Pride and Pleasure

Page 27

“I see.”
Eliza looked out to the rear lawn, but could no longer see Jane Rothschild or Lord Montague. The Cranmores had a heterogeneous garden featuring a hedgerow maze, a pagoda, various-sized obelisks, a recreation of a Grecian temple ruin, and a gazebo covered in climbing roses. It was an expansive outdoor space that could not be seen fully while standing in the ballroom.
“What are you looking for?” Jasper asked.
“Escort me outside.”
With one brow arched in a silent show of curiosity, he offered his arm and led her to the garden.
They reached the gravel-lined path beyond the terrace and began to stroll. There were several groups of guests enjoying the many sights, but the distance between parties was sufficient to keep the conversations private.
“What, precisely, are we doing?” he inquired.
Although she was focused on finding Jane Rothschild, Eliza was taken by Jasper’s warm tone. She glanced at him. “We’re searching for a quiet corner.”
“Are you attempting to compromise me, Miss Martin?”
“I confess, the notion is tempting. If you were of a mind to steal a few moments of my time away from prying eyes and ears, where in this garden would you go?”
He raked their surroundings with a considering glance. “Not the maze. Nor the gazebo. The temple might have promise, if you could restrain those sweet whimpers of yours that drive me to distraction.”
“You are not quiet in your pleasures either.”
“Because of you, love. Only with you.”
Her breath hitched at his endearment. Embarrassed by the depth of her reaction, she looked away…and noted footprints moving off the pathway onto the adjacent lawn. She tugged Jasper’s arm to stay him, then pointed at the ground.
His lips pursed, contemplatively.
Only two prints were visible before the rest became hidden by low-lying ferns. A large Italian alder spread its branches above them, providing a slightly shadowy cover from the moonlight.
Releasing him, Eliza looked around to be sure no one was watching, then she followed the trail by stepping deliberately into the preceding footprints. She knew Jasper was with her even though she didn’t hear him behind her. As she approached the tree, she picked out the sound of voices. One was feminine and pleading, the other masculine and biting.
Jasper caught her elbow and pulled her to the side, then urged her to crouch behind a boxwood shrub. Eliza bunched up her pale green skirts to keep the hem from becoming damp and dirty. They were on the far side of the tree from where they’d left the path. She couldn’t see the other couple from their vantage, but the sound was much improved.
“You cannot leave me in this state!” Jane cried.
“I can do anything I desire. Haven’t we already determined that?”
The identity of the speakers was clear to Eliza. When she looked at Jasper, she knew he recognized Montague’s voice, if not Jane Rothschild’s.
“You leave me no choice,” Jane said, with steel in her tone. “I shall tell my parents what you did to me at the Hammonds’ house party. They will know I carry your child.”
“Is it mine?” Montague rejoined smoothly. “I think not. You are a promiscuous piece of baggage. I’m certain I can locate others who would attest to sampling your dubious charms.”
Jasper jolted physically, eliciting Eliza’s concern. Reaching out, she set her hand atop his forearm and found it to be hard as marble. He looked stone-faced and furious, his jaw clenched so tightly the tautness of the muscles was visible. He did not, however, look the least bit as surprised as she knew she did.
“I was untouched,” Jane said with more dignity than Eliza thought she would manage under similar circumstances. “You forced this child on me. You must make this right. Your misdeed can no longer remain hidden.”
“Rape is a serious allegation, Miss Rothschild. In fact, I find it so egregious I’m considering leveling an allegation against you in response: scandalum magnatum. While antiquated, it would still serve to protect my good name. You would go to prison, Jane, for libel against a peer of the realm. Not the most hospitable accommodations for a woman who is enceinte.”
“You’re a monster. Vile and debased. Filled with the devil’s own taste for depravity and lust.”
“And you want to wed me.” Montague laughed. “What does that make you?”
“Desperate,” Jane hissed.
Eliza swayed with a rush of nausea. Jasper grabbed her elbow and stood, dragging her up with him. He propelled her away from their hiding spot and back out to the pathway, nearly running into Sir Richard Tolliver and his sister, who were strolling away from the manse.
