Eight Hunting Lyons (The Lyon’s Den Connected World)

Chapter Five

W ith her paisley shawl draped about her shoulders and a new poke bonnet in a lovely shade of rose that had been intended to be part of her trousseau, Madeline walked side by side through the park with Lord Foxmore. Surreptitiously, she cast her gaze to the side, taking in what she could see of him around the rim of her bonnet. Strong features, sandy hair, and an impressive figure. He had the patrician features one would expect to see on a nobleman but so rarely found. If one had been tasked with the assignment of drafting precisely what a handsome and eligible lord should look like, no doubt the result would have resembled him quite closely.

Neither had said much since exiting her home. The truth was, she was uncertain what to say. He had changed everything with his unplanned arrival that morning, an arrival that was as unanticipated as it was unexpectedly welcomed. More shocking still was that he’d defended her quite resoundingly against Coraline and Edmund. He’d stood firm in the face of her father and somehow had even managed to tame her mother’s wicked temper. Her mother had cornered her in the upper corridor as she’d retrieved her bonnet and shawl. She’d warned her not to muddle anything up, that it was an opportunity that would not come again, and then she’d sailed off, retreating to her chamber to bemoan their current scandalous fate.

“Thank you,” Madeline finally managed to utter. It was abrupt, but her gratitude required expressing regardless.

“Whatever for?”

“For the set down you delivered to Edmund… and to Coraline. I’m afraid they are both quite difficult. The more they are in the wrong, it seems, the more they will lash out at others, particularly those they have wronged,” she explained.

“Oh. I hadn’t given much thought to their motivations. I simply deduced that they were horrid people,” he replied.

A smile tugged at her lips. “I will not disagree. I could not, in good conscience, after all, given the circumstances.”

He didn’t smile, but he did ask in a serious tone, “Why does your sister hate you so?”

“She doesn’t. Not really. When we were children, Coraline could have an entire brigade of dolls in front of her, but she only wanted the one that I had, or that her friend had, or that some unknown child she saw on the street had. She is tormented by a covetous nature I think… she lacks the ability to be satisfied with what she possesses and will always long for what she thinks another has,” Madeline explained thoughtfully. She had long ago realized that Coraline’s vitriol was never personal, though it could certainly feel that way. Her sister simply lashed out at those around her when she felt insecure or was in pain—both of which seemed to go hand in hand. “I had been aware that she had what I thought was a school girl’s infatuation with Edmund. I underestimated her, I fear, while greatly overestimating him.”

“He was unworthy of you,” Lord Foxmore stated. “I think he is even unworthy of your sister and I’ve little enough esteem for her.”

“I held them both in too much esteem, it would seem. I have, quite resoundingly, been shown the error of my ways,” Madeline replied. “You wouldn’t really challenge him to a duel, would you?”

“If I had to, yes. It isn’t my wish. But I strongly suspect it will never come to such. I think Edmund Wortham is naught but a coward. That is why he permitted your sister to do what she did in front of the congregation on your wedding day and why he abandoned you to your fate rather than display a shred of decency,” he surmised. “She was permitted to blacken your character so he would be able to cast you off without blackening his own. He’s a man with no accountability and no honor.”

Madeline considered that. “You are absolutely right, of course. I was given to understand that you are not a people person, my lord… that you preferred to spend your time well away from others. How odd, then, that you seem to understand the motivations of Edmund and my sister so well.”

“I do not avoid society because I do not understand its members… well, that isn’t entirely true. I can see the machinations and the plots and the self-serving natures easily enough. I cannot understand, however, why anyone thinks such things will ever turn out well for them. If there is one thing I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, Miss Keyes, it is that all of our actions will have consequences and those consequences will be paid whether we wish it or not.”

“And will there be consequences of our actions?” she asked. “Are we not practicing being self-serving, as well? You need a fortune and I need a husband to salvage what remains of my reputation. Yet, we are both going to step into a church and promise to love one another as is God’s will.” She had always thought she would marry for love. The inheritance from her grandfather was not so sizable that it would draw hordes of fortune hunters, but it was sizable enough that she and her husband might be comfortable. In that way, it had offered her reassurance that love would be the primary reason for her marriage. Now, faced with the prospect of a marriage that seemed much more like a business arrangement than a romantic one, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was an ill-fated notion.

