Only You (22 page)

Theo sighed, feeling sadder and more disconsolate than she’d ever been.  “Don’t pester me.  I’ve had quite enough for one night from your mother.”

“What if he’s left you in the family way?  What then?”

During her encounter with Soloman, the possibility had never occurred to her.  “Then…I guess I’ll have a baby nine months from now.”

“You’re an idiot, Theo.  I swear you are.”

Theo rolled over, facing out toward the river.  Tears dripped down her cheeks. 

“You can’t marry him,” Susan continued to nag.  “You’d be shunned by decent people for the remainder of your life.”

“I don’t care.”

“Seriously?  You’re being ridiculous.”

“Be silent, Susan!  Please!  Have mercy.”

“Soloman Grey!  Of all the preposterous ideas!”

“You’re a fine one to talk.”

“Mr. Price is rich and completely devoted to me.  He’s begged me to be his bride, and I’m about to be ecstatically happy.  What are you about to be?  An unwed mother?”

“You always seemed to hate me, Susan, and I never knew why.”

Theo pulled her pillow over her head to drown out Susan’s voice, and Susan droned on for a bit, but Theo ignored her.

“Mr. Grey!  I must
speak with you.”

Edna glanced out the curtain of the chair she’d rented.  It was very early, and Theo was asleep at the hotel.  Edna had every intention of finishing her business and getting back before Theo awakened.

Mr. Grey had saved her an enormous amount of bother by exiting the villa just as she arrived.  There would be no need to call on Valois, no need to request an appointment with Mr. Grey.

On hearing himself hailed, Mr. Grey scowled and stopped in his tracks.  She’d assumed he’d snub her, but to her surprise he stomped over.

“What is it, Mrs. Wallace?”

“I require a few minutes of your time.”

“Whatever you have to say, I can’t guarantee I’ll listen.  I’m curious as to what’s brought you here, but at the first insult the conversation will be over.”

“I’m returning to London immediately.”

“Bully for you.”

“Theo will be accompanying me.”

For the briefest moment, he hesitated, and she sensed he was debating his replies.  He didn’t realize the affair had been exposed and there was no longer a lover’s secret to be kept.  Would he stay silent and act as if there was no affair?  Or would he announce it and declare himself?  Would he ask for her hand?

Edna would have bet a hundred pounds he wouldn’t dare, and she was instantly proved correct. 

“I hope you have a safe trip,” he blandly said.  “Give my regards to Lady Theo.”

“I won’t, Mr. Grey, and I’m sure you understand why.”

“No, actually I don’t.  She and I were cordial.  Why can’t you wish her farewell for me?”

“Don’t pretend innocence, Mr. Grey.”

“What do you mean, Mrs. Wallace?”

“I caught Theo sneaking home last night.”

“I see…”

If he had further comment to make, he didn’t offer it, and for that small favor, she was extremely relieved.  She had no desire to learn the details of their amour.  Nor would she sit through claims of heightened affection.

“From the sound of it,” she said, “the two of you are implementing plans without considering what her father’s opinion might be.”

He shrugged.  “I won’t discuss her with you.”

“You won’t discuss her!  With me—her aunt and only relative in a thousand-mile radius?”

“No, I won’t,” he adamantly said.

“Well, I have some topics to
discuss
with you, Mr. Grey.”

“I’m not in the mood to bicker with you.  So if you’ll excuse me…?”

“No, I don’t excuse you.”  She snorted with derision.  “I’m certain this is all very humorous to you.”

“It’s not humorous at all.  I’m very fond of Theo, and I’ll be by the hotel later this morning to take her away.”

“You won’t, Mr. Grey.  I won’t allow it, and I’m positive—after you’re apprised of the facts—you’ll agree you shouldn’t.”

“If you imagine you can threaten or scare me, Mrs. Wallace, you’ve miscalculated.”

He spun to go, and she told the biggest lie she’d ever told.  “Are you aware Theo is engaged, Mr. Grey?”

He halted and whipped around.  “What did you say?”

