Surrender to Scandal Page 6

  “Oh dear. Well. I shall be on my best behavior and ensure Miss Sutherland is treated with every respect.” He turned toward her and his smile increased a notch. “I am certain you will find nothing to complain about and I have every confidence you will come to think of this as your home.”

  Mrs. Laytham reached over and patted Judith’s arm. “Splendid. And I do hope it will not be remiss if I come by to visit upon her and Lady Henrietta from time to time? I have become quite fond of Miss Sutherland’s company and would hate to give it up altogether.”

  “You are welcome in my home at any time, Mrs. Laytham. As are you, Glenmor. Don’t feel you need to be a stranger. In fact, I am hosting a small dinner party in a week’s time. I would love it if you could both attend.”

  “How splendid.” Mrs. Laytham smiled warmly.

  “Yes, splendid,” Lord Glenmor echoed with far less enthusiasm than his mother. The current Lady Blackbourne had indicated to Judith that her brother was not fond of social gatherings, preferring the quiet solitude of country life. She could not fault him there, though this preference would not serve him well if he wished to find himself a bride in London. Not that such a thing was any of her concern.

  “Well, we should leave you then, Lord Ridgemont, and allow Miss Sutherland to get settled.” Mrs. Laytham turned to Judith and enveloped her in a generous hug that ended all too soon. Part of her wanted to cling to the other woman and beg her not to leave, like a child to a mother, but that was foolishness. She had never experienced the love of a mother, not that she remembered at least.

  “Certainly.” Lord Glenmor left Lord Ridgemont’s side to stand in front of her. “If you need anything—anything at all—you will contact us immediately?”

  His gaze bore into hers. A hint of anxiety glinted in his blue eyes, as if he was actually worried about her, or cared about her happiness. Foolishness. Likely it was all for show. Gentlemanly bravado. Yet she found herself nodding and promising to do just that if for no other reason than to ease the furrow of his brow and bring him comfort.

  As Lord Ridgemont escorted the earl and his mother from the receiving room, a part of her wanted to call Lord Glenmor back. To burrow into the safety of his arms and beg him to return her home to Havelock, to the world she knew instead of this upside down world she had thrust herself into.

  Silly, the notion of turning to him for comfort. No doubt he would spin her around and send her back to Lord Ridgemont, happy to be rid of the burden of her.

  A moment later, Lord Ridgemont returned and stood in the doorway. “Well then, I shall call Mrs. Pierce and she will get you settled. I expect you are weary from your travels, yes?”

  “Yes. I am, a little. Thank you.”

  He nodded once and disappeared, leaving Judith alone in the lovely, well-lit room. But the warmth she had experienced when she first entered was no longer in evidence. Perhaps it hadn’t been the room, after all. Perhaps it had been the company she shared.

  Company that was now on its way to Glenmor House, leaving her behind to fend for herself.

  An unwanted loneliness crept up on her and sank deep into her bones.

  Chapter Six

  “I don’t like it.” Benedict stared back at Lord Ridgemont’s house as it grew smaller with each turn of the carriage wheels. “I don’t like it at all.”

  His mother gave a small laugh. “What don’t you like?”

  “Leaving her there. With him. It is improper. Sir Arran can not be pleased with this arrangement.” He certainly wasn’t and he wasn’t even her kin. Though he supposed in a roundabout way they would be loosely connected once his sister’s mother-in-law married Judith’s uncle, but it was a tenuous connection at best. Regardless, she was not his concern and it irked him that her situation suddenly made her so. He needed to put her out of his mind.

  “I’m certain there is nothing to worry about. Lord Ridgemont seems a lovely gentleman and has promised to treat her with all due respect. And, given that you all but threatened to have the man drawn and quartered should he not comply, I am confident he will do just that.”

  Benedict scowled. “I hardly threatened him to that degree.”

  “It was implied when you stood there glaring holes straight through the man.” Before he could argue further, Mother continued. “I must say, I am surprised by your vehemence. I had the sense you did not much care for Miss Sutherland. Though why, I cannot imagine. I don’t know that I have met a lovelier young lady.”

