Chapter Two
Face hot with a mixture of rage and embarrassment, Corin clasped his frock coat over his private area even though his breeches were finally on.
“What did you do that for?” he hissed at Lady Hedwrett.
She smoothed out her gown and snapped, “I didn’t do anything. You and that cad got me into this horrible predicament.”
He gasped. How dare she! “You were holding my clothes, and you threw yourself at me as soon as I opened the door.”
“I was pushed at you.”
“A likely story.”
“You’re the one at fault here. You arranged for that cad to drag me in here for a dalliance with you.”
“Dalliance?”
She nodded. “I’d like to know how much you paid him. Or were you planning to each have a turn with me?”
He almost dropped his frock coat in shock. “I would never, under any circumstance, do either of those things!”
“And yet, here we are.” She pointed her finger at him. “I’m fully aware of the disgusting things some of you gentlemen enjoy doing to ladies.”
“I’ll have you know I’m not that kind of gentleman.”
“Then why did he force me to come here?”
Before he could answer, Lord Edon pushed his way past the mass of onlookers and came into the room. “There’s nothing left to see here,” he told the onlookers as he waved for them to leave. “Get on back to the ball.”
“I hope Lord Durrant and Lady Hedwrett get married,” the all-too-familiar voice of Lady Cadwalader boomed from the hallway. “It’s the only respectable thing to do at this point.”
Corin gritted his teeth. Would that nosy hag ever mind her own business?
“Of course, they’re going to marry,” Lord Edon said. “Everyone in London’s going to know about this by tomorrow. Now, go on back to the ball. I paid good money for the music, and I don’t want it to go to waste.”
Finally, thankfully, the crowd did as he wished.
Lord Edon hurried over to them. “I don’t mind a scandal any more than the next rake, but my father-in-law is going to think I allowed this if you stay here. I ask that both of you leave my townhouse and have your dalliance somewhere else.”
“I would never have a dalliance with him,” Lady Hedwrett argued and gestured to Corin as if she couldn’t stand the sight of him. “This is all a horrible misunderstanding.”
“I don’t care,” Lord Edon interrupted. “I just need you both out of here before my father-in-law blames this on me. The last thing I want to do is to join him for fencing.” He went behind them and started to push them to the hallway. “Go on. It’s over. My den is not a place for your illicit rendezvous.”
She swatted his hand away. “I’m perfectly capable of leaving on my own.” With a glare at Lord Edon and then at Corin, she stormed out of the den.
“Mind if I put on my frock coat first?” Corin asked, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
“Make it quick. I need to go and make sure no one else comes back here.” Lord Edon turned and ran down the hall.
Corin hurried into his soiled clothes. How dare she blame him for this mess? This had been none of his doing. He was the unwitting victim. She had been holding his clothes, and she had lunged at him like a cat stalking a rat. More than that, he distinctly remembered her touching him in a very inappropriate spot as she made a big show of “struggling” to her feet.
Lady Hedwrett was no better than Lord Hedwrett, her deceased husband. Everyone knew what a scoundrel he was. Apparently, she was no better. Not with the way she flung herself at him and proceeded to grope him! She knew full well he was stranded in here. Why else would she be on the other side of the door waiting for him the way she was?
Perhaps she wished to get to him before Celia did. Maybe she wasn’t as wealthy as she appeared and wished to secure a marriage to someone with a significant amount of money. It was no secret that he had amassed a fortune over the past two years through careful investing. Maybe Stephen bragged about how much Corin had given him, and she’d seen that as her opportunity to strike.
Either way, he had been doomed the moment he entered Lord Edon’s townhouse. Celia had set up the plan. Stephen had been willing to go along with it. Lady Hedwrett intervened—with Stephen’s help. And now he was stuck.
Finished with dressing, he stormed out of the townhouse, glaring at anyone who stared or snickered at him. This whole scandal would be common knowledge by tomorrow morning. He was going to be the laughingstock of London. Worse than that, he was going to have a bloodsucking wife draining him of his funds.
Celia’s brother came running up to him as Corin reached his carriage.
“I’m so sorry for what happened,” Anthony Barlow, Viscount Worsley, said. “I assure you that I am going to deal with Celia. She isn’t going to leave my townhouse until I get her married. She will receive no visitors, either. She’s going to be all by herself until I make sure she never does this to you again.”
