Rufus looked somewhat mollified but still said, “I ought to beat you senseless for exposing Maddy to your rakish behavior.”
Rheda cleared her throat. “I hate to add fuel to the fire but we have more to worry about. Lady Horsham saw Richard and Madeline. Together. Alone in this room, and Richard was in a state of undress.”
Melissa nodded. “There will be consequences,” and she smiled at her husband. Anthony gazed back at her adoringly. “We know all about consequences, don’t we darling?”
“My wife’s correct.” Anthony tried not to grin. Over a year ago, Richard had instigated a plan that had seen his brother, Anthony, compromise Melissa. Their marriage had started out rocky but had ended in a love match. The couple was insanely happy together. “It would appear you are about to get your just rewards, brother dear. It’s turn and turnabout. You saw to it that I thoroughly compromised Melissa, for which I thank you every day. And, in return, I didn’t have to do a thing. You managed to compromise a lady all by yourself.”
Maddy started to shake. Compromised? She rubbed her forehead, panic taking hold as she realized her nightmare was coming true. She had caused a scandal. Flustered, she blurted out her only hope. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure we can explain the situation to Lady Horsham. Richard didn’t touch me.”
Rheda and Melissa looked at each other and then back at Maddy. Ice entered her veins upon noting the sympathy in their eyes.
Rheda walked over and took Maddy’s hand. “Why don’t we ladies leave? Melissa, find Sarah and take her to the retiring room and then escort her back to the ballroom. Charles will think she’s been with you. I’ll take Madeline back to the ballroom. I’m sure the men have things to discuss.”
Maddy looked at Richard in silent appeal, but he would not look her in the eye. Nausea rocked her to her core.
“We should go back to the ballroom. The men will take care of the arrangements.” Rheda, only a few years older than Maddy, seemed years older in experience. “You must be brave and hold your head up high. Brazen out the situation.” Before she could protest, Rheda led her from the room.
“Brave? Situation? Surely Lady Horsham is not spiteful enough to gossip if we explain why I was in the room,” She insisted.
“Lord Wrentham also saw you. He would have told half the
ton
by now. He has wanted to destroy Richard ever since he learned Sarah is still in love with him.”
Maddy clasped her hands together tightly trying to stop the shaking, as bile stuck in her throat.
Rheda was correct, and as soon as they entered the ballroom, Maddy knew her fate was sealed. Her worst nightmare was playing out in front of her.
Scandal.
Every eye in the room was upon her. They could not hide their superior knowing smiles and malicious sneers.
Maddy felt light headed and she gripped her sister-in-law’s arm for support.
“Oh, my, God. What have I done?”
The Honorable Miss Strathmore
Thank you for your letter. I like a lady who honors her promises. I’m pleased my intervention was of use. And yes, I have been lucky enough to be invited to Hascombe for Christmas. I look forward to seeing more of your drawings.
Your White Knight,
The Honorable Mr. Richard Craven
Rufus stood close enough for Richard to see the faint beginnings of evening stubble on his chin, but at least he was no longer yelling.
“I’ve always overlooked the close relationship you had with Maddy, in fact, I admit to being jealous of it. I felt guilty at my inability to be here for her while I hunted for the truth about our father, so I turned a blind eye to it.” Rufus’s finger poked him repeatedly in the chest. “I should have raised the inappropriateness of the relationship long ago. A bachelor being
friends
with my younger sister…. but I trusted you to keep her safe!”
Richard swallowed his pride and accepted Rufus’s scolding. “I would never knowingly hurt Maddy.”
Anthony came to his defense. “Of course you wouldn’t. However, you’ve involved her in a situation that leaves only one course of action open to you.”
Richard sunk down onto the settee not quite believing the mess he’d caused.
Rufus barked at him. “I’ll not see my sister dishonored just to save your hide. There has been too much shame in my family as it is. Maddy would never survive another scandal. You
will
marry her.”
“Of course,” Richard nodded his agreement, even as his insides knotted so hard he thought he’d be cut in two. “I shall obtain the special license tomorrow.”
