Page 10 of A Hint of Scandal (The Mismatched Lovers #2)

T rue to his promise to Lady Gilbert, Max had Serafina back at the house in Great Titchfield Street before evening fell. They’d spent a joyous two hours viewing the entire contents of the museum with particular attention to the Egyptian antiquities, and he’d been rewarded for his efforts by the enthusiasm with which she’d studied every object in great detail, uttering little cries of excitement at each new revelation. He’d decided to steer well clear of discussing her home situation, and had divulged nothing of his own, as she seemed intent on keeping their conversation confined to things historical.

And now, alas, they were back at her brother’s house. However, before they could reach the door, Serafina ground to a halt on the pavement. Not difficult to sense the apprehension coursing through her and guess the reason for the suddenly tightened grip on his arm. She looked up at him out of those beautiful gray eyes that now held a mixture of anguish and apprehension. He could have drowned in those eyes. How had he not noticed how thick and long the eyelashes that framed them were.

Good heavens, he must stop thinking like that immediately. But he couldn’t help it. Julian’s words, and those of his mother, echoed in his head. They wanted him to marry, in order to secure his inheritance, so what was holding him back? Marriage to a young woman like Miss Gilbert would surely not be difficult. She would be a most interesting companion—unlike those pretty, empty-headed debutantes whose mamas were so keen for them to secure advantageous marriages. And as for her, might she be grateful for being rescued from her present situation? Although… even if he cared for her, what sort of basis for marriage was mere gratefulness on one side? He brought himself up short. No, she could never care for a man who might just as well have only one arm, and not once had she bestowed anything but friendly interest on him. In short, she clearly did not find him an attractive proposition.

He had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Is there anything amiss?”

Her small white teeth drew her bottom lip in and a slight frown marred her pale brow. “I confess to being just a little uneasy about returning home after such a wonderful afternoon…” She gave an almost dismissive shrug, as though to belittle her feelings. “If I’m to be honest with you, I’d have to admit that I’m loathe to have this afternoon end, for it’s truly been one of the best I’ve ever spent.”

Discussing the possibility of someone one day using the Rosetta Stone to decipher hieroglyphics, smiling together at the sight of how the sarcophagus of the pharaoh Nectanebo had been turned into a bath, complete with drain holes, exclaiming over the mummies on display, wrapped in their bandage shrouds; those were the things which had held her rapt. Not his company, Max was even more certain now than he had been before.

He felt heat warm his cheeks. This admission, much as he’d like it to be for a quite different reason, must surely be due to where he’d taken her and what she’d seen. His acute awareness of his own disability resurfaced, as it was wont to do at inopportune moments. A woman as fiercely intelligent and sweet natured as Miss Gilbert wasn’t about to throw herself away on a man with only one good arm. But he could be of assistance to her. “You have no need to worry. I shall be coming in with you. Of course.”

She blinked. Were those tears forming on her lashes? “Thank you. That will make me feel more confident. You’re very kind.”

Kindness be damned. To his surprise he found he didn’t want the afternoon to end, nor to wish her goodbye. Coming inside would put off that moment a little longer. How had discussing long dead Egyptians made him feel so protective towards her? Was it perhaps because she was the first woman who’d shown him any interest, even though it had been entirely directed at where he’d taken her? Was he that needy?

He pushed his own feelings out of his head, albeit with some difficulty, and focused instead on hers.

Once more he found himself wondering what kind of a home her brother had given her that she should feel such apprehension after a perfectly acceptable outing with a gentleman who, did she but know it, found her a most interesting companion. He balked at using the word ‘attractive’ with all its connotations, even in his head, and even though, in his opinion, she undeniably was. Despite her having made it obvious she didn’t see herself in that way. That they could continue as friends was suddenly the most important thing in the world to him.

“Come. Let us brave your lion’s den.”

A small smile formed. “It would be best if you didn’t refer to my brother’s house in that way in front of him.”

He chuckled. “Have no fear. I shall be the soul of discretion.”

The family were still assembled in the drawing room, although this time accompanied by the patriarch, Sir Ogden, whom so far Max had only observed from afar. They presented a no doubt contrived tableau when the footman opened the door to usher Max and Serafina inside.

