His Wicked Lady (24 page)

“I don’t bring any trouble,” he replied, his
smile widening. “I have a gift to present to you.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” He presented her with a small
rectangular box with a floral decoration on it.

“It’s for a girl,” Leonard piped up, his tone
hinting at his disinterest.

“I see you have a toy horse and a toy
gentleman,” Malcolm told the lad.

“Yes,” Leonard replied. “If you take my
Knight, I still have this.”

Recalling Malcolm’s lesson on money, Regan
laughed. “I didn’t know that’s why you chose that particular
toy.”

“He’s a smart lad,” Malcolm said then looked
at him. “I hope you remember your estate will be as important to
you when you grow up as that horse and rider are to you right
now.”

Malcolm turned to Regan and handed her the
box. “As Leonard so eloquently put it, this is for you. I thought
it would make a fitting apology for all the grief I caused you when
we first married.”

Curious, she opened the box and saw a diamond
and ruby necklace.

“I thought the ruby best represented you.”
Then, in a lower voice, so no one would overhear, Malcolm added,
“Red is a more passionate color. One might even say there’s a hint
of wickedness in it.”

Her face grew warm with pleasure. “It’s
lovely,” she told him.

“What is it?” Leonard asked.

She leaned down and showed it to him.

Predictably, Leonard grimaced. “I like my
things better.”

“And I like mine,” she replied, straightening
back up and setting the lid back on the box. “Thank you,” she told
Malcolm.

Malcolm seemed especially pleased by her
reaction since his smile widened. “While we’re here, we should take
a stroll.”

As they headed down the walkway, Regan
recalled a time, not so long ago, when she’d taken Leonard down the
very same path. A flicker of longing had swept over her back then.
She’d had an image of what it might be like to have a gentleman in
their lives—a husband for her and a father for her son. That
longing had probably prompted her to go up to Malcolm that evening
at the ball when she’d first seen him.

And now, she couldn’t think of anything more
wonderful than having the dream realized. Malcolm, as it was
turning out, was the answer to her prayers, and she couldn’t think
of a single thing left to complete her life.

***

The next day, Malcolm received a missive from
his sister saying she had something urgent to tell him. Without
hesitation, he went right over to her townhouse, not sure what news
she had for him. Was Mathias sick? Was she sick? Were one of their
parents sick? Or…should luck prevail…did Logan get sick? Even
better, did Logan finally decide to head off to another country to
leave his sweet sister and innocent nephew alone?

His hopes of finding out Logan was no longer
a part of their lives were dashed the moment Melissa closed the
doors to the drawing room and showed him a cane. “Logan received
this gift this morning,” she announced, as if the matter was akin
to the townhouse being set on fire.

His eyebrows furrowed. Then a burst of
excitement shot through him. “Did he fall down the steps while
using it and break his neck?”

Her eyes grew wide before she rolled them.
“No. Why do you insist on hoping he’ll die or abandon me?”

“Because it’s the only thing that keeps me
going,” he replied. “You know how much I detest him.”

“One would think you two would have resolved
your differences by now.” Before he could remind her he wouldn’t be
able to resolve anything with Logan until Logan treated him with
respect, she blurted out, “Your wife sent this to Logan.”

“Well, maybe she’s hoping he’ll have some
tragic accident when he uses it.”

Letting out a grunt, she strode over to the
desk and picked up a note. “It came with this.” When he didn’t go
over to her, she waved him toward her. “Come on. Read it.”

Reluctant, he went forward and took it from
her. After he read it, he shrugged. “I fail to see why this is
urgent.”

“Didn’t you read it?”

“Sure. It just thanks him.”

“Do you know why she’s thanking him?” Melissa
asked.

“I assume she’s glad he was already married
so she was spared the agony of being his wife.”

Melissa stared at him in disbelief. “This is
serious, Malcolm.”

He set the note on the table and sighed. How
much did he really want to continue with this senseless discussion?
“It’s just a cane. It’s not like she went to his bed naked.”

“Who knows if that’s not where this is
headed?” She put the cane down and turned to him, crossing her
arms. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit. Right after you
married her, I caught them sitting in this very room talking to one
another.”

He let out a mock gasp. “Tell me it isn’t
so!”

Her face grew red. “Will you please take a
moment to carefully consider what I have to say?” Since he nodded
his agreement to be good, she continued, “When I caught them
talking, they said they were discussing how she might get you to
enjoy her company. Can you believe that?”

“While I wouldn’t go to Logan for advice, I
can see why she’d do it. It’s not like she knows a lot of
gentlemen, and she is related to him through marriage. The poor
lady was in love with me, and I was being difficult.”

“The two were talking in low tones when I
came into the room, and they were startled when they realized I was
there. More than that,” she added, as if inspired, “when I offered
to help her, she wasn’t interested. There’s something going on
between them, and it’s not in our favor.”

He considered the possibility of Regan having
an affair with Logan and laughed. “Why would she be with Logan when
she has me?”

Melissa frowned.

“Be reasonable. I’m more intelligent, I’m
better with money, I don’t go around annoying everyone I meet, I
have a good reputation, and,” he shot her a pointed look, “I’m
better looking.”

“You forgot the last part.”

“Oh?”

“You’re also full of your own conceit.”

“It’s not conceit when you’re only stating
the truth.”

Melissa groaned and stomped her foot. “I wish
you would stop making light of this. The two are getting much too
close. It’s disgraceful to watch all of this, and it’s happening
right before our eyes. I know for a fact Logan was over at your
townhouse alone with Regan in the drawing room. The reason I know
this,” she closed the gap between them, “is because he said you
showed up while they were still talking.”

