Naughty Temptations

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

A letter from Cousin William was waiting for Lady Caroline at the breakfast table the next morning and brought instant gloom to her face.

“Problems?” asked Dinah sympathetically as Hugh stopped eating to watch her.

“Not precisely. But the Honorable Mr. Marris has written to William complaining of our treatment of him, and William has decided to visit us for a week or so to ensure that things here are—” she glanced down at the missive and quoted from it, “—‘going along satisfactorily and I am being suitably chaperoned.’”

“Want me to engage him in a game of cards?” asked John Foulk with a grin. “The last time I could easily have won a monkey off him.”

“I may indeed need you to help make up a table for whist,” Caroline replied. She scanned the letter again. “He is coming next week, so we have enough time to make some plans. But I can see that this chaperone problem is not going away.” She sighed.

“And it will get worse once you go up to London,” added Hugh. “I know you have said that John, Thomas, and I may stay with you even after your father passes on, but none of us is really eager to live in London. And the high sticklers won’t tolerate any of us in your household once they realize how frail your father is, far less after he passes. It’s all very well to pretend we are distant family connections he has given a home to, but in Town that just won’t wash, you know.”

“Too many card parlors where they expect a man to play with more than matches,” added John.

“Yes, I can see I need to make some new plans. Dinah, can you join me in the book room after you ask the housekeeper to prepare the Green Room for Cousin William and warn the staff he is coming?”

*****

When Dinah entered the book room, Caroline was sitting at her father’s desk, the estate books spread before her, but she was gazing vacantly at nothing in particular. “William is going to insist on interfering in my life, isn’t he?”

“I suspect he might. Does he know about your inheritance and that he doesn’t get the London house or anything unentailed?”

“He knows I get the London house. My father always made it plain he bought that for my mother and that it would pass to me. He also knows I inherited all my mother’s wealth. It is quite common for a girl to get her mother’s assets. But as for the rest of the money, and that he has no say in how I manage the funds, or that I have been managing them for years—I expect not. Even though he’s barely a year older than me, he has always thought he was far smarter and much more capable than me. He’ll be a good Earl, though,” she added fairly. “He’s hardworking and conscientious and cares for the people and the land.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“No. I don’t want him trying to bully Father about it. And he would, you know. Oh, he wouldn’t call it bullying, of course. He would merely try to persuade Father to change his instructions, and Father wouldn’t understand. I doubt he even remembers what decisions he’s made now. I sometimes wonder if he even remembers who I am,” she added sadly.

Dinah walked across the room and hugged Caroline. “He may not always know your name, but he still recognizes you. The smiles he gives you are quite different from the polite ones he gives the rest of us. Now, how are we going to deal with Cousin William?”

*****

The day before William was due to arrive, they were no closer to solving the ongoing problem of Lady Caroline’s independence. The entire household knew that despite having a middle-aged, ordained minister of religion in the household, and an older female relative of unquestioned virtue and character always at her side, this would not be considered sufficient protection for a young, unmarried, very rich daughter of an Earl. The household had come up with dozens of plans, but not one of them would fly.

Caroline and Dinah sat in the book room, morosely staring into the fire. The men were, as usual, up in her father’s rooms.

Suddenly Dinah started upright. “Caroline, love, have you ever wondered why Sir Robert Price never asked for your hand in marriage?”

“Who? What? Sir Robert? No, I never thought about it before. Well, he is a lot older than me. He must be nudging forty, I would think. His property is a good size and very well managed, so he probably doesn’t need my money as badly as so many other men seem to. And he has never struck me as avaricious or stupid. In fact, I know my father enjoyed his company and considered him an intelligent man. Why?”

Instead of answering the question, Dinah posed another one to Caroline. “You know that Hugh spends quite a lot of his free time visiting Sir Robert. Why do you think that is?”

“What should I think? They are both well-educated men of a similar age. So what if Hugh chooses to eat his mutton with Sir Robert once or twice a week? A man needs a friend, and there is no reason for Hugh to be chained to the property here.”

“And Sir Robert, despite having a valuable estate and a title to pass to a son, has never married. There has never been the least breath of scandal about him with any woman,” added Dinah meaningfully.

“What? Are you suggesting—? Hugh and Robert? But they are old!”

“Age has nothing to do with love. Or with the begetting of children. Plenty of men beget children at age forty. Aye, and some women bear them at forty as well. I am thinking that Sir Robert may be the answer to your problem. If you and he married—”

“No! I will not marry!”

