Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Johanna
Telling the truth ended up having unintended consequences, and Johanna felt awful.
“I am certain Drake had other reasons for being there,” Delilah reassured Lady Astrid, who was gripping her teacup’s delicate handle so tightly, it was a wonder the china did not shatter.
“It is no matter to me how Lucifer conducts himself,” Lady Astrid said haughtily, even though, by the way her face had paled and her entire demeanor changed, it was clear she was very much affected by hearing that her betrothed had been in the same bawdy house as Matthew and the Duke of Montagu.
Even more so that Johanna could not give her an explanation of what he was doing there, exactly, or why he disappeared back into the house while the other two dukes escorted her out.
“We are not married yet, after all. What he does with his time is no concern of mine.”
All the other ladies cast worried glances at her, but it was clear she did not want to talk about it.
“I am so sorry to hear about your family,” Kalina said, taking some of the attention off Lady Astrid.
Out of the corner of Johanna’s eye, she saw Lady Astrid relax when everyone was no longer staring at her, trying to gauge her reaction.
The lady’s shoulders slumped. “Hereford’s estate was in similar straits when he married me.
There is a lot of work to reinvigorate everything, but I am sure Matthew will be able to help. ”
“He certainly has the money to invest,” Delilah said with a snort of amusement. “And if he needs more, he’ll just visit the tables. The man has the devil’s own luck, I swear.”
“Do not ever bet against him,” Tiffany chimed in, looking at Johanna.
As if she would ever think to do such a thing. She would not even know what to bet. Or what to bet on.
Mei, who had been silent again up to this point, reached out to put a gentle hand on Johanna’s arm.
“Thank you for sharing with us. I am sure that could not have been easy,” she said softly.
The tension that had been stirring in Johanna’s stomach as her desire to be as honest with them as they had been with her versus knowing that Lady Stark would be displeased—and likely the duke as well—settled under that one sentence.
She was not sure what the right thing to do had been, but Mei’s quiet acknowledgment that sharing the truth had been a difficult decision somehow helped.
“Yes.” Lady Astrid nodded. “The truth. It is very important that we are able to share things with each other. Finding true friends can be very difficult, especially in the viper’s nest that is the ton.
But we are going to be married to the tragic dukes—and Mei is possibly going to help with matching them, and Delilah…
well, Zachary is a wooden spoon, but I still have hope he’ll come around. ”
“You may hope all you want, but it does not mean I would take him,” Delilah said with an indelicate snort.
“Did you not see the announcement in the Gazette this morning? His engagement is official. There’s no way out of that short of death or dishonor.
And that’s if I would even accept him after all of this, which I would not. I am done with that man.”
“He certainly does not deserve you, but the heart wants what the heart wants,” Lady Astrid sighed, a very resigned sound. “But my point is—”
Whatever her point was, she never got to say it because they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of her butler and Johanna’s fiancé.
“The Duke of St. Albans,” the butler announced, with Matthew looming beside him. His normal grin was absent from his face, and his gaze immediately sought her out.
Johanna’s stomach flipped over as their eyes met, her heart beating a little faster as her chest tightened. When he looked at her like that, it felt strangely difficult to breathe.
When she blinked, the spell was broken.
“My apologies for interrupting, ladies,” he said with a rakish grin that managed to be charming, self-deprecating, yet not at all apologetic.
“But I must collect Lady Johanna from you earlier than expected.” He looked directly at her again, but this time without the sizzle in the air between them. “Your family has arrived in London.”
Johanna was on her feet before she even realized what she was doing.
“Oh, dear…” she said, hesitating, looking down at the teacup she was still holding. Thankfully, most of the tea was already gone, and not a drop was spilled.
“Go! No need to stand on ceremony,” Lady Astrid said. “We can speak more later. You need to see to your family.”
Yes, of course, that was the right thing to do.
Johanna was relieved to hear it, even though leaving so abruptly felt very rude.
At least the others were all encouraging and completely sincere about it.
She felt as though she must be mucking things up left and right, but thankfully, everyone was very forgiving of any missteps she was making.