The fire seemed to leave Rufus when Richard offered no objection. He pulled at his cuffs. “Well, good. I’m pleased we have that sorted. Now, if you will excuse me, I had better go and stand by my sister. No doubt the vicious
ton,
happily partaking of my hospitality, are enjoying themselves at her expense.”
Stephen stopped to pat Richard on the shoulder as he followed Rufus from the room. “Madeline’s a sweet girl. Some would consider you most fortunate.”
Richard sighed. Stephen was right. Maddy would make a wonderful wife. But she deserved to be happy and find love. He wished he felt more than brotherly love for her.
He had to face the truth, no matter how painful it was. Sarah belonged to another. So what did it matter whom he married? At least with Maddy there would be friendship, respect, and a genuine liking for each other.
Goddamn everything to hell. Richard did love Maddy, but like a sister. Never before had he looked at her with desire. Then the memory of her small hand on his bare chest flashed through his mind—warm, sensual, arousing… The sensation had not been unpleasant.
What Rufus had said was true. They did have an unusual friendship. Since the day he’d saved Maddy from the Chesterton bullies, they had written to each other every month. He had enjoyed receiving her letters detailing her life at Hascombe. They were happy stories filled with laughter and innocence, something his childhood had never been full of. All he’d experienced during his childhood was pain, guilt and anger.
But over the last few years he’d noticed a change in their dynamic. Maddy’s childish banter had evolved and matured into something else. She’d grown into a woman before his eyes, and he’d been embarrassed when her childish adoration turned into womanly infatuation. He’d not known how to handle the young woman Maddy had become, a woman who had now become his constant shadow. At every ball, at every other event he graced, there she would be, wanting to dance with him, talk with him, and be with him. He’d had to walk a very delicate tightrope because she was his best friend’s little sister!
Tonight he’d certainly ruined Maddy’s ball, if not her life. Earlier in the evening she’d requested a dance, and of course he’d agreed. Then Sarah had arrived, and his good intentions had fled.
When Sarah entered the ballroom without her husband, all he’d wanted to do was to comfort her. Sarah looked haunted. Her stunning beauty didn’t hide the pain he saw in her beautiful sapphire, sparkling eyes.
He’d tried to stay away, but she’d begged him to meet her in the library.
Once they were alone, Sarah’s plea for his strength and passion to help her endure her life, had hit home. She pleaded with Richard not to turn away from her and not to end their affair. When Sarah pressed herself against him, he found he was only human. He also found he wanted her as much as ever.
His upbringing should have taught him that you couldn’t always have what you wanted and there were always consequences to his actions.
Anthony interrupted his thoughts by handing him a large glass of brandy before taking the chair opposite his. His brother slid his long legs out and crossed his booted feet. A wry smile played on his lips. “An interesting night.”
“You don’t have to look so pleased.”
Anthony’s grin widened. “Would marrying Maddy be so bad? She’s clearly infatuated with you and you know her, and you actually like her-”
-“But I don’t love her. Maddy deserves more.”
“I didn’t love Melissa when we were first married, but now I can’t imagine life without her. She’s in my heart and always will be.”
Richard knew he spoke the truth. Anthony, a man who’d never known joy, happiness, or love, had found the one woman who completed him. Richard had never seen him so content. The undisputable rake that he’d once been had settled contently into married life, and become a true family man. Anthony’s newborn son, Harry, would never experience the upbringing his father and uncle had had. Harry would know only love.
Richard was proud of his twin.
“My situation's different. You didn’t love anyone else when you married Melissa.” He paused and said softly, “I love Sarah.”
Anthony sat up and leaned forward in his seat, pursing his lips. Then he made as if to speak.
“Go on—say it,” Richard knew he wasn’t going to like hearing his brother’s words. Anthony was never one to mince words, but he seemed to be trying not to cause offense.
Anthony looked at him and coolly said, “Do you? Do you really love Sarah? Or do you only have these feelings because you didn’t save her?”
A little voice inside his head whispered ‘you know what he means’ but he ruthlessly pushed it aside. He took a gulp of brandy. “Not be able to save her? Why would that make me love her?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because you’ve spent your life taking care of the helpless. Anyone who is strong enough to stand on their own two feet and take care of themselves hasn’t interested you.”
“Ridiculous.”
