Chapter 1
Hampshire, 1811
“Aunt, I have told you a hundred times that I will not marry, and you know very well why not,” Richard Fox, Earl of Douglas, said with a pained expression.
“It is long past time you were wed; you have responsibilities to the continuation of your heritage.”
“That is hardly a fact to encourage me to marry, even if I was willing to do so, and as I am not, it just adds to the long list of reasons why I am right in my decision.”
“You are flawed in every argument, you foolish boy. You are letting the past influence your future, and those are the actions of a ninnyhammer.”
“I am the ninnyhammer? You are the one who threatened that you were determined to find me a wife, and now you are filling the house with spinsters who no one else wants. I am minded to predict that your scheme is doomed to fail before it has started, which I am more than happy about.”
“I have invited those who I thought would suit you. I hope you give them a chance.”
“Why should I raise expectations in women who have been unable to find a match elsewhere? I would expect at least one of the diamonds of the Season to be in attendance,” Richard drawled to his aunt. He stood in the large drawing room of his aunt’s house, one hand gripping the back of a chair, the other holding his quizzing glass to his eye, which had made many a lesser person wither under his scrutiny.
“Any more of that insolence and I will box your ears, my boy,” Marie responded, not in the slightest daunted that her nephew was looking at her with his usual disdainful expression, his cold blue eyes challenging her.
There was a slight pause, but then Richard laughed, tucking his glass into his waistcoat pocket. “My apologies, Aunt. I have spent too long in London with the wrong set, and I forget myself until I settle back in to country life, but when you try to meddle, it brings out the worst in me.”
“Pfft, you are the leader of the wrong set if the gossip is even half true,” Marie said, fixing her skirts around her in a more comfortable manner. She still preferred the older style of apparel rather than the modern empire line dresses; her formal attire made her even more intimidating, supported by the disdainful expressions which were a trait of her family.
“You should not believe everything you read in those pamphlets. They make their money by spreading exaggerated stories.” Richard defended himself, but the smile that accompanied the words undermined his suggestion of innocence.
“That might be the case with regard to some of your friends, but I know you too well. The stories have more than a ring of truth about them.”
Richard laughed at his aunt, the usual dark expression which marred his otherwise handsome features gone for the moment at least. She was the only person who could make him fully relax and be himself, and even that happened rarely. “I should never have told you half of what I relayed. I was young and foolish when I began this blasted practice of confessing everything to you, and I cannot stop the habit. It is too tempting when I know you will find it as funny as I do when I recount my escapades.”
“Yes, you have always been eager to tell me all your exploits, but it is time you settled down, though I have noticed that you have become even more difficult to please. I am left with mothers of disappointed daughters telling me their woes of how they were sure you were about to propose to their daughter.”
“Not a chance in hell would I give the slightest hint I was interested in marriage to anyone I had the misfortune to be introduced to; the stories about my attachment to any chit are most definitely exaggerated. It is far too dangerous to start up a flirtation with an innocent when there are schemers who abound in society. Dancing with them is bad enough; I can feel expectant eyes boring into me, trying to work out if there shall be a proposal.”
“I am surprised they would contemplate such a thing; you always look as if you are about to be led to the gallows whenever you are in a ballroom.”
“Are you surprised? I am tortured with chits who can barely string a sentence together and who have clearly been instructed in the so-called art of flirting. When they bat their eyelashes at me, I can honestly say that, in most cases, I am reminded of a camel with the way they tilt their heads and smile. It is damned off-putting.”
Marie ignored the language her nephew used; she was used to his lack of restraint in her company and welcomed it. He had been a lonely boy with no one to turn to after the death of his mother until she had forced herself into his life, though her brother, Richard’s father, had been against her interference.
Her brother’s dismissal of her would have been enough for most people to abandon the child, but Marie was not most people, and she had given her brother enough of a roasting that he gave in and accepted she would be Richard’s main carer. The new set-up suited nephew and aunt perfectly and allowed Richard to experience some form of happiness once more, though he was always a little aloof from everyone, even Marie at times. But then something had happened that reinforced his conviction that he was easily discarded, and he had changed for the worse since then.
“I thought that would be your opinion on the matter and told them exactly that. They are bigger fools if they think I would persuade you to marry any silly girl, whether she is considered the catch of the Season or not.”