  “I have never said she was not lovely.”

  “You behaved rather rudely toward her.”

  “I did nothing of the sort.” Had it been that noticeable? He had not meant to be rude, just…distant. It was better that way. She captivated him and he could not afford to be captivated. At least not by a lady without a sizable dowry.

  Mother gave him a curious look. “It is unlike you to be so unpleasant toward someone, Benedict. What is the matter? Is it this marriage business that has you so riled up? You need not go through with it, you know. You are doing a fine job at rebuilding the finances. Resorting to such drastic measures as marrying for money just seems so…” She rolled her hand through the air as if she could pluck the right word from the ether.

  But Benedict already knew the right word. Had he not thought it a hundred times? “Mercenary?”

  “Yes. That. Would you not prefer to marry for love?” Mother smiled, but her eyes grew misty. “I highly recommend it.”

  A pain shot through his chest, striking close to his heart. “I cannot afford such an indulgence, Mother. The finances are improving, but we’ve a long way to go. The journey to solvency is a lengthy one and not without its challenges. Uncle Henry left us with some questionable investments that continue to bleed. Marrying well will ensure a strong influx of income that will allow us some buoyancy until I can untangle us from certain business arrangements and set us on the right path.”

  Mother gave him a stern look. “Marrying rich and marrying well is not the same thing, Benedict. I rue the day when you realize this, only to discover it is too late to do anything about it.”

  He did not bother telling her he had already discovered it. He was well aware the course he’d set for himself was not a recipe for a happy life, at least not the kind of happy his mother and sister had found in theirs. But the dye for his life had been cast. It was his responsibility to ensure the stain on the family name was repaired and the coffers rebuilt for future generations. As the last male heir in the Laytham line, he was all they had left. He’d failed to save Father, who would have been far more equipped for the job, and he had failed to save Uncle Henry from himself, but he would not fail in this regard. He could not. No matter the cost.

  Perhaps, if he were lucky, the woman he married would possess enough of the qualities he wished for to make their union palatable. It was the best he could hope for.

  Benedict slumped back against the cushioned seat for the short ride home. Glenmor House was only two streets over from Ridgemont’s. Still, he dreaded arriving. What awaited him there was nothing pleasant.

  He must contact Mr. Crowley and insist he reveal the name of his silent partner so that he could inform the man he would be severing his association with the Western Trading Company and, in fact, selling his shares back to the company as per the contract Uncle Henry had signed, allowing for this option. Unfortunately, before such severance could be instituted, the silent and unknown partner must sign off on the agreement. A difficult task given he had no idea who the man was and Crowley had been decidedly cagey about the matter whenever he brought it up. The conversation would doubtless not go well.

  The carriage stopped in front of Glenmor House and he stepped out. He could have walked the distance in the same amount of time. It was part of what he disliked about London, aside from the crowds and lack of fresh, unsullied air. One could grow inert and slovenly if they were not careful, between carriage rides and rich meals at dinner parties and the general ennui from doing the same thing day in and day ou
t. At least Hyde Park was not too far away. It offered a pleasant respite from the monotony of city life and he often escaped to it during its less popular hours. His shoulders drooped. He supposed if his goal was to find himself a bride he would have to change that.

  Would Miss Sutherland be at the park, or would her newly acquired position keep her vaulted inside the walls of Ridgemont’s townhouse? Little was known of Lady Henrietta, other than that she was the half-sister of Ridgemont, the result of the late marquess’s second marriage. If memory served, Ridgemont’s father and stepmother had perished in a fire years earlier, though he recalled little of the story. He rarely paid attention to gossip and avoided parties where such information was rampant.

  “You know,” his mother said, as he assisted her from the carriage. “You may want to consider Lady Henrietta as a possibility. It does not sound as if she has been out in society much, and as the sister of a wealthy marquess, I’m certain she would be in possession of a considerable dowry. She may be a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. If you act quickly, perhaps you will be the one to do so before the other gentlemen of the ton return for the new Season and beat you to it.”

