Scandal of the Season (13 page)

“You should stay inside where it is safe.”

She felt far safer alone in a sleigh with Somerton than sitting next to Hardy in a crowded room. “I shall have to remember that.”

“Tell me, Mrs. Smith,” he paused and looked up the table as if to determine Somerton was not watching. “How long have you been with Somerton?”

“Only a few weeks.”

He leaned in closer to ask her. “Are you happy with him?”

“Somewhat,” she said trying to be vague. “He does not always please me.”

“I could please you,” he whispered. “Let me please you, Mrs. Smith.”

“I shall think upon it.”

“Do that,” he said with a leer.

Thankfully, dinner ended before he could proposition her any further. The women walked into the large salon for tea and mulled cider while the men had the brandy and cigars. Lady Farleigh took her spot on the sofa and then patted the seat next to her.

“Mrs. Smith, please join me.”

Oh dear, what could Hannah wish to speak with her about? “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, Anne, we do need to talk.” She waved her hand at the other women in the room so they would go about their business. “I could not help but notice the tension between you and Lord Somerton.”

Victoria only nodded slightly at her.

“I also could not help but notice Mr. Hardy’s glances.” She leaned in closer to Victoria. “Do you have an interest in Mr. Hardy?”

“I cannot determine much information about the man.” Victoria reached for her cider and wished this conversation and party was over. Inhaling, the spicy scent of the cider lifted her lips upward. This was the one indulgence she made every year at Christmas, no matter how tight the money.

“Mr. Hardy is a second son. You are far better off with Somerton. He is a much wealthier man.”

Why was Hannah pushing her toward Somerton? It was obvious that she had been intimate with Somerton so why would she want Victoria to be with him? It made no sense. Unless it was strictly to make her husband feel better about Somerton being here. Perhaps that was the answer.

“True, but wealth does not always make the man,” Victoria replied. “I might enjoy Mr. Hardy’s company more than Somerton’s. Though, Mr. Hardy doesn’t seem to socialize with anyone here except at the dining table.”

Hannah laughed softly “And Somerton does? Hardy is only here with some business proposition for my husband.”

“What type of business proposition?”

Hannah tilted her head with a frown. “I would not dream of interfering with my husband’s business.”

“Of course,” Victoria murmured. Believing she had incurred Hannah’s curiosity, Victoria changed the topic to the Christmas decorating Hannah had planned for tomorrow.

Finally, the men joined them and Lady Farleigh announced the ballroom was open with musicians for dancing and tables for gaming. Somerton strolled to her and offered her his arm in escort. They walked arm in arm and in silence toward the ballroom.

“Did you enjoy your dinner?” Somerton finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Did you not see who I was sitting next to? How could I enjoy my dinner with Hardy leering at me?” Every time she thought of Hardy, she felt nothing but revulsion.

His brows furrowed. “Did you ask Hannah to seat you next to him?”

She stopped once they entered the room. “For what purpose?”

“There are just so many I can think of. Perhaps you are looking for another protector. Someone who would give you more than just a quick tumble and a few pounds.”

She stiffened. She told herself again that it did not matter what he thought she was because she knew the truth. As much as she wanted to throw the truth back at him, she couldn’t without the risk of him discovering the secrets she’d promised to keep.

Instead, she decided ignoring him was the best option. She turned her attention to the dancers who had taken the floor. They glided across the dance floor in perfect unison as the musicians played. Oh, how she wished she could dance. To have Somerton hold her close as they crossed the floor would be a dream. The musicians stopped and some couples left the dance floor while others moved onto it.

Lady Farleigh and Mr. Hardy lined up for a dance. Somerton glanced over at them and then down to her.

“Dance with me,” he said in a tone far more like an order than a request.

She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. Why would he imagine she could dance? Was he trying to humiliate her?

“I cannot.”

“Excuse me?”

“I cannot dance with you.”

“I am paying you to be my mistress. As such, you will dance with me.” He started to move them toward the dance floor.