Sir Ogden was seated closest to the fire, the newspaper he’d been reading lowered to his lap, and an expression of stern disapproval on his flushed and fleshy face. Lady Gilbert sat opposite him, her upright chair drawn back from the heat as though she abhorred it, a piece of embroidery lying unheeded in her lap. Her cold eyes fixed with accusation on Serafina just for an instant as though she were something she’d trodden in by mistake and needed to wipe off the sole of her shoe. And, by contrast, there was the pretty niece, Letty, who’d stopped her piano playing in the middle of a piece to fix Max and her youthful aunt with a decidedly resentful stare. Altogether a rather forbidding reception party. Perhaps no one else had come to call that afternoon and Miss Letitia was seething with jealousy. Max found himself hoping so.

He made a careful bow, encompassing the room. “Good evening, once again. I hope I haven’t incommoded you by keeping Miss Gilbert out too long. I believe the clock in the hall was just striking five as we entered the house.”

Sir Ogden rose to his feet, puffing out his chest like a turkeycock, and returned Max’s bow. “Not at all, not at all. Five is a most reasonable hour to return. Most reasonable. So kind of you to have offered to escort my sister to…”

“The British Museum,” Max said.

“Quite so, quite so.” Sir Ogden rumbled. “Somewhere I myself should visit, I’m sure. Very enlightening, so I hear.” He gave a short guffaw at laughter, but whether it was at the idea of going somewhere like that himself, or for some other reason, was not evident.

His gaze slid past Max and flicked sharply over Serafina for a moment before returning to study Max a little further. “Delighted to make your acquaintance, Captain Aubrey.” He held out his hand. His right hand.

Whether it was deliberate or not, Max couldn’t be sure. He took it in his left hand, as he’d been having to do for some time now, and they shook, a little awkwardly. “Sir Ogden.” The color darkening on Sir Ogden’s cheeks implied he’d suddenly realized the error of his actions.

He cleared his throat. “Won’t you take a seat, Captain? My wife and I would very much like to further our acquaintance with you. You are the brother of the Earl of Westbury, I gather. My wife is like an encyclopedia of knowledge regarding the ton . She knows who absolutely everyone is related to.”

Lady Gilbert, having shot her husband a quelling glare, bestowed her most ingratiating smile upon Max. “Indeed, it would please me to invite you to take some tea with us. Serafina can go and organize that. Do, pray, sit down near the fire.” Without waiting for a reply, she waved a hand at Letty. “Whatever have you stopped playing for, child? Continue. I’m sure Captain Aubrey would be charmed to hear such a skillful rendition.”

Max turned to Serafina. “Please don’t organize tea on my account, Miss Gilbert. I’m afraid I’m unable to stay, as my sister-in-law will be expecting me for dinner in Cavendish Square.” He turned back to Lady Gilbert. “I just wanted to make sure Miss Gilbert arrived home safely, and that you were in no way put out by the length of time I’ve kept her out.” He beamed around at them, keeping his expression guileless and friendly, which took a Herculean effort. “I would very much like to return, if that is convenient, and take her out again. She is a most rewarding companion with all her knowledge of historical facts.”

There, get out of that if you can.

Oh, how hard Lady Gilbert was struggling to keep her expression affable. Sir Ogden, his face even redder than before, seemed at a loss what to say. Only young Letty, who had played just a few jumbled notes on her piano, seemed at ease. She swung around on her piano stool, her wide blue eyes, which anyone could have taken as guileless and sweet, instead diamond hard. “How lovely for you, Fina. Someone who shares your passion for history.” The spite behind those words almost made him take a step backwards.

Her mother shot her a look that would have quelled someone with more sensitivity, something young Letty seemed devoid of.

Bypassing Lady Gilbert, who would be trawling for any excuse to say no, Max directed his most commanding stare at Sir Ogden. “I was thinking perhaps in two days’ time—this Thursday, if you have no engagements that day which involve Miss Gilbert?”

“I wanted Serafina to come shopping with me on Thursday,” Letty put in, her tone plaintive, before her mother shot her another quelling glare. This time it worked.

Max could almost see the calculations going on in Lady Gilbert’s head. Was she thinking she could entrap him into taking an interest in her own daughter? She was the sort who would never imagine how he could prefer Serafina over Letty. She certainly knew who he was. Or was this just an attempt to court an association she might deem useful with his family?

