Two Wrongs Make a Marriage (17 page)

‘Then am I to believe the news that your daughter offered was accurate?’ This seemed to be the last thing that de Warde had expected to hear.

Her mother tapped Thea’s arm with fingers. ‘You naughty thing. We were keeping it a secret, were we not, until things had progressed further. Disappointments sometimes occur in the early months and I would hate to raise hopes only to dash them again. And, of course, we must inform your grandfather before telling the rest of the
ton.
’

This went in direct opposition to her current openness in speaking in front of their other guest, but then she lowered her lashes and gave de Warde a veiled glance. ‘Of course, it is hardly necessary to keep the truth from one who has been as instrumental in our good fortune as Mr de Warde.’

‘I have?’ Knowing the magnitude of the fraud he had perpetrated on them, he was totally at a loss.

‘Of course,’ Antonia ploughed on, ignoring his discomfiture, ‘I thought it extreme at the time. But the little idol you found for my husband was well worth the price we paid for it. Although it was up to Kenton to find the missing piece and make the thing complete.’

‘You say there is more?’ He looked both puzzled and suspicious now. ‘And what would Kenton know of it?’

‘He lived in India, of course. Apparently, such altars are quite common in the remote areas he travelled.’ Antonia smiled triumphantly. ‘And he said that they must be bought, not given as gifts. That explained the fee you extracted from my husband. I am so sorry to have suspected you, sir. For a time, I quite thought you had tried to cheat us. But now...’ she laid a hand across her belly and gave a sigh of relief ‘...all is clear.’

‘Is that so?’ De Warde’s eyes followed her hand, and then returned to her face, still doubtful. ‘And he claimed there was a missing element?’

‘Indeed. Correct me if I am wrong, Thea.’ She glanced to her daughter.

‘I would not dream of interrupting,’ Thea said, not needing to feign sincerity.

‘But as Kenton explains it, Lakshmi, the girl—’ Antonia gave a dramatic flourish of her hands to indicate a curvy body and multiple arms ‘—brings luck and prosperity. But she must be embraced by her lover, Vishnu, to bring fertility.’ Antonia gave a coy purse of the lips. ‘He is a blue gentleman, also well endowed...’ she paused significantly and then added ‘...with arms.’

Thea gasped in embarrassment, but the frankness seemed to have no effect on de Warde other than adding to his dazed expression.

Antonia continued. ‘I must admit, the pair of them together make a rather striking, one might say scandalous image.’ She wrapped her own arms about her body in imitation of an erotic embrace.

‘Mother!’ Thea had no trouble pretending outrage at this latest lie. Whether she was speaking truth or lies, her mother managed to be equally outrageous.

‘I expect it is seen as some kind of offering to the gods.’ Antonia frowned. ‘And I doubt the vicar would approve of it. It does not sound very Christian.’ She brightened. ‘But it was amazingly effective, despite that.’

‘And are the statues still in your possession?’ de Warde asked. ‘For I would most like to see them together.’

‘Of course not,’ Antonia said dismissively. ‘Once one has used them, it is important that they be got rid of quickly. It gives others a chance at progeny and prevents...’ she gave a giggle ‘...multiple blessings. While I should like to have one son, I seriously doubt, at this point in my life, that I should wish to have two of them. We had Kenton return them to the antiquities dealer where he found Vishnu.’ She smiled at Thea. ‘But I am sure he means to purchase them back again immediately, my dear. You have the succession to think of, after all.’

‘Certainly not,’ Thea said, forgetting for a moment that the whole conversation was a sham.

‘But of course.’ Her mother reached to pat her hand. ‘I do not mean to imply that your husband is any less than fully capable in that regard, but it is sometimes better to be sure. And he says that the users of such icons invariably have strong sons, which is what Spayne will wish to see from you. Consider how long it took to secure the situation for your father and I.’

‘I doubt that he expects such of me,’ Thea insisted, though it made sense of his advice at the ball.

‘Am I not right, Mr de Warde?’ Antonia appealed to the man, as though he would be an ally. ‘Spayne will want to continue the line. And other than Kenton, your family has no issue. I believe you and your wife are childless.’

De Warde’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. ‘We have been married but a few years.’

‘But your wife is older than you, is she not?’ Antonia gave a sympathetic shake of her head. ‘It is not always easy for a woman to produce a child as age advances.’