“Hear me out. If you and he married, having set in place the proper legal restraints so you could both maintain your independence, you could live most of the year in town in your house, and he could live on his estate. Of course, you would need to join him at midsummer and at Christmas, and he may choose to visit with you during the Season, but you would both be living apart much of the year, free to please yourselves. Hugh, Thomas, and John, and maybe others of your staff who do not want to move to town, could live with Sir Robert. As a married woman, you would no longer need a chaperone—a companion would be more than adequate.”

Caroline thought for a long while about the plan. Several times she seemed about to speak, then caught her breath and cogitated some more. Finally, she said, “Dinah, that is a brilliant plan. You are a genius indeed. I must write to him immediately, asking him to call first thing in the morning before William arrives.”

*****

Sir Robert presented himself at nine sharp the next morning, a time when most women were still in their bedchambers. But Lady Caroline and Miss Dinah were ready and waiting in the sitting room with a pot of tea, and Hugh was there as well.

Sir Robert raised a lazy eyebrow at Hugh but received an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Sharp-eyed Lady Caroline noticed the byplay, though, and was relieved that apparently once again her beloved Dinah had been correct in her assumptions.

“Thank you for coming out so early, Sir Robert. It is just that my cousin William Somerton is due to arrive today, and I—we—urgently need to sort out a few matters before he arrives.”

Sir Robert nodded agreeably, accepted a cup of tea from Dinah, and sat carefully in an easy chair from which he could see everyone’s faces.

“I—We—” Caroline took a deep breath and started again. “I do not wish to have William interfering in my daily life or upsetting my father. And I am tired of a ceaseless stream of inappropriate men seeking my hand in marriage.”

Once she had started, the words flowed smoothly with an occasional interjection from Dinah. The hardest part of her speech was dealing with his relationship with Hugh, but she had thought about that overnight and managed to—she hoped—convey respect for his choice without actually referring to it at all or mentioning her own relationship with Dinah.

As she wound down, Sir Robert quizzed Hugh with an eyebrow again, and received the faintest of smiles in response.

“Let me see if I have understood you aright. We become engaged immediately, but do not marry until after your mourning period for your father is over. As soon as possible, your father’s man of business and mine write our wedding contracts which enshrines your right to live in your town house and have control of your mother’s assets. We agree to appear together at public functions deemed important to either or both of us, including your Court presentation, your first ball in your town house, my family’s annual ball, and such like. At all times, we maintain the public façade of a marriage of convenience. However, in private, Hugh and I and you and Dinah are free to maintain our existing relationships. Is that correct?”

Dinah and Caroline gasped at his concluding statement, but Caroline nodded firmly, saying, “Exactly so.”

“In that case, Lady Caroline, may I have the honor of your hand in marriage?”

“I am honored by your proposal and accept with pleasure,” replied Caroline.

“I would appreciate it if you would pretend there may be the chance of a child. I have a brace of sturdy nephews but don’t want them growing up at each other’s throats, fighting over me and an inheritance. Or even thinking they need do no work because they will one day have independent means.”

“I like the idea of keeping the Ton guessing about our relationship, even though we will be apart much of the time. And we are not even marrying for a while yet. I will gladly maintain that fiction for you.”

Caroline pulled the bell rope, and when the major domo appeared, requested champagne. He bowed soberly and returned shortly with a tray holding a bottle and glasses.

When everyone held a glass, Sir Robert toasted, “To a marriage that will benefit us all.”

While they were still sipping the champagne, loud noises were heard from the hallway and the door opened to reveal Cousin William. “Who the hell are you?” William asked.

“Sir Robert Price.” He bowed. “My dear man, please moderate your language. There are ladies present. Lady Caroline has just accepted my offer of marriage. Hugh, do pour the gentleman a glass of champagne.”

William still looked rather bewildered. “I have received letters saying things in this household are not ordered as they should be. And to see Lady Caroline in here with a man...”

“As you see she is here with two men and a lady,” came the urbane response.

“And she has accepted your proposal of marriage?”

“Yes, indeed, and our legal representatives will deal with the marriage contracts, so you need not worry about me or my money,” added Caroline.

Since William seemed inclined to argue, Caroline and Dinah left the three men to talk business and retreated to the book room. The staff had already learned of the new developments and were eager to offer congratulations and advice. Caroline reiterated that no marriage would take place until after her father had passed on and the official mourning period had been observed.

“He no longer understands change, and I will not upset him or have him upset,” she warned them.

Then the women began to discuss the possibilities for, and logistics of, a betrothal ball, something Robert had suggested should be done to still wagging tongues at the long engagement.