“She’s engaged.”  Edna put a hand up to her mouth, feigning surprise.  “Oh, dear.  Has she failed to mention it?  How dreadfully unsporting of her.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You should.”

“Who is this purported betrothed?”

“Her father’s next door neighbor.  He’s quite a bit older than she is, so he’s exactly the sort of spouse she requires.  She’s a rather flighty, erratic girl, and he’s rich and settled.  He’s always doted on her, and after her scandal erupted with Lord Trent, he begged to wed her.”

“Why didn’t he?”

“She was distraught—as were we all.  Her father and I thought it was best for her to leave the country, and
she
didn’t want to rush into a marriage where she felt he was saving her from shame and dishonor.  She wanted to wed him when there was no ill wind blowing behind her.”

“She came to Egypt and left her fiancé pining away at home?”  He shook his head with disgust.  “I still don’t believe you.”

“She wrote you a letter this morning.  We’ve been talking ever since she got back.  She’s finally accepted that she never should have dallied with you.”

He scoffed.  “She realizes it now?  After she spent the night with me?  That’s awfully convenient of her.” 

She gave him the letter she’d penned herself, and for a moment she assumed he wouldn’t take it, but ultimately he did.  He studied it, then flicked at the seal.  Edna was risking all, hoping he’d never observed Theo’s handwriting, and she was fairly sure he hadn’t.  When he didn’t instantly call her a fraud, luck was on her side.

“She’s
sorry?
” he said.  “She’s reconsidered?  This is the silliest piece of garbage I’ve ever read.”

“Why?  You think she’d rather stay here with you?”

“Yes, that’s precisely what I think.  You’ve coerced or pressured her into this. 
She
pursued me. 
She
was in love with me. 
She
was anxious to wed me.  I never sought any part of it.”

“Didn’t you?  Be honest, Mr. Grey.  I’m not blind.  I saw how you constantly looked at her.”

His cheeks flushed bright red.  “I’ll admit I’m not completely innocent, but I swear she pushed and pushed to get what she craved, which was a marriage proposal.  Now—probably eight hours later—you claim she doesn’t want it.”

“Read the letter again, Mr. Grey.”

He perused it more slowly, Edna’s fake words sinking in.

“What if she remains in Cairo with you?” Edna quietly said.  “From what I can discern, you barely have two farthings to rub together.  You don’t have a house of your own.  You don’t even have a rented room of your own.  You’re gone most of the time, sailing up and down the river, so you’d never be home.  She’d be alone month after month.”

“Would it be better for her to run to England and shackle herself to an elderly codger?”

Edna ignored the gibe.  “And what if—during one of your excursions—you met with misfortune and passed away?  Egypt is a dangerous place and accidents happen without warning.  What if you died?  You have no family to take her in, and if she jilts the man her father selected for her, it will sever what is already a very fragile relationship.  She’d be by herself and in extreme peril.  Is that the future you offer?  It seems to be, and if you’re really fond of her, why would you allow her to make such a terrible choice?”

“She always insisted she’d be happy with me.”

“You don’t know anything about her, Mr. Grey.  You’ve never been to Oakwood, her father’s estate.  It’s a grand mansion with servants and parkland and horses grazing in the meadow.  Your father was an earl.  You’re aware of what those country properties are like.”

“I am.”

“Theo is a romantic.  She believes it would be thrilling to be poor, to live on love.  She actually said that to me when we were chatting.  She wants to live on
love
with you.”

A ghost of a smile crossed his lips.  “She would say something that inane.”

“I’ve learned about you while I’ve been in Egypt, Mr. Grey.  You’re not frivolous or immature.  You’re not prone to ridiculous ideas.  Can you see Theo being content here?  If you stick her in some little rented flat with the flies buzzing and the natives shouting on the street below, how long will she find it amusing?  When she asks you to buy her a new dress or rent a larger room, how will you reply?”

“I could buy her a dress, Mrs. Wallace.  I’m not a pauper.”

“But you’re not rich—as her father is, as her fiancé is.”

“No, I’m not rich, but I’d be kind to her, and she hasn’t had much kindness in her life.”