  Benedict watched his mother curiously as she walked to the steps of the townhouse, Titus already standing with the door open ready to greet them. “Did you not moments ago voice your displeasure at my plan to marry?”

  She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged, a small smile playing about her lips. “Perhaps Lady Henrietta will be a pleasant surprise. I expect Lord Ridgemont would be pleased to have you consider her. It would eliminate him weeding through those gentlemen simply looking to marry her for her fortune.”

  Benedict shrugged out of his coat and handed it off to Titus. “But am I not one of those fortune hunters, Mother?”

  She shrugged and smiled. “Convince him otherwise. You are a good man, Ben, and you will treat her well. She will never need worry where you’re concerned. You are as steady and constant as the sunrise.”

  He scowled and picked up the mail Titus held out to him on a silver salver. Steady. Constant. The words landed upon him with the weight of responsibility, pushing him down as if trying to root him to the ground when all he really wanted to do was take flight. Run. Put all this business about finding a wealthy wife aside and instead pick a woman he actually wished to marry.

  Miss Sutherland.

  No! He shoved the disobedient notion away. No. Not her. Even if he was at liberty to make such a choice, she had intimated she had no interest in his type. Whatever that meant. He should have asked, but likely prying into her private affairs would not have assisted in winning her friendship.

  His mother interrupted his thoughts. “Perhaps Miss Sutherland may be able to help you where Lady Henrietta is concerned, if you can manage to be pleasant to her.”

  Doubtful. She had made her feelings about him clear and he’d been happy to let the matter stand, for both their sakes.

  Well, perhaps happy wasn’t the correct word.

  How quickly he could recall the image of her luxurious, dark hair cascading over her shoulder, begging for his touch, tantalized him. How he’d longed to bury his hand in its softness and pull her to him. Taste the fullness of her lips and breathe in her sweet scent once again.

  Damnation!

  No. He would not request Miss Sutherland’s assistance with Lady Henrietta.

  He would find another way.

  * * *

  “Has his Lordship told you much about Lady Henrietta, Miss Sutherland?”

  There was something about the way Mrs. Pierce asked the question that put Judith on alert. What was there to tell? She was a young woman in need of a companion, at least in the opinion of her brother, Lord Ridgemont. Yet the way the housekeeper phrased her inquiry and the sideways glance she gave when she spoke made the hair on the back of Judith’s neck prickle.

  “No, he has not.”

  “I see.” Mrs. Pierce’s mouth tightened into a firm line and did little to ease Judith’s growing apprehension that she had walked into something blind.

  “Will I be meeting Lady Henrietta this morning?”

  Once she had settled into her room last night, she had been brought a hearty supper and instructed her services would not be required until the following day and that she should rest for the evening. Her room—not in the attic as she had expected—was, in fact, a comfortably sized room attached to Lady Henrietta’s bedchamber. For easier access, should Lady Henrietta need her in a hurry, Mrs. Pierce had indicated. Although, what that urgent need would be had not been disclosed and Judith, too pleased at not being stuck under the rafters, had paid the matter little heed. Until now.

  “I believe so,” Mrs. Pierce said as she led the way down the servant’s staircase to the kitchens below. The scents reached Judith first and her stomach rumbled. “For today, you will eat here with us. Going forward, it will be up to Lady Henrietta as to whether you will sup with her or continue to take your meals with the other servants.”

  The other servants. The reference grated far more than she’d expected it to. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have a choice, after all. She had taken this position on willingly, determined to claim her independence despite her family’s wishes. But the idea of independence quickly went the way of the wind as the reality sank in. Her time no longer belonged to her. Where she went, what she did, would now be at the whim of someone else. Someone she had not yet even met.

  The long kitchen table was sparsely filled with young gentlemen and a few women. Some her age, one much older, and two who were barely more than girls. All of them fell silent as she entered the room.

  “Everyone, this is Miss Sutherland. She is her Ladyship’s new companion.”

  Judith took a deep breath and forced her nerves to settle. She offered a smile and nod at the servants gathered around the table. “Good morning.”