“I think not. Do I need to remind you that you’ve always been in love? Two years ago it was Megan Porter, the young girl who lost her family in the hotel fire. You thought you were in love with her. But then the love died when the aunt arrived to take her home to Ireland. Megan no longer needed you.”
“Before Megan, there was the Caldwell girl. You thought she was dying of consumption and immediately fell in love with her. Oh, the tragedy of dying young. Only, it wasn’t consumption, just a lung fever and she recovered. As soon as she did, funnily enough, you both decided the passion just wasn’t there.”
Anthony paused in his narrative and took a sip of his brandy. He continued, “I don’t think you even know what
real
love is.”
“And you’re such an expert?”
“I believe so. I know that what I feel for Melissa, I’ll never feel for another woman. You, however, fall in and out of love as quickly as the changing seasons. That’s not real love, it is infatuation mixed up with compassion, and while it’s admirable, it’s not worth throwing away your life for.”
Richard swallowed his anger. “Are you saying I felt nothing for these women? Some of us have beating hearts and cannot help our feelings.”
“You had feelings for them all right, just not love, and I’m talking about love in the true sense of the word. You’ve been trying to make up for what father did to me your whole life. The fact you couldn’t save me from him marked you just as deeply as did the physical scars he gave me.” Anthony leveled his all too knowing eyes at him. “If you search within your heart, you’ll see that you feel sorry for Sarah and you want to protect her, nothing more.”
Anthony’s observation struck a raw nerve. “You may be my older brother by twenty minutes, but don’t presume to tell me whom I love or don’t love. You have no idea how I feel about Sarah.”
A tic in Anthony’s taut jaw indicated his brother was losing patience with him. “Well then, you’d bloody better fall out of love with her. Sarah is not your future. She belongs to Wrentham now.”
A possessive fire burned in Richard’s blood. “My relationship with Sarah is my business.”
“I’d kill any man who tried to sleep with Melissa, even if it was consensual. Wrentham is a proud man. He’ll see you dead if you continue to dally with his wife. God knows what he’ll do to Sarah—is that your way of helping her?”
Richard could feel the alcohol taking effect. He drank some more, trying to calm himself. He hated Wrentham. He’d never wanted to kill a man until he’d seen how Wrentham had scared Sarah. Everyone knew what a bully Charles could be.
“You don’t know how he treats her. I can’t stand by and see her left unprotected. If Wrentham wants a fight, I’ll give him one.”
“I see, so you’ve ruined Madeline for nothing. If you carry on this way, you will be fighting a duel. She’ll have sacrificed herself for nothing.”
Richard ignored the disgust in his brother’s voice and stood and retrieved his waistcoat and jacket from the floor. “So it’s more honorable to turn away from Sarah and leave her in the hands of a monster? Is that what you are asking of me?” He fumbled with the buttons on his waistcoat while he waited for his brother’s words of wisdom. “Tell me. What would you do?”
Anthony came to his twin’s aid, pushing Richard’s hands aside as he expertly did up the last few buttons. “If she can prove cruelty, I would help her find legal means to extricate herself from her marriage, or help her flee permanently to safety, but I would keep the relationship platonic. Help her as a friend. That is who and what she needs right now, not a lover who only makes her situation worse.” He patted Richard’s cheek. “And I would not delude myself into confusing pity with love.”
Richard laughed at the irony of his situation. “You’re advising me to be a friend to the woman I love, and to love a woman I view as a friend? If only the heart was that fickle.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy. Just that it would be the right and honorable thing to do. For all concerned.”
“Just so you know, I have not slept with Sarah since she married. I must admit I went a tad too far tonight, but I do have my own code of honor and sleeping with married women is something I draw a line at.”
“Good to hear. I’m sure your future wife will be pleased to hear that.”
Madeline. Christ, he was a selfish bastard. He’d left Maddy to face the pack of wolves on her own. “Do I look respectable?” Without waiting for Anthony’s answer, Richard headed for the door. “I have to get to Maddy.” She would be hurting, because all of her life she’d been the subject of ridicule, and tonight the
ton’s
spite would be torture for her. “I need to find her, and support her. She alone in this hell of a mess does not deserve to be hurt.”