They stared, seeming at an impasse.  Perhaps he cared about Theo.  Edna had doubted it.  She’d imagined—on his part—that the proposal had simply been flirtatious banter, a cad spewing what a girl needed to hear in order to lift her skirt.  Yet he appeared genuinely smitten.  How could she persuade him to walk away?

“Do you think it would be
kind
, Mr. Grey, to have her estranged from her father?  Do you think it would be
kind
to force her to reside in squalor?  I assure you, if she remains and weds you, her father will disown her.  If you perish, she’ll be stranded without a penny to her name.”

He stepped away and gazed up at the sky, pondering her comments.  She could practically see the wheels spinning in his mind as he dithered over the best course.

Finally, he said, “What is it you want from me, Mrs. Wallace?”

“Valois mentioned you have a trip scheduled down the Nile this morning.”

“Yes, but I changed my plans for Theo.”

“Change them back and depart Cairo at once.  Don’t return for several weeks.”

“Theo would be devastated.”

“We’re saving her from herself, Mr. Grey.”

“I can’t agree.”  He peered up at the sky again, looking torn, looking weary.  “I have to speak to her.  I have to hear from her own mouth that it’s her decision.”

“She’ll never tell you that, Mr. Grey.  Not after she lays eyes on you.  She’s built up this fantasy where you’re concerned—as if life is some sort of fairytale.  Is that what you’re offering her?  A fairytale?”

“You know I’m not.”

“If you show up at the hotel, she’ll never leave with me.  She’ll never marry her father’s stable, secure neighbor.  She’ll stay with you instead where she’ll be subject to the winds of Fate.  Then what, Mr. Grey?”

“We’d be happy.”

“Are you certain?  Are you willing to gamble Theo’s entire future over it?”

Edna’s expression was firm and direct.  She’d witnessed the Colonel suffer through numerous similar conversations with the young men under his command.  They’d frequently found themselves enraptured by a thoroughly inappropriate trollop:  a brown-skinned native, a servant, a tavern wench.  The Colonel had been an excellent father figure, had been adept at talking sense.

He’d made them face their situations, and he’d never lost a single one to scandal.  They’d all been British—as was Mr. Grey—so they were swayed by issues like father and family, home and hearth.

Would Mr. Grey capitulate as those soldiers had done?  Or had he been away from England too long?  Had he forgotten what mattered?

Time seemed to stop.  Birds ceased flying.  Traffic halted out on the street.  Poor Mr. Grey was more wretched by the second.  He thought and thought, and ultimately, he asked, “The man in England, the man who’s always doted on her?”

“Yes, Theo’s neighbor.”

“He’s kind to her?”

“Very kind.”

“He’s wealthy and settled?”

“He’s extremely wealthy, and his ancestors have owned their estate for over three hundred years.  A fellow can’t be more settled than that.”

“No, I don’t suppose so,” he murmured.  “Swear to me that he’s kind.”

“I swear.”

He appeared so disconsolate that she nearly relented, nearly told him to go ahead and marry the idiotic child.  Theo had been nothing but trouble from the moment her father had brought her to town for her engagement to Hedley Harrington.  What was it to Edna if she wed a vagabond and criminal? 

Except that family came first.  Her brother—Theo’s father—came first.  Their reputation and name came first.  If Edna left Theo in Egypt with the notorious British brigand, there would be no end to the gossip.  And what type of woman would Edna be, what type of aunt, if she abandoned Theo to such a horrid destiny?

Theo and Mr. Grey were young and foolish and smitten beyond reason, but their infatuation could be cured.  Edna needed to get Theo on a ship that was bound for England.  A few weeks at sea without the very handsome, very virile Mr. Grey would fix what was wrong.  Edna had no doubt.

“You win, Mrs. Wallace,” he said.

“You’ll leave her alone?”

“Yes, I’ll leave her alone.”

“Will you depart Cairo today, sir?  Immediately?  For if you don’t, I’m positive she’ll show up here, demanding to see you.”

“I’ll go at once.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded.  “I only ever wanted her to be happy.”