“I say,” Tolliver muttered. “What were you doing back there, Mr. Bond?”
Jasper moved to step around the siblings. “We were momentarily lost.”
“Lost?” Tolliver snorted. “Ridiculous. Have you no care for Miss Martin’s reputation? Certainly my sister and I will be discreet, but you should—”
“Your discretion is appreciated. Excuse us.” Jasper gave a quick bow and set off toward the house, forcing Eliza into an indecorous pace to keep up.
As they fled, she glanced behind her. Tolliver was engaged in spirited debate with his sister. Chagrined to have been caught stumbling out of the bushes with Jasper, Eliza was turning her gaze forward again when a shifting shadow beneath the alder caught her eye. A chill moved through her.
Had Jane Rothschild noted their departure? Or worse, had Montague?
Chapter 15
“Forgive the delay, Mr. Reynolds.” Eliza hurried into her study. “I wasn’t expecting you this morning.”
Reynolds rose swiftly to his feet. “My apologies, Miss Martin. I have some information I feel you must know, and I thought it best to bring it to you directly.”
“Oh?” Rounding the desk, she sat for the first time since breakfast. She shot a quick look at the window, noting the persistence of the early morning drizzle. In her opinion, the gray and overcast sky was ill-fitting for her wedding day, but she thought it matched Jasper’s mood of the evening before. He’d seen her safely back to Lady Collingsworth, admonished her to stay far away from Montague, and departed in a rush. She was anxious to see him again and ascertain how he was feeling on the day of their wedding. “My curiosity is duly aroused.”
Her man of affairs remained standing for a few moments longer; his attention caught by the parade of footmen and hired staff flowing past the open doorway. “I don’t recall ever seeing such a flurry of activity on the premises.”
“Mr. Bond and I are to be married late this afternoon,” she explained, somewhat startled to realize she would rather return to the interrupted fitting for her wedding gown than participate in a discussion of business matters.
“Married?” Mr. Reynolds lowered himself into his chair. “So soon?”
“Why wait?”
“I wish you happy, Miss Martin. But I’m also exceedingly grateful I called on you this morning.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your sentiments.”
He nodded. “As for why I’m here…By some stroke of good fortune, my father’s employer, Lord Needham, recently learned of a business associate who was approached by Lord Montague to join the investment pool you asked me to look into. My father began an investigation into the viability of the speculation at that time, which was a few days ago. Sadly, it would appear it isn’t sound, and we recommend against participation.”
“I see.” Eliza couldn’t muster even a modicum of concern for Montague. She was still horrified to realize how consummate his façade was, how perfectly it shielded him, and how ugly he was behind it.
“Considering Lord Montague’s financial state, I wondered why he would risk his few remaining funds on such a risky prospect. Once again, my father was of great assistance. It seems Lord Needham was a player in a card game that also boasted Lord Westfield and Lord Montague as participants. Lord Westfield was the victor, and the winnings included the deed to a property in Essex that has been in the late Lady Montague’s family for generations. Montague is said to have been overwrought at the loss, which was instigated in large part by Westfield. I assume the property has sentimental value. It’s Montague’s last remaining unentailed holding. He sold everything else long ago.”
“Instigated?” She frowned. “In what way?”
“Montague was prepared to withdraw from the game when Westfield put a deed into the pot. He then went to great lengths to goad Montague into doing the same by making thinly veiled references to Montague’s poor financial situation. It escalated to the point where Montague was faced with the choice of folding under the cloud of insolvency or continuing in an effort to maintain the guise of affluence.”
“Dear God,” she muttered, somewhat disgusted by the carelessness inherent in gambling. She valued her financial security too deeply to leave its fate up to chance. “I still don’t see how Westfield can be held in any way responsible for Montague’s stupidity.”
“The property Westfield wagered is actually deeded to Mr. Bond.”
Eliza went very still for a moment, then she exhaled in a rush. “Well…that alters the situation a bit, does it not?”
