Chapter Eleven
I woke to someone nuzzling my neck. Normally, I considered that a perfectly pleasant way of waking up, but this particular somebody sported prickly stubble that rasped over my skin and made me itch. I turned my head, blinking open my eyes in time to meet Edwin’s gaze.
He smiled and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
My voice was gravelly from disuse. I shifted to sit up, but his arm around my waist tightened, holding me still. I rolled onto my back instead. He loomed above me, resting his weight on one elbow.
“What time is it?” I asked.
He pressed feather-light kisses along my jawline, then worked his way down my neck. “It doesn’t matter,” he said between kisses. “We have nowhere to be.”
Although true, I didn’t like to lounge around in bed. I opened my mouth to say so, but at that moment, he reached my breasts. He paid lavish attention to each one in turn. My breath gushed out on a moan.
“Well, if you say so.”
With a smile that made my stomach flip, he shifted position until he rested on his hands and knees, his big body bracketing me on all sides. Although shadows dripped from the sheet hanging around his shoulders, I made out the silhouette of his thick, erect cock. I arched, hoping to entice him.
He didn’t need further encouragement. He kissed his way over my stomach to one hip. When he nibbled on a sensitive spot there, I gasped and squirmed. I fisted my hands in his hair. Finally, his long hair turned to my advantage. I spread my legs and urged him lower. Just as he moved to my inner thigh, his stubble inducing shivers as it rasped over my sensitive flesh, the door to the room flung open.
Edwin lunged up, shielding me with his body. “If the door is closed, it means we want privacy.”
Nancy, her brow furrowed with concern, didn’t bother supplicating him. Instead, she caught my gaze. “The physician is here to examine your wounds.”
I groaned.
Nancy glared. “No arguments, Mary. You’re lucky we didn’t send for one last night, when you arrived.”
Given the activity Edwin and I had been engaged in—would like to be engaged in now—the intrusion would not have been welcome. I glanced at Edwin, silently beseeching him to send Nancy away. I didn’t need a physician.
His gaze was fixed on my mouth, his eyes dark. “Give us twenty minutes, then we’ll be down.”
The physician pronounced me as fine as a fiddle, as I’d known he would. The bruises would heal and the cut on my forehead wasn’t deep. It rendered me less than beautiful, but I didn’t care a whit for feminine beauty.
At least…I usually didn’t. From the way Edwin stared at me from the corner of his eye as we took his phaeton to Blandford Street for me to change into a dress, I had to wonder if he found me unattractive with the bruises, too. He hadn’t seemed to mind this morning, but now he wore a surly frown.
“Edwin?” My voice was small.
“I trust you’ve learned your lesson.”
I raised my eyebrows, wincing when the motion pulled on the cut. “I beg your pardon?”
“About going on these mad hunts alone. I’m going with you, for your own safety.”
I crossed my arms. “I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, your face suggests you did splendidly last time.”
I glowered at him.
Fortunately, he had enough sense to change the subject. “What have you told your father of our arrangement?”
I grimaced. “Nothing.”
He frowned. “Nothing at all? He believes we’re engaged in truth? If so, he must be spitting mad that I never asked his permission.”
“I don’t need anyone’s permission to get married.”
Edwin rubbed his chin, then tugged on the reins to steer the horses left. “Perhaps not, but it’s polite to ask.”
I shrugged and turned to stare at the passing buildings. Here, the stucco-sided townhouses gradually grew plainer in appearance from Edwin’s neighbors. “In any case, he isn’t angry with you. He doesn’t know we’re engaged at all.”
“You haven’t told him?”
Truthfully, I hadn’t so much as seen his shadow since I’d signed the contract. Papa worked too late and left too early in the morning. I crossed my arms and leaned back against the squabs. “I didn’t see the sense in doing so if our engagement is temporary. The matter will be rescinded before he learns of it.”
“It will if you manage to keep the ruse another week.”
I glared at him. He looked remarkably smug for a man who would shortly have to pay me two thousand pounds. “I’ve done well thus far, haven’t I, Chryssie?” His grimace at the name made me smile.
“That is the most ridiculous pet name I have ever heard, but yes, you’ve done well enough that we won’t have to marry.” He caught my gaze. “Unless you’ve had a change of heart regarding the wedding.”
