Chapter 14 A Frightening Promise #3
Rex was right. Nothing was more important than this marriage, and he needed to begin to behave as if that were the case. But he was not prepared to give Elizabeth Fitzgerald up.
“She is not what I expected,” Rex said far too seriously.
Tyrell knew instinctively that Rex did not refer to Blanche.
He slowly met his brother’s gaze. It was piercing.
He hesitated, recalling her soft and vulnerable gray eyes.
“She is not what I was expecting, either,” he heard himself say.
And suddenly he recalled the moment, almost two years ago, when he had saved her from being run down by a carriage.
He had acted on reflex, lunging to seize her from harm’s way, and then he had found himself kneeling in the mud, holding the most beautiful and tempting woman he had ever beheld.
Had he been kicked in the chest by a horse, it could not have been more stunning.
“Why are you smiling? I am speaking about your mistress, Miss Fitzgerald.”
Slowly he returned to Adare and he set his glass down, shaken. As slowly, he said, “I will hardly have an affair under my father’s roof with my fiancée and her family in residence.”
Rex gave him a mocking smile. “It was wise to restrain yourself. But do not think to dupe me. It is obvious that if she isn’t your mistress now, it is what you soon intend.”
Tyrell sighed. “Will you also lecture me on the consequences of having an affair?”
“No, I won’t, because I know you will not listen and you will not be the first man to keep a lover. Besides, sooner or later you will get her out of your mind…won’t you?”
“I certainly hope so!” Tyrell erupted. “Do you think I am unaware of the ramifications of my behavior? I never intended to be disloyal in my own marriage, Rex. I always assumed my wife would be more than a wife, but even a friend and a lover.”
Rex was clearly surprised. “There is no reason that Blanche cannot be a friend and a lover, but it seems to me that you are already planning on being unfaithful to her after you have taken your vows.”
“I’m not even interested in taking her to bed, so how can I be faithful to her after we are wed?” Tyrell exclaimed.
Rex limped over to him and laid his hand on his shoulder. “Look, it hardly matters if you are faithful or not, as few men are. You need only be kind, respectful and discreet.”
“Of course,” Tyrell said, walking away from his brother.
He sat down on the sofa in disgust. He’d always assumed his wife would be kind, gracious and beautiful, that he would have both sons and daughters, and that his household would be an amiable and pleasant one.
A mistress had never been a part of the scenario.
Yet here he was, on the eve of his official engagement, thoroughly distracted with a love affair and incapable, it seemed, of controlling his own behavior.
“I found her to be very pleasant,” Rex said.
“I was expecting a flamboyant beauty like Marie-Claire, your last mistress, or a scurvy fortune hunter. But there is nothing obvious or cunning about her. When we met, she had been in the kitchens baking tarts with your son. She was covered in flour, chocolate and what I suspect to have been some kind of fruit juice. She was not bold at all. In fact, she seemed very shy and somewhat frightened of me. She is clearly not one’s average mistress. ”
Tyrell stared at his brother, not hearing that last statement. She had been baking in the kitchens? “Are you certain?” The image of Elizabeth baking in the kitchens chased itself back and forth in his mind. Suddenly, he wanted Rex to be right.
Rex began to smile. “Yes, I am certain she was baking. I actually made a few inquiries. The entire kitchen staff is taken with her. Mother likes her, too.”
Tyrell reminded himself to be careful of the pleasure trying to grow within him. “You sound as if you are an admirer, as well.”
“Perhaps I am—cautiously so.”
“You do know that she came here thinking to trap me into marriage?”
Rex sighed. “Yes, of course, everyone knows. But I heard it was her parents’ agenda, not Miss Fitzgerald’s. Apparently her mother is known for being rather desperate to marry off her remaining two daughters. ”
He wanted to believe that Elizabeth had been a victim of her parents’ scheme to trap him into marriage.
Still, he was a very good judge of character.
Elizabeth’s explanation for her ruse—that she did not want to marry Ned’s actual father—was a lie and he knew it.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said firmly. “What matters is that she is here.”
Rex’s brows arced high. “Really? You do mean that what matters is your son.”
“Of course,” Tyrell said, walking away so his brother might not guess that he was lying to him about Ned.
But Rex limped after him. “Ty, this is so odd! You have been acting oddly. Why aren’t you acting like a besotted father presented with his first child?”
Tyrell turned and managed to smile at him. “I need some time,” he said, “to adjust to these circumstances.”
“That is a lie,” Rex said. He touched his arm.
“What is really wrong? Why are you so tense and at times even angry? Why are you failing in your duty to this family and your fiancée? Why did you ever approach such a genteel and well-bred young lady in the first place? And now you bring her here as your mistress? I am aware that she is the mother of your child, but come, Ty, she deserves a husband and a home of her own. I know you know that. What the hell is going on with you?”
Tyrell was suddenly furious. His brother was right on each and every point. “Clearly I have turned into a madman without one whit of common sense, one iota of judgment and no care for family or duty,” he snapped. “Elizabeth should have thought of her future before she jumped into bed so quickly!”
Rex was not to be deterred. “The best thing for everyone would be for you to come to your senses and dote upon your fiancée. I cannot defend Miss Fitzgerald, but I like her very much. She deserves far more than you can give her.” Angrily, he limped toward the open door.
He paused at the doorway. “And we deserve more, too, if you are to head this family.”
Tyrell did not hesitate. He threw his drink at the doorway his brother had just passed through. But Rex was gone and the glass landed harmlessly on the floor outside. He covered his face with his hands.