Ladies of Deception 02 - Misleading Lord Martineau (10 page)

“
Our actions Elliot, it takes two.”

His voice was full of self loathing, “No I take the full blame, I should have had enough respect for you to treat you with decency. Please, please forgive me.”

“I already have. Please don’t have any regrets. We can’t change the past and even if we could, I’d never choose to go back to a life without Edith.”

“
Me either. And life without you is not a life I enjoyed living.” After a few long seconds of searching each other’s eyes, Elliot leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. They were soft and warm and malleable and responded to his kiss tenderly. He brushed his thumb against the small mole under her lip and felt her quiver. His hand fell to her neck where he gently toyed with the wisps of baby hair at her nape.

With slight trepidation he pulled back, breaking contact with her mouth but remaining a mere fraction of an inch from her face. “How did you get away from him, how is it that you’re here in London now?” he asked.

Felicity sighed and he felt the warm gush of breathe leave her mouth and fan enticingly over his neck, tempting to distract him from her response. “After my father died last fall and Clinton officially inherited his title and estates, I knew I had to leave, to try and find out what had happened to our child. I didn’t dare return to London while my father was still alive for fear of what he would do to me if he found out. Clinton kept a watchful eye on me, especially after father’s passing, sure that one day I would try to escape. I honestly had no plan of action and admit I was beginning to grow quite hopeless that I’d ever get out of that dreadful house and away from him, or that I’d ever see Edith again.”

“
How did you escape?”

“
The only thing I can credit my escape to is divine intervention. When I was at my lowest point and truly thought I was destined to never leave, Clinton became dreadfully ill. I was forced to be his nursemaid and was able to convince him to send for a doctor when there was nothing left for me to do. The doctor left some laudanum and instructions for me to administer it to him regularly and I knew it was my only hope. At first I didn’t dare do it, give him a larger dose of the laudanum I mean, but I only had to think of Edith and the torturous hell my life would be if I stayed with Clinton. That night I gave him the medicine and waited until it took its affect. I stayed up until the middle of the night, so nervous that somebody would realize what I had done or that he would come to and I would lose my chance for freedom. When I finally left I did so with great anxiety, not sure where I would go, just knowing I had to leave. The only place I could think to go was back to the cottage where I had last lived with Aunt Agatha, and much to my amazement she was still there and had been raising Edith!”

Felicity stopped speaking and took a deep breath. She searched Elliot’s face for a reaction, for some kind of emotion but the only thing she could decipher was a look of sheer tenderness, his gaze was so full of love she thought her heart would burst. Oh how she had longed to be looked at by him with such adoration.

“Darling,” he said, “Is that why you’re posing as Lady Davenport?”

Felicity nodded humbly, “Yes, it was the only thing Aunt Agatha and I could think to do—we have nowhere to go and no means to take care of ourselves. It’s only a matter of time before Clinton forces us from this property, or worse.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you, you can mark my words. I’ve promised that I’d always take care of you and I always will.” Elliot coaxed her head to his chest where he absently stroked her hair, all the while thinking of a way to make things right for his little family.

He was completely caught up in his own thoughts and hadn’t realized that Felicity had fallen asleep in his arms until he heard her breathing turn deep and even and realized she had become a dead weight in his arms. He smiled down on her sleeping form resting on his chest before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Poor girl had to be emotionally exhausted after the trying day they had shared. He gently scooped her into his arms and stood, careful not to wake her.

He walked out of the room and found Aunt Agatha sitting in a chair in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea. Speaking in a whisper so as not to disturb Felicity he said, “She fell asleep, where can I put her?”

Aunt Agatha looked up, startled by the intrusion. She quickly rose from her chair and said, “Follow me. I just finished putting the little one down for her nap.”

Elliot let Aunt Agatha squeeze ahead of him into the hall then followed her upstairs where she led him down the hall to the third door on the right. She slowly turned the doorknob to avoid making a noise then gently pushed the door open. Elliot silently walked into the room. Once he had reached the bed he noticed a tiny form underneath the covers with only her head sticking out. Edith was curled up in a ball sleeping soundly with one tiny thumb stuck between her lips. Elliot smiled at the scene as he balanced Felicity’s weight in one arm so he could use his other hand to pull back the covers.

