The Seduction (50 page)

She broke off, suddenly realizing what Trevor was doing. He was trying to involve her in the renovations of his house so she would develop an emotional attachment to it. He wanted her to redecorate it so that she would begin to think of it as her home. A clever and devious tactic, and just like him, too.

He was a devil.

"That's what I'd do," she said, meeting his eyes, "if this were my home. But it isn't. I am going to get a divorce."

But he did not seem perturbed by her comment. "A divorce takes time. In the interim, you might as well give yourself something to do. I'd like you to redecorate our house."

"I don't want to."

"Would you rather spend your time wandering aimlessly around the house and grounds, bored stiff? That's not like you, Maggie. Redoing the house would be an adventure of sorts, and a challenge as well. I know how you love a challenge."

The idea did have a certain appeal. Because she had nothing else to occupy her time, she spent most of it thinking about him, and that was dangerous. She sought excuses to refuse. "Your mother won't like it."

"Hard luck for her, then. She'll have to get used to it."

Margaret drew a deep breath. "This little ploy of yours won't work, you know. Just because I agree to redecorate your house, that doesn't mean I'll change my mind about the divorce."

"Fine."

"I’m just warning you."

"Fair enough. I consider myself warned."

She licked her lips nervously. "I don't want to do this."

"Why?" He straightened in the doorway, watching her as a cat might watch a mouse. "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything," she answered.

"I think you are," he said softly and began walking toward her. "I think you're afraid my 'little ploy' might succeed, that you might change your mind about leaving."

"That is ridiculous."

"Is it?" He halted in front of her. "Then why not do as I ask?"

She'd been neatly trapped. No wonder she couldn't beat him at chess. Still, it would be immensely satisfying to prove him wrong, to show him that all his schemes were not going to work this time. "All right," she said recklessly. "I'll do it."

She walked past him, but not before she caught his satisfied smile. "I hate that man," she muttered as she went upstairs to seek refuge in the safety of her bedroom. "He's too clever by half."

But even in the privacy of her room she could not escape him. On her bed were a box of chocolate truffles, a silk-lined basket of lemon soaps and colognes from
Harrod's
tied with a jaunty yellow ribbon, and three novels—quite erotic novels, she realized when she opened one of them.

He really was a devil.

The following morning, Trevor took the next two necessary steps toward developing domestic bliss. The first was to pack Elizabeth off to London, just as he had told Maggie he would.

As he expected, she was delighted by the prospect of living in town, but she was not delighted by the allowance he stipulated for her.

"God, Trevor, you can't expect me to live on two hundred pounds per month!" Her china-blue eyes widened with dismay. "I couldn't possibly."

"You've been living on a lot less than that, according to Blakeney. Ten pounds a month."

"You know perfectly well that's only here in the country. I can't maintain a household on two hundred a month."

"I thought you might say that." Trevor pulled a sheet of paper from the top drawer of his desk and handed it to her.

"What's this?" she asked, frowning at the list of items and their corresponding amounts.

"A budget, my sweet. I know you find such things hard to grasp, but you'll have to live on it."

"This is ridiculous! I could never lease a house in Mayfair for a rent of twenty pounds. And only ten pounds a month for clothes? Why should I have to live with such tightfisted economy? You're rich now. You could afford to give me a lot more."

"Possibly, but I won't. If I did, you would gamble it away." She started to speak, but he interrupted her. "Are you forgetting who you're talking to, Lizzie?" He watched her scowl at the hated nickname. "I watched you lose eighteen hundred pounds on a whist game the day you celebrated your fifth anniversary, money that Geoffrey couldn't afford to lose. Geoffrey didn't seem to care about the family coffers overmuch, but I do."

"I've changed, Trevor. Honestly. I haven't gambled in years."

"Only because there was no money to do it with. I've talked to Collier. I know where your money went. Yours, and Geoffrey's too. The pair of you spent every shilling you got your hands on, and when that was gone, you borrowed more. So, you're on a budget now, and I warn you—if you exceed it, don't come whining to me, for I won't pay up. I think you know I'm not the fool my brother was. If you get into debt, I'll end the allowance altogether, and you'll languish out here in the country for the rest of your life."

