Page 37 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
A quarter of an hour later, after the duchess and viscountess had shared their thoughts on her proposition, they agreed they would share the details with the other patronesses.
“This will work,” Juliana declared, clapping her hands together. “Surely if we hit all the talking points, at the right times, the writer is bound to hear of it, right?”
“Right.” Alicia bit back a chuckle. Effia already had her next essay in hand, waiting for Alicia to tell her when to publish it. “And hopefully the tracts will gain public support, which will allow Inverray to pass a bill through his committee. It would be a big win for party electors to consider when they tap their new leader.”
“Excellent. I’m very optimistic about this,” Charlotte enthused, reaching out to squeeze Alicia’s hand.
A warm glow filled her chest that she could now count these two ladies as friends.
“You should tell Niall.” Juliana grasped her other hand. “What better way to show him you’re on his side? You can work together to see this through.”
Lud, Alicia hoped he saw it that way.
Sucking in a breath, she asked, “Do you know if he’s still here?”
“I saw the marquess entering the formal parlor upstairs earlier,” Charlotte offered.
“Go speak to him,” Juliana urged.
She nodded. “I suppose that if I want to make this a real marriage, I’m going to have to initiate it myself.”
The duchess let out a tinkle of laughter. “Good for you. For all that Niall has worked hard to enact laws and make changes to serve the good of the country, he still needs someone to take him in hand. And I’m so glad it’s you to do it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alicia made her way to the servants’ stairs that led up to the main floor, her pulse thundering in her ears. Niall had liked her suggestion when she’d first made it, but what would he think of her plan for implementation? Would he even want to discuss it with her?
She kept her footsteps light as she walked to the formal parlor. The door was ajar and as she made to open it further, voices made her pause.
“Until you determine the author of those damn chapbooks, those critiques will continue to be used by Medlinger to make you appear weak and unprepared for party leadership.”
It was Lord Matthews.
Alicia bit her lip at his words. Her critiques were not meant to make Niall appear as a weak candidate. If anything, her essays showed how much he had to offer.But…they also highlighted where he could improve. She was proud of the ways in which she had been successful in calling attention to issues the candidates had continued to overlook. But in that moment, listening to Viscount Matthews scold Niall for the words she had written, Alicia flushed with shame.
Her husband would certainly feel like a fool if he discovered his new wife was the anonymous author.
Still, she refused to allow Niall to weather Matthews’s ire by himself. Lifting her chin and pasting a polite smile on her face, Alicia sailed into the room, feigning surprise when her eyes landed on the two men. “My goodness, I didn’t realize you gentlemen were in here. Please forgive my intrusion.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, my dear,” Niall murmured, rising to his feet.
Alicia was not sure what he would do, so when he gestured to an armchair next to his with his hand, she sat, folding her hands politely in her lap.
“Lady Inverray, how do you do?” Lord Matthews said, his manner polite and welcoming. But his smile did not reach his eyes. “I just told your husband how I hope he had a grand wedding trip planned for after the party vote. I’m sure you would prefer to have more of his attention at this time, but as he’s in a contentious race, I hope you understand all that keeps him away from home.”
Alicia barely kept herself from rolling her eyes. “You forget, my lord, that I was married to a politician before. Lord Lindsay may not have been a member of party leadership, but he spearheaded any number of bills and proposals that kept him busy until he was too ill to see to his duties.” Alicia reached out to pat Niall’s hand, and was relieved when he didn’t pull away from her touch. “I consented to marry Lord Inverray knowing his Parliamentary duties would always be his mistress.”
Matthews nodded his head in agreement, but it was Niall’s reaction that caught her attention. Her husband turned his hand until their palms met, and the heat of his touch sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. When he lightly dragged the tip of one finger down her hand, she clenched her thighs together for she felt that touch all over her body.
Alicia cleared her throat, desperate to regain her equilibrium. “When I entered, you were speaking of the chapbook author, my lord. Is it my understanding you believe Lord Inverray should determine the author’s identity? Whatever for?”
“To ruin the man, of course.” The viscount flicked his fingers. “Those essays have upended the election. The party has selected their leader without outside input for at least two hundred years, and we certainly don’t need an anonymous critic pointing out the candidates’ supposed flaws now.”
“The author did not just point out flaws,” Niall interjected, his voice low. “He also wrote several positive things about me and my voting record.”
“And he also called you shilly-shallying on child labor,” Matthews pointed out with an impatient swipe of his hand.
“The author criticized Medlinger, too.” Niall let go of her hand and launched himself to his feet to prowl back and forth across the room. “I was not the only subject of the tracts.”