He laid Felicity gently in bed and watched as she stretched and turned onto her side, instinctively reaching for Edith and snuggling her into her arms. Once they were settled he tucked the sheets carefully around their bodies then leaned forward and placed a light kiss to each of their foreheads.

When he turned to leave he saw Aunt Agatha was still standing in the doorway. He motioned for her to follow him out of the room as he carefully shut the door behind them. Turning to her he said, “I owe you my deepest gratitude for taking care of my girls,” he surprised her by stepping close and pulling her into his embrace, giving her a heartfelt hug. “I promise to make things right by all of you. Please let Felicity know I’ll be back soon to finish discussing things with her.” He pulled back and reached in his pocket for a calling card. Handing it to Aunt Agatha he said, “If you need anything in the meantime, send a messenger to my address and I’ll be here as quickly as possible.”

Aunt Agatha looked up at him with a foreign admiration, quite opposite from the look she had given him earlier. “Thank you Lord Martineau.” Elliot bowed his head then turned and let himself out of the house.

Sunday April 24
th
, 1814

Elliot had stayed up late into the night thinking about how much his life had changed with the previous day’s discovery. He was a father! And now he had to insure that he’d become a husband as well. First things first, he needed to inform Soren that he was no longer going to America. Ironically enough, though his plans for starting a new life in America were now irrelevant, he was however very much on the path to starting a completely new life, a life that he was actually excited to start living.

He took the extra time to prepare for the day, even indulging in a long bath that had been brought to his room. He formulated a plan for his day as he soaked, anxious to get back to Felicity and Edith. One of the first things he needed to do was go speak with Soren and inform him that he would no longer be sailing with him to America. Though he was eager to get that out of the way, he knew that the duke and duchess usually attended Sunday morning church services and wouldn’t be home so early in the morning.

As soon as Charles had helped him dress, he sat down at the writing desk sitting in the corner of his room and penned a quick note to Felicity telling her that he would be by later to visit. Once he finished, he sprinkled a handful of sand on the paper to dry the ink. After dusting it off he sealed the missive with a drop of wax and handed it to Charles and instructed him to see that it got delivered before he headed out to attend to his business.

Pierce’s townhouse was a bustle of activity when Elliot arrived, the family having just gotten home from church. As always, Hope was excited to see him and quickly instructed breakfast to be served.

Once everyone was seated, Elliot turned to Soren and said, “I came to discuss my plans of going to America with you.”

Soren set his napkin down on the table after dabbing at the corners of his mouth, “Splendid. I just talked to my shipping partner yesterday and it looks as if we may be able to sail sooner rather than later. Can you have your affairs in order any earlier in case that is the case?”

“
Actually I’ve had a change in circumstance and will no longer need your assistance. I’m planning to stay in London indefinitely.”

Hope squealed in delight, “Really? That’s wonderful.”

Pierce paused before taking a bite of toast. Looking at Elliot he noticed that something in his countenance had changed. Setting the uneaten toast back down on his plate, he brushed the crumbs from his fingers and said, “Dare I ask what your change in circumstance is?”

Elliot sat back in his chair, crossing one booted foot casually over his thigh. “It seems I’m getting married.”

Pierce spit out the mouthful of tea that he had just swallowed. Noelle looked at him with disgust while a shocked Hope reached over and began wiping up the mess with her napkin, never once taking her eyes from Elliot.

“
You’ve got to stop doing this to me,” Pierce snarled as he took the napkin from a distracted Hope and finished cleaning up the mess himself. “What in the devil are you talking about this time? You better have a good explanation.”

Elliot shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, knowing his attitude would peeve his friend. “As soon as I’m finished with business here, I’m heading over to see Felicity and making arrangements for her to become my wife as soon as possible.”

“And you think she’ll accept?” Pierce asked incredulously.

“
If she knows what’s best for her and our child she will.”

Pierce was baffled. Had he heard him right? While he silently sat trying to make sense of what Elliot was saying Hope interjected with a giggle, “Oh so now you’re a father?” Obviously she didn’t believe him. When he just looked at her without amusement she sobered and said, “Elliot, have you lost your mind? I know you’ve been through a lot lately but maybe it has all finally taken its toll on you.”

Clearing her throat delicately, Noelle tilted her nose in the air and turned towards her sister. “Without regard to offending anyone’s delicate sensibilities, I must insist on pointing out the obvious; the man’s a known rake, is it really so hard to believe that he may have fathered a child during one of his illicit trysts?”