She stopped and glared up at him. He had to be trying to embarrass her. There could be no other reason for his attitude. “I will not dance with you.”

He looked down at her and then smirked. “Of course, I should have realized what a good whore you are. Don’t worry, I will pay extra for the dance.”

Victoria ran from the room with tears blinding her eyes. His words had cut straight to her heart. Instead of returning to their room where he could easily find her, she sought refuge in the library. She closed the door behind her and walked toward the small fire still glowing in the fireplace.

“Good evening, Mrs. Smith.”

She started and then turned to the seat where Lord Ancroft sat with a glass of brandy in his hand. “Good evening, my lord. I had no idea anyone was in here.”

“Have you been crying?”

“No,” she said, quickly wiping an errant tear away.

“Of course not.” He inclined his head toward the seat next to him. “Why aren’t you with Somerton?”

She sat and looked over at the handsome man. For a quick moment, she wondered what was wrong with her that she found Somerton so irresistible and not this handsome man. Ancroft was kind, personable, and warm. He actually seemed to enjoy talking with her.

“He said a few unkind words so I decided to steal away for some privacy.”

Ancroft nodded in understanding. “Somerton is not an easy man.” He stared into the fire. “I wish I knew why he is so indifferent now.”

“Now?”

“I should not have said anything.” He lifted up his glass and sipped the brandy slowly. “I apologize. Would you like some brandy or a sherry?”

“No, thank you.” She straightened out her skirts. “But I would be interested in learning more about Lord Somerton. You implied that he has changed. Did he?”

Ancroft stared at her for a long moment as if trying to decide what to tell her. “Yes, he was very different. Maybe it was growing up that changed him.”

“Most people don’t change that drastically.”

“Something happened to him.” He looked to the fire again. “It was ten years ago. I can’t place the exact date but not far from his birthday. Whatever happened changed him from a man who used to care about people and what they thought of him, to a hard, indifferent man.”

Ten years ago. She wondered if it was before or after their night together. The times she had seen him before that fateful night, he’d always smiled at her with kindness in his eyes. She hadn’t seen that gentleness once since they had reunited.

“He won’t tell you what happened?” she asked quietly.

“No, I tried a few times and then gave up. Whatever scarred him so terribly is not something he will speak of.”

“Thank you for telling me what you know, Lord Ancroft.”

“Don’t fall in love with him. He will only hurt you.”

She knew she could not fall in love with a man who only wished to hurt her. Lust and desire were not the same as love. But she wished she could help him overcome his demons.

“I will not do that, my lord. May I ask a favor of you?”

He drank down the rest of his brandy and looked over at her again. “Of course.”

“I know you were told who I really am.” She shook her head when he started to protest. “Please, the only thing I ask is that you keep my secret. I could not bear to have my friends know who I am and what I am doing here with Somerton.”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “I can do that, Miss Seaton.” He opened his eyes with a smile for her. “How is it that we have never met until now?”

“I honestly don’t know. We have always tended to go to Avis’s home more than anyone else’s home. Now that she, Jennette, and Elizabeth are married, our social time is rather limited.”

“That must be it, then.”

“Thank you, Lord Ancroft.”

He smiled over at her and again she wondered at her fastidious heart. Here was a man who was kind, gentle, and handsome and she felt nothing but friendship for him. There was no tension when he walked in the room as there was with Somerton.

“Nicholas, are you in here?”

Speak of the devil and he appears. Victoria kept her eyes on the fireplace as Somerton entered the room.

“I’m by the fireplace.”

“Damn shadows, I can’t see a blasted thing.” Somerton took a few more steps toward the light. “Have you seen Victoria? I cannot find her anywhere.”

Ancroft stood and turned toward Somerton. “Perhaps if you treated her with the kindness she deserved you would not lose her so easily.”

“What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”

Ancroft walked past Somerton. “I shall leave you two to figure that out.”

Damn him, she thought.

