Chapter 8
“Now we are family?”
Spencer had expected his wife to pick up on what he had said, but he had not expected her to do so immediately. He was pleased that she listened, but he wished that she would consider more than feelings before she acted.
“Just play along,” he said bluntly.
She put on a smile, and the two of them made their way to the ballroom.
Spencer did not fully trust the smile that she wore, for it did not seem genuine, but then he could hardly blame her for that.
Even so, it felt as though she was hiding something, and given her penchant for doing exactly as she pleased, it could only have spelled trouble.
“Good evening, Your Grace,” their host, Lord Hunterson, greeted. “It is a pleasure to have you back.”
“It is a pleasure to be back,” he replied brightly.
“And such a miraculous recovery,” Lady Hunterson continued. “Truly, it is such a remarkable story. I am most pleased for you both.”
As she said it, she looked directly at Anna, who kept that same smile from before.
“I could not quite believe it, myself,” she said softly, in a tone he had never heard from her. “I feel most ridiculous for having put the ton through all of that, but I am most pleased to have been wrong.”
“If only I had arrived before the letter,” he chuckled. “You see, I had typhoid fever, and I wanted my wife to know what was happening when my condition worsened. Mere days after it was sent, however, I began to recover.”
Lady Hunterson gasped, her hand lightly pressed to her lips as she smiled wistfully at the tale.
“Well, we are glad to see you here,” Lord Hunterson nodded. “Should anyone have an unkind word to say to you, do not hesitate to come to me. I shall have them escorted out, for nobody will speak ill of such a couple as you.”
They thanked their hosts and made their way to the other guests. He felt Anna’s grip tighten on his arm. The curve of her lips suggested she was pleased with their story and its effect on their hosts.
“Duplicity comes so easily to some,” she said, just loudly enough for him to hear.
“Later,” he replied. “We are in a precarious situation, and I cannot allow you to say something provocative.”
“Well, I am pleased to know that you think you can control my actions any more than I can yours.”
“Anna-”
“I see my friend, the Duchess of Winterleigh,” she said suddenly, letting go of him. “I shall see you later.”
She walked away before he could say another word, joining a tall lady with wavy brown hair and gentle brown eyes. She was accompanied by an imposing gentleman with port wine stains on his skin. They both greeted her warmly before casting a glance in his direction.
“They do not seem particularly pleased to see you,” Alexander commented, joining him.
“I was wondering if I was seeing things,” he sighed. “I ought to introduce myself, no?”
“Under most circumstances, yes, but give it time. They have a new baby, and so this is His Grace’s first time out in society in a while. He was reclusive before his marriage, too, so he is adjusting.”
“You know an awful lot about everyone.”
“I listen. You might wish to do the same, and then you will know everything too.”
Spencer rolled his eyes at the suggestion. He did not want to know anything about anyone in society, for it did not interest him in the slightest. He had greater concerns than idle gossip; he had an estate to save.
“Have you seen my cousin?” Spencer asked. “I was hoping that he had been invited tonight.”
“Our hosts extended an invitation to everyone in society. I believe that they were made aware of your return, meaning their event would be the first since your arrival, and they wanted to make the most of it.”
And that was certainly what they had done.
If Spencer had to describe the ballroom in one word, it would have been ‘opulent’.
There were ice sculptures on the refreshment tables, and what seemed to be hundreds of candles lit.
The floor was newly repainted with an intricate design, and as people danced across it, Spencer wondered what it might have been like to host something similar himself.
He shook the thought from his mind. He could not do so, given the circumstances.
His gaze drifted to his wife, who was smiling and talking amiably with the apparent recluse as though they were old friends. There was no denying that, when she wanted to be, she was a most charismatic lady.
“Are you watching her for effect?” Alexander asked. “Or are you truly becoming enamored?”
“I would not say that. If anything, my wife will drive me insane before the week is through.”
“That is, if you have not driven her mad with your absence,” he reminded him.