“A lot of good that does me now,” Corin snapped. Noting the way his friend winced, he forced himself to be more civil. “The people think I was trying to have a dalliance with Lady Hedwrett.”
“Lady Hedwrett? You mean Candace?”
Candace? Was that the wench’s name? “She flung herself at me in the den and proceeded to touch me in the most impure manner. I don’t consider myself a prude, but to be assaulted in such a bold way is shocking. No lady should act like that. Such wanton behavior should be restricted to the seedy side of London. A gentleman should be able to go to a ball without fearing that his body is going to become a lady’s source of amusement.”
Anthony shook his head. “I’m sorry, Corin. Celia won’t get away with this. I promise.”
“That’s all well and good, but I still have to marry Candace. Nothing is going to change that.”
“Maybe things won’t be as awful with her as it would have been with Celia.”
Corin grimaced. “It shall be awful. Whether it be Celia or Candace, I’m still a doomed gentleman.”
“Is there anything I can do to make things better for you?”
“No. There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing anyone can do.” He shook his head in irritation. “Candace will not get her greedy hands on my money. I worked too hard and sacrificed too much to let anyone squander it.”
Yes, that was what he’d do! He still had a say in how his money was spent. He wouldn’t let her get a farthing of it. If she thought she was going to drain him of his account, she was sorely mistaken. He was the gentleman, and he had the final say in how his money was spent. Wives had no such say. Thank goodness the laws protected poor, unsuspecting gentlemen from the likes of Celia and Candace!
“I better get back to my carriage,” Anthony said, glancing over his shoulder where the footman stood guard at his carriage door.
Even from the distance, Corin could hear Celia yelling at Anthony to let her out of the carriage. If only Anthony had thought to lock her up sooner. Then this whole travesty would have been avoided.
“If you think of anything I can do to help, let me know,” Anthony added before he hurried to his carriage.
Corin rolled his eyes. Celia lacked any sense of control. He didn’t think there was anyone who could tame her, let alone anyone who would marry her. All the gentlemen understood how horrible she was. Anthony would have to put her in a nunnery way out in the country if he hoped to get rid of her. Otherwise, she’d continue running amok through London creating mayhem everywhere she went. And God help the gentleman she ended up with.
***
Candace Daniel, Lady Hedwrett, spent the whole night in despair. In the span of a few minutes, her world had shattered around her. She’d gone from being a carefree widow to being a lady who would be trapped in the confines of another horrible marriage. She didn’t know whether to cry, scream, or throw herself out the window.
Many times over the course of the night, she repeated the same process. She opened the window of her bedchamber and stared down at the London sidewalk. With her luck, she would only injure herself instead of die. So then, she broke down and cried. Then within fifteen minutes of doing that, she was back at the window. And so she repeated this until she fell asleep on the floor in exhaustion.
When she woke, it was eight in the morning, and for the briefest moment, she forgot why she’d been so upset. Then within a minute, the previous night’s events came rushing back to her, and she was unable to escape the stark reality that was in front of her. She was to be married. Again.
With a groan, she struggled to her feet. She’d been so upset the previous night that she hadn’t bothered getting undressed. She lifted the hem of her gown and went to the pitcher and basin. She poured water into the basin and washed her face.
With a heavy sigh, she put her face in her hands and collapsed against the dresser. Oh God. Not another marriage. Not after everything she’d been through. To be under the thumb of another gentleman who was going to do whatever he wanted with no regard to decency or kindness… She didn’t think she had it in her to go through it again.
A knock at her door made her straighten up. “What is it?” she asked. Had that awful Corin come to claim her already? Was she not even to get a day’s reprieve from him?
“The Duchess of Watkins is here to see you,” the footman called out from the other side of her door.
Anna? Her friend was here? So early in the day? Then it occurred to her. Anna had heard what had happened. News in London spread fast. No doubt the whole Ton was talking about the scandal Corin had forced her into with his horrible friend.
She didn’t bother changing. She left her bedchamber and hurried to the drawing room as fast as her slippers could take her. By the time she reached the room, Anna’s concerned expression made her break into a fresh wave of tears. She ran into Anna’s arms and cried on her shoulder.
Anna put her arms around her and rubbed her back. “So it’s true then. You were caught in a compromising situation with Lord Durrant at Lord Edon’s ball?”