The smile slipped from my face. “Edwin, you can’t be serious. Last night was—”
“Don’t say a mistake.” His voice was as sharp as his gaze as he looked at me once more. In front of my eyes, he turned into the austere, arrogant lord I hated so much.
“I didn’t intend to.” I brushed a spec of dirt off my breeches. “But you must admit it was out of character. I don’t know what has changed between us of late—”
His eyebrows hooked together as he divided his attention between me and the road. “You don’t know? Mary…”
The look in his eye made my stomach do flips. I cut him off before he said something he might regret. Love, for instance. He’d made it perfectly clear that he considered this an arrangement of convenience, nothing more.
“It’s temporary. Sooner or later, this—whatever it is—will fade.”
“Why does the idea of something more lasting terrify you?”
It doesn’t. If I could trust him not to leave me alone, as everyone eventually did… Even Papa didn’t have time for me of late. He worked himself half to death just to keep food on our table. Perhaps he did it to forget about the anniversary of Mama’s death for a moment or two. There were times when I went out to avoid the memory of visiting her at her sickbed that one last time before illness had claimed her.
Marry someone who appreciates you for who you are, someone who celebrates you and doesn’t try to change you. You’re so beautiful, baby. I wish I could have seen you happy.
Those were the last words she had ever spoken to me. I still recalled my tearful response: I’m happy as long as you’re here with me. The memory of her sallow, shrunken skin stretched across her face was one of the clearest memories I still had of her. I didn’t want to remember her that way, but those words stuck with me. Now, they rang particularly loud.
Did Edwin appreciate me for who I am? Could I be happy, the way Mama had wanted?
“Mary? Are you all right?”
Fortunately, I was saved the necessity of answering as the phaeton turned onto Blandford Street. I swallowed the thick lump in my throat and croaked, “We’re here.” I shimmied to the edge of the seat.
“I know where you live, I’ve been driving all this time. Wait until I stop the horses before you jump out.”
His tone halted me with my hand on the side of the carriage. Scowling, I tapped my foot and waited until he stopped the conveyance and looped the reins around an ornamental swag in the curved front wall by our feet. The moment the reins were secure, I hopped down the four-foot drop to the street. With a sigh, he followed as I led the way into the house.
“We can’t leave the horses like that. Do you have someone free to hold them or should I wait for you outside?”
As I cracked open the front door, Puck’s loud barking overwhelmed all hope of an answer. The sheepdog jumped to plant his paws on my chest and lick my chin. I smiled as I ruffled his shaggy hair. “I missed you too, boy.” He dropped down onto his rump, twirled in a circle, and tried to jump on me again.
“Enough of that,” Edwin said as he squeezed through the door after me. He pointed to the floor and in his most lordly voice commanded, “Sit.”
Puck sat, thumping his tail on the ground and grinning to show his spotted tongue.
“Mary, is that you?”
At Papa’s voice, I stiffened. Even though it was Sunday, I’d half-expected him not to be home. Wasn’t he usually at church at this time? Granted, I usually accompanied him. I exchanged a worried glance with Edwin.
Papa exited the sitting room with a worried look that only deepened as he beheld me. The grooves in his forehead and around the tired bags of his eyes looked permanent. “My word, Mary!” He hurried forward, Jane hovering at his heels, to clasp my arm. “What happened?” Stiffening, he turned to Edwin. “When you sent word she was with you, you never mentioned she was injured.”
“I slipped and fell. It looks worse than it is.” My protest fell on deaf ears, however, because Papa seemed to be awaiting a response from Edwin.
His face solemn, Edwin gazed down the few inches into Papa’s eyes. “I paid a physician to inspect her this morning. He assured that there will be no lasting damage. Mary, don’t you wish to change clothes?”
I scowled at his pointed look. “Very well. I’ll be down in a moment. Jane, would you mind looking after the horses while I’m away?”
The maid nodded. She curtsied to Edwin before slipping past him onto the walkway.
The moment she left, I added to Edwin, “Puck’s leash is hanging by the door.”
He frowned. “I thought we were riding through Hyde Park.”
“Isn’t the point to see and be seen? We can do that just as well while on a walk with Puck.” Having made my point, I started up the stairs.
Edwin sighed. “Very well, we’ll bring the dog. Don’t tarry. I’ll wait here with your father a moment.”