Soren sputtered and blushed at his wife’s bluntness. “Darling, it isn’t any of our concern.”

“If it wasn’t any of our concern, Lord Martineau would’ve had the decency not to bring it up in our company,” she pointed out.

“
Be that as it may, I don’t think that—”

Pierce cut Soren off and turned to his friend, “Elliot you are the most vexing man alive. Every time I talk to you of late you are spewing off some sort of craziness, but this…this tops it all. Are you or aren’t you a father and where did this supposed child come from?”

Elliot began to feel self conscious at all of the attention that was on him. Four pairs of eyes were staring back at him, anticipating what his answer would be. He hadn’t planned on spilling his momentous news to everyone at once, nor had he anticipated having to explain his poor choices that had led up to the discovery of him being a father. He looked around the table at each pair of eyes before something occurred to him. “Where is Miss Ogglesby?” he asked, not intentionally trying to change the subject, but honestly curious about her absence.

Hope answered, “She retired to her room earlier yesterday eve complaining of a stomach ache. She wasn’t feeling well enough to attend services with us this morning, the poor dear, but I haven’t had a chance to check on her since we’ve gotten home. I’ll send someone up to check on her now.”

Hope gave instructions to one of the maids to check on Elenore while Pierce quickly brought the conversation back to Elliot. “Nothing you can say will convince me that you actually care about Miss Ogglesby’s whereabouts, now stop stalling and start explaining yourself.”

Elliot placed both feet on the floor and leaned forward, resting both elbows on the table. He tried to think of the easiest and least awkward way to explain himself. “Well it would seem that four years ago, before Felicity disappeared, we created a child together. I just found out about our daughter yesterday.”

“Can you be certain it’s yours?” Pierce asked bluntly.

Elliot winced, “Of course I can.”

“But,” Pierce stammered, “There’s always the possibility that—”

“
You can stop right there. No, there is no other possibility, none. The child is just over three years old, she’s the right age and she has my eyes. Her name is Edith Margaret, and she’s absolutely delightful.”

“
Edith Margaret,” Hope said, letting the name roll off her tongue. “Though this is all quite a shock, please let me be the first to congratulate you. I’m sure that marriage and fatherhood will do you wonders Elliot.”

Just as Elliot was about to respond, the maid returned. Her face was as white as a sheet as she frantically scurried over to Hope and shoved a piece of paper at her mistress. “Miss Ogglesby is gone!”

Hope grabbed the paper from her shaking hand and read it as quickly as she could. Her face paled as she turned and handed the letter to Pierce. The note passed quickly around the table. It seemed to have a domino effect as each person read the letter and instantly paled before handing it off to the next person in line. When the letter finally made its way to Elliot, he glanced at the words briefly before letting out a sonorous laugh.

Everyone turned quizzical eyes on him as if he had gone crazy. Elliot threw the letter down in the center of the table and said, “A nun? You truly believe the chit went to a convent?”

“Elliot,” Hope chastised, “This is no laughing matter. How would you feel if your ward just up and disappeared? This is serious!”

Elliot rolled his eyes and shook his head, “No, I think this is a cry for attention. I’m sure she just felt like she needed a little adventure in her life and will probably be back before nightfall when she realizes that she’s not cut out for a life of piousness.”

“How can you be so sure?” Hope asked.

“
Because she asked me to marry her and take her to America with me. Clearly she’s not interested in a life of abstinence if she was so ready to wed and sail off to a foreign country as my wife. She’s young and immature and looking for attention. My advice to you would be to find some other relative or friend who’d be willing to take her in and get her off your hands.”

“
What a heartless thing to say.” That came from Noelle and Elliot chose to ignore it.

“
Elliot,” Pierce winced, “You know I can’t in good conscience write the girl off. What would Paul say if he returned to find his only sister had run off to become a nun?”

“
He’d probably say good riddance.”

Noelle and Hope both gasped in shock. Elliot just shrugged.

“Well it’s a good thing he didn’t leave her in your care then,” Pierce grumbled. “I have to take responsibility for the child therefore I will be going after her.”

Elliot rose to his feet. “Well have fun with that. I on the other hand have more important things to do than go chasing that chit across London.”

Pierce reached forward and placed a hand on Elliot’s shoulder to stop him from going anywhere. “No you don’t, you’re coming with me.”