The Earl of Westfield was an extremely wealthy man who owned both entailed and unentailed properties. If he wished to gamble with such high stakes, he didn’t require Jasper’s means to do it. Jasper, however, held a deep dislike for Montague, and he’d apparently been aware of the earl’s dissolute and immoral private life. He would insist against Westfield risking anything in the process of providing assistance, and so would supply the property to be wagered to mitigate any possibility of loss.
What had Montague done to garner Jasper’s wrath? And how far was Jasper willing to go to gain whatever recompense he sought?
Reynolds continued. “Westfield also ensured Montague’s bet by offering unusual terms: if Montague lost, he would have until the end of the Season to buy the marker back. Albeit at considerable expense, far more than the property is worth.”
“Montague thought he had little chance of losing the deed permanently.” Her hand lifted to her knotting stomach. Would Jasper go so far as to marry her to prevent Montague from gaining access to her funds, which the earl could then use to recover his marker?
“I believe the investment pool Lord Montague is forming is actually a means to gather the funds necessary to regain his mother’s property before time runs out. He can tell the investors later that the speculation was unsuccessful, resulting in a loss, or perhaps he intends to marry or gamble successfully to repay the investors without the pressure of an end-of-Season deadline.”
“It is tremendously hazardous to play such games.” In truth, she couldn’t care less whether or not Montague was ostracized. It was the very least he deserved. She spoke only to fill the silence, absentmindedly attempting to hide how unsettled she felt.
“Montague seems to have little choice.” Reynolds looked grim. “I cannot help wondering how involved Mr. Bond is in this affair. Is he assisting Lord Westfield? Or is Westfield assisting him? And why?”
She kept her face impassive. “The Rothschilds would gladly take Montague as a son-in-law, but he resists. If he was of a mind to recover his deed, he could do so through Jane Rothschild’s dowry.”
“Montague would never marry Miss Rothschild,” he scoffed. “Both of her parents are of common stock. Montague has approached only tradesmen to invest in his pool, and he refuses to gamble at tables where commoners are seated.”
“I am astonished at how little I knew about someone I saw with fair regularity.”
“Is the same not true of the man you intend to marry today?”
“No.” She said no more. There was no need to explain her or Jasper’s personal affairs.
“With his participation in Westfield’s wager, Bond, too, is playing a hazardous game against a peer of the realm. And his profession…will he continue it? If so, doesn’t that present a separate set of challenges? The danger he faces daily will be brought home to you. Those he angers will seek you out—”
“Is that all, Mr. Reynolds?” she said sharply. She could hardly tolerate hearing him speak so reasonably about a matter she was too emotionally invested in to view impartially. Where was her good sense? Her reason? Her desire for self-preservation?
“I’ve angered you. That was not my intent.” His stiff posture deflated. “Providing you information with which to make decisions has been my position for so long, it’s now second nature to me. But I should know better than to step into your personal and private affairs.”
Eliza immediately regretted her harsh tone. “This is as uncharted for me as it is for you. I will never hold your concern for me against you. Your loyalty is why I retain you, after all.”
“I promise to speak no more on the matter. Not ever.”
“Please, rest easy, Mr. Reynolds,” she said softly, because her throat was too tight to allow for greater volume. “I didn’t make my decision regarding Mr. Bond lightly.”
“I understand. Your feelings are engaged. I should be celebrating your good fortune, not questioning it. Lord knows having my wife, Anne, in my life has made my world a richer place.” He managed a smile. “There is risk in love, but it can be worth taking.”
Eliza searched her own heart, something she was not accustomed to doing. She’d always questioned what purpose feelings served when the reasonable course of action was best decided with the mind. But it seemed her heart refused to be denied. Even now, it raced with something akin to panic at the thought of losing Jasper. Despite everything she’d learned from her mother, and everything she knew from observation, and everything years of dealing with her own business affairs had taught her, she couldn’t imagine turning away from him now. Despite whatever his goals or motivations might be. Despite the heartache she invited by proceeding with marriage to a man who hid so many things from her.