Tears began to glisten in her eyes. "How could you do this? Don't you know how hard things have been for us this past year? Mutton every night, and a fire only in the library even in the winter. No parties at all." She sniffed, and a tear fell with perfect timing down her porcelain cheek. "How can you be so cruel?"

He laughed. "Oh, Lizzie, you should have been an actress. You would have done so well with melodrama."

She crumpled the sheet of paper in her hand, and her tears dried as easily as they had begun. "This is insufferable!" she said and paced back and forth across the floor. "You're such an arrogant bastard. You always were."

He grinned at her. "You're only saying that because I didn't succumb to your charms ten years ago."

She turned around and faced him. A mocking smile curved her lips. "What conceit you have! You always did. And I didn't want you because you were so irresistible, you know."

"Yes, I know. But that hardly mattered, since I didn't want you at all."

The smile disappeared, and she looked at him with loathing. "God, how I despise you."

"A thought that breaks my heart." He watched her storm out, and he sighed. He really was losing his touch with women.

His next meeting was with his mother, and he suspected she would not be as easy to deal with as Elizabeth had been.

He was proven right. The moment she swept into the room, she began to speak. "Ashton, really, I'm glad you wanted to meet with me this morning. We must discuss what is to be done with your wife."

"Yes, Mother. That's exactly—"

"I realize that she's an American and cannot be expected to know how an earl's house is to be run, but really! She came down this morning wanting to know if we could breakfast at nine instead of eight so that she could go riding beforehand. I explained about the servants' schedule, and she actually said we could change that. And she asked about taking out the
Michaelmas
daisies in the south gardens and putting in ox-eye daisies instead. You know how I have continued to keep up the south gardens myself and how I detest ox-eye daisies. They get so shabby, you know. And she says she is going to redecorate the entire house. Redecorate! Can you imagine? I said, of course, that wouldn't be possible, but—" She broke off and frowned at him. "What are you smiling about?"

He didn't say it was because his mother's obstinacy would spur Maggie on with her decorating efforts, a consequence that suited his plans very well. "You," he answered. "How you hate anyone usurping your power. Now I finally understand why you and that frivolous chit Elizabeth get along so well. She never tried to take over."

"I don't know what you mean. I certainly have no wish for power. That belongs to men. We women have a different role, and that role includes the smooth running of the household. Now, I'm sure she's a sweet and charming girl—for an American— and I can fully understand why you married her. But she simply must understand how things are done. Until this morning, she expressed very little interest in the household, and I must say, that was a blessing, for she knows nothing! She is greener than Elizabeth ever was."

"Mother—"

"I cannot understand why these American girls insist on marrying into our great families, then try to make everything here the way it is in New York. Why on earth don't they just stay home, then? That reminds me of another thing. Bathrooms, Ashton! She wants to put in bathrooms! And electric lights! What would your father say?"

"Mother, I told her we would—"

"I know that Americans have no sense of tradition themselves, but can they not at least respect ours? You mustn't misunderstand me. I appreciate the financial assistance she brings to this marriage, indeed, I doubt we should have managed much longer without it, but. . ."

She continued to ramble on about Margaret's money, and Trevor decided to employ his father's technique. "That will be enough, madam!" he roared, slamming his fist down on the desk. "Sit down."

It worked like a charm. She immediately fell silent. Staring at him in shock, she sank into the chair across from his desk.

"Really, Trevor, you sound just like your father," she said with injured dignity.

"Since my father was the only person in this family besides myself who seemed to have any sense, I will take that as a compliment."

"There is no need to insult me."

"I wanted to meet with you because I wanted to clarify a few things for you. I have asked Margaret to redecorate the house, and although she is to consult with me about major renovations, the decorating is to be totally left to her." He could see his mother becoming incensed, and he added, "I have advised her to consider any advice you may choose to give, because I know it will be sound advice, if rather conservative."

She frowned at the backhanded compliment. "How gracious of you, Ashton. And you are going to allow her to put in these bathrooms and electric lights, I suppose?"

"I am."

"This is impossible!" she cried. "I cannot allow Ashton Park to be polluted in such a way!"

"You seem to forget that I am the earl, madam," he said coldly. "You answer to me, and you have no choice but to allow it."

She went pale, appreciating for the first time that her power was indeed being taken away. "And what on earth shall I do while she is turning Ashton Park upside down?"

"You can help her."