He halted his steps and stared at her for a long moment. It was clear from his expression that he was carefully formulating his answer, not because he didn’t understand her hesitance, but because he was treating it with the gravitas it deserved. “I had never given much thought to marriage. As a younger son with no holdings of my own and no inclination for the church or the law, my prospects would never have permitted it. I was quite content to live out my days as a slightly dissolute bachelor who preferred plants to people.”

“You do not hold the institution in much regard, then,” she stated flatly, somewhat unexpectedly disappointed by the notion.

“On the contrary, I hold it in the highest regard. For the longest time, my parents had a very happy marriage. They were quite in love, you know. But then something changed… my father began to spend more time in town. My mother began to retreat more completely to our home in the country. It was only later that I understood the role my father’s infidelity played in that choice and in the unhappiness of my mother after the fact. I’ve often wondered how different things might have been had he been true to his vows.”

“It’s a question without answer,” Madeline replied. “You will never know because they never knew. Even if they were still here with you, it would prove elusive.”

“So it would,” he agreed, strolling along and nodding to various passersby who stared at them in shock. “While ours is not the love match my mother thought she was embarking upon, I do intend to keep my vows. And given what I know of you, I can only assume you would, as well. You do not strike me as the sort of person to take such a thing lightly or to cast it aside easily.”

“I certainly would not,” she stated, mortified at the notion anyone would think her capable of such. But then, all of society was apparently thinking her capable of that and so much more. “I had always thought I’d marry for love. In Edmund, I thought I was. Not in the way that poets speak of it or romantic novels go on about it. I thought Edmund and I were just far too sensible for such things. It never occurred to me that he simply wasn’t inspired to such degrees of emotion by me.”

“He was a fool. And he will pay a steep price for his foolishness. I daresay any happiness he finds with your sister will not be lasting,” he remarked as they strolled along. Then he stopped, his hand covering hers where it rested on his arm. “Miss Keyes, many couples embark on their marriage without actually being in love. But not being in love with one another at the start of the marriage does not signify that love will not grow within it. It is my intent to take those vows in utmost sincerity and to devote myself to fulfilling them throughout our life together. Embarking upon this in a nontraditional way does not mean that we will not—that we cannot—have a marriage that is meaningful to us both.”

It was a more genuine and hope-inspiring statement than she’d ever received from Edmund. In all the years he courted her and even when he proposed, he’d been rather offhanded about it all, as if it were just a bit of nonsense for her benefit. Her acceptance had been viewed as a matter of course. “You seem to always know just what to say, Lord Foxmore.”

“I think, given that by this time tomorrow we shall likely be husband and wife, we should make free with one another’s given names. Please, call me Oliver. I have not yet accustomed myself to being called Lord Foxmore. I keep looking about for my father or brother,” he replied as he once more returned to their casual strolling along the graveled path.

“Then you should call me Madeline. And I should return home, I suppose. I have a great deal to do. I must repack all of the clothing and items that were all just recently unpacked. And I suppose I ought to ask, will we reside in London?”

“Yes,” he answered with a nod. “Our… my home. There isn’t an ours, anymore, is there? Not since my father and brother have gone. Easton House, here in town, is where I do most of my work. The conservatory is quite large and allows for a lengthier growing season, especially as our country estate, which my aunt and grandmother currently inhabit, is so far north. It’s very nearly to the Scottish border and any sort of sunshine is difficult to come by,” he answered. “Would you prefer to live in the country?”

“No. That is one of the many reasons I sought out Mrs. Do—the aid of our mutual friend,” she said, catching herself before she dropped that scandalous name in public. “My father means to retreat to the countryside for a bit and eventually on to Edinburgh to avoid the gossip. And likely to avoid being further harangued by Edmund and Coraline for funds that he does not have and they are not entitled to. His intent was that I should join them in their bucolic exile, as well, before eventually rejoining society in the north. But I have no inclination for a quietly rustic spinsterhood… I am definitely a city dweller at heart. London is my home. I have thought so since I first arrived. Though I suppose in the heat of summer, I could be persuaded to seek a shady respite for a time.”

He smiled. “I think that can be arranged. I do hope, Madeline, that there will be something about our union for you to enjoy beyond simply remaining in London.”

She blushed and looked away. “I think we are off to a rather brilliant start, Oliver, however improper it might have been.”

“I should see you home. I have a license to obtain, after all. I’ll send word to let you know the status. But unless my attempt is unsuccessful, the plan should be to wed tomorrow morning at St. George’s at nine.”

“Yes. The sooner the better,” Madeline agreed.