Page 78 of Wager for a Wife

They greeted a few acquaintances on the way out of the church and then complimented the rector on his sermon, eventually joining Papa at the carriage, Alex and Anthony having already left in their own conveyances.

“Thank you, Lord Kerridge, for seeing to the needs of my womenfolk,” Papa said.

“It was an honor and a pleasure, I assure you,” Lord Kerridge said. “Please allow me to assist you into the carriage, Lady Louisa.”

He held out his hand to her, and she took it. “Dear Louisa,” he murmured as she prepared to enter the carriage. “Allow me to offer my condolences at what appears to be the dissolution of your betrothal.”

She paused and turned her head slightly toward him, waiting to hear what he would say next, hoping he would leave it at that. She was not ready to discuss William, especially not with Lord Kerridge.

“You have not given me an answer to my question yet,” he continued. “Nor will I push you for an answer. But I would like to call on you this week, if I may.”

“I think it is too soon,” Louisa said.

“Nonsense,” he replied. “The sooner your life resumes as it was, the sooner Society will forget this little contretemps ever occurred.” He smiled reassuringly. “We shall see that your reputation is fully restored and his is utterly returned to the gutter, where it belongs. You can count on it. Good day, Lady Louisa.”

He kissed her gloved hand and assisted her into the carriage, bowed to her parents, and left.

“Well, I daresay it was quite gallant of Lord Kerridge to escort us to your father, considering what we’ve put him through,” Mama said when they were finally on their way back home.

Mama didn’t know that Lord Kerridge had been the one to inform Alex of Jane Purnell’s existence and to imply the woman was William’s mistress.

“Indeed,” Louisa replied. She herself thought Lord Kerridge’s motives had been anything but gallant, that they had been utterly self-serving. The little contretemps, he had called her experience with William. And she was alarmed at his assurance to her that he intended to destroy William’s reputation.

“I got the impression that he’d like to pick up where the two of you left off,” Papa said. “How would you feel, Louisa, if that were the case?”

“I don’t know, Papa. He mentioned that he would like to call on me later in the week.” The last thing she wanted to do right now was talk about Lord Kerridge. She couldn’t even remember if she’d told her parents that he had offered marriage to her a second time—her mind was a jumble at the moment. It was better not to mention it, then, just in case.

She was choosing not to mention something. She wondered how William would react to knowing that. Perhaps in the past few weeks she’d learned to choose her words more carefully. By the same token, she hoped William had learned to trust enough to share his words more openly. It would be nice to think that something of value had come from all this.

“We shall wait, then,” Mama said. “This is only your first Season, and there is nothing to say that you must marry immediately, regardless of the circumstances of the past month. In the meantime, what do you say you and I sit down together this afternoon and go through the invitations we’ve received? I’m sure we’ll find two or three that will be diverting.” She patted Louisa’s hand reassuringly.

“Your friends will be glad to see you again, and soon your beaux will be lining up to dance with you, and flowers will be arriving in vast numbers at the house again, and all will be as it was before,” Papa said.

“I couldn’t agree more, Ashworth. There. It’s settled, then.” Mama smiled at Louisa and nodded.

Louisa turned her face to stare out the window.

* * *

“It’s been nigh on a week since that lady o’ yers up ’n left,” Samuel said when William went to the stable to saddle a horse.

William had made it very clear that, firstly, he was to blame for Louisa’s departure, and secondly, it was not up for discussion. He was fairly sure everyone would concede the first part, but he was absolutely confident he and Louisa had been on everyone’s minds and tongues since she’d left Farleigh Manor—and him.

“What is your point?” William said while he hoisted the saddle into place on the back of his horse.

“I’ll do that,” Samuel said, nudging William aside. “Me point is, yer lordship, that we all know ye love the girl, but ye’ve done nary a thing to bring ’er back.” He cinched the saddle and handed the reins to William.

“That is correct, Samuel,” William said, boosting himself up into the saddle. “I released her from the betrothal, and that is an end to it.”

Samuel spat. “Hogwash,” he said. “I saw the way ye looked at ’er, and I’m not sich a fool that I couldn’t see t’were the same way she looked at ye, boy.”

William’s heart thudded in his throat. “You’re mistaken, my friend, although I confess that I wish you were not. I took her from another man, another betrothal.” He waited to see how Samuel would react to that admission, but the man gave away nothing.

It was utterly annoying.

What a frustration William must have been to Louisa, asking everything of her, barely willing to give an inch himself. Even his best attempts had been withering failures.

“Do you understand?” William exclaimed. “I held a vowel, which made her and her family beholden to me. She agreed to the marriage out of honor, and honor alone.” He was a bit surprised at his honesty with Samuel, feeling shameful at his confession but a bit lighter too. “In the end, I couldn’t do that to her. I tore up the vowel. There. That is the truth of it.” He nudged his horse, but Samuel blocked him. “Move out of the way,” William said.

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