Chapter Fifteen
Much later that night, after a delightful dinner full of laughter and stories, Aubrey retired to the billiard room with Derek, Simon and Justin.
Since Catherine and Madeleine had retired, Maeve said good night and went to bed rather than spending time alone with his mother and sisters.
He noticed she went out of her way to avoid being with them if he wasn’t there, too.
Aubrey hoped that in time she’d become more comfortable with his family.
However, if that never happened, so be it.
After the summer, they wouldn’t have to spend time in close proximity to his family unless they chose to.
He had his own home in New York where they could hibernate together and venture out only when they both wished to.
They just had to get through the summer.
“All right, Aubrey,” Derek said when each of the men had glasses of scotch and the finest cigars money could buy. “Start talking.”
Startled, Aubrey wasn’t sure how to reply. “Pardon?”
“Don’t play coy, old chap,” Simon said. “We’re dying to know how you ended up married to Maeve.”
Justin took a long drag on his cigar and blew out the smoke. “We stood by your side through several tedious Seasons during which the cream of London society was paraded before you, and you barely took notice. Imagine our surprise when we arrived to find you married.”
“Ah, I see. Well, I was rather surprised myself to arrive to a complete disaster when my mother sent me ahead to get the house ready for guests.”
“A disaster?” Derek asked. “How so?”
How to tell them without speaking out of turn? If there was one thing his mother did not tolerate, it was the airing of the family’s dirty laundry in public. But his friends weren’t “public,” and he trusted them. “Between us?”
“Of course,” Derek said as the others nodded in agreement.
“My mother can be a bit of an ogre at times, and the former staff quit en masse at the end of last Season, leaving the windows open to the elements.”
“Good lord,” Justin said.
“The house was a total wreck, and when I arrived, Miss Brown—Maeve—was trying to make it right almost entirely on her own. We began to work together, and one thing led to another. . .”
Derek sat back, eyeing him with friendly suspicion. “And that was all there was to it? Please don’t be offended, Aubrey. Your Maeve is lovely, but this must’ve happened very quickly and marriage is a big step.”
“Yes, it is, and the circumstances were somewhat similar to those under which you and Catherine were married.”
“Ahh,” Derek said. “So she was in some sort of danger?”
“Yes.” Aubrey hadn’t planned to tell them any of this yet, but now that the door had been opened, he decided to take the plunge. “First, I must beg for your discretion. My family knows none of this.”
“Of course you have it,” Simon said, answering for all of them.
“Thank you. Maeve was married in Ireland, to a man who mistreated her. He was unable to perform—sexually—and took out his frustrations on her, beating her repeatedly. The last time she was convinced he was going to kill her. She grabbed a pan off the stove, threw hot soup at him and when he charged her, she hit him with the pan itself, killing him.”
“Dear God,” Justin muttered.
“She burned her hand rather severely on the handle of the pan, and the skin on her palm was still healing when we met.”
“How did she end up here?” Derek asked.
“She took money from her husband’s boot and booked a passage to America, fearing she would be hung if she stayed in Ireland.
In New York, she made contact with an employment agency that offered her the position here, not mentioning that it was open because no one else wanted it. She found that out when she got here.”
“I can’t imagine what she must’ve encountered after a winter with the windows open,” Simon said.
“Your imagination isn’t vivid enough to conjure the filth. They left food in my mother’s room to ensure maximum carnage. There are no words to describe the nightmare we encountered.”
“Dear God,” Derek said in a whisper.
“Poor Maeve was trying to address it all by herself, with an injured hand, no less. I was immediately and irrevocably attracted to her. We struck up a friendship of sorts as we worked to restore the house. And then a man came looking for her, sent by her dead husband’s family.
That’s when she told me what had happened in Ireland.
I offered her the protection of my name and resources. ”
“I’m sure she was very relieved,” Justin said.
“She was actually reluctant to involve me in her problems.”
“I’ll admit to being relieved to hear that,” Derek said. “Otherwise I might’ve been concerned about her motives.”
“I assure you they are pure. I had to plead with her to let me help her. In addition to marrying her, I paid off the man looking for her with the provision that he report to his clients that he was unable to locate her in Newport.”
“But they are still looking for her?” Derek asked.