“Victoria?” Somerton called out as Ancroft closed the door leaving them completely alone.

“What do you want?”

He walked to the fireplace and took the seat Ancroft had deserted. “Why did you run from me?”

“You really need to ask that question?”

“I would like the truth, Victoria.”

“You called me a whore.” She stood and walked closer to the fireplace to escape his prying gaze. The last thing she wanted was for him to see how much that remark had hurt her.

“I apologize for that.” He rose and closed the distance between them until he was directly behind her. “Why would you not dance with me?”

“I did not wish to dance.”

“Did not wish to? Or did not know how?” His hands closed over her shoulders.

“When would I have learned to dance? In between pinching coins from people? Or maybe I hired a dance instructor from all the money I made selling oranges.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, then kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “I was an insensitive lout for not realizing you had never danced before.”

She tried to ignore the sensual feel of his lips on her bare shoulder. “No, you were an insensitive lout for calling me a whore.”

He smiled against her skin warming her entire body. “You are right, of course.”

Anthony had never felt like such a fool. When she ran away from him, he was certain it was for calling her a whore. It had taken him several minutes to realize that she had probably never learned to dance. But he honestly knew so little about her that he didn’t know what to believe about her.

“I find I am fascinated by you, Victoria. I want to know so much more about you but every time I question you I don’t get the truth.”

“I could say the same about you.” She pulled away from him and sat back down. “Perhaps I am ashamed.”

“Of what?” he asked softly.

“My upbringing.”

“I have done plenty of things in my lifetime that I am not proud of. If you ask any of your friends, they would probably tell you to stay away from me because of my reputation. You were a child forced to pick pockets in order to survive.”

“Just because I was a child doesn’t make it any easier to accept what I’ve done. And I certainly wasn’t a child last week.”

He looked back at her and smiled. “But you have made up for your upbringing by taking in orphans and keeping them from making the same mistakes you made.”

She fell silent for a moment as if pondering his words. “Tell me about some of the mistakes you made,” she whispered.

Why would she want to know about his errors in life? She was the biggest blunder he ever made. “If I do, will you tell me more about yourself?”

She nodded. “I will tell you what I can.”

“Very well. I believe one of the biggest mistakes I ever made was how I treated you that night ten years ago.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.”

He leaned back against the chair and looked at the ceiling in thought. “I sometimes do some jobs for a man in the government. Several years ago, I was in France and Lord Selby and Trey, Lord Kesgrave were assisting me. I was supposed to get some information to them in a timely manner. They decided to finish the job earlier than I had expected. Because I didn’t get there in time, a child was killed and Lord Selby shot.”

“But you said Selby and Kesgrave went in early. There was nothing you could have done to prevent that.”

Anthony stared over at her and shook his head. He closed his eyes so he would not have to see her repugnance. “I didn’t get there in time because I stopped at an inn and…”

God, he hated admitting what he had done.

“And what?” she asked quietly.

“I was with a woman. If I hadn’t stopped for that, I would have been at the location early—before they went inside. Then they would have known about the child.”

She reached over and caressed his leg before slowly returning to his knee. Opening his eyes, he stared at her slender fingers on his leg. She had no idea what she did to him physically and mentally. He had told no one his side of the story. Only saying that he’d been delayed getting to Selby and Kesgrave.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You could not have known what would happen.”

“It does not change things, does it?”

She sat back and shook her head slowly. “No, it does not. Is that why you are here this week? Doing a job for that man in the government?”

He supposed it would not hurt to tell her some of the truth. “Yes.”

She smiled at him until his heart started to pound. What was it about her smile that stirred all sorts of improper thoughts?

“Yes? That is all you can tell me?”

“Unfortunately, that is it. I cannot let anyone know too much information, Victoria.” He rose and then poured two glasses of brandy. He handed one to her. Now that he had answered her question, it was his turn. “Can I ask you something?”

She bit her lip and stared at her snifter of brandy. “Very well.”

Knowing he could not ask too personal a question to start, he began with what he thought was an easy question. “Who taught you to read?”