Max raised his eyebrows at Sir Ogden, waiting for a reply.

The man’s eyes slid sideways towards his wife.

“If the weather is suitable, I would very much like to take Miss Gilbert out in my carriage to Hyde Park,” Max said, drawing his prey’s attention back again.

Sir Ogden squirmed, but he was trapped. “That would be most kind of you. I’m sure my sister would be honored to accompany you to the Park on Thursday afternoon.”

Hiding his satisfaction at having extracted such a promise, Max made the family an overly flamboyant bow, which they would probably have taken at face value. “Then I’m afraid I must leave you.” He turned to Serafina. “But I shall be back on Thursday in the early afternoon.” He took her hand, and, before she could draw it back, planted a firm kiss on it. “Until then, adieu.” Before anyone could suggest a reason to cancel this arrangement, he swung on his heel and, opening the door for himself, departed.

“Letty, go upstairs. Now.” Araminta directed a fierce stare at her daughter, who, for once, must have read it correctly. Closing the piano, she rose from her stool and, with a glare aimed at Serafina, stalked out of the drawing room.

Serafina, who’d remained standing near the door after Captain Aubrey’s departure, drew in a deep, fortifying breath and straightened her spine. She didn’t need a man to stand up for her. She could do it herself, although the years of mistreatment had left an indelible scar on her psyche.

The door closed behind Letty with a bang that brought a frown to her mother’s brow. Letty was a girl who liked people to notice her actions, especially when in a huff.

Silence reigned. Both Ogden and her sister-in-law fixed disapproving gazes on Serafina.

“I, for one, would like to know what is going on here,” Araminta snapped, her cold eyes running up and down Serafina’s dowdy clothing as though she were looking for signs of incipient depravity. “You have clearly been putting yourself forward like a hussy when you should not have been.”

Serafina bit back the response she would have liked to have made. Whatever happened, she mustn’t anger Araminta any further or she would be bound to find a way to scotch Max’s visit on Thursday. She couldn’t bear it if that were to happen. She so rarely rode in any carriage, the thought of taking the air in Hyde Park itself, with him in his private vehicle, had already proved intoxicating. She schooled her face into equanimity. She’d learned from painful experience that the more Araminta thought she might enjoy something, the more she would try to prevent it. Trying to appear contrite, she hung her head, clasping her hands in front of her until the knuckles whitened.

“Well?” Araminta continued. “What do you have to say for yourself? How have you had the temerity to make the acquaintance of an earl’s brother when you were supposed to only be here to care for Letty?”

The truth would not do. The very thought of admitting to Ogden and Araminta that she’d spent nearly an hour out in that summerhouse with Captain Aubrey, completely unchaperoned, made her stomach curdle. They’d lock her up at Milford and never let her out again, or worse, they might try and blackmail poor Captain Aubrey into marriage, and that would be too humiliating for words. But what to say instead of the truth? She didn’t like to lie, and prided herself on not doing so, but here, if ever there was one, was a moment where a lie would be expedient.

She kept her voice subdued. “We met at the ball yesterday. He was kind enough to speak to me, and we discovered we had a mutual liking for Egyptology.” There. That was no lie. No need to specify exactly where they’d met. If further questions followed she would have to steel herself and make something believable up. The last thing she wanted was Araminta finding out how she’d really met him. She’d put a twist on it that would forever render it unpleasant and sordid in her head.

Araminta, however, had not given up. When she seized upon something that irked her, she could be like one of the grooms’ terriers with a rat, shaking it until it was long dead. “I told you specifically not to put yourself forward last night. You were there only to act as a chaperone to Letitia, and nothing else. Your place was in the shadows, behind me, not out chattering to eligible young men who might otherwise be interested in Letitia.”

So that was it. Araminta thought Captain Aubrey, as the brother of an earl, should have been focusing his attentions on Letty. An enormous urge arose to tell her sister-in-law that a girl like Letty, much as Serafina loved her, was not the sort to attract Captain Aubrey, but she resisted. Mainly due to her acute awareness that she was also not the sort of girl to attract so handsome a man. “I’m sorry, Araminta. I don’t know what I was thinking of. I met him when I went to fetch you a glass of lemonade.” That too was true. How easily this subterfuge was coming to her. And the amazing thing was that she didn’t feel at all guilty about it. Araminta did not deserve the truth.

