Two Wrongs Make a Marriage (7 page)

Jack continued. ‘I have explained to my lady wife much of my recent history. But I think further discussion is necessary.’

That pause continued a moment longer, then Spayne seemed to thaw, returning almost to the lively gentleman he had been only a few moments ago. ‘Things have not gone to plan, have they?’ He gave a slight sigh and released her hands. ‘But that is the way of things, in my experience. They are never what they seem.’

‘I agree,’ Jack said, with a touch of asperity.

‘No matter. It cannot be helped.’ Spayne’s response was firm, and showed no judgement against her, though it seemed to hold some unspoken warning to Jack. ‘Let us go into the library. There is an open brandy bottle and a stout door to keep the world at bay. Just the way I like things.’ Absently, the earl wandered towards a door to the left and Jack followed at his heels.

They would retire to the library to decide her fate and she would be excluded from the decision. Miss Pennyworth had assured her that it was a woman’s lot to be treated thus, hammering away at her unfortunate tendency to behave as her mother might, insinuating herself into the situation, offering opinions and speaking altogether too much.

But it irked Thea that she was to be at the mercy of the scheming men who had hatched the plan that had got her married to Kenton. They had also left no instruction as to what she must do while they retreated. The least they might have done was call for a maid to take her to a parlour for a small glass of ratafia to steady her nerves.

Then, the earl, who was framed in the doorway of what must be his sanctum, glanced back at her and gestured. It was the merest twitch of a finger, inviting her to follow. ‘You must be a part of this discussion, my dear. After all, you are family now.’ There was no irony at all in his voice.

Perhaps that meant he was a better actor than Jack.

Thea hesitated, then followed a step or two behind, as the earl led them to the library and closed the doors behind them. It was a comfortable room full of well-used books and deep soft furniture, almost Oriental in its opulence. She had the impression that this place, rather than a more formal study or office, was where Lord Spayne spent the majority of his time. ‘Come, sit. Refreshment, Jack?’ He gestured to the decanter. ‘It is rather early. But I think, under the circumstances, a good stiff drink is in order.’

Jack looked longingly at the bottle—and then refused. It surprised Thea. Of the many qualities he possessed, she would not have counted self-denial as one of them. It seemed that being in the presence of Lord Spayne intimidated him. Or rather, that he treated the man with the sort of respect an actual son might give to a beloved father.

‘My dear?’ Spayne looked at her now. ‘Do you enjoy brandy? Or something weaker, perhaps.’

‘No, thank you, my lord.’ Now that the man had made the offer, her desire for a restorative vanished. It put her quite in sympathy with Jack. If there was to be punishment for the muddle they had made, better to get the truth out of the way quickly and have the drink after.

‘Very well, then.’ He turned to Jack. ‘I sent you to marry for money. It seems you have failed and married for love instead.’

‘No, my lord. Not love, certainly.’ Jack was waving his hands in denial, as though embarrassed at the idea that he had failed so completely in following what should have been simple instructions.

‘Infatuation, then. But I do not blame you. I know, more than many, of the dangers one treads when following the call of one’s own heart. Only one question remains: what is to be done now?’

Jack seemed to relax a little, once he was sure of the earl’s mood. ‘There is more. The lady, herself, is in distress. She married me, expecting your money to rescue her family from difficulties caused by your brother.’

‘Damn!’ It was the first time she’d seen Spayne act with anything less than aplomb and it startled her. Then his calm returned. ‘I am sorry, my dear. But it upsets me to know that my brother has caused you bother. Henry is a villain and has been so for as long as I can remember. It is bad enough that he gives me trouble, but unforgivable that he hurts others. If you could explain the nature of the problem, I will find a way to rectify it.’

‘But Jack said you could not.’

‘It does not matter what Jack said, or that I have no fortune left to spare. Henry is my brother and my responsibility.’ His words should have encouraged her, but suddenly Spayne looked a little older than he had when she had come into the room. It made her feel bad for burdening him. ‘Please, tell me what he has done now.’

Jack gave an encouraging nod and Thea sighed. ‘He has swindled my father out of a great deal of money. And though I have pleaded with him to relent, he has refused.’