Richard grinned at her. “I love you.”
“In that case, stop being a brute and welcome everyone I have invited with grace. It is time you forgot the past.”
His expression turned dark once more. “How could I?”
“She chose someone else. Yes, I think she was a fool to do so, but it does not alter the fact. Do not let her fickleness spoil your future happiness.”
Richard turned to the window, refusing to let even his aunt see the distress in his expression. The person he had thought could finally wipe away the pain of the past had gone on to reinforce his insecurity about being easily abandoned and unlovable. “Every time I go to London, I see her. She visits me regularly and always wants us to dance and be included in my plans. I have not the will to refuse her anything.”
“Then you are a bigger gudgeon than she is. If you believe that by behaving the way you do and remaining unwed, she will regret her decision and be longing for you, then you are very much mistaken.”
The words had the effect of lifting his lips slightly, but his eyes were filled with anguish. “I do not know what I am trying to prove to her or myself, but I cannot break away from her, though it chips away at my insides every time I see her. I have considered going to the continent to try to deaden the pain of being in her company. It is that or I drink myself into a stupor enough times that one day I will just not wake up.”
“You run away and you will never be free of her; you will just moon over her from farther afield. You need to accept that she failed you and find someone who will not.”
“And what if it was I who failed her?”
“Nonsense! Her head was turned by flowery speeches, indulgence, and constant grand gifts; those are not the things to create a stable, strong marriage.”
“I could never utter the words her husband does,” Richard said with a shudder.
“Anyone who needs that type of flummery is not the one for you. When you accept that, you will see you had a lucky escape. I am hoping this gathering will prove to you that there are girls out there who will appreciate you. I have chosen carefully.”
“Yet you have invited wallflowers, all of whom are around my own age. That is hardly going to guarantee my having an heir, plus you say you want great-nieces and great-nephews. Little chance of that if I marry a barren spinster.”
“It is when you utter such poppycock that I am reminded you are the spawn of my stupid brother. I would expect him to come out with such heartless nonsense. You are above such comments.”
Richard glowered at his aunt. “And with those words, I curse you to the devil for the comparison.”
“Stop behaving like him and be true to yourself; you are far nicer when you stop acting the cad.”
Richard moved to the fireplace, throwing on some coals and staring into the fire as the flames started to wrap themselves around the new fuel. He faced his aunt when the fire had taken hold once more, brushing his hands of any coal dust. She had not stopped watching him as he pondered, but had remained silent; she was more than aware that he hated any suggestion that he was like his father. When he turned towards her, any sign of annoyance had gone, to be replaced with a look of uncertainty that made him seem far younger than his six and twenty years.
“What if I am like him? How can I marry and bring children into the world if there is the slightest chance I would treat them in the way I was, even if I do manage to forget Bea and wed? I would not wish that future on my worst enemy, let alone my own offspring.” He no longer sounded the disdainful nonesuch that many of his friends considered him. This was the real Richard, the one filled with doubt and misgivings that he kept well hidden from the wider world.
Marie stood and walked across the room to him. Reaching up and putting her hands on his cheeks, she forced him to look at her. “You are not him, or I would not be here now. As much as he was my own brother, I could only abide being near him because of you, and even then only for short periods. If I detected any of his characteristics in you, I would have banished you from my home long ago. You may utter the odd sentence that is reminiscent of him, but that is all.”
“Sometimes I hear myself speak, and it is as if he is in my head. I am the master of the put-downs because I learned from the best.”
“You could have become one of the best of the ton if you had shown your real nature. Instead, because of your father, and then more so with your broken engagement, you chose to become this odd version of yourself, never letting anyone close enough to see what you are really like.”
“I will never let anyone treat me as they did. I refuse to be at anyone’s mercy ever again,” Richard said quietly. “If that means I wear a mask for most of the time, so be it.”
“You are a better man than he could ever be, and you need to break the spell that binds you to Bea. She is not and never was the one for you. It is important to me to see you content to make up for the years after your mother died, which is why I need you happily settled before I breathe my last.”
“You will be around for years yet.”
“I hope so, but I want to see you with someone who brings out the best in you.”
“And how will that happen?”