Araminta turned to Ogden. “I don’t understand what someone as eligible as Captain Aubrey could see in your sister. Even with his arm like that, he could have the choice of any pretty, well-connected girl this Season. He may be only a second son, but I believe he stands to inherit a sizeable fortune of his own and a large house in Wiltshire when he turns thirty.”

Why did Araminta always do this? Talking about her as if she wasn’t present and didn’t matter. Serafina itched to point out that she was standing there while she was being discussed and at nearly three and twenty should have some input into the conversation. Common sense, a skill she’d learned early on in the company of her brother’s wife, kept her silent.

“Do you think he means to offer for her?” Ogden asked, his tone implying the surprise that would be if the captain did, and also a hint of smug satisfaction at the thought of allying his family with that of an earl.

Araminta looked back at Serafina, her lip curling. “Look at her, Ogden. Of course he doesn’t. He must feel sorry for her as she has no hope of securing an offer of any kind. Who would take a girl as plain as her off our hands? Perhaps some elderly nabob in need of someone to care for his motherless children. Not a man as handsome, well-bred and rich as Captain Aubrey, you can be certain.” She gave a little, scornful laugh. “No, you can be sure he’s calling on her for a quite different reason. Pity, perhaps for a bet, or for a jest with his friends.” She sneered. “Out to make a fool out of her and his give his friends amusement.”

Serafina’s blood chilled as Araminta’s words sank in, and for a moment her knees wobbled, but she stayed valiantly upright.

Of course. Why hadn’t this occurred to her before? That was it. Captain Aubrey must have called on her for one of the terrible reasons Araminta had just suggested. She’d been a fool to even give credence to the tiniest hope that he might like her. She only needed to look in a mirror to know the reason why he wouldn’t have done it for that sort of a reason. She’d never have Letty’s sweet good looks nor petite vulnerability. And she’d talked only of history, which might well have made him think her nothing but a boring bluestocking. For a short while this afternoon, she’d been foolish enough to think he might be interested in what she had to say, but it must all have been for show. Kindness on his part perhaps. Or maybe he’d gone back to his friends now and was laughing with them about her.

She must not cry. She could feel the tears waiting to be shed and dug her nails into her flesh where her hands were clasped in front of her. She must not give Araminta the pleasure of seeing how upset she was.

Ogden laughed as well, every bit as scornfully as his wife. “You have it right, my dear, I’m sure. My plain little sister is destined to remain at Milford House an old maid, as I’ve always feared. She’ll be the aged aunt to our children’s children all her life.”

This was so close to how she’d described herself to Max that Serafina struggled to control her breathing as a tear slid unbidden down her cheek.

Araminta waved a dismissive hand without bothering to look at her. “You may go, Serafina, and see if Letty needs your help in changing for dinner. She’ll need you to do her hair. And be warned, she’s not happy that you usurped her position with such an eligible gentleman. You will need to apologize to her.”

Serafina turned on the spot, reaching blindly for the door as more tears followed the first down her cheeks, unseen by Araminta. Outside in the hall, thankfully empty of servants, she leaned against the wall, heaving in great breaths and fighting off the urge to break down and sob. She had to keep herself under rigid control, as she’d always done. She couldn’t let anyone, especially not Letty who would be bound to tell her mother, know how much she hurt inside.

For a brief moment she’d glimpsed the way her life could be. She’d spent such a wonderful afternoon with Captain Aubrey, a recipient of his gentle charm, his interest, his apparent kindness. But he was a gentleman, and all of that came naturally to him. None of it had betokened any kind of interest in her as anything more than someone with whom to share the treasures of the British Museum. He hadn’t seen her as a woman, but merely as someone who was lonely and who happened to like Egyptology. She could just as well have been a child he felt sorry for, or an elderly dowager, or even a male friend yet to visit the museum. He hadn’t seen her in the way she’d seen him at all.

She wiped her eyes on the long sleeve of her gown. She’d better go upstairs and help Letty or she’d be in even more trouble.