“I assume so. I was going to ask if you have any suggestions of how we might reach out to the authorities in Ireland to convey her side of the events.”
“I would be happy to reach out to my contacts in Ireland to see what might be done.”
“Thank you, Derek. I was hoping you might say that.”
“Whatever I can do to help. What was her husband’s name?”
“Farthington.”
Derek glanced at Simon. “Why do I know that name?”
“I was thinking the same,” his cousin replied. “Something about it is familiar, but I can’t say how I know of him.”
“Maeve said his family is in shipping in Ireland.”
“We must think about it,” Derek said, rubbing his chin before returning his attention to Aubrey. “I ask this with the utmost respect for you and your wife, but have you prepared her for what it will be like for her in not-so-polite society?”
“We have already spoken extensively about that, and while we are nervous about how she might be received, I believe that my affiliation with the visiting duke and duchess will help to smooth the way for her.”
“How so?” Justin asked.
“Allow me,” Derek said, amusement etched into his expression. “Aubrey is well aware that the local hostesses will be panting over the thought of entertaining a duke and duchess, and he intends to make his lovely wife part of the package. Am I close?”
“You’re spot-on. Please accept my apologies for shamelessly using you to my own benefit.”
Derek barked out a laugh. “Use me to your heart’s content. If I can help to make things easier for you and Maeve, I’m all for it, and I know Catherine would say the same.”
“I told Maeve that you would probably say that.”
“As you well know, I have no patience for bullies, especially those dressed in the finest silk who think they should be allowed to determine who passes muster. By the end of this summer, we will see to it that your wife is the toast of Newport society.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Aubrey gave silent thanks for the blessing of good friends.
He’d had many friends in his lifetime, but these three men were the best of the best, which is why he’d always be thankful his mother had insisted he partake in the London Season.
He may not have come home with the wife she’d dreamed of for him, but he’d made lifelong friends.
“It’s not outside the realm of possibility,” Justin said. “Things are changing. It’s a new century, and people need to get over their fear of anything foreign. If it weren’t for her Irish brogue, you could pass her off as a member of any high-brow family.”
“I have had that very thought myself.”
“It’s the twentieth century,” Derek declared. “I have no patience for this type of nonsense.”
“Which type of nonsense are you referring to, cousin?” Simon’s eyes glittered with amusement. “He has a well-known lack of patience for many kinds of nonsense.”
Derek rolled his eyes at his cousin. “I’m referring to the kind of nonsense that would have an innocent young woman like Maeve shunned simply because she was born in the wrong country. It’s outrageous and high time we stopped judging people for things they have no control over.”
“Amen,” Justin said.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Aubrey added. “Thank you for taking such a stance. I assured Maeve that you would be inclined to help make her entrée into Newport society smoother than it would’ve been without your assistance.”
“Most of the time, my title is more of a hindrance than an asset,” Derek said.
“Especially when he was on the marriage mart,” Simon added, snorting with laughter.
“Especially then.”
“The desperation,” Justin said, “the mothers, the beautiful debutantes. It was all so arduous.”
“Enough out of you,” Derek said with a playful scowl for his friend. “It was extremely arduous. Thank God I found Catherine digging on my land. She saved me from a lifetime of monotony with—”
“The braying donkey?”
Justin’s comment set off a wave of hilarity among the men.
“Wait,” Simon said. “What’d I miss?”
“Hours upon hours in more ballrooms than we can count,” Aubrey said, “in which we entertained ourselves by listing the reasons certain debutantes were unsuitable for His Grace.”
Never one to stand on formality, Derek frowned at the words “His Grace.”
“He was particularly concerned about becoming shackled to the one who sounded like a braying donkey when she laughed,” Justin said.
“Ah,” Simon said, smiling. “I see.”
“You, on the other hand,” Derek said to his cousin, “managed to land the belle of the Season after attending exactly one ball. That’s hardly fair to those of us who tolerated multiple Seasons and came home empty handed—for the most part, anyway.”
“And thank God for that.” Justin poured himself another drink before topping off the others.
“I did get extraordinarily lucky to find my Madeleine in a sea of people at the Crenshaw affair.”
“You got extraordinarily lucky when I sent you to London to find out if anyone was looking for Catherine.”
“That too,” Simon said, grinning at his cousin.