“Be yourself; stop this acting nonsense.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is, and do not worry about the wallflowers; I did not invite them with you in mind. I have also invited Claude; it is time he settled down too.”
Richard burst into laughter, no longer melancholy. “Do they know what awaits them? The poor devils.”
“Not only is it time you were married, but Claude also needs a wife. I cannot spend the remainder of my days rescuing him from every scrape he gets himself into.”
“As I have also had to play the rescuer a time or two, I cannot fault your sentiments, but will a wife really tame him? And will he consider a wallflower? You know what he is like. He is more likely to want a wealthy young debutante.”
“If he wishes to continue receiving an allowance from me, he will do as I bid. I do think he was swapped at birth. I still cannot accept that he is my son, though he resembles my husband, God rest his soul, more than I care to admit, which means I cannot disown him for not being mine,” Marie said with resignation.
“Aunt, you are wicked.”
“No, I am not. Just realistic. There is no point pretending that my son is anything but a wastrel and a numbskull.”
“Yet you are going to encourage him to marry some poor chit. That is not a nice thing to do to anyone, let alone some unsuspecting spinster.”
“Fortunately, there are girls out there who would overlook his faults to receive the large inheritance I am to leave to her.”
“But if she marries, Claude will have full control of their finances. It would take him six months to go through any inheritance he has access to, and then there would be two of them in the suds instead of just one.”
“I will convince him that I am giving his wife a portion of his inheritance, and he will not be able to touch it.”
Richard frowned at his aunt’s words. “That is not very fair to the girl. He will try to browbeat her into handing over the money. Have you forgotten how he can go on for days on end without stopping his incessant whining? For I have not. I am sure my ears ache afterwards. A wife could not stand up to him as we do. Thankfully, he is in awe of you, but you will not always be there to protect her.”
“Do not worry, I have not chosen a sacrificial lamb. The woman I have heard about is more than capable of standing up to him and able to hold her own when faced with his worst side, but in case I am wrong, there are others who might be suitable. I am sure one of the chits I have invited will be strong enough to withstand a life with Claude.”
“I hope you are right or I will have something to say on the matter, for I cannot stand by and let a wrong be committed, even by you,” Richard said firmly. “At least with Claude here, the pressure will be off my marrying; you will be too busy soothing the ruffled feathers he has caused. It might turn out to be an amusing house party after all.”
“Please be open to the possibility of something long-lasting with one of the women I have invited. I have been shocking and invited more ladies than gentlemen, which will no doubt be commented on. If you do not marry at the end, I will know that I have done my best, and I hope you will have enjoyed yourself; that is all I can ask.”
“That is an easy promise to give. A houseful of pretty girls is not really a hardship. I am just not giving you any promises that I will marry one of them.”
“Just accept that I have to try. If I fail, then I can do no more meddling. For once, I will stop scheming. Reluctantly, because it will mean that you will continue to hanker after something that was not real.”
“I cannot understand your train of thought. Of course what I had with Bea was real; I was engaged to her, for goodness’ sake.”
“She was never truly committed to you; anyone could see that. I pointed it out and got my nose snapped off for my pains, but it turned out I was right.”
Richard refused to be dragged into going over the time he and his aunt had almost fallen out irrevocably. “As long as we are clear about the fact that I will be as single as I am now at the end of these two weeks, I can accept your attempt at meddling. In truth, all bluster aside, I cannot imagine ever finding a woman who would interest me above a sennight, let alone the rest of my days.” The words apart from Bea were left unsaid, but they both knew that he had thought them.
“There is someone out there who will attract you. If your father could find a decent woman who could put up with his unreasonableness, I am sure you can find a woman who adores you.”
“I think that is a compliment, but I am not quite sure.” Richard shook his head at his aunt.
“If you did not resemble your mother so much, I would definitely claim you as my own.” Marie smiled at him. “You are more like me in personality and outlook than any other family member I have ever come across.”
“I suppose it means I am to look forward to a crotchety old age in which I am a menace to those younger than me and manage everyone’s lives, whether they like it or not.” Richard stepped away from her so he was out of striking distance.
“I think I will leave you as Claude’s guardian.”
“He is three and thirty!” Richard laughed.
“He would believe it if it was in my will.”
“I might have to murder you now, just in case you are being serious.”
“That would certainly make the house party interesting.”
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