Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Matthew
Directly after breakfast, Matthew went to the mews to get his horse.
Casper was a pure white stallion with strong lines and a good horse for London with his even temper, which was quite unusual for a stallion.
Some gentlemen would have considered it a defect, regardless of whether they were in the city or the country, but Matthew liked Casper’s steadiness, especially when in London.
Plus, the coin had chosen him when Matthew had been picking out a horse.
He’d been brought to London from the Netherlands by a gentleman who had subsequently lost a horse in a game of cards to Matthew. He’d gone through the man’s stables, one by one until the coin had picked Casper.
Casper whickered as he was brought out, his head bobbing up and down. Grinning, Matthew held out his hand to feed the horse a sugar cube before taking the reins from the stableboy.
First stop was the Archbishop of Canterbury for the special license. Thankfully, Charles had always had a soft spot for Matthew and was happy to issue one without any convincing needed beyond a donation to the church.
With that done, he headed for Drake’s home. He could have stopped on his way to the archbishop’s office, but he’d felt it was too early to call. Securing the special license had not taken much time, but at least it was a little later.
And he had questions.
Dewbury, Drake’s butler, let him in and went to get his master.
Drake came down the stairs with a grumpy expression, wearing a dressing gown of burnt umber with copper embroidery and a black-fur ruff.
Clearly, he’d just woken up and was not particularly happy about it.
Maybe Matthew should have waited until later.
This was what he got for not checking with his coin before arriving.
“What do you want?” Drake asked irritably, stalking into the drawing room and flopping inelegantly on the couch. A maid rushed in with a coffee cart before rushing away again. Dewbury came in and got a cup of coffee in Drake’s hands before pouring one for Matthew.
He waited until the door was closed and Drake had taken at least two sips of coffee before answering.
“Good morning to you, too,” Matthew said, leaning back in his chair. “I want to know what you were doing at that brothel last night.”
“The same thing as you.”
Matthew raised an eyebrow.
“You were buying a bride?”
Watching Drake choke on his coffee was strangely satisfying.
He stared at Matthew for a long moment, ignoring the droplets of coffee that now spattered the front of his robe.
“Lady Johanna?”
“We’ll be married as soon as Christian brings her family to my London house.” He smiled serenely as Drake scowled at him.
“You did not take advantage of her.” It sounded more like an order than a request for information.
“Of course not. I’m going to marry her. My grandmother took Lady Johanna under her wing the moment we arrived home.” Matthew tilted his head, studying Drake. “Besides, what do you care if I took advantage of a young lady? You were there, too, and you’re engaged. So. What were you doing?”
“Seeing to some business.”
It was not a real answer, but no matter how Matthew wheedled, Drake was not giving up any information.
Sighing, he finished his coffee.
“I should go. Do you know of any good private investigators?”
“Why?”
Matthew explained about Mr. Jamieson Blash, his disappearing act after Matthew had purchased her, and Matthew’s suspicions based on what Lady Johanna had told him.
Drake’s countenance darkened with every word, turning into a real thundercloud.
Which was another reason Matthew did not believe that Drake had been at the bawdy house for nefarious activities.
He might be a rake, but he had a keen sense for justice and defending those who could not defend themselves. In an earlier time, he would have made a wonderful knight.
Matthew would not have been a knight, of that he was sure. Though it had felt nice to rescue Lady Johanna.
Maybe he could have been a knight. If the coin said it was the right decision.
“I will take care of it,” Drake said after a long moment.
“Take care of…”
“All of it. As soon as I have some information on Mr. Blash, I’ll get it to you.” Drake got to his feet, brushing the front of his robe even though the coffee had already soaked in. “You’re going to have enough to do, what with planning a wedding.”
“We’ve already started. It’s going to be very quick, not much planning needed.” Matthew shrugged, getting to his feet as well. “You’ll be invited, of course.”
“I expect nothing less.” Drake cleared his throat. “Congratulations. She seemed rather nice at the house party, though I did not get much of a chance to speak with her. Astrid likes her.”
“She is nice.” Matthew smiled. He was getting more and more used to the idea of having a wife. Specifically, of having Lady Johanna as his wife. She was nice. Drake’s fiancée liked her. The other ladies liked her.
Everything would be nice and comfortable and easy. Just the way he liked it.
Leaving Drake’s, he decided to go for a ride in Hyde Park since he now had the time.
First, he checked with the coin, and it landed heads up, confirming his choice.
He absolutely trusted Drake would put an investigator on Mr. Blash, which meant that was handled.
Perhaps he should have waited until later in the day to beard the dragon in his den, but it had worked out well enough.
Next time, he’d check with the coin to make sure of it, though.
Feeling rather cheerful, he turned Casper toward Hyde Park.
It was too late in the day to run. The park was already filling up with carriages and barouches as the lords and ladies of the ton came out to see and be seen.
Matthew always enjoyed watching them, the carriages laid out in rows and filled with nobility, like colorful birds on display.
Some of the ladies even had feathers in their caps.
He wondered if Lady Johanna could ride.
