The Fallen Woman (A Regency Romance) (26 page)

With a sigh, Mary tugged her hand away from him. They had been through this before, hadn’t they? He would never change. “Again… thank you for the invitation, Mr. Lamb. I do appreciate it, and I hope you have a wonderful time.”

With that, she closed the door in his face.

Apparently, it would take longer than a day to get back in her good graces. Shoulders slumping, Andrew turned around and headed back to the foyer. He should have known better, but it was worth a try.

Tristan, Leona and Bess were all waiting for him by the front door. When Leona saw him approach, she asked, “Mary didn’t want to come?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Andrew answered with a sigh. “Maybe you should have asked her to come, my lady. I don’t think I’m one of her favorite people at the moment, but I’m sure she wouldn’t have refused an invitation from you.”

Bess, wrapping a shawl around her slender shoulders, said, “Well… I think it’s just as well that she’s not coming. I don’t mean to be rude, but having one’s maid accompany them to an event such as this is really unprecedented!” she exclaimed. “I’m sure she’s a very nice girl, though. Some exposure to the world’s culture might have been good for her.”

Sighing, Leona tucked her arm under Tristan’s. She couldn’t help but wonder what Andrew was implying. He wasn’t one of Mary’s favorite people? Leona wouldn’t forgive him if he did something to hurt her friend. “Well, I won’t force her to come if she doesn’t want to.”

“Shall we be off?” Tristan asked. With those words, his led his wife, aunt and companion to the carriage waiting for them outside. The exhibition was set in a castle, packed with art from all over the world. Grecian statues and Egyptian urns were scattered across the lawn, with the Yorkshire Dales as the backdrop. Inside the castle, paintings by famous artists and contemporary masters filled every wall. Leona had never seen so many people gathered in one place—not even in London. A raja from India was rumored to be in attendance, though they weren’t lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him.

Leona stayed by Tristan’s side, admiring the art, but admiring her husband even more. She just liked to be close to him. He kept his arm under hers the entire time, and constantly checked on her, asking her what she wanted to see, making sure the smile on her face hadn’t faded.

Tristan seemed particularly interested in art from the new world, but Leona migrated toward paintings that reminded her of home. She studied a painting of London’s Hyde Park for nearly five minutes.

Then, all at once, any fun she might have been having came to an end.

“Look at this,” Leona said, dragging Tristan to a strangely-shaped sculpture on display in the castle gardens.

“Actually, dear…” he said with a chuckle, “I don’t think that statue is part of the art exhibition. I think this is part of the garden itself.”

“R-really?” Leona took a deep breath and peeked over her shoulder, her complexion turning gray. She looked like she had seen a ghost, but that wouldn’t have been half as terrifying as catching a glimpse of the man she despised. Was it really him, or was it a cruel trick of her imagination?

“Is something wrong, Leona?” Tristan asked. “You seem a bit distant all of a sudden.”

“Distant?” she repeated the word. “N-no. I’m not distant.”

“And you’re pale. Do you need to lie down?”

“No, I’m fine.” Despite these words, Leona could feel her stomach churning. She had to have the worst luck in the world. Had her father wished upon her a life of never-ending misfortune? That had to be the case. Just when she thought she’d survived the worst day of her life, another obstacle appeared in front of her. How could
he
be here? England wasn’t a large country by any means, but running into Lord Wintergreen was beyond coincidence. It had to be divine punishment.

Surely it wasn’t him. Maybe it was someone who resembled him—it couldn’t really be him!

Tristan started to lead her away from the garden. “You concern me, Leona. I never know what you’re thinking.”

“My thoughts aren’t that complex, Tristan,” she insisted, checking over her shoulder once again.

But she should have been looking in front of her, because that’s where her nemesis appeared. When they turned a corner, Lord Wintergreen was standing on the other side of the hedges.

“Ah… Miss Lennox, isn’t it?” his familiar voice chilled her. “What a surprise!”

