipped into her bed at night, he became a different man. His kisses were gentle and passionate and took her breath away.
When she writhed beneath him, eager to touch his skin, he’d groan his pleasure and let her know how much he liked her boldness. Afterward, when they were breathless and spent, he would tuck her curves neatly into his own until she fell asleep in his arms, tenderly protected like a cherished wife. But the dreaded sunrise would arrive, and he’d again leave her alone in the house. The difference between Ian in the day and Ian at night was driving her crazed.
“I’m not sure Ian’s easygoing demeanor is due to me. We have our differences,” Grace said.
“She must be talking about the place,” Olivia said to Ellie.
“What place?” The hair rose on Grace’s nape.
Ellie looked at her with a grave expression. “There’s something else you need to know about our brother.”
Grace tried not to laugh. “You mean the Raven Club?”
“You know about it?” Ellie asked.
Grace nodded. “I do. He escorted me there once.”
Olivia’s green eyes shone with excitement, and she set her teacup down with a chink. “He did? What was it like?”
Exciting. Thrilling. Sinfully tempting—just like its owner. It could also be a doom for some. She could never describe it as such to Ian’s sisters. Grace cleared her throat. “It’s interesting. Unlike any other place I’ve ever been.”
“We told Ian we know about it, but we also know he intended to keep it a secret from us. He’s wrong. I want to go,” Ellie said.
Grace shook her head. “It’s not a place for proper ladies.”
“You went,” Ellie said.
“Ian escorted me as his wife.”
A determined expression crossed Ellie’s face. “Well, he can escort me as his sister.”
She had a point. And a right. If Ian was going to insist on keeping his casino, then his sisters did have a right to see it. Ian believed there were no consequences to his family if he kept the title and the club. He needed to learn differently, and he was clearly mistaken if he thought he could keep it from his sisters.
“Why do you insist on seeing it?” Grace asked.
“It offers a lady freedom.” Ellie’s face beamed with eagerness, then turned into a frown. “All this talk about my debut. What I have to wear. To whom I can speak. What dances I can dance. With whom I must partner. Who is a proper suitor, and whom should I avoid? It’s all so constraining. It’s like we live only to obtain a husband and then our lives are over.”
“She just married.” Olivia pointed out Grace’s state like it was an illness she didn’t want to contract.
“I’m sorry.” Ellie’s smooth brow furrowed. “I didn’t mean to suggest your life was over. I’m merely suggesting that a lady needs to have a bit of fun, even after she is married. Gentlemen are permitted to attend their clubs after matrimony and no one says a word. Why not women? If they are discrete, what is the harm? Especially when my own brother owns one of the most exciting establishments in all of London.”
Yes, he did. And if Grace protested, he’d send her packing to the country. Was that still his plan? He’d never mentioned it since she’d overheard the rude remark on her wedding day. Had things changed between them now that they were sharing a bed? Perhaps in his mind they had.
Or perhaps she was reading more into their fragile relationship.
A dull ache of foreboding settled in her gut.
Was it settled then? Had Ian won? Had he achieved everything he’d wanted?
He’d kept the club and slept with his wife each night.
Had she so easily sacrificed her principles regarding the evils of gambling? Had her heart overruled her head?
Her thoughts were jagged and painful. Thank goodness, she’d never told him she loved him. She couldn’t make herself that vulnerable.
She was aware of Ellie and Olivia staring at her, waiting for her response. “I understand how you must feel, Ellie, but I have come to the conclusion that a young lady’s life is not over after she weds. If she marries the right man, it will be the beginning of a grand adventure, not the end.”
Grace wanted this to be true, even though her own marriage was far from perfect.
“How do I know if I marry the right man?” Ellie asked.
A most important question. How did a woman know? The answer came to her. At least, for Ellie. Grace squeezed her hand. “You must marry for love. We will not settle for anything less.”
A worried expression crossed Ellie’s face. “My brother may not agree with you.”
“He will,” Grace said.
“She has influence over Ian,” Olivia said.
Not true. Grace inwardly cringed. She couldn’t influence him to part with the Raven Club. His response to her pleas had been to take her on a tour, to try to show her the club’s importance to him. But did one spin about the casino floor change her long-held views?
Olivia clasped her hands to her chest. “I was right. You do love him.”
“Olivia, that is not appropriate,” a firm female voice spoke.
Grace’s head snapped to the doorway where the dowager stood. Ian’s mother glared at Olivia, but when she looked at Grace a question passed over her features. She may not have approved of her daughter’s forthright statement, but she wanted to know if it was true.
How easy it would be to lie, but Grace could not deny the truth to herself. Despite everything, she did love Ian. He may not feel the same about her, but she loved him with all her heart.
Grace stood. “Hello, my lady.”
“Good afternoon.” The dowager’s sharp gaze turned to Ellie and Olivia. “Girls, please excuse us.”
The sisters obediently stood, kissed Grace, then turned to leave.
The dowager motioned for Grace to join her on the sofa. Grace forced a smile and presented a picture of ease she did not feel.
“Something is wrong,” the dowager began. “I can only assume your distress has something to do with my son.”
Grace blinked in surprise at the forthright statement and chose her words carefully. “Ellie and Olivia told me he can be stubborn. I fear they are right.”
“Yes, Ian can be mulish. Does the particular matter have anything to do with his club?”
The dowager would have no way of knowing that Grace had overheard Ian arguing with her the day of the wedding about the Raven Club. She didn’t believe Ian had told his mother, and Grace was not going to enlighten her.
“I’m not sure—”
“Let us be honest with each other. Ian owns a gambling establishment. I’ve wanted him to part with it as soon as he became the earl.”
She was startled by the woman’s outspokenness. “He refuses,” Grace said. “Even knowing how I feel, he won’t give up his casino.”
Lady Castleton sighed. “I was worried about this happening. I told Ian.”
“Pardon my honesty, but your son loves his club more than anything else in his life.”
For an instant, Grace thought she might have gone too far. The lady was Ian’s mother.
But the dowager leaned back on the plush cushions, pursed her lips, then nodded. “I was uncertain of your rushed marriage, but no longer.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m pleased at the match, even though it came about unconventionally.”
Grace was stunned. Perhaps she had an ally in Ian’s mother. “I thought you would blame me.”
“Blame you? Heavens, no. You are what my son needs. I only hope he is intelligent enough to acknowledge it.”
He’s certainly intelligent, but he’s not in love.
The woman took her hand. “I heard what you said to Ellie and Olivia. You do have influence. I see the way Ian looks at you. You have the power of persuasion. If you feel strongly about something, I suggest you use that power.”
She wanted to laugh at the notion. Persuade Ian? That would not be as easy as the dowager made it sound. Most distressing, Grace didn’t think he cared enough about her to consider her feelings.