‘Mother,’ Thea said in warning, as her mother seemed to have lost what little sense of decorum she possessed.

Antonia covered her mouth with her hand. ‘Oh, my dear, you are right. I am being terribly rude to discuss such things at all, much less in mixed company. Please, Mr de Warde, accept my apologies.’

‘Of course, madam.’ He gave a slight bow, but he was looking speculatively at her midsection. ‘And congratulations to you and your husband on your impending success.’

Antonia reached out a limp but graceful hand and clasped his. ‘You are too kind, sir. And after the unfair way we treated you. We owe you much. I can hardly...’ Her mother gave a slight gasp, as though she could not contain her emotions, and then looked up at him with a watery, yet bewitching smile. ‘I cry so easily now. I had forgotten the excesses of emotion one has, for it has been so long since I was expecting Thea. But thank you. A thousand times, thank you. Because of you, our fortunes are mended with the breach between William and his father. We will name the child Henry, in your honour.’

If he had been doubtful before, Mr de Warde now had the slightly panicked expression that men sometimes got when confronted by an overly emotional and expectant woman. ‘It was nothing, madam. Really. I had no idea...’ Then he remembered that he should have expected these results, cleared his throat and said, ‘I had no idea that it would affect you so. But if these tears are happy ones, then I will not begrudge them to you.’

‘You have done Thea and Jack a service as well. He had not expected to find Lakshmi here in England. And now that the divine lovers are united, he and Thea might—’

‘Mother!’ It was quite one thing to hear lurid
stories about her parents’ intimate lives—it was an embarrassment, but one that Thea had suffered over the years—but quite another thing indeed to have the
stories extend to her.

Her mother had the sense to look contrite. ‘Of course, my darling. I speak out of turn again. Mr de Warde wished to speak to you as well, did he not?’ When Antonia looked at the man, it was with disapproval that was almost motherly.

And Thea had to admit that his request to meet with her, specifically and alone, was an unusual one and not altogether proper. She followed her mother’s example and gave the man an innocent look. ‘Yes, Mr de Warde, we have quite carried away the topic with our own concerns. What is the reason for your visit this morning?’

‘I only wished to continue our conversation of the previous evening, which was interrupted, as you remember.’

She could remember no such thing. From her side, it had been a timely rescue by Jack from the attentions of a man who had already proven far too attentive. She hoped their brief exchange at the ball had not given him the idea that she actually wished contact with him. If that was the case, what was she to do with him once she had embarked on the freedom of pretend widowhood? ‘I remember speaking, of course,’ she admitted, ‘but I had quite forgotten the topic.’

Mr de Warde looked from her to her mother and back again. ‘Nothing important. I merely wished to welcome you to the family.’ He gave her a particularly intense gaze that convinced her he had quite misread her desire for privacy on the last evening. ‘Perhaps I might return tomorrow and find you less busy.’

‘Or perhaps not.’ Jack was standing in the doorway, a stern frown upon his face.

‘Kenton.’ Antonia fairly shrieked with delight at the sight of him. In Thea’s opinion, it was rather excessive. But then, what part of her mother’s performance had not been?

‘Kenton,’ de Warde responded flatly.

‘Uncle de Warde.’ Jack gave a tight nod of his head and stepped closer to Thea, laying a protective hand upon her shoulder. ‘Do not think you need to take the welcoming of my wife on to yourself. My father and I have that quite in hand.’

‘I am pleased to hear it,’ de Warde said, clearly unhappy. ‘And interested as well to hear more of the assistance you gave to Banester and his lady.’

‘That—’ Jack’s eyes narrowed ‘—was a private matter and no concern of yours.’

‘I disagree.’

As did Thea. If the whole point was to involve him, why could they not get it over and done with? ‘But...’

Jack shot her a warning look. ‘Thea, we will discuss the matter later.’ His tone was full of the condescension she had expected from a powerful man towards a young and inexperienced wife. Miss Pennyworth had assured her that such behaviour was normal. But now that she faced it, Thea found it rather annoying.

Jack hardly seemed to notice. His hand tightened on her ever so slightly. It seemed more like a display of possessiveness than any silent explanation of his words. ‘I think any more such calls on my wife can be made when I am at home to visitors as well.’

‘Of course.’ De Warde gave a tight bow and a look of purest venom to the man at her side. ‘Good day, then.’ He rose and took his leave.