“You are not funny. This was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, and yet there has been nothing convenient about it. I sometimes wonder if it would have been easier had I remained a bachelor, like you.”
“Fascinating,” Alexander replied, eyeing him carefully.
“If you have something to say, you might as well do so now.”
It was strange; his friend had always been quick to agree with him, but since his return, it felt as though his every move was questioned.
Spencer knew that he was not perfect and that he had made mistakes, but he was trying his best, and his friend knew that.
Alexander knew him better than almost anyone else.
Which was, frustratingly, precisely why he knew he needed his advice.
“Did you make the deal with your wife’s father, or with your wife?
” he asked simply. “You did not tell her what was expected of her, nor did you court her. You were improper, and you hid your intentions, and you know precisely why you did that. You cannot now be angry with her for not behaving like you want. She has every right to be inconvenient.”
“You know why I did it. I did not have a choice.”
“I do know why, but your wife does not. There is no harm in-”
“There is, and you know it. I had to leave, and to stay away, and I will do so again once I can. There are people that need me, and my wife is getting in the way of me being able to do that.”
“Your wife may also be one of those people who are counting on you,” Alexander replied. “Are you going to stay away from her knowing that?”
Before Spencer could answer, a lord joined them. He was grateful at first, for he did not know what to say in response, but that gratitude was quickly dampened when he realized who it was.
Lord Smythe was not the sort of gentleman that Spencer trusted.
He had recently come into his money, and he liked to flaunt it in a way that Spencer mistrusted—gaudy new carriages, a boisterous presence in the gambling hells, flamboyant dress at every opportunity.
Alexander clearly did not like it either, for he took a very deliberate step away.
“How wonderful to see you again,” Smythe said, in a particularly smarmy way. “I had thought that the hunting accident had led to your demise! A rather strange way to go, but most interesting.”
“Yes, well, as you can see, I am very much alive.”
“A joyous occasion. I suppose your wife is pleased.”
“As pleased as any other wife,” he laughed tentatively, wanting the subject of conversation to change.
“How did she misunderstand it all? I have been wondering. Well, we have all been wondering it, in my defence. It is not as though she is simple. She was intelligent enough to marry into money without needing to fulfil any wifely duties, at least.”
He felt his breath hitch, his skin prickling with heat. Only he could think of his wife in such a situation.
“You will refrain from speaking about my wife that way,” he replied, shocked by his reaction to Anna being spoken of in such a manner. “I will not tolerate her being spoken of as though she is not my duchess.”
“Yes, we all know how good your wife is. Any other lady might have heard about your carriage coming from the north and questioned you, after all.”
Spencer blinked. He had not considered that. Had he come from Africa, as he claimed, he would have come from the south. Of course, that was not where he had been, but they were not to know that. He could not let them believe it.
“Lord Smythe, if you believe that the only reason you would see my carriages in the north is because of me, then you are sorely mistaken. I have estates all across the country, but of course, you would not know that. We do not all have an innate desire to flaunt our wealth, after all.”
Alexander sputtered, trying to maintain his composure. Lord Smythe scowled, but only briefly. Then, he fixed his smile again and acted as though nothing had been said at all.
“Will you be hosting a ball yourself soon?” he asked. “It would be a pleasant way for you to reenter society.”
“I am considering it. Should I host one, I will send you an invitation.”
That was enough to satisfy the man, and he took his leave.
“Social climber,” he grimaced. “I cannot stand people like him.”
“The word people is being rather too polite, I would argue,” Alexander quipped. “Do not pay him any heed. People do not listen to the likes of him. If anything, they cover their ears entirely so they do not have to hear of his forty-seven bedrooms.”
“Does he truly have that many?”
“I do not know. I have never paid him a visit.”
“Of all the things you know,” Spencer huffed, only to be interrupted by a sudden commotion nearby.