I faltered in mid-step, halfway up the staircase. When I glanced down, I found Edwin watching me, perhaps waiting for me to disappear. Our earlier conversation circled my head. He couldn’t mean to ask Papa for my hand in marriage, could he? No, that would be ludicrous. I didn’t intend to lose our wager, even if I’d considered it in a moment of insanity last night. If Edwin wanted a marriage filled with love, respect, and passion…
He’d made it perfectly clear when he’d set out that he did not. He wanted the kind of wife he could abandon on a country estate and never think of again. Convenient was not a word that had ever described me.
I hurried to dress in clothes befitting his fiancée and return downstairs.
“Ho, Sutton!”
I wrapped my hand around Puck’s leash as the woman’s voice pierced the air. By now, I had come to recognize that cheerful voice. Winifred Craven. And, as I turned my head to spot her, I discovered she had brought her husband and the rest of the family. All four were wedged into the seat of a lofty phaeton. Winifred, seated in the middle between Annabel and her husband, waved her handkerchief.
Holding Puck steady, I hissed at Edwin. “You didn’t tell me your friends meant to be here today.”
He raised an eyebrow. “If we had been in my phaeton, perhaps they wouldn’t have noticed us.”
I patted my cheeks with my free hand. I’d slathered cosmetics onto my cheeks and forehead to hide the bruises I’d earned yesterday. My handiwork held up from a distance, but would it be noticeable upon close inspection? With the sudden appearance of Edwin’s friends, self-consciousness nagged me. I had to act ladylike and in love for his friends, a challenge on the best of days. Although I had no lasting damage, my face throbbed beneath the powder I’d layered on.
As they pulled alongside us, Edwin smiled. “So good to see you. Would you like to walk with us?”
I’d expected the question but inwardly sighed nevertheless. Fortunately, handling Puck gave me an excuse to hang back as Edwin stepped up to greet the Craven brothers and help their wives from the conveyance. I dug in my heels as the sheepdog strained against his leash, trying to greet them as well.
“Puck, calm down.”
He didn’t listen to me. Males rarely did.
Annabel turned to me, a big smile on her face. “What a cute dog! Is he friendly?”
“Too friendly,” I answered, out of breath.
Sensing that we were talking about him, Puck barked happily. The collar around his neck seemed like a minor inconvenience, even with the bulk of my weight pulling on the leash. He barely noticed as he gained ground inch by inch.
With a laugh, Annabel towed her husband closer to greet the sheepdog. He caught the dog’s weight as Puck jumped up to greet them. She scratched his face and neck as Winifred appeared on the dog’s other side to give him more attention. Wincing at the leash digging into my hand, I relinquished my hold on him. The moment I stepped forward and the leash slackened, my hand started to throb. I unwound the lead digging into my flesh.
Edwin appeared at my side, taking the lead from my hand. “Allow me. I’ll be able to restrain him more effectively.” He proved as much with a stern word as he detached Puck from his friends. He forced the dog to sit.
“He’s darling,” Winifred exclaimed with a smile. “What’s his name? Is he yours?”
“Mine,” I volunteered. “And his name is Puck. His manners have improved greatly since I rescued him from near starvation.”
Edwin raised his eyebrows, incredulous, but didn’t challenge the statement. Instead, he added pointedly, “He will shortly be ours.”
“Yes, of course, dear,” I said with a falsely sweet smile. After a beat, I added, “He sleeps in the bed.”
Edwin scowled. “He’ll sleep on the floor.”
Annabel laughed. “Oh, dear. Did we strike a chord?”
Winifred tucked a strand of her blond hair into her bonnet. “Don’t worry over it, Mary. For what it’s worth, my husband won’t let me keep my pets in the bed with us, either.”
After handing the reins of the phaeton to a groom that had followed them, her husband strode up to the group with a baffled look. “Your pets are bees. Of course I won’t let them in bed with us! You don’t even want them there.”
“Hush,” she hissed. “I’m trying to lift her spirits.”
Bees? They must be related somehow to her husband’s botany.
With a smile that I suspected to be forced, Edwin loudly interjected. “Would you like to walk down to the Serpentine with us?”
Winifred beamed. “Of course! That sounds delightful. Petunia?”