If her family was poor enough to be starving, they likely did not have horses, but they might have in the past. A question for another time. At some point, they would need to come through Hyde Park, either riding or in a carriage. It would cause comment if they did not.
Across the wide expanse of green, Matthew spotted another rider, instantly recognizable even from a distance by the tiny figure clinging to his shoulder. Matthew grinned and tugged on Casper’s reins to send him in the direction of Zachary, the Duke of Grafton, and Monkey Sinclair.
The tiny monkey had been rescued by Zachary earlier this Season in a rather dramatic confrontation with his former owner.
Upon acquiring his new pet, Zachary named him after their deceased friend, the former Duke of Northumberland.
Sinclair would have hated it, which was why Zachary had done it.
The two of them had been as close as brothers before Sinclair’s death.
Matthew raised his hand to catch Zachary’s attention, grinning when his friend saw him and nodded, turning his mount’s head to intercept him.
“Good morning,” Matthew said as he came alongside Zachary.
The other duke looked tired, as he often did these days.
He was heartsick over the loss of Sinclair still, as they had been very close.
It did not help that Zachary had also recently given his mistress her conge.
Delilah Voight, Baroness Ashfield, was a widow he’d been involved with for years now, but when it came to marriage, Zachary was determined to do things properly.
That meant the petticoat line and finding a young virgin to wed.
“Is it?” Zachary asked, not even pretending to be anything but melancholic.
His dark hair and eyes already made him look broody, but now he appeared to be positively gothic.
The only bit of brightness about him was the mustard pocket square tucked into the black jacket he wore—as, indeed, all of his clothing was currently an unrelenting black.
“Not for you, I take it?”
For a long moment, Zachary was silent as they rode beside each other. Then he stirred slightly.
“It was a long night.”
“Oh?”
“Lady Annabelle and her parents came over for dinner,” he said woodenly. Lady Annabelle was the woman Zachary’s mother wanted him to marry, the daughter of her best friend and a sweet young thing.
If Zachary was not in love with another woman, she would probably be a perfectly acceptable choice.
“Anyone else?”
“My mother and uncle.”
A family dinner. Delightful. Matthew sent his friend a look of sympathy. They might as well go ahead and formally announce the engagement once word of the dinner got out.
“The engagement announcement will run in the Gazette tomorrow.” Zachary’s wooden tone remained completely flat.
“Congratulations.” Matthew thought about it for a moment. “Or condolences. Congratudolences?”
One corner of Zachary’s mouth tipped up for just a moment before his expression fell again, which Matthew considered a monumental victory, given the circumstances.
“My mother is very happy.” Zachary sounded exhausted rather than pleased.
“The dinner went well, although afterward all I wanted was a stiff drink, and for some reason, Monkey Sinclair went berserk. He somehow managed to pick up the decanter, which was practically the same size as him, and throw it at the wall. The damn thing shattered, and that was that. It was good brandy, too.”
No wonder the poor man looked peaked. Matthew took out his coin and deftly flipped it, not at all discomposed by being on the back of a horse. He’d had plenty of practice.
“Would you like to come for a visit?” he asked, after seeing the result. “You can meet my bride.”
That raised Zachary out of his stupor, his head swinging so fast that he nearly knocked Monkey Sinclair off his shoulder. The tiny menace chittered, scolding him, and climbed up onto the top of his hat. Zachary did not seem to notice—or if he did, he did not mind the relocation.
“Your what?”
Matthew’s coin had led him correctly. The news had knocked Zachary out of his melancholy; he had a real expression on his face—he was completely flummoxed.
“My bride. Lady Johanna Ashmore.”
Zachary blinked rapidly, catching up.
“Lady Johanna from the Blackstone house party?” Though Zachary had not attended the actual party, he’d come out for Nathanial and Kalina’s impromptu wedding and heard all about it. That he recognized Lady Johanna’s name, though he had not met her, was a testament to his good memory.
“Yes.” Matthew grinned. He did enjoy flummoxing his friends. “I picked up the special license this morning.”
He patted the pocket it was in, hearing the faint crinkle of paper. The sound made him smile. Everything had fallen into place rather nicely, and now he could use his news to distract Zachary from his self-imposed misery. It was a good day.
Well, other than the crying at breakfast, but they’d made it through that well enough, and hopefully, once his bride’s family joined them, there would not be a repeat.
“How did this happen?” Zachary was practically sputtering. “When? Why so quickly?”
Matthew did not need to flip his coin to know that discussing the manner in which he’d acquired his bride was not something he should brute about in public. But should he tell Zachary at all?
He flipped the coin.
Used to his ways, Zachary waited, albeit impatiently. He looked much more alert now.
Lifting his head, Matthew grinned.
“Come over, and I will tell you all about it.” He was relieved the coin had gone that way. Keeping such a secret from his friends did not feel right, and Drake and Christian already knew.
“This, I cannot wait to hear,” Zachary muttered as they angled their horses to the path out of the park.
Chances were, it was far too early for Grandmama and Lady Johanna to be back from shopping, but this way he could catch Zachary up… and question him to see if he knew anything about Drake’s secretive activities.