At least, among this crowd. She had the feeling it would have been very different at Hyde Park.
“Thank you so much for… well, for everything,” she said, setting her cup and saucer down on the table. They clattered a little as she set them down, her fingers feeling nerveless. Her family was here!
Far sooner than she’d thought they would be, to be honest, even with Rose’s efficiency.
The need to see them, to hold them, to hug them, and see for herself that everyone was hale and hearty made her want to run.
But duchesses did not flee tea parties just because their family was nearby.
Even if she had not seen them in days and had no idea how everyone was doing.
“We will see you again, soon,” Lady Astrid promised sweetly, getting to her feet to embrace Johanna and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Go, tend to your family. There is time enough for our discussion later.”
Breathlessly, Johanna walked as quickly as she could over to the duke, who held out his arm for her to take. Although she was looking forward to spending more time with the other ladies, right now, all she wanted to do was go to his home and see her people.
Matthew
Being sent to fetch his fiancée was a responsibility Matthew had been happy to handle, especially when compared with the hustle and bustle of getting the Falmouth household settled into his household.
They did not have much in the way of possessions—which was why Christian said it had been rather easy to get it all packed up—but Matthew was not used to being around children.
They were loud.
And full of questions.
Letting Grandmama take charge of assigning rooms and sorting out who needed what, while Matthew fetched Johanna, was a relief in comparison. Christian had also fled the scene almost moments after arriving, although that might have had something to do with the glares Miss Belle kept sending him.
The two had not gotten on at the house party, either. Unlike the vast majority of ladies, young and old, Miss Belle had proven to be ruthlessly immune to the ton’s acknowledged Adonis. Neither his looks nor his charm had affected her, much to the rest of the dukes’ amusement.
“How was everyone? How did they look?” Johanna asked anxiously once they were in the carriage.
Fortunately, those were questions Matthew knew how to answer.
“They looked well,” he reassured her. “Grandmama was sending for a doctor to see to your mother when I left. She appeared weak, but not ill, but Grandmama is thorough.”
“As long as he does not want to bleed her.” Johanna shook her head. “My mother acted as a kind of medicine woman for our local community, and Rose studied with her, and she is adamant that Mother not be bled.”
Something that cost Johanna to ensure, Matthew thought, from the tension in her voice and the way she held herself as she said the words.
Someone had certainly wanted to use leeches, but Johanna had held the line, probably wondering all the while if she was making the right decision or dooming her mother.
And she did not even have a coin to help her make the choice.
“Dr. Syme is considered rather… eccentric by some of his peers,” Matthew reassured her.
“He does not use leeches or purges of any kind. But Grandmama has found him to be extremely knowledgeable, and whatever diagnosis and recommendation he makes, you and Miss Belle will be consulted before anything is enacted.”
“Thank you.” The tremulous smile on her lips was more than worth such an easy promise. Matthew decided against telling her that he would also consult his coin. Not everyone understood his faith in his luck to steer his course.
But he also knew that it was her decision. He would consult the coin to see if he needed to try to convince her to another one.
Hopefully, there would be no need.
The house was still bustling when they returned, though the noise had moved from the foyer to farther into the house. Not just the children, but also the sound of the staff, who had come together to set things up. There were going to be a lot more people for supper than anticipated.
“Johanna!” The young man who appeared at the top of the stairs looked as though he wanted to pelt down them to his sister, but he held himself together and kept to a slightly more staid pace. She, however, rushed to meet him at the bottom of the stairs, throwing her arms around him.
“Micah!”
Matthew hung back as they hugged, curious about and slightly envious of the interaction. He’d always wanted a sibling. Someone to share the burden of his father’s focus, though perhaps that had not been very gracious to wish upon someone else. But it would have been nice not to be so alone.
“How is everyone?”
“Good. We’re good. Mother is fine.” The young man’s bright gaze moved to Matthew. “I hear we have you to thank for our relocation, Your Grace.”
Although he was young, Micah Ashmore, Earl of Falmouth, obviously had his pride.