She nodded.
“Oh, Candace. I wish I had gone with you last evening,” she whispered. “If I had, then none of this would be happening right now. I know the last thing you want is another marriage.”
“I’m so scared.”
“I know,” she whispered, rubbing her back in soothing, circular motions. “I know. Ian was cruel in everything he did. He was even worse than my first husband.”
Candace shivered. She knew Anna’s first husband had been terrible, but she was right. Ian had been worse.
“Come. Let’s sit down.” Anna led her to the settee and sat next to her, putting her arm around her shoulders. “Tell me what happened last night. All the Tittletattle said was that you were caught in Lord Edon’s den in a compromising position with Lord Durrant, and because of that, you two are to be married. But I know you would never go with a gentleman to a den unless someone forced you into it.”
Anna’s soothing tone helped to make Candace feel a little better. Not a lot. But it was enough to enable her to stop crying so she could explain the situation.
“I had just entered Lord Edon’s townhouse when Mr. Bachman grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hall to the den. I tried to get away from him, but being a gentleman, he was too strong.” She rolled her eyes. “I should have known to run as soon as I saw him coming my way. I met him at a dinner party, and he was awful. No one in the room wanted him there. Anyway, last evening he was carrying some clothes, so I didn’t think he was even going to go in my direction.”
“Was he carrying his own clothes?”
“No. They belonged to Lord Durrant.” Candace brushed away some strands of hair from her face and straightened up. “When we got to the den, the door was closed, and Lord Durrant was waiting on the other side.” She gulped and took a deep breath. “The two were in on it together. As soon as Lord Durrant opened the door, Mr. Bachman threw the clothes at me and then shoved me at Lord Durrant. Lord Durrant then forced me onto the floor.”
Anna gasped. “Oh, he didn’t!”
“He did.” Cheeks warm, she nodded. “It was awful. I tried to get away from him, but he had his arms all over me. If we weren’t caught by a gentleman and a lady, I hate to think of what the two would have done to me.”
Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. Hadn’t she gone through enough with Ian when he made her join him and his friends in his bed?
Once more, Anna put her arm around her shoulders. “Thankfully, Lord Durrant and Mr. Bachman weren’t able to finish what they started.”
“Not last night, but I’m going to be forced to marry Lord Durrant. And when that happens, what will I do if he invites Mr. Bachman over?”
Anna’s face went white. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“It’s been making me sick all night. I won’t be able to get away from him once I’m married to him.”
“Well…maybe that’s not true. Maybe there’s a way.”
A spark of hope swept over her. “How?”
“This marriage was something forced on both of you. He probably never intended to be your husband.”
“You’re right. He didn’t. He was upset when the scandal erupted.”
“Good! I think we can use that to your advantage. Most gentlemen have mistresses. I’m sure Lord Durrant does. He was probably looking for a thrill last night. He never meant to have anything lasting with you. When you see him next time, suggest you two live apart.”
“Live apart? Can a lady do such a thing?”
“I’ve heard of marriages where they do. It’s not common, but it does happen. The problem is that you need Lord Durrant to agree to it.”
Candace wondered what the chances were that Lord Durrant would allow her to live in a separate residence? Surely, he would want an heir? She couldn’t stop him from trying for an heir, but maybe he would get bored of her if she didn’t do anything to encourage him.
Maybe if there was no thrill of catching her in a public place, he would only try for an heir when he needed to. Then, when she sent him word that she had conceived, he would leave her alone. She would much rather do that than live under the same roof with him.
“If I could get Lord Durrant to do that, it would make the marriage bearable,” Candace said. “At least I can still have peace within my own home.”
“That’s what I want most for you. You have suffered enough already.”
“I’m so glad you came, Anna.”
Anna smiled and squeezed her shoulders. “We need to stay together. Let me know when the wedding’s going to be. Jason and I will come so we can help you convince Lord Durrant that you two are better off living in separate residences.”
“You’ll do that for me?”
“You’re my dearest friend. I would do anything for you.”
“Thank you, Anna.” Candace gave her a long hug, her eyes welling up with tears. Even in the midst of all this turmoil, her friend had found a way to ease the pain and give her a measure of hope. “Maybe with you and your husband there, we’ll talk Lord Durrant into it.”
“I hope so. Say a prayer our plan will work.”
Closing her eyes, Candace did just that.