Both gentlemen turned, and Spencer’s eyes settled squarely on none other than his cousin. He was standing with a drink down his front, his face almost purple.
“At least I know that he is in attendance tonight,” he said quietly. “I require a word with him.”
“I do not know that he will grant it to you,” Alexander replied.
Spencer did not understand quite what he meant at first, and then he realized how his cousin came to have a drink spilled on him.
Anna was standing in front of him, her glass poised as though she had launched her drink with force at him, and her face was expressionless. She had no emotion over what she had done, the perfect opposite of Walter.
Without another word, Spencer made his way over to them. He could not hear them, but he could see Walter speaking angrily to Anna, who at last had begun to falter. She was clearly in shock. What had happened that caused her to look that way? Spencer glanced around, instinctively seeking the threat.
He stepped in front of her, which only made the whispers increase. At the sight of him, Walter seemed to soften, but only slightly.
“What happened?” Spencer asked.
“What happened, dear Cousin, is that your wife is out of control. Do not ask me for an explanation, but her.”
Spencer did not want to believe him. Anna was quick to speak her mind, but he never would have assumed that she would do something so improper. It was not how she handled matters, and he had at least been pleased about that.
“I demand an apology!” Walter continued. “To be treated like this by your hellion of a wife, and have her accuse me as if it were my fault, is appalling!”
“If my wife did it, it must have been an accident,” Spencer argued. She never would have–”
“It was no accident,” Anna said clearly, causing him to turn around.
She had not moved, her glass still posed as it had been before. The mutinous glint in her brown eyes suggested she’d be more than happy to finish what she’d begun. Spencer glared at her, and at last he began to hear what the people around them were saying.
“I knew she was a harridan.”
“It is no wonder that he wished to be away from her.”
“I would have preferred a hunting accident.”
At last, Spencer remembered where he was and what he had to do. He took the glass from his wife and placed it down, taking her gloved hand and turning her toward the door.
“Alright,” he announced. “You may all continue as you were.”
He led her outside, pleased that they were not followed by any of their friends. The last thing that Spencer wanted was for them to be regarded in the same way that he and Anna were.
She had done enough damage.
His cousin, on the other hand, was all too happy to chase after them.
“My apology,” he reminded them. “I will not be spoken to that way!”
“Walter, I trust that you can see this is unlike my wife. If she is unwell enough to behave in this way, then you would understand that her apology would not be as meaningful as it otherwise would be. Surely you would rather wait until she is recovered?”
“I want one now.”
“Then I am sorry,” Anna replied petulantly. “I apologize for not being the sort of lady that you want me to be.”
She said nothing further, taking her seat in the carriage and looking forward, unblinking.
“I shall speak with you tomorrow,” Spencer assured him. “In the meantime, you can see that she is in distress. It has been a difficult while.”
“Yes, and it is only going to be worse for you if she continues to act this way.”
It was not like his cousin to threaten him, but Spencer knew that was precisely what it was. He was quick to anger, and for the first time, he seemed perfectly happy to direct that anger at Spencer.
Then again, things had changed. He had power over Spencer that he never had before, and he was clearly enjoying it. He was going to have to navigate everything carefully and do all that he could to keep him happy if he wanted to keep his estates.
Anna realized it too, and her silence in the carriage spoke volumes.
They returned home, and Anna did not wait for him to help her out of the carriage. She left it herself and made her way inside with him on her heels.
“Anna,” he called out, “Anna, do not walk away from me. I am not angry with you.”
“You certainly seemed it.”
“I had to be if it meant pleasing one of the trustees you are so concerned about,” he pointed out, “but I do want to understand what happened.”
“You do not,” she replied, and he saw the look again.
She was not looking at him, but past him. Her eyes were all but blank, sending a shiver down his spine.
“Anna,” he said gently, taking her hands again and squeezing them gently, “tell me what happened.
She looked at him, and for the first time, Spence saw something in her that made him furious.
Fear.