Her husband offered his arm with a pained smile. Annabel took her husband’s arm and the group began to walk. They crossed Rotten Row, heading between the trees toward the long lake transecting Hyde Park. No path aided their journey, but the Cravens didn’t seem to mind in the least. They delicately picked their way between the foliage. The men started up a conversation about the state of the trees and bushes this year that I was happy not to participate in. As the cultivated trees grew closer together, necessitating they pass in single file, the women found their way to my side as the gentlemen held tree branches aside for us to pass.
As a meagre sliver of sunlight passed between the dappled shade of the trees to fall on my face, Annabel hesitated. She frowned. “Dear me, have you been hurt?”
Edwin paused, holding Puck steady as he attended to my answer. What did he fear I’d say, that I’d chosen a battle with a brick wall?
I managed a small smile. “I slipped and fell. Apparently powder doesn’t quite cover the result.”
“Forgive me,” Annabel said hastily. “I didn’t mean to imply you looked bad. I was concerned for your health, is all.”
“Thank you, but there’s no need to be concerned. It’s no more than a small bump.”
“How did it happen?” Winifred asked.
Edwin’s gaze was hot and unwavering as he stood stiffly to one side. Sensing his tension, Puck whined and pawed at his boot. Edwin paid the dog no mind.
I answered, “It’s a dull tale, I’m afraid. I wasn’t watching my footing and fell into a wall. Shall we carry on?”
“Oh yes, of course.”
The set of Edwin’s shoulders relaxed. He continued his conversation with his botanist friends. We ladies continued to walk a few paces ahead.
As the silence grew a bit strained, I turned to Annabel. “How has your painting been coming along?”
She laughed delicately. “Oh, I haven’t touched a brush since our item. We should do it again sometime.”
Did she enjoy such torture? It had been plain as day to me that I had lied about my painting prowess. Edwin hadn’t said a word about the botched watercolor I’d foisted on him, but thankfully I hadn’t spotted it hanging in his townhouse the way Jane had been apt to put it in ours. It was a hideous reminder that I possessed none of the traditionally feminine skills.
Nevertheless, I forced a smile and said, “That would be lovely.”
One more week, I reminded myself. After I rescinded my engagement with Edwin, the Missuses Craven wouldn’t deign to speak with me, let alone drag me along on agonizing outings.
Winifred touched her bonnet, looking a bit guilty. “Had I known that we would meet with you here, I would have worn the bonnet you helped me trim. And a different dress, of course. It doesn’t match this one at all.”
I highly doubted that she owned a dress ugly enough to match the newly decorated bonnet.
“Of course,” I murmured, not certain what else to say.
What would I say to Rose? She was perhaps one of the most ladylike women I knew, and a close friend of mine. Granted, I might never have become friends with her were it not for Francine, who had more in common with the Craven brothers than she did with their wives. On a normal day, I had deeper conversations with the servants than the hosts at a soiree. I didn’t care for feminine frippery; I cared more for making a difference in the lives of those who needed it.
Puck’s bark shattered the air as he spotted an animal. He lunged on the leash, nearly knocking over Annabel before Edwin, who had slackened his hold during the course of his conversation, caught the lead and reined in the dog. A frightened yowl drew my attention to a skinny kitten as it madly clawed its way up a tree trunk and into the safety of the branches. Puck continued to bark madly. Jaw clenched, Edwin tried to lead the dog past the tree. Instead, Puck planted his paws on the bark as if he meant to climb it in pursuit. Fortunately for the cat, Puck didn’t possess half the skills needed to climb.
“Mary,” Edwin said between Puck’s baying. “Your assistance?”
I nodded and toed off my slippers, following suit with my smooth stockings. “Quite right. Guide Puck away and I’ll fetch the kitten.” Climbing in skirts was near impossible, so I quickly gathered the fabric around my legs and tied it off, girding my loins.
As I stepped forward, Edwin wrestled with the lead to pull Puck away from the trunk. “That isn’t what I meant. Leave the cat.”
I craned my neck back to find the frightened animal. The small feline shivered about ten feet off the ground, its fur sticking up on end. It mewled as it caught my gaze. “I think she’s stuck. It’s Puck’s fault she’s up there.” I reached for the nearest branch and braced my bare foot against the rough tree trunk.