Good God, this couldn’t be happening! Leona had to cling to Tristan’s arm with all her might, fearing she might faint. “I, um… actually…” Her thoughts were interrupted when she got a look at the pretty, black-haired woman at Lord Wintergreen’s side. Pale, precious and smiling, the poor girl probably had no idea what her beau was truly like. “Actually, I’m Lady Randall now.”

“Oh, really?” A wicked grin slithered across his cheeks. Leona wouldn’t have been surprised if she caught a glimpse of a forked tongue between his lips, or a pitchfork tucked away in his greatcoat. Lord Wintergreen was the epitome of a handsome devil. “Today is full of surprises. First, I find a Rembrandt in the portico. Then I find you, of all people, wandering the garden. Now…I find out you’re a married woman? It seems only yesterday that we… were in London together.”

Tristan thought he could feel Leona trembling beside him, and his brow pinched in concern. “Are you going to introduce yourself?” he asked the other man, a bit brusquely.

“Oh, pardon me. I’m Viscount Wintergreen. You could call me… an old friend of Miss Lennox’s,” he said, illustrating his comment with a secretive wink to Leona. “And this is my fiancé, Miss Anne Elliot. Anyway, isn’t it bad manners to demand an introduction when you’ve failed to introduce yourself?”

“Viscount Randall,” Tristan answered. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Elliot.”

“Thank you, sir,” the brunette beauty responded, fluttering her ebony eyelashes.

“So it’s a pleasure to meet
Miss Elliot,
but you can’t say the same for me? Did you purposefully exclude me, sir?” Although he was smiling, Lord Wintergreen’s voice was chillingly cold. When Tristan didn’t oblige him with a response, he said, “You know, Miss Lennox… I still find it hard to believe you’ve gone off and found yourself a husband so quickly. Did you have any particular reason to do so?”

When Tristan saw tears wavering in Leona’s eyes, he knew he had to save her. He said, “As much as I’m sure we’d love to stand around chatting with you, Lord Wintergreen, we should be going. My aunt is waiting for us inside.”

“Oh, of course.” Lord Wintergreen snickered as he stepped out of their path. “It was an unexpected pleasure to see you again, Miss Lennox.”

Leona couldn’t muster up the courage to reply. She nodded, and her head sunk between her shoulders as Tristan led her away.

When they were a distance away from Lord Wintergreen, Tristan asked, “Who was that man? From the moment I laid eyes on him, I couldn’t shake this feeling of unexplainable dread.”

“Hmm.” Leona didn’t know what to say. She prayed her husband didn’t remember everything she told him on the night of her confession. She silently chided herself for having revealed so much.

“What is his relation to you?” Tristan inquired. “He said he was your friend, but I find it hard to believe. You looked terrified by the sight of him. And… look.” He gently brushed a finger across her eyelid. “You look as if you’re close to crying!”

Leona was hardly in the mood for Tristan’s concern, no matter how sincerely it was given. Pushing his hand away from her face, she said, “He’s no one.”

“Was he a beau of yours?”

She wanted to stomp her foot on the ground, but she was hardly the sort of person to give in to childish tantrums. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

“Because I’m concerned about you! If that man’s wronged you in any way, I would have to…” Tristan’s voice trailed off. “Wait… is he…?”

Lord Wintergreen.
Suddenly, it hit him. It was the name of the man who ruined her.

“What?” Leona pulled her arm away from Tristan and clenched her fists. Couldn’t he see how much this topic bothered her? “What are you insinuating, Tristan?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “Nothing, dear. Why don’t we head back into the castle? I’m sure Aunt Bess
is
looking for us right about now.”

“You have to tell me what you’re thinking!” she insisted. “I don’t think I could rest easy if I thought you were thinking what I think you’re thinking!”

Tristan chuckled. “You know what I think? I think you think too much.”

“Do you know? Do you know who Lord Wintergreen is?!”

“I have an inkling. Can we just leave it at that?”

Before she could answer, they were interrupted by someone shouting for them to wait. It was Lord Wintergreen. Miss Elliot was no longer with him.

“Wait, Miss Lennox! I would like to have another word with you!” he called to her. “I have some things to say to you that I couldn’t say around Miss Elliot, for obvious reasons.”

