Page 70 of The Notorious Lord Knightly
June 30, 1875
“Knightly, this is a surprise. Come to threaten me, have you?”
Standing in the center of the drawing room, Knight had been impatiently waiting as the butler fetched Bremsford. A couple of minutes into his wait, he’d almost gone searching for the damned lord. “Do you need threatening?”
Bremsford laughed, but it was tinged with a bit of unease. “I should hope not. You made your point clear enough the last time we met. Although you arenother husband, it seems you are the champion of my father’s daughter.”
It was a subtle dig, but Knight said nothing because he was deserving of it. “You invited her to your ball.”
The earl’s eyes widened slightly. “She told you, did she?”
“Not too long ago, you had naught but contempt for her. Why the sudden change of heart?” He agreed with Regina that mentioning the bounty would only serve to make the earl suspicious of their interest in it. He also believed if anything had come of the earl’s quest to uncover Anonymous, they would have heard the news by now. Bremsford had never struck him as someone who could hold a secret.
“I have always admired Chidding. He informed me a few days ago that he intends to ask for... my”—he cleared this throat—“Miss Leyland’s hand.”
Knight experienced a sense of loss that nearly overpowered him. Even as he understood the reason the viscount was giving her attention and knew where that attention was headed, hearing the confirmation was like being stupid enough to enter a boxing ring with Bishop and being delivered a blow that dropped him to his knees. His friend had a punch that could easily fell a man—had on more than one occasion.
“In addition, my good wife has not been overly pleased,” Bremsford continued, “that I will not allow us to attend any ball to which my father’s... unlawful... offspring has been invited. She’s unhappy and I can’t have that. Besides, I certainly have no intention of snubbing Chidding’s wife. He may be merely a viscount, but he is well respected among the peers. Hence, I thought to test the waters of acceptance.”
His reasons certainly sounded logical, even if he did struggle with finding the appropriate identifierfor Regina. Knight doubted the man would ever refer to her assister. “You could have invited her to dinner.”
“It would have made for a more awkward... encounter. One can’t politely escape the table or conversation. Striving to make small talk during seven courses can upset digestion and create dire consequences I wished to avoid. At a ball, our opportunities to get to know one another would be like parrying during a fencing match. We come together, do our little maneuvering, and part. We take our time getting to know each other instead of striving to bombard years of avoidance into hours of acquaintance.”
He had no corresponding argument for that rationale, and it very much mirrored what Regina had assumed. It would be much more relaxing than striving not to be seen lacking for a long period of time while all eyes would no doubt be upon her.
“Look, Knightly, I don’t know why you care or what this has to do with you, but I wish her no ill will. My mother is no longer with us, so she can’t be hurt by the chit’s presence. My father’s dying wish was that I be more accepting of his by-blow. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I’m willing to give it a go. If I discover I can’t be magnanimous regarding her presence in my residence, I can always retire to the cardroom. I’m trying, man. I can do no more than that.”
For Regina’s sake, Knight wanted the words to be true. He wanted her embraced by family. He wanted her to have the support some families provided. Hewanted less strife in her life and more joy. He nodded. “Right, Bremsford. I wish you success with this endeavor.” He walked toward the door, but stopped by the earl. “However, my earlier warning remains in effect. Hurt her, and you will be destroyed.”
Chapter 22
I desired not only his touch, but his words. They were not those of a poet, but of an inquisitive man. We spoke of significant things. He sought my opinion on matters of import. With obvious admiration, he listened to my views. Never before had I felt so visible, so substantial. Never had I been held in such esteem. I found it all to be the most powerful of aphrodisiacs.
—Anonymous,My Secret Desires, A Memoir
July 6, 1875
Excitement warred with trepidation as the carriage hurtled toward her destination. Knightly believed the earl’s son to be sincere, but he did admit to having a tiny fissure of doubt. After all these years, why now?
Not that she blamed him for his reservations. She’d experienced similar qualms, bouncing between accepting the invitation and tossing it into the fire. But in the end the desire to know her father’s other children was greater than her fear of being made a fool.
Knightly had offered to accompany her, but it wasenough to know he’d be there. She had decided her best course was to accept the offer Chidding had made during the last ball they’d attended. The viscount was courting her after all. Whereas Knightly was looking out for her from a distance and making love to her—it seemed if they were in a residence that contained a bed, they would soon make their way to it—but was remaining true to the vow he’d made to never marry.
Lady Finsbury was once more serving as chaperone and using the waning sunlight to read.My Secret Desires.Regina had mixed feelings about it. She knew not everyone read as rapidly as she did. Still, it had been some nights since their trek to the theater. She should hold her tongue, but instead she heard herself saying, “I take it that the book cannot hold your interest.”
The widow glanced over at her. “Pardon?”
She nodded toward the tome. “You were reading it when we went to the theater. It must be dreadfully dull if you’ve not read it since.”
Lady Finsbury laughed. “Oh, this is my third reading. I keep hoping the ending will change, you see. Of course, it can’t because books don’t work that way, but I continue to search for a hint that Lord K does indeed come back to her. They belong together. The emotion between them... well, it brings me to tears. I’m not one to cry easily, am I, Chidding?”
Sitting across from them, he grinned affectionally. “You are not.”
“I do hope the author will write a sequel in which they obtain the happiness together they deserve.”
“You think she deserves a man who left her?”
“I am convinced he had a good reason for doing so. We just don’t yet know what it is. It’s obvious he loves her. Which is the reason there absolutely must be another book.”