Like his sister, he had the pale white-blond hair and stunning violet eyes, but his skin was not quite as translucent, and his jaw was more square.
The threadbare clothing he wore did nothing to detract from his quiet dignity.
He sounded torn between gratitude at being saved and a kind of resigned embarrassment that it had been necessary.
“We’re happy to host you for our wedding,” Matthew said, coming forward to shake the young man’s hand. “Also, I was hoping I could speak to you beforehand. As the man of the house.”
Falmouth blinked in surprise, then nodded, squaring his shoulders. Because he was the man of the house, even if he had not been able to act as such. Behind him, Johanna smiled at Matthew in a manner that had him wishing they were alone…
But it was not to be.
Turning slightly, Falmouth looked at his sister again.
“Mother is asking for you.” The words were barely out of his mouth before another of the siblings appeared at the top of the stairs. The middle sister, Bridget, Matthew thought her name was. She had the eyes as well, but her hair was a darker blonde, more wheat and honey than cornsilk.
“Johanna! Mother is asking for you.”
“Micah just told me,” Johanna responded, with only a touch of exasperation in her voice. “I am coming.”
She glanced at Matthew, who nodded. He certainly was not going to keep her from her mother or from checking on the rest of her family.
“Your brother and I will be in the library,” he told her.
Falmouth puffed up his chest a little, and Matthew hid a smile.
The young man had inherited his title even earlier and more unexpectedly than Matthew had, and although his title was a much lower one than a duke’s, that only made Matthew’s acknowledgment of him as a man count even more.
Johanna nodded, appearing relieved, and hurried up the stairs to her sister, who greeted her with another fierce hug before pulling her down the hall.
Matthew was not certain which rooms his grandmama had put everyone in, but he knew he would find out later.
“This way,” he said to Falmouth, pulling his attention back to the matter at hand. “How was the journey to London?”
“Rather trying, though I have very little to compare it to,” Falmouth replied seriously. Now that his sisters had disappeared from sight, the smile had fallen away from his lips. Matthew felt for him. “This is my first time in London.”
Through some gentle probing, Matthew found out that the prior earl had meant to take his heir to London for the first time the year he’d died.
An unfortunate circumstance, as the young man’s new guardian decided that Falmouth had no need to visit London after his mourning was over.
He should stay on the estate and learn about it.
Except that Mr. Blash was rarely there to teach him anything, and all Falmouth learned was how everything was falling into disrepair.
Sitting on one of the chairs in Matthew’s library, head hanging, shoulder slumped, it was easy to see how defeated the young man already was.
Matthew could not imagine being in such circumstances, and he was grateful his own road had been far different.
Even though his father had been a righteous old bastard, and often cruel to boot, he’d ensured that Matthew never wanted for anything physically or materially.
“Falmouth, I need to speak to you man to man,” Matthew said, bracing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. “I did not have the chance to ask for your blessing before proposing to your sister.”
“You have it,” Falmouth said immediately. He gave Matthew a look. “Though I am not entirely sure you need it. Your Grace.”
The side of Matthew’s lip twitched, despite his desire to remain serious.
“Thank you. I would prefer to have the blessings of your family.”
“As if we should be so foolish as to turn down a duke.” Falmouth snorted, then colored as he realized what he was saying, what he was implying.
Matthew just chortled.
There really was something to be said about the impulsiveness of youth.
Although Falmouth would need to learn to hold his tongue amongst the rest of the ton, right now, he reminded Matthew of himself at that age.
However, he was not going to punish Falmouth for his blunt honesty the way that Matthew’s father had him.
“Well, I am still happy to have your blessing.” He cleared his throat. “As we are soon-to-be family, I wanted to speak frankly to you about Mr. Blash.”
An expression flashed across Falmouth’s face, too quickly for Matthew to tell what it was, but he got the distinct impression that there was not much love lost between Falmouth and his guardian.
“What about him?” The young man’s tone was carefully neutral, guarded, in a completely different manner than his open bluntness from a moment ago.
“I believe he’s stealing from you.”