Chapter 13
SHE FOUND SEBASTIAN IN THE DINING ROOM, looking over the selection of pastries laid out on the table, his back to the door.
“When is luncheon served?”
Margaret was nonplussed. How had he known she was there? She’d made no sound as she’d entered the room, had been especially quiet, in fact, so no servants would come out to see if she needed anything.
“The usual time, but you’re going to be served a piece of my mind first.”
He glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow. “Something wrong?”
How could he look so innocent, as if he hadn’t just rearranged her life? A ruse, no doubt, but it wasn’t going to work.
“What could be wrong? You just dashed that young man’s hopes, and most brutally. That was not the way to break the news to a man I’ve long been friends with. And about that news, how dare you change your mind about...our marriage without warning me first? I specifically recall—”
“Settle down, Maggie,” he cut in.
He’d turned to face her and popped a small cream puff in his mouth, then licked his fingers—slowly. Good God. Her stomach fluttered oddly, her pulse quickened. Thoughts deserted her as she stared at his mouth.
“Don’t do that,” he snapped.
She blinked. “What?”
“Bloody hell,” he said and turned back toward the table.
With his back to her again, her senses returned to normal, as did her thoughts. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be wise to dwell on it. He’d managed to distract her from her anger for a moment, but she still wanted an answer from him.
“That nonsense about you being jealous—” she began.
“Was nonsense,” he replied, turning back around to face her.
“I know, but why did you do that? What was the point? And why are we suddenly ‘married’ when you weren’t even sure it would be necessary?”
“Timothy was very productive this morning. Now that I do deem it necessary to enact the farce, which was your suggestion, I might add, it was crucial that I stop you from making any blunders before the news spread.”
“I don’t make blunders,” she replied stiffly.
“In the usual sense, you probably don’t,” he allowed magnanimously.
“But I was referring to your saying something to Courtly that would lead him to believe nothing has changed between you two, when in fact our ‘marriage’ changes everything. Are you getting the point yet, Maggie? If we’re going to go through with this, you don’t want to leave a doubting Thomas in the wings who could come forward later to denounce us. ”
“It’s doubtful I would have said anything of the nature you’re implying. My relationship with Daniel wasn’t that close.”
“It was close enough for him to put his hands all over you.”
She blushed furiously. “That was no more than he claimed. He was welcoming me home.”
“A handshake would have sufficed,” he pointed out dryly.
“Be that as it may, I merely made sure in the quickest way possible that no doubts would arise later. As it happens, I was looking for you to tell you what Timothy found out. Finding you in the embrace of another man, well, I actually thought it was too late, that you already might have blundered. Mentioning our ‘marriage’ was a calculated risk at that point but the only way to set the stage for our deception.”
“A handshake and introduction wouldn’t have sufficed?” she shot back.
He actually started to smile. No, surely it was her imagination. “Sorry, not my way,” he said.
“No, your way is to shake things up and get everyone’s emotions in a tangle.”
He shrugged. “Habit. Works very well in my line of work. People tend to say things they wouldn’t otherwise say, when they’re angry.”
She glared. “I’m not your mark, Sebastian, so don’t use those tactics on me.”
“But you exhibit such magnificent beauty when you’re angry, Maggie.” His golden eyes roamed up and down her body. “Hard to resist.”
“What rubbish.” She snorted and stomped angrily out of the room.
But she didn’t go very far. She was at the foot of the stairs when she realized he hadn’t told her why he’d deemed their pretend marriage necessary.
He’d known she would come back, the odious man, because he was standing where she’d left him, facing the door and popping another cream puff into his mouth.
She glanced away before she could see him lick his fingers and stared at the floor as she began to pace it. “What was Timothy’s report?” she demanded.
“You might want to hear it firsthand. He’s pumped up proud of his deception.”
“Where is he?”
“Where else would a young boy be this time of the day? And while you’re there, tell your kitchen staff I’m ready for lunch.”
She bristled at the order but left to find Timothy in the kitchen. It looked like the boy had just finished eating, so she suggested, “Come for a ride with me, Tim. I’ve still to exercise my mare, and Ian has a horse saddled that you can use. You can be my escort.”
He beamed. The boy really did like being assigned new responsibilities. Odd for a child his age, when most would rather be off playing.
They rode toward Edgewood and stopped on a knoll overlooking Sebastian’s ancestral home.
“So what did you find out this morning that disturbed Sebastian?” she began.
“He didn’t look disturbed.” “He never looks disturbed about anything, which is beside the point. What did you learn?”
“Well, I was in the stable down there asking for a job. Couldn’t get hired, though. All the jobs were taken. One of the grooms was French. Seemed very out of place, him. Wouldn’t talk at all except to tell me to get lost.”
“That disturbed Sebastian?”
“No, didn’t even mention that to him.”
Margaret rolled her eyes and decided to let Timothy tell his tale without interrupting him. “Go on.”
“Well, I was about to leave and go ask at the kitchen for work, when the big lord himself walked in and started saddling his horse. None of the other grooms came forward to do it for him, so I hurried over and offered to help, just like I worked there. Didn’t think he’d know the difference, and he didn’t. ”
“That was rather ingenious of you.”
Timothy grinned. “I thought so. Well, I started chattering a bunch, ’bout this and that, nothing personal, mind you, just enough to make him relax and not really hear me, if you know what I mean.
Then I mentioned his sons, told him I’d heard he had two fine ones.
He definitely heard that. Got all stiff.
Could have chilled milk next to him, he got so cold-like. ”
“That’s all? He didn’t say anything?”
“Oh, he did. He said I’d heard wrong, that he only had one son. The other was dead.”
And dead men weren’t admitted through the front door, Margaret thought.
Good God, it must have hurt Sebastian to hear that.
Then again, maybe he really didn’t care, as he’d said.
But he’d been right. The estrangement had escalated severely if Douglas now considered Sebastian dead to him.
He wouldn’t be welcome, except as her husband.
And even that was going to be highly uncomfortable.
She could well lose her own welcome if she brought the “dead” son home to Edgewood.