She glanced back at him quickly then looked away. “No one of importance.”

“Then why is it a secret?” He wanted to know more about her life. How had what they’d done together influenced it? For some reason, he knew it had.

“It was just a woman who lived in the house.”

“Mrs. Perkins, then?”

“No, she died when I was sixteen,” she replied then covered her mouth with her hand. She looked away as her cheeks turned red.

“So what did you do after Mrs. Perkins died?”

Victoria closed her eyes. She shouldn’t be telling him even this much about her life. But he did tell her about a part of his life. Perhaps if he learned the dirty truth, he would be repulsed and leave her alone. Then she wouldn’t have to fight this damned attraction to him.

“Mrs. Perkins had no family. So when I found her dead one morning, I called on a man I knew to take her body.”

Somerton grimaced. “What type of man?”

“A body snatcher.” She stared at him. “A man who would pay me for her corpse. The money he gave me helped me live in her rooms for another three months.”

“Why?”

She turned and faced him with all her fury. “Are you jesting with me? My choice was stay in her rooms for as long as I could or go sell my body on the streets. I was trying to find some type of employment but no one wanted a girl with no references, except for their sexual pleasure, of course. Then having no experience was a boon.”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered and looked away. “What happened after three months?”

How much could she tell him? Knowing he frequented the place, she had to be careful. “I went to work in a brothel,” she admitted slowly.

Somerton looked over at her. “Now I know you are lying to me. You were a virgin when I…we…”

“When we had sex, Somerton.”

“I would hardly call it that.” He stood and started to pace the width of the library.

Watching him, she realized that her story might be repelling him. But nothing seemed to change her desire for him. Even when he told her about that poor child, she had only wanted to comfort him. Wrap her arms around him and ease his anguish. She had to tell him some of the truth of her time with Lady Whitely.

“I didn’t say I worked as a prostitute, only that I worked in a brothel. I kept the rooms.”

He stopped by the sofa and grabbed the back of the upholstery. “Why did the owner of the house let you do that? You were young and beautiful and could have brought in plenty of money. Especially for your virginity.”

“Believe it or not, she was a kind woman. She never forced a girl to do something she wasn’t ready for yet. She told me if I changed my mind she would let me work upstairs.”

“So after you and I had sex, as you so eloquently put it,” he bit out, “you went to work for her upstairs.”

She struggled with how to answer his question. The truth finally came out. “No. I never went upstairs to work for her.”

He walked past her, anger seemed to accentuate each word, “Then, how did you end up affording a home on your own?”

“Someone else pays for it.”

“Of course,” he muttered with disgust.

“Why does my background concern you so? I mean nothing to you.”

“You’re right,” he replied and walked out the door.

Victoria wanted to scream in frustration. Every time she thought they were starting to be honest with each other, something came between them. Part of that was her fault. But she had a promise to keep. She had never met such an exasperating man. He had no right to question her about her life. Everything she had ever done had been out of pure survival, something he would know nothing about as a pampered young buck.

She would never understand the man. Leaving her untouched brandy on the table, she walked to their room. She wondered if Somerton could speak honestly with anyone. And why was he so concerned about her background? She was no one. As soon as this week finished, they would only see each other occasionally.

The idea of seeing him once or twice a year made her heart sink. She wanted to help him, make him see there was still good somewhere deep inside him. But if he could never be honest with her, she wondered if there was any hope for him. She stopped at the door to her room.

If she could not be honest with him, was there any hope for her?

Anthony crept into the bedroom and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her sleeping in their bed. After stripping out of his eveningwear, he slid into bed quietly so as not to wake her. She rolled over and now faced him.

He couldn’t look away from her. Her square face softened and her lips opened slightly. She was driving him mad. No matter how much he tried to control himself, he wanted her more than any other woman. A part of him knew the reason he baited her into arguments was to force a wedge between them. Because one sign of encouragement from her and he’d have her on her back.