“Oh, yes. I remember that. It was the day he
gave us the invitation to dinner.”

“Right. That’s the day.” After a moment, she
asked, “Did you notice anything about the way they were
talking?”

“Yes. Since you mention it, I do.”

“What did you notice?”

“He mixed brandy in with his tea. It was
disgusting.” He made a show of shuddering. “Really, tea and brandy
together? How can you stand to be with someone of such garish
taste?”

For a moment, he thought his sister was going
to slap him for not taking any of this seriously, but having been
brought up with parents who insisted on propriety at all times, she
couldn’t bring herself to do it. However, it was unfair of him to
be insensitive to her needs.

“I’m sorry, Melissa,” he said and brought her
into his arms for a long hug. “I know you’re worried. But I promise
you, you have nothing to worry about. Logan loves you, and Regan
loves me. There’s nothing going on.” He released her and smiled.
“When I saw them talking, the drawing room doors were open. If they
were doing something inappropriate, they wouldn’t do it where the
servants could see them. Can you imagine the scandal that would
erupt? Even Logan, for all his flaws, wouldn’t invite that kind of
scandal.”

“Maybe,” Melissa said then bit her lower lip
as if she were considering it.

“Everything’s all right.”

“Just to be sure, I’m going to host a ball
and see how the two act together.”

“You’re going to what?”

“I need to see if they find an excuse to go
off somewhere together alone.”

“Melissa, you are aware they could do that at
any time, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yes, but I want to catch them, and I’ll have
Helena and Chloe help me watch them.”

He was ready to argue with her that the whole
thing was a bad idea, but then he decided he might as well let her
go through with it. Her fears were unfounded, but she had to
discover this truth on her own.

“All right,” he granted. “Regan and I will
make it a point to be at your ball, but in the meantime, go out and
have a good time. See Mother. Go shopping. Visit your friends.
Forget about your fears for a while.”

Melissa nodded. “I should. It won’t do me any
good to spend all day inside.”

“You’re right. It won’t.” He patted her arms
and smiled. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

With that, he left the townhouse to go to
White’s to vote on the book his wife had written.

Chapter Twenty-One

A
fter Malcolm cast his vote to keep the book at White’s, he
decided to wait for the final tally. Since Regan had explained why
she’d written it and since he’d read some of it, he’d come to
realize it wasn’t the kind of book he’d assumed it to be. There
really was much more about what happened outside the bedchamber
than there was about what happened in it.

The advice was actually quite good, just as
Lord Roderick had stated. Now he understood why someone of
Roderick’s high esteem would speak in favor of the book. He could
even understand, to a point, why Logan had tried to get him to read
it the other day.

Malcolm still wasn’t delighted with Logan’s
approach, but he could see that Logan was actually trying to do
something good for once. And this was why he knew Melissa’s fears
were unfounded. Logan wouldn’t give Malcolm something to help him
make his marriage better if he harbored feelings for Regan.

If Malcolm had thought of it sooner, he would
have reminded Melissa of this, but as it was, he was at White’s and
needed to see how the vote ended before he could go home and send
word to Melissa about it. Undoubtedly, she’d spend all day shopping
with their mother. Those two could be gone for an entire day when
they went to the market.

While Malcolm poured himself a glass of
brandy, Warren came up to him. “We should know the results in a few
minutes,” Warren said. “I hope we can be done with that horrible
book. If we can get that thing banned, maybe we can clean up some
of the other objectionable filth around here.”

Malcolm followed Warren’s gaze to Lord Edon
and Mister Robinson. “I don’t think you can get them removed from
this club,” Malcolm replied.

“I know I can’t do that. But maybe we can get
them to behave better when they’re here. Wouldn’t it be nice if
they kept their vulgar speech to their townhouses?”

“Banning a book is one thing, but not letting
them speak what they want is another.”

“Not by much. This place would be better if
we could ensure decency at all times.”

While Malcolm couldn’t disagree with that, he
didn’t know how Warren could honestly make such a thing happen.
There were too many gentlemen who enjoyed listening to Lord Edon.
Yes, he told distasteful stories, but he was popular in the club
for a reason.

“The votes are in!” Lord Clement called
out.

Clement, being the only one everyone trusted
to be fair on the matter, had been selected to count the votes. The
group still gathered at White’s grew silent and gathered around
Clement to hear the final verdict.

Beside him, Malcolm was aware Warren was
holding his breath. Robert, who had come to his other side, wasn’t
quite as tense. Malcolm glanced back at Warren, surprised this vote
should matter so much to him. Sure, he knew Warren didn’t like the
book—or Lord Edon or Mister Robinson—but he’d underestimated just
how much Warren despised them.

“The votes are in favor of keeping the book,”
Clement announced.

Warren grumbled as he glanced at the
gentlemen who clapped. “It figures. Every single one of these
gentlemen are cads.”

“The vote was close,” Clement added, quieting
them down. “The book won by one vote.”

Malcolm’s eyes grew wide. One vote? That
meant his was the deciding vote?

“Apparently, the gentlemen aren’t all cads,”
Robert told Warren. “We only lost by one. That’s actually a good
sign.”

“I wonder which gentleman doomed us all?”
Warren asked, shaking his head.

Malcolm decided not to respond. Anything he
might say could possibly give him away.

“Don’t trouble yourself in this matter,”
Robert told Warren. “Just be glad half of us are respectable.
White’s is better than you feared.”