“Mary—”
I started to climb.
Edwin swore, urgency tinging his voice. “Mary, get down now. Leave the cat to fend for itself.”
I ignored him. As I reached eight feet off the ground, my foot slipped. I slammed against the trunk, dangling from the creaking branch over my head. It was sturdy enough to hold my weight, but the kitten got frightened and scrambled up the trunk another three feet. I cursed under my breath and groped for a better foothold.
“Mary!”
I swung onto the branch above me. This would only take a moment more. Shakily, I straightened to my feet, my knees wobbling. Below, Edwin cursed the air blue.
“Hold on to the bloody branch, you’re going to break your neck!”
The blood rushed in my ears, distancing me from the sound of his voice. Heart pounding, I reached up to gently detach the kitten’s claws from the bark. She hissed at first, but as I approached slowly and spoke low reassurances, she soon gentled enough for me to lift her into my arms.
“There you are. You’re safe now. Let’s get you down.”
As I started to lower myself onto the branch again, my foot slipped. I shrieked as I toppled backward. The cat’s claws dug into my chest and shoulder where I cradled her. I caught myself by the crook of my elbow over the branch. My ears rang, my arm aching from supporting my full weight at such an awkward angle.
A moment later, Edwin’s warm arm wrapped around my dangling legs. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
“I can’t. I’ll crush the cat. Take her first.” Wincing, I tried to detach the feline one-handed. Her claws dug into my skin.
“Put the cat back on the branch before you hurt yourself.”
“No. Take her.” Puck barked as if supporting that idea.
I managed to curl my fingers beneath her belly and pry her loose. I handed her down, hoping Edwin would take her despite his protests. His arm loosened around my legs as he accepted the cat and passed her on to someone else.
“Now you.”
I almost suggested I climb down under my own power, but the jolt of pain in the arm wrapped around the branch when I flexed it convinced me otherwise. I swallowed hard. “Are you certain you’ll be able to catch me?”
“Mary, that kitten weighs more than you do. I won’t let you fall.”
Let go. Trust him. The muscles in my arm seized. It was harder to do than I thought. With a deep breath, I let my arm go limp and fell.
The arm around my legs tightened. If I’d expected to be caught gracefully, I was in for a rude awakening as my stomach collided with his shoulder. The breath gushed from between my lips in a grunt. I stared at the back of his coat. He swung me to my feet a moment later. They didn’t want to hold me, but he was too busy examining me to notice my unsteady legs.
“You’re hurt.”
I peered at my hands and legs. “Scrapes. Nothing serious.” Locking my knees, I reached for my discarded stockings.
“We need to clean the cuts before they fester.”
“They’re scrapes, Edwin—”
When I glanced into his face, I didn’t bother arguing further. He looked as inviting as a pit of broken glass. The cuts on my palms and legs stung as I forced my legs back into my stockings. I shoved my feet into my slippers as I undid the knot in my skirt. Edwin helped me drape it to hide my legs once more.
“Very well,” I answered, my voice tight, “but we’re taking the kitten with us. She needs a home.”
Annabel, now holding the kitten just low enough for Puck—held by one of the Craven brothers—to sniff, glanced up. “Huck and I can take her. We could use a mouser, couldn’t we, darling?”
He hadn’t taken control of the dog, it seemed, for the Craven brother with free hands stepped up next to her with a raised eyebrow. “I suppose…are you certain the cat is female?”
“Oh.” She straightened.
The kitten gave Puck a parting whack on the nose, not that he appeared to take offense.
“I should check.” Without preamble, she lifted the cat’s tail to peer between the hind legs. “Actually, I think it’s male.”
Her husband smirked. “You think?”
With a look of irritation, she passed the animal on to him. “Very well, Lord of All Things Male, what do you think?”
He tipped the kitten over and nodded. “Definitely male.”
Annabel smiled. “Then it’s settled. We’ll take him.”
“Wonderful,” Edwin barked. He collected Puck from the Cravens and led the disappointed dog away from the group. “I hope you don’t mind if we cut this excursion short.”
“Of course not,” Winifred answered, though her sunny smile wavered a bit. “We understand. We’ll meet again another time.”
Edwin turned to me. “Can you walk?”
I scowled at him. “I didn’t take a bullet. Of course I can walk!”