Almost as soon as the door closed she heard Antonia’s sigh of satisfaction. When Thea turned, it was to find her reclined on the couch like Cleopatra, sipping a glass of port.

‘It is rather early, Mother,’ Thea reminded her. ‘Still not noon.’

‘It might be morning for you, but it is the end of the work day for me,’ her mother said with a moue. ‘And I find a small glass refreshing after a successful performance.’

‘Successful performance?’ Jack said, still looking at her mother like a devoted puppy and taking no notice of her morning drinking. ‘More than that. It was a masterwork.’

‘You think so?’ her mother asked.

‘The bits you embroidered on to my tattered story have made a whole cloth of it.’

‘Improvisation was always my strength,’ Antonia said with false modesty.

‘And it is a challenge for my talents to rise to yours,’ Jack replied with a bow.

‘What the devil are you both talking about?’ Thea demanded, throwing aside her training and evoking the sort of common language that her mother used. ‘The man hardly said a word.’ She glared at her mother. ‘Not that you left him space for one.’ The reproof was useless. Her mother had never learned the art of listening more than one talked. So Thea turned her anger and frustration to Jack. ‘And then you sent him away.’

Now her mother and her husband were sharing compliments and secrets like old friends. And, as usual, Thea was left quite in the dark.

Jack looked at her with surprise, almost as though he’d forgotten she was still at his side. ‘My apologies, Cyn. We are not attempting to keep secrets from you.’

‘But you are doing it all the same,’ she reminded him.

‘Then let us catch you up on what has occurred.’ He offered a sweeping gesture to Antonia. ‘Ladies first.’

‘In the beginning, Mr de Warde was sceptical,’ Antonia confirmed. ‘The change of heart in our family seems quite extreme to him. He cheated us, after all. And now we are opening our arms and embracing him.’ She gave Thea a sly look. ‘Of course, he is still hoping that one of us will embrace him. Watch that one, Thea. He is a snake.’

‘I understood that much, Mother. Now explain the rest of it.’

‘The less we told him of the magical properties of the idol, the more he wanted to know of it.’ She gave Jack a smile now. ‘I was crying at the end and had him in the palm of my hand.’

‘No man can resist your tears,’ Jack said with a sigh.

‘Which proves how stupid you all are,’ Thea said with finality. ‘My mother is quite the most transparent creature, once you know her tricks.’

‘Do not be jealous, Thea. It does not become you. And you are quite charming enough in your own right when you make an effort to be. See how easily you caught Kenton.’

‘I did not catch him,’ Thea insisted. But Jack was giving her a speculative and worried look, as though he feared being ensnared should she take it into her head to weep.

‘Do not trouble me with semantics,’ her mother replied. ‘No matter how it happened, you are married to his enemy and it makes de Warde desire you all the more.’ She gave Jack a warning look. ‘And you must be careful with my daughter, sir. I will expose all if you think to sacrifice her to that monster because of some silly family argument.’

‘Never.’ Jack laid a hand over his heart. ‘He will have to settle for the idol that I do not wish to give him.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Or idols. At an antiquities dealer, you said?’

‘You could not very well keep such valuable items in the house,’ her mother said with a smile.

‘You have presented me with a challenge,’ he said. ‘But I am worthy. Let me take my leave of you. I must dress to go out.’ He smiled at Thea. ‘Since you wish to see the plan in progress, you will come as well.’

‘Wherever are we going?’ Thea asked.

‘To the antiquities dealer, of course. To visit my idols.’

Chapter Fourteen

A
n hour later, Jack met her in the foyer and had the footman summon the carriage. He’d dressed in his plainest coat, setting aside stick, studs and fob. As he had recommended, Thea wore a cloak and a veil. It was hardly a disguise to fool a friend, but an acquaintance might not have recognised her at first glance.

And Jack appeared to be someone similar to Kenton. Was he distant family? A cousin, perhaps? He’d seemed to change his posture along with his coat. As he moved, his body became less rigid and controlled, moving through the world as though simultaneously seeking adventure and unsure of where the next step might land him.

They took the Kenton equipage as far as Bond Street, then Jack dismissed it, informing the driver that, since this was a fine day, they would very likely walk back. Instead, he led her a few streets away and hired a cab to take them the rest of the journey.