‘He made an offer of protection,’ Jack added.

Spayne made a huffing noise as though he was disgusted, but not particularly surprised.

‘And while I do not doubt her, she has been less than forthcoming of the details of the transaction that has caused all the trouble.’ Jack turned suddenly to her, and it felt as though she were standing trial and guilty of some horrible crime. ‘Just what artefact did your father purchase that could have been worth so much?’

Spayne looked at her expectantly.

‘It is very complicated,’ Thea said, not knowing how best to start.

‘We have time,’ Jack said, folding his arms and settling into a chair. Both men were staring at her now and the silence was nearly as pregnant as it had been when Jack had revealed her lack of funds. It was clear that they were not going to say another word until they had heard her story.

Very well, then. If she must tell it, she had best make a clean breast, start at the beginning and give them every last embarrassing detail. ‘It all began,’ she said, ‘when my father married an actress.’

Spayne laughed.

‘An actress?’ For the first time since she’d met him, Jack was caught flat-footed, unable to respond with more than two words and a gaped-mouth stare.

Thea looked around carefully, to be sure that no servants could hear. It was hardly a secret, but the less said on her mother’s career, the better. ‘Mother has worked very hard in the last twenty years to put it behind her and, for the most part, she has succeeded. The scandal is nearly forgotten. Although, when we are alone, she is more candid about her past than is proper.’

‘Twenty years,’ Jack repeated, as though the passage of time had some added significance. ‘When she performed, was she, by any chance, one Antonia Knowles?’

‘How did you know?’ It had been a long time since someone had recognised her, but it seemed that the past was impossible to bury.

Jack smiled at the memory. ‘Because I saw her perform. She did Ophelia. And I wept buckets when she died.’

‘You saw my mother? On the stage?’

He closed his eyes, his head raised to the ceiling as though giving thanks for an answered prayer. Then, a sigh of ecstasy escaped his lips.

And as she sometimes did, Thea felt an odd prickling annoyance at the attention her mother garnered so effortlessly. It was common, earthy and certainly nothing Thea herself aspired to. But men other than Father seemed to find her near to irresistible when she made an effort to call attention to herself. The fact that it came from the man who would be her son-in-law was more annoying by far than any past irritations. ‘She is much older now,’ Thea reminded him.

‘But still a surpassingly handsome woman,’ Jack replied, unfazed by her tone. Then he examined her as though it was their first meeting. ‘You hold many features in common with her.’

‘Because she bore me,’ Thea snapped. ‘It is hardly a surprise that I favour her.’

But Jack was no longer looking at her, but at the woman on the faraway stage. ‘Antonia was the most radiant, most beautiful, most talented woman I had ever seen. I fell quite in love with her that day. It was hopeless, of course. She had many admirers, older, richer, more powerful...’

‘And she married my father,’ Thea said, firmly. While it was some comfort to think that her mother was as talented as she claimed, she had no wish to think of the men that might have come before her father in her mother’s affections.

‘Ahh. Yes.’ Jack finally recognised the awkwardness of the situation, staring contritely at Thea as though that would be enough to mollify her. But Spayne still chuckled in the background.

Thea continued her story. ‘Father’s family was less than approving of the match, although he has never regretted it. But at that time, Grandfather set the majority of Father’s inheritance aside until such time as he produced a son to carry on the family in what they hoped would be a more respectable fashion. Many provisions were made for the rearing and education of Father’s heir, and the money still sits, waiting, drawing interest for my brother.’

‘And do you have a sibling?’ Spayne asked.

‘Unfortunately, no. My parents have done their best to raise me in a way that would be sufficient to allay Grandfather’s concerns. I was educated in a boarding school of his choosing, so that I might have all the graces, skills and manners of a proper young lady.’

‘And a head just as empty,’ Jack added, availing himself of the brandy and pouring a drink far too generous for noon.

‘I was as far removed from my mother’s past as it was possible to be.’ She glared back at Jack. ‘Until recently.’

‘How nice for you,’ Jack said with no trace of apology for his true identity. ‘But it did your family no good. Your father still needs his inheritance?’