  A murmur echoed her greeting and while no one seemed overly enthused at having a newcomer in their midst, none turned their noses up at her.

  One of the young ladies close to her own age spoke first, though her comment was directed at Mrs. Pierce. “I wasn’t aware Lady Dalridge had hired a companion.”

  “She hasn’t,” the housekeeper said. “Miss Sutherland will be companion to Lady Henrietta.”

  Silence and wide eyes met Mrs. Pierce’s statement. How odd. What was it about Lady Henrietta that turned everyone suddenly mute?

  “Lord Ridgemont is hoping to present Lady Henrietta to society this Season,” Mrs. Pierce continued. “It is his hope Miss Sutherland might ease her transition.”

  The statement took her aback. Lord Ridgemont had mentioned nothing to her about helping Lady Henrietta enter society. She had taken this position partly because she wished to have nothing to do with society or husband hunting or the falseness of the people who inhabited that world.

  Frustration filled her. According to Lord Ridgemont, Lady Henrietta was one and twenty years of age. She should have been presented well before now. What had she not been told? “I was not aware Lady Henrietta had not been presented as yet. Why is that?”

  One of the younger girls with frizzy red hair escaping from a tight knot at the top of her head spoke up. “It’d be on account of the scars, I imagine—”

  “Magda!” Mrs. Pierce’s sharp rebuke muzzled the young girl. “Do we gossip about the lord and ladies who employ us?”

  “No, mum.” Magda’s face turned a hardy shade of red. She stared down at her porridge and did not look up again.

  Mrs. Pierce turned her hard glance to Judith. “I will come for you once your services are required. Until then, you may wait here.”

  She nodded, her mind reeling from what little information Magda had let slip before being quickly silenced. She was to re-enter a world she reviled, something she was ill-prepared for. What had she gotten herself into?

  “Come, ’ave a seat, miss. You’ll want to fill your belly before you start a long day.” The older woman with the ruddy complexion nudged the chair
beside her out from the table. “Porridge is on the sideboard, along with some bacon and biscuits.”

  Judith went through the motions of filling her plate, but the appetite that had greeted her as she descended the servants’ staircase had fled, leaving her stomach a roiling mass of nerves.

  The woman who had thought she’d been hired as companion to Lady Dalridge offered a smile. “I’m Elise, lady’s maid to Lady Dalridge.”

  “It’s lovely to meet you.” Judith had never been one to make friends quickly. Her insular nature made it difficult to reach out to other women and when she did, it was often to discover she had little in common with them. While she had been busy running a household and nursing her father, reading books on philosophy and animal husbandry, they had been busy learning needlepoint, what was and wasn’t fashionable, and the fine art of being a lady.

  Elise leaned forward, her spoon poised over her bowl. “Did I see you arrive in the Glenmor carriage yesterday evening?”

  “Oh—uh, yes.” It amazed her how well versed servants were on the goings-on of those who employed them, as well as the rest of the aristocracy. “There is a thin family connection and when they heard I was coming to London, Mrs. Laytham and Lord Glenmor offered to escort me.”

  “Then Lord Glenmor was in the carriage with you?” Elise sat back in her chair, her spoon dropping to her bowl and her hand fluttering to her chest. “Oh, what a wonderful trip that must have been. I have seen him only twice, but heavens, he is the most handsome of lords, is he not?”

  Judith’s answer arrested in her throat, but it mattered not. Elise continued on without her, peppering her with more questions.

  “Was he very gallant? He looks like he would be a very gallant sort. Were you nervous being with him the whole way? Oh, that glorious golden hair of his. Honestly, I think I would have swooned within the first hour and might never have recovered.”

  “Heavens, Elise,” the older woman scoffed. “You might as well not waste your time on such foolishness. It ain’t as if some lord is going to come sweep you off your feet and take you away from all of this, especially no’ the likes of Lord Glenmor. Everyone knows ’e needs to marry for money, and unless you ’ave a stash of gold coins somewhere, you might as well put that silly dream away.”