“Good. Then walk.” He clamped his free hand around my elbow and steered me the way we’d come, toward Rotten Row.
As we left the Cravens behind, their conversation drifted.
In a worried voice, Winifred didn’t whisper quite as low as she likely hoped. “If she makes a habit of climbing, perhaps she slipped and fell out of a tree.”
“That sounds likely,” answered Annabel.
“I’d been afraid at first that he might have hurt her.”
“Our Sutton? For shame!”
“You don’t know what people are capable of sometimes, and he’s never brought a woman ’round before her…”
One of the men interrupted. “I’d like to think we are better judges of character than that. Clearly, she isn’t too concerned for her safety. Let’s leave it at that.”
With every word, Edwin seemed to grow more and more stiff. He never dropped his hand from my elbow, even when he had to rein in Puck in order for us to squeeze between the trees one at a time. The dog seemed sensitive to his mood, abnormally quiet and obedient with his ears pulled back against his skull. The moment we stepped out of earshot, Edwin steered us beneath the shade of an oak tree, out of sight of the Cravens and Rotten Row.
“What do you think you were doing?”
Bracing myself for a lecture on my unladylike behavior, I shrugged out of his hold. “I was doing something more important than talking about lace or ribbon.” Not that either of the Craven wives had tried to speak to me about such feminine frippery, but I foresaw us exhausting all other polite topics sooner rather than later.
“You could have broken your neck.”
At Edwin’s low, ominous tone, Puck’s hackles rose. He growled low in his throat, turning to stand beside me and face Edwin. I put a hand on his haunches, trying to reassure him. Edwin would never hurt me. Even if his tone was less than cordial.
“I climbed a tree. I used to do it all the time if you’ll recall.”
“I recall,” he said darkly.
Puck yipped, startling Edwin.
Loosening his posture, he added in a terse but gentler tone, “I also recall the bones you broke.”
“I broke my arm once. I landed wrong.”
“And you might have done so again!”
Puck barked.
Edwin pointed to the ground. “Sit. Hush.”
I snatched the leash from his hand. “Give that here. He isn’t your dog. He’s mine, and he’s mine to command.”
“Then you keep him in line,” Edwin snapped. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation. Meanwhile, you don’t seem to recognize or care a whit for the kind of danger you put yourself in.” He gestured to his face. “Have you learned nothing?”
I climbed a tree. It wasn’t as though I’d jumped off the top of the Tower of London!
“This,” I gestured to my bruises, “was an unforeseen accident. That—” I flung my hand toward the way we’d come. “—is what I do. I help people. I’m not a dolt, Edwin. I can make decisions for myself and I had things perfectly well in hand.”
“Oh, yes, you seemed to have the situation well-handled when you nearly plummeted to the ground!”
“I was only eight feet up. I would have survived!”
“This time.” His eyes snapped, full of fury.
Was this what I could look forward to enduring for the next seven days? The morning had begun with such promise. I should have known better than to think happiness like that would last more than a few hours.
“What about next time, Mary?”
“Maybe you should trust me to have a lick of sense!”
Puck whined. He shrunk back, looking from Edwin to me and back again, uncertain. His ears clung to his skull, flattened, and his tail was wedged between his legs.
Edwin bristled. “Why should I, when you clearly didn’t demonstrate sense today? You leaped to follow your first impulse without thinking of the consequences or stopping to ask yourself if there might have been a better way.”
I shook my head, backing up a pace. “I don’t need you to tell me what I can or cannot do, Edwin. We aren’t married. You don’t own me.”
“I don’t mean to imply—”
Fuming, I turned and walked away. Last night, he’d seemed to accept and cherish me for who I was. This morning? It was as though our night together had never happened. Perhaps it was momentary insanity and I’d been a fool to think it might have been more.
“Mary, where are you going?” His footsteps crunched on a stray twig as he followed.
“I don’t need to listen to this from you. I’m going home. Alone.” I paused to peer over my shoulder. “Or is that too dangerous for a delicate flower like me?”
His mouth twisted in distaste. “If you don’t want to consider your health, so be it. I won’t either. My life was simpler before you stepped back into it.” Shoving his hands roughly into the pockets of his jacket, he turned his back.
Puck whined as he walked away.