‘Unfortunately, Grandfather is in some degree right about my father’s profligacy. Over the years, he spent lavishly to be sure that my mother was welcomed into society. Their entertainments were grand and well attended. He spent even more on governesses and schools for me.’ And in the end, it had done her no good, for she had fallen into the same trap as her father. Perhaps it was some sort of genetic predisposition. ‘There was money enough left, of course,’ she added. ‘But they have always lived in the assumption that there would be more in the future. It has been twenty years since their marriage. While it is not impossible that my mother might have a child, with each passing year it becomes more unlikely. When Mr de Warde made his suggestion, Father was only too eager to believe him.’

‘And that suggestion was?’ Spayne prompted.

Thea winced. ‘A certain statue that was guaranteed to increase fertility and fecundity. It is an Indian god, I believe. Mr de Warde said that to possess it would most surely result in the birth of a male child.’

This time, it was Jack who laughed. ‘All this bother over an aphrodisiac?’

She could feel herself blushing from toes to hairline. ‘I know it sounds foolish. That is why I did not tell you before. It is intensely painful for me to admit...’
that my parents are such idiots.
She hoped he understood. And then she added with more sympathy, ‘But considering present circumstances,
you
must understand the lengths that one might go to when moved by desperation.’

That, at least, silenced Jack’s mirth. She added, ‘Mr de Warde was most convincing.’

‘Oh, I have no doubt of that,’ Spayne said with narrowed eyes. ‘And I am quite sympathetic to your father’s need for a male child.’

‘I see. Is that why you need Jack to play your heir? Because you cannot provide one for yourself?’

Now there was another embarrassing silence. And Thea remembered Jack’s reticence to reveal the whole of Spayne’s story. Despite the manners and graces she thought she possessed, she had blundered badly in asking this powerful man to tell her what were probably embarrassing secrets. ‘I am sorry,’ she said quickly. ‘I did not mean to pry, for that is no concern of mine.’

‘That is all right,’ Spayne said with a kind voice that put her immediately at ease. ‘You are part of the family now and there is no need to keep the truth from you.’

Since Jack was not really his son, the earl owed her nothing at all. ‘But...’

The gentle-spirited man looked firm, younger and resolved. Though a mild manner might be deceiving, he was every bit as powerful as she had expected him to be and his look intimidated her to silence. ‘I will never think of you as anything less than a daughter, no matter what might happen in the next weeks. You married a man who I have claimed as a son. The rest is of no consequence.’

It would serve no purpose to argue her way out of the connection, no matter what the truth of the matter. She lowered her head in respect. ‘Thank you, my lord.’

Spayne smiled, as though happy to see the matter settled. ‘Now that we have established that you deserve to know the rest of my story and how I came to be hiring a son.’ He gave a fond smile to Jack, as though it might actually be possible to buy family. Then he continued. ‘It is not as if there has never been a Kenton. I provided one right enough, marrying when I was young, as was expected of me. Family and friends saw the boy when he was born and can attest to the fact that he existed.’ Spayne sighed. And now, along with the lines of age on his face, Thea could see a deep and old sadness. ‘The boy was never right. Weak of lung and weak of intellect as well. But a sweeter child you would not hope to find. My wife and I took him abroad to Italy for his health. But he sickened and died, as did his mother.’ Spayne stared into the fire. ‘I thought I’d lost everything that day. And I meant to give myself over to vice.’

‘Surely not, my lord.’ Although she could quite believe it of his brother, there was nothing about the man before her to indicate a taste for dissipation.

He gave her a fond smile. ‘Fear not, my dear. I was not nearly so wicked as I thought. After several years in Italy, I came to the conclusion that, when all was said and done, I simply prefered the company of men.’

‘My father often says that the company at his club is quite bracing and he can understand why some men spend so much time there,’ Thea responded, not quite sure why Spayne’s innocent admission would be delivered in such hushed tones.

There was yet another prolonged silence in the room. Then, Jack laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘That is not quite what Spayne means, Thea. He prefers men in the same way that I prefer the company of ladies.’