“Poor Miss Elliot,” Leona fired back at him. “I feel sorry for her. I really do.”

“And why is that?”

“She has no idea what kind of man you are!”

“Oh? What kind of man am I?” Lord Wintergreen put a hand on his hip and started circling them like a vulture. “Care to tell me, Leona? I’m not a cad any more than any man is a cad. I take what is freely given to me. You can’t deny you offered no resistance. Who could fault me for it?”

“I really wish you’d leave, sir!” Tristan spoke up, raising his voice. Leona never heard him sound so cross. “Leave us alone. Leave my wife alone.”

“Why
did
you get married so quickly, anyway? Was it a shoddy attempt to salvage your reputation, or… was it… something else?”

“Leave us alone, Wintergreen!” Tristan repeated. “If you don’t, I’ll be tempted to do many things that will ultimately result in your bodily harm.”

“Ooo, I quake at the threat,” Wintergreen said with a chuckle. “Where did you find this man, Miss Lennox? Did your father find him? Am I to assume he already knows the truth about you? Maybe I shouldn’t make such an assumption. If he knew everything, he would have had to be a saint to marry you… and he hardly looks or sounds like a saint.”

“Lord Wintergreen, please…” Leona whispered. When she saw the fury in Tristan’s eyes, she thought she should extend the plea to him as well. “Tristan, please…”

“Please, what?” Wintergreen continued. “Please don’t tell him you were a spectacularly pliable lover? Please don’t tell him you’re a whore?”

That was all Tristan could stand to hear. His fist flew out, landing squarely on Lord Wintergreen’s nose. He could feel the nose crack behind his knuckles, and the impact sent Lord Wintergreen tumbling to the ground.

Leona bit her lip. She wanted to chastise her husband for turning violent, but who could blame him? Wintergreen had it coming to him.

“How dare you, sir! How dare you!” Wintergreen gasped as he clutched his bleeding nose. His pained squawking attracted stares from several people around them. Gentlemen were coaxing their ladies to look in the other direction. “You know I can’t let you get away with that!”

“I quake at the threat,” Tristan laughed as he returned the other man’s words.

“A duel!” Wintergreen screeched. “I demand it! I demand satisfaction! I will not let you humiliate me like this!”

“And I accept. In fact, you’ve saved me the trouble of asking for a duel myself! If you think I would let you get away with insulting Lady Randall, you are very much mistaken.”

“It’s not an insult when it’s true!” The blood from his nose was dripping over his mouth, splattering when he spoke. “When shall I have my satisfaction?”

“I will return to make the necessary arrangements. Right now, I’m taking my wife home,” said Tristan, turning to Leona. “Let’s go.”

“You better not back out!” Wintergreen hollered at them as they fled.

“Never!” Tristan took Leona’s hand and led her back to the carriage. He whispered to his wife, “After what’s happened today, I can’t imagine you’d want to stay here. I, for one, wanted to get away from that man as quickly as possible.”

“So do I,” Leona quietly agreed. “I hate him. I want to get as far away from him as soon as possible.”

“I’ll have Higgins take you back,” Tristan said, referring to the carriage driver by name. “I’m sorry this day had to take such a terrible turn.”

“Are you really going to have a duel?”

“Certainly. There’s no way I could let him get away with the things he said!”

Sighing, Leona shook her head. Now she’d have something else to worry about. “I really wish you wouldn’t.”

Tristan helped her onto the carriage and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I’m sorry, Leona. It’s something I have to do. I’ll come home as soon as we’ve decided on a place and time.”

Leona lowered her eyes and folded her hands in her lap. “Tristan?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think he’s right?” she whispered her question. “Do you think I’m a whore?”

“No, silly. And if you ask such a ridiculous question again, I’ll have no choice but to tickle you until your eyes pop out.” He stepped away from the carriage and signaled the driver. As the carriage departed, he added, “I’ll be home soon!”

When Leona was gone, Tristan turned around and headed back to the place where he left Lord Wintergreen. As he headed back, Tristan stumbled twice. Was he nervous? Or was it… something else?